Flu Update, Workout Recap and Meal Plan

Hi everyone!

Our flu sufferers seem to be on the mend... L went back to school yesterday and J has been fever-free since Thursday morning.  We got Tamiflu prescriptions for both of them, and I think that really helped shorten the duration of their illness, combined with the fact that we did all get flu shots at the beginning of the season.

(Here they are bravely taking their Tamiflu doses together-- it tastes terrible-- and washing them down with juice.  Flu solidarity!  And pardon our mess in the background.)

Flu has been rampant around everyone's schools this year, and we had been doing so well at avoiding it.  My hunch is that we picked it up on the plane ride home from Florida, because we had all lost so much sleep that week and so our defenses were down.  Let that be a lesson to you all-- sleep is sooo important!  Prioritize it!  End of speech.

So far nobody else has gotten sick besides L and J (it makes sense that they infected one another because they're just best buds and so cuddly and snuggly all the time) and we have been working hard to sanitize and disinfect and keep it that way.  I'm really thankful to M who was able to take two personal days this week to stay home with the sicklies so I could go to work (he gets paid time off and I don't).  We seem to have come through it pretty well, all things considered!  Definitely could have been worse!

J had been feeling so much better and seemed to have so much energy that I decided to do a make-up gymnastics class this morning with her, since she was too sick to go to her regular class on Monday night.  She did great through about 3/4 of the class and then I saw her walk up to the teacher and say "I'm tired."  I drove through Dunkin' Donuts and got her an egg sandwich to eat on the way home, figuring it might help her energy level, but nevertheless as soon as we got home she did this:

Not even enough energy to hang up her coat or put away her boots.  :(

So obviously we're not 100% yet.  I'm glad we still have a weekend to recover.

Before the workout recap, here's a bit of yummy food pics:

I had made some banana flaxseed muffins before we left for vacation and put them in the freezer, and boy was I glad to have those for easy breakfasts when we came back and I was pretty exhausted.  My favorite way to eat them: cut in half, spread one side with peanut butter and the other with jelly, put back together, and eat like a sandwich.  Yummy breakfast!  The one pictured above was 3/4 gone by the time I took a picture :)

I am always sort of envious of Elise's posts about her lunch salads that typically involve massaged kale, because they always look so delicious, but........ I'm super lazy these days when it comes to making salads for lunch.  I've taken to just throwing my greens into the blender with my Shaklee protein powder and hemp milk, and calling it good.  But this week I figured with the flu going around, extra veg would not be a bad thing, so I put forth the effort to make salads for a couple lunches.  Pictured above is kale massaged with Bragg's vinaigrette (the best), Biena Rockin' Ranch chickpeas, avocado, some cranberry cinnamon goat cheese I had hanging around, and carrots.  I am now cool like Elise.  Go me.

This was a flu patient lunch (grilled ham/cheese and orange slices) side by side with my lunch (red lentil curry soup from last week's meal plan, avocado toast) all featuring homemade maple oatmeal bread, which is my fave bread machine recipe of late.  I can't even remember what cookbook it comes from because it's just a photocopied page that my sister gave me when we were living in an apartment together and had a shared obsession with the bread machine.  Trust me it's good.  Too bad I can't get the girls to eat the lentil soup because it's packed full of anti-inflammatory spices and vitamins from the veg, but... oh well.  Appetites have been really off this week with sickness and so it really hasn't been the time to try new things.  We roll with whatever tastes/sounds good.

On to the workout recap!

I was feeling rested enough after a relaxing post-vacation weekend to start getting up early again for workouts.  It was a successful week!

Friday 2/21: I did this fitness blender "light" cardio workout to ease back in since I was still pretty tired from the previous day's 4:30 AM wake-up for our flight home.  It was plenty challenging for my energy level that day!

Saturday 2/22:  4.28 mile run outside (the weather was SO gorgeous here!) 9'45" pace

Sunday 2/23: rest day

Monday 2/24: 6.27 mile run outside, 9'51" pace

Tuesday 2/25: this fitness blender workout, a switch up from my normal Tuesday upper body one, but I really liked it!  Added it to my favorites!  Really worked my shoulders and chest!

Wednesday 2/26: 5.01 mile run outside, 9'59" pace (pretty tired that morning; I slogged through this run)

Thursday 2/27: this fitness blender workout, which I chose because I was still feeling super tired and this workout contains ZERO cardio.  It was perfect for my energy level that day, and not too long at an even 30 minutes.

Aaaand here's our meal plan for the week!  A lot of the meals I made this week didn't get eaten because appetites were off, so we get to eat lots of leftovers this week and I don't have to cook much!  Yay!

Suppers:

Saturday-- leftovers

Sunday-- mac and cheese from the box, salad

Monday-- packed subs for dance/gymnastics, fruit

Tuesday-- MYO pizza

Wednesday-- leftovers

Thursday-- leftover ragu from the freezer, polenta, broccoli

Friday-- leftovers

Lunches

bagels for kids

sub leftovers

quesadillas

pbj/sbj

salads/shakes

Breakfasts

cereal/granola

eggs

oatmeal

banana muffins if I get a chance to make them

Snacks

hippeas

snap peas

oyster crackers and cheese

tortilla chips and salsa/hummus

fresh fruit: apples, clementines, bananas, grapefruit, grapes

fresh veggies and hummus/dip: carrots, cukes, sweet pepper

made good bars

banana muffins

And now I'm off to sanitize the table, kitchen counters, and bathrooms one more time... have a great weekend, everyone!