What I Ate Wednesday #94: Can’t Stop Me Now

Because if you’re hungry, eat! Ironically enough, I wasn’t all that hungry throughout the day but when the sun set, it was all I could do to keep my hands off of more food!

Breakfast

A normal start to the day. The best protein-packed oatmeal and nut butters. Also, homemade cold-brewed coffee is too easy. Do it.

Lunch

Use your imagination.. this was really my salad from yesterday but Monday’s salad was pretty close. Tuna has been my bff lately, it’s just so easy to throw on a salad when I’m running around like a nut. Which is most days right now! I also had a few Rosemary Black Pepper almonds. Because they’re amazing.

Afternoon Snack

I’m usually starving by the time I get off of work, but Monday I was just feeling something light. I just bought some kefir to try out and while I’m not a huge fan of it on its own, I do like going half and half with some greek yogurt. Of course I added some peanut flour to make a little PB&J parfait.

Dinner

Love love love this feta chicken recipe! I’d highly recommend it but definitely go for the fresh rosemary over dried; I’ve done both and fresh really makes it pop.

Evening Snack[s]
Let the games begin! I started with a couple little pieces of pineapple and an apple. And then…..

..a cinnamon toast rice cake with peanut butter. Eaten just like this.. standing in the kitchen, broken into pieces. Because that’s normal.

And because 2 snacks just didn’t suffice..

..this stuff is delicious! And it finally filled me up. Success!

I always try to practice what I preach. Even though I wasn’t very hungry throughout the day, my body was clearly telling me I didn’t eat enough and it caught up to me by the end of the night. So just because it was after 10 pm [GASP!], I continued to eat healthy snacks until I was comfortably full. Going to bed hungry is the worst!

Don’t forget to enter my Bob’s Red Mill giveaway?

Food for Thought

Do you have a cut-off time for when you stop eating each night?

What I Ate Wednesday #69: My New Kitchen

I’m in love. Seriously, my new kitchen, while still a bit cluttered, is so wonderful. Maybe I’m excited about the granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, maybe I’m just plain excited to have a real kitchen again, or maybe it’s that I have a some extra time on my hands. Whatever it is, I’m really enjoying taking my time and putting together some pretty delicious meals these past few days.

It didn’t start out so pretty though..

I call this my STUFT mama-inspired lunch! The day before we got all of our furniture delivered, supplies were limited, including plates and utensils. Luckily I had some leftover sweet potato and a packet of Naturade VeganSmart Chocolate Shake which, with only a little water, I turned into this delicious-looking mess 😉 Trust me, it tasted way better than it looks! Naturade sent me 2 packets of chocolate and 2 packets of chai; I would absolutely get the chocolate again. It has such a short ingredient list, low in sugar, and chock full of [20g] protein!

Since then, I’ve made some pretty colorful, tasty salads.

And obviously I had to roast up some squash and brussels sprouts for our first dinner here! I also made honey sriracha chicken which turned out great even though I fudged half of the ingredients.

AND!! I broke out my brand new spiralizer for a chicken stir-fry with tomatoes, broccoli, red onion, garlic, and white wine. Topped with shredded gouda, of course. Got Nathan to eat zucchini so I’d say that’s a win for me!

I’m super excited to try spiralizing more veggies! It was so fast and easy, I think this is really going to become a thing around here. If you need me, I’ll be spending some time over at Inspiralized 😉

Food for Thought

Are you a sweet or savory sweet potato fan?
Have you ever used a spiralizer?

This is a sponsored post from 4sponsor.com with my unbised thoughts. Naturade sent me these products for free to for an unpaid review.

What I Ate Wednesday #65: California Budget Living

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed a steady stream of pretty fabulous looking meals. And it’s true, we have found some really delicious food to try in all of our exploration.

What you don’t always see is my daily budget eats from the hotel. I mentioned before that the hotel includes breakfast everyday and dinner/drinks Monday-Thursday and we try to take advantage of that as much as we can. So in true WIAW fashion, let me show you how we do 😉

[Breakfast]

Oatmeal with banana, hard boiled egg whites, granola, & Tru-Nut

The hotel oatmeal isn’t the greatest, but I do love my morning oats! They have bananas here too so I mash up 1/2 banana and break up a couple egg whites to mix in. The granola is pretty tasty and I switch up my peanut butter options by the day. They have Skippy packets here which I use most of the time, but my treats are Tru-Nut, Justin’s packets, and now some PB & Co. too.. all winnings!

Morning Snack

One of my favorites!

Have you ever had this yogurt before? It’s so tasty and I love that the fig & date is separate from the yogurt so I can add as much or as little as I want.

Lunch

Salad bar greens, tomatoes, & carrots +
Whole Foods roasted veggies, chipotle seitan & avocado dressing

The salad bar is one of the best parts of the dinner buffet and I brought back some mixed greens, baby carrots, and tomatoes. When it was lunch time, I dressed it up with my goodies from Whole Foods and had a wonderful lunch!

Afternoon Snack

Microwave this baby for 10 seconds and you have yourself a tasty treat!

One of my new favorite kombuchas!

Call me crazy, but I packed up my stash of bars and brought them with me to the hotel. I always love having them on hand and usually have a few in my purse with me wherever I go. I’ve also been treating myself to a kombucha a little more often recently. Love trying all of the new-to-me brands and flavors!

Dinner

Huge salad plate from the salad bar, mixed veggies, & red wine

Teriyaki chicken & rice pilaf

We almost always take advantage of the salad bar and drinks [the red wine and IPA are darn tasty!] and sometimes they even have a decent veggie side too. I’m really not picky when it comes to the veggies, so the frozen mixed veggies are perfectly fine by me!

Monday night we had planned on having dinner at the hotel—teriyaki chicken and rice pilaf—but we had a change of plans. We did, however, make it back to the hotel before they stopped serving dinner so I ran downstairs and packed up a couple of plates for us for Tuesday night [no shame]. I ended up filling up on so much salad and veggies that I only had some of the chicken and left my rice for Nathan. I even got enough chicken for 3 meals 😉

Evening Snack

Fuji apples!

Fuji apples are my fave and they have them available at the hotel. It’s my perfect night time snack.. and one less thing to buy!

So at the end of the day, I’ve really only purchased some veggies and protein for lunch, a bar, and a kombucha. I’d say it’s not a bad way to get by for a month! [Especially with the free wine..]

Food for Thought

Would you take advantage of the freebies at the hotel?

What I Ate Wednesday #41: My Bridal Shower!

I love “special editions” of WIAW and this week’s is definitely special. Sunday I started out my day at the opening day of the Baltimore Farmers’ Market where I enjoyed a fresh beet, carrot, apple juice [I’m obsessed now] and a coffee from Zeke’s [they’re famous around here!] After that I headed out to my bridal shower; it was incredible! My two aunts put the whole thing together and they did a wonderful job. There were 35 people there to celebrate with me [I couldn’t believe it!], my parent’s house was completely transformed, the food was delicious, and everyone had a great time. It was a success, for sure.

There were tons of pictures from that day [mostly very embarrassing faces while I’m opening gifts!] but I wanted to share some of my favorites with you.

On the Menu
– Mixed greens
– Fresh tomato, mozzarella, & basil salad
– Quinoa and pea salad [so good!]
– Sun dried tomato pasta salad
– Lemon herb chicken salad
– Chocolate kiss truffles

– Mini jeweled shortbread cookies
– Raspberry lemonade cupcakes

There was a serious spread and it was all homemade! I’ve been enjoying the leftovers for days.. definitely not complaining about that! All of the food was so light and fresh; I don’t know that I had one favorite in particular. I do have to say I’m usually not a chicken salad fan but this one was great. I’ll have to get the recipe 🙂

A little gift opening fun.. of course I super excited about my brand new Calphalon grill pan! Living in an apartment, one of the biggest disadvantages is not being able to grill. Hopefully this will help us get by a little easier. And check out my awesome bouquet! Can’t wait to use that for the rehearsal.. though I might skip the head piece 😉

I’m pretty sure this last picture was my “speech”. I’m so articulate and eloquent [and sarcastic..]

And finally, pictures with some of my favorite people. My mom, my friends, my bridesmaids, and of course, a picture with the Tone It Up girls. I’m so happy everyone was there to celebrate with me! It was such a fantastic whirlwind of a day and I’m so thankful for everyone that came and helped get it together!

And in case you need a little something sweet..

Chocolate Kiss Truffles

Makes 60 truffles

Ingredients
– 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
– 1/4 cup butter
– 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
– 2 cups all-purpose flour
– 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
– 1 tsp vanilla
– 60 unwrapped chocolate kisses or hugs
– 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
– 1 tsp vegetable oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt chocolate and butter together over low heat until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Remove from heat. Add vanilla, flour, and nuts and mix well.

Shape one tbsp of dough around each candy kiss. Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes. Do not overbake!

Remove from cookie sheets and cool until firm to the touch. Melt white chocolate and oil together. Drizzle over cooled truffles.

Food for Thought

When was the last time you threw a party for someone? Did you make all of the food yourself or did you have it catered?

*Many thanks to Kate for letting me steal some pics! 😉

Roasted Squash & Chick Pea Baby Kale Salad

Have you entered my Just My Imagination giveaway yet? Only 2 more days!

I am an absolute squash fiend; winter squash in particular. Butternut squash is currently my favorite, but I’ve recently found out about so many more kinds to try! Over the weekend I finally got my hands on delicata. I’d say in terms of flavor, it compares to acorn squash, but it’s so much easier to prepare which instantly wins me over. Not to mention you can eat the skin which also makes it great for salads.

I don’t know about you, but during this time of year, along with some fun new desserts, I’m always looking for an equally fun and tasty salad to bring to holiday gatherings. And nine times out of ten, mine include squash!

Roasted Squash & Chick Pea Baby Kale Salad with Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
6 cups baby kale greens
1/3 cup raisins, craisins, or dried cherries
1 medium delicata squash; sliced
1 can chick peas; drained, rinsed, & thoroughly dried
3 tsp coconut oil; divided
3/4 tsp salt; divided
3/4 tsp ground black pepper; divided
1 tsp McCormick Fiesta Citrus Seasoning

For the Vinaigrette
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place sliced squash on one baking sheet and coat with 2 tsp coconut oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Place chick peas on another baking sheet with the remaining 1 tsp coconut oil, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 black pepper, and 1 tsp fiesta citrus seasoning. Bake squash and chick peas for about an hour, flipping the squash 1 or 2 times and tossing the chick peas around. When finished, the squash should be golden around the edges and the chick peas should be nice and crunchy! Let cool completely.

While the squash and chick peas are cooling, place all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. After everything has cooled, throw kale, squash, chick peas, and raisins (or other dried fruit) in a large bowl and toss with about 3/4 of the vinaigrette. Make sure everything is equally coated. Drizzle the last bit of dressing over top of the salad and top with a little freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.

To make it into a more substantial meal, throw 4oz of your favorite protein on top!

Nutritional Information
Per serving, for 4 servings

218 Calories  /  6g Fat  /  35g Carbs  /  8g Fiber  /  12g Sugar  /  8g Protein

Food for Thought

What is your favorite holiday salad to share?

What I Ate Wednesday #21 – The Last Anniversary

*Have you entered my Tropical Traditions coconut oil giveaway yet? It ends tomorrow and a winner is announced on Friday!*

Well, it’s not really the last anniversary, but last Thursday was our last dating anniversary until we get married! We celebrated 9 long wonderful years of dating, and while people really don’t celebrate their dating anniversary after they get married, I think we’re going to have to do something for the big 1-0!

I had some fun with my food so I couldn’t wait to share it with you today! Happy WIAW!

[Breakfast]
In the midst of my dark chocolate cherry protein pancake obsession, but to make it anniversary special, the future hubs and I made sure to cheers each other over a mimosa.

[Snack]
Blueberry greek yogurt. Yet another obsession of mine that I just can’t shake. It’s the perfect bit of sweetness and protein to get me through the morning.

[Lunch]
Salad with roasted pork tenderloin, tons of veggies, roasted red pepper sauce, and a little feta. Hey, I had to get a little fancy..

[Snack]
I’d been jonesing for a banana but seeing as how I was at work, the best I could do was a banana SOYJOY. I popped that baby in the microwave for 10 seconds and was in heaven! To my surprise, it really did satisfy my banana craving!

[Dinner]
A night out at Waterfront Kitchen was in order. We’d never been there but had heard so many good things about this new-ish farm-to-table restaurant in our hood. First question: wine or beer? We opted for beer and went straight to Unibroue! La Fin du Monde is one of our all time faves.

Looking at the menu, we immediately noticed that the dishes were not very complex. We’ve been to restaurants 100 times that have wowed us in their menu descriptions, so the simple preparation of these dishes was a nice change of pace.

As a light appetizer, we shared a warm brussel sprout salad with bacon, onion, and microgreens. It was so tasty and rich! I’m glad we split it.. I don’t know if I could have finished it on my own! What we could finish, however, was our first beer. Onto another Unibroue; next we tried Don de Dieu. This was a new one for us and we loved it, but not as much as La Fin Du Monde.

Nathan order the pork ribeye with wild mushrooms, heirloom peppers, farm fresh kale, and blackberry demi glace. I opted for the monkfish “osso bucco” with stewed cherry tomatoes, onion, sweet potato, and wilted Swiss chard. As I mentioned, the dishes seemed to have a simpler preparation which left it to execution. Spot. On. The dishes were flavorful and perfectly cooked. We couldn’t have asked for more enjoyable bites!

We finished our dinner with some coffee and the dessert special of the night: pumpkin cake with local butter pecan ice cream. Not too heavy and not too sweet; the perfect ending to a wonderful meal. (And a delicious halloween treat!)

Do you see Nathan ready to dive into dessert? 😉 Seems to always happen with dessert!

Food for Thought

Do you prefer to go out to dinner for special occasions or have a romantic meal at home?

We always go out for our anniversary but stay in for Valentine’s Day so we don’t have to deal with all of the craziness!

What I Ate Wednesday #20 – Fly By Food

I cannot believe it’s already time for another WIAW (and I even missed last week!) Is it just me or have the days been flying by faster than usual recently?

Let’s get back into the swing of things..

[Breakfast]
I had a revelation. I always put raisins in my oatmeal because I love dried fruit. So why not do that with my protein pancakes? BUT I decided to step it up a notch. Dark chocolate cherry protein pancakes. To die for and the recipe will be posted on Friday! You don’t want to miss this one.

[Snack]
Organic pineapple Oikos greek yogurt. I always get whatever yogurt is on sale, and 9 times of out 10 it’s fat free. The organic pineapple, however, is 1 1/2% fat and it’s so tasty! It has an extra creaminess to it that you definitely miss with the 0%.

[Lunch]
Leftovers. I have so many leftovers! Not that I’m complaining because the leftover salmon, roasted red pepper hummus, and caramelized onion hummus has been delicious on my salads. I also recently ordered some nutritional yeast and have been sprinkling that on top of my salads and it is very tasty! It has a little bit of a nutty flavor and adds so many nutritional benefits. I also topped off my lunch with a mini Intense Dark Chocolate Espresso Escape Ghirardelli square. YUM!

I got mine from iHerb.com and if you use code ZAF482 at checkout, you can get $5 off your first order!

[Snack]
Guava goddess kombucha. It has to be my most favorite flavor and definitely hit the spot. And I followed that up with a mixed berry granola bar from Eat. Think. Smile. I’d never had their bars before but I would definitely go back for more. It was light and tasty and had just a hint of berry flavor, which was great because the rest was delicious cocoa!

[Dinner]
LivingSocial is our friend and we cashed in! I treated myself to a Old Dominion Octoberfest beer and some amazing homemade baba ghanoush before diving into my salad. I almost couldn’t finish my salad because the app was so tasty, but don’t worry.. I managed 😉

I’ve found that Nathan and I both prefer baba ghanoush over hummus. Thoughts?

[Spooky Snacks]
I’ve not done a great job of actually making spooky snacks for you all, but I did find out that my office is having a Halloween pot luck, so over to Pinterest I went! I found this little gem and they’re just too cute! I hope I get the chance to make them for the party!

Food for Thought

Does time fly faster for you as the year goes by?

What’s your favorite Halloween treat?

What I Ate Wednesday #18 – FitBloggin’ Eats!

This past weekend was spent at FitBloggin’ and it was a weekend full of fun workouts and delicious food. So delicious that I was often going back for seconds. But that’s ok because of all of the workouts, right? Right!

And you bet I tasted everything on the menu!

[Breakfast]

Friday – Sponsored by Weight Watchers Cheese

• Hot breakfast quinoa
• Cheese-stuffed turkey breakfast sausage
• Cheesy quinoa frittata
• Strawberry whipped cream cheese muesli [big time fave! I’ll be creating this one at home!]
• Fresh fruit
• Coffee

Saturday

• Oatmeal and quinoa bar with fruit fixins
• Hardboiled Egglands Best eggs
• Coffee

[Lunch]

Friday

• Puree of Celery Root Soup With Apple Mascarpone and Chive Oil
• Mixed Green Salad With Sliced Almonds, Cranberries and Pears in a Lemon-Champagne Dressing
• Five-Bean Salad With Chickpeas, Soybeans, Kidney Beans, Black Beans and Crisp Green Beans With Red Onion and Tomato in a Sherry Vinegar Dressing
• 15-Spice Slow-Roasted Chicken
• Prairie Grain Baguette with Roasted Turkey, Gouda, Butter Lettuce and Dill Aoli

Saturday

• Mushroom Tea Soup
• Local Greens With Shaved Fennel, Radish, Tomato Confit and Basil Dressing
• Quinoa Salad With Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Red Onion and Cilantro
• Broiled Salmon With Wilted Greens
• Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables on Focaccia With Hummus and Sprouts

[Snacks]

There were so many snacks in between sessions and after workouts that I couldn’t keep track. But they were all delicious and included some of the following:

• Hardboiled Egglands Best eggs
• Bagel thins with The Laughing Cow cream cheeses [Cinnamon cream cheese people! I need to find it!]
• SoyJoy bars
• Popchips! Soooo many popchips!

[Dinner]

We were on our own for dinner, so Friday night I met up with Nathan and we headed over to our favorite bar, Max’s, for German Beer Fest (so FitBloggin’-appropriate, right?!) I essentially had a liter of beer for dinner because I didn’t like the way the food menu looked. NBD.

P.S. Nathan did get another liter after his baby beer 😉

Saturday I went with a bunch of the lovely bloggers over to Blue Agave, a local restaurant with a Mexican-inspired flare, and had a house salad and a skinny girl margarita. Or 3. That gathering was followed by the FitBloggin’ reception, sponsored by Unilever. They passed some delicious bites, but my favorite was the orange-glazed turkey meatballs. They will definitely be making an appearance in my kitchen soon!

[Goals]
While my past few weeks goals have been fitness-oriented in pushing myself for a better time in future 5K races, this week I want to concentrate on food. I’ve definitely found myself falling off the healthy-eating wagon over the weekends (see the liter of beer for dinner above!), so I want to challenge everyone to a healthy weekend ahead! That’s not to say I won’t have a few drinks over the course of the weekend, but like the Tone It Up girls say, weekends make up almost half of the month. That’s a lot to fall off of the wagon! So let’s do this 🙂

Speak Up!

What are your goals this week? Do you have trouble staying on track over the weekends?

What I Ate Wednesday #12 – Baltimore Restaurant Week

Baltimore Restaurant Week is one of my favorite weeks of summer. I guess winter too, but someone summer just seems better!

I absolutely love trying new restaurants and this is the time to do it. You get to taste 3 courses for $30, and if you choose the right place, you’re really getting a steal! Often, the restaurants on the list serve entrees ranging from $20-$40, so to add an appetizer and dessert to that makes it all worth it.

This time around, we decided to check out Salt. It’s a trendy little restaurant that we’ve been to before, but it’s been years. And while we usually use restaurant week as an excuse to try something new, we just couldn’t pass up the incredible menu.

Being that we went out on a Friday, the first part of my day is uber normal. Aka not so exciting. Except for this awesome pancake!

[Breakfast]

Chocolate coconut protein pancake topped with Earth Balance Coconut Peanut Spread, coconut, and cinnamon plus Bombshell Spell with ZICO. I’m absolutely obsessed with the coconut peanut spread. It’s like a little taste of heaven melted over chocolatey goodness!

[Snack]

(not pictured)
Apple

[Lunch]

(not pictured)
Mixed green salad with cucumber, tomatoes, onions, green bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, diced avocado, & chili sesame tofu. This tofu recipe is divine and so simple. I’ll be sharing it soon!

[Snack]

(not pictured)
thinkThin Creamy Peanut Butter Blizzard + a few pieces Almond Maple Pecan Snackle Mouth. The blizzard was a fun way to mix up my usual protein bar and the little chunks at the very bottom were so tasty! And the Snackle Mouth is really something special.. I was lucky enough to win a couple boxes and I hope to be featuring these (or some new products soon to launch!) in a giveaway very soon!

[Dinner]

The most exciting part of the day. Everything on the menu sounded absolutely phenomenal and we couldn’t make any decisions without asking for recommendations (of course!)

Primaterra Pinot Noir • Roasted Red Pepper Tapinade with freshly baked bread

Cool Vichyssoise Soup
Dungeness crab, pommes frites, chive oil

Country Pork Terrine (not pictured)
Pistachios, figs, dijon mustard

I went for the soup, Nathan for the terrine. We were both equally pleased with our choices and it was something new for each of us to try.

Grilled Swordfish with Charred Gazpacho Vegetables
Lemon and olive quinoa, avocado puree

Crispy Creek Stone Farms Beef Belly Confit
Ginger glaze, white kimchi with asian pears, spicy sriracha creamed corn

The swordfish had been recommended to me by a friend and the side dishes sold me. It was delicious and I savored every last bite. But Nathan totally won. The beef belly confit was rich and savory with a slight sweetness from the creamed corn, which wasn’t all mush, as some would assume. If I went back the next day, I’d get the beef belly confit, hands down!

Key Lime Tart
Coconut meringue, blue berry coulis

Goat Cheese Donuts
Lavender honey, vanilla sea salt, coffee ice cream

Finally, the best way to end a wonderful meal; with an even more wonderful dessert. I opted for the tart while Nathan chose the donuts. Really, he’d choose anything fried, but drizzled with honey and ice cream on the side? He couldn’t say no! They were fantastic, but I definitely preferred my key lime tart. It was light, sweet, and tart, and just the perfect ending to the meal.

[Summer Staples]
Fresh fruits and veggies. Not a day goes by that I don’t get my fill of all of the freshness that summer has to offer and Salt definitely feels the same way. All of my favorite restaurants are those that take advantage of the freshest ingredients available and plan their menus around that. Why offer farm-raised tilapia when rockfish are jumping?

Speak Up!

What would you have ordered? Are you a meat-and-potatoes kinda person or a sea-foodie?