The Best Lunch #2!!

So last night when I was thinking about today's lunch the thought of having my leftover chili was just not appealing. I pictured myself heating it up in the microwave and being done in 10 minutes with not many sides. I wanted a refreshing tuna salad with kashi crackers instead. The husband suggested that I have what I want and that we save the chili for dinner instead and top our planned baked potatoes with the leftover chili rather than the unopened beans we had scheduled. Wonderful idea!!

Moral of the story: If the thought of chili for lunch doesn't sound that appealing, it won't be. Eat what you crave and save the chili for when you ARE in the mood!

So my tuna lunch turned out DELICIOUS!!! I mixed a packet of tuna with 2 tbsp reduced fat mayo (I always try to skimp on the mayo, but I figured 40 calories wasn't that bad for the amount of creaminess it adds) and a ton of curry powder. I was in the mood for curry powder and it's a spice I really like but rarely use! I mixed in a chopped carrot and 1/5 a cucumber. It didn't look that good last night, but by lunchtime it had absorbed all the flavors and mixed together into a creamy tuna salad! I also always try to mix it with bread or crackers, but I really just like eating it with a fork and enjoying the crackers by themselves!! Another important lesson observed to increase satisfaction with a meal :)





Kashis on the side:



Sliced apple with cinnamon:



And the most delicious spinach salad topped with warmed leftover root vegetables (which I didn't get a lot of for 100 calories but they added a lot of flavor!)



All together for 537 calories:



My lunch wasn't 100% great though, as I got a call from a colleague at 12:00 on the dot who needed me to do something that took the whole lunch to handle intermittently. I HATE being bothered when I'm trying to enjoy a meal like French women who don't get fat do. Uggggggg. But it was urgent and I got it done, even if it did interrupt me a lot with emails/phone calls.

But I got in 40 minutes of walking afterwards!I earned it :) It's HOT out there!!!

Anddddddddd................didn't need a snack all morning!!! Sweeeeet. This oatmeal concoction might become my breakfast for life! AND I didn't even get to eat until 12:45 - 45 minutes late, so I'm so amazed that my stomach was not dying of hunger. I think I'm just getting used to not snacking and thinking about food ever 10 minutes. I did think about lunch during the 5 hours between breakfast and lunch, but whenever I assessed my hunger I was still satiated and content.

A bit of advice:

Don't just listen to your body; analyze your body.

"Listen to your body." We hear it all the time, but who really takes it beyond being hungry and not being hungry? Recently I started listening, really listening, and realized that about 2 hours after a meal I get "hungry." Buttt.....it's not really hunger, especially since I usually have a balanced breakfast and really shouldn't BE hungry yet. I've come to realize that if I drink a big glass of water right then, viola - hunger is gone!

Now if I had just "listened to my body" I would have had a snack. But after investigating why my body feels this way, I know the sensation is not really hunger, but my body's way of saying its thirsty (which is different than my mouth feeling thirsty - that's dehydration.) My body must just needs something cool to drink. So don't just listen, analyze. Interpret. Question. Scrutinize. Investigate. Really think about what you're feeling and experiment with different remedies. You might be surprised with what you discover.