WIAW #40: Pasta Salad on Salad

Hello, hello! It’s Wednesday, and if you are a regular around here then you already know where this post is going.

Wednesday are (usually) reserved for WIAWs, or What I Ate Wednesdays. I have been liking up with Jenn and an army of other healthy living bloggers for quite a while now and hope you are still enjoying the (mostly) weekly list of eats.

Each WIAW post has a different purpose in sharing, whether it’s to give you inspiration to create easy, healthy meals or to shame myself and tell you how bad I cheated. Ahem… *Super Bowl Weekend*. It happens to all of us!

After a weekend of eating my face off and consuming pretty much anything that stared at me, I was more than ready to get back to a normal eating schedule and food menu.

What I Ate Wednesday Tuesday

Yesterday started off just like most days around here: a giant cup of coffee paired with a couple of gluten-free waffles for breakfast.

(Two Van’s Gluten-Free Blueberry waffles topped with almond butter and sliced bananas.)

Delicious. Filling. Win.

That did a great job at holding me over until lunch, which happened a few hours later. My goal was to stop eating crap, but I also needed to rid my fridge of all the leftover Superbowl shenanigans we are hoarding.

So, I found a happy medium in this salad and pasta salad.

(Side salad from Kruse and Muer drizzled in balsamic vinegar.)

(My homemade vegetable pasta salad I will be sharing with you soon!)

Nom. I think I might be obsessed with pasta salad. I would have definitely eaten another whole plate or three if I let myself.

Instead, I chose to head downstairs to get back on the computer then came back up a few hours later for a snack. This time the crap snacks got me. Okay, fine… this one was only a semi-crap snack.

Scott made his traditional homemade salsa over the weekend and it was calling to me! I usually enjoy it with a side of gluten-free blue corn chips, but opted to dig into one of the five bags of tortilla chips we now have laying around. The recipe for this dip will be coming your way soon as well!

I wrapped up my work day about 5:30 p.m. and realized that it was still beautiful yet intimidating outside.

I really wanted to enjoy another run outside, but decided an inside workout might be better fit. It worked out for the best, because I coaxed Scott into joining me and a couple of others for Fitness Pilates!

It was a hum dinger. Against my lack of motivation to keep going, I pushed myself over to the treadmill afterwards and knocked out 3.5 miles for extra cardio. Take that, dessert indulgences!

On my way back to the locker room I found Scott playing basketball and had to tear him away in order to make it over to the pet store before they closed. I swear he will play for three hours without stopping and not even realize it!

Once we got home again, I knew exactly what I wanted for dinner and that I wouldn’t have to work to hard to get it. Pasta salad on salad.

First I started with a fresh spring and spinach mix. Then I sliced up some cucumbers. I scooped a few spoonfuls of the veggie pasta salad on top, then continued layering with spoonfuls of black beans and a sprinkle of feta cheese.

I finished it off with freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Once again, I could have eaten another whole plate of it. So, so good!

Cutting myself off there, I moved onto dessert and kept it on the lighter side with this Skinny Cow Mint Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich.

Yup, that hint of freezer burn didn’t even phase me. Still so, so dreamy!

Well I’m off to a full day of errands before practice tonight. I have a doctor’s appointment in the middle of it, so wish me luck as I try to navigate my way through this crazy blizzard outside. Happy Hump Day!

Question of the Day

• Did you make anything epic for the Superbowl? Are you still eating it?

Guilty. I shared some of my favorite healthy game day snacks with you over the weekend, but have to admit that I consumed a lot more than “light food”. I did, however, create a great healthy option or two I am excited to share with you later this week. Stay tuned!

• If you liked this WIAW post, head on over to Peas & Crayons to check out plenty others, or even link your own!

• Also, you can always find my latest What I Ate Wednesday posts by exploring the “WIAW” tag on the right hand sidebar.