Woooooooo doggie. Today was my very first day at the new job - I am BEAT! But relieved/excited/proud. Wow.. I was in training for my department, the natural foods section, all day today and I literally only sat down once for ten minutes in 8 hours.. not used to that, Muscle & Fitness training and all! New-job-training is always tiring - learning new methods and terminology and inevitably having "I'm new and therefore I am stupid" moments. But, happily, everyone - even higher-up-type dudes - were very very friendly and the day went quickly.
The highlights of my day? Explaining organic foods to customers! I got asked 4 separate times about quinoa - where is it, and more importantly, what the hell is it and why is every fitness magazine telling me to buy it? (Shall I write a post about quinoa? Surely there must be a detailed account of the fab grain on the internets of knowledge somewhere.. ahh yes... here's one.) These types of questions are, as you know by now, right up my alley, and I was happy as a pig in you-know-what to be able to help and share myobsession passion.
Least favorite part of my day? Being hungry! Oof.. One 30-minute lunch break (20 minutes of which was taken up standing in line for a salad) and one ten-minute break that I didn't know I would get and thus was caught unawares and foodless. My attention span waxed and waned throughout the day due to hunger pangs - and that's not good! If I'm waking up at 5 am and don't have a break until 10, I need to figure something out pronto.
First thing I did when I got home? (after I banged out my Muscle & Fitness Transformation Challenge workout of course - goals, people!) Meal prep. Here's my plan..
I refuse to go down in a 'starvation mode' battle with my body because I'm going 4+ hours without food in the day. So, I need to plan super-quick protein-rich snacks that I can scarf in my two ten-minute breaks (I missed one of the 2 today) and a balanced lunch that is higher in protein and cheaper than buying a salad at the store every day.
The store has 600 employees, about 400 of which are on-site on a busy day; I am slightly tentative about leaving my food in the break room fridge, but I really have no choice to give it a go. Luckily it's a big fridge and there's a microwave there as well. This week I will mainly try mini-wraps for snacks, because that's what I have handy. Money is super-tight until my new paychecks start rolling in, so my creativity can't run as amok as I'd like, but I did make a point to load up on varied proteins for the week. I'm trying to avoid processed protein bars, but I may sneak one in if I have to. If I do, I'll make sure to eat whole foods for the rest of the day, scout's honor.
This week's high-protein snack options for ten-minute breaks (the other break-snack would entail a piece of fruit if I need something):
1. Trader Joe's reduced-carb whole wheat wrap + 2 slices Kayem very low sodium Roast Beef + 1/8 avocado (173 calories, 11g fat, 11g carbs, 5g fiber, 2 g sugars, 13g protein)
2. Trader Joe's reduced-carb whole wheat wrap + 1/2 Fuji apple + 1 tbsp Sunflower Seed Butter + ground cinnamon (188 calories, 11g fat, 20g carbs, 7g fiber, 9g sugars, 7g protein)
3. Trader Joe's multigrain Slim + 1 hardboiled cage-free egg + 1 oz lite shredded mozzarella cheese (215 calories, 10g fat, 22g carbs, 6g fiber, 2g sugars, 15g protein)
4. Possibly a protein or Lara Bar - but this is a last resort!
This week's balanced lunches (2 of each, already cooked and tupperware-packaged in the fridge so they will require no further thought):
1. 4-5 oz baked chicken breast with tarragon, 1/2 sweet potato, 6 stalks asparagus
2. 1 Trader Joe's Extra Lean Ground Beef Patty with reduced sugar ketchup on 1 Trader Joe's multigrain Slim, 1 cup arugula with 1/8 avocado and balsamic dressing
This may sound a little boring, but it's clean, and I think I'm gonna be nonstop on my feet this week, learning the ropes of how a giant grocery store does its thang. And I've already spotted some healthy new foods in my department that I have yet to try! Chia seeds, Goat's milk yogurt, various double-deep-dark chocolates.. I thought I'd looked closely at this section of this store before, but apparently not! Even some items in our expansive tea section have caught my eye - Chocolate-covered strawberry flavored tea? Yum.
As I experiment I will pass along to you anything I've found that has greatly enhanced my slimming clean eating plan. For now, I am going to bed (yep, at 8 pm. Jealous? ..probably not..) to ready myself for tomorrow's adventures.
The highlights of my day? Explaining organic foods to customers! I got asked 4 separate times about quinoa - where is it, and more importantly, what the hell is it and why is every fitness magazine telling me to buy it? (Shall I write a post about quinoa? Surely there must be a detailed account of the fab grain on the internets of knowledge somewhere.. ahh yes... here's one.) These types of questions are, as you know by now, right up my alley, and I was happy as a pig in you-know-what to be able to help and share my
Least favorite part of my day? Being hungry! Oof.. One 30-minute lunch break (20 minutes of which was taken up standing in line for a salad) and one ten-minute break that I didn't know I would get and thus was caught unawares and foodless. My attention span waxed and waned throughout the day due to hunger pangs - and that's not good! If I'm waking up at 5 am and don't have a break until 10, I need to figure something out pronto.
First thing I did when I got home? (after I banged out my Muscle & Fitness Transformation Challenge workout of course - goals, people!) Meal prep. Here's my plan..
I refuse to go down in a 'starvation mode' battle with my body because I'm going 4+ hours without food in the day. So, I need to plan super-quick protein-rich snacks that I can scarf in my two ten-minute breaks (I missed one of the 2 today) and a balanced lunch that is higher in protein and cheaper than buying a salad at the store every day.
The store has 600 employees, about 400 of which are on-site on a busy day; I am slightly tentative about leaving my food in the break room fridge, but I really have no choice to give it a go. Luckily it's a big fridge and there's a microwave there as well. This week I will mainly try mini-wraps for snacks, because that's what I have handy. Money is super-tight until my new paychecks start rolling in, so my creativity can't run as amok as I'd like, but I did make a point to load up on varied proteins for the week. I'm trying to avoid processed protein bars, but I may sneak one in if I have to. If I do, I'll make sure to eat whole foods for the rest of the day, scout's honor.
This week's high-protein snack options for ten-minute breaks (the other break-snack would entail a piece of fruit if I need something):
1. Trader Joe's reduced-carb whole wheat wrap + 2 slices Kayem very low sodium Roast Beef + 1/8 avocado (173 calories, 11g fat, 11g carbs, 5g fiber, 2 g sugars, 13g protein)
2. Trader Joe's reduced-carb whole wheat wrap + 1/2 Fuji apple + 1 tbsp Sunflower Seed Butter + ground cinnamon (188 calories, 11g fat, 20g carbs, 7g fiber, 9g sugars, 7g protein)
3. Trader Joe's multigrain Slim + 1 hardboiled cage-free egg + 1 oz lite shredded mozzarella cheese (215 calories, 10g fat, 22g carbs, 6g fiber, 2g sugars, 15g protein)
4. Possibly a protein or Lara Bar - but this is a last resort!
This week's balanced lunches (2 of each, already cooked and tupperware-packaged in the fridge so they will require no further thought):
1. 4-5 oz baked chicken breast with tarragon, 1/2 sweet potato, 6 stalks asparagus
2. 1 Trader Joe's Extra Lean Ground Beef Patty with reduced sugar ketchup on 1 Trader Joe's multigrain Slim, 1 cup arugula with 1/8 avocado and balsamic dressing
This may sound a little boring, but it's clean, and I think I'm gonna be nonstop on my feet this week, learning the ropes of how a giant grocery store does its thang. And I've already spotted some healthy new foods in my department that I have yet to try! Chia seeds, Goat's milk yogurt, various double-deep-dark chocolates.. I thought I'd looked closely at this section of this store before, but apparently not! Even some items in our expansive tea section have caught my eye - Chocolate-covered strawberry flavored tea? Yum.
As I experiment I will pass along to you anything I've found that has greatly enhanced my slimming clean eating plan. For now, I am going to bed (yep, at 8 pm. Jealous? ..probably not..) to ready myself for tomorrow's adventures.
