It's FALL!

Ah, my favorite season...the cooler weather, the beautiful leaves, the start of classes...the unbelieveable stress! I'm not even taking classes this year, but I feel my workload has tripled in the last few weeks!

My usual eating habits went out the window, and I started turning to my vices...not enough sleep, exercise, or hydration and too much of all of these:

Chocolate...and wine.









 Wine....

And more wine...

 Carbs.....way too many carbs. 

I ate restaurant and prepackaged foods way too often...

And caffeine...one of a bazillion starbucks trips (but hey - pumpkin spice lattes are back!)

It's not like I suddenly started binge eating junk food, but I definitely incorporated way too many treats into my life than I need...or even want. A treat loses its value when you eat it too much! Last year, which was my busiest year ever, I started cooking things in bulk on the weekends, saving some in the freezer, and keeping large tubs to mix & match for meals over the course of the week. I was stubbornly optomistic that those days were behind me, but let me tell you, 10 hour days on little sleep require readily available healthy food or you'll find me at the Mongolian Buffet...again. 

With that in mind...I turned this: 

Into a delicious pasta salad that we can eat all week.
I chopped all the veggies into bite sized pieces and tossed them with olive oil, herbs, and S&P. I laid them out on cookie sheets. The hearty veggies can do all over the place...

But the mushrooms and tomatoes cook too fast and I do them seperately...

(Look at those COLORS!) 

When they are done, they look like this: 

And I toss them and all their juices into a big bowl, top it with cooked orzo pasta (or any other small pasta)...

And stir it together...in the end I add in a handful of fresh basil, since all the herbs give up their essential oils during the cooking process...

AND EAT! I leave the cheese out because sometimes I don't want cheese. Sometimes I do, and feta makes a great topper. 

I'm sure you'll see this 3-ways-from-Sunday on the next food post. 

Well, I used this general principal of bulk cooking, and paired with some of last week's leftovers I made some decent meals: 

Beans, rice, broccoli, cheese, salsa. Yum. 

Salad topped with beets + bleu cheese, lentil loaf, sauce. 

More lentil loaf, microwaved on a bed of spinach. Sorry for the super-sloppy pic! 

          Monster Salads...

Autumn Soup. It contains carrot, onion, sweet potato, apple, and spices. It's not perfect yet, but when I perfect the recipe, you'll see it with a recipe. 

THIS, however, was AMAZING. Turkey Chipotle Chili on top of cheezy cauliflower. 

Chipotle Turkey Chili

1 lb ground turkey

1 onion

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 can white beans, rinsed

2 chipotle chilis + 2 tbsp adobo sauce

1/4 c chili powder

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp oregano

2 tsp salt + more to taste

1 tomato sauce (8 oz)

1 tomato paste (4 oz)

1 can diced tomatoes

Saute turkey with onions and garlic until browned. Add in spices and cook 1-2 minutes. Add in tomato products, and one can of water. Bring to boil, add in chipotles and adobo sauce. Reduce to simmer, cook for 1-2 hours or until liquid is reduced partially. 

I was craving some cheesey chili, so instead of having a stomachache because I chose to eat a chili cheese sandwich or queso with it, I made cheesey cauliflower and topped it with some chili. OMG. So good. You have to try this! 

Finally, I have been making more time in the morning to actually enjoy my breakfasts. It makes me calmed when I get into work, and I have some time to catch up on my scientific reading. Some of the breakfasts: 

Yogurt mess with fruit and oats. 

Oatmeal with peaches, cinnamon, almond butter, and vanilla. 

Whole wheat waffles with peaches, cinnamon, vanilla, almond butter sauce. 

Finally, I have been slacking, but I got some exercise in: 

Eating Requires Activity (ERA): Saturday 7.5 mile run, Sunday Sprint Tri + 1.5 mile run/walk, Monday, 4.75 mile speedwork, 15 min yoga, Tuesday 30 min walk, 20 min yoga. 

Stay tuned because later this week I'll do a recap on my work friend's FIRST triathlon (oooooooo!), another metabolism post, and with the next food post will be an awesome giveaway! I think you'll like it! 

Are you celebrating the beginning of fall or lamenting the lost days of summer? Please comment!