Some whining, WIAW, and a mini review

Hmm, three things Wednesday?

I may have mentioned a few thousand times before that running plays a big role in my mental health.  With only 11 miles run in the last 8 days, you might imagine I’m getting a little bitch crabby.  While I’m hopeful that yesterday’s ART treatment and the one coming up on Thursday take me a long ways towards being able to run decent mileage again, right at the moment, I’m strung tighter than my son’s cello (and I’m not referring to my quads, which are apparently that tight as well.)  Jones and I have been butting heads about middle school, neither of my boys want to commit to camps for the summer (and everything fills up around here in February), and it’s been a month full of unexpected expenses, so I hesitate to join the gym again.  Honestly, though, I’m pretty sure that if I don’t get some real exercise soon, my husband might change the locks one day when I’m out.

And, of course, to make myself feel better, I continue to choose “comfort foods.”  I think my body has finally realized it’s not running all the dang time, so at least I seem to be able to eat reasonable amounts of said comfort foods.

Did I mention comfort?  Yeah, nothin’ says comfort like oatmeal for breakfast.

Lunch has continued to be (and is unlikely to change) sauteed vegetables and whatever protein I can find in the fridge.  This lunch was leftover homemade tilapia “nuggets”.  (I dredge the pieces in egg and panko crumbs and cook them in a cast iron pan on the stove and the boys LOVE them.)

For dinner, comfort food = soup.  Always.  This week it was Potato Leek.  (Easiest soup ever – 2 leeks and 1 medium onion sauteed in broth until soft.  Add 3 lbs peeled, chunked potato, 4 cut up carrots, and 4-5 chopped celery stalks.  Barely cover with broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until all veggies are soft.  Puree.  Serve with a big dollop of
Greek yogurt + fresh ground pepper. So good!)

And for dessert, I’ve been loving Greek yogurt with maple syrup and whatever yummy stuff I can think of to throw in.

Shall we talk snacks now? Not too long ago, I was sent some Simply Snackin dried meat snacks.

I loved that they don’t contain any chemicals or high fructose corn syrup. I also love that it’s a Wisconsin company (what can I say? I like to support my home state.) But you know what I love the most? That they taste really good. The beef flavors, in particular, really hit the spot for me.  They are the perfect combination of sweet, salty, and meaty and fill all my cravings at once.  With only 60 calories, they are about perfect when I’ve once again forgotten to eat a meal and just need something to hold me over until I can get home for a real meal.  I’m hoarding my last few that I have until I can get a chance to order some more.  Good stuff, I tell you, good stuff!

(Disclaimer: I got offered these to try for free.  All opinions are my own and I like them enough I’ll be buying more with my own money.)