Nothing is more relaxing than driving through the countryside after a busy week in the city! Eric and I love visiting cities on vacation, but we both agree we will never live in one again. Too much love for the countryside, rolling hills, and peace and quiet.
Let me rewind back to this morning!
We walked to breakfast, which turned into brunch when we discovered they were out of oatmeal at Kramer’s!
I munched on an apple on the walk there to curb my post-run hunger:
I ordered a 1oz. Wheatgrass shot to start…
Eric got his beloved Sundried Goodness of Green sandwich!
I tried the Falafel wrap.
Oh MAN this was some good falafel!!! So spicy and crispy. Perfection.
Along with onion, tomato, lettuce, and salsa (a sub for the non-vegan dressing). Yum, yum, and yum!
If you are ever at Kramer’s I highly recommend the falafel!
And a banana for dessert:
Back at the hotel, we packed healthy snacks for our flight home.
I packed an apple, Liberate Glo Bar, Mary’s Sticks + Twigs (from swag bag) and a side of LOVE! ;)
I was not a fan of these sticks and Twigs! I ate them anyways as I was hungry but I would not buy them again. Quite bland. Maybe their other flavours are better?
A great nutritional profile though…much better than the pretzels they were handing out on the plane! You can’t argue with 5 grams of protein, 5 grams of fibre and all natural whole grains.
Mmmm!
I finally finished Eat Pray Love. Now I can see the movie!!! I hope it is good, but I’m not sure the movie can live up to the movie in my own mind. ;) Has anyone seen it?
We supplemented our snacks with a salad from Sprigs Fresh Salads in the Midway airport.
I got a build your own: Romaine, chickpeas x 2, tomato, cucumber, and green pepper.
I was so excited when I saw that they had chickpeas because I knew they would keep me full while traveling.
Our flight was hassle free and early to boot. No complaints with Southwest at all. We landed in Buffalo and had to find our car and hit the road for home. The border crossing this time going into Canada was super fast. It is so much easier to get into Canada than the US! Luckily they did not confiscate my food. ;)
Although we were good at preparing for lunch, it didn’t occur to us that we would be driving through dinner in rush hour traffic. Whoops. We didn’t have the healthiest dinner tonight, but at least we didn’t starve!
We shared this bag of almonds from the swag bag…
And then this happened. I’m sure you can see where this went…
Yes, I dipped dark chocolate into White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter and I’m not ashamed.
Belly ache ensued.
Swung by our CSA pickup on the way home…perfect timing! Now we have a fridge full of healthy goodies to start off the week right.
MELONS!!!!!!!! This is a first!
Corn on the cob. Very happy about this. My little BBQ Masta will have a field day with those.
Home sweet home!
We had really quick toast and cereal dinners when we got home around 8pm. We were hungry, but not overly so.
I had toasted Ezekiel bread with hummus and tomato paste:
And Nature’s Path Spelt Cereal with Almond Milk.
And that’s a wrap!
I think a successful vacation is one that leaves you appreciating your normal, daily life. They are great while they last, but I have never been on a vacation where I did not think ‘I am so happy to be home’ when it was all said and done. There is no place like home. One thing is for sure, I am so excited to be able to cook my own food again. While I did have some amazing eats while away, I truly miss preparing meals in the kitchen. Vegan Overnight Oats are the first thing on my list!
I have anxious thoughts swirling through my mind about getting caught up on 1 week’s worth of Bakery orders, but I won’t worry about the future.
Right now, I have the rest of the evening to enjoy.
I liked the book better than the movie–naturally. The Rome part of the movie was amazing, then after that was just ok.
I completely agree with you about vacations. I always know it was good one when I’m ready to come home and face reality again!
No place like home! Glad you make it safely. I think that chocolate dipped in white chocolate PB sounds like a perfect dinner. ;) Do you have any tips for packing eats on the go?
It DOES feel so good when arriving home from vacation doesn’t it?! Getting back into a normal routine, your own bed, get unpacked and laundry going….I love that first day (or night) home:)
Welcome home! Wow. Seeing photos of the country-side makes me want to move out of my bustling city into a more quaint area. We’re seriously considering it. :) A place where you can’t hear the sounds of the interstate at night? That exists? ;)
I’m so glad you had a good time in Chicago! And I’m with you on Southwest- I tend to have good experiences flying with them. Welcome back home!
Thanks for sharing your pictures from Chicago! What a beautiful city.
I read the book several months ago and saw the movie on the weekend. I thought they were both excellent.
Enjoy settling back into your normal groove. Also, many kudos to you for dunking the chocolate in WCW Peanut Butter. I would’ve done the same, it’s the ultimate combo!
Ooh, the first melon of the CSA just got me all excited for them to be in season here. I love me some melon.
Read the book. Saw the movie. Loved both very much.
Also I have now made two trips to the kitchen to snack on Dark Chocolate Dreams after seeing your tweet – ahh it’s so addicting!
Welcome back home :) !
There’s no better feeling than returning to the most comforting places, a.k.a home sweet home! I’m so glad that you and Eric had a wonderful trip to the windy city.
P.S dark Chocolate with PB is the bomb !
When we drove to Alaska (from South Carolina) in May we actually had a much harder time getting into Canada then we did getting from Canada into Alaska. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we are not Canadian citizens, or possibly that we had everything we owned in 2 cars and a giant UHAUL van? hmmm… We were crossing into Saskatchewan from North Dakota, so it’s not like it was a busy border, but it took us over an hour. We had to park our vehicles and go in to be interviewed by the border guards (in separate rooms, one at a time). We are a military family and the Canadian border guards just did NOT believe we didn’t have guns with us. At least 4 different guards asked me at separate times if we had guns with us, or if we were shipping any to our final destination. Everyone was very friendly, but it was the most intense border crossing I’ve ever been through! Going into Alaska from the Yukon Territory – breezed right through. :)
Oh, and I like to dip my dark chocolate Adora disks into White Chocolate Wonderful for “dessert”. :)
Loved the movie. Make sure you eat before you see it. It will make you hungry.
Glad to hear you guys are home safe and sound!
1) I am scared to see Eat Pray Love, because a lot of people have been telling me it’s not as good as the book. :-(
2) Those sticks and twigs gave me a tummy ache. Toom much fiber??
3) Tomorrow morning I am having oats in a jar with my empty TJ Sunflower Butter jar. Can’t wait!
I just bought those pretzels the other day. They were seriously a letdown! I was really upset since I can’t eat real pretzels b/c of my gluten intolerance. There is one more brand of GF pretzels that I want to try, and if they aren’t good I’m giving up!
“Eat Pray Love” is one of my all-time favorite books, and I was so nervous to see the movie for the exact same reason you are! However, a friend convinced me to go to the midnight show when it first came out, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED it. And I want to go to Bali. :) Go see it. It’s great.
Glad to see you and Eric made it home safely. What a wonderful time you had in Chi-town!..including the HLS with your husband to boot! So cool that he went with you and you guys turned it into a vaca. Thanks for the yummy eat recommendations always good to note and now know of a few more things to pick up at T.J’s—-tomorrow :)
Good to hear you got back alright & with food in tact – especially that white chocolate wonderful. Btw – that stuff makes AMAZING oatmeal cookies. I highly recommend it.
I also wanted to tell you I made that basil-tomato-crouton bake you made a few weeks ago and it was a HUGE hit with my fam! i’m going to make it again and add eggplant :) thank you!
i know what you mean about city living…i don’t think i could do the country, but cities aren’t my thing either. i’m definitely a proud fan of American suburbia :)
Welcome home! I agree, nothing like having good and healthy food in your house when returning from travel.