Cold Oats Are My Friend

Yesterday was a long, long day.

I started with a frozen banana bite with cinnamon peanut butter before a 2.3 mile run for my virtual half-marathon.  It was hot out at 8am but not nearly as hot as it would be later in the day.  When I got home I chowed down on some cold chocolate oats topped with homemade peanut butter to cool myself down before donning jeans and a long sleeve shirt to tackle some Tripsacum plants (a maize derivative) out at my graduate mentor's farm.  She needed some help pruning the reproductive structures of the plants and I needed some extra cash for my move.  Bingo, perfect.  Well, it was until my mentor decided to tell me that spiders and bugs were all over the plants.  That is a 100% terrible thing to tell an arachnophobe, seriously!  Eyes on the prize, Jill: $$$.

 
We spent some time out in the sun searching and destroying the "pregnant" stalks and then giving the plants a haircut to signify being done with them for the time being.  They can grow up to a inch in a day so I'm sure this prune job won't last super long but regardless, it still needed to be done.  Finally, after succumbing to the heat, I came back and finally showered to get all my running and gardening sweat off along with the massive amounts of bug spray and sunscreen I applied at the farm.  I was yucky to say the least.

Jack and I had a nice lunch after I was all sparkly clean again.  We made parsnip fries with ketchup along side grilled bbq tuna and cheddar cheese sandwiches.  It was yummy and those fries totally hit the spot.  I'm fairly sure that most days I'd rather have well baked parsnip fries than deep fried french fries.  Blasphemy? Or a smart decision?

If only I could float away all day on such a nice lunch/relaxing afternoon... But I couldn't, I had work at three.  To make it more manageable I packed a homemade pizza with onion, green pepper, grape tomatoes, turkey pepperoni, Italian blend cheese, on a base layer of tomato basil sauce.  The key to this beauty of a pizza: pesto drizzled on top with 5 minutes to go in the oven.  Definitely made work a lot easier knowing I had that to look forward to!

This morning was the same as yesterday in terms of my gardening prowess.  I got 8 plants done before the temperature climbed too high to stand anymore in my long sleeves and pants.  I did encounter some giant butt spiders which made me nervous but when you realize you have a machete of sorts in your hands and you're bigger than those creatures, it becomes okay to go crazy on them... I was proud I didn't just run away screaming, which would have been the easier thing to do.

After I finished, I came home, changed, and headed straight to the gym for 30 minutes on the elliptical and a kettlebell circuit.  Felt great and I am totally ready for the day.  As a reward, lunch was a repeat of yesterday's breakfast.  I couldn't help myself.  My bowl of cold oats was too good not to savor again.

You know you want some!!!!  Mix 1/3 cup oats, 1/2 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice), 10g (scant tbsp) of chia seeds, 1/3 cup yogurt, 10g chocolate protein powder, and a bit of Stevia and mix up so it can sit overnight.  In the morning, mix everything again and top with peanut butter drizzle.

Back tomorrow with a recap of this evening which will be full of dancing and DJing.  Can't wait to get back out on the floor.  =D