A Lady Goes West

A healthy lifestyle blog by Ashley Pitt

What a difference a week makes + my eats

By 59 Comments

My, oh my, how my life has changed since last Wednesday. This time last week, I was sitting among a mess of boxes inside a tiny apartment in the heart of the city, stressed about my move and fed up with the construction sounds outside my window. Today, I’m as snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug-comfortable in my much bigger place outside the city center, and I even have a new car to get around in. I mean, wow. For most of you, having space, a little bit of quiet and your own transportation is probably not anything you think about all that much. But as an urbanite for the past two-and-a-half years, these are luxuries I didn’t have. It feels good to have them now, and I’m loving all these changes in my life, even though I was a little sad about it all at first. But it’s not so bad outside of my bubble. Maybe I’m making a new bubble?

There’s something else I’m loving right now, and it hasn’t changed much in the past week. Food. No seriously, I love food. Sometimes I probably think about food a little bit too much. Although I eat very similar things most days, my usual foods are ones I like so much that I still get excited about each meal. I typically go for easy, simple and convenient food choices, which fill me up and don’t take a lot of time to prepare. But to make that happen I need some tools, which leads me to this food and moving-related story of the day …

Have you ever gone without a particular appliance?

Dave and I still have a lot of stuff to buy for our new place. One of the things that our kitchen is currently lacking is a microwave. Have you ever lived without one? You’d think it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But when you’re short on time and need to prepare a meal, it can make it tough to be without. For instance, on Monday night, Dave and I got home late after picking up my car and were standing in the kitchen at 9 p.m. wondering what we could possibly whip up in a flash. If we preheated the oven for anything, we’d be waiting for a while. And at that point, everything I pulled out of the freezer to eat needed to be microwaved. We settled on breakfast for dinner, Dave having cereal, and me having eggs. But in that moment, we realized that although we don’t want to rely on the microwave, it sure does come in handy, and we need it more than we think. I hope to pick one up this week so we can be back in business. But until then, we’ll be doing things the old fashioned way using the stove and the oven.

What I Ate Wednesday via A Lady Goes West

A look at all of my eats from yesterday

Continuing on with the topic of food, let’s move into “What I Ate Wednesday,” which is a chance for me to pick one day out of the week and show you every single thing I consumed outside of water and vitamins. By no means are my food choices for everybody, but they surely work for me. Here are all of my meals from yesterday …

Breakfast at 8 a.m.

Breakfast 2.3That’s not my usual breakfast of overnight oats, believe it or not. In fact, it’s just a bowl of plain Greek yogurt, topped with a banana and some crunched-up flavored breakfast crackers. Served alongside a steaming mug of warm green tea, sweetened with stevia and almond milk. In fact, I haven’t made overnight oats since we moved, but will probably get back to that fabulous and filling staple soon.

Lunch at 1 p.m.

Lunch 2.3Not pretty, but tasty. Yes, I’m still on a smoothie kick for lunches every now and again, and this one was well worth fussing with my Nutribullet for. This is a shot of world’s thickest smoothie, consisting of frozen blueberries, protein powder and almond milk. For the full recipe, check out blue chocolate protein milk-shake smoothie. 

Snack at 4 p.m.

Snack 2.3Just a little bit of fuel before I headed off to teach a class and work out. All I wanted was another mug of steaming green tea and some trail mix, which I made by combining a pre-made pack from Trader Joe’s with some extra raw cashews and almonds to fill it out.

Post-workout protein at 6:30 p.m.

Protein shake 2.3I drank this after teaching BODYPUMP on the way home in the car. It’s one big scoop of Adaptogen TastyWHEY protein powder mixed with cold water, and it was delicious. And you bet I was careful not to spill it in my new ride. 

Dinner at 8:15 p.m.

Dinner 2.3This is a bowl full of broccoli slaw pasta, steamed spinach, marinara sauce and some turkey meatballs. The broccoli slaw pasta is something I’ve been enjoying lately because it’s super easy to prepare. You can read about how I make it here: Must-try veggie pasta.

That was it for my eats yesterday. Pretty standard and colorful.

Tonight, I’m teaching a BODYATTACK class at another new-to-me gym in my new neighborhood, which I’m excited about. Speaking of which, I still owe you guys a review of the latest BODYATTACK release and will get that one up very soon. I’ll see you back here tomorrow for something a little bit different. Now go off and have a good one!

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?

Questions of the day

What did you have for breakfast today? What is your favorite meal of the day? Do you have and/or use a microwave?

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About Ashley

I'm a mom and fitness instructor in Charlotte, North Carolina. And A Lady Goes West is where I share fitness, wellness and clean beauty tips, as well as stories from my life.
 
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Comments

  3. Courtney says

    Maybe it’s time to invest in a blender? I used to struggle with my bullet too, and I finally got a Ninja. My dream was a Vitamix, but the Ninja works great and was totally worth the expense. But I guess that will go below microwave on your list of kitchen utensils!

    Reply

  5. Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment says

    We do have a microwave, but rarely use it. However, we do sometimes rely on it in a pinch. Especially when we have a last minute dinner we need to pull together. What’s your favorite brand of green tea? I like it, but don’t love it, so I’m always looking for the best brand possible. So glad you are loving your new place and the car! Big changes for sure.
    Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment recently posted…WIAW #27: Gym EatsMy Profile

    Reply

  8. Jessie R says

    I went without a microwave for about a year and a half, it gets easier with time :). My parents had an extra that I took, but I still don’t use it too often.

    Breakfast might be my favorite meal of the day! During the week I usually have a bowl of hot steel-cut oats with egg whites, cinnamon, and 1/2 a banana mixed in 🙂 Yummm.

    How does it feel to be driving again?

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      Hi Jessie! It feels AMAZING to be driving again. You have no idea. I love it hehehe. I want to spend all day in my car, too bad I have other things to do. Anywho, you hot steel-cut oats sound fabulous. I need to start doing a hot breakfast every once in a while. Happy Wednesday to you! 🙂
      Ashley recently posted…What a difference a week makes + my eatsMy Profile

      Reply

  14. Jess says

    About a year ago we moved to a rental without a built in microwave and have been without since. We thought we would need to buy one but it hasn’t been too big of a deal and we love the extra counter space.

    We have had a few woops moments like buying microwave popcorn only to realize we have no way to make it!

    Reply

  16. Bethann says

    Congrats on your new car and on making your new home/bubble comfy and livable! I’m also one who enjoys a little more space, transportation and parking! Those amenities are underrated!

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      Hi Arman, Thanks! Yes, loving my new place and glad you are loving your new place too. And you WOULD be someone who doesn’t really need a microwave, you crafty and clever cook, you. Arg! 🙂

      Reply

    • Ashley says

      Hi Hayley! What? Seems like nearly everything I ate in college needed to be in the microwave, so that would have been a real struggle for me hehehe. So nice job making it through! Hope you have a great day, and thanks for stopping by to say hello:)

      Reply

  23. Whitney @ To Live & Diet in L.A. says

    Congrats on the move girl! Very exciting!

    We just moved two weeks ago, and although it was only about a mile, our new place is so much better! I’m enjoying new luxuries like a dishwasher and floors that don’t splinter into your feet haha 🙂 I feel you on the microwave. I don’t think I could do without one. It’s just so convenient when you’re in a rush.
    Whitney @ To Live & Diet in L.A. recently posted…5 Healthy Heart FoodsMy Profile

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      Hi Whitney! Well congratulations to you on your move too. I guess you wanted to get that move done before your wedding, right? I’ve loved the process of cleaning things out, buying new things and totally reorganizing all of my stuff because of the move. It sure is fun! While at times a little stressful – but most of that is behind me. Hope all is well with you! Missing NZ??? 🙂

      Reply

  24. Kimberly says

    I love WIAW posts! It’s so fun to see what other healthy living bloggers are eating. I get lots of great ideas that way! Your day looks delicious! I’m headed now to visit some of your other links. I’m happy I stumbled across your blog. You’re a great writer. 🙂

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      Hi Kimberly, Ohhhh thanks so much for the kind words. I love to look at other people’s eats too. I also get ideas that way. And by the way, I was a corporate PR girl and copywriter before becoming a personal trainer/group fitness instructor/blogger/writer, so you know, I think I can create a clear sentence when needed. Thank you for coming by to say hello! Really loved your post about monetizing the blog, and I’ll be sure to follow you for more. 🙂 Happy Thursday!

      Reply

  25. Sabrina @ Nutritiously Sweet says

    Your eats look so good! And I did live without a microwave for 2 months and it actually wasn’t that bad. I must preferred the taste of cooking on the stove top. Plus I worked overnight and snacked during my shift (yogurts, string cheese, protein bars) so I guess I had the luxury I was home to cook.

    Reply

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