WIAW: Tuesday troubles

Tuesdays are a tough day for me when it comes to eating. I'm coming off a relatively easy Monday, when I just take spin, and don't workout again till my night classes.

But, oh, those night classes.

They begin at 5:15, and I don't get home till 7:30. For the girl who eats lunch at 11:30 and dinner by 6, it's hard to know how to eat. I've tried varying strategies over the past couple months and still haven't found works best though I am getting closer.

Here's what I did yesterday.

Breakfast: Egg sandwich on wheat with a homegrown tomato and avocado, and I tried to make a squash "hashbrown" but it was more like sauteed squash.

Mid-morning snack: Black coffee and spiced biscotti from Starbucks. It wasn't the best choice but I had to run to Target for a few quick things. I was going to get oatmeal but opted against it since it would have just as much sugar and double the calories of biscotti.

Lunch: Leftover vegetable enchiladas and green beans. It was delicious.

And a Chobani bite, which I would have preferred a tub. It was the coffee with dark chocolate flecks - very good.

Afternoon snack: OK, this happened. I write the restaurant news column for the paper, and I wanted to stop by a bakery that just underwent an ownership and name change. I wanted to make sure they still had the scones and cookies that I mentioned, and I walked out with an orange-chocolate cupcake and a peach empanada. I split them three ways and a third of each.

Pre-class: Lara Alt Bar during my 4 o'clock meeting. The Alt Bar is a million times better than the Uber bars but think Clif bars are a bit heartier and better for what I need.

Mid-class: I ate these almond-pistachio thins. There is no photo because I was completely uncouth and tried to eat them as I changed weights during BODYPUMP.

Post-class. Hungry. So, so, so hungry.

Sometimes I can have just a snack, such as popcorn or these evil organic vanilla sandwich cookies I found on closeout at Kroger. But not last night.

I had some random leftovers - a pork chop and Spanish rice. I considered making squash but was not patient enough to cook.

I was still hungry (but probably just needed water) and ate this random bowl of banana, blueberries and cottage cheese.

And there you have it, my day in food. It was a bit more carb-heavy than I prefer but it was it was. Any tips for how I should eat for my classes?

Weekend discoveries

Chobani bites Fig with Orange Zest. I've been antsy to try the flavor since I saw the social media explosion about Chobani's new flavors a few weeks ago. I didn't think I'd find it - ever- in my grocery store but I checked out the company's product finder and lo and behold, the Fig with Orange Zest flavor was available at a nearby Walmart. The same Walmart that sells tripe and pig neck bones but whatevs. Let me tell you, this flavor is delicious. Like, beyond my wildest dreams delicious. I am considering taking my allowance (yes, I get one) to stock up as to not blow the grocery budget.

Squat lunge. Somehow, know matter how much I listen to the music, I inevitably eff up one track during BODYPUMP. Sometimes it's small, others more noticeable. This week, I tried to start track 7 with squats instead of lunges and missed the upright rows in shoulders (more push presses, y'all!). Arg. Thankfully, I think, the participants are cool. A good reminder I need to practice more during the week.

Pat the penguin. There is nothing cuter than a dad reading to his kid. Nothing.

Future triathlete. Mark wanted to stop at our local bike shop, and we made a detour after buying a dishwasher. (Side note: We are counting the days until it's installed after going five months without one.) We wanted to check prices on bike trailers but our attention was quickly diverted to tricycles. Miles saw the bike and ran through the store, swung his legs over and started "riding" it. He couldn't reach the pedals but could move Flinstone style and was fairly adept at steering. After 10 minutes, we pulled him off and instigated a complete tantrum. Probably didn't help that he went the weekend nap-free.

Book it club. When your child decides to go nap free, the library and its playroom is your best friend. Even the sheep.

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The winner of the Alexia Foods giveaway is Holly Higgins. Email me (hlthystrides at gmail dot com) your most personal details, or your address + phone number, and I'll get it passed along to the rep.

Five things for Friday

I hate Valentine's Day.

There, I said it.

While society might tell me that as a woman - and a woman in love, at that - I am alone in this sentiment, I'm fairly certain that I'm not. The hoopla and anticipation always seem to lead to disappointment when the guy takes you to the wrong restaurant or your kid gets sick in the middle of the movie, requiring pickup, or your dog gets hit by a car. The cards are always far too cheesy for my cynical self and I firmly believe that the money would be better spent on an impromptu Starbucks delivery than something I feel inclined to throw away. And as far as the chocolates? Talk about mixed messages. We want to look hot and yet our husbands give us the means to put 10 pounds on our hips.

It's stupid. The whole dern holiday. And so I sort of hid from the world yesterday and moped in my cereal when Mark said we couldn't get Menchie's for dinner.

But anyway, a few things for the day since I skipped out on Three Things Thursday.

1. A guy loves it when you get his heart racing so I thought I would give Mark what he wanted yesterday. Well, sort of. His heart was racing - just not in the way he was expecting. I have something coming up that required me to put together a circuit workout, and I asked Mark if he would test it out with me. There were three circuits and three sets in each circuit. The sets were progressive so if you did squats in set one, you did sumo squats in set two and squats with leg raise in set three. It was tough and I (might have) laughed when Mark texted me this morning that the soreness was setting in.

2. While I sort of hate Valentine's Day, I do like to treat myself. I got an iced coffee at Starbucks, picked up the new Chobani pear yogurt at Target (YUM!) and finally figured out how to use my Amazon gift card. And talk about a gift to myself. I selected two eight-pound Reebok hex dumbbells and "The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises." I am oddly excited about these though part of it plays into that thing that required the circuit workout. (More later, I promise. Clue: Part of Make Shit Happen: 2013.)

3. My Pinterest obsession has gone from food to hair - but not hair in food. I've been pinning braids, and I can't wait till my hair is uber long to do some of them. In the mean time, I'm thinking of doing a different braid a day for a week. You know, for funsies.

4. For the first time in nearly a week, I slept through the night in my own bed. I've been waking up with coughing fits, prompting a trip downstairs to the couch. It was easier to prop myself up, and I didn't think it wise to wake up Miles at 2 a.m. with my hacking. Thankfully, something broke and I did OK. I'm hoping the upswing continues as I have 10 miles on deck on Sunday.

5. Congrats to Sarah, who won the SeabuckWonders Giveaway. And don't forget about the Alexia giveaway. If you haven't guessed, I have a whole slew of things to lined up.

Because I love you.

Unlike Valentine's Day.