Breakfast Salad

I've been reading Born to Run, a book about a tribe of super runners in Mexico, and I feel inspired to live healthier. I like running, but not to the degree that I'll take off for 20 miles for the heck of it. What I'd really like to work on is my eating habits. I can feel little Tedster's eyes on me when I'm having a snack or making a meal, and I know that I have a short amount of time left before I have to set a good example. Goodbye Poptarts, goodbye Diet Cherry Pepsi, goodbye Swedish Fish.

Anywho, the book talked about how eating like the Tarahumara leads to more energy and stronger athletic ability. The author talked about the benefits of getting your daily vegetable intake in at the start of the day. Somehow, this made a lot of sense to me when I was reading it last night, and I tried a breakfast salad this morning.

Fail. My salad greens from last week's farm share were a little wilty, and then the apple I added in for texture ended up being mealy. I thought Ranch dressing might defeat the purpose of the breakfast salad, so I was going to try some balsamic. Only I didn't have balsamic, so I opted for Apple Cider Vinegar instead.

Long story short, I had to toss the majority of the salad and ended up with a bowl of Trix about an hour later. Since I've already blown my goal for the day, I think I'll just snack on some cheddar popcorn and buy a soda. When do I realistically need to start setting an example anyway?

Anyone have hints for a great and healthy breakfast (but not a smoothie with kale...just how that looks grosses me out)? Should I look into hiding snack foods around my house for when Teddy is bigger and I'm hungry?

Reading for the Chilly Weather

I just finished a book on my Kindle, Countess of Canada by Bessie Marchant, and I'm feeling a little bereft. Sometimes when I am finished with books I really enjoy, I feel like I've lost some close friends. This book saw me through many a hard workout on the treadmill, and it felt appropriate that the main character, Katherine, lives in chilly northern Canada. I felt like I could relate weather-wise.

Katherine and her family live in Canada where her father manages a general store. Katherine has recently returned home from college in Canada in order to teach, but there are not any young children in Roaring Portage for a school. Katherine spends most of her time helping her father deliver goods, but when he falls ill, the bulk of the work falls to her. Katherine spends her time delivering goods and managing the store along with her younger brothers and older sister. Along the way, she manages to rescue several people in the wilds of Canada, including Jervis Ferrars, an agent for a tradesman investing in a fishing operation.

Honestly, I am horrible at summaries and this one is not doing justice to the book AT ALL!

Bessie Marchant (1862-1841) was an English writer who focused on adventure novels featuring young women. This book reminded me a lot of Anne of Green Gables--both have spunky heroines and lots of what I would call episodes throughout. The novel feels like a variety of adventure stories strung together by the main character. Marchant is able to create characters that may not have a lot of depth, but feel genuine all the same. Katherine is brave, hard-working, generous, and intelligent, but Marchant balances all of that to make Katherine a believable character, and an inspirational one too. I never would have made it through some of those runs without reading about Katherine trudging ten miles cross country in snow shoes!