Must-try veggie pasta tip and my eats

Hello, everybody! How’s your week shaping up? Mine is just fine, thank you. I’ve got an awesome food tip for you today, as well as a look at my recent eats. But first, please let me babble.

Dave and I are starting to live in a little bit of a disaster zone. We’re moving next weekend and have started packing some things up in our apartment, which means we have to walk around the boxes that are taking up too much of our precious livable space. 

We’ve taken everything down that was hanging on our walls. And on Sunday, Dave did some patching up of the holes and applied some touch-up paint to a few areas. So we’ve started the process little-by-little, but have a lot left to do. Not only do we need to box everything else up, including safely wrapping all of our dishes and kitchen stuff to prepare for our movers to arrive next Friday morning, but we also need to get our apartment professionally cleaned after we vacate, so we can try and get back as much of our deposit as possible. Apparently there are a few very strict rules about move-out included in the lease we signed more than a year-and-a-half ago, which we must abide by. And in the rush to secure this place at the time, we somehow overlooked them. They charge $15 for each hole in the wall. True story. Ohhh, city living. They really get ya. You pay an arm and a leg to live in a shoebox-sized apartment, and then they make you pay for someone to clean it after you leave so they can get the next person in quickly. Doesn’t seem right, does it?

Nonetheless, we can’t wait to move into a bigger place very, very soon. Then will come the fun process of decorating, buying new furniture and getting settled. I look forward to all of that. But until then, we’ll make it work here.

“What I Ate Wednesday” food pictures

But I digress. It’s Wednesday, so you came here to talk about food. Once again, I’m sharing all of my eats from a healthy weekday. However, I wanted to mention that I’ve received a couple of requests to see what a day of my eating looks like on the weekends. Most of the time, what I show you in these recaps is very healthy and doesn’t really feature any dessert or wine or junk (unless of course, you looked at my post from yesterday detailing a fabulous trip to Napa), but those things are very much in my diet on a regular basis, just not an everyday basis (I tend to save my 20 percent for the weekend!). I will definitely do a weekend-eating recap soon to give you an idea of how I like to indulge. But I must tell you, pictures taken of my meals inside dark San Francisco restaurants are never very good. Well, you know, pictures taken in full daylight in my apartment aren’t very good either, so I guess it’s not a big deal. Now let’s get to today’s recap, as well as that food tip. Here’s everything I ate yesterday …

Breakfast at 8 a.m.

Breakfast 1.20.15Hey, look, there’s a big bowl of vanilla protein overnight oats, topped with a banana and served alongside some hot green tea, which was sweetened with almond milk and stevia.

Post-workout protein at 11:15 a.m.

Protein shake 1.20.15I just love diving into a nearly frozen Les Mills Good Protein shake after a sweat session. Creamy, icy, oh-so-delicious and filling.

Lunch at 1 p.m.

Lunch 1.20.15Roasted brussels sprouts, two fried eggs and a veggie burger, served with some Veri Organic Ginger Ale, which I picked up over the weekend at the Yoga Journal LIVE conference in my swag bag and really enjoyed. I can’t remember the last time I had soda! What a treat!

Snack at 5 p.m.

Snack 1.20.15This little beauty is a new-to-me spicy Dark Chocolate Chili Almond KIND bar, also from my swag bag at the yoga conference. Pretty tasty. Weird to have a spicy flavor in a granola bar, but definitely enjoyable.

Dinner at 8 p.m.

Dinner 1.20.15Here’s what I was excited to share with you. This bowl full of goodness consists of broccoli-slaw pasta, sautéed spinach, turkey meatballs and some flavorful Trader Joe’s pasta sauce. 

That’s that for yesterday’s eats. And now for the food tip I promised …

Must-try new way to eat veggie pasta

See that delicious dinner up there? It came from a bag! I’d heard of people cooking up broccoli slaw as pasta before and finally decided to try it for myself. It’s super easy, and I would venture to say I enjoyed this dish even more than spaghetti squash (which says a lot, because I have a major love for spaghetti squash) and definitely more than zucchini noodles made from a spiralizer. And the best part? It’s cheap and healthy.

Broccoli slawThis bag of broccoli slaw from Trader Joe’s was only a couple of dollars, and in just a few minutes became a hearty bowl of veggie pasta.

A 12-ounce bag of broccoli slaw has about 100 calories, tons of vitamins and nothing but broccoli stalk and shredded carrots in it, so no added junk. And it’s incredibly simple to prepare. Here’s the secret to success …

How to make broccoli-slaw pasta

  1. Buy a bag of broccoli slaw.
  2. Spray a pan with cooking spray.
  3. Empty the entire bag of slaw into the pan.
  4. Pour a little water over the slaw so it has a light coating all over.
  5. Cook on medium heat for about eight minutes, until most of the water is absorbed.
  6. Drain any excess water through a strainer.
  7. Serve the slaw onto a plate or into a bowl.
  8. Top it with whatever you desire.
  9. Enjoy it.
  10. Repeat.

I can’t believe it took me so long to try making broccoli-slaw pasta, because I’m now a big believer. It’s a great way to get some extra veggies into the day, while acting as a cheap and easy alternative to plain pasta. It had just the right texture and enjoyable veggie taste. I can guarantee I will be adding this to my weekday meal rotation, and most likely eating it a ton until I get sick of it, because that’s how I roll.

Okay, folks, there you have it. Because it’s Wednesday, I’ll be teaching a double-header of group fitness tonight. My classes have been pretty full lately due to the influx of new folks, and I just love the extra energy. I hope your day is great! And I hope to see you back here tomorrow for something a little bit different on the ole’ blog.

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

Questions of the day

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten lately? What did you have for dinner last night? Do you want to come help me pack?

Ashley signature

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61 Comments

  1. Good luck with the move! The packing and unpacking is always rough but hopefully it goes smoothly!! Well one thing I ate yesterday that was awesome (not healthy) was captain crunch cereal….one of those pregnancy cravings I guess. It was yummy! 🙂

    1. Hi Marielle! hahah I bet you have been eating some weird things. But whatever, there are a lot worse things than cereal. Sounds yummy! Have a great Wednesday:)

  2. I always put broccoli slaw in my salads but have never thought abuot making it a pasta dish before! DUH! Thanks for the tip–can’t wait to try this out!

  3. I love using broccoli slaw in place of pasta. Another yummy way I enjoy it is in place of the rice when serving a stir-fry. Try is sometime!

    1. Hi Sara! That’s why I made this. I haven’t been able to find spaghetti squash, so wanted an alternative. Let me know if you try this! 🙂

  4. Hey Ashley!! This is such a cool alternative to spiralizing (I would need a few beanos to try it :P). I definitely love zoodles but they need a LOT of sea salt and sauce! Have you ever tried Rao’s pasta sauce from Whole Foods? It’s made by the restaurant in NYC that was made famous in the Wolf of Wall Street and is heavy on the oil but man, it’s good.

    I hear you on city living – the WORST is that I have never moved into a professionally cleaned apartment that is actually clean….so frusterating! It’s good you’re packing yourself, we had packers b/c the bf’s company paid for them and I am pretty sure he just balled up my clothes and tossed them in a box!

    1. Hi Jill, I haven’t tried that sauce, but will keep a look out for it. As far as moving, when we relocated from Florida it was all taken care of by my husband’s company, but our moves within San Francisco have fallen on us. We’re doing a combination of packing up ourselves and having our movers do a bit of it too. Wish me luck!! hahaha

  5. My favorite Kind bar. I thought it was a little odd at first too, but I liked it more and more. Good luck with moving! It is a stressful process, but getting into your new place will be completely worth it. Have fun teaching classes tonight!

    1. Hi Mattie! Well you know I’m basically obsessed with overnight oats. Let me know if you give them a shot. Hope you’re having a lovely Wednesday:)

  6. Omg, that sucks that they charge you $15 per hole! I’ve never heard of that before and I’ve lived in a ton of different apartments. Cheap bastards. 😉

    That ginger ale sounds delicious and so does your idea for broccoli slaw pasta. Genius! I would have never thought of that. I’m definitely going to give it a try!

  7. Okay, I’ve tried carrot pasta (yum) and I’ve tried zucchini pasta (SUPER yum), but never broccoli slaw pasta! Thanks for the tips and kudos to you for being such a skilled chef! Your food looks divine!

  8. Yay for the broccoli slaw! I actually have a package of it right now but haven’t been feeling like eating it because it’s cold and I only want to eat hot things these days. Will definitely try this out! :]!

  9. Brussels Sprouts + Eggs!! 😀 😀 😀 Made with olive oil and some garlic – and Mannnnnnnn I am all over there. And I would probably eat three meals of that in a row!

  10. Um I love how you took all the work out of spiralizing and just said “screw this I’m getting slaw!” So creative! haha. City living is the worst sometimes…our landlord just informed us we aren’t allowed to touch our radiators, even though they get way too hot and leak all the time…but apparently in our lease it says we can’t? Well no, sir, it says you can’t “interfere with lighting or heating” but by that same logic are we not allowed to turn on/off the lights? haha. $15 a hole?! Highway robbery!

    1. Hi Lauren! Easy is the name of the game when it comes to food for me!! And wow, not allowed to touch the radiator? Not fun!! Guess that’s what we get in big cities!

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