My day began at 7 am, still dark outside. I opted for a chapter of “The Fires of Heaven,” the fifth book in the Wheel of Time series, before venturing out for a morning walk at 7:40 am. I’ve really been enjoying these walks recently.
Back home, a quick 10-minute stretch followed by a bit of casual browsing on my laptop. Around 8:30 am, work beckoned. Today’s agenda: finishing a thumbnail, finalizing a video edit, and scripting a scrambled egg video.
A couple of hours later, the thumbnail was complete, and I filmed the last clip for the edit. Exporting the video brought a sense of accomplishment. Finally, at 10:30 am, it was time for a break. I grabbed a few Altoids and headed to the gym for a 35-minute lifting session.
Returning home, I sampled a pickle my parents had sent. It was quite good! At 11:45 am, I tackled some more work and squeezed in a few rounds of Rocket League.
Lunch started with beef jerky, followed by a pasta experiment inspired by carbonara. The goal: a 600-calorie, high-protein, one-pot pasta dish perfect for leftovers.
I boiled salted water in my wok for the pasta. While it cooked, I chopped leftover red bell pepper and onion, smashed some garlic, and grated parmesan cheese. I also had some parsley, but forgot to use it. I cracked two whole eggs – which turned out to be too much for the 1.5 servings of pasta. One egg would have been sufficient. Finally, I grated some prosciutto and added it to olive oil.
Once the pasta was cooked, I drained it, reserving some pasta water. The oil, prosciutto, and vegetables went into the wok to sauté. Then, I added the pasta and pasta water back to the wok, along with some wilted arugula I found in the fridge.
To boost the protein and make the dish more filling, I added the egg and parmesan mixture. However, the pasta wasn’t hot enough to cook the egg properly, so I added cornstarch and microwaved the mixture to thicken it. It was still edible, but a learning experience. The final result was 630 calories and 30 grams of protein.
After lunch, I enjoyed some leftover weeknight short ribs my brother had missed. I relaxed for about 20 minutes before heading to a coffee shop at 1:45 pm with an iced coffee in hand to research and create a shot list for my scrambled egg video.
Back home around 4:30 pm, I snacked on an apple and a carrot while watching the first Harry Potter movie. I also cut up a watermelon into cubes for snacks throughout the week. Watermelon is one of my all-time favorites.
At 6 pm, I reviewed footage my brother was organizing for another video, then tested out some handheld footage with my camera during another walk. Back home, I relaxed with some casual browsing.
Dinner at 7 pm was tteokbokki, a Korean dish with chewy rice cakes in a spicy-sweet sauce. I like to add fresh ingredients to mine.
I chopped asparagus, smashed garlic, and sliced scallions. In a pan over medium-high heat, I cooked ground beef with salt, MSG, and red pepper flakes. Once cooked, I added sriracha and set it aside.
I sautéed the asparagus in the same pan and set it aside. Then, following the package instructions, I added water, the vegetable mix, and soup base to the pan. Once simmering, I added the rice cakes and cooked for five minutes. Finally, I combined the beef, asparagus, and sauce. The sauce was incredibly flavorful, perfectly spicy. I garnished with sesame seeds and scallions. One serving contained 782 calories and 34 grams of protein.
After dinner, I played some Apex Legends. At 8:30 pm, I finished my day with Greek yogurt, frozen blueberries, and a no-bake cookie bar.
It was a relaxing and productive day, totaling 2083 calories and 116 grams of protein.
