Day 9 of 84 - The Secret of the Salad-in-a-Jar

I had some people as me questions after my last post about the Salad-in-a-Jar I listed for my lunch, so today I will share what the group did to build these awesome salads. I have to say up front, I did not make my salad. I couldn't make the gathering. So, my awesome partner made three for me and dropped them off Monday on her way through town. And I love them!!!!!!

Here's the gist of it... 

Courtesy of: http://skinnynotskinny.com/2013/01/24/salad-in-a-jar/

Yesterday's salad had balsamic vinegar, cucumbers, carrots, green peppers, red peppers, turkey, cheese, hard boiled egg, walnuts, cranberries, lettuce, spinach and romaine lettuce. Today's is balsamic vinegar, chia seeds (I believe LOL), carrots, cucumbers, green peppers, red peppers, chicken, craisins, walnuts, hard boiled egg, spinach and lettuces. So yummy!!!

I will definitely be buying the ingredients to make more for this week. We don't have a microwave at work because the smell apparently offended some people?? Anyway, with only 1/2 an hour lunch and often having to run home to let the puppy out on lunch, I'm limited on time and options. These are an awesome solution to that dilemma. I love junk salads, but I found my thrown together salads were pretty boring. This brought them back to life!! Anyway... that's a salad in a jar!

Today's edition of "What's in the Bag?" had a bit of a shake up. I ran out of protein powder and had no time to cook this morning, so I had to think fast and come up with a grab & go breakfast that didn't require heat.

Breakfast - Low Fat Strawberry Greek Yogurt & 1/3 cup granola

Snack - Almonds (I ate breakfast pretty late today)

Lunch - Salad-in-a-Jar

Snack - Apple & String Cheese

Dinner - Here's another dilemma... In my rush to get out of the house on time this morning because I hit snooze too many times, I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer. I have swim lessons. Hubby has training out of town all day. So, we're going to have to get creative tonight. Probably pancakes & scrambled eggs for the kiddos and omelets for us. Last night, I ended up having left over tacos and they totally hit the spot!

Dessert - 2 Dove Promises & a glass of milk

As I said above, tonight is swim lessons. I'm finding I really enjoy these lessons and I'm feeling improvement, so on Monday I'll sign up for the 2nd session. My kids still giggle when I tell them I have to go to lessons since they've been doing them for years and thought it was just a "kid thing." Tomorrow is an event at the girls' school, so a workout is probably not going to happen. And last night, I'll admit I was just plain lazy and didn't do a workout. I was home alone (well, with two dogs and two cats who make their presence known nonstop), but instead of working out I had dinner and sat down and enjoyed the quiet. No one called, "Mom, mommy, mooooooooom!" No tattling. No rushing to get kids fed, bathed and in bed on time. Don't get me wrong, I miss it sometimes and miss them terribly when they are gone. I love when my kids are home with me - it's just rare that I have an evening to myself with no plans. So, I watched a movie, texted with the hubby and snuggled with the puppy. You know what? I needed it!! Just one night to decompress before it starts all over again tonight. I firmly believe it is okay to take that time for ourselves. I needed a mental break just as much as I needed the workout. Maybe even more considering how refreshed I feel today. Tonight, I'm back at it. Friday, Saturday & Sunday are all workout days, so I'm still getting my 3-4 days a week in this week. Anyway, I guess what I'm saying it to try to remember to take time for yourself - not just physically, but mentally as well. Today's quote took me some time to figure out, but I finally believe it is 100% true.