On Wednesdays we look at pictures of food
Greetings, friends! I hope your week is going along nicely. For those of you who are experiencing extremely cold weather, I’m sorry. For those of you who live in the Bay Area like I do, high five.
Life is quite normal this week, except Dave and I are dealing with a small issue in our new place. There’s a cell-phone dead-zone in about one half of the house. True story. And it means that calls not only go straight to voicemail when in this dead-zone, but it also means that they sometimes ring and ring, and yet a missed call never shows up. So if you’re my friend, and you’ve called me, and I haven’t called back, well, whoops. And if you’re wondering how I’m doing, just check Instagram. (Okay, kidding, please call me again!)
But I digress, before we get started on today’s topic of food, I do want to say …
Did you enter the activewear giveaway yet?
If you haven’t already seen my post yesterday about the Actio926 activewear line and the inspiring woman behind it, please check it out now. Why? Because it includes a giveaway, and you could win the chance to pick out a top or bottom of your choice from the company’s colorful selection of workout clothing. Enter today! And for those of you who already entered and left comments about what inspires you — you shared some absolutely amazing stuff. I loved reading every single thing.
Now back to business. There are a few regular weekly features here on A Lady Goes West, and “What I Ate Wednesday” is one of them. Nearly every single Wednesday, I share a recap of one full day of my eating and drinking, which is usually a Monday or a Tuesday. I’m a huge fan of looking at pictures of food, finding out how real people actually eat and sharing my life with you. So these “What I Ate Wednesday” posts are a main-stay.
All of the food that I’m about to show you was consumed on Monday. I didn’t teach any classes on Monday and was working on the computer much of the day, outside of a few errands and a short workout at home. Because I was less active than usual, I really wasn’t as ravenous. I do find that I’m extra hungry on days featuring tough morning workouts or classes, which is a totally normal thing. Now, let’s get to it …
Breakfast at 8 a.m.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love eating overnight oats, but for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been eating an even simpler breakfast. Plain Greek yogurt, topped with a banana and crunched-up cashews. I had this bowl of delight with some hot green tea, sweetened with almond milk and stevia.
Mid-morning snack at 11 a.m.
When you’re going to eat packaged goods, you might as well make sure it’s the right kind. This little 100-calorie “Chia Bar” may have been small, but it was tasty, healthy and just what I needed to hold me over until lunch.
Lunch at 1 p.m.
Let me explain this one. It’s a baked sweet potato, topped with cottage cheese and cinnamon. Maybe it doesn’t look very good, but I can assure you that it was. Plenty of protein and healthy carbs combined. I had this along with a second mug of green tea for the day, which was also sweetened with almond milk and stevia. I had been on a major cottage cheese kick for many months, then stayed away from it for about two months. Well, it’s back. I’ve been eating cottage cheese as part of my breakfast, on sweet potatoes as you see here for lunch, as well as slathered on whole-grain crackers for snacks. Cottage cheese sure is versatile and tasty, and I’m glad it’s back in my life.
Mid-afternoon snack at 4 p.m.
Ever since I made my own trail mix a few weeks ago featuring prunes, I haven’t bought pre-packaged trail mix again. This is a selection of raw whole almonds, whole cashews and of course, dried prunes. I’ve been refilling a big plastic container of this, which Dave and I have been plowing through each week.
Dinner at 8 p.m.
Another masterpiece compliments of our new grill. That’s a grilled turkey burger topped with lettuce, tomato, avocado and ketchup on a grilled whole-wheat bun. Served alongside some kale, broccoli, carrot, pecan and dried cranberry salad, topped with honey dijon dressing.
That dinner? Oh my, it was good, and by far the highlight of my day food-wise. In fact, Dave and I had burgers from the grill like this, both Sunday and Monday night because they were so delicious. The salad is one that we’ve been buying often from Safeway, pre-packaged. It requires a little massaging in the bag, which is actually pretty fun to do. This dinner will likely become a staple for us, being that it’s quick and fairly healthy. And the carbs from the whole-wheat buns? Not going to kill me — don’t fear the carb, my friends.
And that was it for my eats yesterday, outside of a little bit of cashew milk for dessert. Looking back at these meals, I see that I had some form of nuts in four-of-the-five meals I ate throughout the day, which may be a bit of overkill in the healthy-fats department. But it sure did add a nice crunch.
Today will include some work, as well as teaching an evening BODYATTACK class. If you’re a BODYATTACKer, check out my review of the latest release BODYATTACK 87. I’ve gone back to teaching older releases now, but look forward to launching the next round of choreography in early April. Now go off and have a great day, friends!
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:
- A full day of eating in pictures
- Another full day of my eats and drinks
- Real food isn’t always pretty
- Do you have a balanced dining out strategy?
- What I ate and drank all day
- Three meals, two snacks and a shake
- Food trucks and rest-day eating
- Plenty of protein at every meal
- Colorful fuel for a day of training
- Long days of training require a lot of food
- Making do on “What I Ate Wednesday”
- Healthy foods for a rest day
- Who doesn’t like pictures of food?
- A look at a full day of eating in pictures
- Snapshots from a day of delicious meals
- Pictures of food, because you like them
- Food pictures and the juice cleanse that wasn’t
- A look at what I really eat in a day
- What I ate in the Sunshine State
- My weekend eats and a little narrative
- Stories about food and yesterday’s meals
- A day of eating and some commentary
- Do you want to know what I ate yesterday?
- Healthy challenges and foods from my day
- Eating, napping and eating again
- Filling up on healthy food before the holiday
- A perfect birthday at home and my eats
- Top blog posts, reader stats and my food
- A different kind of training and my food
- Joining a healthy green movement and my eats
- Must-try veggie pasta tip and my eats
- Are you eating this sweet and satisfying fruit?
- What a difference a week makes and my eats
Questions of the day
What’s the best thing you’ve eaten so far this week? What are you having for lunch today? Me? I’ll probably have a hearty green smoothie.
Gotta love the title of the blog today : ) And there is just something about burgers on the grill that takes them to a whole new level!
Hi Stacie! Glad you got that reference. 🙂 And the grill is SO my new favorite thing. It helps that I’m not the one doing the cooking on it too! Happy Wednesday!
You trail mix looks alot like my daily afternoon snack! I definitely prefer making my own trail mix to using store-bought.
Lunch today will be leftovers from last night, which was a butternut squash/chicken dish!
Hi Lisa! Leftovers for lunch is always a good idea. And yes, I’m definitely going to be making my own trail mix for a while. Happy Wednesday!
Sweet potato with cottage cheese is one of my favorite combos! I usually add cinnamon, a little Stevia, and some peanut butter! So good! For a while I never liked cottage cheese, but I wanted to – so I ate it little by little and now I’m a huge fan!
Hi Ruthie, People seem to love or hate cottage cheese. And your additions of stevia and PB sound yummy too. Happy Wednesday to you!
Your day of food looks SO good! I have been eating SO much oatmeal for snacks…and Quest bars, since I am stuck at a hotel in the middle of nowhere Illinois for work until tomorrow. Can’t wait to be back in my kitchen! I miss cottage cheese so much – I need a lactose free version. Oh, I entered the giveaway!! YAY!! Happy Weds 🙂
Hi Jill! I bet it’s not easy to eat well on the road for work, but you’ll be home soon! Lactose free cottage cheese? Someone has probably created it, but I’ve never seen it. Happy Wednesday!! 🙂
Cottage cheese on sweet potatoes?! Amazing, will have to try it!
Hi Karina! Weird but good! Let me know if you like it. Happy Wednesday! 🙂
Love cottage cheese on sweet potatoes. Also, the new cedar’s Beet Scallion hummus is amazing on them too! I did that with dinner last night!
Hi Susie! Hummus on sweet potatoes? I haven’t tried that combo! But I will. Thank you! 🙂
Cottage cheese is one of my favorite foods! Although it does seem to give me a little tummy troubles it is totally worth it! In fact I am headed to the store after work to put some up and I might just totally have to have your sweet potato, cottage cheese lunch for dinner!
Hi Hilary! I hope you try it, and I hope it doesn’t bother your tummy! Have a great Wednesday:)
I’m totally on a cottage cheese kick too. I could eat it 3x a day. Yummmm.
Hi Pragati! I know! So good! It’s too bad people think of cottage cheese as gross, because once you start eating it, you can’t stop! 🙂
Mmm sweet potatoes! Yummy eats!
Thanks, Erin! 🙂 Sweet potatoes are a staple in my diet. Happy Wednesday!
That’s so strange about the signal in your house! Hopefully they can get it fixed for you.
And I’m glad to see you embracing some carbs at dinner. Whole grains are delicious and healthy and for as active as you are, you could probably eat them all day!
Hi Sarah! I guess I should call my cell provider, but haven’t done that yet! And yes, I love my carbs! Happy Wednesday to you! 🙂
Love that you’re making your own trail mix too. In Canada we had this bulk food store called Bulk Barn (and ALWAYS had coupons to make the food that much cheaper). Here, I cannot find a place similar to that. Sure, I can buy my bulk foods (in limited quantity) at Whole Foods, or Sprouts, but it’s not the same as perusing through aisles and aisles of wonderful food. So I miss truly making my own trail mix from scratch (loads of raw nuts!) But now I buy a few different raw nut packages from Trader Joe’s, and call that my mix.
Hi Nancy, That’s how I’ve been doing it too. I’d love to get my hands on some bulk bins though! 🙂
You’ve got some good lookin’ eats here, my friend! We’re back into the grilling now that it’s warmed up, and I am just loving it! Grilling out is my favorite. Not to mention, it’s super easy and has minimal clean up! It’s a win all around. I’ll have to see if I can find that salad here – it sounds good! You guys have Safeway by you? When I lived in California, it was Vons… Have they changed?
Hi Ashley, There are Vons around but we always go to Safeway, with some trips to Trader Joe’s for other things. It seems like there is a Safeway on every corner now. But they’ve been bought by Albertsons I believe, so we’ll see how things change. Happy WIAW to you! 🙂
Chia bars are the bomb! I haven’t had them in awhile because they are so expensive, but I seriously love them all!
They are good, and I don’t get them on the regular either. Happy Wednesday, Rebecca!! 🙂
How do you cook your sweet potatoes?!
Hi Angie! I cook my sweet potatoes in the microwave. After washing them, I poke a few holes with a fork, wrap them in a wet paper towel, then microwave on each side for about 3-4 minutes depending on the size of the sweet potato.
Sweet potatoes!! Yes. I’ve never tried them topped with cottage cheese before. I bet that’s good!
Hi Heather! I’ve never met a sweet potato combination I didn’t like! 🙂
I’m with you, I never get bored of looking at pictures of food! Especially colorful, healthy food. I find that I eat a lot of nuts in my diet, as well, but I never let myself feel bad about that because I know what types of unhealthy snacks I tend to turn to when I don’t get enough of the good fats in my diet. Happy eating! 🙂
Hi Amy! So true! Healthy fats are great. Hope you’re having a lovely WIAW! 🙂
Loving the “Mean Girls” reference. I thought in the breakfast photo you were having marshmallows and bananas until I looked at the photo more closely. 🙂 The salad you had with dinner looks delish! I get a similar salad from Whole Foods on a regular basis and I love it! Makes me completely forget that I’m even eating veggies.
Hi Beth, Glad you got that reference! And marshmallows for breakfast? That sounds fun:) Hope you’re having a lovely Wednesday!
Oh my gosh, I’m so jealous you are able to cook on a grill. Ours is buried right now under 75 inches of snow. The Boston area is like the snowpocalypse right snow. It’s insane.
I can’t even imagine, Chrissy! Stay inside!!!!!
I’ve always loved cottage cheese. What brand do you buy?
Hi Elizabeth! I usually buy the 2 percent of fat-free Lucerne brand, which is sold at Safeway grocery stores.
Homemade trail mix is the absolute best! Perfect post afternoon snack too. To answer your question – we still have 5 isn hrs until lunch, but I imagine I’ll have a salad with chicken & lots of vegetables.
Hi Jessie! Well that sounds like a great lunch. Enjoy! 🙂 Happy WIAW!
well this is awkward, I’m wearing pink. Who changed the memo?
My snacks this week have all included cottage cheese. The extra salty kind. So good.
Extra salty cottage cheese? Is that a kind you can buy or do you salt it yourself? Yummy. I need to salt mine! I’ve been eating it with sweet stuff mostly. Oh and we can wear pink on Thursdays too, if you want. 🙂
You always eat the most tasty looking food! I’m coming to Cali for dinner! Looks like you had some delish meals as always. Hope you get the cell phone issue figured out! I’ve heard you can call your provider and they can help make adjustments!
Hi Jenna! Thanks! You’re welcome to come to dinner anytime you visit CA! And you know, I think I will call my cell provider. Thanks for the motivation to do that. Hope you have a Happy Thursday! 🙂