Bat Outta Hell

Hectic Mornings

My days have been more full than normal lately with all the house stuff and as a result, I’ve been going to bed later than normal. Later nights = later mornings and I definitely slept in today.

Luckily for me, I’m used to rushed mornings. I guess some people wake up early, mosey around their house, enjoy breakfast while reading the paper or checking email, sip on coffee…I bet their mornings are really relaxed. For some reason, I always rush around like a bat outta hell hoping to get to work as soon as humanly possibly.

For a long time, I skipped breakfast, thinking I didn’t have time for breakfast. At some point, I started bringing breakfast with me – things like instant oats or yogurt + granola. Now, most days, I try to grab something quick at home (oatmeal or almond butter WW toast), but I still usually multi-task it and eat while I’m doing make-up or something. I wish I could be one of those people who enjoy easy mornings, but I just don’t know how to have them. Any tips?

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Anywho, this morning I lucked out that hubby and I had just made a massive trip to pick up essentials – stuff like: toilet paper, paper towels, and Oikos. I got a large container of Vanilla Stonyfield Oikos organic Greek yogurt last night and was so happy to have it available this morning. I simply packed up a couple heaping tablespoons of yogurt in one tupperware and some Bear Naked Fruit + Nut granola in another. I mixed the two at work and got to enjoy breakfast while reading my work emails. I got some great protein and whole grains, which gave me plenty of energy to start my day.

Cabinets…Again!

Work seemed extra long today. I left an hour after I intended to and between that and doing stuff for the house…I decided that zumba wasn’t in the cards for me tonight. I hate to miss class, but my leg could probably use the rest even though it feels pretty much back to normal (though I am scared of pushing myself too far without realizing it), plus I’m sure things will slow down with the house once we get in and settled. Just a few more months of craziness, right?

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Hubby and I managed to hit up Home Depot after I got home from work to price out more cabinets. We’re trying to create a bar area between our kitchen and living room, but the space is too small to accommodate standard base cabinets. We were going to go with 12″ deep cabinets but my dad had the brilliant idea to use 15″ deep cabinets to give us flexibility to store oversized plates/bowls/etc.

Yea…15″…not so much a standard size. Those 3 extra inches are making our cabinets much more expensive! We may end up getting custom made cabinets anyways…or we may just use 12″ cabinets anyways (even though our contractor moved a door to fit the 15″ cabs already). Who knows? We’re hoping to get a good quote back from a custom cabinet person soon. I hope he has good news for us.

Cozy Dinner

After cabinet shopping, I tried to talk hubby into grabbing dinner out. I was so tired from the long work day (and probably because it was late and I needed some food), but he kept us on track and brought us home, where I got to cooking. We know we eat out more than we should, so we’re working on making more of an effort to stay in…especially since we need to save all our money for the HOUSE!

The weather today was rather cold, so I decided to make more of dad’s cozy Mac and Cheese with some other things. Here are some photos from dinner:

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Milk sauce for mac and cheese.

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I decided to use that last Farmers Market pepper, Tobigo Seasoning, in the mac and cheese, hoping to make a spicy mac and cheese. I also added a dash of cayenne and some black pepper, but not too much.

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Layering the Mac and Cheese – I used Hodgson Mill whole wheat all natural elbow macaroni. I love Trader Joe’s shredded cheddar cheese for my Mac and Cheese.

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We had sauteed baby spinach and garlic for our veggie. It always amazes me how much leafy greens shrink down.

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All baked up.

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Dinner is served – we had Trader Joe’s frozen, battered halibut for our main part of the meal with a dab of TJ’s tartar sauce.

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Sometimes you want cookies and cake for dessert…sometimes a little bit of chocolate will do. Sometimes that chocolate contains 50% of your daily recommended calcium. Thanks Adora for giving me an excuse to eat chocolate!

Tidbits

Check out this article by Health.com – 10 Types of Food That Can Make You Sick

Wash Your Greens: Their slide on leafy greens reminded me why I always try to wash my greens – even if they’re pre-washed (yes, even if they’re triple-pre-washed). I read in one of my Everyday Food mags while back that one way to help prevent food-poisoning was to rinse your spinach, even if the bag/box says it’s been “pre-washed.” I try to do this with almost all greens.

Separate Cutting Boards: I forgot which slide it was on, but cross-contamination of meat is mentioned in the slideshow and is something I try to avoid by using proper cutting boards. I have 2 cutting boards, which I use completely and only for chicken. They are labeled in permanent marker so I know which ones they are. I should probably have 1 board dedicated to other meats, but I don’t work with those a lot. Maybe I’ll make one (out of an old veggie cutting board) once we’re in the house and I get the wood cutting board I’ve been eyeing at Crate + Barrel.

Oh, and back to the hectic morning topic…Reader Question: What are your mornings like? Are they hectic or relaxed? What are your tips for good morning rituals/habits/ideas?

2 thoughts on “Bat Outta Hell”

  1. My mornings are generally relaxed because I get up early. I hate feeling rushed because when I'm rushed I'm typically clumsy and late. Like you, I've been going to bed later the past few nights and wanting to sleep later. This may sound weird, but knowing that I have homemade iced coffee in the fridge gets me up 99% of the time. I was sick last week so I fell out of my sleeping schedule and started to get up later. Now I'm trying to get back on track. My best advice would be to get up at least an hour before you need to and just have 'you' time. 🙂

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  2. I have to eat before leaving the house otherwise I will get dizzy on the train. So, (when I had a job!) I'd set my alarm earlier so I could shower, do my hair & makeup and eat either cereal or oatmeal. It's worth it and I try not to go to sleep any later than 11:00pm.

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