Travel day!

The clean eating machines have made it to their travel destination, where we'll be hanging out (ok, The H is working) for the next week and a half. We had a great travel day--weather-wise and otherwise--and are now settled into our hotel. The little guy is such a rockstar when we fly. I'm putting that in writing, because even though we know it's true and he continues to blow us away by his awesomeness and flexibility, we still have rough moments here and there and need to remember that, overall, he does *so* well. What follows is a long-winded description of our day--focusing, of course, on what we ate.

The morning started with a wheat-toast-and-chocolate-peanut-butter breakfast (the regular pb was gone, in my quest to eat through the pantry before we left, and I didn't want to open another jar) before my 4 mile run. The H and little guy ran some errands (in the car) while I was out. After my run I refueled with a chocolate protein-powder shake and finished up our packing. Lunch was leftover gluten free veggie pizza (The H was a master chef last night!) with some odds and ends from the fridge--cottage cheese for The H, strawberry Chobani for the little guy, a small chunk of smoked gouda for me, and edamame all around. With our bags packed to near bursting, we were ready to set out for the airport. The little guy fell asleep on the 10 minute drive! Serves us right for choosing a flight that required us to be at the airport at naptime.

While we waited for our first flight, the little guy and I munched on (not clean) Snyder's honey mustard and onion pretzel pieces and made sure our water bottles were filled up. The three of us also shared a Nature's Path choco-peanut granola bar. I recently read in Clean Eating Magazine that they are one of the most recommended/CE approved premade granola bars and was excited to see them on sale at our health food store this week. On board, the little guy had some airline pretzels and fruit snacks while The H and I had Coke and water respectively.

Our first flight landed with an hour between connections, so we grabbed two chefs salads and a fruit salad from one of the few snack stands available (why are the good restaurants never where you want them in an airport?) and shared those amongst ourselves. The little guy ate most of my cheese, turkey, ham, and one of my tomato wedges, as well as some goodies from The H's salad. I ate a lot of lettuce. :) My dressing was a creamy garlic Caesar, which I chose over the honey mustard due to its lack of high fructose corn syrup. The H suffered with HFCS because the Caesar had anchovies in it, and that's no good for someone with a fish allergy. Our fruit salad had pineapple, strawberries, cantaloupe, and honeydew melon in it. I was starving after finishing my lettuce and fruit, so I devoured a PowerBar brand chewy energy bar--toffee crunch flavor--from my carry-on bag.

This time The H and I opted for coffee on board (why does airline java always smell SO much better than it tastes?) and the little guy swigged some orange juice before settling down to read a new story and the SkyMall magazine with me. We were fortunate enough to have short flights both times, and each time we touched down in less than an hour. We were even early to our final destination! Rock on, Continental.

By this time, it was dangerously close to the little guy's bedtime, and while he was still holding up remarkably well considering the day's activity, we knew he was on the verge of crumbling. We got to our hotel 45ish minutes later and I quickly pawed through our bags to find an envelope of EasyMac (Trader Joe's brand) I'd stashed in there for just this moment. While I fed him and started getting him ready for bed, The H went out to hunt and gather for the two of us. Our first plan--Jimmy John's sandwiches--was a bust since the place was closed so he ended up at Whole Foods practically next door to the hotel and brought home a delicious spread.

My dinner was a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast with sauteed Japanese zucchini and onions, and a side of mashed potatoes. I did not eat the skin. The H chose turkey breast, mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans for himself, and bought a large bottled water for us to share. I feel like we'd been munching all day, but for some reason we were ravenous for dinner, and felt like refugees huddled on the floor (that's another story... one that requires photos), stuffing our faces with food, glorious food! We ended the evening with a few Reese's peanut butter cups and lots of water.

Tomorrow I'm going to get lost in Whole Foods during naptime. Cheap thrill? Maybe... but not for someone who doesn't have one at home! I'm a sucker for grocery shopping. It's probably a good thing we don't have a car this week. Walking everywhere--pushing a jogging stroller, no less--will help even things out at the end of the day. :)