Hello! And what a beautiful week it’s turning out to be. The sun is shining and it definitely feels like spring.
I just love this time of year. There’s a lot of hopeful feelings of summer being around the corner. Waiting for that one blissful week of the year in British weather where the sun peaks out behind an overcast sky…no I joke, maybe it’s two weeks! 
Either way, there’s a feeling that winter is almost over and longer days and warmer weather could be on the way soon.
And to keep with a happy mood, let’s get on to What I ate Wednesday.
Thank you Jenn!
This is pretty much my usual routine for a working day in the office.
Breakfast is the same as usual. Eaten just before 8am.
Good old oatmeal and almond milk. Can’t beat it. I tend to buy Scottish Oats because for some reason they always turn out a bit thicker and stodgier than normal plain rolled oats with the same volume of oats (so more almond milk is needed, yum).
I try to make sure breakfast is one of the last things I do before I start my ‘wonderful’ commute to work. I don’t like eating too early in the morning if I can avoid it as otherwise come midday I’m starving. This is the case even if I run in the morning. I know some people say you shouldn’t run on an empty stomach but honestly I a) couldn’t stomach breakfast at 6am or before, or b) don’t have time to eat breakfast and then digest properly before running. Plus how good does breakfast taste after working out? 
Lunchtime at work usually happens 12.30-1pm. I don’t have a snack in between breakfast and lunch, just black coffee and peppermint tea. Last week I mentioned feeling really hungry and needing more food. I experimented a bit and have come to the shocking conclusion that maybe a good old fashioned sandwich would be the ticket (sarcasm alert). I did try those bread thins last week and beefed out a bit on the filling but I think that was missing the point…whoops. They really weren’t that filling (shocking, I know).
So in said sandwich is turkey, cream cheese and salad. With a side portion of more salad. Just because. Alongside this I also have a beasty fruit salad. Definitely been feeling better after this. I do love my salads but I love running fast more 
Snackage in the afternoons at work is usually some chopped carrots (to the delight of those nearby my desk), a banana and an apple. And more coffee and herbal tea.
Honestly, I drink so much throughout the day I’m up and down all the time either getting more drinks or going to the loo. People will start talking…
Dinner: there is no denying that the first thing I want to do when I get in from work is EAT. But Alfie needs to be walked if Ben hasn’t got back from work before me and comfy clothes need to be put on. Occasionally some jobs are done, like putting washing on and general tidying but usually we’re fairly ship-shape and dinner is on the agenda pretty quickly. So dinner is usually 7.30pm. This is dinner from Monday night.
This is what I like to call Single Anna’s Dinner. No Ben hasn’t left me, he was away in London. Essentially that meant that I could eat whatever I fancied without fear of the Healthy Food Alarm going off (aka Ben). Anything too healthy and he runs a mile. It doesn’t look great but it tasted pretty darn amazing and used up a lot of veg that needed consuming.
In the mix was salad, cucumber, beets, tomatoes, chopped plumb, roasted veg (1/4 bell pepper, 1/4 zucchini, couple of mushrooms, sweet potato, butternut squash), chickpeas, half an avocado and breathe. Hmm, yes quite a bit. I think Ben’s head would have exploded.
And last night I had one of my favourites:
Chicken paprika with grated sweet potato. I love this meal but I really, really hate grating sweet potato. Seriously one of the most annoying tasks. Ridiculously strenuous as well on my arm! And then I’m always finding tiny flecks of sweet potato about the place afterwards. Grr.
Pudding is my usual two apples chopped. And then later I always tend to have a packet of Snack a Jacks…
…and a couple of squares of Lindt Mint Intense dark chocolate:
(Old photo: it’s the top one…obviously)
There’s something about an evening that just requires chocolate. I feel sad when dinner is over…I just need that little something else before going to bed. Bliss.
So that’s my day…hope you enjoyed!
If you exercise in the morning, do you eat breakfast before or after?
What’s your favourite sandwich filling?
Spring is definitely in the air. It’s lovely to see all of the spring flowers coming through.
And then today there’s rain and it looks miserable! Swings and roundabouts 🙁
I used to go to the gym on an empty stomach but because I still can’t stomach food before hand I have my blended coffee for a bit of energy and fat for fuel, works a treat!
Yeah that sounds like a good idea. I just am so half-alseep before going for a run I never think further than ‘put running gear on’ haha.
I loooove Britain, but I could just not deal with the dreary weather all the time! Although I guess Chicago isn’t much better… haha. Your dinner from Monday night looks delish. Love eating a ton of veggies!
The dreary weather is just part of our culture and lives now, it has shaped our nation haha. Yeah I don’t think we have weather quite as cold as Chicago!!
If I am not running far I much prefer running on empty, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that unless you feel lightheaded or something. I usually do 6 milers before breakfast, but then any further than that and I would have something- this Sunday I had a nakd bar, as we were running 8 miles, which usually takes me about 90 mins, so I knew that by the time I was back and showered etc I would be beyond starving! But yes, tastes so much better after a run 🙂
I think if I was to run further than 12 miles I’d eat something as so far I haven’t felt that I’ve needed anything beforehand. But if I was to run for longer then I’d definitely delay my run to late morning after breakfast. It will be intersting for my half-marathon because that’s at 10am and I’ll be having breakfast a fair few hours before then so it’ll be interesting to see if that fuel in the morning helps significantly.
I’m jealous of your spring-like weather! We’re supposed to be getting snow tomorrow 🙁
I sometimes exercise in the morning on the weekends (ie not very early) and I usually will eat breakfast after when I do that. I can’t work out with a bunch of food in my stomach. And you’re making me miss my chocolate supply! I finally ran out and it’s been a sad few days.
Yeah I’ve been seeing lots of snow around the blog world – that really sucks 🙁
Haha yeah we are getting through our supply so quickly. It’s just such a nice treat in the evening, especially if it’s been in the fridge.
We’ll be lucky if we get two hot days if the last few summers are anything to go by 😉
I agree, I can’t not have pudding, and usually a few different ones! Only three and a bit weeks till Easter and the puddings can be chocolate-based again!
Philadelphia and turkey sounds a great sandwich filling, or ham and home made coleslaw, delicious.
Ahh yeah I don’t know how you can manage without chocolate! Stay strong 🙂
Ooh see I can’t stand coleslaw. I think I’ve had a few bad experiences of mayo drenched stuff and it’s just turned me off completely. But anything with cream cheese is a win in my book.
I seriously hope Spring is around the corner. It’s still pretty chilly where I’m at, but the weather channel is predicting some warmer weather soon so let’s hope that they’re right about that.
Great name for your salad. And so many awesome toppings! I think Ben would have had to run 2 miles for how healthy it was 😉 Haha.
Aww I hope it gets warmer soon too! But it’s nice that it feels like it’s just around the corner. I love that hopeful feeling!
I think I agreed with you about every single part of this post. In my head I was nodding and saying “Yep me too” to pretty much everything. Let’s start with:
1. I can’t eat before a morning run either. It just doesn’t make sense!
2. When Fabio is away I similarly roast up a bunch of veggies (usually a giant combo of whatever we have around) and mix them together with some type of dressing. It seems weird but it’s SO good and Fabio would hate it haha.
3. I hate grating ANYTHING!! Right now I have a cut on my pinky finger which I think is pretty standard. Usually about once a week I will cut myself from scraping my finger against the grater while doing garlic, sweet potatoes, carrots, whatever. So annoying!!
So glad you agree! Yeah I’m not getting up any early to make breakfast beforehand to then feel hungry straight after the run.
Haha when the boys are away the girls eat veg! Haha.
Grating is just so darn annoying – painful, time-consuming and messy. I’d buy one of those machines but I know it’d end up on the dead shelf after like a week because it’d be too complicated to use or clean.