Friday Faves

Hey friends! I survived my week! I am currently writing this post on Thursday night, the first night this week that I didn’t work overtime and/or didn’t have some kind of function to attend after work. PHEW.

My office hosted/coordinated/attended quite a few events this week (ALL of which took place on Wednesday, I might add) so it was a crazy time. And much like I said in my post about staying healthy in times of busy-ness, I have still been keeping up with my workouts…buuuut just not so much with the healthy eating part. Though I can successfully say I haven’t had any cheese and crackers dinners this week! Small victory.

In the little time I’ve had to surf the web over the past few weeks, I’ve accumulated a few fun finds, along with other things I’ve been enjoying IRL, that I wanted to share today. Enjoy!

5 Ways to Stay Healthy, Even at Your Busiest

I feel like I say this every time I’ve written lately, but life has gotten really busy.

I thought that cutting out a night of dodgeball each week would free up extra time in my weeknights, but in true Katie fashion, I’ve really just used it as an excuse to take on more non-dodgeball activities. My evenings seem to fill up with meetings, appointments, trips to my parents house to do laundry…..and sometimes a girl just needs to hit up happy hour after a long day.

Between work and after-work meetings (slash the aforementioned happy hours 😉 ), I often find myself arriving home after being out of the apartment for 10-12 hours and immediately plopping down on the couch to zone out while staring at the wall to give my brain – and body – a break. Ain’t nobody got time (or energy) to make dinner after a day like that!

Don’t get me wrong — I love my job and I love being busy. However, I also love feeling good about my body and what I’m putting in it. And to be honest, I don’t know that I can say I do right now. I’ve been struggling to find a balance between the two — being busy and being healthy — and I think my lack of substantive updates on the blog probably reflects that struggle.

To give myself some credit, I have been keeping up with my workouts – I still run 3x per week and ran 70 miles in April (which was the same # of miles that I ran in January and February, when I was training for my half marathon). I do strength training 1-2x per week, and I’ve been organizing weekend practices with my Ultimate Frisbee team…

However, I’ve also eaten cheese & crackers and/or french fries for dinner most nights this week.

In the spirit of keeping myself in check, and inspiring others to do the same, I’ve come up with a list of 5 tips for surviving the hectic workweek while still keeping a healthy lifestyle. As always, I’m hoping that writing this down for the world to see will help me be inspired to practice what I preach. That has yet to be seen, but at least I’m trying, right?

1) Break up the day with an actual lunch break

This is one that I could definitely work on. On the days these past weeks where I actually exit my office for at least 30 minutes for some kind of break in the middle of the day, I always end up feeling the most energized. That 2pm feeling of dread and desperation for coffee doesn’t exist on days that I actually see some sunlight or take a walk in the middle of the day. And chances are, if I’m not feeling bored/exhausted, I’m not as likely to dig in to the snack cabinet in the kitchen for a pick me up, either!

2) Eat 3 full meals

Actually making sure you have 3 solid meals throughout the day is a big help in keeping you energized and also ensuring that you’re taking care of yourself. Of course, for me this is easiest when I do meal prep on the weekends (see above) and have stuff to grab in the morning for nutritious breakfasts and lunches. But making sure you don’t skip a meal is so clutch! I might try to rationalize a crackers & cheese meal as “hey I’m getting my protein AND my carbs!”….but we all know that’s a stretch 😉

3) Get up and move when you can

I get it…Not everyone is gonna wake up at 6:30am to run 5 miles (and of course take a pre-run #workoutselfie that they then snapchat to all their friends).

If you can, great. But if not, there are other ways to stay active throughout the week that don’t involve your typical workout: Bike to work! Take a break to walk around your office building. Walk to lunch! I always feel like I’m more active on the days I walk to work, even if biking is a “tougher” workout. If you have the option, it’s nice to be able to spend your commute taking a relaxing walk and listening to music instead of struggling to get through traffic. That’s gotta be a good thing, right?

4) Swap out the junk food for healthier snacks

If you need snacks to get you through the day…Make sure they’re good ones! Luckily, my office keeps some pretty healthy snacks in our breakroom. Pretzels, cashews and almonds…not too shabby! However, I’m pretty sure even the healthy fats in cashews and almonds lose their nutritional value when you have 5+ handfuls throughout the day. I try to buy baby carrots and other random fruits to snack on instead of fatty nuts. BUT I do love me some cashews…old habits die hard.

5) Most importantly….Don’t beat yourself up if you have an off day.

If you have a rough ass day at work and you want to just come home and have a drink with some chocolate and cheese…Then by all means, just do it. If you snoozed through your workout this morning after yesterday’s stressful late night at work, don’t turn down pizza night with your friends because you can’t afford the calories today.

Being hard on yourself just contributes to the stresses of life. Of course it’s great to have a regular fitness routine, and eat healthy…but we often forget that treating ourselves right emotionally is just as important.

It’s all about finding a balance.

Have a great weekend! Check back next week for a budget update 😀

 

How do you manage stress at work/school? I like taking at least one day out of the week to clean my room and paint my nails – those are my 2 relaxation activities!

What is an indulgence you never feel guilty about? I think having a glass of wine or 1 beer at the end of the day is one of the best things about being a working adult.

Meatless Monday: Curry Chickpea Patties

Hey y’all! Hope you had a great weekend!

I have a serious case of the Mondays today…like we’re talkin hit the snooze button 4 times, get out of bed, take a shower, then get back into bed until the last possible second kind of case of the Mondays.

Before I send you guys off to my delicious recipe, I’ll share a couple of quick photos from the weekend – it was a great one!

I kicked Saturday off with a long FAST run that was cut short – I was running late [no pun intended, har har!] for ultimate frisbee practice and really had to pee, so instead of running home I just stopped at Yvette’s place and we shot over to practice frisbee with our team!

Later that evening, Kristin and I represented Team America at the Beer Olympics! I didn’t do great at most any of the events, but it was still a fun time — I think our Chuck Norris trucker hats at least gave us spirit points!

If Saturday was about sports, Sunday was about FOOD! Scott hosted brunch and Yvette found a recipe for French toast roll ups (stuffed with strawberries and Nutella) that was a Pinterest win!

Then I grabbed a Lyft to my parents’ neighborhood to see Alex, who was in town from NYC. We all BBQ’ed and he made me a bacon-wrapped hot dog. Score! Also, Mike & I had a photoshoot because we realized that our hair is currently the same length. #twinsies!

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ANYWAY, after a weekend of lots of activity, but also lots of indulgence, I always crave healthy clean eats to get my system re-energized. That’s why I’m bringing you a Meatless Monday post today!

These curry chickpea patties are SO flavorful, and they’re healthy to boot! Lots of protein and fiber in these guys. Plus the leftovers are perfect for reheating and bringing for lunch — see above 😉

However, to get the recipe, you’ll have to shoot over to Becky’s blog, where I’m guest posting today!

Do you bring your lunch to work? What’s your favorite tip for avoiding eating out?

 

Mango-Macadamia Granola Bars

So it’s no secret that since I’ve started eating “healthy” – or whatever – I’ve become a breakfast eater.

My breakfast game was at its all time peak during my couple of months of unemployment late last year when I got to make breakfast at home every morning. Toast, eggs, cheese and salsa, yessssss #allthethings

HOWEVER, that’s unfortunately not the norm. I usually eat Greek yogurt and a little somethin’ somethin’ on the side. What that somethin’ somethin’ entails changes from week to week… I have made skinny muffins. I’ve made protein muffins. I love muesli…and I even made muesli bars.

For this week’s What I Ate Wednesday, I’m sharing what I’ve been eating for breakfast lately:

The past few weeks, I’ve been eating homemade granola bars!

You’ll notice that, unlike my other breakfast muffins and bars, there is no “skinny” or “protein” in the title of this recipe.

That’s not to say they aren’t healthy! Made primarily of oats, uncooked quinoa, and flaxseed, they’re leaps and bounds better than any processed bar you’ll find in the supermarket. Plus they have a LOT less added sugar (only 3 tbsp of honey for the entire batch!).

But they’ve also got a fair amount of nut butter…and chocolate.

The point of these granola bars isn’t that they’re low cal, or fat free. It’s that they are full of nutrient dense foods that are good for you, and some healthy fats that make them DELICIOUS.

Plus, mango + macadamia nuts + coconut = tropical summer vacation. Am I right?

Mango-Macadamia Granola Bars
adapted from Cooking Light’s Cranberry-Pistachio Energy Bars
makes 9 bars

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup quinoa, uncooked
1/4 cup dried mango, chopped
1/3 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded or flaked
1/4 cup flaxseed meal (or just grind up flaxseed!)
1 oz chocolate (chips or chunks)
1/4 cup almond butter or peanut butter
3 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp coconut oil

Note: This is an extremely flexible recipe. I’ve also made it with pepitas and dried cranberries. Use whatever kind of dried fruit, nuts, nut butter, or oil you want!

Preheat oven to 350* F. Arrange oats and uncooked quinoa on a baking sheet and bake until slightly toasted and starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Meanwhile, combine mango, macadamia nuts, coconut, chocolate and flaxseed meal. Once cooled, add oats and quinoa.

In a stovepot, mix nut butter, honey, and coconut oil. Heat to a boil, whisking constantly. Boil for 1 minute and add to oat/nut/coconut mixture. Add to a greased 8×8 inch pan and bake at 350*F for 12 minutes, or until starting to brown.

Let cool before cutting into 9 squares. Eat at room temperature or cooled…the squares will keep for 1 week in the fridge!

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What is your breakfast go-to?

Weekend in Photos

Another beautiful California spring weekend is in the books! I’d say it was worth it to brave those 1-2 weeks of rainy weather last month, because we’re definitely making up for it now with more than a week of 80+ degree temps, and more on the horizon!

I got to enjoy the weather a bit, but mostly kept to myself and finally knocked a few things off that To-Do list I didn’t tackle last week 😉 So get ready for a weekend recap full of awesomeness…. (this is one of those times where I need a sarcasm font!)

See what I mean? On Friday night, I stayed in to do some spring organizing – I cleared out my closet and dresser in an attempt to create some more space.

Then, I started re-watching last season of Mad Men to brush up before the season premiere while bookmarking recipes in my last couple of issues of Cooking Light!

At age 25, I already have the Friday night routine of a middle-aged spinster -_- Oh boy…

As is the norm, I went for a long run on Saturday morning. I learned from last week’s mistake and made sure I was out there by 9am to avoid overheating! I powered through and went for 9 miles, thanks to the Spark I ordered from Becky (which was delish!) and also thanks to the fact that I knew I’d be eating my body weight in baseball food later in the day 😉 If that’s not motivation, I don’t know what is!

I finally tested out my new top from Fabletics… the material was perfect for running on a hot day- super breathable and comfortable!

Afterward, I did a small amount of grocery shopping — I’ve been overspending a bit on food so far this month, so I only bought the [super healthy!] essentials: greek yogurt, spinach, fruit, and beans………. and then I saw wine and mang-o-ritas on sale. Well, I tried… 😛

After seeing how many clothes I got rid of on Friday night (and pinning like crazy to my Fashion board), I was inspired to go shopping for some spring clothes. I had a few Macy’s coupons, and ended up scoring everything above (5 tanks, a sports bra, green jeans & pink shorts) for just under $100!

Later, a group of us rode over to West Sacramento, where we had some pre-baseball game grub at Broderick. It was 80 degrees and sunny at 4:30 when we rode over… However, when we finished our food and hopped on our bikes to ride to Raley Field for the Rivercats game, the sun had started to set and the wind was blowing. I was FREEZING in my tank top and shorts that had seemed like such a good idea earlier.

I made it until about the 3rd or 4th inning before I had to suck it up and buy the cheapest XXXL shirt I could find at the Rivercats store. I looked extremely cool. Guess that’s what I get for not planning ahead!

P.S. You may recognize this locale as the location of the starting and finish line of my half marathon! It was fun being back 🙂

We intended to practice frisbee on Sunday morning, but plans fell through so I decided to be productive instead!

I recently took on more responsibility at work and I’m anticipating less time to go home and eat lunch, so for the first time in months, I did some food preppin’!

I made PB/oat/quinoa energy bars (and put them in a muffin tin), boiled a pot of quinoa, chopped up veggies for salads, and tried my hand at cold brewing some coffee. Operation: don’t eat out for lunch is definitely underway this week!

The evening’s activities consisted of dodgeball, followed by a trip to my parents house to watch the Mad Men premiere and do laundry. Apparently, productivity was the name of the game this weekend!

Have a great week!

Do you have a baseball team in your area? (Ours is the Triple A team for the Oakland A’s and they’re super fun to watch!)

Which chores do you save for the weekend?

A Little of This, A Little of That…

Happy Friday!

Unlike recent weeks, I wasn’t SUPER OMG DESPERATE for this week to be over. It’s been a relatively quiet week at work (busy for sure, but not OMG-wanna-rip-my-hair-out stressful) and I have kept it similarly quiet at home — I’ve been laying low and been in bed by 10:30 every night!

I decided on Monday to give myself a little detox, so I’ve not only abstained from alcohol for the past 5 days, but I’ve also limited my handfuls of cashews at work, and spoonfuls of Nutella at home 😉

In addition to the detox and walking/biking to work every day, I ran twice (3 miles on Tues & 5 miles on Thurs) and did strength building exercises twice (on Weds and this morning):

Wednesday’s workout has been my tried & true upper body workout for almost a year now. It was pretty much the only strength training I did (1x per week) while training for my half…It gets in some good upper body work, but the better benefit may be the core strengthening that comes from all those planks! If I have time, I also finish up with V-ups and regular ol’ crunches for good measure.

 

Because I’m not doing Thursday dodgeball this season, I enjoyed an early bedtime last night and a rare 6:30am Friday morning wake up call! I’ve been doing the above workout for so long that I decided to look for a new GPP Fitness workout to switch things up. I did 2 rounds of Cross Sectional, and I did the V-ups, Stab Situps and high windmills from t-AB-ata. My legs are burrrrning from Cross Sectional!

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ANYWAY, I digress. This totally wasn’t meant to be a Fitness post! I just wanted to pop in and share a few things I’ve enjoyed this week, and even a fun HANDWRITTEN quiz that I yanked from Christina at Hungry Meets Healthy. Enjoy!

 

75 Thoughts Every Runner Has While Out For A Run

LOVE. IT. My favorite is the thoughts that go through your head when you jump over puddles. Also, all the thoughts that go on in the last mile of your run.

 

AdvoCare Spark

My Blend-turned-Real-life friend Becky has been pumping up Advocare products for the past few months…I texted her yesterday that I ran out of my beloved pre-workout supplement (fitmixer Clean Energy) and she happened to have just gotten a bunch of variety packs of Spark, AdvoCare’s energy drink mix. I ordered some and can’t wait to try it! I’m not big on supplements, but I do like using a pre-workout drink before my long runs. I’ll be sure to report back on how I like it! If you’re interested, be sure to visit Becky’s blog or click one of the above links to be taken to her store!

 

The 10 Most Important Things We Learned from How I Met Your Mother

As you all probably know, How I Met Your Mother ended this week. Sadface. While I can’t say I’ve watched since the start of the show, I did start watching from the beginning about 4-5 years ago and have been hooked ever since. I love the writing, I love how they’ve kept us guessing about the Mother, and I lovelovelove the characters. I definitely cried multiple times during the series finale, and I have mixed feelings about how it ended, but I largely agree with this article about what went down. {spoiler alert in the article, obviously!}

 

And last but not least… you know those handwritten quizzes they have celebs fill out in Cosmo? Welp, I found one for bloggers! If you’re interested in filling it out, you can print out the blank template here. Enjoy!

Before you say anything about liking my handwriting, please take note that I toootally spent 5x longer than usual writing out every single word to make sure it was legible. HA.

Have a great weekend!

What do you do to treat your body when you need to detox?

Are/were you a HIMYM fan?

Healthy Grocery Shopping on a Budget – February Check in!

So I’ve got bad news and good news about my budget this February.

The bad news is… I went to New York for 4 days and spent a lot more money than I would have in Sacramento…mostly on some delicious food.

The good news, however, is three-fold! First off, I looked at my average spending over the last 6 months (not including February) on WellsFargo.com, and I spent $700 less in February than my average, and $1,000 less than last month (!!!). That’s including my trip to NYC (not including airfare, which I paid back in December). Secondly, I was finally paid my first installment of unemployment benefits last month, and on Monday was paid 3 of my remaining 4 weeks. This will help out a lot, especially since I took two unpaid days off for my trip, and will definitely be a welcomed supplement to my income. I have had a HELL of a time getting through to EDD on this (obviously, since I’ve been employed since mid-January now and am just now getting paid for November/December…), including about 35 phone calls in a <25 minute time frame last week to finally get through to an operator. Third and finally, I broke even this month. This is a huge victory for me, considering the 2/3 pay cut I took a couple of months ago. It means that I have started to really adjust my spending!

Anyway, I have not included the expenses from my New York trip on my budget breakdown for this month because, like last month, I basically considered them one time purchases. It was vacation, after all! Last month, I didn’t include my Macy’s card payments and a few other purchases (e.g. my replacement iPhone)…and I think that was largely why I stayed within my budget. The absence of a Macy’s credit card payment and some self control when it came to online shopping apparently really went a long way in managing my budget this month.

I did make a pretty big splurge at Target right before Valentine’s Day (see above), and an impulse Kate Spade online sale purchase (about $150 total between the 2), but I generally kept it light on any other miscellaneous purchases this month. And besides those 2 slip ups, I didn’t go shopping!

Otherwise, I think my adjustments from January’s budget (the fact that I took half of my restaurant budget and put it into the dodgeball bar/entertainment categories) were smart. Check it out:

Groceries

I unfortunately only made it to the Farmer’s Market once this month. It was rained out one week, I was in New York for another week, and I was just plain dead from a long run the other week. I have, however, been taking major advantage of the Safeway Just4U app when I shop at Safeway. Check out how much I saved on my grocery bill when I went this weekend- I spent $56 and saved $33!

Yes, you’re reading correctly, I got 2 jars of Nutella for $2.99 TOTAL! #score

Miscellaneous purchases included a six pack, one bottle of wine, and some nail polish and fake eyelashes from CVS 🙂

Going Out

Stayed within my dodgeball bar budget this month! This is surprising, considering how often I end up getting the above “dinner” on Thursday nights… IPA and a basket of fries. Of course, this usually supplements a pre-dodgeball protein bar/banana/snack. OK, that doesn’t make it much better, does it? 😛

Last week, I treated myself to my first lunch out since starting my new job. It was a rainy day so I couldn’t bike, and I didn’t want to walk all the way home (walking there and back takes up about half of my lunch hour) so I decided to treat myself! Pasta salad at at Ambrosia never disappoints…it is a lot more pricey than my usual stir fry at home though, so it may be a while before I do this again 😛

The bulk of my going out spending this month was thanks in large part to a few birthday parties and Sacramento Beer Week. I need to either learn how to get guys to buy me drinks, or how to stop being the hero and offering to buy rounds of drinks!

This month will be a different story, as I am hereby swearing to be a hermit these next two weeks leading up to my half marathon! I am most likely passing up on a trip down south to the Democratic Convention this weekend, for fear of not being able to do my last training run or doing something stupid and injuring myself a week before my race.

I still stayed more or less in my overall food budget this month. If you add in my New York trip, it’s a different story…However, even including my trip, I broke even, and for that I am super proud of myself! *pats self on back*

What was your last big splurge?

Getting bought drinks at the bar– what’s your secret? 😉

Healthy Grocery Shopping on a Budget – January Check in!

It may be a few days into February already, but I haven’t forgotten that I promised you all an update on my budget.

This month was definitely what I would call a work in progress as far as the budget goes. I had a few unforeseen expenses, like having to purchase a new iPhone after mine fell in a river (with me attached) in Oregon over New Years. I also had to pay last month’s Macy’s bill, which wasn’t pretty after all the Christmas shopping I did there 😉 I bought an awesome onesie for this weekend’s pajama pub crawl. But I did not include these extra costs in my budget this month because I thought of them as one time purchases, and really wanted to focus my budget goals on limiting my spending in the areas I could control — groceries and going out!

Let me jog your memory on the budget I gave myself for food in January:

All pretty self explanatory! $30 per week for groceries (split between the farmer’s market and the supermarket), and $75 for any other stuff.

Going out, also self explanatory – $10 per week at the dodgeball bar (I go 2x per week), $10 per week for other bars or activities, and a whopping $20/week for restaurants.

I kept track on my handy dandy budget app, Pocket Expense. Unlike other budgeting apps, you have to actually manually add in all your expenses. I was actually pretty good about doing this on the reg, and on days I was lazy and didn’t add whatever I spent, I at least always kept my receipts so I could go back and do it later.

Now……..to see how I did!

Not too shabby, right?!

Groceries

So, I only went to the farmer’s market twice this month. I haven’t gone in three weeks…ever since the weekend I ran 9.3 miles, I have been way too wiped out after my long runs to make it over to the market, or I’ve just run out of time (umm, apparently running 10 miles takes a bit longer than running only 7!). So I did most of my grocery shopping at Grocery Outlet and Safeway. I used my Safeway JustForU app to get some great deals this month! Remember this fun quinoa salad thing I made for lunches one week?

Yeah, that chopped salad was FREE thanks to a Justforu coupon! Using MAYBE a quarter of a box of quinoa, I made 3 days of lunches for less than $2 total! Cha chingggg.

Another way I saved some money on groceries was by stopping by the parents’ house a couple of times this month! Why is it that food tastes SOO much better when you don’t cook it yourself?

Thanks Mom!

Miscellaneous purchases this month included a couple of Friday night bottles of wine, a six pack of beer, some stamps, a new phone case, and a trip or two to CVS for some nail polish 🙂 All very exciting, right?

Going out

I am shocked that I stayed under my dodgeball bar goal this month. I actually had to go back at my app and double check that I remembered to enter in all my drinks… I did! {It’s not that I get trashed twice a week at dodgeball, but the bar does have a $10 minimum for card purchases and since I rarely have cash, I often find myself offering to buy my friends drinks so I can meet the minimum!} I must admit I had several drinks bought for me by friends who owed me money 😛 Near the end of the month, when I knew I didn’t have much more “entertainment” money left, it became a lot easier for me to just say “oh well!” and grab a cup of water instead.

Because I only went out to eat twice this month, I did, however, start to sneak a few drinks into the “restaurants” column on Pocket Expense since I knew I wouldn’t be using that money. This allowed me to make sure I was still staying within my overall budget for the month, and made me realize that I may have misjudged my spending habits when I set up my budget last month!

Also, seeing that I spent just as much money going to bars/the movies/a roller derby (lol) as I did on groceries makes me think maybe I should start spending more evenings like I spent this one:

The beer was less than $2 in a six pack, and who doesn’t love Princess Bride?!

Based on how this first month went, and how much my first paycheck (!) was, I think I am going to largely keep my budget the same this month. Luckily, I was FINALLY paid some unemployment benefits this week. I will probably only get 5 weeks worth or so (not the full 8 weeks I was unemployed…) but at this point I’m just happy to get something! I’m planning on using the extra money to pay down my credit card bill from December/January and to *ahem* pay for a little trip I have planned… More on that in a few weeks 😉

Here’s my modified budget for February:

Sorry for the weird text on all of these.. I turned on my computer last night to realize that my Photoshop is busted, so I had to use a janky website to edit my budgets! Anyway, I allotted half of my restaurant money to the dodgeball bar and other activities. If we’re being realistic, I probably won’t even spend $40 at restaurants…But maybe if I know I have the money set aside, I’ll suggest dinner with friends one night instead of drinks!

Wish me luck!

Do you budget?

Do you and your friends treat each other to drinks?

What I Ate Wednesday – Lunch Lately

Wellcoooooome Wednesday!!!

Sorry. I’m just excited that it only feels like Tuesday, but it’s already Wednesday! Best Feeling Ever.

Since I started work again and put myself on a budget, I’ve been a little worried about what I’d be eating, whether it’d be healthy, and whether I’d be able to avoid eating out and spending too much money. {For the record, I have been keeping to my $30/week grocery budget! I’m still under my overall budget, but have been slipping in certain areas…I’ll be sure to give you all an update at the end of the month!}

Luckily, it was super easy to get back on the healthy workweek lunch wagon. I do miss the leisurely breakfasts and lunches I was enjoying at home, but my lunches haven’t been too shabby! So this week I’m linking up with What I Ate Wednesday to share my first week of work lunches.

As Jenn at Peas & Crayons puts it:

WIAW is about food and fun! It’s about making new friends, breaking out of a food rut, noting changes in your diet/lifestyle, inspiring yourself & others, embracing fruit & vegetables, nourishing your body with the foods that work for you, finding new ways to eat your favorite foods, and so. much. more. ❤

Be sure to check out Jenn’s post to see who else is linking up today.

The first “Sunday food prep” meal I made for lunches last week was a curry quinoa. I sauteed kale, celery, ginger, garlic & onions in a bunch of Indian spices (curry powder, coriander, cumin seeds, & turmeric) then stirred in cooked quinoa. It made 3 servings – one I ate at home with a tortilla (see above) and the other two I brought in a tupperware to work!

Didn’t think I could say bye to my breakfast for lunch meals forever, did you? I am super thankful that my new office is just around the corner from my old one, AKA only 8 blocks from my apartment! I have plenty of time to bike or walk home for lunch and cook up a quick simple, healthy, clean meal…like avocado & toast + eggs & salsa 🙂

Pretty much the exact same meal, except I loaded my eggs up with goat cheese instead of salsa because I had run 5 miles that morning and wanted some extra protein! That bread is whole wheat flaxseed bread I found at the Farmers Market and it is AMAZING. Small slices so they’re only 70 calories a pop, and it’s got a great texture since it’s loaded with flaxseeds – hello protein and Omega-3s!

This week, I went super ultra cheap for my lunches. I use the Safeway Just For U app pretty regularly to find deals at the grocery store (it even gives you personalized deals based on the items you buy the most!) and this week, I noticed that they were offering a free bag of chopped salad with your purchase. I checked out the ingredient list and it actually didn’t seem too bad, so I picked up the Asian variety:

The dressing isn’t exactly low fat, but I figured all the cabbage and carrots made up for it!

To bulk up the salad enough to make it stretch a few meals, I mixed in 3/4 cup (dry) of cooked quinoa right after it finished cooking. Raw cabbage is kind of rough on the digestive system, so I figured the hot quinoa would cook it and mellow it down a little.

Winner winner quinoa dinner! It was super tasty!

I had time to run home for lunch yesterday and enjoyed a bowl with the wonton strips that the salad came with. Today I am anticipating running errands at lunch, so I brought bowl #2 in a tupperware! I think I’ll add sriracha today too…it would go perfectly with the sesame dressing!

That’s it for week 1 of my workday eats!

Check out some other installments of Lunch Lately to see how I eat healthy during the workweek:

1 2 3 4

How often do you eat out?

Do you prep your breakfasts or lunches?

Healthy Grocery Shopping on a Budget

New Years Resolutions…Such a divisive topic. Around the first of the year in 2013, I set myself a few Fitness Goals for the year and checked in occasionally (see my last check-in in September here) to see how I was doing. Having a blog and stating my “resolutions” publicly for the internet to see definitely made me more likely to hold myself accountable.

If you read my About Me, you’ll see that I call myself a 20-something on a budget. When I wrote that, I basically figured that since I didn’t make much money, and didn’t spend a ton each month, I considered myself to be living “on a budget”.

Welp, it may not have been before, but that’s about to become literal, folks.

Next week, I start a paid internship, and although it is exactly the job duties and experience that I’m looking for, it pays a little less than I’m used to making. 1/3 less, to be exact…and teetering close to California’s minimum wage. So instead of fitness goals, I’m resolving to establish a monthly budget for myself – and actually follow it!

Because I don’t own a car, I don’t have to worry about a lot of the costs associated with a vehicle, like gas/insurance/parking/repairs. Our rent is on the pricey side for Midtown Sacramento, but my roommate and I are pretty frugal when it comes to utilities and internet bills.

The budget about which I am going to have to be more wise from here on out is my food budget. (OK, and no more shopping sprees on my Macy’s Credit Card…)

I constantly hear that eating healthy is not only more time consuming, but also more expensive than just relying on fast food or pre-packaged/processed meals. I’m here to prove that while the first half might be true, it is absolutely doable to eat healthy on a budget! Here is the monthly food budget that I’ve established for myself:

My average monthly food spending in 2013 (including groceries, bars, and restaurants) was about $425, with almost 1/4 of that being spent in bars each month. (Thanks, dodgeball)

I’m hoping to spend $15/week at the Farmer’s Market and $15/week at the grocery store. I rarely spend more than $20 at the Farmer’s Market, and the only times I’ve gotten close were when I’ve bought flowers (#TreatYoSelf!). If I do most of my shopping at Grocery Outlet and use coupons at Safeway, that will be plenty. An extra bit of miscellaneous spending money in case I run out of anything during the week or want to treat myself to a bottle of wine or nail polish from CVS will provide a safety net. (again…#TreatYoSelf)

Going out is another area where I can save a lot of money. I will be limiting myself to $10/week at the dodgeball bar (which is actually almost 3 drinks + tip!) that I frequent twice a week, and $10/week to spend on other evening activities, such as other bars, movies, ice skating, etc.

Finally, I am limiting myself to $20/week in eating out expenses. This is actually a generous allowance, since I don’t eat out often.

You’ll notice there’s not a lot of extra money allowed for alcohol. That was no accident…I’m just trying to follow through on improving my lifestyle for maximum Half Marathon success!

Now…for this week’s groceries.

Before I go into what I bought, let me tell you what I already had in my fridge & pantry. I was pretty low on perishable goods, since we were gone to Oregon for 4 days.

ALREADY HAD:

1/2 bunch kale
1/2 head broccoli
tub of farmer’s market salsa
pasta
onions
quinoa
old fashioned oats
candy/chocolate/etc leftover from christmas
half a dozen protein bars
chocolate peanut butter spread
crackers
a few wedges of Laughing Cow cream cheese
frozen tilapia filets
frozen fruit
most other pantry staples (garlic, ginger, oil, vinegar, butter, etc)

Here’s what I bought:

How epic is that 2 lb bucket of hummus for just $2.58?! Thank youuuu Grocery Outlet! Unfortunately it expired yesterday, lol, so I’ve gotta eat it fast!

Since I have enough bread and beans to last me for a couple of weeks, next week I’ll probably stock up on tortillas and almond milk instead. It’s all about divvying up the staples between grocery trips!

And to finish, here are some ideas of meals I will be eating with these groceries and what I already had:

Breakfast

Toast with hummus or Laughing Cow wedges or chocolate PB
Eggs and cheese (with or without toast)
Breakfast nachos
Oatmeal with frozen fruit
Toast with eggs

Lunch

Stir fry (brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower) and toast
Salsa, eggs & stir fry veggies
Grilled cheese sandwich

Snacks

Protein shakes with frozen fruit
Chips and salsa
Hummus and chips/crackers
Cheese and crackers

Dinner

Tilapia with sauteed greens
Cauliflower soup
Black bean soup
Moar stir fry (it’s my fave)
Roasted acorn squash stew

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Now if I could just tackle the whole “it takes too long to cook and eat healthy” part… Looks like I am going to get back into the Sunday Food Prep routine come next week!

Would you be able to live on $30/week for groceries? (Assuming you’d only be shopping for yourself)

I already asked this yesterday, but how do you keep track of your budget? I downloaded Pocket Expense to use for now, but have heard good things about Mint as well.