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Hi friends,

How was your week? I was going to share a fun post about running and training for shorter vs. longer races, but I’m saving that for Monday! So, I’m left here today sharing some favorites from the week and a little bit about practicing food flexibility.

It feels weird to share about highlights from a week when so many people are suffering. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those in the Vegas area – what a heartless act. I just hope that we can continue to come together and stand against some of the hatred in this country. <3

There’s really no easy way to transition to a normal “day” for blogging.

So, you may have seen on my Instagram stories, but we’re having our cabinets painted. Our whole downstairs has been a mess since we purged the kitchen and put things anywhere we could, but I’m excited for the final product. Hopefully next week I can show a before and after, but this is some progress. Can’t wait to see all white in our kitchen!

But, that being said, we really have no access to our kitchen, fridge, stove, microwave, pantry, etc. I snuck some easy snacks out of the pantry (popcorn, PB, rice cakes, peanuts, bars and made this granola), but other than that, we’ve been eating out for every meal. Not ideal, but we didn’t do a great job planning, and even if we did, there’s not much we can actually do to heat food up.

this Post!

So, it’s less than ideal, but rather than stress about it, we’re enjoying not having to cook or clean dishes! So, here’s what some meals have looked like.

Sushi with a friend!

A salad and peanut butter, apple and bacon sandwich from Crafty Burger. Ed and I ate lunch outside to escape the paint fumes and enjoy the weather.

Leftover pizza (we were able to heat this up in our toaster oven, which we plugged in in the TV room) 🙂

Breakfast plate at Whole Foods. TIP: If you ever get breakfast there, put your oatmeal in a soup container because you pay a flat fee ($1.99) rather than having it count as weight for your plate. I saved about $3.00 after they told me that.

A burger and irish corn beef and cabbage spring rolls.

I think what this has taught me is that while I’m on board preparing foods and with meal prep, sometimes there are situations you can’t control and you just have to eat out for each meal. We’re trying to be budget friendly and split things, but at the same time, this is temporary and it’s kind of nice to have such a variety of foods to choose from. Rather than looking at this as a stressor (which would just add unnecessary stress to my life), I’m looking at it as a nice change of pace, almost like being on vacation where you are constantly eating out and trying new foods.

What I remind clients in the beginning part of these stages is that this is not forever. When you’re stressing about your food choices, there’s not really a chance to actually enjoy the food. There’s a higher probability of digestive issues, and you’re increasing your cortisol (stress hormone) when it doesn’t need to be increased. All that to say: To embrace food flexibility is allowing yourself to satisfy your body in the moment. Sometimes it looks like a salad, and other times it looks like a burger. I had both this week. It means not predicting what you want hours or days beforehand, but deciding in the moment sometimes. And that’s what this week has allowed me to do.

Other favorites from the week:

Puppy Love

Tater just gives constant reminders that life is good, and to live in the moment. Dogs are great for that!

Fall decorations! I bought some pumpkins for our front steps and put a pretty fall wreath on the door. Already feeling more in the fall spirit.

Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate. I bought this at World Market last week and can’t wait to try.

Around the Web

Yums:

Salted Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies via How Sweet Eats –> Salt makes all of the difference in cookies!

Instant Pot Mac n Cheese via Pinch of Yum –> I dont have an instant pot but maybe could work in a crockpot?

Salted Dark Chocolate Almond Protein Candy Bars –> whew, that’s a mouthful. I will be leaving the almonds off but sounds delicious!

Nutrition:

Eating on $4.00 a day <– Could you do it? Honestly, I think I would struggle. It would require ALOT of planning, knowing exactly what I would buy before walking into the grocery store (having coupons), and prioritizing foods. I definitely wouldn’t be able to have my 5+ choices of peanut butter. It really puts things into perspective.

9 Foods that can be stored for many years <–Interesting!

It’s ok if you don’t get excited about food every day via Heather Caplan

Other/Lifestyle

“You’re doing it wrong…but at least you’re doing it.” – Love this idea. Getting started is so much more valuable than the fear of not starting or doing it wrong.

Feeling like an imposter and doing things that scare us via Fannetastic Food

What are you looking forward to this weekend? We have a football game and tailgate on Saturday, hopefully reorganizing the kitchen on Sunday, and then I have a peanut council blog trip on Monday and Tuesday, so I’ll have to get ready for that.

Have a great one!