After my 1.5 drinks and a midnight bedtime, I was not a happy lady when my alarm went off at 6am on Friday. Ugh. Luckily, once I made coffee and walked to the subway, I was feeling more energetic. Despite feeling a little tired, I was super excited for my morning running date with Karina. We met in Central Park around 7am and hit the road for a nice, easy 6 miles. The weather was pretty perfect for late summer running – mid 60’s and sunny. My hammy felt pretty good throughout and my knee/IT band only gave me the usual twinges. By the time we finished, I was feeling good, but STARVING. After chugging some water, I bought an overpriced luna bar from my gym’s juice bar and gobbled it up. Note to self: must eat something before morning runs that are 5 miles or longer. Lately I feel like I’ve been on a blood sugar roller coaster – I’m a lot more sensitive to hunger pains and crankiness. When I arrived at my desk, I immediately chowed down on a Wallaby maple yogurt, sliced banana, and a serving of Mesa Sunrise. Felt much better afterwards!
Fast-forward 2 hours later…I’m hungry again. Contemplating the protein content of my own arm, I snacked on pomegranate-blueberry applesauce. It was yummy, but did nothing to fill me up. Around noon, I broke into a bag of Stacy’s pita chips. Thankfully these held me over until I could grab some real lunch. My office closed at 1pm, so I skedaddled out of there and down to the cafeteria ASAP.
Cafeteria lunch du jour:
- Romaine, carrots, red onion, mushrooms, kidney beans
- Whole grain croutons, cranberries, feta cheese, balsamic vinaigrette
- Tastings of wheatberry salad, Mediterranean couscous, and edamame
I enjoyed my lunch al fresco and then walked the mile or so to the Herald Square DMV. Good god. This place is a nightmare. I knew it wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience, so I did some online research before I went. First of all, if you ever have to visit, AVOID the information ticket line at all costs. You will stand in line for 20-30 minutes, be given forms to fill out, and then told to stand in the next line. Advice: print out your forms from the internet ahead of time and save yourself some frustration. After bypassing the first line, I situated myself in the Driver’s License/ID card line where I proceeded to stand for 2 ½ hours. Seriously. I felt really bad for some of the elderly people that were in line – they seemed to have trouble standing on their feet for that long. Also, there were 2 restroom stalls for the entire facility. And no vending machines. Don’t come here hungry!
Finally, finally I get to the front of the line, hand in my forms, and my photograph is taken. Then I receive a ticket and am told to sit down and wait until my number is called. Another hour passes. I’m hungry. I have to pee. It’s almost 6pm. When my number is finally called, I sprint to the counter and sign for my temporary license. Gah! I won’t even get the real deal for another 2 weeks (assuming Albany – the state capital – doesn’t screw things up). 4 hours and $65 later I exit the DMV in a daze. I need a drink. If they set up a bar inside the DMV office, they’d make a fortune. Maybe even enough money to hire some more employees.
On the verge of slugging the next tourist who got in my way, I hunted down a Mr. Softee truck and ordered myself a twist with rainbow sprinkles. Ahh. Thank goodness. Do I look stressed in this photo?
Once I arrived home, I managed to be fairly productive – our kitchen now resembles a place where food can be prepared and consumed. Yay, unpacking! Around 9pm, I was starting to get hungry. And lo and behold I decided to make something other than peanut butter and jelly on toast. A small miracle, really. I found a large bowl and filled it with mesclun greens. Next I sliced up a peach, added some walnuts, and raisins, a few Tbs of jalapeno hummus, a cup of low-fat cottage cheese, a dash of balsamic vinegar, and a crumbled Dr. Kracker seed bread. Yum! This combo sounds odd, but I love the contrast of flavors and textures. If you’ve never tried cottage cheese and hummus on greens, I highly recommend it – very creamy and delish!
Vegetarian Update: Well, Friday was day 4 and to be honest, I haven’t really had to alter my diet at all. Alma heated up some turkey chili that smelled really good, but other than that, I haven’t found avoiding meat to be difficult at all (ahem…probably because I eat pb&j every day…). However, I’m visiting my family in Pennsylvania this weekend, so passing up Mom’s meatloaf might be a challenge. Wish me luck!
Think children should be eating fresh, local food rather than mystery meat? Sign Slow Food International’s Time for Lunch petition and show your support for healthy school lunches!
Question: What did you eat for lunch in elementary/middle school? When I was 11, I ate pizza lunch-ables for 100 days straight. Oh my.
