WIAW Holy Hills!

So it’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for none other than What I Ate Wednesday. (You can see my first WIAW post here.)

Since I’ve changed my work schedule (we were given the option of flex time so I now work from 8-5), I now eat breakfast at work which gives me more time to prepare and eat something delicious. Bring on the oats!

These were quick cooking oats prepared with 1/2 cup almond milk and 1/2 cup water and 1 teaspoon of chia seeds. After it was done cooking I added 1/2 teaspoon of agave, 1 spoonful of sunflower seed butter, 1 tablespoon of granola and 1/2 of a gala apple. I love oats for breakfast because they fill me up better than any other food and keeps me full until lunchtime.

For lunch I had the overwhelming craving for a chicken salad sandwich and boy did this one deliver! Chicken salad on a whole wheat hero with lettuce, tomato and spicy mustard. I may have to get this today because just thinking about it is making me hungry.

I ordered a shipment of supplies from IHerb and one of them was wheatberries.  I had never tried them before but Dan eats them at some place by work so I figured I’d add them to the cart. Boy am I glad I did! They taste kind of like brown rice but had a great new texture. I put some roasted veggies, which consisted of brussel sprouts, zucchini, and red peppers on top of the wheatberries. I also baked some chicken breasts then pan roasted them with lemon pepper seasoning.

I rounded out the night with some Cheez Its and a glass of white wine.

Holy Hills

So I told you about the Bootcamp I am doing and so far, it has been great! Yesterday’s exercise called for 50 minutes of cardio, which fit in perfectly with my half marathon training program. I was scheduled for 3.5 miles and I knew I wanted to incorporate hills into my running. I searched around and found this great workout.  I did it by the book and added in a 5 minute warm up walk and a 10 minute cool down walk to make sure I reached my 50 minutes of cardio.

Give this workout a try if you’re looking for a manageable challenge on your shorter run days!

I’m off, have a great day folks!

Healthy Every Week Challenge: Breakfast Edition

I’m participating in a Food Network Healthy Eat’s challenge to commit to a different healthy habit for each week in January. The first week’s challenge was to eat breakfast every day. This was a really easy week for me because I don’t think I’ve ever not eaten breakfast. I wake up in the morning starving and sometimes I’m so hungry I feel like I could throw up. Needless to say, breakfast is a necessity for me. I figured I’d take this week’s challenge to post some of my favorite breakfasts. 

I wake up with an extra half hour each morning to prep and eat my breakfast. I need that extra time to ease into the day and feed my hunger beast. I think breakfast is a great way to start the day and it can set the tone for how you eat for the rest of the day.

A smattering of my favorite breakfasts:

Go Lean cereal with Chobani yogurt and chia seeds

Garden vegetable Egg Beaters omelet with red onions and cheddar cheese on Arnold Sandwich Thin (on a Santa plate of course)

Quick cooking oats with toasted walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, Crasins and a spoonful of peanut butter

As they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You need to break the fast from not eating all night to keep your metabolism revvin’. Here’s what Web MD says about eating breakfast:

According to research, skipping meals, especially breakfast, can actually make weight control more difficult. Breakfast skippers tend to eat more food than usual at the next meal or nibble on high-calorie snacks to stave off hunger. Several studies suggest that people tend to accumulate more body fat when they eat fewer, larger meals than when they eat the same number of calories in smaller, more frequent meals.

So ladies and gents, eat those Wheaties for a slimmer waist line.

Next week’s challenge is about eating whole grains. Since I usually only eat whole grains, I am going to try a new grain or a new preparation on an old favorite. If you want to get involved in the Healthy Every Week Challenge, check out their website here: http://blog.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/2011/12/18/join-us-for-a-healthy-january-challenge/ 

What is your favorite breakfast food? Are you more of a sweet or savory breakfast fan?