I’m so glad to be home!!! 
There’s nothing like coming home after being away for a few days. It’s such a great feeling– all warm and fuzzy– especially since my family was so happy to see me. Murphy licked me to death in the car on the way home from the airport! I’m also glad to be home so I can eat “normally” again– oatmeal, salads, and beer for me! 
Dinner
Last night, Mal and I enjoyed dinner at American Craft with my friend, Jim, and his girlfriend, Kristen. (Jim is the nice guy who hooked Mal and me up with some New Balance gear.) I hadn’t seen Jim in years, so it was nice to finally catch up and meet the special lady in his life.
After my culinary adventures in Orlando, I wanted something light for dinner. I chose the The Market Salad with mixed baby greens, seasonal vegetables, feta, a boiled egg, and sweet onion vinaigrette.
So fresh, so delicious! 
I’m glad that I asked for the sweet onion vinaigrette on the side because it didn’t have much flavor. 
I also drank a couple of beers with dinner. I mean, I couldn’t visit American Craft without having some beer!
With dinner, I enjoyed an Ommegang Witte and Jolly PumpkinWeizen Bam Bière. The Ommegang Witte was an awesome Belgian white– light, smooth, and citrus-y. The Jolly PumpkinWeizen Bam Bière was good, but not at all what I expected. I thought it would be a pumpkin-flavored beer, but the name of the brewery is Jolly Pumpkin, not the variety. Bummer. It had a fruity (apricot), spicy, and refreshing flavor.
Ok, enough beer talk for 9:00 in the morning!
Breakfast
While I was away, my husband finished off the Teddie peanut butter and saved the jar for me. Hooray! He used to just throw them away, but he’s since learned about the specialness of an empty nut butter jar!
In the mix:
- 1/4 cup oats
- 1/4 cup oat bran
- 3/4 cup vanilla soy milk
- Chia seeds
- Teddie peanut butter
Make Oatmeal in a Coffee Pot
A reader sent me a link to this video about how to make oatmeal in a coffee pot. I thought it was really cool!
Question of the Day
What do you consider your “normal” eating?
P.S. Attention bloggers: I have a great TNT fundraiser coming up this afternoon!
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Well this morning I woke up thinking about having an ice bath . . . I cannot take the heat!
awh that’s so sweet he saved the jar!
I wake up thinking about my workout, followed very closely by breakfast
Or, like this morning, I wake up thinking ‘why is my cat sleeping on my neck??’ L:s
I wake up thinking about 1) the bathroom and 2) food. Haha!
I’ve trained the BF and family members to save old jars too
I get twice as many as I would if I ate them alone!
Very cool – oatmeal in a coffee pot! My normal eating is oatmeal, salads / sandwiches for lunch, then grains, proteins and veggies for dinner. I feel off when I go too many days straying from that!
Laura
I wake up thinking about food! Normal eating to me is eating things I love that make me feel good – with a little treat each day!
Its always great to be back home after a holiday.
My “normal” eating would be porridge/ bircher muesli for breakfast, rye bread/ wholemeal pitta with fruit + yoghurt for lunch, maybe cereal bar as a snack (eg trak/nakd bar) or nuts, and something with beans and veggies for dinner. I always miss plain food when I am on holiday as it all gets rich after a while.
My family saves me jars too! My dad just asked if I wanted the bottom of the blueberry jam jar — yes please!
Must feel good to be back to normal eating….
Normal eating for me is oatmeal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and something healthy but filling for dinner. When I’m away from home and eating out every day I just feel off by the end of a trip.
oh my GOD that salad looks amazing! i adore veggies in that form. and, well, any form!!
That salad looks so refreshing and delicious! And I love OIACP (Oats in a Coffee Pot). It is my go to meal when I am staying a hotel!!!
Getting back to a normal eating routine is definitely one of the best things about coming home after a trip!
The salad looks delicious. I’d be craving something that fresh after all the wonderful Orlando eating, too!
My normal eating usually consists of 2 vegetarian meals and one meat-eatin meal a day. I started eating 2 vegetarian meals a day so that I would force myself to eat more veggies! Other than that, my meals don’t have any real consistency–it might be oatmeal for breakfast one day, and the next breakfast I might be eating leftovers!
I feel like that’s why I sometimes breath a sigh of relief once Monday roles around- the weekend always calls for random meals out or things I don’t normally eat. My regular breakfast and lunch are always really enjoyed that Monday!
Gotta love thoughtful husbands
Normal eating for me definetely is my oatmeal or muesli (with yogurt) for breakfast! Every other breakfast is “fancy” and throws me off routine and balance once it’s more than a normal weekend long!!
I also like to have my “Marie-Sophie food” around (i.e. fridge and cupboard stocked up with my preferred food) and as fun and fancy holidays or days away are – I am always glad to be back!
Enjoy your routine!!
normal eating for me is eating three decent sized meals with a few snack, fruit or yogurt types of things and a dessert. being away from home i.e eating out as good as it can be can be a lot. your salad looks awesome love the eggs and radishes.
Salads and beer, haha my kind of woman! Glad you’re back in Boston!
I can’t wait to get back to normal eating! I’m in the middle of moving right now and am living on take out and things that don’t require any work or refrigeration (so, apples and lara bars, lol). Normal eating involves delicious salads, oatmeal in the morning, and of course a cookie or two here and there. Or maybe everyday
Ooh, those beers both sound awesome!
I don’t really have a “normal” eating pattern for myself. My most consistent meal is breakfast, which is normally oatmeal or cereal with yogurt. I shake up my other meals quite a bit, because otherwise I get bored. I can’t have that, because my biggest selling point for my healthier eating is that I never get bored and always can shake things up!
I love coming home from traveling and getting back to “normal” eating. Which for me includes my favorite protein shake, salads, veggie burgers and lots and lots of nut butter
That salad looked so refreshing and delicious!
Normal eating? Smoothies, oatmeal, salads, mixed nuts, apples, stir-fry, tilapia filets, roasted veggies. That is basically what I eat every day!
“Normal” eating to me is eating every few hours with plenty of veggies
Also, I feel better if I know what all is in my food… like a salad, or something that I make at home.
It could be my obsessive side rearing it’s ugly head but it makes me feel in control
Normal eating? A guess it’s a little bit of everything. Mostly healthy with random indulgences here and there.
Welcome home!
Normal eating for me is homemade food- I feel gross after eating out (even if it’s just sandwiches) too often.
i love eating better after vacations…it just kind of rounds out the whole experience. normal eating is eating fresh ingredients as much as possible and definitely a beer every now and then
Normal eating is similar to you – oatmeal or yogurt+cereal in the morning, salad/soup or sandwich for lunch, and whatever my mom makes for dinner. And fruit after dinner. Awesome.
I don’t have time to watch the video. Can you tell me if people put the coffee pot on the stove top?
I consider normal eating to be a diet that gives me adeqaute fuel to perform well throughout the day, without making me feel too full or too hungry. It includes indulgences, but is mainly a lot of whole grains, nuts, low-fat dairy and veggies : )
there’s nothing like a bowl of oatmeal on monday morning after eating crazy all weekend. that’s “normal” to me. makes me so happy to start my monday clean!
Normal eating would be oatmeal or cereal and yogurt for breakfast, a hummus sandwich or salad for lunch and something with a lot of flavor and veggies for dinner. And throw in some chocolate intermittently.
Ommegang is great! It’s a short drive from Boston if you’re ever looking for a weekend getaway.
Normal eat to me is exactly how you put it..while minus the beer.
But we’ll replace that part with protein shakes 
How awesome of Mal to save the last bit of PB for you! He’s learning haha
Hi Tina, I noticed that you added the “previous” and “next” button at the bottom of the comments. Thank you for doing that! (Or maybe it was always there and I just hadn’t noticed, which is a distinct possibility and I would not be surprised if I was too slow to find it
Makes reading much easier!
Yay for you being back home! Im sure the boys were thrilled!!!
LOVE that Mal saved the PB jar, thats a good man right there!!!
Have agreat day!
My normal eating is having a good balance of healthy grains, healthy fats, veggies, fruits, etc with a bit of a treat each day mixed in as well. Whenever I am more indulgent I ALWAYS look forward to simpler, fresher, and lighter meals. Still like my treats though too.
Normal eating for me means less mindless grazing. Hah!
My family also now saves the nut butter jars for me:-) After too much indulging I always look forward to whole grains and lots of veggies!
Normal eating is the way of eating that makes you feel the best both mentally and physically. Its different for everyone and I feel would be impossible to define.
Normal eating to me is routine breakfast lunch and dinner when I’m at home. breakfast and lunch are usually the same but i try to make something new for dinner at least once or twice a week
Welcome back!
I normally don’t drink beer (ever) but I’ve had a taste or two of a good pumpkin beer from World Market
Welcome hooommmeee!
That salad looks pretty awesome for a brew pub type place.
Normal eating for me is oatmeal – salads – cooked veggies – and cookies. Cookies are always part of my healthy-eating agenda
Although my ‘normal eating’ isn’t perfect by any means, I am really looking forward to getting back to it after a very hectic summer. I was never at my place for more than 5-6 days at a time, and since I only cook for one, I never bought a lot of groceries to not waste anything. I’ve had too much drive thru, camping, and “my parent’s food” this summer and feel pretty lethargic by now. To me, normal eating is eating at home or packing a lunch for every meal except maybe 1-2 per week. Usually, eggs and toast for breakfast, then big salad or smoothie for lunch, and a grain/meat/veggie dinner.
My “normal” eating is getting in plenty of fruits, veggies, and whole grains. (I’m not as good at the protein thing, although I do get enough in).
Normal eating for me are my typical breakfast (toast with nut butter or oatmeal) and a lunch and a dinner. Regular portions and a few snacks throughout the afternoon. Mostly it just means not having multiple restaurant meals throughout the day and indulgent treats more than once a day.
My normal eating starts with at least 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies a day, some lean protein (eggs, tofu, fish, beans, nuts, chicken, bison, lean beef, pork tenderloin), and plenty of whole grains. I tend to derail from normal eating when I’m on the go a lot and have to either eat out or eat something quickly.
Also, that beer looks really delicious. I love light, citrusy beers in the summer.
Tina I just wanted to say again how wonderful your site looks. The quality of your pictures are incredible!
my go-to meals include salads and sandwiches. when i eat one of those i consider it “normal”
That peanut butter jar label is really cute. I consider normal eating to be a lot of spinach, Greek yogurt, black beans, and nut butters. Earlier this week I ran out of Greek yogurt and black beans, and I felt completely lost.
Welcome home!
I have a Groupon for American Craft, so I really need to go sometime soon. I’ve heard good things about both their food & beer selections. Even though you didn’t get the pumpkin beer you were hoping for, we have fall season, full of pumpkin beers, to look forward to!
Love the oatmeal in a coffee pot idea. Perfect for mornings at a hotel!
That stinks that the salad didn’t have much flavor – it looked so so promising. I just had oat bran for the first time in years – it was amazing. I had it hot though so now I need to have it in OIAJ.
For me normal eating is cooking at home, lots of fresh veggies, fish, whole grains, legumes and cheese. I have to have cheese. With some sweet treats as well. What isn’t often in my normal diet are fried foods, red meat and creamy sauces. Besides the obvious reasons, fried foods and heavy sauces are just too difficult to make.
i can’t seem to find Teddy peanut butter anyway. it’s so cute!
I bet it feels good to be home. Going away is great but coming home is always so comforting. It’s sweet that Mal kept the peanut butter jar for you.
I ditto what most others have said about normal eating: mostly healthy with the odd indulgence here and there, because life is for living!
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