WAIW: The I Love Autumn Edition

Happy Wednesday!  Friday is within sight, and that's mighty exciting for this girl. :)

My contribution to this week's edition of What I Ate Wednesday -- a happy little cyber-potluck, started by the fabulous Jenn over at Peas & Crayons, that has grown by leaps and bounds and is now a huuuuuuuge virtual get-together -- will also include some love for my favorite season: autumn.


Brandon's mom was visiting from Tejas for the last couple of weeks, and the three of us had a great time hitting up some lesser-known tourist destinations in and around DC.  (Side note: my mother in law is fantastic!  I know the words "mother in law" and "visit" tend to strike fear into a woman's heart, but in my case, it's just the opposite.  I lucked out -- big time -- in having married an awesome dude with an awesome mom.)

Because I love autumn (ok, I probably have an unhealthy obsession with it), I took pictures of leaves everywhere we went.  So, while I showcase my daily noms, Imma also showcase some leaves.  It's random, I know, but I'm stickin' to it.

As always, the day starts with my morning cup of chai:

Double spice chai + pumpkin spice chai (thank you, Twinings!) make for a perfect fall drink.

 After hitting up the gym, I had my customary fruit + veg recovery smoothie.  This one was replete with a lot of spinach - I've been feeling anemic lately, so I'm trying to (read this in an Aaaahnold voice) pump it up on my iron intake.

Lunch + snacks: Trader Joe's Lentil & Ancient Grains soup (can we talk about how much I love their soup selection?  When I have a super-busy weekend and don't have time to prepare a batch of soup for the week, Trader Joe's soups always come through for me.), apple, banana, cantaloupe, grapes, and some KIND maple-walnut granola to nosh on when I get to work.  I really want to start making my own granola, so that's going to appear here someday soon!

I didn't get a picture of my post-work, pre-dinner snacks of carrots & celery with hummus, largely because I was too busy wolfing them down to grab the camera.  There are times when nothing can come between me and my food, and this was one of them!

Aaaaaaand, here's a random leaf picture (I can't think of a single decent segue between the food and this picture, so I won't even try to make a graceful transition):

For dinner, I didn't have time to think up a new recipe this weekend, so we went with an old standby: Middle Eastern lentil-veggie soup with chicken.

Of course, I'm already dreaming about the weekend -- I mean, it's a mere 3 days away, so why not?  I have visions of new recipes and long runs outside in the gorgeous fall weather dancing in my head.  :)

Hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday!