food | Preppy Runner - Theodora Blanchfield

I FINALLY LEFT THE HOUSE THIS AFTERNOON, AND IT WAS GLORIOUS!

With the Luluberry clothes that Santa left under the tree was a pass to a free class at a hot yoga studio around the corner from my parents’ house. I enjoy yoga, but I reserve hot yoga for when I’m either really stuck in a rut or desperately need some detox.

While I’m starting to work my way back towards my normal healthy choices, I’m still at home at my parents’, and part of the experience is the yummy food my mom cooks for me—which isn’t always necessarily as healthy as I normally eat. So a nice hot yoga detox was in order. (If you are ready to start detoxing, read this guide I wrote for Glamour last year on how to do it.)

When I got back, my mom was ready to cook dinner. She bought pork chops when we were at the store yesterday, I’ve been wanting to try pork chops on my own, but I haven’t yet, so I was more than happy to let her do the experimenting. She asked what I wanted, but I was so worn out from yoga (for me, hot yoga leaves me more drained than energized) that I told her she could do whatever she wanted with them. She didn’t have to attempt to make them healthy. She found this recipe for pork chops florentine, and it was incredibly tasty.

Not pictured: some brown rice and asparagus. I ate them first.

So, I’m still in Jersey. I had planned to be until Wednesday, because my mom’s birthday is tomorrow and a little down time never hurt anyone. But this whole “snow emergency” thing is cramping my style a little bit. I’m a little antsy.

Yesterday, I went with my mom to the grocery store, because I was curious how ridiculous it would be the day of a big storm. The answer: pretty ridiculous. The crowded aisles rivaled those of the NYC grocery stores I go to, except with even more surly looks when angry elves got stuck behind a grocery cart.

Since everyone else was shopping like it was the end of the earth, and my mom was paying, I started throwing random stuff in the cart. Almonds? I’ll find something to do with them. Chocolate chips? I’ll be snowed in. I’ll need to bake.

My mom’s random purchase was “soup greens.” She threw them into a pot, added some water, broth, chicken, potatoes, tomatoes and spices, and turned it into a soup. It was pretty good, and it definitely hit the spot on a cold night.

I love my parents and all, but I really wouldn’t mind a boyfriend to be snowed in with right now…

Since I didn’t have a hot piece of meat next to me, I had one on my plate.

Let’s call this Gratuitous Picture of Your Meat Monday. There was also some broccoli and sweet potatoes on the plate, but they didn’t photograph quite as well. My mom thinks I don’t eat enough red meat. Usually, I argue with her and tell her too much red meat isn’t food for you, but last night I let her make me the damn steak.

This morning, it was back to the oatmeal, with raspberries and sunflower seed butter. My mom had bought a huge thing of oatmeal the last time I was home, and I guess I stole it to bring back to my apartment, because all was left was the by-the-packet stuff with “brown sugar” and “maple syrup.” Emphasis on the quotes. The ingredients on the back of the packet were actually a bunch of chemicals that combined to make brown sugar and maple syrup flavoring.

A few gratuitous snow shots…

This is taken laying down in front of the front door, because there’s too much snow to actually walk out the front door. We got two feet out here in Jersey!