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Guest Post: Self-Love & Self-Acceptance

March 8, 2018by Leave a Comment

I am so excited to have one of my wonderful friends and a fellow Nutritional Therapy Practitioner share on the blog today! Stef and I met in our NTP training class in Ann Arbor and became friends right away! (We paired up to be each other’s practice clients, and I think we spent more time chatting about each other than talking about our food journals and Symptom Burden Graphs. Whoops!)

I feel like her and I are soul sisters-you know those friends who you relate to on so many levels, can be vulnerable with, and totally understand one another, with no judgement? Well, that’s this girl for me. Many times, I feel like we are the same person, with similar interests, passions and struggles. Stef’s post today is about her journey toward self-love and body acceptance, something that I think we can all relate to. Stef and I talk a lot about this, especially as we both seek to get our hormonal health in balance and the challenges that come with it. I love what Stef writes in this post, and I know you will too! Enjoy!

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I’m so excited to guest post on Simply Health. Jenn and I became fast friends in our Nutritional Therapy Practitioner program last year. She’s one of those women you feel like you’ve known forever– but it’s only been a year! We sat down next to each other in our first NTA workshop last January and have been great friends ever since. Jenn has been nice enough to let me share her little piece of the internet with me today and I’m so excited.

Since many of you do not know me, I thought I’d share a little bit about myself. Like Jenn, I am a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and am a banker by day, holistic nutritionist by night. I see clients and write for Whole Hog Nutrition, my blog, where I share meal ideas, tips to practice self-care and my personal trials and tribulations.

Many of my posts these days are related to body acceptance. Over the past year, I have been working to heal myself from Hypothalamic Amenorrhea, or lack of menstrual cycle. Before starting this journey, I was competitive runner. I coached, trained and raced distances from 5Ks to marathons. Though I ‘looked’ the like picture of health on the outside, on the inside, I was struggling. I lost my period, sex drive and was perpetually fatigued. I struggled with sleep and dealt with bouts of anxiety and depression. My friends and family warned me that I was running too much, but I thought they didn’t understand. The truth is, I just wasn’t ready to hear it.

Running was a part of my identity and wasn’t ready to give it up. Years later, after an eye-opening conversation with my boyfriend, Andrew, I was finally ready to address the elephant in the room; overtraining. I vowed to cut down on exercise after completing the 2017 Boston Marathon and get serious about my health.

After Boston, my lifestyle really changed. I went from running 35-50 miles a week, at the peak of marathon training to ‘jogging’ three to five miles when it feels right. I cut out racing and coaching. Gained almost 10 pounds and started prioritizing sleep. Though this journey has not been easy, it has been worth it.

I’ve learned the importance of self-acceptance. That my body is the least interesting thing about me. My family and friends love me no matter what I look like. Sometimes it’s much easier to obsess about a training goal then address what’s really going on in your life. But let me tell you, these changes have not been easy.

The other day, I was talking to Andrew about my HA journey. I was struggling with areas of self-doubt and wanted to share it with him. This was a very vulnerable moment for me, admitting to someone I love that I do not always love myself. This conversation got me thinking.

You know the red car theory, right? The idea that we notice things that we have personal connection to. The connections can be based our experience, desires or interests. These connections shape what we see and observe. An example; when your best friend buys a new car, you see it everywhere.

My red car has been self-love and acceptance. This journey has shaped the way I see and observe the world around me. Like I mentioned in my rant a couple of weeks ago, diet culture is all around us. We are bombarded with messages, telling us we are not enough. Sometimes those messages sink in and trap us in a negative feedback loop. I’ve been there and done that. Instead of playing victim to diet culture, I’ve come up with a few simple tricks to stop it right in its tracks.

CLEAN OUT YOUR CLOSET

Get rid of anything that does not bring you joy. For me, this meant go through my closet and getting rid of things that didn’t fit or I just wasn’t into. I either donated the items or sold them to a local consignment shop. The act of removing the stress of ill-fitting clothes from my life empowered me to own my body.

BUY NEW CLOTHES

Invest in yourself. Buy clothes that fit and make you feel good. I learned early on in this journey, if I am not comfortable in my clothes, I am not comfortable in my skin. I went out and replaced things slowly, starting with jeans. I treat myself to a new top, jacket or pair of work pants when needed but do my best not to go overboard. I like the idea of having a closet filled with things I love and wear.

PRACTICE SELF CARE

Self-care is a personal act. Do what works best for you. The main goal here is to show yourself some grace. This can be something that is simple as focusing on sleep. Relaxing. Reading. Bubble baths. Wine. Anything, really. If you can’t think of an act of self-care, spend some time reflecting on what makes you tick and do that.

REFRAME YOUR THOUGHTS

Start each morning with an empowering affirmation. Here are some examples:

I am enough, I have enough. (my personal favorite)

I am worthy.

I am loved.

I love myself.

I am deserving of love and attention.

CLEAN UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

Social media can be toxic. We’ve all heard the quote, the stories we tell ourselves reflect how we think, act and feel. I think social media has the same power. Follow people who make you feel good. Unfollow those who don’t. And if it’s all too much, take a hiatus. You won’t miss much, I promise.

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For more from Stef, make sure to check out her blog at www.wholehognutrition.com .

Weekly Eats

Is Spring here yet? And recent eats.

March 4, 2018by 4 Comments

Hello again!

Is anyone else totally ready for Spring? I feel like the warm weather is trying to make it’s way here for good, and I’m loving it! I went for a walk with a friend today, and it was absolutely beautiful-60 degrees and sunny!

Now let’s get to the eats!

Sunday: Zoodles with ground turkey spaghetti sauce

I used this recipe from Little Spice Jar for the spaghetti sauce but added ground turkey for some added protein. I used the crockpot like the recipe called for, but you could make it over the stove too. However, I do think cooking it long and slow is the way to go to get the most out of the flavor. I also cooked up some zucchini noodles, and topped it all with parmesan cheese. Delicious!

Weekly Eats Week 8

Monday: Leftover Zoodles

Leftovers from Sunday since I was headed to my sister’s for our weekly girl’s night (and sometimes her husband who pretends like he is not watching The Bachelor but really is.) I really do enjoy cooking, but it’s so nice to have leftovers for days like this.

Tuesday: Spicy Tuna Cakes from Nom Nom Paleo

I feel like term “tuna cake” always sounds unappetizing, but I promise they taste good (if you like tuna!). I typically make up my own recipe and throw a bunch of things together and David always loves them, however I was ready to try a new recipe. I found one by Nom Nom Paleo that included sweet potatoes, and I am alway sold on anything that includes sweet potatoes. I loved these wayyyy more than the ones that I typically throw together, but David was not a fan. I feel like he is going through a phase where he loves sweet potatoes, but not when combined with other foods. (Example #1. The sweet potato quiche last week. He thought it was good, but said the sweet potatoes should be separate from the eggs. Example #2: Sweet potato tuna melts from the other week. He liked them…but ate the tuna separate from the sweet potato base. I hope this phase ends soon because I love sweet potatoes combined with everything!)

Wednesday: Indian Spiced Turkey Burgers from Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo, Roasted Curried Cauliflower from Eating Bird Food and a baked potato

I made these turkey burgers several years ago, and was reminded of them when I was flipping through my cookbook last week. They are super simple, and have a really good flavor. To go along with the Indian theme, I roasted up some cauliflower in some indian spices. We both liked the turkey burgers (David said he would still prefer a beef burger…shocker. 😉 ), and we both LOVED the cauliflower. It was a good change from my normal coconut oil and sea salt. This meal did not photograph well, so no photo to show. Sorry!

Thursday: Spiralized sweet potato eggs in a hole

I saw a photo of this the other day, but with no recipe, so I decided to try it out on my own. We spiralized a couple small sweet potatoes, and then I cooked themin a little coconut oil and salt until they started to get soft. I then used a spoon to make three holes in the spiralized potatoes, and cracked an egg into each one and added salt and pepper. I put a lid on the pan and let the eggs cook. I really enjoyed this meal, and so did David…but he still ate the eggs and sweet potatoes separate. Ha!

Friday: Squeaky Clean Chicken and Veggie Bake from Fed and Fit

This was so easy and so good! You literally just throw everything into a baking dish and then stick it in the oven. It is also customizable to whatever veggies you have on hand. I used cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, a few random brussel sprouts we still had and then a handful of cherry tomatoes. This recipe is a keeper. Yum!

Saturday: Leftover Tikka Masala

Leftover Tikka Masala had been in the freezer from the other week, so I pulled it out for an easy Saturday night dinner. We paired this with a redbox movie, and had a relaxful night in.

I hope y’all have a wonderful week and eat some delicious food!

**One link in this post is an affiliate link meaning that I may make a small commission for purchases made through that link.**

Weekly Eats

Quiche, Egg Casserole or Frittata? And we ate last week!

February 26, 2018by 1 Comment

Hi friends! Can you believe it’s the last week of February already? This year is going by way too fast! Last week was pretty unexciting/normal for me, but I’ve actually been enjoying being a little bored these days as I take some time off from formal work after our move. I still seem to fill my days though and stay busy, but it’s a non-stressful busy, if that makes sense? Although, I have been looking at job postings lately, but I’m not going to rush into anything. If I decide to go back to the 9-5 soon, then I want to make sure it is something I truly am excited about. And there is still a lot I am thinking through in my head too. So we shall see.

Well, lets get to our meals from last week, shall we?

Sunday:Crockpot Chicken Fajita bowls

I’ve been on a crockpot kick these days, as I’m sure you can tell if you have kept up with me on here. I’ve loved being able to throw everything together, wait a few hours, and then have a delicious meal, plus tons of leftovers! For this recipe, I added a couple chicken breasts to the crockpot, along with 3 sliced peppers, one small onion sliced, 4 cloves garlic, 2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes, and 2 tablespoons of homemade fajita mix. I cooked everything on high for about 4 hours, and near the end, I added 1 tablespoon honey and 2 tablespoons lime juice. I think the honey and lime juice totally made the fajitas, giving it a sweet and citrus punch! So good, and husband approved. I served it over cauliflower rice for me and over corn chips for David. I added avocado (as always), and then cheese and sour cream for David. Delicious!

Monday: Leftover Kale and Cauliflower Soup

I always hang out at my sister’s Monday night (or at least until The Bachelor is over!), so I defrosted Kale, Cauliflower, and turkey soup from the other week, brought a big ol’ bowl to my sister’s, and then left the rest for David to eat! The soup tasted even better than I remember!

Tuesday: His and Her meat and veggies

Dinner East Week 7 — I’m not sure there is a good way to photograph chicken sausage. Sorry y’all.

This warmer weather has me craving all the summer-y, grilling-season foods! We didn’t use the grill, but cooked on our cast iron which is a good second option. We cooked up a beef burger for David, and chicken sausage for me. I also roasted up some brussel sprouts and added a baked potato.

Wednesday: Leftover fajitas from Sunday

Tuesday: Sweet potato quiche (or egg casserole? Or frittata?)

I’m saying this is a quiche, but I’m not sure if it is? Anyone know what the difference is between a quiche, frittata, or egg casserole? Or all they all just different words for the same thing? Either way, I loved this Breakfast For Dinner meal!

Here’s what I did: I first sliced a sweet potato into thin rounds and roasted them with some coconut oil in the oven. While those were cooking, I sauteed some spinach and onion. Once the potatoes were soft, I lined the bottom of two single serving casserole dishes (but you could totally use a normal size dish) with the sweet potato. I whisked eggs into the spinach and onions, and then poured the egg mixture into each of the dishes. I topped one with cheese, and baked them both for around 25 minutes at 350 degrees. We loved these! I LOVE the sweet potato and egg flavor combination, but I may try regular potatoes next time to see which we like better!

Friday: Asian Sesame Salmon and veggies

Dinner Eats Week 7

I was in a desperate need for a new salmon recipe, and I luckily found one buried in my recipe drawer from an old McCormick spice container.

Asian Sesame Salmon

-2 tsp sesame seeds (I forgot to add these. Whoops.)

-1 tsp minced garlic

-1 tsp minced onions (I left out because I didn’t have it.)

¾ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

-⅓ cup honey

-⅓ cup thinly sliced green onions (I left out because I didn’t have any.)

-2 tbsp soy sauce (or coconut aminos)

-2 lbs salmon fillets

Mix honey, green onions, soy sauce, and all the spices except the red pepper in a small bowl until well blended. Stir in red pepper to taste, if desired. Place salmon in a baking dish and spoon honey mixture over salmon.
Roast salmon on 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with a form, basting occasionally with honey mixture.

We loved this recipe, and I will definitely be making it again.

Saturday: Random!

Dinner Eats Week 7

Saturday evening, David and I joined my sister and her family at the Chattahoochee River Recreation area and had a great time walking around with the little ones and exploring. After, I was tired and hungry, so we stopped at the store to get something easy for dinner. David grabbed his favorite (a frozen pizza!), and I picked up a rotisserie chicken for myself (and future lunches this week).

Well, that’s it friends! Let me know what you will be eating this week!

AND really. What is the difference between a quiche, egg casserole, and frittata?

Weekly Eats

Valentine’s Day and Recipe Roundout Week 6

February 19, 2018by 2 Comments

And here we are..another weekend over and another week beginning! I ended up getting another cold last week, which left me stuck inside the majority of the week. Ugh! I’ve been sick more in the past three months in Atlanta than I was in the past couple years in North Carolina! It’s so annoying, but I am around a lot more people here. And getting sick every once in awhile is actually a good thing because it strengthens your immune system (gotta think positive, right?). I’m also grateful that I have the time to rest and lay low when I do get sick, without feeling like I still have a million and one things to do.

But because I was sick, I missed out on coaching Girls on the Run last week and attending small group, which made me super bummed. However, I thought I was getting better on Wednesday, so David and I did get to celebrate Valentine’s Day! The Barre studio I go to was having a special Valentine’s class called Beaus at the Barre, so all of us ladies brought our men! It was super fun, and my husband is the best for willing to to do a barre class with me. After Barre, we got takeout from Mellow Mushroom, and had a low-key evening…my favorite! But then my cold came on full force on Thursday, and I was literally in bed for two days straight. Thankfully, I woke up Saturday feeling 100 times better though, and I was able to enjoy the weekend.

Dinner Eats Week 6 — Barre with my Love on Valentines! He’s the best!

Oh, and before we get to my meals from last week, I wanted to make sure I mention that my good friend and fellow NTP, Stef, from Whole Hog Nutrition, asked me to guest post on her blog about the importance of what we put on our skin! You can read the post here!

And here we go…meals from last week…I feel like I didn’t cook too much, but that’s just how the week played out with Valentine’s day and leftovers!

Sunday: Almost 5 Ingredient Pizza Spaghetti Pie from Paleomg

I made this a few weeks ago, and we loved it so much that I decided to make it again!

Monday: Leftover pizza spaghetti pie

I normally try and space out when we eat leftovers, but I was headed to my sister’s house again that night, so I wanted an easy dinner for us.

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner

I did the normal scrambled eggs with sautéed spinach and onions, along with roasted broccoli and roasted potatoes. I tried to jazz up the potatoes a bit, so I added Trader Joe’s Onion Salt seasoning, some extra garlic powder and a little parmesan cheese. Yum!

Wednesday: Mellow Mushroom takeout after our Barre date!

Pizza for David and salad for me! I used to love Mellow’s salads, but they have been less than optimal the past few times. But I love making great-tasting salads at home, so I have high standards. 🙂 Oh, and I made chocolate covered strawberries for dessert! A must for Valentine’s Day!

Thursday: Leftovers from Mellow Mushroom

I didn’t have a lot of salad leftover, so I added some additional spinach, veggies and a fried egg on top. Doesn’t look very pretty in the picture, but it tasted good!

Friday: Crockpot Chicken Tikka Masala from The Iron You

David loves Indian food, but it’s not my favorite, so we rarely go out for it on date night. However, I always try and make it every once in a while since David loves it so much! I used the recipe above from The Iron You as a general guide, but also added some peas, chopped sweet potato and chopped regular potato as well. I also left out the lemon, arrowroot powder and cayanne…I thought lemon was a strange thing to add to Indian food, but maybe it’s a thing? I also used coconut milk instead of heavy cream and served it with both basmati rice and cauliflower rice. I enjoyed it, and the recipe made a lot, so I’m sure you will be seeing the leftovers in one of these posts in the upcoming future.

Saturday: Date night at Stockyard Burger and Bones

We didn’t know this place existed until Saturday, and it is literally 3 miles down the road from us! They are known for their burgers, but of course, neither David or I ordered a burger! I ordered their Stockyard Cobb Salad that came with smoked pulled chicken (so good!), bacon, egg, tomatoes, and roasted corn. I asked for the Herb Vinaigrette dressing which was delicious! David got their chicken fingers (which looked and smelled amazing), with fries and their kale slaw. Oh, and we got the smoked pork nachos as a starter which came with chips, smoked pulled pork, pico de gallo, green onion, fresh jalapenos and apple butter bbq sauce. We asked for the queso cheese on the side for David! (Since I don’t do well with a lot of dairy). We loved the food and the atmosphere. We will definitely be back!

Extra wonderful eats:

I have to include these in this week’s recipe roundup because they were so delicious! I had several bananas starting to brown last weekend, which meant that I needed to bake up some goodies!

Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Bars by Beaming Baker

I followed this recipe loosely (what a surprise, right??), but it still came out really good. I think my husband ate 3 of these for breakfast this morning.

The recipe calls for 1.5 cups of oats, but I actually used 1 cup oats and 1 cup cereal. I bought David some clearanced organic healthy cereal at Publix the other week which he was not a fan of. I didn’t want it to go to waste, so I decided to throw it in the breakfast bars. I also added 1 teaspoon cinnamon and used honey instead of maple syrup. They were really good, and I’m not sure they are gonna last more than three days!

Flourless Chocolate Banana Bread from Running with Spoons

Oh my gosh, this tastes just like chocolate cake! I actually followed the recipe with this one, except that I used less honey than it called for because I’m running low on honey! But this recipe is sooo delicious! You should go and make this asap!

Have a great week friends, and eat something delicious!!!

Weekly Eats

Simple & Delicious Dinner recipes…Week 5

February 11, 2018by 2 Comments

Well, the weekend here was dreary and wet. Not the most perfect weather, but it made for a restful weekend inside. David and I were dog sitting for my sister, so we spent part of the weekend at her house keeping the dog company and doing some of our own work. (And my husband has been trying really hard to convince me that we need a dog, so I’m hoping that dog-sitting satisfied him for awhile!)

The weather report doesn’t look much better for the rest of the week. Rain, rain and more rain, but at least the temps will be in the 50s and 60s.

Now let’s get to our dinners from last week!

Sunday: Kale and Cauliflower Soup from Running On Real Food

This was a new recipe for us last week! I had some kale leftover from the week before, so I wanted to use it before it went bad. The soup was a vegetarian recipe, and I knew we would need more protein, so I cooked up some ground turkey with italian seasoning that I added to the soup at the end. This recipe calls for blending up part of the soup and then adding it back to the pot. This adds such a creaminess to the broth, which I love. Yum!

Weekly Eats Week 5

Monday: Slow-cooker Greek Style Chicken and Green Beans (and potatoes!)

I’ve made this recipe a few times, and we have always loved it. It’s super easy and makes a lot, so I normally freeze it for another meal or eat it again later in the week (like we did this week.) The recipe calls for chicken thighs which we used the first time we made it, but it came out a little too greasy for us. Chicken breasts seem to work just as well though, so that’s how I made it last week. I also cut up small potatoes and added them to the crockpot for some carbs. Adding potatoes does add a little bit to the cooking time though, so you may want to give yourself an extra hour if you chose to add potatoes too. I also drizzled a little bit of a lemon olive oil on top after. The lemon flavor from the lemon juice and the additional lemon olive oil in this dish is delicious!

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner

I kept it simple this week with scrambled eggs, roasted delicata squash (our last one of the season! I can’t find them in stores anymore!!! Boo!), and sauteed kale. The kale is based off of Cassy Joy’s Braised Green recipe from her Fed & Fit cookbook which is one of my favorite cookbooks. I saute kale in olive oil and garlic, and add a squeeze of lemon and sea salt. This is my go-to recipe whenever I saute kale. David likes it too, and he probably would have said he hated kale before he married me. Actually, I’m not sure he even tried kale until he married me!

I’m loving this spice blend on my eggs!

I added cheese to David’s eggs, and avocado to both of ours. I also topped the kale with some sesame seeds.

Wednesday: Sweet Potato Tuna Melts

This is seriously such an easy meal, and I kind of feel guilty it tastes so good with minimal work. I slice a sweet potato into slices (long ways), then roast them with a little coconut oil (or olive oil) until the are soft…maybe 30 minutes or so depending on the thickness. I usually flip them halfway through. While the sweet potato slices are roasting, I make the tuna fish. My favorite canned tuna is Wild Planet brand, but I didn’t have any on hand so I used Trader Joe’s instead. When the potatoes are soft, I top them with the tuna fish and cheese slices (I normally leave the cheese off of mine since I can’t eat a lot of dairy!) and then broil them until the cheese is melted. I was really excited about these because I hadn’t made them in awhile, but once I made the tuna fish, I was soooo not in the mood for tuna. (of course, right!?!) So I ended up topping a few of the roasted potatoes with avocado and sliced turkey that I had in the fridge for me. David ate the tuna melts though and enjoyed them! I also made roasted brussel sprouts to go along with the melts.

Weekly Eats Week 5

Thursday: Leftover Greek Style Chicken

We had small group, so we reheated leftovers for an easy meal before we headed to small group.

Friday: Chicken Burgers with green beans and baked japanese sweet potato

We had a super late dinner on Friday because David and I were out and about after work and also spent some time at my sister’s house dog-sitting. So by the time we were back home to cook, we were hungry and needed something easy! I found these chicken burgers on sale at Publix, and also had a coupon (#winning), so we cooked them up quickly, heated up some green beans, and added a baked japanese sweet potato. Side note: we are obsessed with Japanese sweet potatoes, and I had to go to three stores before I finally found them. The chicken burgers were….ehhhh…not my favorite. The flavor was pretty good, but I did not like the texture at all. David said they were “fine,” but I know he would have prefered a beef burger. Oh well, not every meal is going to be amazing, and that’s okay!

Saturday: Date Night at Marlow’s Tavern

We are so boring. I feel like we go to Marlow’s like 90% of our date nights, but it’s always so good! David always gets a burger (probably cause he feels deprived from burgers in the example above!) and I’ve been getting the Bahn Mi Chicken Wrap (wrapped in lettuce for GF), which came with chicken, napa cabbage, pickled veggies, fresh cilantro and then their special firecracker sauce (similar to a spicy mayo) that I get on the side. I also got grilled asparagus. We started with their Truffled Parmesan fries which were amazing! I think I’m going to try and recreate them this week but in the form of roasted potatoes. I’ll report back next week.

Have a great week friends!

**One link in this post is an affiliate link meaning that I may make a small commission for purchases made through that link.**

Weekly Eats

Another Week of Dinners…Week 4.

February 4, 2018by 3 Comments

Hello again!

Are y’all getting bored of these posts? I’m not sure if you like seeing meal ideas each week, or if it’s getting old? Let me know. I also want to post more throughout the week to break it up a bit, but that just hasn’t happened yet. I have like a million and one half written posts that I just can’t seem to finish. Soon I hope!

But let’s get to what we ate last week!

Sunday: Sausage, Kale and Spaghetti Squash Boats from Paleo Grubs

I’ve been loving spaghetti squash lately (especially when Trader Joes has organic spaghetti squash for $2.99!), and I was excited to try this recipe!I used ground turkey and added spices to make it more of an italian sausage flavor, but other than that I did actually stick to the recipe. We loved this, and it tasted great leftover too.

Dinner Eats Week 4

Side Note: Pine nuts can be ridiculously expensive, but I was able to find them in a small prepackaged bag around the bulk bins at Fresh Market. So if you aren’t able to find pine nuts and/or don’t want to pay the price for them, I think you could leave them out…it wasn’t like a make it or break it ingredient.

Monday: Leftover Easy Sweet Potato Apple Turkey Chili from last week

Monday=Night with the sis/Bachelor watching night, so once again, I heated up leftover chili that I had in the freezer from the week before. Whenever I have plans at night, I want something easy, so leftovers did the trick.

Tuesday: Breakfast Kale and Potato Sheet pan from Healthy Little Peach

I really loved this meal, and it’s been fun changing up our “breakfast for dinner” recipes. Some of the kale came out crispy, kind of like kale chips, and David wasn’t a fan of the crunchy texture with the eggs and potatoes, but it didn’t bother me. I loved the seasoning of the potatoes (just chili powder, oregano, garlic, salt)-I’m pretty boring when it comes to roasting potatoes, so it was a good change. I’ll definitely be making this one again.

Dinner Eats Week 4

Wednesday: Asian Sesame Zucchini Noodles with chicken from Slender Kitchen

I had a couple zucchini that I needed to use before they went bad, and this recipe stuck out to me when I searched for zucchini recipes on Pinterest. I knew the original recipe wouldn’t be enough for a full meal, so I baked a couple chicken breasts that I marinated in random asian flavors (coconut aminos, rice vinegar, sesame oil, chinese 5 spice, garlic, ginger) and also added some additional veggies I had in the freezer. The flavor of this meal was to die for!!! The almond butter in the zoodle sauce made it creamy and so delicious. And if you haven’t used sesame oil in asian dishes before, DO IT! It really does make a difference in the taste. I get mine at Trader Joes.

He loves to Zoodle.

Thursday: Leftovers

We had small group later that night and knew we would be having snacks there, so we split leftovers we had from earlier in the week. Simple, delicious and enough to tide us over until small group.

Friday: One Pan Sweet Potato Broccoli Chicken Bake from The Real Food RDs

Even though it was similar to our normal meat and roasted veggie meals, it was just different enough to surprise our taste buds! We loved the flavor from the spices and addition of the raisins and nuts/seeds. We also used salmon instead of the chicken (we had chicken a lot last week), and instead of the walnuts, I used sunflower and sesame seeds. It added a great source of healthy fats, and was also an easy way for me to eat those seeds since I’m working on supporting my hormones with seed cycling (might write more about this another time).

Saturday: Tortilla soup from Chuy’s! David and I decided on mexican food for dinner and headed to the Chuy’s near us. Chips and salsa, along with this soup, hit the spot. The soup comes with their homemade chicken broth, roasted chicken, avocado, roasted corn, green chilies and tomatoes (I asked for no cheese). It was delicious, and I have some leftover to eat later this week.

And that’s that. Another week of dinners is done. Have a great week!

Weekly Eats

Meal Ideas for You… Dinner Eats Week 3

January 28, 2018by 1 Comment

The weekend is coming to a close. Boo! But I hope you all have had a fun and relaxing weekend!

I’m writing this from bed, trying to rest and fight off this cold or whatever gunk I have. I started to feel like I was coming down with something on Wednesday, but convinced myself it was just from being out in the cold weather. Then David came home from work that night and said that his throat was scratchy. Uh-oh. I went in my crazy “we are not getting sick” mode and started diffusing my essential oils, taking zinc, doing the Neti Pot (read about the benefits here), taking shots of Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with this turmeric tonic, and taking an immune boosting supplement. David seems to have come down with an actual cold, but I’m not feeling too too bad. David thinks I’m sick too, but this is NOTHING compared to the colds I typically get. So I consider this a win and owe it to all my crazy supplements and tonics that I’m doing every hour (literally).

Well let’s get to what we ate for dinner last week, shall we?

Sunday: Rotisserie chicken, potato and green beans

We were gone all last weekend for a wedding, so we needed a really easy dinner. My go-to meal for times like this is an already cooked rotisserie, so I picked one up from Whole Foods and then baked two japanese sweet potatoes and heated up green beans with coconut oil. We then used the leftover chicken for lunches, which saved a lot of time and energy from having to meal prep. #winning. I also froze the chicken bones so I could later make bone broth. If you are not familiar with bone broth, it has SO many great health benefits. Read more about bone broth here and here.

Dinner Eats Week 3

Never underestimate a simple rotisserie chicken! (Other ideas: add the chicken to a soup, on top of a salad, add BBQ or buffalo sauce, make chicken tacos…the ideas are endless!)

Monday: Leftover Coconut Lime Chicken Soup from Baked by Rachel

I was going over to my sister’s Monday night for a very special sister date (aka to watch The Bachelor), so I wanted dinner to be quick and easy before I had to head out the door. We reheated leftover soup from a couple weeks ago. I love having leftovers in the freezer for times like this.

Tuesday: Shakshuka from Hummusapian

I was excited about this recipe!!! It was our breakfast for dinner night, but I wanted to switch it up. One of my favorite bloggers had been talking about her love for Shakshuka, and when she posted her recipe, I knew I had to make it. I only had a green pepper, so I used that instead of a red, and I also left the jalapeno out. I did wish it was a little spicier, but I didn’t want to risk burning my mouth off with the jalapenos. Next time though, I’ll definitely add some cayenne or red pepper flakes or something. I also roasted some potatoes on the side. This meal was such a change from the norm, and we really enjoyed it.

Wednesday: Easy Sweet Potato Apple Turkey Chili from Oh Sweet Basil. This is one of our favorite soup/chili recipes. It’s creamy and sweet and just all around delicious!

Dinner Eats Week 3

Thursday: David had a Northwestern Alumni event soon after he got home from work, so I made him a quick little snack/meal before he had to head back out. I ended up making him a tuna salad wrap using these wraps. I bought these a couple weeks ago because I was curious about them, but I had not used them yet. So I’m glad David was up for being my guinea pig…actually, I’m not sure he had a choice. 🙂 He enjoyed the wrap and after eating another yesterday with egg salad, he told me he REALLY likes them! And thanks to everyone who chimed in on my Instagram stories…you all gave me lots of great ideas on how to use these!

Dinner Eats Week 3

I ate dinner later when David was at his event, so I had my go-to meal of scrambled eggs with sauteed spinach and mushrooms and some other veggies on the side. I seriously never get tired of eggs and make them whenever I’m on my own for dinner.

Friday: Maple-glazed salmon, baked japanese sweet potato and roasted broccoli and brussel sprouts. I used this recipe for the salmon-

Maple Glazed Salmon (Cooking Light Magazine, December 2014)

Ingredients:

4 (6 ounce) salmon filets
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill (I’ll used a sprinkle of dried dill though.)
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400.
Combine mustard, honey, dill and lemon juice in a small bowl. Arrange fillets, skin side down, on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread mustard mixture evenly over fillets. Bake at 400 for 17 minutes or until desired level of doneness.

Dinner Eats Week 3

It’s a recipe I got from a Cooking Light magazine back in 2004, and I use it about 90% of the time we have salmon. It’s one of our favorites. Although, after eating it again on Friday, I think I’m ready to try another salmon marinade or recipe. Any recommendations?

Saturday: We typically have a date night on Saturdays, but we both were still feeling a little under the weather and were not in the mood to actually go out to eat. We also had a small group thing at our church at 7:30 that we did not want to miss, so we picked up Chipotle and ate it at home before we left for church. Sadly, the Chipotle near us has been sub par lately.

What are you excited about eating this week? Or what was your favorite recipe from last week! I’d love to hear!

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