By Emily McLaughlin

Today was just lovely. Working from home increases my productivity exponentially.

On days when I commute to Newton, it can take anywhere from 1 to 1.5 hours to get to work and getting home takes just as long. That means 2-3 hours of my day is spent in traffic. …In reality, that isn’t horrible. But for some reason, it kills me to waste that much of my day driving.

This morning, I slept a little later, and had enough time to head out for a quick run. I’m currently entertaining the idea of training for a half-marathon. Last time I tried to do this, my shins took a turn for the worse and said, “Hell, no!” Over the weekend, I did a 5 mile workout (walk .5, run 4, walk .5). By the end, my shins were fine, but my knees were hurtin’. This morning I did a 20-minute easy run to get back in the game… SUCCESS!

Goooood morning. :)

After my run, I still had plenty of time to put gas in my car, get coffee and make breakfast–all before I had to log onto my work computer. For breakfast… I, of course, had oatmeal. This morning, I prepared it in one of my favorite ways–with an egg on top. I have shared this recipe with you all countless times, so it might seem normal. However, my family still looks at my bowl of goods with their heads cocked to the side.

Fresh salsa and plain Greek yogurt from Trader Joe’s.

What set today’s breakfast apart from the rest, was the salsa and fresh tomatoes. I am utterly smitten by Trader Joe’s Hot Fresh Salsa. To make things even better, my mom had a bunch of freshly picked tomatoes waiting to be consumed.

Hesitant? PLLLLLEASE try this. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. Oats are the perfect carb to power you through your mornings.

Breakfast of champs.

Egg ‘n oats

1/2 cup oats

1 cup water

1-2 fried eggs/egg whites (I love runny yokes)

1 dollop of fresh salsa

1/4 cup fresh tomato (if you’ve got ‘em)

1 dollop of Greek yogurt

1. Cook the oats according to package instructions — typically, 1/2 cup of oats needs 1 cup of water.

2. Fry eggs to your liking, putting them on top of the oatmeal.

3. Put all that other stuff on.

;) Enjoy!