Pizza Sprinkles

Scott is out of town this weekend and when he goes out of town we have an unspoken agreement. 

He leaves to attend a conference, hiking with his brother, or have a boys weekend 

and I get to sit at home and watch Harry Potter movies, read Nora Roberts novels, and pretend the laundry and chores don't exist until an hour before he gets home. 

Being the amazing husband that he is, he pretends not to notice. 

I know I could wait and he would help which makes him even more awesome but I like spending time with him when he gets home that does not involve mops or brooms. 

I haven't started my meal prep either except to go grocery shopping

I have been in a meal prep FUNK.  

I am having a hard time coming up with new ideas that fit the following criteria

A. Cheap

I need to make my meals budget friendly. If budget wasn't a concern I would just eat Chipotle every day.

B. Healthy

If calories and nutritional content weren't a concern I would just eat Chipotle every day with cheese and sour cream.  

I prefer lower carb foods with moderate calories.  I need to lose some lb's but I also need to run for an hour. 

C. Portability

I can't cook up a steak and chop a fresh salad in the break room at work. 

It needs to fit in Tupperware

D. Durability

I cook all my meals on Sunday, I need something that won't grow a second head by Friday

I have a few standbys but I am getting bored and when I am bored I forage for something that will make me less bored. Like pizza, nothing boring about pizza. 

or cupcakes. 

Pretty much anything with sprinkles

"But Lauren, Pizza doesn't have sprinkles"

What do you think pepperoni is? 

Pizza Sprinkles.

Standbys include but are not limited to..

Chicken Meatballs in Marinara with salad

Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs roasted vegetables

Salad with chicken

Roasted Chicken with hummus, a hard boiled egg, and carrots

more salad with chicken

More sides of protein and varying sides of vegetables

This week I am going with chicken salad with avocado instead of mayo

I will stuff my face with carrots until the need to forage goes away

I might make more banana cookies as a treat for not ripping through anything and everything I can find in the work fridge. 

Chicken Salad

1 cup chopped grilled chicken 

2 stalk chopped celery

1/2 chopped red bell pepper

1/2 chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped red onion 

1/2 avocado smashed (like you are making guac)

mix it all up, season with garlic salt and dig in!

It also goes great in a lettuce wrap or in a pita

My plan is to put all the chopped ingredients into a Tupperware and add the avocado the day of. 

Cookie Monster

Today was a day that I could have happily planted my ass on the couch and curled up with a pint of Ben and Jerry's finest. 

I could have pulled up speed dial and let the good folks at Barros talk me into a large sausage and double cheese pizza. 

I wanted to

I realllllly wanted to

I still want to

Instead I went tearing through cabinets and pinterest trying to find a way to make something that would satisfy both my sweet tooth, my hormones, would not require a trip to the store and not help me gain 12 lbs. 

Banana Oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

#Winning 

3 bananas, 1 cup of oats, 2 tbsp PB2, and 1 cup of chocolate chips later the beast has been soothed. 

I fixed a flat on my bike (all by  myself!) while they were cooking (20-25 minutes at 350). Then I burnt the roof of my mouth, my tongue, and my fingers trying to eat them straight out of the oven. 

Patience and eating slowly have never really been my thing. 

After devouring a cookie and coating my tongue in aloe I jumped on my bike trainer.

Bike trainers are the best. 

Seriously. 

It's 100 degrees outside and I was able to get in my ride in the comfort of my own home (and AC) while watching Super Troopers. 

and eating cookies. 

whoops. 

I only had 2!

I followed it up with a big ass salad and a Disney movie. 

Because.... I am an adult.

The more I thought about the cookies the more I realized I may have stumbled onto pinterest gold. 

150 calories and other than the chocolate they are filled with good things. 

I think they would make good race food both pre race and race fuel. 

I might try adding a few other things to them like switching the pb2 and  chocolate chips for a little brown sugar and dried cranberries, I could add some flax seed or chopped up dates. 

I could even add some coconut. 

The possibilities are endless

This also means the cookie testing is endless. 

Beating Down My Inner Fat Kid

I am very honest in this little blog 

I don't hide my issues, my insecurities, my fears, my doubts, my bad habits, my training programs, or my relationship with food. 

I know not everyone has the same issues that I do. 

Not everyone wants to eat a whole double cheese and sausage pizza while chugging a beer in their sweat pants. 

I get it. 

Everyone has different life goals, 

Most of you probably don't have the urge to go swim miles, bike 112 miles, or run 26.2. 

I plan to do all three and then because I apparently love pain I will follow that up with a tattoo commemorating the event. 

I am not everyone

But I hope that in reading this you know that whatever food habits or issues you may have... 

You are not alone. 

It doesn't make you less of a human

And I hope you do what makes you happy while working towards a healthier lifestyle. 

its a struggle

it sucks

its beyond rewarding 

and you can make those changes to achieve a healthier lifestyle 

Sorry that was a little more serious than I normally am so here ya go. 

Nacho Lucky Day

I saw the most amazing picture today. 

Can you guess what it was?

It wasn't a sunset 

It wasn't a beautiful newborn baby

It wasn't a pudgy adorable puppy

It was nachos. 

Glorious, cheesy, and topped with pulled pork.

I was able to refrain from licking my phone but I wavered on that decision. 

Who needs a long, low cholesterol life when you have chips with melted cheese. 

I looked at the picture, drooled over the picture, then tried to figure out a way to work nachos into my life. 

Because I am trying to lose a couple pounds, train for a 1/2 Ironman and generally improve my lifestyle; nachos are not on the regular menu. 

I would have to run a stupid amount of miles, bike to Tuscon, or swim around Lake Pleasant for a couple hours in order to enjoy a face

full of cheesy goodness.

Now most rational people without major food issues are thinking "why don't you just get in a good workout, make sure your other 2 meals are healthy, and split the nachos with your husband?"

A. We don't share food. ever. 

it works for us and helps both of us avoid missing fingers. 

B. Portion control is not really my thing

I'm actually eating my salad out of a mixing bowl as I type this and I may or may not have accidentally spilled cheese on my computer. 

C. I don't feel like biking to Tuscon. 

So I guess that means I am shit out of luck, eh? 

Well I am nothing if not resourceful when it comes to finding a way to eat things I want 

Thats why as I was drooling over my phone and my boss was wondering if I was exhibiting stroke symptoms I decided I would make a Nacho Salad! 

Pulled pork, black beans, corn, red onion, cilantro, cotija cheese, and guac for dressing. All piled on top of  a big ass bed of lettuce. 

Not bad right? 

Its not a plate of melted cheese and deep fried corn tortillas

But it also won't give me a massive food hangover or lead to a downward spiral of food guilt. 

I know it will still be pretty calorie laden but those are all pretty wholesome ingredients. 

I will leave you with this...

I googled "how was cheese discovered" and " Nacho meme" for this blog. 

I was not disappointed. 

Since animal skins and inflated internal organs have, since ancient times, provided storage vessels for a range of foodstuffs, it is probable that the process of cheese making was discovered accidentally by storing milk in a container made from the stomach of an animal, resulting in the milk being turned to curd and whey by the rennet from the stomach. 

I probably should have stopped 3 memes ago.