
Lunch: Evolution Essential Greens with Lime juice, with strawberries and frozen blueberries added to try and render it palatable (only partially successful). Celery sticks with almond butter. Cherry tomatoes.
After lunch, I could definitely feel the impact of the new probiotics I'm taking-- a period of quite remarkable belching, as well as a roiling sensation in the stomach. It wasn't intolerable, just odd. And then it stopped and I felt okay the rest of the day.
My kid needed to be picked up at school, so we decided to take a trip together afterwards to visit an old friend. Roots Market, up in Olney, MD, was a favorite destination a few years ago when we regularly went to Olney to have kid's foot warts treated by a podiatrist there. The wart treatment turned out to be a massive waste of time, as well as painful, but the discovery of Roots (plus the weekly drive to Olney together, sometimes singing in the car) made the entire experience more joyful than unpleasant. We ended up with fond memories. And a store we can visit when we've got a couple extra hours and are craving some novelty in our diet.
I told my kid they could get whatever they wanted (although they just can't break the lifelong habit of saying "is it okay if I get..." about every single item); the inventory below reflects this. It also reflects that my kid has great taste in food and reasonably healthy inclinations. Things of which I am so proud.
Shopping (Roots): Olivia's Power Blend salad greens, 3 portobello mushrooms, organic strawberries, heirloom tomatoes, organic orange bell pepper, organic lemons, 4 organic avocados, carrot chips [kid], dried green beans [kid], mixed vegetable chips [kid], tamari roasted almonds, 2 individual goat milk yogurts [kid], raspberry kefir [kid], organic whole milk, frozen strawberries, 100-bag box of green tea, freeze-dried blueberries, coconut water, hemp milk, dish soap, 2 cans tuna, single-serving maple water [kid], lingonberry jam, Effie's nutcakes [kid], peppered goat cheese [kid], turkey tenderloin, salmon fillet, baguette [kid], 3 quarts of housemade soup (moroccan lentil, curried split pea, minted green pea), "ocean combo" sushi [kid], cilantro and roasted garlic hummus [kid], Ricola herb cough drops [kid]. $200. Yes, certain items I regretted once looking over the receipt (e.g., the two! heirloom tomatoes I bought for the low, low price of $7.09). But there are so many things available at this grocery that I don't find anywhere else, it is worth the occasional special trip. And the quality of everything is always excellent. Great baked goods, not that I can enjoy those right now. Great sushi. Great cheese section. Great, though limited, hot bar, salad, and soups. Amazing bulk/snack section.
Dinner: salad of romaine lettuce and green cabbage, with shredded carrot and orange peppers; topped with roasted cauliflower, quinoa, and two boneless chicken thighs. Apple cider vinaigrette dressing. This was so filling that I was quite stuffed, and then overstuffed when I ate all my kid's uneaten roasted cauliflower so that it would not go to waste. I guess there are worse things to binge on than roasted cauliflower, though.
After dinner, A. complained that I was using their name too often in order to avoid using pronouns (teenaged translation: "Pronouns do exist, you know!"). Perhaps this is so. I've been slipping back into a almost-but-not-quite-thoughtless use of "she," because it is easier and less emotionally-confusing, and because A. said she, sorry, they didn't mind. But I'd also figured that the use of a proper name was the least gender-loaded choice. This discussion led to A. saying definitively for the first time that they would really prefer us to use "they" consistently. Husband and I immediately switched. More practice needed. But it is good to have greater clarity in this area.
Snacks: cup of rooibos tea with almond milk, 3 strawberries, celery sticks, carrot sticks. 2 cups of green tea.