A taxing night

Thanks for your crock pot suggestions on yesterday's post. If you still recipes to share, please do! I'm a slow-cooker virgin...hehe

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Last night I Tweeted that I had a very [emotionally] draining night at work. Without sharing too much information, a situation brought me back to last spring when I lost a good friend to suicide. Since his passing, there is rarely a day that goes by when he doesn't cross my mind. Brian was an avid runner and I often find myself thinking of him when I see a beautiful sky, have a crazy endorphin high, or just find peace while hitting the pavement. Suicide is never the answer and with time things will always get better. I just wish he knew that.

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In more uplifting news, I've managed to make some good (and clean) eats over the last few days, despite the chaos and long hours at work.

I'm not going to lie. Lately I've been eating oatmeal every.single. day for breakfast. I can't get enough!

Peanut Butter & Banana spiced Oats

In da bowl:

1/3 cup oats, 1 t chia seeds (soaked overnight in 1 cup almond milk)

1/4 cup egg whites

1/4 cup peanut flour

1/2 mashed banana

1 T Greek yogurt (makes it super creamy)

Truvia (all natural, zero-calorie sweetener)

pinch sea salt (brings out sweetness)

cinnamon

nutmeg

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 Chili topped sweet potato

Ingredients:

Baked (aka microwaved) sweet potato

Chili (Amy's organic chili, black bean salsa, chili powder, cumin)

Dollop Greek yogurt <----tastes just like sour cream!

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Organic Chicken Pot "Pie" w/ polenta topping 

(makes two pies)

Ingredients (all organic):

2 chicken breasts, boiled and diced

Cream of chicken soup (2 cans)

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 head broccoli

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

5 celery ribs, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 hand fulls fresh green beans

1.5 cups H20

1 roll polenta

1 t basil

1 t oregano

1/2 t sea salt

1/2 t pepper

(Polenta)
1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Mash polenta until crumbled
3. Bring to boil l in 1.5 cups H20
4. Add spices and cook reduce to medium heat for 5 mins

(Pie)
1. Combine remaining ingredients
2. Drain excess liquid (picture below is before draining liquid)

(Bake)

1. Top pies with polenta mixture and bake for ~45 mins until veggies are soft and polenta starts to brown. 

2. Broil for 3-5 mins to further brown topping

3. Dig in!

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Alright, I'm off to break in my new Garmin watch (wooo!) then take a BodyPump class before heading to work.

What are your workout plans this week? Trying anything new?