#mine is hummus cheese and ham

[keirametzbrassknuckles]

I would like to know everyone's favorite non-recipe sandwich combos please (so like... not a BLT)

#mine is hummus cheese and ham #which is not all that weird i guess but people look at me funny sometimes when i describe it

[recapitulation]

meal ideas!

low energy ("do not ask me to do any prep work at all, so help me god")

mozzerella cheese wrapped in pepperoni ("pizza tacos"!)

hummus and pretzels or naan (putting the naan in the microwave for like 10 seconds...heavenly)

canned chili (with shredded cheese and sour cream if you have it! boom done!)

instant miso soup (warm and lovely! put tofu in it for protein!)

cheese and cured meat, olives, canned fish, crackers, dried fruit, or whatever easy "charcuterie" type items you like

alternate bites of apple and spoonfulls of peanut butter (mixing honey or chocolate chips to the peanut butter is my favorite)

a "deconstructed sandwich": bites of lunch meat, pickles, cheese, cherry tomato, etc (I love roast beef and white cheddar for this)

yogurt and granola or fruit

put frozen potstickers + frozen edamame in the steamer/rice cooker, chill elsewhere with a timer set, then boom

tortilla chips + canned refried beans + cherry tomatoes + cilantro + jarred salsa con queso (or warm shredded cheese on top of the chips in the microwave for 30 seconds)

bagel + cream cheese + lox

microwave scrambled eggs (add things like green onion, soy sauce, or anything else you like!)

cottage cheese and fruit (mixed together or just on the side)

bowl of shredded rotisserie chicken + buffalo sauce + a bit of mayo + green onion (use a kitchen scissors to cut them right in!)

medium energy ("I'll boil water but don't ask me to chop shit")

boiled eggs and fresh veggies (put a little salt on top of the eggs!)

buttered noodles (my go-to nausea meal, it has never failed me. ideas of things to add: frozen peas, imitation crab, roasted garlic)

baked potato with toppings (I like cheese, bacon, broccoli, green onion, and sour cream)

quesadilla (add some canned beans, cilantro, or avocado!)

pot roast (requires a lot of time but not a lot of actual work. I love it with peas!)

cuban sandwich (bread, swiss, pickle, mustard, ham... my favorite thing to panini-ify by far)

pan-fried tofu with scallion sauce (this sauce goes well with everything and tofu is no exception)

pancakes or waffles! (I love mine with jam)

ham, pickle, and cream cheese roll-ups

fried eggs (with toast and lots of butter...so comforting)

fruit smoothie (bananas, frozen strawberries, yogurt...or whatever!)

I hate salad but could write essays on this copycat olive garden salad (throw it in a bowl! chopping required if you use onion)

spaghetti (controversial maybe but angel hair > spaghetti noodles)

pasta salad (olives broccoli fresh mozerella... those little mini pepperonis... yeah)

stir-fried thai garlic shrimp (I like using the mini frozen salad shrimps, it's easy! use jarred minced garlic to avoid chopping!)

tuna mayo onigiri

slow cooker ribs

buffalo chicken wrap (or any number of other wrap options! shred pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to make it easier)

if your local grocery store sells pre-cooked gyro strips, that can turn into an easy wrap with store-bought pita & tzatziki with tomatoes and onions!

couscous and chickpeas

tortellini + pasta sauce + spinach

high energy ("I don't mind chopping some things up!")

stuffed shells with spinach

chicken and roasted garlic (oh my god.....one of my all time favorites)

beef tacos (I like mine with cilantro and onion, and when I'm feeling especially high energy I love a tomatillo salsa)

chicken alfredo

tom kha gai (a thai soup and my absolute favorite! you just need access to galangal)

lasagna! (freezes well and then boom! low energy meal for later)

pad thai! (not as hard as you'd think, as long as you have access to tamarind paste!)

potstickers! (this is a lovely group activity if you want to cook with housemates!)

rice and beans

bang bang shrimp (ogughfhgfuh I love it. you can also do bang bang tofu!)

minestrone soup (so many nice veggies!)

fried rice (put whatever you have on hand in there! broccoli, peas, carrot, and beef is my favorite combo)

broccoli cheddar soup

spring rolls and peanut sauce

skewers (such as beef, onion, zucchini, bell pepper... you don't need a grill, oven works!)

roasted turkey with garlic parmesean asparagus

pork chop with mashed potatoes

panang curry

chicken gnocchi soup (use store bought gnocchi or make your own if you have a high energy day!)

bibimbap (super customizable depending on what veggies you like best)

butter chicken

plus! things that have helped me meal plan:

whenever you think of a meal you'd like to make, take 3 seconds to google search it, take a screenshot of the image results, and put it in a "food ideas" folder. instant visual menu!

the concept of "meal prepping" makes me recoil but I've learned that it can simply mean preparing shredded chicken, boiled eggs, or some other simple protein that you can customize throughout the week. shredded chicken can turn into wraps, salads, pasta dishes, etc... you don't have to meal prep yourself into the same meal all week!

when I have difficulty working up an appetite, I'll scroll through my favorite restaurant menus! there might be some foods I can't make at home, but many times they're very simple to recreate because the ingredients are literally listed!

#brought to you by: i see people complaining about coming up with meals for the week #and im like..this is my favorite thing to do........let me be your meal brainstormer #additionally brought to you by: eating something is better than nothing so some of these may not be complete textbook 'meals' #but sometimes you feel like shit and just need something! so! #also this energy scale is tailored to me personally so if some categorizations dont make sense to you thats bc its about me <3 #food #i might update this with dessert ideas too later. or just add to it in general

[charmingi]

The state of my breakfast is the state of my day

Cooking is a hobby of mine that I don't do very often and it's to my own detriment.

Honeyed yogurt with granola and cut strawberries, Sleepy-eyed with a solid eight hours under my belt, I have time to breathe. My roommate went grocery shopping the day before, and I have a lot of options to choose from a fully stocked fridge. Zucchini on top of the box of leafy lettuce, or three containers of hummus and the cold cuts in the drawer underneath… It's the tub of vanilla greek yogurt that my hands reach for. A pretty parfait, I think to myself. I wash strawberries under cold running water and cut them into shapes. It eats up a bit of time, but it makes me happy, and it's important to make yourself happy. Drizzling the inside of a mason jar with the honey wand I nabbed from work, I layer my ingredients. I think I'll have it with a hot cup of jasmine tea. I can't wait to sit in a morning sunspot, eat, drink, and watch my potted plants grow. I love to be deliberate.

Granola bar, Sometimes the bed is like a siren pulling me back and into her, and sometimes she wins. I love to sleep and I love punctuality. For some reason, these two things are almost always exclusive. Maybe the day before was a little too long and I got a meager six hours of sleep that I wanted to stretch into seven, but these poor early-morning decisions leave me with no time to be meticulous about what I eat. I don't like to skip meals. It reminds me of high school; I struggled with eating regularly for all four years. Now, I'm short. The consequences of my actions forever cemented at 5'3". I grab a granola bar from the cabinet on my way out, running down the stairs because if I don't use every single second I have the way it needs to be used, I'll be late for class. I spill crumbs everywhere I walk ––a little breakfast for the birds, too.

Leftover ham and cheese croissant from Starbucks, I'm not proud of this one. I had to truck through my day from dawn till dusk on two and a half hours of sleep. Don't ask why or how –– just feel bad for me. I love to be pitied. Bright and early, my nurse chewed me out for not calling her to tell her I was using my nebulizer before I showed up at the office. She made me fit in a doctor's appointment sometime before I went to work (bless her heart). I took a midterm I didn't study for and then scrambled to my next class. From that class, I ran back to student health services. I was late for the appointment (ugh), but the doctor was kind. She listened to me ramble about how "this happens once a year" and "I just need a blister pack of prednisone" with this sort of obvious skepticism. I was a little embarrassed, but I left with the medicine. Only then, as the clock neared two, did I realize that I had not eaten. No sleep and an empty stomach? Of course I felt woozy. The only thing on me was a ham and cheese croissant I left in my bag overnight. Yeah, I ate it. I don't regret it.

Egg in a blanket with summer sausage, One of my personality traits is that I love my roommate. They fill up the cup on my desk with water when I'm not looking and massage my wrists when my chronic pain flares up. One particular morning, they broke our morning silence with the sound of their stomach growling and a sheepish "I'm hungry" before disappearing into the kitchen. A few minutes later, the apartment was thick with a smoky, sweet smell and my stomach began to growl too. Soon enough, they brought me a plate of egg-in-a-blanket with grilled summer sausage and a glass of iced tea. The food was good on its own, but sharing a meal makes it taste better. We started the day together, spent the day together, and ended the day together. We're a little domestic if I think about it.

I've had a strained relationship with food throughout my life, and I haven't always been very good at eating. Upon further inspection, though, the days where I celebrate it are the good ones. The days I don't… well… yikes.

#5

[amjustagirl]

Lately it's been milk bread!!! It's just been a constant craving. xD omg i also make alot of curry rice. ;-; I'm also on kick lately with curry, i dunno why lmao.

GIVE ME THE LAUNDRY LIST! I LOVE FOOD! I'm a mix of Hispanic and Italian so there's so many good foods, I'm just... Too lazy to make them. Making pasta from scratch takes so longggggg and tamales???? Ugh so long. ;-;

MILK BREAD TOORU WLD LOVE YOU!!

omg curry rice yesss. ive been making a lot of japanese curries nowadays cos im a little lazy, but thai green curry, yellow soft shell crab curry, lontong (which is like, a coconut curry w veggies) are all big big big favs of mine too!

oh gosh....i don't know where to start. like i LOVE italian food (you're so lucky you have a fantastic food culture to draw upon! i have rly fond memories of scoffing cheese pizzas at midnight in milan and i'm a huge huge huge fan of proscuitto and parma ham and italian cheeses (i've even left an exam early just so i wouldn't miss a street market!)

and ooh tell me more about tamales - i don't think i've ever had the opportunity to eat good, authentic south american food, i have tried tacos and burritos but i feel like it's v different eating it in asia yknow?

ok so if i had to narrow down a list of some of my favourite foods:

dim sum (this wld include things like liu sha baos - salted egg yolk buns, chicken feet, century egg porridge, steamed beef balls). i will SWIM TO HONG KONG OKAY.

bun cha (grilled pork served with rice noodles and a sheaf of herbs in some magical fish sauce mixture, i have such good memories scarfing down bowls of this in the narrow alleyways of hanoi - my vietnamese moots wld understand HAHA (@ravyeolii @fail-big)

hokkien mee (yellow alkaline noodles stir fried in a pork and seafood broth, singaporeans go to WAR with each other just to fight over which stall does it the best LOL)

carrot cake (not the dessert version, in singapore we pan fry radish cakes with eggs and preserved radish, comes either white or black (ie. with soy sauce or not). my singaporean / msian moots wld prob war over which version they prefer...i shall keep my preference a secret for now).

kueh salat - it's this pandan custard served over sticky coconut rice and IT'S AMAZING I CLD DIE.

pandan cake - look so our govt shut down bakeries for 2 weeks last year and i nearly cried WEH.

lamb briyani - i rly love the dry hyderabad version, washed down with a mango lassi, please and thank you!

sushi - i will fking fly my ass down to tokyo cos i miss good sushi SO MUCH. mr. nikki is a huge fan - he's woken up at 4am and queued an HOUR just to eat sushi in a japanese fish market. we're both mad over food LOL.

falafel - i rly love mediterranean food, and i have SUCH a weakness for fresh falafel, served with warm hummus and couscous. i make my own hummus BUT FALAFEL NEEDS TO BE DEEP FRIED AND I'M TOO FKING LAZY FOR IT.

hamberg steak - so this is a weird addition but it's sooo good, and i make it at home myself with minced tofu hoho.

and we haven't even gotten to my favourite meals HAHAHAHAA. gods what's wrong with me.

#Nikki chats! #Oracleofdin<3

[sweetswesf]

Week 15

Finally encouraged myself to work out.  Big-ups to the Peleton app.  I had been on a 2-week streak of no workouts after being on a week streak of working out.  I decided to focus on work and not working out, and my horrible desk arrangement at home was not helping my sedentary lifestyle.  

These are the books I plan to read.  I haven’t cracked them open in a while.  I am almost done with Becoming.  I have read a few pages of the Ultimate Bible Guide.  YouTube and work keep wining!  I plan to try tomorrow.  

I did a cool thing this week.  A person from the outside Black engineering group I am apart of invited me to share my story in a virtual conference he was hosting through Udacity.  I got to tell my story, through interview style, of how I transitioned to tech to 100+ people in attendance.  It will be recorded so even more will get to hear.  I am keeping my anonymity on this blog so unfortunately I cannot share, but if you have been reading, you know it...

One thing I keep thinking back to is when my interviewer asked what kept me focused as it seemed like I went through a lot of hardship to get here.  I told him my faith.  I try not to be overly religious, but it is hard when He is really the reason behind all of this.

I shared the conference link on Facebook, which was one of the first time I shared my speaking on a panel about tech with my Facebook friends.  I have done many, even when I wasn’t a software engineer.  Of course my granny jumped on it and shared it with all her Texas family.  It is really great to have her support.  I also got a share from the high school friend I met up with a few weeks ago.  I didn’t get any shares from my God mother whom I reached out to when thing were most recently rough between my mother and I.  I didn’t get any shares from my mother’s friend who tried to tell me how I should react a few years back in a random voicemail without ever hearing my side first.  I don’t mention them to focus on what they didn’t do, or how they didn’t show up in a way that I had hoped they would, I share that to show that the people that want you to do great will support without you asking/looking around.  Thank you, Cristian for liking as well!  I know you’re reading.  I really appreciate your support!

Sunday, I took the day to actually relax.  Easter Sunday.  I was more relaxed than I have felt in a while.  Sure, I got back on YouTube towards the end of the night, but for the better part of the day, I turned off my electronics and just wrote down what I was grateful for, what I am looking forward to.  I am appreciating this time to slow down, think, and, like my mentor said, find what I REALLY want out of life.  I was inspired by a quote from one of my pastors, “The church is empty, but so is the tomb.”  He is Risen!

My mom made me miss home and meat-eating when she said they cooked mac & cheese and ham and other good eats, as I stared down at my less satisfying vegan plate.  

I am grateful for mine, the ability to buy the ingredients, cook them, then eat them on my own, but man did their spread make my mouth water.  I should have listened to the tempeh package that said “will last in fridge for 5-7 days”.  It had been sitting for twice that long and I gave it a shot because it looked fine.  It was definitely fuzzy in the middle.  I do not like tempeh.  I have tried many times to like it and I just...can’t!

I did try this olive tapenade hummus from Sabra.  I thought roasted red pepper was great.  Olive tapenade is FLAMES!!

Veganism isn’t so bad.  I did have some headaches from not getting enough food/fats.  I caved in and started tracking my meals again and saw I was generally getting well over what I needed.  This transition has been made easier since I have been playing around with different diets (vegetarianism, keto, whole30, vegan) for the past 6 years now.  

I had been feeling sad because I hadn’t cooked anything in a while that I felt really satisfied by...but Wednesday gave me a 2nd wind.  I cooked a sweet potato with chickpeas and threw some tahini sauce on it. OOOH WEE!!

So sad I didn’t take a picture of it.  I wanted to remember it as my breakthrough meal.  It encouraged me to continue with veganism, and continue with anything that is hard, but good for me.  It’ll be worth it in the end.  Fats, proteins, carbs.  Perfect macro meal.  Probably too many carbs, fats, and natural sugars, but it was damn good.

I have even checked in and prayed on my veganism, wondering if this is what God wants.  I think, as long as I am not obsessing over it and I am doing it for the right reasons (my health and helping the environment) I should be good.

It was my turn to present the Python reading.  I of course hadn’t done it.  In fact, I was behind 12 chapters.  I pulled an all-nighter to do it, and put a deck together, and present.  I didn’t feel good prioritizing it over work that I got paid for (which I finished and felt good for doing).  I felt like CRAP and it reminded me how important sleep is to bodily functioning.  Get your 8-9 hours people!

Next week I should hear the University Programs’ deliberation on whether I stay or leave.  I was deciding to wait to get a standup desk and chair for when I get a role, but regardless if I get it or not, I will still be coding from home and still needing a working station that is good for my body.  It is an investment in health.  

I have been really trying to prioritize my health during this quarantine, and there’s so many factors: how to eat, how to protect your skin from aging, acne, and cancer, how frequent to shower, how to breathe, how to cook, what to cook, when to drink.  Here are some of the highlights of what I am doing now/what I learned:

Don’t drink water 30 minutes before or 1 hour after eating

Bodies need glucose to fight viruses

Breathe horizontally (think potbelly)

Refined coconut oil > unrefined coconut oil for cooking, as refined withstands higher temperatures

Wear sunscreen, even if indoors, as UV-A rays can penetrate through

It is recommend to shower every other day or 2-3x/week for your skin so that it is not over-dried and so that the good bacteria on your body can protect you

Vegans often lack iron, B-12 & healthy fats

Taking a lot of vegan cooking tips from Rachel Ama...check her out!

#sleep #bad girl's club #rachel ama #vegan #veganism #tech #coding #technology #hummus #becoming #michelle obama #women in tech #youtube #women in technology #black in tech #black is tech #python #peleton

[girlrry]

omg twins 💏 i also ate a sandwich today turkey ham and cheeseee! 🥪

omg yum mine has a bunch of stuff on it like hummus and cheese and spinach and some caramelized onions 😋

[365-money-diary]

DAYS 15-21

DAY FIFTEEN [JAN 15]

8:40 AM - Wake up feeling sore AF. I should’ve stretched after playing, but I obviously didn’t. I also feel like my stomach didn’t eat itself from the inside out while I was sleeping so that’s nice too. Make a chemex and get to work.

10:00 AM - eat plant yogurt.

11:00 AM - eat a few carrots and a clementine.

12:30 PM - make a greek salad for lunch with a La Croix - this is the last of the salad ingredients until Thursday essentially. Shed a singular tear.

3:00 PM - I am a tiny bit hungry. Eat a piece of rye toast.

4:14 PM - I wanted to start working out 45 minutes ago ugh. OK here we go. The hour goes by a lot faster than I expected which is nice. Rinse off and cook an early dinner – Reubens and potatoes.

8:00 PM - I wanted to drink alcohol but I’m too full from dinner to even enjoy it. Heat up chamomile tea instead. I want to work on my blog but K wants to hang instead and I’m in no position to deny the closeness. We play some Mario Kart, watch 30 for 30 about BC and the mob, and turn in early.

DAY FIFTEEN TOTAL: $0

DAY SIXTEEN

8:30 AM - Make chemex and eat a clementine. My sister (S) asked me and my brother (B) to listen to a 20 minute session on the app Mined about codependency. I take a stab at it and get some good notes. 

10:00 AM - Landscaper is going to show up any second so I move my car and pick up dog poop. Text with S more about my cousin’s virtual baby shower tomorrow and go in on some cute stuff from PBKids. Total is $64.05 and she venmos me $32. $32.05

11:15 AM - I actually have a lot of stuff I need to do this weekend though right now I’m too annoyed at my neighbor to focus. Long story short – he has been wanting our dead grapefruit tree for like 6 months and keeps asking if he can cut it down. I said sure. But then he asked our landscaper to do it for him? It’s weird. I mostly don’t care because it’s gone, but the nerve he had to insert himself is wild. $120

12:00 PM - Make Tofu tacos for breakfast and make a to-do list of stuff I want to accomplish today. (post cauliflower leek soup, put away records, barre throw away things my mom has forced me to take out of her house over the years, wipe doors)

6:00 PM - Eat 2 rice cakes. I only manage to get the cauliflower leek soup up, put away the records, and throw away the stuff mom gave me. I think today ended up being a little bit overwhelming emotionally with the landscaper plus the codependency session so I’m kind of burnt. 

7:00 PM - Make pad thai for dinner. Can’t stop snacking on Swedish fish. Drink an old fashioned while K and I watch Night Stalker. Realize part way through that the reason I keep eating Swedish Fish is because something feels off. I fall asleep around 11:30 knowing it’s my blood pressure and that if it doesn’t fix over night I’ll get right to it in the morning.

DAY SIXTEEN TOTAL: $152.35

DAY SEVENTEEN

8:00 AM - Wake up feeling like I’ve been hit by a bus. Ugh. I’ve been struggling with an iron deficiency for a while and have it mostly fixed but I still have occasional days where my blood pressure really gives me issues. 

9:00 AM - Peel myself out of bed and drink some soy sauce. Sounds disgusting but sodium is the only thing that truly helps AND it works fast. Drink a chemex and a boat load of water. Work on posting the cauliflower leek soup

10:00 AM - S calls and I take a walk to chat. I’m still feeling really down from the blood pressure but I know walking will help. It’s actually really nice to get outside. I should do this again later tonight.

11:00 AM - More soy sauce, more water, more coffee. Have a good direction for where I want to go today. Just taking it one task at a time based on how I feel and granting myself the grace.

12:30 PM - Feel good enough to start moving which is great because once I can get over the initial fog with this blood pressure stuff, moving is what keeps me feeling better. Wipe down the doors and then attend a virtual baby shower for my cousin E. 

3:00 PM - Make broccoli fried rice for lunch. I prefer the cauliflower but the store was out of it. I feel like this broccoli stuff would taste great with some kind of cilantro hummus situation but that’ll be for another day I suppose.

3:30 PM - Back to cleaning! The bathrooms are always terrible and today is no exception. It’s always hard to tell if I even make progress because everything is white and the grout is stained orange. Give up after an hour and a half.

6:30 PM - Tag team folding a couple loads of laundry with K while we watch NBA. This week ends bittersweet for my fantasy team. He beat me in one but I’m in first place in the other. Officially 3-1 and 4-0.

8:00 PM - Eat leftover pad thai for dinner.

DAY SEVENTEEN TOTAL: $0

DAY EIGHTEEN

8:30 AM - Wake up feeling like I was hit by a smartcar, so a little better! Today is MLK day and I’m grateful for the extra day off. Make a Chemex, drink some soy sauce, and watch an episode of The Challenge. Pure barre charge comes thru. $15

9:30 AM - Get started on dusting the entire house. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done this due to lack of Swiffer 360 dusters. It takes forever but honestly our house hasn’t looked this good in years. Swap out the lightbulbs in the bathrooms and the bedroom, shower, and eat a plant yogurt.

11:30 AM - Have a sibling zoom call with S&B I walk while we chat and it’s honestly really nice to get outside. 

1:30 PM - Start shooting my recipe for lasagna rollups. Eat a cup of cauliflower leek soup and a few pretzel rods while I cook. It takes a while but I think they turn out great.

4:00 PM - Eat a lasagna roll and watch an episode of The Challenge. I haven’t worked out in 400 years (read: yesterday and the day before.) and it’s low key killing me, so I suit up and do the thing.

6:00 PM - That was mildly painful. Low cal burn, couldn’t focus to save my life - new moves so lots of pausing during transitions. Oh well. At least I did it.

7:00 PM - Eat two more lasagna rolls for dinner. K and I watch Terrorism Close Calls and I drink a vodka + vanilla seltzer + orange peel.

DAY EIGHTEEN TOTAL: $15

DAY NINETEEN

8:30 AM - It’s appraisal day. Ugh. So excited to get this over with. Make a chemex and open my work stuff. I have a lot to do but have a feeling I won’t be able to concentrate very well until after the appraisal is over. On a nice note - I am feeling leaps and bounds better from yesterday and the day before. 

10:00 AM - Eat a plant yogurt and finish out the rest of my coffee. Meet with my teammates about an outstanding task and then do the random stuff around the house to prep for my appointment.

12:00 PM - Here goes nothing! K and I leave the house with KP and walk her around the block a few times until the appraisal is done. As much as I feel like my anxiety should be gone, it’s not. I think particularly because today is really busy with work. K and I hang out outside on our laptops for a bit to let the house air out before going back inside.

1:00 PM - Eat broccoli fried rice for lunch with a Polar seltzer. Snack on a pretzel rod and some Swedish Fish while it heats.

3:00 PM - Eat the last of the cauliflower leek soup and a few carrots.

5:30 PM - Make a nuun and do a barre live stream. My focus today is so much better but my cal burn is abysmal again. Rinse off and heat up lasagna rolls for dinner. Snack on Swedish Fish while they heat. I really wish I had wine right now because I can feel my body could use the extra help blood pressure-wise but I won’t get my alcohol delivery until Thursday. Sigh.

8:00 PM - Idk whats up but my body is asking for more food so I eat tortilla crumbs and salsa and some dark chocolate. Make vegan ham brine for seitan. Realize I’m out of liquid smoke and buy a 6 pack from Amazon. $15.37

9:30 PM - It’s official, this iron thing is killing me. Ugh. Now I know. I’ll be more conscientious of my supplements, I promise! Finish editing photos of Thousand Island Dressing, watch The Challenge and call it a day.

DAY NINETEEN TOTAL: $15.37

DAY TWENTY

8:30 AM - Still feeling off from iron. This is seriously the worst it’s been in MONTHS. Worst part - it takes 4 weeks for you to produce new blood cells so I can only assume this will happen again since there was a substantial gap in my supplementing.

9:00 AM - Make a chemex, prep the seitan ham dough and bake. I chat with Google support for an account I’m having problems with. The person’s name is Swastika. Feels like a bad omen for inauguration day. Eat 2 clementines and pretzel rod.

12:20 PM - Starving. Decide on Lasagna roll ups for lunch with a Polar. 

2:00 PM - Finish my work for the day. I have on my list of things to do that I want to test this orange spice bread for the blog.

3:00 PM - Spice bread in the oven. Do a round of dishes to prep for tonight’s grocery run. It doesn’t come out great and I eat two slices.

5:15 PM - Do a barre live stream and it goes really well. Super focused, super strong, super sweaty. One more class to go for the challenge this month! Rinse off and continue prepping the kitchen and do the final bake on the ham. 

7:05 PM - Ensue grocery madness. Incoming of onions, bananas, lemons, limes, bell peppers, cucumbers, cheese, cheeze, tortilla chips, tomatoes, dark chocolate, green beans, broccoli, jalapeños, low carb tortillas, bread, oranges, potatoes, cilantro, chickpeas, romaine, celery, clementines, spring mix, frozen burritos, apples, oat milk, tofu, soyrizo, brussels sprouts, eggs, grapes, frozen peas, vegan sour cream, taco seasoning, tomato paste, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, corn, black beans, avocados, mushrooms, snap peas, pineapple, vegan mayo, carrots, rice noodles, seltzer, beets, cauliflower, parsley, pumpkin seeds, thyme, plant yogurt, garlic, riced broccoli, white rice, gf pretzels, micro arugula, & black olives. $327.69

8:15 PM It takes over an hour, but everything is washed and put away! Make air fried broccoli with miso butter and veggie sandwiches for dinner. 

9:00 PM - Make a crappy drink with flavored vodka. The only thing I have in my house is shooters left over from my sister’s bachelorette party. She’s now divorced if that gives you any idea of how long this stuff has been sitting around. More alcohol comes tomorrow at least! Eat a few Swedish fish.

9:30 PM - Play Mario Kart, watch The Challenge, and call it a night.

DAY TWENTY TOTAL: $327.69

DAY TWENTY-ONE

8:30 AM - Chemex and work. Alcohol is coming sometime this AM from my friend J who has a wholesale hookup. Much like everything else in the pandemic, I just buy in bulk. It’s easier that way!

10:30 AM - Eat a slice of orange spice bread for breakfast. It’s definitely growing on me but I think I need to adjust a few things before shooting/posting. J drops off my booze order. I got 2 crates of wine (24 bottles total), a bottle of bourbon, rye, mezcal, rum, and st. germaine. She says it was $400 but I pay her more. $450

11:00 AM - Start prepping chile de arbol salsa & stuff for this week’s salad - spring mix, roasted tofu with taco seasoning, avo, chipotle ranch dressing, cilantro, green onion, black beans, tomatoes and corn. YUM. Eat salad with a La Croix. 

3:00 PM - I get the appraisal back! My house came in at $390k. (I bought it for $245k) OMG! Eat a celebratory slice of orange bread.

6:45 PM - Finish class 15/15 for the barre challenge. 11 more months to go. hah! Rinse off, roast potatoes for veggie sandwiches. Pour a celebratory glass of wine. 

8:30 PM - Pour another half glass. What a week! End up going on a walk with K & KP which was really nice. I need to get out more. This weekend I will. Stay tuned. ~*~*~

DAY TWENTY-ONE TOTAL: $450

[cielrouge]

Went to @coscafenyc‘s Boku No Hero Academia-themed cafe, or “My Hero Cafe” earlier today. After I had such a great time at their Yuri On Ice-themed pop-up cafe last month, I definitely wanted to attend another one. Tickets didn’t sell out like within 20 minutes this time around lol. Though, I still got mine the day it went on sale. I got a ticket for the third block again, and was seated at a table with two other people who also came alone (one person said that his friends were lame and couldn’t get tickets in time rofl), so I didn’t feel totally all in my sad lonesome~~ again hahaha. 

The standard ticket price was $25 and included: a traditional ‘brown bag’ lunch (with a sandwich, small side, dessert, juice/milk), a postcard from the official art set made by the artist staff, school supply bonuses (a pen and cute stationary), entry into the fan raffle, and event admission of course. I got a ticket for the third block from 3:30 to 4:30 pm, and each block lasted an hour, with four blocks in total. After being seated, I opened my brown bag lunch. Previously they had the participants pick a lunch set before the event, and I got a ham and cheese sandwich with pringles, a fruit roll-up, a jolly rancher, and fruit punch. The other food options included a tuna sandwich mixed with mayonnaise, salt, and pepper, and a veggie option of a hummus sandwich with cucumbers, lettuce, and tomatoes. The other drink options included water, chocolate milk, apple juice, and fruit punch. 

An event artist came around and made personal sketches of requested characters for each guest at a table, which I thought was really great and thoughtful. The event cosplayers rotated each table round-robin style, interacting with the guests in-character, playing games and so on.  They had a good number of the Class 1-A cosplayers, including Midoriya, Todoroki, Uraraka, Iida, Bakugou, Kirishima, Asui, Yayorozu, Kaminari, Jirou, Present Mic, and Eraserhead. I thought that the Uraraka and Asui cosplayers were super cute, and the Bakugou and Kirishima cosplayers were hilarious - particularly when the Eraserhead cosplayer would occasionally chime in and tell the Bakugou cosplayer to watch his language whenever he cursed rofl. Though, my favorite moment was when the Yayorozu cosplayer (and one of the cafe’s organizers, Akiran) accidentally ripped off the Iida cosplayer’s clip-on tie *gasps* which led to him profusely apologizing to her and the entire table in-character lolol. 

Somehow I won the fan raffle. AGAIN!!! (I really don’t know how that happened haha oops?) and the raffle prize set included a Todoroki poster, the entire postcard set, and a cute Asui keychain. Towards the end, each table was allowed to make a (reasonable) group request for the cosplayers. I don’t think I remember all of them but there were some pretty funny ones, like a table requesting the Bakugou and Kirishima cosplayers to sing Smash Mouth’s ‘All Star,’ and another table requesting that all the cosplayers partake in a group dab pfftt. Other requests included the Present Mic cosplayer kabedon’ing a guest, and the Bakugou cosplayer having to say something nice to the Midoriya cosplayer - his compliment ended up being something along the lines of ‘you’re not the worst hero ever,’ which everyone in the cafe awwed and cooed at. Also, I don’t think this was necessarily a request and I forgot when this exactly happened but at one point the Bakugou cosplayer handed a sign to the Todoroki cosplayer labeled ‘daddy issues’ which everyone screeched at and agreed that that was going a little too far omfg, though totally priceless. I’m a little sad that I couldn’t snap a picture in time for that moment lol. After the requests, the organizers left some time for guests to purchase fan merchandise, provided by the event artists. 

Before I left, I actually got the chance to talk briefly with one of the organizers, Kou. I asked if it takes long for her and Akiran, the other organizer, to plan these kind of events. Kou said that since they’ve already run a bunch of these pop-up cafes before, they seem to have a fairly easy event blueprint to follow at this point (providing some kind of themed food plate, hiring the volunteer artist staff and cosplayers, timed block-formats, table group requests, etc). She also mentioned that pretty much all the money generated via tickets goes directly to the event (renting the venue space, food & utensils, Universe ticket service fees, art printing, etc), though they actually had a little money left over from their previous Yuri On Ice-themed event - which then went directly to the funds of this My Hero Cafe event. 

If you’re ever in the NYC area, I highly recommend attending one of Cos Cafe NYC’s themed, pop-up cafes in the future (I would kill to see a Mystic Messenger-themed or Cardcaptor Sakura-themed one, and you betcha that I would drag my friends along in a heartbeat lol). You can really tell how much effort, enthusiasm, and thoughtfulness that the organizers and the entire volunteer staff (artists/cosplayers) really put into the event, and I’ve had a really great time at both themed, pop-up cafes that I’ve been to. 

#boku no hero academia #my hero academia #myherocafe #coscafenyc #hanamizuki cafe #pop up cafe #but all seriousness i really don't know how i won the fan raffle again #i swear it wasn't witchcraft #though i was told it was through a random number generator #my other favorite part was the asui cosplayer originally dabbing in the wrong direction rofl #personal

[wellpersonsblog]

25+ Breakfast Ideas For Kids

These Breakfast Ideas for Kids are simple to make on a busy morning and sure to be a hit with kids of all ages. Use them if you’re stuck in a breakfast rut or serve them as lunch, dinner or a snack!

Hi friends!

I wanted to share some breakfast ideas for kids with you guys today. A few weeks ago, I shared on Instagram that I’ve been struggling with my breakfast for my five year old. All of his old favorites seem to be falling short lately so I’ve had to put on my thinking cap for some new ideas to figure out what’s going to work for him. 

I asked my Instagram followers to share some of their kids’ favorites and also rounded up some of mine. I hope it’s helpful if you’re looking for some new ideas or just stuck in a rut!

Breakfast Ideas for Kids

French Toast Sticks – Make French Toast in a pan or griddle, cut into sticks and serve with syrup or yogurt for dipping! Or make these Blueberry French Toast Muffins. Or a French toast bake. We love this Sweet Cherry Gingerbread French Toast Bake but really any mix of bread, eggs, milk and fruit works great!

Peanut Butter Toast – top with smashed berries, jelly or make a smiley face with fruit!

Oatmeal – Put rolled or instant oats in a bowl, cover with milk, microwave 1-2 minutes. Stir in peanut butter. Add frozen blueberries to help cool it down. Top with sprinkles or chocolate chips! To change things up try steelcut oats on the stove or in the Instant pot or crockpot. Or make baked oatmeal! If your kids like chocolate, try this Chocolate Peanut Butter Cauliflower Oatmeal.

Quesadillas – Put some cheese (or cheese plus ham or turkey) in a tortilla, microwave and cut into wedges. Make it more “breakfast-like” by putting scrambled eggs and cheese inside. You can also spread some mashed avocado or hummus on the inside of the tortilla.

Waffles/Waffle Sandwich/Waffle French Toast – Try these Banana Flax Waffles, use waffles as bread to make a sandwich or throw some bread dipped in egg on a waffle iron to make waffle french toast and turn it into a pb&j!

Pancakes or Waffles + Sausage or Bacon –  Make a double batch of pancakes and freeze some. Just pull out and reheat in the microwave!

Cereal with Milk – Check out my Lower Sugar Cereals For Kids guide for some good options.

Egg & Avocado Toast – Spread mashed avocado on toast. Add a sprinkle of sea salt or everything but the bagel seasoning. Top with a fried or scrambled egg.

Crepe or Kabobs – Try my Crepe Kabobs or you could also use pancakes! Kids can help assemble. Or just make regular crepes filled with yogurt and fruit.

Snack Plate – Try “lunch” type food like cheese, crackers, smoked meat or salmon, hard-boiled eggs etc!

Alternative Pancakes – Make a dutch baby pancake, a sheet pan pancake or bake your pancake batter in mini muffin tins with your favorite mix-ins. You can also try adding spinach in a blender to make them green or upping the protein content by adding cottage cheese!

Build Your Own….Anything! Kids love doing it themselves. Try oatmeal, yogurt, toast etc. Set out lots of toppings and let them do it themselves.

Overnight Oats or Chia Pudding – google a basic recipe. My kids don’t like the texture of these so we don’t make them often but a lot of kids love them and they’re easy to prep the night before and pull out in the morning!

Banana Split – Slice a banana lengthwise, top with yogurt and then add toppings like cereal, granola, dried fruit, chocolate chips etc.

Bagels – They’re more exciting than toast sometimes. Top with egg and cheese, peanut butter, etc

Dinner Leftovers – My sister used to love leftover steak from dinner for breakfast

Smoothie or Smoothie Popsicles – Mix frozen fruit, veggies like spinach or cauliflower or zucchini, a scoop of peanut butter and some milk, yogurt or kefir. Drink immediately or freeze into popsicle molds! Here are a few Kid-Friendly Smoothies with Vegetables. Or try a super thick smoothie in a bowl with toppings!

Granola Bar + Yogurt – Check my list of Healthy Granola Bars for Kids and add a lower sugar yogurt like Siggi’s or Chobani

Omelet or Fritatta – Include cheese, any veggies they like and chicken sausage or pepperoni

Leftover Pizza – cold or warm!

Egg wraps – Try this egg wrap recipe and add cheese or avocado in the middle! You could also try these Egg Waffles! Just eggs on a waffle iron!

Muffins/Bars – pair with fruit, top with peanut butter, serve with yogurt etc. Check out my Kid-Friendly Baking Recipes for lots of veggie-packed baked goods.

Egg Cups – Mix in chopped peppers, cheese, sausage etc, make and bake ahead of time and reheat or look for freezer omelet bites at the store or sous vide egg bites in the refrigerated section

Sausage Balls – follow the Bisquick recipe for biscuits and add cheese and sausage

Fruit Pizza – Try this Easy Fruit Pizza with Oatmeal Flax Crust and let the kids decorate!

Egg in a Hole – Cut a circle in a piece of toast and fry an egg in the middle. Take it a step further by using the egg in a hole bread as the top bread in a turkey sandwich or a grilled cheese. 

Have a favorite not on the list? Leave it in the comments below!

Enjoy! –Lindsay–

First found here: 25+ Breakfast Ideas For Kids

[backyardnomads-blog]

“In my food world, there is no fear or guilt, only joy and balance.”

– Ellie Krieger 

  EATING HEALTHY & NUTRITIOUS MEALS is no easy feat for most of us even on a good day, so trying to find them when you are setting out on a week long road trip with no kitchen, fridge, or counterspace can feel nearly impossible! …Or at least, that is how I felt during those early road trip adventures.

Even, a simple three day trip can seem easy enough, but when you are have a set budget, just squeezing every penny, you really got to get creative! So PREPARATION, ORGANIZATION, RESEARCH, & CREATIVITY are central ingredients to success & have quickly become dear friends of mine over the years!

Obviously, being equipped with the PROPER GEAR can make the process a whole lot easier, such as refridgerators or travel coolers, but it isnt always essential to eat tasty, nutritional meals.

  Read Below to find my CURRENT TOP FAVORITE ideas when embarking on a long road trip.

Spark your CREATIVE mind and make your PLANNING a whole lot EASIER this summer!

#1  Refried bean burritos. Wraps, salsa pack, jar of salsa.

Simple. Quick. Delicious. We love this QUICK MEAL when we are driving, plus the ingredients can be easily switched out for a new TASTY EXPERIENCE everyday!

The possibilities are endless, truly limited only by your imagination!

Buy:

6-8 packs of tortilla wraps (cheese, spinach, tomato, or original),

jar of Old Salsa,

taco/burrito seasoning packets,

refried beans (substitue with your choice),

& whatever veggies you like.

Pre-cut veggies are ideal when making these in the car & dry veggies are our top picks: bell peppers, lettuce, & cilantro.

*If you have a cooler then your options widen even more…but if not then stick to simple and mess free options (aka, steer clear of soar cream until you are safely parked!)

  #2 Rotisserie Chicken and Potato Salad

DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ARE TRAVELLING, local grocery stores can be a termendous money saver! THREE top stops include: Safeway, Walmart, Superstore, from which we often find late night suppers after a long day on the road!

Many grocery stores that cook whole, fresh CHICKEN or hams located in deli or “ready to eat” sections.

Fill out the meal: prepped SALADS, freshly baked BREAD, CHEESE, & club soda

Selections vary & its “first come, first serve” so planning ahead can ensure that when you arrive there are chickens left!

#3 Sandwiches & Wraps

A GREAT OPTION if you are planning to prepare the sandwhiches at home and consume them during the first leg of your journey! (Depending on what you put inside, it can get messy if you try making them out on the road, although not impossible, it just requires more creativity and possibly stopping at a sideroad park or rest-stop).

Instead of the traditional bread, try using tortilla wraps or big buns instead! They do a better job of keeping all the sauce & ingredients tightly together and prevents spilling!

Fresh Buns & Lunechon Meat with Cheese: This may not win any instagram contests anytime soon, but it sure does hit the spot when you are hungry!

What’s even better…keep your eye open for those local, small town bakeries which often sell delicious, freshly baked buns for extra yumminess!

  If you are a sandwich lover…then you will appreciate Arielle Weg’s

“14 healthy snacks and meals that travel well”

@ cookinglight for more 10 sandwich ideas!

  #4 Muffins, Muffins, Muffins

We ABSOLUTELY LOVE this option, especially when they are freshly homebaked the night before (or perhaps more realistically…store bought haha).

From our experience, a 6 pack muffins tend to last 1-2 days before they begin to loose their freshness…but if your family is anything like ours then they will probably be long gone before then!

Convientent, mess free, & filling…muffins can easily be enjoyed all through the day. (Bring along a sturdy storage container to prevent any squashing).

Love Banana or zuchinni bread?!

Stop by Lisa’s 100 days of real food  for her delicious recipes…

whole-wheat zucchini bread   & whole-wheat banana bread.

These can be healthy breakfast or tasty snack to bring along!

  #5 Fruit

This probably goes without saying, but FRUIT CAN BE THE PERFECT OPTION if you are setting out on the road. The best part is that they are highly nutritional and affordable. Even if you are not a huge fan of fruit, when you are out there on the road they can help keep away those afternoon sugar lows and boost energy levels! 

Top picks for fruit that don’t require any or much refridgeration:

 Bananas.

(Try pairing with peanut butter for an even sweeter treat). Buying in bulk is cheap and perfect if you have limited cooler space. These often last for days so long as they are kept in a cool, dark space in our car.

  Apples. 

Surprise, surprise…of course you just gotta try it with peanut butter! **you can now buy PB from a tube now! Save the hassile of knives!!

  Watermelon.

Bursting with nutritional benefits, it will leave you feeling refreshed during those steaming hot days. Pack one to enjoy either throughout the day or once you arrive at your destination. Be warned though, it is very messy & juicy, so best to pre-cut (cubed without the peels) & store before leaving!

Christmas Oranges.  

Perfect only if they can be easily peeled without a knife, otherwise they become an absolute nightmare!

    Berries: Strawberries, Blueberries, Cherries.

...depending on what time of year you are traveling, it is possible to find local fruit vendors selling alongside the road!

Whenever we travel to British Columbia, there are sellers at almost every street corner!

#6 Prepared Veggies

PREPPING beforehand can be a lifesaver when those cravings hit and you are hundreds of miles away from the nearest convenience store! Keep them in portion sized ziplock baggies or containers to make it a bit more easier & keep eating time organized.

Nowdays, grocery stores sell pre-cut, pre-washed veggies in bags ready to eat, which can be a lifesaver for campers or road nomads!

Our top favorites, include:

Ants On A Log.

Take pre-cut celery stocks, spread them with peanut butter & top off with rasins!

Pre-cut & pack the celery to combine later to avoid peanut butter getting everywhere!    

      Pre-Cut Carrots                             Snap Peas                                     Bell Peppers 

     Cherry Tomatoes

  OH! Don’t Forget DIPS:

Ranch, Hummus, Tzatziki or……!! 

#7 Dark Chocolate

WHILE NOT A MEAL, I couldn’t deny that this is a #1 on our grocery list! It keeps away those gas station cravings & impulse buys.

We normally buy one large bar of chocolate at Superstore which we then portion out to last our entire trip…give or take 😉

But that is not all…. also check out pudding cups & fruit cups, which come in bulk!!    Just don’t forget spoons 🙂

Check out Women’sHealth’s 9 Health Benefits of

Chocolate that will have you jumping for joy!

  #8 Soda or Infused Water (Stay Hydrated!)

It is easy to go for soda while traveling & while this may be the best option for some, we have found that in comparison to when we used to buy it, we stay better hydrated & refreshed when drinking club soda or sparkling water instead!  **Don’t forget to pop in a few lemon or lime slices for extra zest! These come in cans or bottles, along with all sorts of flavours for every mood!

Regardless of your choice of beverage, it is a smart idea to bring some water supply in case of emergencies, car trouble, or traffic jams. Although we like to rely on our reusable travel sized water bottles, we also fill up our 7 gallon (26.5 Litres) camping water jug just as back up. Plus this can easily be used for cleaning hands & washing dishes!

#9 Cured Meats – Charcuterie (with pennies)

This has got to be by far our most favorite foods & meal option! I’m not sure if it is the romanctic allure that makes this feel both classy for date nights or just practial when driving, but either way it is tasty & filling!!! At most grocery stores you can buy cured sausage, cold cut meats, & salami. 

(Downside: for the most part, meats need to be kept in a cooler or refridgerated. SOooo, we just “buy as we go”.… besides, we rarely have leftovers its so delicious!)

Traditionally, charcuteries can become very expensive, however, there are ways to still enjoy it without busting your budget! In fact, Holly from “spend with pennies” beautifully describes everything you need to know about achieving a budget friendly charcuterie: 

“HOW TO MAKE A CHARCUTERIE BOARD”

Suggested Cured Meat for travel Charcuterie:

proscuitto salami

genovia salami

garlic or chorizo sausage

sliced chicken

sliced smoked turkey      Honey/ black forest hams

  You can also add: pre-pack pickles, olives, grapes, pate, spinach dip, dried apricots, fresh fruits, &, of course, aged cheese to create a full meal!

 **Who says you can’t splurge & fine dine while traveling!  

  To learn more about the traditional style, 

take a quick peek at “Making a Charcuterie

Plate” @ Dartagnan! 

  #10 Hard, Aged Cheese

IF YOU ARE A LOVER OF CHEESE THEN THIS ONE’S FOR YOU! Sadly, despite my love, I am no coniseour of cheese, so I have relied on those more experienced to learn which types of cheeses are safe to eat without refridgeration!

Thankfully, assistant chef on The Martha Stewart Show, Nora Singley provides us with excellent insight in her article,  “Have Cheese, Will Fly: What Cheeses Travel Well The Cheesemonger”, while also outlaying the essentials to remember when choosing which cheese to buy.

Singely advices that hard, aged, and/or goat cheeses with an exterior rind are best, while avoiding semi-soft like Fontina or Brie or any fresh cheeses like Ricotta.

                                                – READ Singley’s full article here.

Likewise, our next cheese expert & backpacker, Laurel Miller suggests avoiding “mozzarella…camembert…blue cheeses or washed rinds (this refers to stinky cheeses, regardless of texture, like Delice du Jura, Taleggio, or Epoisses“

                   – EXPLORE Miller’s FULL Article @ Backpacking with Cheese.

Below are MORE Suggestions:

“Super-aged cheeses, most of which get more than two years of age: Goudas, Parmigiano Reggiano, Piave, Grana Padano, and Mimolette“

 – Nora Singley, kitchn

“Aged cheeses like a 2-year Gouda or 5-year Cheddar will have nutty, caramel and butterscotch characteristics, as well as some crystallization (those pleasingly crunchy bits, which are actually proteins). Try these with a post-dinner whiskey or bourbon (you know you have some) around the campfire”.

 – Laurel Miller, Backpacking with Cheese.

  Parmigiano-Reggiano 

Appenzeller Gruyère

English Montgomery’s Cheddar

– Jennifer Meier, “Which Types of Cheese travel well?”

#11 Salads

When grocery stores now selling pre-package SALADS with little salad dressing packages, enjoying a tasty salad has NEVER BEEN EASIER! When it comes to meal options, this is a must have for us, whether it be a side or main course meal.

Due to its versitility, if you plan & prep correctly you can go many days without having the same variety twice. Not only that, but it will provide you with the vitamins, nutritional energy necessary to cope with travel stresses!

 *Try adding pre-cooked chicken strips, found in most major grocery stores’ meat or deli sections (walmart, superstore).

#12: Canned Goods

WHEN IT COMES TO CAMPING & ROAD TRAVEL canned foods can be an astoundingly affordable choice! Traveling is not cheap and every little cost adds up, so having some meals on hand can not only save you money but also provide an emergency supply!

Our top favorites, include:

Ravioli. These often come in 8-12 family packs, which is sufficient for snacking during long road trips. *Just remember to pack forks & napkins/wipes.

Fish:  Tuna. Salmon. Sardines. If this is your thing then you are in luck! Nowadays, there is such an incredible selection of ready-to-eat tuna packets paried with crackers & all sorts of varieties to choose from.

Soups:  Unless you want to eat this cold…this one is best left as a quick meal once you arrive at your destination, assuming you are not staying at a hotel. (I like to heat this up on our camping propane burner stove as soon as we arrive, so that once our campsite is set up dinner is ready to go!)

Veggies: Green Peas or Cream Corn.

Pesto & Bruchetta.  Add flavor to pretty much anything with these two, whether its for a full meal or afternoon snack. Combine it with fresh bread loaf, garlic bread, or crackers.

**Be sure to choose cans which have peel/pull off lids so that you don’t need the hassle of a can opener. We have had many a story where sauce or tuna juice went flying all over the car dash leaving us smelling like a fish market for the remainder of the trip!!

#13 Popcorn

Fun. Buttery. Tasty.

THIS CLASSIC.. never gets old & is designed for larger qualities, which is a perfect snack food for trips that will feed the whole family! Just pop a bunch & pack the popcorn away in sealed containers or brown paper bags for a delicious, quick snack.

It will remind you of the comforts of home when you are miles away.

  #14 Nuts

I am not a huge fan, but my fiance swears by them & is often caught sneaking bags into our grocery cart, especially when shopping for trips!

 Almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts, trail mix, pistachios

#15 Chips with Salsa/ Dip

You didn’t think we would make it through without mentioning CHIPS & DIP?! Yes, we can all agree that this one isn’t going to win any awards for being the healthiest meal choice, but let’s face it the salty taste has us coming back for more!

The great thing about it is that its cheap and there are a zillion flavours to choose from. Kettle chips is a great option when it comes to enjoying a more healthier verison of the classic potato chip!

Hummus, cheesy dips, & salsa are yummy paired with chips & don’t create too many messes. If you store them in tight, re-sealable containers there shouldn’t be an issue. However, refridgeration after opening is key.

  **Remember: keep napkins, wipes, or paper towel closeby for any spills.  

DON’T FORGET about the beloved pretzel or crisp rice puffs!

#16 Pre-cooked Sausages

Over the years, I’ve read about so many families who have great success with sausages while travelling, so it we thought it deserved to make it to the top 20! You can find them at your local grocery store, either in bags of mini sized sausages or one big jumbo ring which offeres different styles.

Along with the sausages, we never hit the road without picking up several bags of pepperoni sticks! Variations include: Hot, honey garlic, original.

If you are a meat lover, this is a “must have”!

#17 Pre-cut & Packaged Garlic Bread (Packs of 6)

#18 Crackers, crackers, crackers…make great snacks!

Crackers are not just for kids, although they can be fantastic snacks for them too! Being versatile, they can be eaten with pretty much anything & still be delicious.

  *Try adding jams, peanut butter, cheese, meat!

(Don’t forget the knife & napkins) 

    #19 Buns & Bread

So far, we have briefly mentioned bringing along bulk of buns, tortilla wraps, crackers & bread loaves….but we put it on our top picks because they can be used with pretty much every meal or snack & really doesn’t need refridgeration!

  Plus, its appeal is just how affordable buying an entire loaf is in comparision to going buying one fast food combo meal.

      CAUTION: Don’t forget to protect it from being squashed…that is why the thicker crusted loaves can be a better option than the softer ones.

One of my favorite parts of travelling is stopping by local shops, bakeries, or farmer’s markets to try out new foods or baked goods.

Take advantages of these spots to source out fresh breads, buns, cookies, & pies!

    #20 Sushi

Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

Photo by Valeria Boltneva on Pexels.com

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Photo by Public Domain Pictures on Pexels.com

 Sushi! You may be thinking this a strange option for a travel food list, but so long as you are close to major shops like Walmart, Superstore, or Safeway along your route! It is cheap to pick up a bulk family pack for less than $20 that easily feeds us. Because it comes in a deep dish container, there is really no fear of spills which is perfect for eating on the road.

So there you have it, our TOP 20 PICKS for road trip food essentials! We hope that you enjoyed & found at least one new item to add to your list. 

We would also like to hear from you about your favorite picks, so please do share with us!

      Hitting the Road this summer with your family?! It can be a lot of fun, but long drives can leave you feeling hungry & low on energy. Here are 20 great food ideas to help! "In my food world, there is no fear or guilt, only joy and balance." - Ellie Krieger 

#food #recipes #road trip

[sarahburness]

How I Got Stronger and Healthier After Giving Up Animal Products

“Your body is precious. It is your vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” ~Buddha

Not that long ago, I ate meat every single day. Every. Single. Day. For breakfast, I used to have fried eggs with feta or cottage cheese and turkey ham. My lunch consisted of minced beef or chicken with veggies. My dinner was then either leftovers from lunch or more meat/fried eggs/sometimes fish with veggies and cheese.

I followed an intense workout routine, went to the gym five to six times per week to lift weights, and on top of that did another two cardio sessions per week in a beautiful park close to my apartment.

The best I could do for my health, according to my personal trainer, was to stick to a high-protein, low-carb diet with lots of animal protein and avoid refined sugar. That also meant to drink one or two whey shakes per day.

For some people, this might sound exhausting or even brutal. At the time, though, I loved my fitness lifestyle and was proud to be as lean as I was.

For two years, this was my life, until I was offered a job abroad, which I accepted totally thrilled. This new opportunity was so exciting and full of possibilities! Sadly, I had to reduce my workouts and started to lapse when it came to my diet, meaning I ate significantly more carbs than before.

I worked non-stop around the clock. Soon, I started to get sick more often. Despite a job change, things got worse.

There was always something wrong with my body, either infections or injuries, which prevented me then from working out. The lack of exercise in turn led to feeling weaker. On top of that, I had to deal with a very toxic work environment, constant stress, internal gossip, difficult clients, and a lack of professional structure to only name a few unpleasant job-related factors.

Whenever I was feeling slightly better, I used to fall ill again. I started to gain weight and lost muscle mass. It was like a vicious circle with no way out.

The biggest support came from my boyfriend, who was there to take care of me. He was and still is my emotional rock. I don’t know what I would have done without him.

Once you move abroad, your social circle shrinks considerably (at least mine did), thus making it hard to not feel lonely at times. Most of my closest friends who are my social support system live either in my home country or in other parts of the world making it difficult to connect.

This state of mental and physical exhaustion lasted for a year and a half until I found the courage to walk away and quit my job. Once I had done that, I’d gotten rid of one of my biggest stress factors. Finally, I had time to focus on taking care of my health, body, and mind again.

As a documentary lover, I started watching food and health related documentaries. They all had one strong message in common: the promotion of a plant-based diet. According to those documentaries, following a whole-food, plant-based diet solves a lot of environmental and, to my surprise, health issues. I was intrigued!

I had a couple of friends following a plant-based diet already, so the idea wasn’t entirely new to me. A few weeks before quitting my job, I had suffered another internal infection and, therefore, reduced my meat intake to only once a month, following the advice of my gastroenterologist.

Questions started popping up in my mind: What if I could get rid of all infections by cutting out animal products completely? What if my body could recover from all the diseases?

I made my boyfriend watch those documentaries as well. He was shocked about the impact of animal products on our health. It took us a split second to decide that we were more than ready to give the plant-based diet a go!

The change was easier than expected; there was not a lot we had to get rid of in our kitchen and not a lot of new ingredients to buy either. Cooking and preparing healthy dishes has always been one of our favorite hobbies, and having things like quinoa or amaranth in our kitchen has been normal.

I quit drinking milk in 2013 and have loved almond milk since then, (Did you know that humans are the only animal species drinking milk from another animal, though this hormonal drink is only intended for baby calves to grow?)

The only dairy products left in our fridge were five cups of Greek yogurt, a piece of butter, and a variety of cheese. Together with our last organic eggs, everything found a new home in a friend’s kitchen.

Since the change, I feel so much better. It turned out that my new lifestyle wasn’t as complicated and hard to follow as I first imagined it would be. (I have to admit, having a special someone by your side doing the exact same thing makes it a whole lot easier.)

The infections in my body have decreased, and I don’t get sick as easy and often as before. Finally, I’m able to go to the gym to work out again. Not as intense as I used to, but on a regular basis.

I’ve consumed a high amount of animal products in the past, which is kind of the norm in our society. However, triggered by the lack of exercise and paired with a high stress level, it’s likely, that among other things, my high-animal-protein diet led to the many infections, a high level of inflammation, and a variety of illnesses I was struggling with.

The change to a plant-based diet isn’t a magic bullet, but it plays a big part when it comes to living a healthy life, in my opinion.

Sure, there are more things to consider like surrounding yourself with loving and compassionate people, regular exercise, being kind to yourself and others, and practicing gratitude, forgiveness, and mindfulness. Having said that, it would go beyond the scope of my post to delve into those topics.

There’s this cliché and certain image that comes to everyone’s mind as soon as you mention the word “vegan.” Unfortunately, it’s often seen as being difficult or just plain weird. 

That’s why one thing has been very important to me right from the start: I don’t want to be defined by the diet I follow. What does that mean? I simply don’t broadcast it and especially don’t use it to strike up a conversation. What I choose to eat and what not is not that big of a deal. Even some of my friends still haven’t noticed yet.

However, when the subject comes up, the questions from friends, family, and sometimes complete strangers are often similar. Some people are really interested in my choice; others judge me for it. That’s the reason I felt compelled to write an honest Q&A, including the challenges I face in my everyday life and the personal benefits of my food choice.

Being vegan and following a healthy whole-food, plant-based diet shouldn’t come with a stigma in our society. Let’s encourage an open, respectful, and honest conversation instead.

Honest Q&A

Why did you change to a vegan diet?

Mostly because of health issues I was facing. I wanted to know if my health would improve with a plant-based diet. The high amount of animal products that our society consumes increases the likelihood of getting type 2 diabetes, cancer, strokes and heart attacks. All those diseases run in my family.

What did you have to change in your everyday life?

Not much, since I ate veggies and fruits lately most of the time anyway. I don’t cook with regular cheese or eggs anymore, which was the most difficult part in the beginning, because I truly was a cheese-aholic. There’s a scientific explanation for that, though. Long story short: Cheese triggers the same receptors in our brains as heroin, which is why I never met someone who doesn’t like cheese. Our society is simply addicted to it.

Ok… what documentary did you watch?

The first documentary I watched was Cowspiracy, followed by Food Matters and What the Health? The most comprehensive and objective one, in my opinion, is Forks over Knives. If you’re interested in the topic, I recommend to watch that one first. All documentaries are available on Netflix.

Will you never eat meat again?

I’m not entirely sure about that. Right now, being on a plant-based diet is definitely the right thing for me. However, a certain diet doesn’t mean that you have to be abstinent or else you’ll relapse and you have to start from zero again. Everybody should decide that individually since diets are such a personal topic.

But you’re so limited now! What do you eat? There’s nothing left!

At first glance, it might seem that way, especially if you’re used to eat only animal products. But there’s so much variety in all kind of different cuisines. So here’s what I eat:

Fruits

Vegetables

Whole-food options

This Vegan Food Pyramid breaks it down nicely.

My usual breakfast consists of:

Oatmeal with berries, banana, and almond milk

Or smashed avocado on dark bread

For lunch I often have:

Stir-fried veggies with brown rice or quinoa

Sometimes I order veggie pad thai without any egg

Veggie sushi with brown rice (there are many different options at our local sushi stores)

A yummy salad with steamed vegetables, nuts, avocado, and pomegranate seeds

For dinner, I love to make for example:

Zoodles (zucchini noodles)

Whole-wheat pasta with tomato sauce or pesto

Pineapple curry with dhal

Guacamole with sweet potato fries

A fresh tomato soup

I currently live in the Middle East, so I also indulge in the local cuisine e.g.:

Hummus, one of my favorite dips made of cooked, mashed chickpeas, tahini, and olive oil

Falafel, deep-fried balls made of ground chickpeas

Baba ghanoush, a dip made of grilled eggplants and diced vegetables

Moutabal, another grilled eggplant based dip mixed with tahini

Loubieh bil zeit, green beans in olive oil with ripe cooked tomatoes and garlic cloves

Mouhammara, a spicy paste-like dip consisting of mashed hot peppers, olive oil, and ground walnuts

Alayet banadoura, super yummy sautéed tomatoes stewed with garlic, pine seeds, and olive oil

There’s a ton of plant-based desserts as well that can be made at home easily. If I ever need a sugar fix, I get a piece of 90 percent dark chocolate, which also is vegan.

But what about proteins? You need meat to cover that!

Yep, I get that a lot. While this is wrong, it’s a strong belief in our society. But here’s a thought experiment: Where do the animals that we eat get their protein from? They eat plants; it’s as simple as that. High protein plant sources for example are lentils or edamame.

You can’t eat pizza anymore. Or burgers. Don’t you crave those sometimes?

I do crave pizza and burgers. And I eat them. The funny thing is that I don’t crave the meat or the cheese, but the comforting experience eating with my hands.

There are vegan pizza ordering options or great recipes for easy plant-based pizza dough and vegan cheese. Same thing with burgers: There often are vegan patties available when ordering in. It’s also easy to make them at home e.g. crispy quinoa patties. And yes, they’re really yummy!

Isn’t a plant-based diet expensive?

Surprisingly, it’s not. The most expensive things we used to get at the supermarket were meat and eggs followed by cheese. Now we save up to 30 percent when we do our grocery shopping.

I’m sure you’re not getting all your vitamins and nutrients without animal products.

I hear this often, but it’s not true. A plant-based diet provides a ton of vitamins and minerals. I only take one supplement, which is Vitamin B12. Not only vegetarians and vegans suffer from Vitamin B12 deficiency, though, but also people consuming meat. Apart from that, I don’t lack anything.

Sometimes, I read that you have to get Vitamin D supplements as well. Vitamin D however is produced by our own body as soon as our skin gets exposed to the sun and not by eating animal products. Other people believe they need to drink milk in order to get their calcium intake for a healthy bone structure.

Surprisingly, studies confirm that a higher calcium intake leads to weaker bones and a higher amount of bone fractures. If you’re interested in those findings, please read here for further information.

Don’t you miss anything?

Surprisingly, not as much as I thought I would.

What do you miss most?

One of my favorite drinks was Baileys on ice, which I don’t drink anymore. Sometimes I miss that. And chocolate ice-cream.

Are you now also a hippie-kumbaya-singing activist who only showers once a week and chains herself to train tracks?

Okay, I made that one up. But unfortunately that’s the image a lot of people have once you mention being “vegan.” Let’s change that together!

So you don’t eat fish?

No, I also don’t eat fish or seafood anymore. But I do eat sushi stuffed with vegetables and avocado.

Challenges I Face in Everyday Life

Restricted choice of dishes in restaurants. Some restaurants only offer food options with animal products, and every dish contains at least butter or cheese. I only noticed that once I started studying the menu more intensively, and was really in disbelief.

The wait staff gets often confused as soon as you mention “plant-based” or “vegan.” So I usually avoid it whenever I can and order instead the vegetarian option “without [insert animal product].”

Depending on the country you live in, there’s a limited availability of some products. I’ve never seen the vegan Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream, for example, or any vegan cheese options in the U.A.E. In my home country Germany, however, there are even vegan supermarket chains.

Few coffee shops offer milk substitutes like almond and coconut milk. Okay, this is kind of a first-world problem, but I need to get my daily coffee fix. Some coffee shops offer soy milk as the only milk alternative, but I don’t like the taste of it. Also the many controversial studies regarding soy simulating estrogen in our bodies confuse me, so I try to avoid larger amounts like a cup full of soy milk.

Endless discussions with so-called friends or acquaintances who feel entitled to judge my food choices. It saddens me.

Encounters with people who offer their unsolicited advice on how veganism is bad for my health (without having a nutritional background or an interest for healthy diets in general).

I never try to educate people without them asking me first, but rather respect the choices everybody makes. Sadly, I rarely come upon the same behavior. However, if someone is genuinely interested in my choice, I’m happy to tell them about it and share my experience. I strongly believe in the saying ‘live and let live’.

Noticeable Benefits of My Whole-Food and Plant-Based Diet:

I sleep like a baby.

My digestion improved significantly.

My life got simpler. I always read the ingredients table on the food packaging in the past. Most of the time, I was worried about the origin of animal products. Did that hen live in a tiny cage in the midst of her feces? What did she eat and where did she lay her eggs? Does “organic” really mean organic? What about antibiotics? Is that really grass-fed beef?

Since I cut out animal products, I only have to worry about the origin of fruits and veggies. Most of what we buy has organically grown in the U.A.E. or has been imported from Asia. I don’t like the thought of fruits or vegetables being flown around the globe, often only ripening on the plane, so we humans can indulge in whatever is not in season at the moment (or never) in the country we live in.

My skin got a lot better.

I feel healthier and more energized.

I cook and bake more and love it.

Some people claim that going vegan helps with weight loss. I’d say it depends from which weight and lifestyle you’re starting. I didn’t lose any weight, but my weight and body composition are also considered normal. Still, my goal is to fit into my jeans and tight dresses from my lean past with more ease, thus to reduce body fat. The journey is the destination.

We spend less money on grocery shopping.

I believe, that my choice reduces animal cruelty and environmental pollution.

My action alone might not make much of a difference, but the actions of a lot of people do.

Have you ever struggled with your health? What was your approach towards getting better?

About Nina Grey

Nina is the creator of A gorgeous Soul, a mindful lifestyle blog. Do you want to feel less anxious and be healthier and happier within 30 days? Download Nina’s free Mindful Lifestyle Mini Guide and learn how to master your day with more ease and joy within 30 days, even if you've got a soul-sucking job and a demanding or stressful (family) life.

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The post How I Got Stronger and Healthier After Giving Up Animal Products appeared first on Tiny Buddha.

from Tiny Buddha https://tinybuddha.com/blog/got-stronger-healthier-giving-animal-products/

[sprint2thetable]

Barcelona knows how to brunch! This is the first European city I’ve ever been to that totally rocks breakfast. We found a healthy brunch spot around the corner from our hotel called @brunchandcake and settled in for an incredible meal. Mine is the first pic: a housemade seed bagel with lox and scrambled eggs topped with avocado and schmear beet hummus, seeds, and pickled onions. Vegas got a scramble with Iberian ham, mac and cheese, and sweet potato fries over a giant slice of some super delicious bread. Lastly, I had a beetroot latte. Wasn’t sure what to expect with that, but it was really tasty. Not too earthy at all. We may have to go back tomorrow to try the sugar-free matcha banana pancakes! Did you brunch today?

[laurintheuk-blog]

October 12th, 2017

Hello!

Today I had a pretty easy day of school which is always nice. I had my second Abnormal Psychology lecture of the week at 12pm so I went to that and was pleasantly surprised to see the lecture theatre empty before I got there. See, last week there was a class in the room before my class and I quickly learned that the people in the class before are also in mine so it was very hard to find a seat. I prepared myself to have to search for a seat today, but the class before wasn’t there today so I grabbed a seat very easily haha :). After my class I had an hour break so I took a little walk along the path in front of the war memorial and the trail that is in between Victoria Park and the University. The walk was short lived because I was headed to the library and only did it because it was the more scenic route to my intended destination. I sat in the library and looked at train tickets to London for next weekend, but quickly learned that you need to book hostels 2-3 weeks in advance before they are all booked. I scratched the London plans and decided to look into a day trip to Bath instead. I found some trains and priced them out, but I had to go to my first Sociology seminar so I planned on looking at it more when I got back to my house. The seminar was interesting I guess, it was very simple and we didn’t stay the full hour so we got out early! Before attending we had to read an article about advice to new university students and prepare some notes on it. When we were there all we did was introduce ourselves to the others in the seminar (everyone in the sociology class is split into a number of seminars and seminars are a time where more discussion can occur because there are only about 15 people) and talk about the article. Since the article was very straightforward and didn’t provide much to think about and reflect on per se, there wasn’t much discussion. Our seminar instructor also told us about the seminar program and the kinds of things to expect from it. Karma was on my side today when I left the seminar because since I just missed the bus yesterday, there was a bus waiting for me at the bus stop as soon as I turned the corner to see it :) When I got back I hung out in my room for a bit, made a tea and watched Shark Tank. Shortly after I got hungry and made some lunch. I grilled up a pita, put some mayo, salt & pepper, ham, cheese, cucumber and yellow pepper on it and it was really yummy! I had some slices of yellow pepper left over so I ate them with hummus too :) I made another tea after and continued to watch Shark Tank. I then decided to look up Bath train tickets again and decided I was in fact going to go. After talking to Rachel and getting her advice on the times I should go, I decided I will go October 21st (Next Saturday) and take the 6:49am train from Leicester in order to arrive there at 10:05am. I will take the 5:36pm train back and get into Leicester around 8:50pm. I am kind of nervous... I am going by myself and the train requires changes at two different stations (Grandma, put me in your prayer book ;) haha). I told my international friends in our group chat that I booked and that they are welcome to join if they want, but nobody answered me LOL. It’s okay though, I didn’t expect any one to come, I was just throwing it out there for them. This weekend I am going to Stonehenge on Saturday which I am very excited about! We have to meet the coach bus at 8am and I’m not sure about the time we are expected to be back. Needless to say it is going to be a full yet fun day! (Don’t wanna jinx it though). Tonight has been pretty relaxed, I’m in a bad mood so I’ve just been hanging out in my room. I am going to watch some more Shark Tank before heading to bed. I have a 9am class tomorrow. My group and I are planning to discuss the means by which we should take to tackle our group project tomorrow so I just finished making some notes from the information provided. I’m happy tomorrow is Friday.

                                                                  Xoxo,

                                                                  Lauren 

[jakijellz]

Last weekend when we went to the launch of Mini Mells in Solihull, we were kindly invited to an Alice In Wonderland themed Afternoon Tea at Cafe Isabella, in Solihull.

I love a good Afternoon Tea. I mean who doesn’t?! What’s not to love about sandwiches and cakes with copious amounts of tea? It couldn’t be more typically British if it tried! This particular Afternoon Tea was no different. In fact, I would say that it is quite possibly one of the best I have ever had.

The table was set out so exquisitely with Alice In Wonderland themed decorations. It’s the little touches that made it unique and magical. It was a pleasure to sit down. There was so much to look at – the Little Man loved it, as you can imagine.

The sandwiches consisted of salmon and cream cheese, cheddar cheese and pickle, egg mayonnaise, ham and cucumber and tuna mayonnaise – there isn’t one sandwich there that I dislike!

Canapes included vol au vents, Melba toast with various flavours consisting of brie and cranberry, ham and tomato, coronation chicken, tuna and cucumber and hummus and tomato to name but a few. There was also pork and cranberry sausage rolls, savoury eggs and Margarita pizza parcels – all of these were beyond cute!

There was a delightful collection of sweet treats – it was difficult to know where to start. Mini cupcakes, salted popcorn and chocolate, chocolate covered marshmallows (a particular favourite with the Little Man), flying saucers, jelly beans, mini eclairs, macaroons – and the list goes on! Not forgetting the traditional warm fruit and cherry scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream.

And if that wasn’t enough, there was also an array of homemade sponge cakes, including victoria sponge, lemon and elderflower and coffee and walnut. All served with unlimited breakfast tea. What more could you ask for?!

Quite simply – this Afternoon Tea was the Daddy of ALL Afternoon Teas!

[bctt tweet=”Everything is better with tea and cake! ” username=”JakiJellz”]

It wasn’t just the food that was to die for. The staff were fabulous. Always on hand, if we needed anything. Always making sure we were happy and also more than happy to pack the leftover food up for it to be taken home! This was really handy as even though we ate SO much, we felt like we hadn’t made a dent in it!

The cost of the Afternoon Tea is an incredible value. For the Alice In Wonderland themed Afternoon Tea, it costs just £14.95 per person. Or you can opt for the Classic Afternoon Tea which is £12.95. You really can’t go wrong with either. I can’t recommend it enough.

I just know that my Mum would absolutely love this experience. A really lovely traditional British tea room, which is few and far between these days. I would love to take her there one day, it’s an idea for Mothers Day or Birthday next year.

Cafe Isabella is located at 43 Drury Lane in Solihull, B91 3BT. Just a hop, skip and a jump from all of the shops in Mell Square. You can find more information over on their Facebook Page.

  Do you love a good Afternoon Tea as much as me? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear.

  *I was lucky enough to partake in this Afternoon Tea at no charge to myself. All opinions in this blog post are mine. Thank you, for a wonderful experience.

  [pdf-embedder url=”http://jakijellz.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/linky-badge.pdf&#8221; title=”linky badge”]

Alice In Wonderland Afternoon Tea At Cafe Isabella | NEW POST Last weekend when we went to the launch of Mini Mells in Solihull, we were kindly invited to an Alice In Wonderland themed Afternoon Tea at…

#Afternoon Tea #Alice In Wonderland #Cafe Isabella #solihull #Tea Room

[wellpersonsblog]

Salad Topping Ideas

Looking for salad topping ideas? Here are lots of simple, easy ingredients you can use to boost the nutrition of your salad. Use them to add nutrients and flavor and to make your meals more exciting!

*Originally published April 2012*

Hi friends –

This post was inspired by a salad I ate almost 8 years ago. We were out celebrating after I matched to my dietetic internship and I got a salad. It wasn’t super fancy.  It was made with a bed of mixed greens, topped with asparagus, corn, hard-boiled egg, bacon, red onions, tomatoes, and feta. I ate it. I went home. And I couldn’t get it out of my head. When I started to dive into why I liked it so much,  I decided it was because the toppings were out of the ordinary for me. I tend to fall into a pattern with my salad toppings. I always add carrots, red peppers, red onion, and tomato. In the summers, I tend to add more fruits- like strawberries and apples. If I’m feeling especially crazy, I add roasted sweet potatoes and some quinoa.

I can’t think of a single time I ever put asparagus on my salad. I rarely add corn. And even though I love hard-boiled eggs…I rarely put them on my salad. Since I enjoyed this salad so much, I started thinking about how other people might fall into a salad rut similar to mine.

SO, I made you guys a list of salad toppings…some traditional…and some you might not have thought of! Maybe it will inspire you to spice up your salad!

Salad Topping Ideas

Vegetables Asparagus, Beets, Artichoke hearts, Cucumbers, Peppers, Carrots, Broccoli, Peas, Red onion, Celery, Mushrooms, Sweet potato, Radishes, Olives, Corn -Try your vegetables roasted, grilled, marinated, raw or pickled for variety-

Eggs Hard-boiled, Poached, Soft-boiled

Whole Grains Couscous, Farro, Quinoa, Barley, Rice

Seeds Pepitas, Sunflower Seeds, Sesame Seeds

Dried Fruit Cranberries, Cherries, Raisins, Mango, Blueberries

Vegetarian Protein Kidney beans, Black beans, Garbanzo beans, Great northern beans, Edamame, Tofu

Seafood Tuna, Salmon, Crab Cakes, Shrimp, Scallops

Meat Chicken, Turkey, Steak, Ham, Bacon -A great way to use up leftovers!-

Fruit Pears, Grapes, Mandarin oranges, Apples, Avocado, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Pomegranate Arils -Thinly sliced, segmented, or in dressings-

Nuts Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts, Peanuts, Pine nuts -Try them toasted, sliced, slivered, raw or candied-

Cheese Goat cheese, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Feta, Gorgonzola -Crumbled, grated, sliced-

Fresh Herbs Basil, Mint, Chives, Dill, Parsley

Non-Traditional Dressings Salsa, hummus, guacamole, pureed fruit

Other Croutons, Crispy noodles, Water chesnuts

This is by no means an exhaustive list, because really- you can put pretty much anything on a salad…it’s just meant to spark your creativity!

Need some salad ideas? Check out these posts:

7 Easy Salads for Summer

19 Salad Recipes for Lunch or Dinner

And if you typically pack salads for lunch and want some new ideas, here are 50 Packable Lunch Ideas!

What are your favorite salad toppings?? Inspire me!

–Lindsay–

First found here: Salad Topping Ideas

[wellpersonsblog]

My Weekly Food Prep {By The Minute}

Here’s a food prep session breakdown – An in-depth look at what I prepped, the order I did things in and how I got it all done in one hour! Plus a look at the meals we ate during the week.

  Hi friends!

One of the most frequent questions I get is how I can possibly get so much food prep done every Sunday. Let me start by saying that I’ve had a lot of practice. You shouldn’t look at one of my food prep sessions and think you’ll be able to do as much as I do on your first few tries. Just like anything else, it takes practice. Be sure to check out last week’s post about How To Find Your Food Prep Focus Area and this post with food prep tips for beginners if you’re just getting started.

Anyways, I thought it might be helpful to show you one of my prep sessions and then give you a by-the-minute- breakdown to show you the order I did things in and how long it took me.

Just how much food can you prep in an hour? Here's a by-the-minute breakdown to show you!Click To Tweet

So, a couple Sundays ago, I turned my camera on and started a timer to show you just how much you can get done in a one hour food prep session, even with toddler interruptions and a fussy baby. Here’s a timelapse of my hour of prep:

As you can see, you can get a lot done in an hour with a little practice! Here’s what I prepped:

Ground Beef

Chopped veggies

Lettuce

Farro

Sweet Potato Bites

Hummus Topping

Sweet Potato Protein Cookies

Instant Pot Hummus Chicken

Egg Wraps

Roasted Potatoes

Oatmeal

And here’s the breakdown of how I did things:

Min 1-5: Preheat the oven, microwave sweet potatoes (I slice some slits in mine with a knife and microwave 2 of them at a time for 6 minutes, start the Instant Pot Hummus Chicken (just throw chicken, hummus, garlic and broth into the Instant Pot and start it), start farro on the stove.

Min 5-15: Peel and chop carrots & chop peppers for snacking. Start cooking ground beef in a cast iron skillet on the stove.

Min 15-20: Use one of the sweet potatoes you microwave to make the batter for the Sweet Potato Bites and spoon into mini muffin tins.  Drain the beef, finish cooking it and transfer to storage container. By now your oven should be preheated.

Min 20-30: Bake the sweet potato bites, deal with a fussy baby by putting her in the Ergo, chop veggies for Greek Hummus topping and shred the chicken when it finishes cooking.

Min 30-40: Use the other sweet potato you microwaved to make the batter for the Sweet Potato Protein Cookies and scoop onto a cookie sheet.

Min 40-50: Take the sweet potato bites out and put the sweet potato cookies into the oven, chop the lettuce, wash it and spin it dry and store it in a Ziploc bag. Make the oatmeal by combining oats, milk, chopped apples, cinnamon and peanut butter in a glass container and microwaving for about 3 minutes. Chop potatoes into small pieces, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt.

Min 50-60: Take sweet potato cookies out, turn oven to 425 and stick potatoes in to roast. Make egg wraps while potatoes are roasting.

So there you go! Like I’ve mentioned before, I don’t prep every single thing we eat. I still cook during the week and we go out to eat a few times. But, to give you an idea of how we use the prep I do, I tried to take pictures of most of our meals for the following week. I missed a few…but this should give you a pretty good idea of how I use my prep to make life easier!

Monday: Breakfast: Most weeks lately I’ve been making 5 Minute Breakfast Hash for hubby and I but I didn’t make any this week so we ate a few different things. This day we ate peanut butter toast (Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter on Dave’s Killer Bread) and fruit, plus coffee (unpictured). Squish eats the oatmeal and eggs  I prep ahead of time cold so all I had to do was scoop some oatmeal onto his plate and add an egg and clementine.

Lunch: Hubby comes home for lunch since he works close by, but we all usually eat different things. I made Squish a quick quesadilla in the microwave with some of the ground beef I prepped and paired it with a lemon energy ball from the freezer (that I made in last week’s prep) and a sweet potato bite I prepped this week.  Hubby made a taco with some of the ground beef and added some of the hummus topping I prepped to the prepped lettuce for a quick salad. I ate some of the hummus chicken, the hummus topping and some Garden of Eatin’ tortilla chips.

Dinner: For dinner, I made a quick batch of Thai Chicken Meatballs after we got home from the gym. They take about 5 minutes to mix up and 20 minutes to bake. I paired it with some Steamfresh cauliflower rice for hubby and some of the farro I prepped for me….plus some roasted green beans that I threw in the oven on another baking sheet while the meatballs were cooking.  Squish got a meatball with some cauliflower rice, a sweet potato bite and some strawberries.

Tuesday: Breakfast: Squish had a repeat of oatmeal, egg wrap and fruit. Hubby and I had avocado toast topped with a fried egg and fruit, plus one of my prepped sweet potato cookies for me!

Lunch: Hubby had some of the prepped hummus chicken and potatoes topped with avocado and some fruit. Chase had a leftover meatball with ketchup, clementine, Siggis 4% plain  yogurt and carrots with humms.  I had a repeat of Monday’s lunch – chicken, hummus topping and chips and turned them into Mediterranean chicken nachos.

Dinner: For dinner I used some of the thin-sliced chicken we bought, added some pesto, cheese and some bacon leftover from our breakfast for dinner on Sunday night to make Cheesy Pesto Chicken Rollups. Another easy dinner – 5 min to make, 20 min to bake. I paired with a side salad using the prepped lettuce and some cherry tomatoes and some prepped farro. Squish has some chicken, plus pears and a sweet potato that I microwaved while the chicken was cooking.

Wednesday: Breakfast: All the egg wraps were gone so I changed things up and made him a warm fried egg. My friends at Dave’s Killer Bread started making bagels and they sent me some to try so I also gave him half a cinnmaon raisin bagel with peanut butter and some pears. I ate the other half of his pb bagel, plus an egg for myself and some coffee. Hubby got avocado toast with an egg.

Lunch: For lunch, Squish had the rest of his oatmeal, plus Plainville Farms turkey and applesauce. Hubby ate leftover pesto chicken and cauliflower rice and I ate leftover meatballs and green beans.

Dinner: We often go out to dinner on Thursday nights bc we don’t have to be at the gym but there were schedule changes this week so we decided to go out Wednesday night. I forgot to take pictures but Squish had half a ham and cheese sandwich with mandarin oranges and carrot sticks with ranch. I had a southwest chicken salad and hubby had a Korean hangar steak. Baby girl enjoyed sampling my arugula.

Thursday: Breakfast: Squish had pears, pb&j toast and Love Grown Foods polar puffs. It was a crazy morning so all I had were 2 prepped sweet potato protein cookies and extra coffee. I quickly made some pb toast for hubby.

Lunch: Squish had the leftover half of his ham and cheese sandwich with strawberries and carrots. Hubby made a taco with the prepped beef and potatoes and a quick salad with the prepped lettuce and hummus topping. I used some of the prepped chicken and hummus topper to make a quesadilla and an apple. Later we shared a Blueberry Cauliflower Smoothie for a snack (I prep and portion these and put them in bags in the freezer so we just have to grab, dump in the blender, add liquid and blend.

Dinner: I tried out a new recipe – sheet pan honey lime shrimp – 2 min to prep and 10 to bake. It was ok but needs some work before sharing. Shrimp is not Squish’s favorite so he got hummus chicken with pickle, carrots and yogurt.

Friday: Breakfast: Squish ate the last of his oatmeal with yogurt and fruit. Hubby and I had avocado toast with eggs.

Lunch: I have no clue. Hubby was off work and I can’t remember what we ate!

Dinner: We went to Buffalo Wild Wings after the gym. I got chicken tacos, Squish got naked chicken fingers with fruit and carrots and hubby got wings and cheesy potatoes.

Saturday: We went out for a post-workout brunch at First Watch. I got avo toast with fried eggs, Squish got a scrambled egg with bacon and fruit and wheat toast and hubby got a bacon avocado omelet with potatoes.

That afternoon we went to a cookout with family and had burgers and brats.

As you can see, I still cook during the week but the prep helps meals come together more quickly and with less effort. Please also remember this isn’t all we eat. Snacks aren’t pictured and I eat a lot of them!

I hope this inspires you to try doing some food prep. I think sometimes it gets a bad rap because people feel like they have to prep every single thing they’re going to eat all week. Not true! Prepping full meals is great, but prepping components and various parts like I do can be just as helpful! When you get ready to prep, remember to keep multi-tasking in mind. You can have things going on the stove, oven and counter all at once!

Enjoy! –Lindsay–

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