I woke up early to run before the humidity that has been haunting Chicago set in.

Surprise! It was still disgusting out.

I did manage to make a pretty good Miley Cyrus VMA impression, though.  Sadly no twerking.  Twerking and running just don’t mix.

I only ran 4 miles but you would think I had never run before. It was just one of those days. Taking time off from running in the worst because once you start getting back into it, you have to rebuild your strength and stamina.  Lead legs FTW.

One amazing thing that I did stumble upon during my run was this pumpkin plant that my neighbor is apparently growing:

How cool is that?! I can’t wait until it’s a big ol’ pumpkin patch! Hurry up, Fall!

Here’s what my eats looked like yesterday:

Breakfast was an omelet–2 eggs, red and yellow peppers, salsa, cheddar cheese, and veggie sausage.

Mmmmm cheesy.

I snacked on a ton of blueberries all day.  Those things are like crack! I could sit there and eat pint after pint without giving it a second thought.

For lunch I tried to recreate a restaurant favorite of mine: the tuna melt!

I figured that minus the buttered bread and heavy mayo/cheese, my creation could be semi-healthy.

I added some sliced tomato and toasted the whole thing under the broiler for about five minutes.  Served with ketchup (of course) this was almost identical to my favorite sandwich shop.  I loved it! Comfort food in the middle of the day is the best.

Halfway through the afternoon I really started to feel the early morning run, so I went to Starbucks and got an iced coffee with soy milk.  Is it just me or have the sizes gotten smaller? The venti used to look ginormous to me but now it just looks pretty normal.  Is that just the American in me overestimating the right serving sizes, or maybe now that I’m older things are just shrinking in my eyes? Haha

Dinner was my go-to lazy meal.  After my shift at the restaurant I didn’t feel like doing much so I toasted a whole wheat bagel thin and topped it with chia seeds, chunky pb, and banana slices.

I’m going to a yoga class out in a park tonight so I’ll definitely have a recap for you on how that goes.  I love Lululemon!

Question: What’s your go-to lazy meal?

It’s time for my first official “What I Ate Wednesday”! Since I’ve started reading healthy living blogs, WIAW have been some of my favorite posts.  Now don’t get me wrong, a blog listing every morsel of food eaten throughout the day would definitely get repetitive…but there’s something fun about following another blogger’s food chronicle once a week.  (It’s funny, ask anyone on the street if that sounds like something they’d want to read and they’d vehemently say no…we healthy living bloggers are an unusual bunch).

As most bloggers do, these are my eats from Tuesday.  I hope they inspire you to squeeze as many colors into your meals as possible (and to push social norms as to how much chocolate is acceptable to eat in one sitting).

I woke up bright and early at 4:45 am to fit in a workout before work.  I hate to pat myself on the back, but that’s some dedication right there. I miss Spring when the sun came up at 5am and it made workouts inspiring, not frightening.

This is the face of 4:45am. It’s not pretty, and neither is the cold, black, dark, menacing sky in the background.  Dramatic I know 😉

I went to a much-needed Vinyasa Yoga class.  At first I was getting super annoyed with the moaning and groaning going on (that kind of stuff makes me uncomfortable), but towards the end I realized that’s the point. If you’re going to go to yoga and not take deep breaths and actually release your stress and anxiety, then you’re missing out on the beauty of the practice.

I enjoyed a monster cup of coffee on the couch for a few minutes when I got home.

Mug or soup bowl? You decide.

Breakfast was eaten on the fly.  Luckily I worked from home yesterday, but I still had to be ready to work at 8:30 so my time was limited.

This baby needs no introduction.  The only difference was that I had it on a whole wheat bagel thin instead of an english muffin.  The jury’s still out on which I prefer.  2 eggs, tons of spinach, parmesan cheese, a little raspberry jam and a veggie sausage patty.

My mid-morning snack was two peaches while I worked away.  Yesterday’s work ended up being pretty extensive and I spent close to six hours staring at Excel. Joy.

Luckily I had my fully stocked kitchen to make lunchtime a little more exciting than it has been lately!

Tuna salad sandwich on Ezekiel bread topped with tomato and leafy greens. Side of grapes (multiply that portion a few times haha).

My afternoon snacking was not the best. I was pretty drained from work and I responded by eating FAR too many chocolate covered almonds. I won’t even say how many times you should multiply the portion in the picture to get a real idea of what I ate…let’s just say it was nuts 😉

I usually portion things out.  Handfuls are the worst! I always underestimate how much I’ve had until it’s too late and I’m stuffed with things like chocolate, cereal straight from the box, peanut butter spoons, etc. Such weaknesses.

Luckily all that sugar powered me through a crazy shift at the restaurant. It was dead for close to three hours (aka I got out of my “waitress groove”) and then all of a sudden it was a mad rush.  I was still home at a decent hour with a salad in hand.

Very rarely do I want to make my own dinner after a long shift.  Good thing they have a great selection of healthy food (as well as a killer shrimp po boy and fries mmmmm).  I walked away with a mexican salad: grilled shrimp, jicama, black beans, peppers, avocado, and a mango-lime dressing. It was delicious and decently filling (I had a banana afterwards).

I had a lot of work to do before I actually went to sleep, so I was hungry again just before bed.  I threw together a quick snack to eat in bed while talking on the phone to Zman. Midnight snacks are the best.

Tricuits, manchego cheese, and a sliced date. I am a sweet/salty freak.

So much great food in one day, huh? It makes me so happy when I have enough time to fill my day with such thoughtful meals and snacks.  I appreciate it when those days happen!

Question: What was the best thing you ate today?