When the temperature is in the 90s, and I spend a few hours outside every day, my appetite is strange. I require a lot of light meals and snacks throughout the day, and plenty of water, or else I’m crabbier than usual by the end of the day ;). Speaking of my day, I wish I’d have more energy to blog about what’s going on in my life when I get home from work, but the heat wears me out! Hopefully it will cool down soon — I can’t even remember the last time that it rained!
Yesterday’s eats were kind of all over the place. The heat will do that to you, I guess. Before you take a look, I must thank Jenn for hosting What I Ate Wednesday. As always, if you’d like to participate, check out her blog for the details.
Breakfast (7:00am)
Two Kodiak Cakes topped with natural peanut butter, and green tea on the side. This may have been my last hot breakfast for a while — I had to stick to Greek yogurt today.
Lunch (12:00pm)
Spinach salad with carrots, Feta cheese, tomatoes, sunflower seeds and half of a grilled chicken breast, diced.
Red grapes
Snack #1 (2:00pm)
I probably didn’t eat enough for lunch, because my stomach was growling by the time 2:00 rolled around. Lucky for me, when the clock strikes 2:00, the teachers get a break the kids get to watch a movie for 30 minutes, and my hands were free to snack. I had homemade trail mix made of cashews, dried cranberries and Ghirardelli white chocolate chips.
Snack #2 (5:30pm)
We played tag in the heat for 30 minutes before the kids got ready to go home, so by the time I got home, I was craving something that would quench my thirst. After a while, water just doesn’t seem to do it anymore (and going to the bathroom every half hour gets old). So, strawberries it was.
Dinner (7:00pm)
For dinner, my mom made Chicken Parmesan — I had it on top of a little bit of spaghetti, with a side of garlic toast. Since my sister‘s vegetarian, it’s pretty rare that we have meat for dinner in our house, and last night’s chicken hit the spot. I think I’m lacking protein, or something, because I’ve actually been craving meat lately (and normally I don’t).
Dessert (8:30pm)
After dinner, I was craving something cold and sweet, so Jordan and I drove to “The Dairy Bar,” a tiny, family-owned ice cream stand (you can’t even walk inside), a couple of towns over. I had a Heath and Whoppers “flurry” with twist ice cream. We will not be going out for ice cream for the rest of the week ;).
Besides the food that’s pictured above, I also had an unpictured morning snack of Chex Mix, along with the rest of my campers.
This week’s WIAW (and the rest of them, really) brings me to something else that’s been on my mind — my eating habits. I am not a “perfect” eater, if one even exists. All of my food is not organic, I don’t always eat as many vegetables as I should, and I could easily eat ice cream every night. I snack when I feel hungry, and I don’t count calories. I feel that a lot of bloggers have much more self-control than I do, and I find myself comparing my eats with theirs. Sometimes I don’t even know what’s “normal” anymore. Do I eat a lot? Do I eat too little? Do other people eat ice cream every night, and chocolate in their snacks? If I do, does that makes me weird?
I will keep doing eating as I am doing eating, but if you’ve ever felt the same way, do share. I’m sure that others can relate.
perfectionisnthappy.wordpress.com 
I have had ice cream every night for the past three nights and chocolate is always in my snacks. I seem to view my eating habits very similarly to you but sometimes worry that they aren’t “normal” either. So you are totally not alone!! 🙂
Good, that makes me feel better :)!
Every now and then, I feel bad that I don’t eat “cleaner” or more veggies or more protein or whatever. But then I remember I’m happy. And I think fairly healthy. So I move on. 😉 I definitely know what you’re saying, but in my opinion, life is all about balance! And I think you’re pretty good about keeping balance in your diet!
Trust me when I say you are NOT alone. When reading other blogs I can’t fathom how some people can be satisfied by the meals they post online! Even when some bloggers will say “I ate a larabar as a snack and I was so full!” Ummm YEAH RIGHT. The day a Larabar makes me “full” is the day my stomach is stapled haha I always compare my eats to other bloggers and it’s made me question my meals. But I just had to get past it and be comfortable with my eating habits because what I do works for me!
And FYI: I think your eats look just fine! Looks like everything I would eat in a typical day 🙂
I love small places like that, they always hit the spot. Your eats look delicious, seriously. I am the same way about feeling guilty but don’t be bothered by it. You are not alone.
I can totally relate! I try not to compare myself to other bloggers (or other people in general) but it’s hard not to when I read as many blogs as I do….so don’t feel alone! None of us are perfect 🙂
The Dairy Bar is awesome! My mom grew up in North Salem and still loves it! And yes, I completely agree. I read some other blogs that do WIAW and it makes me feel bad when I compare what I eat with what they eat. Yes, obviously my food choices could always be improved, and they should be- a little bit. But I have a huge sweet tooth and there’s no way I can go one day without some sort of sweet treat. When I see some bloggers eat plain greek yogurt, a salad, a smoothie and an egg all day, I feel like that’s so unrealistic. I still love those blogs, but I would probably starve eating just that. So no, you are absolutely not alone! Ice-cream should be a separate food group!
I’m in love with kodiak cakes. I’m so glad that Target has started stocking them. I used to compare myself to other bloggers entirely too much but I think I’m slowely getting out of that phase. I’ve cleared a lot of blogs that I felt I did that too!
I can relate, for sure!! There is definitely no such thing as a “perfect” eater which is something that I, for one, need to let go of. I have spent so much time worrying about what I’m eating but I have just recently realized that as long as you just listen to your body, you should be fine 🙂
I think you know that I totally consider Ice Cream it’s own food group. I’m being totally serious. : ) Not everyone has to eat organic and natural, and just because it is, is may not necessarily be healthy for your life style. I actually think you eat healthy with the things you have listed here! Having ice cream at night isn’t bad for you. Your body needs sugar! Otherwise it won’t know how to burn it off! Plus some of the food people eat on these WIAW’s are just plain weird. It looks like they’re eating bird food. I’d much rather have something that actually tasted good than something that is supposedly “healthy” for you. After I eat stuff like that I just feel more hungry anyways.
T minus 3 days until your party!
Haha well you know that I sure don’t have as much control as I might “seem” to! I think a lot of bloggers just don’t share all the snacks and sweets that they eat, for one thing it’s hard to remember and photograph everything and it’s sometimes easier just to leave things out! For example, I completely forgot on my WIAW today to mention that I have a piece of dark chocolate after lunch every day!
Hi! I just discovered your blog, and I think it’s just lovely:)
You’re not alone! I think a lot of people have more sugary snack than they let on. And since we always know what day is WIAW, it’s easier to healthier on that day, which isn’t a bad thing at all! It just might make others feel a little guilty at time.
Thank you for reading!
I think, and have always thought, you eat a very balanced diet. I remember eyeing your fruit and salads you’d always bring to camp and wish I would eat more fruits and veggies. Not too much, not too little. You eat when and what your body tells you it needs. Now, if you were 600 lbs and ate whatever you wanted, yes, you’d have a problem, but you are a very healthy young woman who knows what her body needs and nourishes it well. Every body is different. That applies to shape, to composition, to needs, and to food. Nothing to be ashamed of at all!
Aw, thanks LeeAnn! That’s kind of how I have to look at it too. If I can still fit into my pants, then I think it’s okay to have some ice cream at the end my day, as long as it doesn’t get out of control.
Oh heavens YES! We are all soooo different- except the part about feeling not perfect or that others do a better job and are perfect. I totally know the feeling- I’m sure we all do. 🙂
Your eats look delicious! ….Keep being you! You’re the best you out there!! No one else is better!! 🙂
Aw, thanks Julie!
I used to feel the same way about my eating, especially since I started reading so many WIAW posts in the past year…It’s easy to compare to other people and then question your own choices–I personally fall into this comparison trap way too easily, but just remember that you’re fueling your body, not someone else’s, so you just need to eat the amount that it takes for you to feel your best and keep you body healthy! And whether or not that’s more or less than someone else is completely irrelevant 🙂
I’ve been going out for ice cream nearly every day this summer! Ahhh so yummy 🙂
The hot weather makes it so hard to resist!
I agree! The hot weather does strange things to appetites! All of your eats look super delicious–especially that salad and the ice cream!
Thank you!
oh that ice cream looks so wonderful! Happy I came across your wonderful blog 🙂
Thanks for checking it out!
what a great day of eats!! especially that blizzard! the perfect ending to a day:)
I know the feeling, but I remind myself that we are all different, and life is too short! Everything in moderation and no deprivation. It’s the 80/20 rule of balance. There’s no such thing as “normal”. Your eats looks delicious! Enjoy them! 🙂