WIAW #5: Battling Vices

This week I started my Clinical Staff Relief – the final 2 weeks of my clinical dietetic internship rotation where I essentially function as a dietitian. I’m given much more independence, and many more patients to see, and I have to say – it’s pretty nice! Busy, sure. A little daunting, yup. But nice. I can’t believe my clinical rotation is almost over. Pretty soon, I’ll be moving on to Community, then Management, and then…graduation? It hardly seems real. Scratch that – it doesn’t feel anywhere close to real.

Despite how busy I’ve been, I did remember to take pictures of what I ate yesterday so that I can share it with you today!

One Year Ago: Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites

Two Years Ago: Chickpea Pasta Casserole

For breakfast, I got a little crazy and shook things up! Ok, yes, I know, it’s still yogurt, but I put my classic Chobani on hold in order to enjoy a little Siggi’s. This stuff is delicious and the sugar content of the flavored yogurts rivals that of most yogurt company’s plain varieties (and it’s not sour!), but the consistency gets to me if I eat it too frequently – it is crazy thick – and it’s also tragically expensive. My mom picks up a few containers for me every couple of months when she can get a few on sale, and this is actually the first time I had the Pomegranate flavor. I topped it with the last of a bag of dried apples.

Right before I was whisked off to rounds, I snuck in this little snack. I actually broke up my rice puff into chip-sized pieces, dipped them into the cinnamon-enhanced almond butter, and then chowed down on the banana on the side. I normally eat the rice puff as an open-faced sandwich with the almond butter and banana smeared on top, but I really liked it broken up this way.

Lunch…looks really appetizing, right? Sorry. It doesn’t help that this picture was taken fresh out of the fridge (I tend to take most of my pictures in the morning all at once so I don’t forget), and soup – lentil soup in particular – just does not photograph well when it’s cold. But I can assure you, it was fabulous. Basically, I took Whole Foods Spicy Lentil Soup (buy one get one free last Friday, score!), added some of Whole Foods’ wheatberry salad (with raisins, almonds, and some sort of tart, almost wine-y/fermented-tasting dressing), and mixed in a whole heck of a lot of spinach for good measure. I know, it sounds bizarre, but it smelled and tasted out of this world. I made everyone in the office crave soup.

When I got home at 4:30, I knew I had a long way to go until dinner, so I snacked on 2 clementines and 12 almonds while I prepped my food for work for the next day. I also snuck a bite or two of this potato salad that my Dad picked up at a year-round indoor farmers’ market last Friday. It was definitely the gloppy kind, full of mayo and I would bet some hardboiled egg yolks as well, but man was that good.

Dinner was amazing, yet so simple. L’s mom grilled halibut, lemon chunks, and sliced veggies in foil packets (because a frigid cold front in the dead of winter is what makes most sane people decide to grill) served with a side of brown-and-wild-rice. It was a little summery – the peppers and zucchini aren’t exactly seasonal right now – but as much of a stickler as I am for seasonal cooking, sometimes you need that out-of-season meal when everything around you is cold, dark and dreary.

I also have to confess, a mere 1 ½ hours after dinner, while L and I watched New Girl, I snacked on one two three (gulp, sigh) Lindt truffles. I’ve fallen into a really bad rut this week with eating really junky desserts – in large quantities – late at night when I’m barely even hungry, and I have to admit…I don’t like the way it makes me feel.  Forget calories, fat, sugar, all that…I just don’t feel good after I (a) eat when I’m not hungry and (b) on top of that, choose something that’s not good for me at all. One day – and I’m determined to make it one day soon – I’m going to conquer that vice.

Do you struggle with any aspect of food or eating?