After a long night with friends I did something I haven’t done in a while: slept in and took breakfast on the go. I slept until 9am and have a class that starts at 10am so I grabbed a cup of coffee, a Jonagold Apple and a Kardea Cranberry Almond Bar and headed out the door.
This bar was amazing! This was my last Kardea bar to blog about and I am happy to say I loved it. I keep comparing the texture of these bars to that of oatmeal cookie dough, and the Cranberry Almond flavor really hit home. There were large pieces of cranberry tucked into the bar with bits of almond and BIG almond flavor. It reminded me of my favorite oat cookie that my mom makes with dark chocolate, walnuts and dried cherries. Yes, those are different ingredients but it had such a “home cooked” feel to it!
Lunch was a bit rushed and consisted of a green monster, granola, almonds, veggies and almond butter. I ran 3 miles after my morning class, and needed a quick source of protein, carbohydrates, calories and fat. I didn’t have much time before my afternoon class so into the blender went: 1 medium frozen banana, 1/4 cup frozen raspberries, 1 scoop Chocolate Whey Protein, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk, 3 ice cubes and 2 handfuls of spinach. I topped my monster bowl with ~1/4 cup Galaxy Vanilla Almond Granola (almost out of this 
) and a small handful of whole raw almonds.
For some reason I was craving the warm almond butter, pumpkin butter and cinnamon topping that I had on toast the other day so I decided to experiment with another Jonagold. I sliced the big apple up (barely fits on that plate!), sprinkled it with cinnamon, drizzled my almond and pumpkin butter and heated it for 45 seconds in the microwave. Messy but DELICIOUS! I may or may not have found almond butter all over my keyboard later in the day. I’m addicted what can I say?
Later this afternoon I had work at the bakery! Before heading out I whipped up some fresh juice and dinner. This juice combination was a bit random: grapefruit, beet, celery, carrot, cucumber, parsley and kale. I’m not sure that I liked the sweet beet with the tart grapefruit but it wasn’t half bad for a throw together juice! Dinner was an homage to my mom: Chicken Salad. My mom makes the BEST chicken salad. I live for the day we have leftover chicken breast because it is THAT good. I switched mine up a bit and used Greek yogurt, lemon and thyme instead of mayonnaise. It was pretty good, but missing something (mom fill me in!). Chicken Salad: 1 chicken breast, 2 small celery stalks, handful of green grapes , 1 TBS walnuts, 1 TBS dried cherries, heap of Greek yogurt, lemon juice and chopped thyme. I loaded it onto a bed of arugula with a few Roma tomatoes. I brought this to work in a Chinese food container and enjoyed it with a slice of sourdough bread on the side. If I could manage to fit ALL of that into a sandwich I would be a magician, the bread was better on the side! I found a small apple in the break room that was calling my name so I had that before heading back to work. Yes, that makes 3 apples in 1 day.
When I finally got home and had time to relax, I crawled into my freezer candy stash and had a few Frozen Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups. It was the perfect sweet treat to end my busy bee day.
When I am constantly running around all day, it can be hard to find time to eat right. I hate feeling rushed but with a few “quick-fix” meal and snack options I made it work. I think it is SO important to have go-to meals and snacks. This way you are left satisfied and have great food to fuel a busy day. I find too often as a college student that many of my friends “can’t find the time to eat” because they are so overwhelmed with work. They end up skipping meals and then unhealthfully snack and eat a lot later in the day to compensate. Personally, I can’t focus if I’m hungry but to maintain balance and energy it is essential to have some sort of plan. You will be happy, healthy and most importantly PRODUCTIVE!
I’m off to finish some work and then hitting the sack! Hopefully tomorrow will be a return to normalcy.
Busy Bee,
Nora
When you have a busy day do you plan what you are eating, or do you just go with the flow?
It can be hard to eat right on the go. I know I eat more packaged and processed foods when I’m busier/on the move. It helps to keep healthy stuff on hand though!
That chicken salad looks killer – and “congrats” on the sleeping in! haha.
I think I’m more prone to meal plan if I know I’ll be having a busy day, or otherwise, like you said – it would be too easy to “forget” to eat, or get so hungry I just grave on junk all day. Luckily, my fridge is always packed with veggies and since I love sandiwches/wraps – I’m fine if I just have to grab a packed wrap/sandiwch for dinner.
Those Kardea bars look bombbb. I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled!
I LOVE microwaving apples and pears and topping them with nut butter, cinnamon, and sometimes granola/cereal… what a healthy alternative to like apple pie or something!