Do you want to know what I ate yesterday?

Happy Wednesday! Who is excited about Thanksgiving tomorrow? I sure am. But if you’re not celebrating Thanksgiving this year, don’t worry. It’s all business here on A Lady Goes West with another “What I Ate Wednesday” post today, so you don’t have to feel bad.

Today, I’m sharing all of my meals from yesterday, with a little rambling thrown in for your reading pleasure. And in case you’re new to these food posts, this is a weekly look I do of every single thing I ate throughout the day, except for water, mints and vitamins. I tend to go through phases of eating very similar foods for a few weeks, and so you see the same dishes quite a bit. Yesterday’s eating is a good example of the healthy meals I try to consume Monday through Friday, with some variation and indulgence on the weekends. Let’s get to it!

Pre-workout snack at 5:30 a.m.

The perfect mix of protein, carbs and sugar to kick-start my energy levels.

Yesterday, I was up before sunrise to sub an early morning BODYPUMP class at the Bay Club San Francisco, which is a pretty large fitness center along The Embarcadero. The class was nice and full, but the members didn’t want me to turn the music on very loud at all. I know from teaching early morning classes in the past that this is the case, but I must admit, I way prefer to blast the tunes. Before settling on a volume, I asked around, so we started and ended the class at the same moderate volume. Nonetheless, it was a good sweat session and I was plenty energized thanks to my Chobani consumed in the darkness of my little apartment before heading out to teach. I always advocate for eating at least a little something before morning workouts, and Greek yogurt is a great option.

Breakfast at 7:45 a.m.

A very regular breakfast of coconut protein overnight oats, with a sliced banana and some hot green tea sweetened with stevia and almond milk.

I drove to teach at the Bay Club, so as soon as I walked in the door once I got back home, I handed the keys over to Dave and he left for work. Yes, if you’re new to A Lady Goes West, we only have one car. In San Francisco, a lot of people live without a car at all, so we’re lucky to have the one vehicle. Dave drives to work each day, and I’m always on foot. But I’ll be subbing this same early morning BODYPUMP for the rest of the year, and we’ve worked it out so I can drive there each time — it’s a little too far for me to walk in the dark in the mornings. Score! As usual, I had made my breakfast ahead of time, so all I had to do when I walked in the door was bring my teapot to a boil and pull out my oats. Delicious, filling and just not ever going to get old in my book. When you like what you like, don’t fight it.

Pre-workout snack at 11 a.m.

A very tasty MyProtein Chox bar with just enough carbs and sugar to pump me up before the second workout of the day.

Yes, I had two workouts yesterday. I’ve been working through a 10-pack of Barry’s Bootcamp classes and fitting them in as much as possible, which sometimes means doing more than one sweat session each day. After some work at home, some stretching and foam rolling, I ate this protein bar and headed back out to conquer a beastly Butt and Legs class at Barry’s, which was brutal. Suffice to say, I’m glad my Butt and Legs will be sitting in a car all day today and not working out.

Post-workout protein at 1:10 p.m.

One scoop of Les Mills Good Protein chocolate powder mixed with cold water is the perfect recovery.

Even though I consumed my shake while out right after class, I took this picture at home before leaving for Barry’s, because fumbling with my iPhone, bag and protein shake while trying to take an action shot on the street just doesn’t seem to work for me. I still can’t say enough good things about this protein powder. So yummy. And this shake gave me some good recovery as I walked the 1.5 miles back home and up the hill.

Lunch at 2:30 p.m.

A baked sweet potato topped with cinnamon, two fried eggs and some massaged seaweed and kale salad.

I could eat this lunch forever. Yes, I mixed all these things together in many bites, and it was such a taste sensation. In fact, this plate pretty much has all of my favorite things on it outside of some white wine and cream cheese frosting. The seaweed and kale salad was leftover from a little tub I bought at Whole Foods on Sunday to go along with some sushi, but strangely, it also went along with this combination just fine. 

Mid-afternoon snack at 5:30 p.m.

Two Chobani Greek yogurts in one day? Yes, it happens. And I do love me some pumpkin.

Determined to enjoy all of the seasonal flavors, I’ve been getting a steady stream of various pumpkin-flavored yogurts. They taste like dessert, but amazingly, have quite a bit of protein in them, as well as sugar of course. I ate this as I pulled out all of my clothing for our San Diego trip, folded some laundry, emptied the dishwasher and did all of those pre-travel things I like to do. For more on how I get my chores done, please see I’m an expert at … a fun little post from yesterday. I realize that I ate this snack at the time that some people eat dinner. But as you can see, I really space my meals out through a long day and can’t imagine sitting down to dinner before 8 p.m. No way!

Dinner at 8:30 p.m.

Spaghetti squash, topped with sauteed spinach, organic tomato sauce and three turkey meatballs.

Before Dave and I go away, I like to clear out the fridge, and most of my meals today finished up our fresh produce and dairy. Although I’ll make a lot of healthy choices, I’m looking forward to some serious indulging and splurging over the course of the holiday weekend. And I bet I’ll be ready to return to the clean eats shown here by this time next week. All.the.pie.bread.and.wine is fun, but after a few days of gorging, I like to get back on the wagon.

After this dinner, I had some almond milk straight from the carton, finished up my packing and scheduled this post to publish in the middle of the night. There you have it! A long day of meals, fully reported to you as promised.

Let the fun begin …

And with that, I’m off. Today is road-tripping day for Dave and me, as we drive from San Francisco down to San Diego. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be up early to participate in the Coronado Turkey Trot 5k, and then we’ll all change into our stretchy pants for festivities and feasting. I’ll try to check back in over the break, but if you want to stay in touch, check me out on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and I’ll promise to post some pics.

Have a great day, friends!

More food posts

Do you like food pictures you see today in this “What I Ate Wednesday” post? Here’s a look at some previous eating recaps:

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

Questions of the day

What are you doing for the Thanksgiving holiday? What is the best thing you’ve eaten lately?