Hello sunshine! Ahh I think we finally are experiencing spring. We’ve had several consecutive sunny days, hurrah.
Sunshine just makes everything better. Waking up in the morning, driving home from work (wearing sunglasses!!)…
(This was before I started driving! Don’t use your phone while driving!)
Taking Alfie for a walk…
…and even being at work and looking out of the window.
Even my parent’s constant Facebook updates on their holiday in Barbados is bearable. (Seriously though, how many “just sitting in the hot sunshine drinking cocktails” can I take before I crack?)
It’s Wednesday, meaning What I ate Wednesday. Pop over to Jenn’s blog to check out what’s happening.
- Getting up a bit earlier,
- Running in the morning rather than the evening,
- Preparing meals in advance.
Life is much less stressful when you’re prepared for anything!
In the morning I go into what my dear husband calls Efficient Anna Mode. I am on a mission. I get up, walk Alf, go running if it’s not a rest day and shower. Then have a moment of slowness where I gaze uninspiringly at my wardrobe to decide what to wear…
Finally get dressed…
Then speed around tidying, which is an essential morning activity which literally is me doing stupid stuff like sweeping, putting last night’s washing up away…just odds and ends really, and then make breakfast.
But I tend to do all this in like a little bubble of non-communication and rushing around in a controlled, efficient manner (in my eyes)…in Ben’s eyes I am a moody wife who refuses to swap pleasantries.
Lunch hasn’t really changed this week, just my usual beast of a salad (as someone at work called it…cue cringe moment).
I’ve been seeing some great salads about the blogging world with nuts, cheese, avocado, sundried tomatoes. So I really need to start mixing things up (<—hello broken record??)
For my lunch I always like a big salad (lots of variety, yum) but I also like bits of the side, like my Babybels:
Or what I had yesterday, popcorn from my Graze box…
And my (frozen) fruit salad with lots of Greek yogurt.
If I just have a sandwich or a more ‘proper’ meal, I feel a bit cheated. I guess it’s because I’m a grazer and I like to stretch my meal out for a nice lengthy period of time and have individual bits and pieces to munch my way through. Also because I make my lunch to take to work I am somewhat limited by what I can bring.
And I like to have my snacks throughout the day as well. Whether that’s carrots…
Or nuts…
Or nibbles from my Graze box…
I guess what is clear in the way I eat is that I like to eat little and often throughout the day. My lunch may not seem huge in it’s pieces but in it’s entirety I am definitely satisfied. And then a few hours later I’m eating again! It’s just how I roll. I’m not one of those people who can eat lunch and then eat nothing until dinner.
Dinner however is a whole different ball game. I like a BIG meal. I know they say you’re supposed to eat your smallest meal of the day in the evening but that’s not my style. It’s not like I’m eating supersized burgers and fries every night, obviously, but I do like BIG healthy meals. Here are some of my favourite meals:
Cottage Pie with Cauliflower Mash
Chicken Caprese with Cauliflower mash and Roasted Veg
Last night was fajitas:
This was delicious. I used the Discovery Fajitas spice mix and sauce and it was perfect. I don’t usually buy jars of sauces but this one I love. The main ingredient isn’t sugar, which is what I try to be careful about. OK, that’s a little bit of a lie, when it comes to certain sauces I’m careful. BBQ sauce is a different story. I’m pretty sure the one I have has the second ingredient being sugar…but I like it that way 
And the snacking doesn’t stop during the day. After dinner I always need that post-dinner pre-bedtime snack. Usually a packet of Snack a Jacks and a hot chocolate. Heaven.
OK, maybe some chocolate too
I usually have one or two of these mini-chocs in the evening. As good as they are, they’re not as good as Lindt I must say…
So I’m a grazer through the day, a big meal eater at night, and a snacker in the evening. I’m good with that!
Have a great week 
How would you describe your eating patterns? Big meals? Mini meals? Lots of snacks?
What’s your favourite evening snack? Healthy or naughty!
How do you time-manage?
Loving the look of your eats 🙂 I love Graze boxes – i’ve only ever had one but they’re so good; that popping corn looks lovely too.
I’m more of a big meal person; if i had little meals I end up feeling unsatisfied normally.
Yeah I feel that way in the evening. I think it’s because I get bored throughout the day and need lots of snacks to keep me sane hehe.
Frozen fruit salad…what a great idea!
And really cheap as well! I get mine from Tesco in the frozen dessert aisle.
I’m a mini mealer through and through. I can’t handle big meals but I don’t have access to food enough throughout the day to just subsist on snacks.
I would say your lunch being called a salad beast is a great compliment, right?! 😉 I certainly think it looks tasty, and I’m with you. I like my meals to last a little while and have some variety if possible. A plain ole sandwich would get boring day in and day out.
Yep I coudn’t have just a sandwich every day. I think I just like to delay lunch ending as much as possible hehe.
Love the little dark Green and Black’s bars…they make great gifts! 🙂 Also loving the new unsweetened Alpro Almond milk!!!
Well they’d make great gifts if I were to give them away, but I’m too greedy hehe!
I keep wondering whether I should sign up to receive the graze boxes, do you think they are good value?
I agree, this sunshine we have had just puts everyone in a better mood and just makes day to day tasks that little bit easier!
In terms of value for money the quantity you get isn’t a huge amount in comparison to the equivalent you could buy at the shop, it’s just the convenience factor I like. And also the fact that they’ve portioned it out for you so you don’t have the worry that you’re going to get through a whole bag of nuts without realising!
Yes sunshine truly does make everything better!
Sounds like you’re definitely getting more organised – I agree that being prepared for things makes the week run smoother! Keep up the great work 🙂
Hehe thanks, it’s just about being prepared I think. I’m getting better!
Love your top! Way too cute <3
I like to eat about 6 medium size meals or so a day.
And your meals always look so varied and yummy!
I’m the same! I had a bagel at lunchtime today and found it really dull. I love a lunchbox stuffed full of delicious salad items. The more the better and I find I might have a little nibble on some cheese or pick out a few grapes every so often leading up to lunch…I just can’t wait to get started on it it looks so good! 🙂
Yep it’s all about variety for me. Keeps me from getting bored. Grapes and cheese is a winning combo, yum 🙂
I think my meals through the day are quite small, but I do eat quite often, I can’t survive without my morning and afternoon snack. I do prefer a bigger meal in the evenings, and the occasionally another snack, usually greek yogurt!
Small meals and often works well throughout the day I think. I think we’re on the same wave length 🙂
I’m definitely a snacker too. And I’m totally bookmarking basically all these recipes on here hahaha
Hehe hope you enjoy them if you do get round to making them 🙂
I prefer mini meals and snacks, but when I am at work I prefer things I can eat quickly!
Yeah I can imagine being a teacher does constrain eating times a fair bit!
wow I’m impressed with the serving size for your popcorn from Graze. I saw that they had added lots of new yummy things, but I still haven’t tried one. You salad looks fab too!
I know I was so surprised but how much I got for that! Such a nice addition to my lunch.
I should really buy chocolate in mini packages. I usually end up just eating the entire bar lol Speaking of, I totally forgot to buy some at the store this week. I don’t know how I’ll ever make it to the weekend without my chocolate!! 😉
Mini chocs are good but I end up eating a fair few! You can lose track a bit… I’m with you on needing chocolate to get through to the weekend, hope you rectify this soon hehe.
i’m a snacker! i love fruit salad! i only eat it at family parties though. pathetic though my skills are, i could probably throw some together…hmmm. thanks for inspiration 🙂
The fruit salad required zero preparation I’m afraid. I bought a big bag of it from a supermarket in the frozen section! Easy peasy.
Any salad with peas in it is an automatic winner in my book :).
Hehe those little peas do make the day that much better!
I have changed my meals – I used to have lots of mini meals, then I tried 3 big meals but now I tend to find that 3 meals and an afternoon snack tend to work for me, although I am partial to a extra snack of chocolate later on an evening!
I guess you just have to find what works for you, and what your practically able to have during the day when you’re at work. I am in such a habit of chocolate in the evening now…just finishes the evening so perfectly.
Ahh, I need to make that Cottage Pie with Cauliflower Mash! I remember enjoying cottage pie at a few pubs when I was in London, and despite my typical distaste for hearty “meaty” dishes, falling head-over-heels in love. This sounds like a lovely and lightened up version! I’m definitely checking out that recipe next.
I completely agree about eating multiple times throughout the afternoon…Not only is it more satisfying, but my stomach handles it better, too. If I eat a huge meal, my tummy gets VERY very angry! So I’ve found that eating every 2-3 hours suits me quite well. I couldn’t imagine going 5-6 hours without food!
Snacking at night is my downfall…For some reason, food always tastes better in the evening, which means I often go to town. 😉 I always have something healthy, like casein “fudge” with peanut butter or egg whites with peanut butter, but I also *always* have chocolate…and chocolate…and sometimes more chocolate. Hey, I have to get those cancer-fighting antioxidants in somehow! 😉 Green & Black’s is delicious, but I agree that Lindt reigns supreme.
Happy almost-Friday, Anna! <3 xoxo
Cottage pies in pubs in England are so heavy. We do love our potatoes here.
Yep I’m with you on the huge meal and the tummy issues.
Ohhh yes evening sacks taste way better than normal daytime snacks hehe. Especially chocolate 😉
I definitely am more of a three-meals-a-day kinda gal, but I like snacking when I can. My problem is when I’m eating, I want to be relaxed. If I have a crazy day at work and can’t take 5 minutes to take a break to eat a snack, then I’d rather forgo the snack. To me there’s nothing worse than mindlessly eating something while I’m working. Even if it’s just a quick minute or two to eat a snack at work, I close my email and read blogs instead. I need to be doing something that makes me happy while I eat, if that makes sense!