All of my meals from a healthy weekday

Happy Wednesday, my friends! Well, I’ve officially been bombarding you with all things IDEA BlogFest and IDEA World Fitness Convention the last couple of days, so today it’s all about food. However, make sure you check out the following posts to find out more about my awesome adventures in Southern California.

After a lot of travel throughout last week and the weekend, as well as a beach-side outing to Santa Cruz Boardwalk on Monday, I was glad to be back to a bit more normal eating yesterday. So that’s what I’m sharing with you …

This week’s “What I Ate Wednesday” recap

So what is “What I Ate Wednesday” anyhow? Every single week, I recap a full day of my eating, complete with real pictures of all my food. These posts are simply a chance to give you some insight into what actual meals look like from someone who tries to be fairly healthy. I definitely don’t have a perfect diet, in fact, far from it. But I do my best to get in plenty of nutrients and some of the good stuff too.

What I Ate Wednesday via A Lady Goes

Today, I’m sharing everything I ate yesterday. All meals were prepared at home in between work, and they looked like this …

Breakfast at 6 a.m.

Breakfast - cottage cheese, nuts, banana and tea via A Lady Goes WestStarting the day off right: My go-to breakfast of choice as of late right here. Cottage cheese, some honey-roasted peanuts, compliments of Southwest Airlines (love those!) and a sliced-up banana. And of course, I enjoyed this alongside some hot green tea, sweetened with vanilla soy milk and stevia.

Mid-morning snack at 10 a.m.

Snack time - tea and a Larabar on A Lady Goes WestHot and sweet: As you can imagine, I came back with a ton of healthy and tasty swag from my trip to LA for IDEA BlogFest and IDEA World Fitness Convention. And so far the tastiest bar has been this Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabar. It’s like dessert. Snack time also featured another mug of hot green tea, sweetened with vanilla soy milk and stevia.

Lunch at 1 p.m.

Lunch - green smoothie bowl via A Lady Goes WestFilling up on greens: I hadn’t enjoyed a smoothie bowl since last week before leaving for LA, so I was in major need. This bowl includes tons of ingredients — half of a frozen banana, frozen spinach, frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries, veggie powder, vegan vanilla protein powder, ice cubes and a little bit of soy milk — all blended up into a hearty green concoction. It was divine! But boy, I sure do struggle with my crappy Nutribullet to make it happen.

Afternoon snack at 5 p.m.

Snack - daily greens juice and chia bar for snack via A Lady Goes WestMore greens: Keeping with the green theme for the day, I decided to bust open this “Renew” beverage by Daily Greens, a company out of Austin, Texas. This organic and cold-pressed juice had a sweet flavor, which I really enjoyed. It wasn’t as bitter as some of the other green juices out there. The label said this bottle had six pounds of fresh organic produce in it, which is just awesome when you’re trying to load up on nutrients. I’d definitely drink this again. Thanks to the folks at Daily Greens for sending me a few juices as well as a cookbook. This went perfectly alongside another leftover bar from my trip — a coffee-flavored Chia Bar — which was also delicious.

Post-workout at 7:30 p.m.

Protein - protein shake after a workoutProtein - protein shake after a workoutRefuel: While I was attending nutrition sessions at IDEA World, I was glad to hear that many of the professionals were adamant about post-workout recovery nutrients featuring protein within an hour of physical activity. While liquid seems to work better for my body, food is always appropriate as well. I had this shake after practicing BODYPUMP at home using my fancy SMARTBAR, and it was just what I needed to hold me over until dinner. I always freeze my protein shakes for just a bit to give them a nice slush, so note the icy consistency.

Dinner at 8:30 p.m.

Dinner - veggie burgers, eggs and a tomato via A Lady Goes WestKeeping it simple: My final meal of the day was super easy to put together. Our fridge is a little bit empty right now when it comes to fresh produce, so I pieced together some staple items. Veggie burgers, a tomato and two fried eggs for the win! I haven’t had veggie burgers in a while, and boy these are good. (Clearly, this was one of those nights when Dave and I ate something different.)

After dinner, I took a few chugs of vanilla almond milk straight from the carton, as I always do. And that’s what I had. It feels good to be back to my normal eating habits for a few days! I don’t know if you noticed, but somehow I didn’t eat any meat yesterday, which was unintentional but seems to happen a couple of times-a-week.

Today, I’m working at home, teaching a lunch-time BODYATTACK class and then coaching a couple of classes at Orangetheory Fitness tonight. I hope your Wednesday is fabulous, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

Read more daily eating recaps

Each week, “What I Ate Wednesday” is hosted by Peas and Crayons for bloggers to showcase their eats to the world. If you want to see more food recaps, check out some of my posts from the past here:

  1. A full day of eating in pictures
  2. Another full day of my eats and drinks
  3. Real food isn’t always pretty
  4. Do you have a balanced dining out strategy?
  5. What I ate and drank all day
  6. Three meals, two snacks and a shake
  7. Food trucks and rest-day eating
  8. Plenty of protein at every meal
  9. Colorful fuel for a day of training
  10. Long days of training require a lot of food
  11. Making do on “What I Ate Wednesday” 
  12. Healthy foods for a rest day
  13. Who doesn’t like pictures of food?
  14. A look at a full day of eating in pictures
  15. Snapshots from a day of delicious meals
  16. Pictures of food, because you like them
  17. Food pictures and the juice cleanse that wasn’t
  18. A look at what I really eat in a day
  19. What I ate in the Sunshine State
  20. My weekend eats and a little narrative
  21. Stories about food and yesterday’s meals
  22. A day of eating and some commentary
  23. Do you want to know what I ate yesterday?
  24. Healthy challenges and foods from my day
  25. Eating, napping and eating again
  26. Filling up on healthy food before the holiday
  27. A perfect birthday at home and my eats
  28. Top blog posts, reader stats and my food
  29. A different kind of training and my food
  30. Joining a healthy green movement and my eats
  31. Must-try veggie pasta tip and my eats
  32. Are you eating this sweet and satisfying fruit?
  33. What a difference a week makes and my eats
  34. On Wednesdays we look at pictures of food
  35. Food, drinks and a very hydrating giveaway
  36. Front-loading all the healthy this week
  37. MealEnders giveaway and back to healthy food
  38. Eating, drinking and sharing the pictures
  39. I don’t like bad people, I do like good food
  40. Smart training nutrition tips and my meals
  41. “What I Ate Wednesday” and a Phenoh 7.4 review
  42. What my daily meals look like in pictures
  43. Food pictures from a light and healthy day
  44. Life lately and a look at all of my meals
  45. What’s normal to you? (And my daily eats)
  46. A bit of chatter and “What I Ate Wednesday”
  47. How you eat beets and a look at a day of food
  48. What I ate yesterday in the Sunshine State
  49. A full day of lazy eating from the weekend
  50. Every thing I ate yesterday in pictures
  51. BlogFest 2015 and “What I Ate Wednesday”
  52. Why I refuel after a workout and my daily eats
  53. Random life updates and a look at my food
  54. Travel plans and everything I ate yesterday
  55. My daily eats and heading off on an adventure

Questions of the day

How’s your week going so far?

What did you have for breakfast today?

Do you eat meat?

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62 Comments

  1. I tried the Daily Green juices a couple of years ago and loved them! (I still have a “Drink Your Greens” shirt from them, haha.) And those chia bars are actually made locally here in Richmond, so I’ve got a special place in my heart for those, too 😉

    1. Hi Liz! Totally cool! And yes, don’t you like to support a local company? I’m a fan of both Daily Greens and Health Warrior! 🙂 Happy Wednesday!

  2. I love the idea of fried eggs with veggie burgers! That may become a new favorite around here. I seriously need to start having your smoothie bowl for lunch. It’s been too hot to eat that’s all I’m craving lately.

    1. Hi Megan! Yes, you need to get on the smoothie bowl wagon haha! And I just got my veggie burger coupon from the giveaway I won on your blog. Can’t wait to get more! 🙂

    1. Hi Susie, My flights from SF to LA were so short that our only option was peanuts. So I took a few of those only, but generally I like to load up on the cheap snacks when they pass the basket around hahah!

  3. I’ve never been able to get into cottage cheese, its just not my thing. What kind of protein powder do you use for your post workout shake? I have been trying to be better about it but haven’t found the right recipe and consistency for me yet. Have a great day!

    1. Hi Jenna! I’m always switching it up. Some of my favorites have been Nutrition 52, Les Mills Good Protein, and Tasty WHEY. Hop over to GNC to find something with the right flavor, but I’d say whey protein is better for post-workout than some of the others.

    1. Hi Morganne! Sure is! I love getting so many greens and fruits into one smoothie. Makes me happy! Have a lovely Wednesday, lady! 🙂

    1. Hi Megan! Agreed! Although I could probably eat about 3-4 of them in one sitting. But they are a good healthy option on-the-go. Happy Wednesday! 🙂

    1. Thanks, Bri! Whereas some people would take one look at my food and think “gross”! I love that we’re on the same page! 🙂 Happy Wednesday!

  4. I always look forward to seeing what everyone else likes to eat. Guess I’m pretty nosey? 😉

    I also like your complete honesty about trying to be healthy and not pretending to be on the perfect diet.

    When you have your post-workout shake, how long after that do you wait until you have dinner? I need to look at something more filling than just a few almonds after I finish my gym at 6.30 in the evening. Lynne doesn’t usually get home until about 7.30 – 8.00 and we have dinner then, but by then I’ve usually picked my way through bits of things. A small smoothie would probably do the trick and stop that picking, would you say? 😉

    1. Hi Neil! Yes, you should have a small shake. Just buy some good whey protein and mix it with water. I have the shake within the 30-45 minutes of finishing my workout and eat dinner about an hour later. Even if it fills me up a bit, it restores all the energy I burned during my workout. 🙂 And yes, I love looking at other peoples’ food too!

  5. “Clearly this was one of those nights Dave ate something different.” HAHA!!! That is so like my marriage! My hubby is pretty good about trying some of my food, but if I tried to get him to eat a veggie burger, he would not go for it! I do eat meat, a lot of chicken. Sometimes I’ll have some pork (I LOVE pork tenderloin) or sometimes beef. I haven’t had breakfast yet today! I need to go do that. My week is going great! I got to have lunch yesterday with my bff that I’ve known my entire life. It’s so nice to be back to my hometown and see her and family! I also team taught a BODYCOMBAT class last night! I had another instructor tell me I could team teach with her in her Monday morning BODYPUMP class 🙂 YAY! It’s not the same as having my own classes, but at least I can teach!

    1. Hi Melissa! Well that was fast to find a “teaching” gig! You should totally take her up on that each week. Nice work! And I don’t want to GIVE up meat, but I am totally fine not having it each day for sure. Glad you’re getting settled in! 🙂

  6. Veggie burgers have been a life saver for me lately! I still have yet to try them for dinner alongside eggs. (And your sweet potato!) Cottage cheese for breakfast… absolutely. Have a great Wednesday, Ashley!

    1. I’m fresh out of taters, so that’s why I didn’t have one yesterday. It’s been far too long, so I’m hoping Dave can swing by the grocery store while I’m working to get some!

  7. I feel like this week is totally dragging, but I treated myself to an Acai bowl yesterday. It’s the little things. I’ve been a vegetarian for over 4 years and my boyfriend is always sad that I can’t/don’t want to eat meat. Smoothie and apple and cinnamon/PB2/honey for breakfast… so delicious : )

    1. Hi Jamie! That’s cool you’re a vegetarian. And I don’t even know what day it is this week due to travel and some out-of-the-ordinary ahah! Maybe I need an acai bowl too to set me straight! 🙂 I have never tried PB2 … I should get on that! Happy Wednesday (oh, that’s what day it is!)!

    1. Hi Stacie! You must! Cottage cheese is so tasty and full of all the healthy things you need to start your day. Happy Wednesday, lady! 🙂

  8. The best larabars are definitely the ones that feature chocolate chips, those little buggers just make everything taste 10x better! Sometimes I find myself having unintentional vegetarian days also, and it sometimes feels like a nice change to be plant-based for the day!

  9. Looks like a good day of eats to me, and I am LOVING that wooden bowl! My breakfast is always a bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter, cocoa powder, honey, and blueberries (or other fruit) mixed in… yum, with a fried egg or two.

    I did the veg thing for a year and a half in grad-school… but found out I have a soy allergy, so it was difficult to get all the protein I needed, without living on beans ALL day, and I love chicken… so yeah.

    1. Hi Jessie! Hey, at least you tried it out. Right? I’ve never really tried a “diet” with anything eliminated, but I’d totally miss fish and the occasional burger. Your breakfast sounds yummy, by the way. I’ve been slacking on my nut butter intake, I need to fix that! 🙂 Happy Wednesday to you, my friend!

  10. I have been eating a bowl of cottage cheese + blueberries + blackberries almost every morning. I’m getting the berries from the farmer’s market every Saturday morning so I try to use them all up before they go bad.

    1. Hi Sam! Three cheers for cottage cheese! So glad you’re a fan too! 🙂 That’s pretty cool you head to the farmer’s market each weekend to load up on fresh fruit. Good job, lady!

  11. I go in phases with eating meat. Lately I have just not felt like eating meat. I do have salmon or some other fish occasionally, though. Your smoothie bowl looks (and sounds) delicious! I had a smoothie bowl for breakfast.

    1. Hi Heather! Oh nice! And yes, fish is my favorite “meat” for sure! 🙂 I’d love to have smoothie bowls for breakfast, but I can’t stand to mess with my Nutribullet first thing in the morning hahah!

  12. Sometimes last minute dinners that are thrown together like that are the best! You can actually find some pretty good options for veggie burgers in the freezer section too. I saw you said those are Dr. Praegers and from what I can remember the ingredient for those is fairly wholesome. I used to eat the broccoli ones all of the time…with a side of ketchup. 🙂

  13. Cottage cheese for breakfast is pretty much one of my favorites. And I love the peanuts from Southwest. 😀 That smoothie bowl looks good, but I have one question. Does it keep you full?

    1. Hi Emily! Yes, I try to make my bowls nice and thick, so they aren’t super liquidy. This one has a lot of fiber from the fruit and staying power with the protein powder, so it keeps me full for about 3-4 hours. Not as much as a big lunch, but I have it on days I know I will snack earlier. 🙂

  14. Oh man. That b’fast combo needs to happen for me. I have all those ingredients in my pantry /fridge now. Looks awesome. Drool

    1. Hi Jennifer! Cottage cheese is so healthy and tasty, yet people don’t seem to rave about it like they do with Greek yogurt, you know? Hope you try it! Have a great evening! 🙂

  15. Smoothies in a bowl are my favorite! I feel like I’m actually eating a meal when I make them thick and serve them in a bowl. Even better when I add in some granola or nuts. Yum! Now I’m craving one!

    1. Hi Giselle! Yes! I like to make the smoothies thick enough to eat with a spoon, or they aren’t as satisfying! And I haven’t put nuts on one in a while, but perhaps I’ll do that today! 🙂 Have a fabulous day, lady!

  16. everything looks so delicious! 🙂 i need to rekindle my smoothie (& smoothie bowl!) love.. its been so long! and thats a pretty darn good looking breakfast, especially at 6am. kudoos, woman!

    1. Hi Masala! Thanks, lady! You should totally revisit the smoothie bowl. Hope you have a wonderful night. Thanks for stopping by to say hello! 🙂

    1. Hi James! Go for it, cottage cheese can be paired with anything, so just throw whatever you like on there and dig in! 🙂 Have a lovely day!

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