Game Plan

Hello, beauties! So, I get up this morning, feelin’ hungry. Like, hungraayy – this stomach was a-rumblin’. I’m pumped for my an impromptu, whatever-I-feel-like breakfast before church. I open the fridge, already mentally debating between sunbutter and almond butter when I see this:

Horror of horrors.

One of the most terrifying things a person can see, esspecially first thing in the morning. I think we can all agree that a trip to Costco and Superstore is in order for today. Especially thanks to this lovely coupon I got from an Iowa Girl Eats raffle I won:

I hope I can find their cashew buttah!!! I’ve also desperately been wanting to try Artisana products – esspecially the coconut butter. I need to score me some coupons for those!

Saweeet.

Anyway, I wiped away my tears, put on a stiff upper lip and put this baybay together:

[[ Bob's Red Mill Old Fashioned Rolled Oats cooked in Almond Breeze with chia seeds, cinnamon and pumpkin. Strawberries and almonds were then mixed in and the whole bowl was finally coated in a healthy "drizzle" of chocolate sauce ]]

Yes, that would be homemade chocolate sauce I threw together after making mocha sauce at work the night before. Super easy: unsweetened cocoa butter; boiling water; some sugary, caramel-flavoured syrup I picked up from work.

Baller.

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So I realized – it’s almost September…meaning, it’s almost time to go back to school and be broke all the time again. How is it that half the bloggies are already back at school – it’s still August! I’ve never had to go back to school before Labour Day O_o I think I’d have a coronary if I were ever forced to go back days after my birthday!

Anyway, being at school means being on campus more and out of my ED’s “comfort zone”. It means more social situations and less time, even when I’m at home, to deal with silly ED behaviours and rituals. First semester, I was doing quite well – because I had a solid plan. I was eating around the same amount of calories I’m eating right now, and I was fully committed to recovering. This meant literally planning out a days worth of meals (my sched was whack last fall – on campus from like, 8:30 AM till 7 PM with my on-campus job and classes and long breaks between classes) every night, right after my other job ended at 11PM (aka, my job from Hell I just quit!). This year, my schedule is much more accomodating and flexible, but I still have a few of those days.

So here’s my plan: on my stressfull days – ones that involve spending most of my day on campus or days when I’m at school and work – I’ll practice “intuitive eating”. Not only is it easier than planning ahead, prepacking, carrying (possibly perishable) food around all day, and dealing with reheating and spills, but it’ll help me adapt to those unexpected social situations ED dreads. At the same time, I’ll still be able to responsibly gain, because I’ll still be counting four or more days of the week.

I’m also going to maintain the same mantra I held last year (ermm, pre-mini-relapse) and that I am committed to right now – no excuses to not reach my caloric target for the day. None. Bloating; time of day; I’m just not hungry, etc. I’ve found that as long as I just reach that number – even if I’m just five calories short – I’m not inclined to skimp the next day, and a little more the next day, and so on. It’s worked for me this summer, so I’m thinking it just works. Example: I got home after work yesterday and was so ravenous for dinner, I forgot to cook my quinoa!!! (Basically, it was the saddest quinoa-bowl of my life – I didn’t even photograph it. Fail.) It was after 7 PM, and I just can’t eat too soon before sleeping (heartburn and stomach cramps). Help came in the form of:

‘ve been trying to cut down on highly-sugared and processed bars like these, but I still always have a few on hand (esspecially Clif Bars and Larabars!). Because there are just no excuses. None. Nada. Negative.

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Before I continue with my usual food porn (we all know it’s why you’re really here ;D), I’ve got an award to attend to! I’ve been bestowed with the Versatile Blogger Award by some lovely ladies!

Thank the person who gave you the award.
Share seven things about yourself.
Give this award out to 15 other bloggers that you think are fabulous, interesting and deserving.
Contact each of the bloggers you chose.

Thank you Vanilla and Fi!! Lovelovelove you, ladies <3

Now for seven randoms about meh!:

1. I didn’t like almost all my favourite foods at first bite: Larabars, almond butter and Kashi Go Lean Crunch. It took me atleast two or three tastes to discover my undying affection for these foods.

2. I straighten my hair and wear make up everyday: I’ve gotten better with the excessive flat ironing, but I don’t think I could leave the house without even a little concealer (anemia comes with baad dark circles!!)

3. I hate being late: I get anxious, sweaty and panicky. I cannot be late. I am never late. School; work; casual meet up with friends. No – just, no.

4. I get very attached to inanimate objects: Be it my stuffed animals or the rickity old, 14″ tube TV in my room – I’m a hoarder.

5. I am the Queen of Cheap: I have a special wallet in my purse for coupons; I scavange through flyers; if I can’t justify a purchase, I just won’t buy it, no matter how necessary it is; sales = my BFFL.

6. I would do crazy, inappropriate, uncalled for things for James Franco – that is all.

7. I’ve had a yoghurt-mess everyday for the past month, and one almost everyday for the path several months – different cereal, yoghurt and fruit everyday; sometimes I’ll add more nuts or dried fruits.

And now to pay it forward (to many of you, again ;P)

Mizz Vanilla @ Vanilla Swirl (regifted!)
Fiona @ Eating and Living for Real (regifted, x2!)
Tra @ Trayn Harder
Clemmy @ With Eyes Closed I Look Closer
Tat @ Tatianna Lives
Natalie @ Cinnamon Bums
The Lovely Lady @ The Empty Nut Jar
Amanda @ Seek Myself
Ashley @ Chewing on Cherries
Shelly @ Finding Happiness and Health
Laura @ Maple Dreams
Sophia @ Burp and Slurp
The Lovely Lady @ Eat Move Love
Anna @ The Fit Collegiate
Alexandra @ Psych

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On that note:

(Oh, and update on the camera situation – it appears to have magically healed itself?!?!?!?!?! I’m still watching it closely – thank goodness for Nikon’s two year warranty and Visa’s additional year!)

[[ Bob's Red Mill Old Fashioned Rolled Oats cooked in chai tea with cinnamon, flaxmeal and mashed nanner. Proceeded by the adding of freshly picked bluebs. Beaut. ]]

[[ So I made a wrap with my new Ezekial wraps (love) and Tempeh Maple Smoked strips (lovelovelove), plus some veg + nooch for kicks. I have a good bad habit of over stuffing my wraps - they always explode and overflow! This time was no different... ]]

[[ Solution? Throw it in a bowl, top with corn (latest obsession) and call it a lunch ]]

[[ Yoghurt mess #54930863: Nature's Path Peanut Butter granola; Danone plain yoghurt; blueberries. With extra almonds and raisins, just for kicks ]]

[[ Corn made atleast a few more appearances these past few days... ]]

[[ ...as did broccoli... ]]

[[ Health Valley Lentil Soup, "stewified" (it's a word - look it up) with TVP, kidney beans and spices; frozen sweet corn; sauteed and seaesoned broccoli. For some reason, this reminded me of those Swanson's TV Dinners... ]]

Mystery meat + corn + misc starch or veg. Yummo.

[/sarcasm]

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Random query: With the new school year starting, it feels like a time for new beginnings. Or atleast changes. What changes would you like to see on my blog? Would you like more shorter posts, like a daily blog of what I eat and what I do (I warn you, it’s not as exciting as the KERFs and the OSGs of the blog world!) or less frequent, but longer more indepth posts? More about food or less about ED or more randomness of my life or recipes? Please share! As much as I blog for me, I probably wouldn’t still be blogging if it weren’t for you :)

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I have a chill week coming up – I’ll probably have my absolute last day at my job-from-Hell and am only working about three days at Starby’s (I’m already on my school schedule there! O_O), though I’m gonna try to pick up a shift or two. Even though it’ll be nice to have some time to vegetate and lay low and lazy, I’m thinking I’ll get stir-crazy by about Wednesday! I’m thinking much baking and cleaning will ensue – yes, I clean when I’m bored! And I haven’t baked in agess – I have some ripe nanners and canned pumpkin I need to get rid of…hmm…

Much love, lovies!

[[ izzyyxoxoxx ]]

Tagged: almond breeze, Artisana, blueberries, Bob's Red Mill, chocolate, clif bar, corn, Ezekial, food blog, larabar, Maranatha, nature's path, nut butter, oatmeal, recovery, Sunbutter, tempeh