WIAW: Running for My Oats + a PB&J Milkshake in a Jar!

Happy WIAW, everyone!  And, as always, a giant thank you to Jenn at Peas & Crayons for organizing this wonderful weekly tradition!





Today was a rather eventful day of food.  The story of my breakfast will only make sense if you understand my deep love for oatmeal.  Throughout the toughest times in my life, oatmeal has always been there to warm my belly and soul.  It greets me every single morning like the rising of the sun.  We were made for each other.  So you can imagine how distraught I was when I woke up at 6am to go running before work and realized I had allowed the unthinkable to happen: I was out of oats!  
Nothing gets between this girl and her oats!  
Thank goodness for 24 hour convenience stores!  Since I was going for a run anyway, I stuffed some money in my sock and headed out in the cold rain, before dawn.  Unfortunately I didn't quite think things through and bought a giant container of oats over a mile from my house. 

Be jealous of my spotted socks

Nothing like running through the city in the early morning rain carrying oatmeal!  

When I got home I knew exactly what would make the perfect companion to my oats: a PB&J milkshake!  The other day at work, a customer requested that we make him a shake with strawberries and peanut butter, so we did!  Luck for me, they gave me the leftovers and I spent several minutes practically floating above the ground and becoming one with all the world's joy.  It was great, but I want something healthy that will make my taste buds and my body feel wonderful.  So, I came up with my own version!  Here's the delicious, healthy, and simple how-to:

All you need are some frozen strawberries, peanut butter, almond milk, and a blender!  

Take a cup (or an empty peanut butter jar!) and fill it about halfway with strawberries and add a scoop of peanut butter.  

Now fill the jar to the top with almond milk, dump the whole thing in a blender, blend, pour it back into the jar, and drink the frosty goodness!  

This, along with blueberry, banana, and flax oats, may just have been the best breakfast ever!

I worked a super-busy shift today, but it was all ok because I got to take home some amazing food!  

Such a beautiful salad: a bed of greens with beets and crushed walnuts that I topped with a mixed bean salad I brought home the other day!  I enjoyed my salad with some beet, carrot, pineapple, and apple juice, also from work: 

I just love the beautiful colors that are found in nature!  Food can be so beautiful.  :)

I had some spare time after lunch, so I decided to experiment with soaked grains.  My goal was to make flourless blueberry muffins.  

The results looked good, but unfortunately they were a huge disappointment taste-wise.  I was thinking maybe they'd be good with some almond butter (slather anything in almond butter and I'll say it's delicious), but sadly not even nut butter can save me here.  Come to think of it, I've really been into almond butter recently.  I used to think nothing could take the place of peanut butter, but recently I've been craving almond butter more and more!  It's funny how tastes evolve.  

I spent the majority of the evening looking for new shows.  I was hoping to get some Tom's shoes, and I was so upset when I found out they're not vegan!  Apparently they do have a line without leather, but I couldn't find them in stores.  That got me thinking about running shoes: I'm sure my sneakers have at least some leather.  Proper running shoes are so important for preventing injury, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do when it's time to get new ones.  I know I can't be perfect and I do the best I can, but I still don't feel comfortable buying something fully knowing that it contains leather.  

When I arrived home sans new shows, I was super hungry so I threw together dinner with remarkable speed.  

Sweet potato with almond butter and roasted edamame, steamed broccoli, and the remainder of the blueberries that survived the muffin incident

Now, I know this picture doesn't capture it, but I was so infatuated with the beautiful colors of this meal! I kept thinking, "blueberries are SO BLUE!" They look like little gems.  And the sweet potato was a bright orange that contrasted with the saturated green of the broccoli.  Maybe it's the spring air beginning to get to my head, but I just can't get over how beautiful food can be!  

Notice anything strangely absent from this day's eats?  Chocolate!  I think this might be the first day in weeks that I didn't eat any chocolate.  I just didn't crave it at any point today.  I must be getting sick!  

Now I want to hear from you!  

My fellow vegan/vegetarian runners: Where do you stand on the issue of running shoes?  I have to research brands that don't use leather.  I'd love to avoid it but, in this case, that just might not be possible. :(

Edit: I just found this: http://www.mooshoes.com/ - a vegan shoe store on the Lower East Side!  I'm going there tomorrow... I love living in NYC! 

Have you ever done something slightly crazy to satisfy your food cravings? My morning oat adventure is just the beginning!  Wait until you hear what I did for brownies!  

What beautiful foods have you been enjoying recently?  It feels so gratifying to really appreciate the visual aspects of food, in addition to the taste!

I hope you're having a wonderful week!  :)