What I Ate Wednesday #61: A Day in the Life

Have you entered my thinkThin giveaway yet?

It’s been a while since I’ve gone through a full day’s worth of my eats as opposed to my fun dinners out so I figured now is a good time to do just that! Although these meals aren’t exactly the prettiest, I think they’ve been pretty darn tasty!

Breakfast

Possibly the best ever.

My favorite protein TVP oats topped with some winnings! A couple months ago I won some amazing Nut-Tritious Foods nut butters from Kelsey. This batch of oats is topped with 1 tsp cashew butter, 1 tsp almond butter, and 1 tsp chocolate-hazelnut butter. And of course my apple quinoa granola from Michele’s!

Mid-Morning Snack
I made my own fruit on the bottom with frozen blueberries!

Frozen fruit on the bottom..

And then it froze some of my yogurt too.. ha. Whoops!

All mixed up and topped with a little dark chocolate cherry crumble!

It was quite good, though, once I mixed it up and crumbled a little dark chocolate cherry Soyjoy bar on top!

Lunch

This is the most attractive salad you’ve ever seen. I know.

I always thought frozen veggie burgers were gross until I actually tried some [go figure..]. This is a Dr. Praeger’s California veggie burger and I must say I love it! I also love those little crunchy peas on top.. way better than croutons, if you ask me [you did. I heard you.] The dressing combo was a little buffalo sauce and a drizzle of caesar. It was a good one!

Afternoon Snack

Blueberry nutty goodness!

I love these crunchy bars! They have a pretty short list of ingredients and are just slightly sweet. They’re also good when I’m looking for something a little lighter and not totally packed with protein if I’m not working out at night.

Dinner

I swear, there’s chili under there!

You may recall I made this healthy jalapeno sweet potato chili a couple months ago. Well, it made A TON and I happily froze 3 containers of it. Now that we’re moving, I’ve been defrosting and eating this a lot. This was actually my last bowl of it, topped with some more of my favorite veggies [prepared by my loving husband.. love when he cooks!]

Evening Snack

Apples are my fave!

I think we’re getting to the end of apple season because my apples have been getting less and less crisp. I guess that means it’s time to bake with them! 😉

Food for Thought

Could you eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch, or dinner for days at a time?

What is your favorite fruit?

My [Healthy] Addiction

It’s no secret that I’m completely addicted to Pinterest; mostly for recipes, but I do pin other things like workouts, house inspiration [you know, for when we find a grown up house], etc. Lindsay is hosting her third Pin It Party and there was no question that I’d be hopping on the bandwagon!

Check out my 5 posts I’d love to see on Pinterest!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Proatmeal

With all things pumpkin popping up, I thought this would be the perfect time to re-introduce a PSL favorite.

Spaghetti Squash Kugel

Not just for passover! 🙂

Turkey Quinoa Burgers

Grilling season isn’t over yet!

Lemon Tarragon Chicken

I love this chicken because it’s just as tasty made into a creamy salad!

Chick Pea Tuna Salad

And speaking of salads, this one is great on anything.

Hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do. And don’t forget to check out the whole party for some more great pinspiration!

Food for Thought

Do you use pinterest on a regular basis?

What is your favorite thing to pin?

What I Ate Wednesday #53: A Couple New Faves

Happy Wednesday, friends! Nathan sent me this video yesterday and I had to share it. This guy is incredibly inspirational and it’s so nice to see someone with such a positive attitude. It’s definitely worth the watch.. I hope you enjoy!

Now onto the food..

I have to admit, my eats have not been the most exciting lately. I’ve been loving big salads and roasted veggies and there are really only so many times I can show the same old stuff. So today I wanted to share another new twist on my protein oats and a couple other favorites that I’ve enjoyed recently.

Zucchini Bread Protein TVP Oats

I decided to explore a few breakfast options [only a little] and tried Zoats. I really enjoyed them but wanted to give them my own little twist and I’ve been devouring ever since! And obviously zucchini is not in short supply right now, so this is the perfect recipe to use some up!

Serves 1

Ingredients
– 1/2 cup almond milk
– 1/2 banana; mashed
– 4 egg whites
– 1 small zucchini; shredded and squeezed dry
– 1/8 cup rolled oats
– 1/8 cup TVP* [If you don’t have TVP, just substitute another 1/8 cup of oats]
– Cinnamon
– Nutmeg
– Your fave nut and/or seed butters [Optional.. but why wouldn’t you?!]
– Your fave granola [Optional.. see note above]

Directions
In a small pot, bring almond milk to a boil with mashed banana and a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. Turn the heat down to medium high, add in your egg whites and mix continuously so the egg whites don’t poach. After the egg whites are partially cooked, add in the zucchini [make sure you squeezed as much of the moisture out as possible!] and mix to combine.

Let the zucchini and egg mixture cook for a few minutes, then add in the oats and TVP. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally until the oats reach your desired consistency. Once cooked, top with 1 tbsp nut or seed butter, a sprinkling of cinnamon, and your favorite granola for crunch!

*You can purchase TVP from iHerb.com. Use discount code ZAF482 at checkout for up to $10 off your purchase!

Nutritional Information

Per serving, without optional toppings

235 Calories  /  2g Fat  /  32g Carbs  /  7g Fiber  /  12g Sugar  /  24g Protein

Pretty close to the original protein TVP oats, but with a little spin 🙂 This is also a perfect #PowerbowlChallenge breakfast. If you’re not participating, get with the program!

Snacks

I’m sure you’ve heard Chobani’s recent news and after having to toss a few of my beloved flips*, I’ve decided to take a little break and branch out to other brands of Greek yogurt. I’ve discovered some new flavors from Oikos that are off the chains! Yep. I went there. And I highly recommend you check them out.

I love that the lids say “with room for toppings” 😉

*Chobani’s customer service is incredible. If you’ve had any issues with your yogurt, be sure to contact them and they will send you coupons for free cups!

Salad Topper

I finally found a store in my area that carries miso and was super psyched to start cooking with it. I’m in love with Kathy’s miso dressing and have made miso-dipped tofu multiple times!

The tofu is perfect to throw on top of salads or into a wrap. I can’t wait to try it with tempeh and other proteins!

Food for Thought

What is your favorite flavor of yogurt?

Have you ever cooked with miso? Are you a fan?

Never Forget. 9/11/01

Foodie Friday: Chick Pea Tuna Salad

Two posts in a week?! That’s some sort of record recently! 😉

I just knew I had to share this super quick and easy salad that I whipped up. It’s perfect to throw on top of lettuce, in a wrap or sandwich, with some crackers, or even just by itself.

Chick Pea Tuna Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients
– 1 can reduced sodium chick peas
– 1 5oz. packet chunk light tuna in water
– 2 tbsp hulled hemp seeds [optional]
– 20 cherry tomatoes; sliced in half
– 1/3 english cucumber; diced
– 1/2 red bell pepper; diced
– 3 stalks green onion; chopped
– 1/2 cup plain Chobani
– 2 tbsp dijon mustard
– 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
– 1 tsp garlic powder
– 1 tsp dried basil
– 1/2 tsp ground thyme
– 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
– Salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Combine chick peas through green onion in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients for the dressing and adjust seasonings to taste. Add the dressing to the large bowl and mix everything well to coat.

Couldn’t be much easier than that, right? You could always skip the tuna and make it a meatless meal too. And of course, feel free to change up the veggies or the spices for whatever mood you’re in!

Nutritional Info
Per 1 cup serving

200 Calories  /  4g Fat  /  26g Carbs  /  8g Fiber  /  5g Sugar  /  19g Protein

Food for Thought

What is your favorite creamy salad?

Foodie Friday: Lemon Tarragon Chicken

A couple months ago, I shared a special bridal shower edition of WIAW. My aunts put together a wonderful shower and a delicious and healthy menu. Of course, I immediately requested the recipes for the dishes and couldn’t wait to get started making them. One recipe in particular—the tarragon chicken salad—was requested by Nathan so I figured that would be a good place to start.

I made minor adjustments to the recipe based upon what I had in the house and it turned out perfectly. It was a great dish to make on Sunday and have as snacks or on top of salads for the week. I had planned on making it again seeing as how we ended up with so much extra tarragon, but instead, I decided to make a full dinner out of it!

Lemon Tarragon Chicken

Serves 2

Ingredients
– 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
– Salt
– Pepper
– Garlic powder
– EVOO
– 1/4 cup plain Chobani
– 1 tbsp dijon mustard
– 1 lemon; zested and juiced [set aside some zest for the end!]
– 3 sprigs fresh tarragon; chopped
– 1/4 cup sliced almonds; toasted

Directions
Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a little lemon juice. Drizzle some EVOO onto the pan and place the chicken in. The chicken should cook about 7-9 minutes per side, depending on how thick the pieces are. Once the first side lifts off the pan without effort and has nice grill marks, flip it over, turn the pan down to medium low, and cover with aluminum foil. This will help it to cook through without burning the outside.

While the chicken is cooking, mix up the Chobani, mustard, lemon juice, most of the lemon zest, chopped tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. When the chicken is done, plate with your favorite sides, drizzle [or dollop] the yogurt sauce on top, and toss on some toasted almonds. Enjoy!

I served my chicken with grilled asparagus and a grilled portabella cap. The mushroom cap made the whole dish extra filling, so I highly recommend that!

Chicken Salad
If you want to try this recipe out as chicken salad, you can use chicken that has already been cooked, or prepare it as above. The dressing is exactly the same but I would adjust the amount based on the amount of chicken you are using.

Nutritional Information

Per serving

210 Calories  /  9g Fat  /  6g Carbs  /  2g Sugar  /  0g Fiber  /  29g Protein

Food for Thought

Are you a salad person or do you prefer a hot meal?

What I Ate Wednesday #48: Cajun Chicken Pasta and a Giveaway

I have to admit, this week’s eats have really not been too exciting. Good thing I have some pictures from last week! And maybe a little treat for you 😉

Breakfast
Protein-packed TVP oats with homemade pumpkin seed butter, coconut peanut spread, Sunbutter, & a little granola.

Morning Snack
Plain cho with a little stevia, cinnamon, and fresh cherries. I loveee cherry season.. which also happens to be fig season. Amazing.

Lunch
Ezekial wrap full of baby kale, red pepper, carrots, cucumber, crunchy sprouts, leftover coconut curry sauce, and grilled tofu. This is the first time I’ve tried Ezekial wraps and I love them! I wrap everything up with foil around it to hold it all together and throw it in the toaster oven for 15-20 minutes to get everything warmed through.

I also love taking wraps to work; I bring a container of all of my veggies and protein and have a little assembly line in the office kitchen. I also tend to bring too much so I end up with a little side salad too! 🙂

Afternoon Snack
Barre bars are wonderful and this Black Swan chocolate berry bar was the perfect snack microwaved for 10 seconds. I love that they are made with all natural ingredients. Any time I can have a little sweet treat and it’s healthy, I’m a happy girl!

Dinner
Mara’s Pasta recently sent me a package of a few different cuts of their whole wheat pasta; I knew I wanted to figure out a light and delicious recipe to try it out. This cajun chicken pasta came together to quickly and easily. The pasta has great flavor and the perfect bite. It was a great addition to this dish. Be on the lookout for a recipe coming soon! 😉

I’m excited to be able to offer one of my readers a package of this wonderful pasta as well. To enter the giveaway, click here!

Don’t forget to join the email list to stay up-to-date with their latest products and visit Mara’s Pasta on Pinterest for some more great recipe ideas!

Food for Thought

What is your favorite pasta dish?
Have you ever tried Mara’s Pasta before?

Disclaimer: Mara’s Pasta provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Marvelous Weekend Recap and Monday Meet Up!

Monday already? The weekend always flies, but it was another good one. Yet again, I failed at taking many pictures, but I do have a little bit of a recap..

Marvelous is finishing off Friday with another no-grain maple chia cake from the awesome STUFT mama and a going away party for a friend at The Red Star. We’d never been there before, but they had some good happy hour special and the food was good. I, of course, went for a salad which was a bit small, but I should be used to that. Next time I’ll definitely go for one of their sandwiches or the awesome looking fish tacos!

No-Grain Maple Chia Cake a la STUFT mama

Marvelous is driving out to the burbs on Saturday to hang out by my parents’ house. Their A/C bit the dust while they were away and were able to get someone to come out and fix it on the weekend. I made a little day trip out of it and headed over to Target and Trader Joe’s.. wish we had those in the city! I finally found the new flips I’ve been looking for. They’re already gone.

Blueberry yogurt with walnuts, hemp seeds, & chia seeds.

Marvelous is a Saturday night was spent with friends, grilling, drinking [too much] sangria, and playing games. The boys really enjoy video games.. especially Nathan.

Cute, right?

We also played Cards Against Humanity. If you’ve never played, you should definitely get on it.. it’s hilarious! And only made better by sangria 😉 I also made a killer guacamole with a secret ingredient which I’ll be sharing soon. That lasted about as long as the sangria.

Marvelous is Farmers’ Market Sundays. We got there bright and early before the crowd got too crazy and walked away with a nice haul! You have to know where to go and I found a stand where everything is $2. I got 6 zucchini, 8 beets, and a ton of green purple beans. I also picked up some beautiful swiss chard, HUGE blackberries, lemon pistachio granola from Michele’s, peaches and nectarines, and of course, Zeke’s coffee. Totally lucked out with the granola.. last week was supposed to be the final week for the lemon pistachio seasonal and we didn’t make it to the market. I was pretty psyched when I saw that they still had it!

Farmers’ Market haul, huge fruits, and a great run!

Marvelous is a great run after the market. I’ve been trying to do Sunday runday and yesterday I did 10 minutes run, 5 minute sprint HIIT, 5 minute recovery, three times through for 60 minutes. It felt good to switch it up. I also went to the store to stock up on a few more things for the week.. it must be the season for ginormous fruit because these apples were bigger than my hands!

Marvelous is the Orioles sweeping the Rangers. Or really, they can sweep any team and I’ll be happy! 🙂

Marvelous is meeting up with some fantastic Charm City Healthy Living Bloggers tonight. I’m so looking forward to it.. it’s about time I get to meet these ladies!

Food for Thought

Tell me what was marvelous about your weekend!

Foodie Friday: Relay Foods and a Winner!

Hi friends, happy Friday! It’s about time, right? 😉 I’m excited to share a few fun things with you today!

A while back, I was contacted by Relay Foods about reviewing their services. If you’re not familiar with Relay, they are a grocery delivery company based in Charlottesville, VA that concentrates on providing the freshest ingredients from local stores, restaurants, and farms. Why would I say no to this? I have to go grocery shopping anyway and these were delivered to my door!

And the best part? I placed my order the Thursday before my wedding and had everything delivered the day we got home from the honeymoon [how stinkin’ convenient is that?!]. It was a Tuesday and I knew that we would be in no mood to go to the store for a few days. We had enough food to get us through the rest of the week. It was perfect!

Totally psyched for my delivery!

Their website is so intuitive and easy to navigate which makes an already easy process that much easier.

I placed an order for many of our staples; broccoli, kale, asparagus, tomatoes, apples, etc, along with a half share Virginia’s Bounty Basket. The bounty basket changes weekly based upon what is in season and the freshest ingredients that can be provided. Our box was filled with collards, zucchini, lettuces, and some of the best beets and strawberries I’ve had in a long time!

Local strawberries

I was such a happy camper! The strawberries made for delicious snacks for days and these were the beets that got me on my roasting kick [and it’s still kicking!]

Now for the fun stuff.. you may have noticed the Relay banner on the right side of my site. I’m so excited to announce that I am a Relay Affiliate!

So what does that mean for you?

It means that if you place an order by clicking here or on the banner, you will receive $30 off of your $50 on your first order! Seriously, it doesn’t get much better than $30 of free groceries!

What a wonderful company, thank you so much, Relay Foods!

And if that’s not enough, I have a Chobani winner!

Congratulations to Jeffrey Lammers! Please email me at Brittany@BarrAndTable.com to claim your prize!

Food for Thought

Have you ever tried a grocery delivery service? If you have, were you satisfied with the results?

If you haven’t, why not? And what would make you want to try one?

Chobani Lovin’

Today is the very last day to enter my Chobani giveaway [have you entered yet?] and in honor of the last day, I wanted to share my favorite recipes that I’ve created using this wonderful treat!

Mango Chipotle Chicken Salad

Spaghetti Squash Kugel

Roasted Banana Berry Chocolate Cups

Strawberry Yogurt Bites

And of course you can’t forget a simple cup o’ cho! I like to dress up my plain cho with a little stevia, cinnamon, and fresh fruit. Just don’t open the wrong side of the cinnamon top and dump 1/4 cup in there like I did yesterday.. that was rough!

Food for Thought

What’s your favorite way to cho? Do you use yogurt as substitutes in some of your favorite recipes?

What I Ate Wednesday #46: We Drank Too Much

Have you entered my Chobani giveaway?

Asheville, NC is awesome. Nathan and I went down a few years ago for a friend’s wedding and were psyched when my cousin said that’s where she would be getting married. Immediately we started looking up restaurants and breweries that we wanted to try.. turns out there were far too many for the 2 1/2 days that we would be there, but we certainly put a nice dent in ’em!

The wedding was on Sunday so we had planned on leaving Saturday morning around 7 am so we could get there around 3 pm. We wanted to have time to explore and relax. When the groom sent out an email about a brewery tour on Saturday starting at 12 pm, our plans quickly changed. Up a 4 am and out the door by 5? Done.

And so began a weekend of beer.

Saturday

[Breakfast]
On the go! Friday I made 2 batches of my favorite oats and threw one in the fridge to grab and go for the ride. Best decision ever. I topped it with some nut & seed butters and we hit the road.

[Lunch]
We powered through our drive with just a couple of rest stops and made it to Asheville for lunch! Chai Pani was calling our name; we love Indian food! I got the Tandoori Chicken Salad and Nathan had the Kathi Kabab Roll. The salad itself was pretty good but the chicken stole the show. Nathan’s wrap was full of flavor.. I pretty sure he liked it because I only got one little taste.

[Brewery Tour]
First: Wedge Brewing. I had the flemish style brown ale and it was delicious. Nathan had the witbier and enjoyed it equally as much. We quickly learned that we should be ordering samplers.
Second: Pisgah Brewing. A flight of their finest, of course. Not as good as Wedge, but still quite tasty. The barleywine was my fave!
Third: French Broad Brewing Co. They had a huge selection to choose from! We got another sampler but I forgot to snap a picture of this one. I did, however, get a picture of their Eat Bertha’s Mussels bumper sticker on the wall. BALTIMORE REPRESENT!
Fourth: Highland Brewing. Yet another sampler and a blurry one at that! It may have been a little telling of how I was feeling at this point 😉 Good thing you can’t see it on our faces, right……?

The tour ended at Barley’s Taproom where we met up with the rest of the crowd and everyone had dinner. Nathan and I, however, had other plans for dinner. We do our research 🙂

[Dinner]
We were totally stuffed from all of the drinks [and snacks at Barley’s.. whoops!] but we made our way to The Market Place Restaurant for a very tasty dinner. We split an appetizer not on the menu; an assortment of fresh mushrooms baked with a crispy topper. Delish! I had the ahi tuna appetizer for my dinner and Nathan ordered the parpadelle pasta with braised lamb. Both were extremely tasty, I just wish I was hungrier so I could have ordered a full dinner!

Sunday

Clearly after the first day, I needed to get in a workout. Luckily the hotel had a gym.. it may have only been one elliptical and one working treadmill, but how many machines does one person need? No drinking till the wedding. Seriously.

[Breakfast]
Eggs Benny. The beauties in the picture actually had to be sent back though.. they were practically hard boiled eggs! No worries, I got a new order and they were awesome! Served over a homemade english muffin, sauteed swiss chard, and country ham.

[Lunch]
Ok, so we lied. We ended up at Wicked Weed Brewing and had to get a sampler. I was most excited for the Coolcumber and for good reason. So good! I had their smoked turkey sandwich with grilled mozzarella, arugula, and cranberry. It was quite tasty and definitely hit the spot.

[Dinner]
Wedding! Like a bad blogger, I didn’t take any pictures, but there was a buffet of chicken, beef, asparagus, salad, and more. Plus cupcakes for dessert! Yum 🙂

Monday

Again, I had to hit the gym! We had a big day of traveling ahead of us and I wanted to start off on the right foot.

[Breakfast]
Sunny Point Cafe. And more poached eggs! It came with 2 veggie sausage patties that tasted just like regular sausage and a nice flaky biscuit.

Before lunch we took a nice drive along Blue Ridge Parkway. It was beautiful and I wish we had more time [and better weather] to hike, but we had to get to work the next day!

[Lunch]
Foothills Brewing. We’re the worst at avoiding beer but I’ll use the excuse that it was either there or McDonalds. I got an awesome portabello wrap with a little hefeweizen on the side. I had to continue the theme of the weekend.

[Dinner]
We made a pit stop in Richmond to meet up with Brittany and her shiny, new husband, Isaac, at one of their favorite restaurants, Mekong. It’s a Vietnamese restaurant that was named the #1 beer bar in America. I ordered the tofu clay pot and started with an Allagash Curieux. The food was great but the beer was better! And Isaac and Nathan were so cute talking about beer 😉

It was so great to see Brittany again and it was fun to catch up on both of our weddings and honeymoons. It’s a shame we don’t live closer!

After a long weekend of great food, great beer, and a great wedding, it was nice to get back into the swing of things. I’m sure this is why we stayed in so much this past weekend.. no complaints here though!

Food for Thought

When you’re traveling, do you go out of your way to find the best restaurants or bars?