Breakfast : my enemy.

As you know, I've been struggling with my food. Let me tell you the biggest issue I am having and the hurdle I have to eventually conquer.

Breakfast.

 Sounds simple, right? I mean, just how complicated can breakfast get?? But that's the thing. I am not exactly a bright and perky morning person, and when I was growing up cereal was always available in my house. And I would eat it. My brother and I could go through a standard 10-serving size box in 2-3 days. We'd have big heaping bowls of anything from Raisin Bran to Cap'n Crunch to Cheerios to Fruity Pebbles. It was whatever we felt like putting in the buggy when we went grocery shopping with our parents.

Well, I still have that nasty habit today. I can eat a mean bowl of cereal. And I do. And I hate it. I'm throwing away 500-600 calories on a meal that in three to four hours makes me starving once again.

So, it's time for a game plan. I organized the pantry last night after our quick and small shopping trip and I have SO MUCH breakfast stuff it's not even funny. I'm going to write out what I have and plan some meals around it. I will have to cook of course, and maybe that will encourage me to actually get up at a decent time and even cook for my husband (who is NOT a breakfast eater at all!).


About that list.....


-Granola (goes in yogurt)
-Yogurt
-Apples and Grapes (and sometimes other fruits as well)
-Eggs
-Oatmeal (instant packages and quick cook oats)
-Pancake mixes (I love those Martha White muffin mixes; just add alittle oil and an egg and they make excellent pancakes!)
-Bread (for toasting of course) ;-)
-Bagels
-Cream cheese, jelly, and other breakfast food toppings
-Trail mix bars, nutrigrain bars, and other handheld snack-type items that can be on-the-go
-and of course.... Cereal


I needed no effort to make that list at all, nor did I need to look in the pantry to check what I had. What I need to do is rotate the food I eat. Most of those choices aren't high in calories and take less than 15min to fully prepare a good breakfast from them. I think I can make some decent meals out of this, which my body will not devour and then beg me for more food in 3 hours.

I think I'm going to do just that. I think I'll cook some pancakes and eggs! Yum!

Enjoy your Tuesday! (Also- don't forget to vote if you are in the U.S.!)

My brain hurts!

I have been struggling these last few weeks to do a lot. I feel as though I have a lot on my plate, and I don't even have kids!! O.O

As of right now, I am juggling the following:

-40 hour work week
-2 college courses, one online, one on campus
-a group project for one of the above mentioned classes, which is unsuccessful at the moment due to my group's lack of communication. We have already booted one member, I'm in the process of booting another.
-an analytical paper for the other above college class, which is due on Sunday and I actually have yet to begin....
-keeping track of my food logs, and actually LOGGING them!
-trying to get to the gym more than once a week
-finding a spare moment for my sanity
-planning for my poor Christmas, which means I am crafting A LOT of the gifts myself..

I just feel so overloaded. The Anniversary getaway with John was absolutely wonderful, as I did not think about most of the list above for 4 days. It was excellent! Now that I'm back I'm at the mercy of my brain, which hurts from all of the thinking I'm doing! :-\

One tip I'd like to offer some of you (yeah, you 2 readers! lol) is about balancing the food you eat when you're at home. I have a hard time knowing that my days off can be ruined simply because I stay at home working on school stuff all day with a relatively full pantry at my disposal. Now, I actually have no candy to speak of hidden in there (the closest thing would be cake and brownie mixes), but I do have a few bags of various chips, crackers, popcorn, etc. I am a snacker, and it kills me when I grab a bag with the intention of eating a serving size and look down later to see nothing but crumbs left. So, I devised a strategy which I will test out on Wednesday::

Instead of knowing you have an entire fridge and pantry at your

disposal during your days off, treat it like a work day!

Pack a "breakfast, lunch, and snacks" for when the

kids/husband aren't home, and plan your dinner meal ahead

of time so you know what you'll be eating! This is genius! I will end up doing

this, because it is my days off, when I'm home ALONE mind

you, that I tend to hover in the kitchen from 7am to 4pm when the boys get home. :)

I may also print out a sign that says "Off limits" or "What's in your lunch box??" to help make myself feel guilty if I try and get in there. I think that if I limit myself to what I "pack" I will snack less and maybe drink more water. I know Amy tried drinking a full glass of water beforehand when she had a craving for (pop I think it was??), but maybe it will work for general snacking cravings as well. :)

As for everything else, I feel like I have so much to say but nowhere to begin! So, I'll end this for now, as my shoulder is getting sore from propping my hands up on my desk for support on the computer, and maybe since I have no more reading to do for any of my classes tonight take a couple of Aleve and go to bed early.

Pleasant dreams!