What I ate Wednesday: Second trimester of pregnancy edition
Hiya, folks! How are you? Whenever I ask you guys what you want to see more of on the blog, it’s often food. So today, I’m giving you a full “What I ate Wednesday” post — complete with everything I ate during a regular weekday, which just happens to be yesterday. And by the way, I’m often posting my food pics over on Instagram, so make sure you’re following there as well, and say hi to me, so I can see what you’re up to as well.
My long-time blog readers may remember that I used to do this type of post all the time, often chronicling my daily meals. It’s a lot of work. And sometimes you just want to eat your food instead of taking its picture first — but I persevered yesterday for each bite and made it happen. Check out all of my older “What I ate Wednesday” posts here. 🙂
Breakfast at 8 a.m.
Now that my schedule is so much more flexible, my earliest day of workouts doesn’t start until 8:30 a.m., so even though I still prefer to get up and go in the morning, I’m often waking up closer to 7 a.m. these days. I usually take Rudy out for a little stroll and sometimes drop Dave off at the BART station, before opening up the computer and getting to work.
For breakfast yesterday, I used two pieces of sprouted flax seed toast, covered in sunflower butter, raw pumpkin seeds, chia seeds and a full banana. In my mug, is green tea, sweetened with stevia, cinnamon and organic coconut milk. The tea also has collagen and MCT oil in it for a little boost and added fats and protein for staying power all morning.
Lunch at 12:30 p.m.
There are a lot of things I like about not going into an office each day, but perhaps one of the biggest is the fact that I can now make a warm lunch in my own kitchen. This week, I dug into my brand new boxes of Trader Joe’s new cauliflower crust, so it was cauli-crust pizza on both Monday and Tuesday of this week. Yay!
This cauliflower crust pizza is topped with organic red pizza sauce (also from Trader Joe’s), spinach, two scrambled eggs, sea salt and some nutritional yeast. The pizza cooks up in about 10 minutes (keep it in the oven even longer if you like it to get crispy), and I added the eggs after cooking them separately for some extra protein. Yes, this is a cheese-less pizza, but I didn’t miss the cheese at all.
Oh, and after lunch, I had two almond-covered dates as a sweet ending, because I always need a sweet! And I go through these little beauties so quickly.
Pre-workout snack at 5 p.m.
As I said, I definitely prefer to work out in the morning, but yesterday, I subbed a Bootybarre class, so I saved my movement for the evening. And if you are wondering why working out in the morning is so beneficial, check out: what you should know about working out in the morning. It’s the jam!
I grabbed a fruit and nut bar and slathered some sunflower butter on it for some carbs and healthy fat before my sweat session. I don’t eat a ton of bars, but when I do, I usually add some extra nut butter on top for staying power.
Dinner at 8:30 p.m.
I usually go for a post-workout shake or bite shortly after finishing my sweat session, but with Bootybarre, I don’t feel like it’s always intense enough to warrant that. So yesterday, I waited to eat until dinner.
A version of this dinner has absolutely been my go-to for the past couple of months. I crave pasta, but because I don’t eat white pasta every night, instead I choose lentil pasta, which has way more protein and fiber and less ingredients.
My pasta is topped with sautéed cauliflower rice and spinach (cooked in olive oil), red sauce and a chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s — making it one complete and totally filling meal — carbs, fat, protein, you name it. While it’s not supposed to be the biggest meal of the day according to health experts, dinner is always my biggest, leaving me nice and stuffed for the rest of the night! Yum!
And of course, a couple more dates to end the night on a sweet note! A few days a week I have healthier ice cream, but I ran out the night before — so dates it was!
A few things about my meals this day
By the way, the un-pictured items include three sparkling flavored waters, all of which were low-cal and clean. My favorite is Spindrift.
This day was fairly balanced and pretty light compared to most days. Actually, when I knew I was going to take pictures of everything I ate, I decided not to graze throughout the day like I do sometimes hehehe … just didn’t want to have to add those things to the post.
So by the way, I feel like it goes without saying that what I eat in a day is what works for me. Sometimes I eat more, sometimes I eat less (I eat MUCH more on days I teach or take BODYPUMP — which is my highest intensity workout lately).
And I don’t track my calories or my macros at all. I eat what I feel like, with mostly healthy foods for sure. The weekends include a lot more variety, particularly in the dessert department. And my diet has changed over the years, as I’ve learned more about what works for me and what works for my hormones (SO important!). Right now, being in my second trimester of pregnancy, I’m craving a lot of carbs — so that’s what I’m eating. You don’t have to follow my eats at all, because it may not work for you. Trial and error is ideal for your own body, and eating what you enjoy, of course, is the best thing you can do! You do you!
Hope you have a fabulous day, my friends! See you back here very soon. And if you missed yesterday’s post all about my journey to get pregnant and overcome hypothalamic amenorrhea, check it out! Thank you for your sweet comments and especially thank you to those of you who have bought my ebook. I get an email with the buyer’s name every time a sale goes through, and I LOVE it when I recognize the reader. You guys are the best! 🙂
A full day of eats! Check out this #WhatIAteWednesday post from @apstyle ... Click To Tweet
P.S. Linking up for “What I Ate Wednesday.”
Questions of the day
What’s your favorite weekday meal?
What did you have for breakfast today?
So many yummy eats. I need some of those cauliflower crusts as I’ve tried making it myself and it’s always been a disaster. And dinner is my favorite meal because I actually have time to cook it and we usually eat something different each night.
Hi Patricia! I always wanted to try making cauli crust pizza too, but knew it sounded a bit too involved — I like EASY recipes hehe, so these pre-made crusts are awesome. And I like dinner a lot – but breakfast is probably my favorite. You are GREAT about making new things for dinner. Your husband must love that! Dave gets sick of my repeats hahah! 🙂
I;ve been working on curbing my sugar consumption (which has gotten out of control) and upping my healthy fats, which are usually pretty solid, but I felt needed to get back up there. Usually I have egg white oats and nut butter for breakfast–I think that might be what is up!
Hi Susie!! You should eat the whole egg with your oats then! 🙂 I mean, the yolk is the best part hehehe. I think that the more fat that I eat, the less I crave sugar. Although I still eat sugar because I want it. I mean, life is short. Happy Wednesday, gal!!
Today for breakfast I’m going to have some yogurt with honey, granola, and strawberries. Also a chai latte mmmmmmm 🙂
What kind of coconut milk do you use and do you have trouble with it separating? Also how do you store it?
Yum, Julie! Your breakfast sounds LOVELY! I miss a good latte. As far as coconut milk — it’s a pain. I get the cans from Trader Joe’s and use one can a week just for me. I empty the can into a BPA-free smoothie shaker and keep it in the fridge. I usually have to microwave it for about 45 seconds in the morning before using to get the harder parts to soften. So it’s some effort — but there is NOTHING cleaner than plain coconut milk. I love it! Happy Wednesday, lady!
That dinner looks so good! We eat a lot of chicken sausage in our house, usually just served with baked sweet potato fries….but I’m starting to feel like we can do more with it. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Stephanie, We used to eat chicken sausage ALL THE TIME, but I actually haven’t had it in maybe two years. I picked it up on a whim. I think it would be great not only on pasta, but on a cauliflower crust pizza too. It’s pretty versatile! Happy Wednesday and happy eating to you! 🙂
A delicious day of eats! LOVING ALL THOSE FATS. I’m a huge fat lover too– you’ve definitely inspired me to start eating even more and I’m feeling better already. 🙂
Fat is the key to feeling full and feeling good. I wish we all knew that sooner hehehe! And YESS — surprisingly, I didn’t have an avocado this day, but I got my fat in other ways. 🙂 Happy Wednesday, lady!!
What a yummy day of eats! I never have a problem keeping my fats up, if anything I have to reign in the AB/PB on a spoon habit, haha. I just can’t stop! My husband brought back dates from Israel and they are SO MUCH BETTER than any kind I have found here.
Hi Heather! I have no problem eating a lot of fat these days either — I LOVE so much foods with a high healthy fat content. Dates from Israel? No way! How are they different? I LOVE date!!
All that food looks so yummy! My favorite meal is always breakfast….food is always the first thing I think of in the morning! Haha- I usually have eggs, toast, & some strawberries!
Breakfast is my favorite too, Marielle! Just a great way to start the day! 🙂 And props to you for making eggs in the morning — that’s basically the only time of day I don’t like eggs hahah!
Yummy! I love seeing what other people eat in a day. Gives me ideas. We had tj jalapeño chicken sausage on Monday. It was yummy! Where do you get your dates? I can never seem to find covered dates. this morning I had sautéed spinach and eggs. I should have had a bit of fruit with it, too but I was running late. Thanks for the good inspiration ?
Hi Deanna! The best place to buy the Natural Delights dates that are shown here is at Sprouts. I buy my second favorite dates at Safeway in the produce section. And Whole Foods has them in the bulk bins as well. Those ones are bigger. Happy eating, lady! Good luck finding them! 🙂
MMmm looks like a yummy day! Rudy wants a bite of nut butter :). My dog knows when the PB jar is open… even if he is in another room, he will run to the kitchen and sit near me, it’s too funny.
I’ve been having 2 slices avocado toast with a fried egg on top of each…. today I added a bowl of Envirokidz Organic Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Panda Puffs cereal- oh man it’s so good. We never bought cereal, until we found this stuff! I usually have it as an evening snack… we buy it on the regular with Amazon Subscribe & Save.
heheh Rudy wants a bite of anything I have, but he never gets it– although sometimes I let him lick the extra PB off my fingers heheh because he is always sitting two inches from my plate and hands. Panda Puff cereal? Yummmy! I never eat cereal anymore, but I think Puffins was the name of my favorite. I may need to try whatever it is you’re talking about. And YAY for avocado toast! Have a great day, Jessie! 🙂
Oohhhh I’m going to have to make a similar pizza!
Yes, ma’am! Eggs on pizza! Just do it!! 🙂 hehehhe! Happy Wednesday, gal!
My wife has different taste preferences when she is pregnant. Things that doesn’t tempt her when she is not pregnant, like the smell of freshly baked baguette, really tempt her during pregnancy. I remember once when I came back from work, I caught her eating Nutella in mouthfuls with a spoon direct from the jar.
I love the smell of freshly baked baguette ANY time! 🙂
Vegetarian day until dinner? That happens to me all the time! I’m an “expert” lol Dietitian and I always try to eat a good size dinner so I’m not snacking all freaking night.
Hi Kelli! I probably only eat meat or fish about four times a week or so. It’s not calculated, it’s just I often rely on eggs as my protein — or Greek yogurt. However, I always have to have a big chunk of salmon at least once a week. And I feel ya on the big dinner — just feels right, and nobody wants to wake up hungry in the middle of the night heheh! Happy Wednesday, lady!
Groceries are looking slim so I had a salad with 2 boiled eggs, avocado, and hot sauce.
I am not also going to have to make chocolate covered dates this weekend.
Hey if you had eggs and avocado — you’re golden heheh! Those are two of my staples. And making chocolate covered dates? Yum!! Have a great day, Bethany! 🙂
This all looks so yummy! I can’t wait to try the cauliflower pizza crust from Trader Joe’s. They have best pre-made stuff! I think cheese-less pizza can be just as good as the regular kind. 🙂
Hi Melanie! Totally! I didn’t miss the cheese at all. And Trader Joe’s has so many awesome healthy products! Definitely try out the cauliflower crust. Thanks for saying hi! 🙂