What I Ate Wednesday

Hiya and Good Morning to you!

Here we are at the beginning of yet another new month, which around these parts means a new What I Ate Wednesday theme. This month we're going to focus on setting goals and keeping/creating good habits as the seasons change.

Our weather has been absolutely beeea-uuutiful and my garden is still producing tons of produce, so even though it feels like we're heading into Fall, it's been really easy for me to load up each of my meals with lots of fresh produce.

My goal as the weather changes is to keep bulking up my meals with lots and lots of veggies. I absolutely adore rich, warm, carb-heavy casseroles as the weather turns chilly and this year I want to remain mindful of making sure each of those delicious dishes is packed full of veggie goodness.

Here's a little peek into what I munched on yesterday:

Breakfast

Okay, so the slow cooked steel cut oats obsessions continues, but I thought I'd change it up yesterday with an egg white scramble. This one had sweet onion, zucchini, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and goat cheese! I really do love this breakfast!!

Lunch
On the weekend I made a spin off of Angela's Speedy Three Bean Salad and Courtney's Healthy Roasted Potato and Veggie Salad. I had leftovers of both, so I made myself a little salad plate for lunch yesterday. It was filling and delish!! Both had dijon-based dressings that were to die for!

Snackage
Derek loves to munch on raw veggies for snacks. That or pork rinds. {insert a great big "ew" here} He's been a good influence on me because I've been munching on veggies right along side him. There has definitely been a lot of raw zucchini, green beans and cherry tomatoes comsumed. He likes to eat his veggies naked, but being the dip lover that I am, I've been loving a little tzatziki with mine ~ haha, you didn't think he was naked while he ate his veggies did ya?! 

Dinner
I had absolutely NO idea what I was going to make for dinner last night when I got home from work. Derek had a baseball practice and wasn't going to be home until late, so all I had to worry about was myself.

This is what I ended up with:

~ Tortilla Pizza with caramelized onion, portabello mushrooms, zucchini, basil & goat cheese.

YUMMY!

Thank you as always to Miss Jenn for hosting this weekly foodie shindig and for continuing to encourage all of us to be healthy and stay healthy!

What do you pack for lunch on the go? Give me some new ideas; packable lunches just aren't for the kiddos you know :-D !!

What goals are you going to set as we enter the Fall season?

Have a great day!

Andrea
xoxo

What I Ate Wednesday ~ Back on the healthy train

Happy Wednesday! Oh how I've missed you over the past couple of weeks :)

There was only one thing that I really, really wish I'd snapped a picture of last week. Gigi's Cupcakes!!! Have you heard of them? Tried them? Do you love????? {SIGH} I <3 them with a passion. My faves were Merry Margarita and Southern Comfort. Hands down my fave cupcakes ever but perhaps not the most responsible of snack choices when we're supposed to be focussing on healthy and responsible snacks --- all in moderation my friends, all in moderation ;-)

...so, ahem....let's stop talking about all my indiscretions and focus on all the good stuff I've been munching on since I got home from Nashville. I promise that I've redeemed myself with some healthy yumminess.

 

Breakfast

Egg white scramble with veggies, cheddar and a pinch of cajum seasoning to spice things up. With coffee, of course!

Snacks

Pre-workout, I've been really lovng a plain brown rice cake with natural PB & J --- tastes like my childhood!

Fresh fruit is also another current fave. Fresh local strawberries are pure heaven!!!

Lunch

Salads and more salads....unfortunately, I've been more interested in catching up on my fave blogs during my lunch breaks and I've munched my salads down without so much as a picture. I've been sticking to my fave combo of  sundried tomatoes, goat cheese and dijon -- always a winner in my book!

Dinner

Spicy & Mexican. Yummmmmm......brown rice topped with black beans, corn and veggies followed by white cheddar con queso, jalapenos, black olives, tomatoes, guac and plain Greek yogourt. Holy deliciousness. This was last night's dinner. HEAVENLY good.

So, there are some of my eats....what have you been munching on this week? If you're looking for more snacking and meal inspiration, head on over and visit Jenn at Peas & Crayons and check out her weekly WIAW party. You'll find tons and tons of foodie ideas over there!

What is your fave cupcake flavour?

Do your eating habits tend to change depending on the season?

Have a great day and check back tomorrow for a refreshing bevie recreation!

Andrea

xo

What I Ate Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! We are officially at the halfway point of yet another week....and in the last full week of April. Can you believe it?! Have you been keeping up with Jenn's veggie challenge this month? I've been finding it pretty easy to do and I love all the fresh and delicious eats that I've been fueling up on lately.



Breakfast
I have to leave early for work everyday this week, so I've been taking my breakie to go. I've been loving these Vita Top Cran Bran muffins with some fruit on the side. The weather's been really cold, so we've been amping up our Vitamin C by eating lots of oranges!

Lunch
I made enough Cheesy Vegetable Soup so that I would have lots of leftovers to take with me to work for lunch. Our office has been freezing cold, so I've been really grateful for my hot steamy bowls of soup. As a side, I had a toasted multigrain thin bun with a little butter. YUM!

Dinner
I am in love with this Beer BBQ Tofu. It is so freakin' delish and an awesome addition to a big ol' plate of honey dijon roasted veggies. Comfort food at its finest my friends!!! A glass of red wine capped this meal off perfectly!

I've been bringing snacks with me everyday to work, but I've been too dang busy to stop and grab them! When I do have the munchies, I've been trying to stick to raw veggies with roasted garlic hummus. Cutting your veggies up on the weekend makes for an easy grab n go snack all week. This is such an easy way to add a serving of veggies to your daily eats!

For those of you who've checked out my meal plan, notice how I'm stickin' to it like glue! I've been rockin' out this week!

If you need to change up your eats and want to find lots of veg-spiration, check out Jen's What I Ate Wednesday party for ideas from so many other awesome bloggers!

What have you been munching on today?

Have a great day!
Andrea
xoxo

Meal Planning Monday

Happy Monday! So how was your weekend? Ours was yet another whirlwind. Derek was working a ton and somehow mine seemed to be filled with the normal errands, cleaning the house and catching up on laundry, yoga, trying to catch up on some work,...and meal planning.

Lately I've been feeling like this alot.....

source

Two days off just don't seem like enough! By the time I get all the everyday stuff done, I barely have time to squeeze in some fun and some R&R! I'm thinking that we need to start a petition for 3 day weekends. Whaddya think? Are you in?!

I actually spent a great deal of time this weekend working out a meal plan for the next week to week and a half. I've been wanting to do this forever, but I never sit down and do it and then stick to it. Lately, I've been finding myself at the grocery store ALOT. I'm spending WAY too much each week on groceries. My problem is that I have a rough idea of what meals we're going to make each week, but then I see a recipe online or a friend tells me about something new they've tried and I can't get it out of my mind, so I just make it. The result is food being wasted because it spoils before I use it and a pantry that is so stuffed full of unused things that I can barely move a can without something falling out! I'm telling you, I am totally out of control.

My dad is waiting to get a date for a surgery he has to have and as soon as we know when, I'm going to be taking off to Nashville to spend a few days with him and my mom....so I tried to keep that in mind when I was planning our meals. Derek is busy and doesn't take time to cook for himself, so I'm planning to make big batches of things I can freeze and I bought things like chicken and burgers, so that he could easily barbecue himself some healthy foods while I'm away instead of picking up fast food every day (that's the idea anyways LOL)!

 You'll probably be seeing alot of link love in my future posts because I'm planning to try some recipes that I've bookmarked from some of my fave bloggers. Here is the meal plan that I came up with:

Breakfasts
Chocolate Greek Yogourt
Vita Top Cranberry Bran Muffins
Green Smoothies
Berry Smoothies
Oatmeal

Lunches
Salads
Veggie Sandwiches with Hummus
PB & J for Derek
Soup
Leftovers

Snacks
Microwave Popcorn
Raw Veggies with Hummus (Ranch for Derek)
Hard Boiled Eggs
Fruit: Kiwis, Oranges, Bananas
Plain Greek Yogourt with Fruit
Girl Guide Cookies (Derek bought 'em, so he's gotta eat 'em up!)
Lindt 70% Dark Chocolate

Dinners
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Barbecue Burgers (for Derek)/Chickpea Burgers (for moi) with Veggies on the Barbie
Marinated Tofu w/ Steamed Sweet Tater (for moi)/Marinated Chicken with Baked Tater (for Derek) & Veggies
Grilled Cheese & Homemade Tomato Soup
Pasta with Artichokes, Black Olives & Tomatoes (recipe coming!)
Eggs and Toast
Veggie Stirfry with Rice

I did a huge grocery shop on Sunday and now I have most of the stuff I'll need to make every single thing on this list. I also took the time to wash and cut up some veggies so we have lots of healthy food ready at our fingertips.

I hoping that meal planning will help me to stay within a budget and I feel that it will help me stick to a healthy eating plan ---- I've given myself lots of healthy options, which will help us to stay on track and away from not-so-healthy munchies that have been finding their way into our fingers now and again.

Someday I would love for my fridge to look like this:

Source: Pinterest via Shannon Laullin

A girl can dream can't she??

Now that you know what I'll be eating, tell me a couple of meals that you have planned for your family in this coming week?

Do you find your weekends fly by right before your eyes or do you manage to carve out some time to stop & smell the roses?

I hope you have a fabulous day! Let's start this week off right, okay?!

Andrea
xoxo

It's What I Ate Wednesday!!

Happy Wednesday - and how are you on this unseasonably fabulous day?!

Life is moving along at warp speed and I'm just trying to keep up these days! Derek's still working 2 jobs, which means I'm having lots and lots of lonely girl meals. The good thing about cooking for one???? I get to eat whatever I want including stuff that Derek wouldn't touch- yay me!!!

This month Jenn has challenged us to veg-ify our meal posts - that's pretty easy for this vegetarian chickee!!!

I'm back into the routine of having a warm lemon water to start my day off, followed by a green smoothie. I've been following Kimberly Snyder's recipe that includes water, spinach, romaine, apple, celery, pear and banana. It's delish and look how many fabulous greens are packed into this one powerful drink! I make enough for 2 days, so I only have to pull the blender out 3 times a week.

On Sunday, I cooked up a big ol' pot of quinoa and I've been making up a bunch of different meals with it. For lunch, I've been loving this quinoa salad, which includes wilted baby spinach, sweet onion, yellow pepper, sundried tomatoes and goat cheese....mmm, life is better with goat cheese....and lots of veggies :)

For afternoon snackages, I've been eating lots of fruit. Oranges, apples, strawberries or pineapple have been my fruit of choice lately. These strawberries are surprisingly sweet for February!!!

We've also been loving some homemade banana bread. Recipe to come soon :)



For dinner, I had a grilled veggie wrap with goat cheese (of course!) and some butternut squash fries. Delish! Grilled and roasted veggies are my fave way to go in the winter months, so this dinner is pretty much perfect if you ask me!

As a night cap, I've been snuggling up with some good TV and a warm glass of water with fresh ginger, lemon juice and a dash of Truvia. It's tasty and cleansing!

Another week, another fabulous eats post! Are you inspired??? If you're looking for more foodie inspiration head on over and visit Jenn at Peas & Crayons. There are meal ideas for everyone.

What's been your favourite meal this week?

Andrea 

PS - don't forget to enter my blogiversary giveaway. You've got until tomorrow night to enter!!!

(Almost) Wordless WIAW

Happy Humpity Hump Hump Day!!! I've missed the last couple of What I Ate Wednesdays, so today I'm going to cut right to the chase and let you in on a few of my awesome eats from the past couple of weeks.

If you love what you see and you wanna see more, head on over and visit Jenn at Peas & Crayons!

tortilla rolls with brocolli, carrots, cheese and Ranch dressing

brocolli slaw with shredded mozzarella, diced apples and Ranch dressing

mediterranean spaghetti squash (recipe by Kelly)

new FAVE granola bar

quinoa salad with roasted corn, green onions and feta

thin crust pizza with roasted veggies and goat cheese

What has been your favourite "go to" meal lately?

Have a great day!!

Andrea

What I Ate Wednesday

Welcome to Wednesday! Oh yeah baby, it's that time again. The day where I get to share some of my great eats with you, so that you can be inspired to whip up some super quick and healthy meals.





 

Our house has been full of fresh, local produce this week. In fact, when I got home from work yesterday, there was yet another full bag of fresh asparagus hanging from my door knob. I 'm very lucky because my in-laws are great people who would never let us go hungry ~ they certainly know the way to my heart!!

First of all, I have to toot the horn of whoever invented this. I love, love, LOVE this cup!  I don't what it is, but I have to tell you, I am drinking a massive amount of water. I fill it up first thing in the morning with a couple of fresh lemon slices and I sip away all day. I'm easily getting my 8 glasses of water in now! Maybe it's the fact that it's cute and pink and girlie or maybe my early morning workouts and the warmer temperatures are making me thirstier...I truly don't know what is going, but whatever it is, I'm so glad it's working because finally I've found a way to stay hydrated!

For breakie, I have been stuffing myself with rhubarb apple bread and a little alot of Earth Balance. I am so addicted to this bread! I finished the last piece this morning and I've been trying to figure out when I'll have time to bake another loaf. I'm thinking by the weekend at the absolute latest!!

For a mid-morning snack, I've been loving a banana smeared with all-natural peanut butter. Heaven! This is one of my all-time favourite snacks. I had this snack at work today and I forgot to bring my camera, so you're just going to have to use your imagination. All I do is cut my banana into bite size chunks and smear a little PB on each piece. It is so good and it makes me feel like I'm eating some sinful treat! Here's a PB and banana image to get your imagination going and your taste buds dancing.

Lunch this week is all about leftovers. So far one of my favourite lunches has been a lightened up version of Angela's Protein Power Goddess Bowl. I loved her original recipe and I love this lighter one even more! This is a great meal idea for days when you've gotten in a good workout session or have spent a lot of time doing yard work and gardening and you need a good healthy meal that packs a mean punch of protein! This bowl is packed full of veggies, lentils and quinoa and dressed with a delicious lemon tahini dressing.

For dinner, we've been enjoying lots and lots of asparagus. I love it roasted, barbecued, steamed or just about anyway you can possibly cook it. Here, I'm having garlic roasted asparagus with a baked sweet potato and some teriyaki tofu! Healthy, filling and deeeelish!

Well, there you have it. Another week and lots more great meal and snack ideas! Do you see anything that suits your fancy?? If you're looking for even more inspiration, check out Jenn's site where you'll find tons of ideas!

...um, I just realized that there is virtually no sweets in my eats, so I'm going to have to say 'bu-bye' and rectify that situation RIGHT NOW ~ dark chocolate, here I come!!

What was your favourite meal so far this week?

Happy Hump Day!!

Andrea