What I Ate In Florida

 

I’m back from Florida!

I really shouldn’t use an exclamation point on that statement because I wasn’t exactly happy to leave the warm weather to return to what is still winter here in New York.

Ugh.

Anyway, I’m ready to share some of the meals I had while in Florida. While I thought about saving the post until next week, I have it ready so let’s discuss!

What I Ate In Florida

Oh, so before we jump into the meals, I was in the Boca Raton area to get some quick sunshine, see my friend Heather and go into the office with her (we both work in the events industry — total coincidence), and see my grandmother. A few days away was just what I needed!

We went for lunch at True Food Kitchen straight from the airport — I totally forget which salad this is but it was loaded with roasted vegetables and very good!

Later in the day after going to Town Center and the pool, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I hadn’t been to this particular Cheesecake Factory, I think, since maybe 1998? I remember going during college when I would come down to visit Heather really often but I don’t recall after that.

Breakfast looked like this every morning.

I ate my oatmeal and fruit outside in the warm sunny air every day and loved every second of it.

I had this iced tea one day too. I don’t recall what type it was but it was decaf, fruity, and good.

We brought salads from Raw Juice to the beach.

I went to see my grandmother for dinner one night.  We went to an Italian restaurant near where she lives in Delray.

I had a greek salad with some garlic knots. The food was good but the coffee wasn’t hot enough (according to my grandmother and she made sure to tell the waitress – don’t ask).

I’ve known about Farmers Table for a long time and finally tried their delicious food to see what the hype is all about!

I didn’t know what to pick so I picked two sides –  the roasted Brussels sprouts and the buffalo cauliflower. I LOVED what I chose and really liked the buffalo cauliflower.

Eaten by the pool.

Another day by the pool I tried the wok-fried quinoa cauliflower with sauteed zucchini and squash. I would eat at Farmer’s Table regularly like everyone else in Boca if I lived there! It’s really that good.

We went for dinner one night at a restaurant in Mizner.

There were lots of appetizers for the table and then I also had a salad. I had some of the margarita pizza which was fine because I was hungry but I could tell the sauce was from a jar. This is what happens when you leave the New York area and want to eat pizza. You can’t fool New Yorkers when it comes to pizza!

After dinner, we walked over to the candy store because I needed something sweet and chocolate.

I took a quick picture of my bag of candy not realizing the picture was blurry!

It was not easy to leave the BEAUTIFUL weather to come back to New York, that’s for sure.

However, whenever I see the city from the plane as we are landing, I am always very happy.

In next week’s Favorites post, I will share which Stoney Clover pouches I used and some of my other favorites from my trip.

Have a nice weekend!

Recent Meals + A Few Trader Joe’s Must-Haves

Jumping right into a few recent meals plus current favorites from Trader Joe’s!

My routine Chopt order lately is this:

• Romaine
• Crispy Chickpeas
• Avocado
• Beets
• Corn
• Pickled Onions
• Hearts of Palm
• Lemon Tahini

I randomly made a vegan BLT with avocado on toasted Ezekiel bread for dinner the other night. It was very good! The last time I randomly made a vegan BLT was in the spring. I really should have it more often!

BLT’s are not something I crave often but when I’m in the mood for it, this basic sandwich always hits the spot.

It’s definitely that time of year for me for Matzoh ball soup. I’m always happy when my aunt sends me home with a few containers of her matzoh ball soup because I freeze it to eat when I need it.

Okay, has anyone else bought the cute little cookie mug hangers from Trader Joe’s yet for this season?!

I mean, how cute is this? Not to mention, the cookie itself is just so good. I love it with a mug of tea at night.

I definitely bought the above Gingerman cookies for myself but also had my son in mind. He’s home from college this week so I made sure to have a few “extra” things in the house this week.

One of the other extras that I bought was Trader Joe’s frozen steel-cut oatmeal. I used to love this oatmeal before I got good at making my own. My son loves oatmeal and eats it at school so I figured he would like this steel-cut oatmeal since he refuses to eat the oatmeal I make (simply because he can’t admit that it’s good).

It can’t hurt to always have this oatmeal in the freezer when you need it in a pinch.

Also from the frozen section at Trader Joe’s, we like these Gone Berry Crazy chocolate-covered strawberry bites. These are definitely another must-have for the freezer at all times.

My son asked if Trader Joe’s has their spice gift sets out yet — I didn’t see them so far but maybe by this weekend?

Anyway, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a nice long weekend!

 

What I Ate In The City Last Week

As I mentioned in Monday’s post, I was in the city last week for work and it was a lot of fun!

I’ve been going into the city more often lately to hang in the office but last week we had a lot of people in town so I stayed for a few days rather than driving in and out of the city (to save my sanity from the traffic nightmares).

Would you believe that I didn’t have one slice of pizza in the city? It’s ironic since just two weeks ago I shared a post of ONLY eating pizza while in the city.

Breakfasts:

I took a cup of coffee (with my mask in my hand) on a walk to find oatmeal for breakfast. Some people wear a mask, some don’t. I didn’t walk into any location that required a mask on my face. But you do need proof of vaccination to dine indoors.

This beautiful bowl of oatmeal with berries in almond milk was exactly what I needed to eat. I also bought a cold-pressed juice but forget exactly which one I bought. I think it involved apple, beet, lemon, ginger, and something else.

I enjoyed the oatmeal so much that I went back for another bowl the next day on my walk to the office. This oatmeal is from The Juice Shop which is not to be confused with Juice Press which is so much better but not near my office.

I told my boss that she needs to start writing my blog because she was very focused on making sure we are all eating healthy unprocessed foods. She brought us fruit to eat as snacks instead of packaged chips and cookies.

Lunches:

We ordered lunch one day from Mr.Broadway.

I had the organic farro, chickpea, and edamame salad with tofu. I never eat tofu but my friend who was placing the order suggested it so I said sure, why not.

We had been talking for weeks that we needed to order lunch from Beatnic (a vegan restaurant which used to be called By Chloe) and it finally happened. I chose the Magic Mushroom salad and I will definitely be ordering it again — loved it.

One day for lunch we were treated to a sushi spread from  Sushi Tokyo which was a nice treat.

Dinners:

We went to Avra for dinner one night. I had the salmon (a food I rarely eat) and it was delicious.

I’m definitely vegetarian but the few times a year that I consume fish may count me as a pescatarian.

I’m not opposed to salmon, I just like it only when I know that it’s going to be really good. I don’t cook it myself, I usually just have it when at a great restaurant.

We had dinner at Gemma with many of our New York event industry friends. This was our first “in-person event” in New York since our industry luncheon at the Rainbow Room which was two years ago – before the pandemic.

I really didn’t do a great job with photos from dinner but it was served family-style and a lot of fun.

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Don’t forget to shop the Sephora Sale going on right now! Here’s my list of beauty product recommendations that are not to be missed!

 

 

A Few Recent Meals + Magnolia Bakery Cupcake

Yesterday, I was all excited to report that it was already Tuesday.

And now today, while I’m thrilled it’s already Wednesday, it almost snuck up on me in some ways. Like, oh, I need to post about food today? Ok, shoot, let me pull something together.

I was in the city at Bloomingdale’s on July 4th and had lunch (a roasted beet salad) at Forty Carrots.

I hadn’t been to the city Bloomingdale’s since before the pandemic so it was nice to make my return. Although, I think they took away the giant frozen yogurt display?

I have this picture in my blog media library from 2019 when I last stopped at Bloomingdale’s for yogurt.

One of my favorite things to do is to order a frozen yogurt and shop while eating it.

According to my blog, the last time I sat down for lunch at the city Bloomingdale’s Forty Carrots prior to this past weekend was with Michele from Paleo Running Mama.

While I didn’t have the infamous frozen yogurt this time, I did have a Magnolia Bakery cupcake. There’s a Magnolia Bakery on the first floor of Bloomingdale’s.

Magnolia Bakery really is that good. This chocolate cupcake was perfection.

You can tell that the weather wasn’t typical for this time of year because I had long sleeves on with my skirt while drinking iced coffee. We go from heatwave to rainy and cold, back to heatwave.

Monday’s weather was back to summery for my beach run. I brought my cold oatmeal with blueberries and peanut butter to eat after my run. I wasn’t really hungry but I ate it anyway.

I was, however, very hungry when I left the beach so I picked up a chopped salad from Town Bagel on the way home. It would be a lie if I tried to remember every ingredient in this salad.

And well, that’s all I’ve got for today.

I’m a little surprised at my lack of pizza pictures to share but I think it’s been a week or so since I last had a slice! Maybe this means I should have pizza for dinner tonight. It’s definitely that time of year when cooking of any form really doesn’t happen. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s Talk About Oatmeal + Recent Meals + Purple Sweet Potatoes

 

I spoke with two separate people over the last few days about eating oatmeal. I’ve been eating oatmeal for breakfast, every single morning, for years now. I stopped sharing pictures of my daily bowls of oatmeal because it started to feel really repetitive for me to share, not to mention, my bowls never look too photogenic.

I’m still in the same routine of cooking steel-cut oatmeal with old-fashioned rolled oats, making enough servings for four-five days at a time. Cooking the two types of oatmeal creates excellent texture and volume to a bowl of oats. Even my son likes my oatmeal (without added sugar beyond the fruit in the bowl!).

I buy the organic oatmeal canisters from Trader Joe’s.

If you are still buying instant oatmeal packets, I do recommend making your own oatmeal using steel-cut and/or old-fashioned rolled oats instead. Instant oatmeal is the most processed form of oatmeal and you really don’t want that because you lose most of the nutritional benefits of eating oatmeal this way. Not to mention, instant oatmeal packets often have added ingredients and added sugars.

I always recommend adding natural sweetness to oatmeal using cinnamon, fresh or frozen fruit, and of course, peanut butter. But what if you love instant oatmeal packets? Well, a good way to ease yourself off and gravitate away from those flavored instant oatmeal packets is to start mixing some of a packet with the plain oatmeal that you make yourself. Each time you do this, use less and less of the instant oatmeal packet. This will help you to easily steer yourself away from the packets, slowly, without the abrupt change. No one likes an abrupt change.

Oatmeal Every Morning

My mornings start with a cup of coffee followed by a small bowl of oatmeal before my workout. Pre-run oatmeal, if you will. I NEVER exercise on an empty stomach.

I have another bowl after my workout (post-run oatmeal). I’m a big believer in pre and post-workout meals and have no problem basically eating the same thing for both meals. I barely remember that early morning bowl by the time I eat my post-run breakfast!

My first bowl of oatmeal has a small amount of oatmeal with cinnamon, blueberries, and peanut butter. I used to eat fresh blueberries but then a few years ago switched to frozen blueberries after having a stomach virus. Let’s not discuss that though.

My post-run oatmeal is basically the same as the pre-run oatmeal except I typically add more fruit and depending upon my appetite, more peanut butter. Lately, I’m back to adding the very cherry blend from Trader Joe’s to my bowl of oatmeal. I love the big cherries! There were times when I added greek yogurt or protein powder to my post-run oatmeal but I haven’t done that in a really long time.

Oatmeal posts of interest:

What Goes Into My Oatmeal

6 Healthy Recipes Using Oatmeal To Try Today

Blueberry Pie Protein Oatmeal

Autumn Oatmeal

How I Make Overnight Oatmeal

Dinner From The Cheesecake Factory

Another week, another chance to use my Cheesecake Factory gift card.

My son and I shared the Asian Lettuce Wraps for a change. The Asian Lettuce Wraps are on the Skinnylicious menu. We chose these lettuce wraps over the Thai Lettuce Wraps because we wanted a smaller portion.

I switched up my salad order and chose the California Guacamole Salad which I’ve had a few times in the past and really like it. I also appreciate that the salad came with two containers of dressing because I saved it to use with the salads I make at home. I’ll get a few servings out of that one container so it’s great.

Whole Wheat Vegetable Pizza

Last week I ventured away from my usual whole wheat vegetable slice from Monte. This time, I was back to my old favorite. When I don’t know what to have for dinner but don’t want to cook, this whole wheat pizza loaded with vegetables is always a great option.

Salads & Power Bowls

I can’t recall the last time I stopped at Chopt for a salad prior to this weekend. What was in my salad from Chopt? Good question. I definitely know there were spicy peppers. The rest is a mystery but most likely including quinoa, spinach, romaine, avocado, and lemon tahini dressing. I don’t remember the rest of the ingredients to be specific.

My at-home salad creations look boring but taste good. This salad contained romaine, roasted pearl tomatoes, asparagus, corn, chickpeas, and avocado. I used the leftover spicy avocado dressing from my salad from The Cheesecake Factory.

I’ve been eating a lot of purple sweet potatoes in the last week. The antioxidants in purple sweet potatoes are even higher than what you get in a regular sweet potato which means a heck of a lot of nutrition. I added purple sweet potatoes to this power bowl (or shall I say power plate). My power bowl (plate) included roasted purple sweet potatoes, roasted broccoli and peppers, mashed chickpeas and avocado, and a scoop of the three-layer hummus from Trader Joe’s.

Not sure how to make a power bowl? I once wrote a great post on the topic – here it is if you missed it.

 

What I Ate on Saturday + How I Make Overnight Oats

Let’s do today’s food post in the traditional What I Ate Wednesday style by looking at what I ate on Saturday. Saturday was my boardwalk run day during which I ran 10 miles. Some people assume that running 10 miles means you become extra hungry but I didn’t feel any different than any other day appetite wise. The only thing I noticed was that once I was hungry later in the day, I needed to eat even more immediately than usual.

Pre-Run Breakfast

So we already know that I’m still eating the exact same pre and post-run breakfast as I have for years. For this reason, I don’t even bother to discuss my oatmeal anymore. Like, how repetitive would that be? Even more repetitive than talking about pizza, you know?

This oatmeal picture is old but it’s exactly what I had. See, I don’t even need to take new oatmeal pictures to show you what I ate! It’s the same exact bowl (and even the mug is the same!) for years.

Water, coffee in my Henri Bendel mug, and a small amount of oatmeal with (frozen) blueberries and peanut butter. I still go with frozen blueberries over fresh unless somehow someone else brings fresh blueberries into the house. This trend started a few years ago after a stomach virus when I stopped having the ability to look at fresh blueberries.

After my run at the beach, I had oatmeal in a jar just like old times. Cold (cooked) oatmeal with blueberries, strawberries, cinnamon, and peanut butter. I think because it wasn’t as hot for this run, watermelon wasn’t my first craving. Two bottles of water and a cool down walk did happen though before I was ready to eat.

Note Most people like overnight oats in a jar but I like to just have regular oatmeal cold mixed with fruit and peanut butter. My son, however, has recently decided he loves overnight oats so I’ve been preparing it for him at night so it’s ready in the morning.

Here’s how I make traditional overnight oatmeal…

In a bowl, I combine and mix together:

• 1/3 cup organic old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup organic yogurt (any kind you like, he does plain yogurt but you can do greek yogurt)
• 1/2 cup organic skim milk
• berries
• cinnamon

Place that mixture (covered)  in the refrigerator overnight and then in the morning, I add peanut butter and mix it up.

A few hours later after I was home and showered, I headed out for errands and shopping, picking up a salad from Chopt. Same Chopt creation as last week which is super easy to reorder when I order online since it’s saved in my account. Romaine, spinach, quinoa, avocado, spicy peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and I think corn with tahini (and bread) and the side.

I had a few pieces of watermelon in the afternoon before deciding on Chinese food for dinner. Gotta love the steamed vegetable dumplings.

Trader Joe’s chocolate chips are still the best chocolate chips. I actually didn’t have as many as usual after dinner, I honestly wasn’t hungry.

I thought I would share a few old recipes that have been creeping up again in popular hits here on the blog:

Oatmeal raisin chocolate chip protein cookies

Autumn Oatmeal

Recipes To Make When Stuck At Home

Easy To Make Vegetarian Recipes

 

 

Heat Wave Appetite (Recent What I Ate Wednesday Meals)

My appetite is definitely feeling affected by the heat. It’s not noticeable every day but some days, I’m noticing that I’m not as hungry. The thought of eating sometimes feels like too much in my stomach. I’ve even had a few moments where I think a smoothie sounds good and if you know me, you know I don’t like to drink my food.

Back in the day, What I Ate Wednesday showcased one full day of food. I stopped doing posts like that because I so rarely think to formulate a post in that structure. As I was putting this post together though, I kinda noticed I have a full day of food from Sunday’s boardwalk run day.

Sunday Meals:

Before I left for the boardwalk, I had my usual (not pictured though) small bowl of oatmeal with blueberries, cinnamon, and peanut butter with coffee and water. I added an extra pinch of sea salt to the oatmeal since I knew I would be sweating a whole lot.

After my run, I guzzled (literally guzzled) two bottles of water and then ate some watermelon. I was not ready to eat food. These summer runs give me the after you finish a race feeling.  You just can’t eat yet.

I sat down after a little while to recover with my cold oatmeal but I took a few bites and couldn’t eat it.

Even later on around lunchtime when I was home and showered, I was hungry but wasn’t ready for a full meal. I had a slice of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel toast with mashed avocado and everything but the bagel seasoning. This was perfect actually. But notice, I left the chickpeas out of the avocado mash and didn’t have a salad with it.

I had some watermelon in the afternoon and then got hungry around 4:00 PM. I was finally in the mood for salad but still, nothing heavy. I made another slice of avocado toast with a basic salad of lettuce, tomatoes, chickpeas, and feta cheese.

Chocolate chips for dessert. Plus more watermelon before bed.

Other salads from the week:

Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, chickpeas, feta cheese, and avocado. So simple and perfect.

This salad was an “empty out the fridge” for a dinner salad. I couldn’t tell you exactly what was in it but I think there were roasted potatoes involved.

Um, not sure what was in this salad either but I see what is likely my usual salad ingredients and colorful carrot coins.

There were two pizza nights in the last week! On one of the days when I didn’t have my normal appetite (and had oatmeal for breakfast and lunch), I had two slices of grandma pizza for dinner. The only salad ingredient on my plate was lettuce. It was a carb kind of day I suppose.

Another night my son wanted pizza so I had a whole wheat vegetable slice for dinner.

Important to note something that is not food-related! I heard Stoney Clover is restocking the tie-dye masks! Check their site to get yours before they are sold out again!

Oatmeal in a Jar + Cauliflower Pizza? + Salads

 

It’s Wednesday already! Time to share recent meals.

When I finished a jar of peanut butter last week, I thought ahead to save the empty jar for my oatmeal.

Remember when oatmeal in a jar was a thing? I really think it’s not a thing anymore but I’m making it a thing again.

I stopped saving my almost empty peanut butter jars to use for oatmeal quite a while ago. However, last week it made sense to keep the empty peanut butter jar not just because it’s so good when you can grab all of the extra peanut butter that sticks to the jar, but because I needed the container to bring my oatmeal to the beach to eat after my run.

It was as good as I remembered it! In the jar was my cold oatmeal (cooked steel-cut oatmeal and rolled oats) with blueberries, cherries, and cinnamon plus extra peanut butter.

My son decided we needed a whole array of food from Stew Leonard’s. Among other things, the grilled vegetables were of course my favorite. It was nice to eat something different vegetable-wise that wasn’t cooked by me. I added the grilled vegetables to a couple of salads.

I sent my son back into Stew Leonard’s another afternoon and asked him to grab a slice of their margarita pizza. Stew Leonard’s is a grocery store but not your average grocery store. They call it the Disney Land of grocery stores. I’ve seen their margarita pizza but never had it.

He claims they didn’t have any left so he got me a cauliflower pizza instead. When I made a face, he reminded me of how I used to make cauliflower pizza when he was younger and tell him it’s just as good as regular pizza but healthier so he just assumed I would still be happy with it. Gotta love my kid for his sarcasm that comes with a smile.

I cut the cauliflower pizza in half to heat up and then had it for two meals. It was good, but let’s be real – cauliflower crust pizza is not the same as regular pizza.

When I don’t know what to eat/have minimal ingredients in the house, I always like a toasted slice of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread with mashed chickpeas and avocado. I sprinkle everything but the bagel seasoning in when I mash the two ingredients together. I call this cooking. Oh, I may have added guacamole to this plate too.

Here’s a nice salad that involves a wider variety of vegetables. Lettuce, tomatoes, asparagus, corn, cucumbers, and Trader Joe’s colorful carrot coins with chickpeas and avocado. I also sprinkled everything but the bagel seasoning and added salad dressing (forget which one).

Oh, look what I made last night! We had a baguette in the house so I took a portion of it, cut it in half, and made it into pizza. It came out delicious!

Not pictured is the watermelon I had to get yesterday and quickly cut up (as I ate it). The heat and humidity left me craving watermelon so seirously that I just had to run out in the middle of the day to get one to eat. 🙂

Recent Meals (Oatmeal In Bed + Simple Dinners + Toasted Bagels)

I never eat in my bed nor do I ever work from my bed.

However, last Friday morning after starting to feel better from being sick from my period, I made some exceptions.

I wanted to get a few things done for work so I brought my computer into my bed. I also needed to eat a little something so I brought a really simple bowl of plain oatmeal with peanut butter into my room. Normally, I add blueberries and cinnamon to my oatmeal but this particular day needed to be on the plain side. It wasn’t long before I moved out of my room and on to the couch. I just can’t work from bed!

It was time for our weekly trip for curbside pick up from La Piazza. I definitely need my whole wheat margarita slice from Mario’s but we have been on a La Piazza kick lately. It has a lot to do with the chopped salads – I like to get two salads which are big enough to give me four meals.

Grandma pizza with salad is always a great dinner idea.

One night after picking up fresh bagels in the afternoon, I was craving a toasted bagel with vegetable cream cheese so that is exactly what I ate for dinner. Depending upon who you speak to, it can be against bagel rules to toast a fresh bagel. But I wanted my bagel toasted, so let’s not tell anyone else.

I had the below salad for lunch while watching Fauda. I’m obsessed with watching Fauda and honestly not sure how I managed to eat my salad while watching an episode. It’s WAY intense. But I love the show, possibly more than Homeland. Did you see the Homeland series finale?

Anyway, this salad used half of a La Piazza house salad plus extra tomatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, and a lentils/quinoa mix that I cooked together. Assuming I added avocado too.

For dinner one night, I baked a potato and topped it with guacamole along with a salad. So simple and delicious. When I ate this, I decided that this should be dinner on the nights I don’t eat pizza. It’s just so simple. I like simple dinners. Why do people always have to over-complicate things? I ask myself this question quite often and not just about food. About everything. 

I’m working my way through this pan of roasted broccoli and cauliflower as we speak. It should last me several days in comparison to the past when I would eat it pretty quickly. I try to be gentle on my stomach with the roasted vegetables so less at a time works much better for me. Fresh vegetables are not really my thing. I just have them in the house more than usual because I can’t get my hands on the frozen vegetables I like to stock in the freezer. I have a few bags of frozen vegetables on reserve in the freezer but I don’t want to touch them. That’s just life right now, afraid to eat the food that is hard to get at the moment.

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There are only a few days left for the Sephora Spring Sale! Now is really the time to buy whatever you might need — the sale only happens twice a year! Here are my skincare and makeup suggestions again just in case you need a reminder.

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Meals On Repeat + Oatmeal Skills

So many meals on repeat for me to highlight in today’s post! I certainly like what I like. But really, who eats such a varied diet anyway.

My son is about to embark on the fun of studying for the SAT and ACT exams. I am not jealous. I already put my time in with those tests back in my day. Anyway, he took the practice ACT over the weekend (and will take the practice SAT in a couple of weeks). I picked him up from the practice test and we headed straight to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch. He was starving after sitting for the exam for those 4 hours!

Vegan cobb salad for me, no almonds or sunflower seeds (I do have ever so slight allergies to both so it’s best to avoid).

Another day, another lunch at Chopt. In full transparency, I did have Chopt two days in a row. The picture below was for was lunch, another day was a quick dinner. I was in the area while my son was at the gym (he’s back at Lifetime — it’s good to be my kid) and I was hungry so Chopt became my dinner.

I’ve been varying my toppings just a bit but standard parts are the spinach, romaine, avocado, and quinoa plus the Mexican Goddess dressing on the side. Then the varied ingredients involve corn, hearts of palm, beats, spicy peppers, sweet potatoes, and tomato.

How beautiful does my whole wheat margarita slice look in this picture? It was truly a good one on this particular day. This pizza is definitely my favorite pizza of the moment. I do believe I had this margarita pizza for dinner two nights in a row in the last week. One night we took out from Mario’s with salad, one night I stopped in quick for a slice while out and about running errands and going to the mall.

Here’s my usual Panera order while working. I haven’t had it often in the last little while but I did have it the other day while getting some work done.

Starbucks is starting to become a thing for me when I don’t want to go to Panera and don’t want to work at home. They opened a new location by my house and I like the seating better than the other Starbucks literally down the block. I just have to watch my caffeine come afternoon. Some nights it keeps me up and some nights I feel no effect. It’s best if I do decaf or half decaf when I can, unless I am utterly exhausted.

In unpictured news, the salads I have been making at home involve the cooked lentils from Trader Joe’s that you can grab in the refrigerated section. I needed a change from chickpeas every day and although I do have lentils that I can cook myself, I like the already prepared variety from TJ. I add them to my salads along with roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, romaine and tomato. So easy.

Also, my oatmeal skills are definitely on point because my son requests my oatmeal every morning since he’s home from camp. I still prepare oatmeal for the week, the very same way as referenced in this post.

I believe strongly in mixing equal servings of old-fashioned rolled oats and steel-cut oats. It’s a good combination of texture and volume. The only thing that varies is the toppings. For my son, I add banana, cinnamon, raisins, and peanut butter. For me, its frozen blueberries, cinnamon, and peanut butter in my oatmeal literally every morning!

Oatmeal posts of interest:

6 Healthy Oatmeal Recipes To Try

Blueberry Pie Oatmeal

Autumn Oatmeal

[bctt tweet=”What I’m eating lately on repeat on the blog today! #WIAW #pizza #salad #chopt #oatmeal ” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

How do you like to make your oatmeal?

Favorite pizza of the moment?