Happy Hump Day! I hope your week is going well for you. Mine is truckin’ along in this chilly weather. Is anyone else excited that it’s officially fall?
In usual What I Ate Wednesday fashion, I am covering an entire day of eats today. I often get questions about what my every day eating habits are, and to help sum it up I participate in Jenn‘s WIAW link up every week.
In no way do I plan meals out for the purpose of looking healthier or more “on track” than I normally would. I eat what I eat, I document it, and I share it with you! Yesterday had me on-the-go for almost every meal, which can sometimes be a challenge. Here’s how I attempted to keep it healthy!
What I Ate Wednesday Tuesday
Yesterday started early with a trip to the gym for Life Barre!
I knew I would get a solid breakfast after my workout, so I grabbed a banana and filled up my favorite water bottle to start with something pre-workout.
Class was no joke, and I was grateful in my decision to at least eat that banana. I always feel a little faint by the end and become overly excited to grab a substantial breakfast as soon as I’m done.
Egg, pesto, cheese, and tomato between two slices of Udi’s gluten-free bread with a side of yogurt with chia seeds.
That did the trick and kept me full for a while. I walked Roadie as soon as I got home, hopped in the shower, then spent the next couple of hours (with a large cup of coffee!) on the computer before I drove across down for a hair appointment.
I fully planned on making myself lunch before I left, but simply ran out of time. On-the-go snacks (that coincidentally match my pants) to the rescue!
White Chocolate Macadamia LUNA bar + Blueberry, Pear & Purple Carrot baby food.
Don’t knock the baby food if you’ve never tried the good flavors and kinds, friends. Plum Organics has been my favorite lately. I like to think of it as a fancy applesauce you can eat anywhere!
I arrived in Royal Oak right around 2 p.m. and spent the next three hours chatting the afternoon away with my hairstylist and friend, Emma. We are slowly trying to get my hair lighter towards it’s natural color without stressing my hair out in the process. The goal is to get it to grow out and as healthy as possible.
(Obligatory I just got my hair done photo.)
She did a great job!
I couldn’t waittt to grab dinner as soon as I was done. Or would it technically be lunch? It was right after 5 p.m., so let’s just say dinner. Regardless, I was hangry and needed food sooner than later.
I had passed by this vegetarian cafe several times on my walks through the area, and finally went in after a couple of recommendations by friends.
I loved the Cacao Tree Cafe!
Everything on the menu is vegetarian, raw, and gluten and soy-free! I spent more than I normally would on dinner for one, but wanted to try a carrot, apple and beet juice to hold me over while I waited for my entree.
It was delicious and gone in about thirty seconds.
I ended up getting my zucchini noodle pasta salad to-go and figured I could eat that at home. I said no to the bag and to-go silverware for that very reason. Then traffic happened.
I spent the next hour kicking myself during my slow crawl home. Then, I was really the definition of hangry. Sorry for being dramatic, but it’s a thing, you guys. #firstworldproblems
I finally got home around 6:30 p.m. and barely convinced myself to snap a photo of the “pasta” before I devoured the entire thing. Isn’t it beautiful?
Spiraled zucchini noodles tossed with a creamy Southwest sauce (cashew, lime, cilantro, chili, chipotle, coconut vinegar/nectar, garlic) served over a bed of baby spinach with sweet corn, avocado, carrots, sweet pepper, cheery tomato, and sliced red onion.
Ahhh. It was so, so good! And I now have a new level of motivation to buy any kind of device that helps me make zucchini noodles at home. Yum!
After a quick nap (don’t jude me), I parked myself at the dinner table and studied for the remainder of the night. I felt incredibly full and extremely bloated for hours.
I couldn’t put a finger on why, since my day of eats consisted mostly of fruits and vegetables, with the exception of eggs and gluten-free bread. What gives?
Thinking my body wanted something other than fruits and veggies, I snacked on blue corn chips and salsa but that only made it worse.
I have been experiencing an extreme on-and-off discomfort in my stomach over the past few days and am on a mission to figure out what it is. Dairy? Cheese? Grains? Fruits and vegetables? I could be intaking too much fiber.
If there is something you are seeing in my diet that I’m not, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section!
Anyways, that concludes another edition of WIAW. As you can see, these recaps aren’t always the same, but they have the common goal of trying to keep my plate filled with healthy eats. I hope you are inspired to try something new!
Question of the Day
• What is one of your favorite healthy snacks to grab on-the-go?
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• 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.
![[in our elementary school era] 🚌😭
Skyler did great walking into KINDERGARTEN with a big smile on his face this morning. I, however, was a bit of a mess on our walk home. 🥹
It’s wild how fast these 5 years with him have gone … 7 since we moved to NYC and into our apartment, dreaming of the day our kids would someday go to the *awesome* school right down our block. 🏫
That day is today, and I still don’t believe it — feeling allll of the emotions and thanking God for placing us here and for being able to trust His timing through the journey. 🫶🏼 #hbshinnyc
SO proud of you, SK - you are going to rock your first year at your “big boy school” - WE LOVE YOU !! 🩵👑](https://lifeinleggings.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
Ugh, I hate when traffic ends up messing with meals! I was in Atlanta over the weekend and let’s just say I have a new level of respect for people who drive there on a daily basis. On the other hand, I’m thrilled to be back in Columbus where I live in my little five-mile bubble.
Hmm. I have issues with dairy (which isn’t surprising – most Asians have that issue) but it’s pretty rare to have it crop up suddenly for someone who hasn’t experienced problems with it in the past. I say this as someone who is NOT a medical professional though, haha. Have you noticed any issues with corn? I have some friends who went gluten-free and ate a lot more corn, then noticed some tummy troubles and bloating. I think it’s because corn isn’t easily digestive.
I used to deal with traffic in Orlando every day. No matter what time I would be driving there was ALWAYS traffic on 1-4. It was the craziest thing! I have to say I don’t miss that. I actually used to have an issue with dairy when I was younger. It used to give me “stomach spasms”, but I would drink milk and eat cheese anyways. It eventually went away, but I’m trying to transition more to almond milk and lay off the cheese as much as I can. It’ll be a challenge, but I think it will help. Thanks for the tips!
I have definitely experienced my fair share of stomach issues and have pretty much gotten it under control. I will say that I cannot handle tons of veggies, and that I become bloated and feel very uncomfortable after. I definitely eat veggies! But if I over do it for a few days, I sometimes have to back off.
If I had one guess, I would say it was the raw veggies. I cut back on them today and already feel better!
Do you take probiotics at all? I know if I let myself get hangry and then inhale my food (rap of its mostly veggies) I get the same bloated/uncomfortable feeling as well. But if you experience this a lot maybe a probiotic will help? Also did you have enough water through the day? Good luck figuring it out. It’s a pain when you don’t know what’s wrong but keep a journal and track how you feel after each meal. Have a great Wednwsday and your hair looks good!! She did a great job 🙂
I actually don’t right now. I used to. I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt! Thanks for the suggestion!
Probiotics help me a lot. Also, I have noticed I cannot eat huge quantities of raw veggies. I never eat them more than once a day and include them in my diet, but I cook them. Maybe give that a try.
Your hair looks great btw – your hairdresser did a really nice job
Good to know! Thanks for the tip. I cooked my veggies for lunch today and so far, so good! And thank you!
Being hungry in traffic makes it so much worse! Especially if you’ve got that salad staring you in the face. If I get bloated it’s usually from too many carbs or sugar from eating a lot of fruit.
I seriously debated eating it without utensils… lol 😉
Love your haircut! It looks great on you! I have never heard of that restaurant, but I definitely want to check it out next time I am on that side of town. It looks delicious!!
Thank you so much! Yes, you would love it!
It could be the dairy { cheese, whey, milk, etc } Or it could be the sugar from the fruit, luna bar, etc. I know when I eat luna bars I get huge stomachaches { which is why I refuse to eat them now haha }. You’ll have to just take certain things out and see what happens, or just try reducing certain things, it’s just a trial and error type thing. It’s exactly how I figured out I’m lactose and gluten intolerant.
Love your hair! The color looks so pretty on you :)!
You could be right. Hmm, I’ve never noticed a bad reaction to LUNA bars. But who knows! And thank you!!
Oh traffic I feel your pain! Absolutely hate it!
Such a waste of time… I’m just glad I don’t have to deal with it every day! Orlando was the WORST!
I love it when you post pics of LTF food! I used to eat there every single day when I worked there– I am all about the the salads with salmon. Seeing it makes me want to work there again. I would agree that those protein bars are the worst– the whey and soy protein is no bueno for me.
What is your best protein source? I like peanuts – 28g of protein per 100g, it’s a lot! http://happyforks.com/peanuts/all-types/4041
Wow that is a lot! I do eat a lot of almonds, eggs, and beans, but I try to get most of my protein from lean meats like turkey and chicken!
Aw, I bet you ate well all the time! I love that cafe! 🙂
As much as I love my fruits and veggies, too much of them always reaks havoc on my stomach. I’ve also noticed that beets mess with me sometimes! Weird, but just a thought.
Cute hair!! Always love the feel of a new trim!
Oh, maybe you’re onto something with the beets. And corn. Thanks for the thought!
Omg that egg sandwich looks delicious! And how beautiful is your hair?!
Aw, thank you so much! It’s a work in progress… 😉
Hey! It could be the corn. I have a friend who has celiac and ended up having to also cut corn from her diet. It makes her feel sick and similar to you. Just a guess! Love reading your posts. 🙂
Oh wow, could be. I eat a lot of corn. Thanks for the comment!
I recently started Whole30 in hopes to pinpoint the cause of my painful bloating after most meals (not gas…just did-i-just-eat-a-thanksgiving-feast type of feeling). When 30 days are up (by the way, I have NO issues on it so far…not even craving my usual suspects!!!), I will reintroduce a specific food every couple days, by itself, to try to find my body’s true response to that food (i.e. dairy, legumes, sugar, grains, etc.).
Might be something worth trying if you’re having unexplained digestive issues.
Oooor, it could’ve just been that you went too long without a meal, and your tummy was having a hard time processing it (like it was “shocked” or something).
Wow – that’s awesome Amber! I have heard about the Whole30 but haven’t been too interested in trying it out. Maybe I should. I have a feeling yesterday’s uncomfortable feelings were mainly to do the raw food after not eating for so long. Hopefully!
I love your hairstyle! I have never heard of that place but the juice looked amazing! Sometimes eating when you are very hungry or not following an eating schedule can make your body uncomfortable as it doesn’t know when food is coming.
Thank you! I’m trying to grow it out but am finally getting used to the length. Very true about being hungry!
Looks like it was a delicious day of eats! I don’t even like eggs but the pesto + cheese + grilled bread combo looks amazing! And a cafe that’s totally GF? That’s like a dream come true for me! Sounds amazing! I totally recommend getting a spiralizer, I got a fairly inexpensive one on Amazon and it’s a total gamechanger!!
It’s SO GOOD! And yes, I need one soon! I’m sure I will check out Amazon eventually… 😉
Actually, even though I have a pretty healthy, high-veggie diet, whenever I have a huge intake of veggies or a meal from a raw food restaurant, I feel pretty bloated, gassy, etc. Actually, all of my other friends, who are also healthy eaters, also experience this after raw meals. I googled it once and read something about how too much raw food can be difficult for your digestive system because it really is a lot of fiber to process. So that might be part of it…? Good luck figuring it out!
I have a feeling a lot of my stomach pain has to do with my large intake in fruits in veggies. I’ve been trying to lay low on them today! Thanks for the tip!
Great eats! That breakfast sandwich looks delicious! So does your zucchini noodle salad. I NEED a spirilizer in my kitchen!! 🙂 I’ve been snacking on NatureBox banana bread granola lately. Delicious and usually fills me up for a little while.
Thanks!! And SO DO I. So bad!
I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this, but I LOVE your glasses! My go-to grabbing snack would have to be a larabar, handful of almonds or an apple!
Thank you! They’re actually made for a man’s face, go figure. Ha. Love all three of those snacks!
That zoodle salad looks amaze! I was drooling just looking at it! lol. I’m sorry you’re having stomach issues. I’m the queen of belly bloat and always have issues with that because I consume so many veggies as my main food source–especially cruciferous ones. Have you tried probiotics? They can be helpful–you just have to make sure you get a brand that is good. It’s pricey–but at Whole Foods–Jarrow brand makes really good quality probiotics. They also sell Jarrow on amazon and iherb–for maybe a bit cheaper. It’s worth checking it out.
Also–I just wanted to tell you–I really like the structure of your half-marathon plan. It’s really well thought-out and well-rounded–and allows for recovery and also allows you to do other forms of cross-training and fun strength training classes–I’d use that as a model even if not training for a half-marathon–just probably keep the long runs the same–because for me like 6-8 miles is “long.” lol. Do you think you’ll follow something similar after you complete your half?
Thank you for the tips on the probiotics and Jarrow. I need to check it out! And thank you! Hmm… I’ve never really thought about it. After I run a half I at least like to throw in an 8 mile run on the weekends every now and then, but it wouldn’t be running this frequent (4 times a week) unless I was training for a race. It gets my knees tired pretty quickly and I like to preserve them for when I am training! 😉
I do plan on doing more halfs, however, so I will probably try to attempt 6 miles mid-week sometimes as well!
That salad looks awesome! I too have stomach issues when I eat lots of veggies. It sucks because I love veggies and I know they are good for me. I do find more watery vegetables like cucumber and bell peppers less problematic.
that zucchini salad looked so amazing! My favorite snacks on the go would be apples, bananas and pears!
I always forget about pears. I don’t know why, love them!
I admire your ability not to just eat the salad container and deal with it haha- getting stuck in traffic is a pain, especially when hungry! I love carrying quest bars or nuts/jerky but whenever I actually get hungry or stranded, I’m always without!