Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

Crunched for Time

To kick off Thanksgiving week, I am beyond grateful that I have a 2 day work week! This little break couldn’t come at a better time and I can’t wait to be home with family and friends for one of my favorite holidays!

Until then though I’m trying to cram a lot of things into my schedule. I even resorted to a day-by-day To-Do list to get it all done! Tasks on the list include:

  • packing
  • cleaning out the fridge
  • cleaning up my kitchen
  • running a few errands
  • perhaps the gym? (errands will definitely keep me moving)
  • charge electronics

Yesterday the day kind of seemed to get away from me. Having a commitment right in the middle of the afternoon (and getting home 1 hour later than expected )prevented me from getting the things done that I needed to. When I woke up I had another bowl of pomegranite blueberry hot cereal after sleeping throughyoga in until 10:30am. My body was tired!

I spent the next few hours organizing, cleaning and dusting, and then getting myself ready for an afternoon trip to College Park, MD. I ate a small lunch before heading out the door of leftover spicy veggies and hummus and red pepper sandwich on a slice of Udi’s. Thank goodness I ate this around 1:45pm because I wouldn’t end up eating again until 6:15! :-/

I spent my afternoon at the newly renovated house of the Maryland chapter of my sorority. They had invited all of the area board members to see the updated house which is gorgeous! It brought back wonderful memories of my own time living in a sorority house and also made me appreciate living outside of one now :)

They had snacks for us which included cake, cookies, and more cookies so I just had some tea and chatted with the friendly chapter officers and fellow board members. By the time I walked in the door my stomach was growling and I was ready to eat.

I had a quick chicken fried rice utilizing some of the contents in my fridge. I heated up some frozen broccoli, peppers, corn, and peas and added in ~2oz cooked chicken breast, 1/4c brown rice, and an egg white. It was seasoned with soy and teriyaki sauce, garlic, and hot sauce and eaten alongside a spinach salad with beets.

The rest of the night was spent taking care of some tasks and getting ready for the short week. I also decided to whip up a mini batch of biscuits using some GF Bisquick. I know I said it once but I’ll say it again, this mix is pretty bland and has no taste compared to the smaller company, whole grain baking products. The biscuit also left a weird texture and feeling in my mouth, similar to that feeling after eating cooking spinach. I’m officially done with Bisquick for good!

This morning I whipped up a quick bowl of blueberry hot cereal and am hoping to work efficiently throughout the day to get everything done. I would love to avoid an extremely late night tonight!

How long is your workweek this week? Do you have a usual pre-travel routine?

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Does anyone else remember this movie? My brother and I were obsessed with it growing up and would watch the video tape every year as Thanksgiving drew near. Last night ABC showed the special and I felt obligated to watch it. And photograph my favorite part – Charlie Brown and Snoopy preparing their Thanksgiving meal in the kitchen! I guess I was destined to love food :)

Anyhow, watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving got me pumped up for Thanksgiving next week. I have a full and exciting weekend but am most looking forward to my flight home early next week. The rest is just [quality] filler to pass the time!

Yesterday morning I mixed up my fruit toppings for my hot cereal. Into the standard mix went some diced pear and pomegranite arils. Nut butter was non-negotiable :)

I packed a quick and easy lunch to bring to the office: a burrito. While I was eating breakfast I pulled a Food for Life brown rice tortilla out of the freezer to defrost. When I finished I added a serving of refried beans, spinach, roasted green beans and onions and wrapped it up in foil to go. This took maybe 5 minutes of actual prep time and was filling and tasty! With a side greens salad, this held me over through the afternoon quite well.

We had an all staff meeting in the afternoon and at the end of it I grabbed a small handful of red grapes to snack on. Then, of course, I snacked on some edamame crackers at my desk. I’ve been enjoying those Trader Joe’s gluten free gems but they’re dangerous to have readily available! After work I walked downtown to shop for a shirt to wear to a party next week. I found this one which I think will be perfect with jeggings and boots. What do you think?

On the way home I got another craving for soup and knew I couldn’t eat beans for 2 meals in a row. I ended up heating some frozen broccoli, spinach, and peas in vegetable broth and blending it up for a bright green soup. I added garlic, salt, pepper, and ~1/2t of cheddar cheese and enjoyed it alongside a small sweet potato.

I then watched the aforementioned Charlie Brown show and Grey’s Anatomy and got myself to bed.

This morning I did not want to get out of bed but sunshine and the promise of eating out of an almond butter jar lured me out of my warm bed. There was only a generous 1/2 tablespoon left in this jar! I had prepped my cereal last night with blueberries and some maple syrup mixed in. This morning I reheated it and added it to the nut butter jar. I drizzled some melted fig jam and crushed pecan bits on top and am hoping that it’ll hold me over well this morning!

Any other Charlie Brown Thanksgiving lovers out there? What things did you love as a kid that you still love today?

T Minus…

2 weeks and counting. As a total Type-A nerd cool kid, I love a good count down. They help build excitement for something quickly approaching. They remind me of what I need to do before a certain date. And there’s something fun about inching your way closer to a goal.

This countdown is for my trip home for Thanksgiving and when the reality hit that it’s just 2 weeks away I got all excited with anticipation. My mom is the queen of Thanksgiving and we’ve already started talking recipes, dishes, and I’ve been giving some not so subtle reminders of what are now our traditions.

I wrote this post about last year’s Thanksgiving and why I love the holiday so much and while this year will be a bit different I’m still excited! I’ll only be doing the 5K Turkey Trot but after my injury this year I’m lucky and thankful to be in any sort of running shape at all.

So, with just 2 weeks to go, I’m launching 2 little challenges to put me in the “right” frame of mind. Challenge #1 – to share at least one thing I am thankful for with y’all each day and, Challenge #2 – to eat as cleanly as possible over the next two weeks. I have some crazy busy days ahead of me and this challenge will ensure that I feel my best (I get sick when I eat crappy) when I step on that plane headed for home.

So, Day 1: I am thankful that I am able to donate some of my free time back to an organization that I love so much (more on this to come in the next few days).

What are you thankful for? I hope you’ll join me for either one or both of the challenges!!