Octopuscarwash's Gourmet Adventures: Lights out

I want to be in bed EARLY today... say, 9:15 or so? This was the most relaxing Thanksgiving break ever. Normally I would have found it pretty boring, since I mainly just lounged around the house, leaving it only to do exercise and homework, but with the world's worst weather outside, I really enjoyed it.
Today I woke up too hungry to do exercise right away. I actually woke up at 7 and FINISHED MOBY-DICK! That is an accomplishment... only I don't know what I think of the ending. In fact, I'm annoyed at Melville. He made us read all 450 pages of that tiny print of a plot where no progress is made and everything ends in disaster? Now, I know the whale represents nature and you can't conquer nature, blahblahblah, and I am totally anti-whaling, but for once, could they have killed him just to make the ending feel definite?
Enough ranting-- I hadn't had oats in a long time, and made them this morning. I had a third cup portion, and it seemed TINY! Of course, it ended up filling me up, but I just wasn't used to there not being so much volume.
I had: 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup this WEIRD oat milk stuff that is brown sugar maple flavored... I tried it plain and nearly threw up, but it seems okay cooked in oats, 1/3 cup water, 1/2 banana, cinnamon, 1/8 cup cottage cheese, cranberry sauce, a drizzle of peanut butter, some walnuts, and a little Greek yogurt.

I did stuff in the morning and around 9:30 or something I went down to the workout room. I was afraid somebody would be in there but nobody was! I did 40 minutes on the elliptical reading Interview with the Vampire. It was my first time reading and working out at the same time, and I managed to get a good workout in without feeling bored, which is my big problem with machines. Basically, as I read, I kept increasing the level until I was at level 23 or something! I do want to try interval training, but I think I need to be in the right mood.
Afterwards I used the limited number of strength machines to do 3 sets each of the one that works your pecs and triceps and the one that works your quads and calves (sorry, don't know the names).
I also did 3 sets of bicycles, which were killing me at the end. I think it's because I did a lot... at least for me-- my friend Aoife does 60 on each side! and that's ONE SET! I did 40 and that was plenty for me.
It felt nice to sweat, actually! With swimming and running in the freezing cold, you don't sweat. Actually, I take that back. I was sweating in that damn 85 degree pool the other day!
I didn't eat anything after my workout because it was pretty close to lunch. For lunch my dad had leftover pizza and I made a leftovers plate too with zucchini, the last cauliflower ball, and the rapini, which I added some feta and lemon too. I also had a piece of pumpernickel with avocado, smoked salmon, and lemon. This was very filling and delicious.

Check out that perfect avocado!

Later I was starving and had an apple.

Afterwards I braved the weather to go back to Istria (I wonder if they'll start to recognize me...) and write my second art history paper. This was SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE! Basically, you go to a museum (the Art Institute) and pick a piece that predates 100 CE, then do a fake analysis of it where you make up its symbolism, where it was from, etc. I chose this Chinese pig pen model, but my paper became almost like a mystery story where it turns out that the society worshipped pigs (Piganism, like Paganism, get it?), but also had this weird idea that life couldn't exist without death, so they would kill the pigs and eventually they all died out.
While I was there, I had a decaf mocha with skim, which I had been looking forward to all morning. I was hungry, and all that delicious milk and chocolate filled me up!

By the way, this listening to my body thing is definitely working. It might just be psychological, but I already feel thinner and that my jeans are looser, as well as just feeling BETTER and less bloated all the time. Win-win situation.
My dad and I went to Whole Foods afterwards and bought a bunch of stuff-- we spent less money than last time, thank god.

I bought stevia, finally! So excited to try it!
For dinner I made another dish from the Flexitarian Table, which is slowly becoming my kitchen Bible. This dish is probably a hate it or love it kind of thing, because its flavors are STRONG. It's German or Eastern-European influenced... I made the "non-vegetarian" option (I could have made it with tempeh): smoked white fish over saurkraut with apples and onions.
It was so easy! All I had to do was saute the onions with apple, carrot, celery and caraway seeds, simmer it down with white wine, add the saurkraut, simmer, then add the fish and simmer. It was really fast because really, everything was cooked. this would be great to make if you had nothing fresh and needed to resort to what was in your pantry.
On the side we had boiled potatoes, which were perfect because they were so bland.
My dad also stir-fried some broccoli, which I had seconds of.