Quick Look At What I Ate Yesterday

 

Quick look at what I ate yesterday!

My oatmeal is of course unpictured but it’s worth noting that I’m realizing my days of adding fresh organic strawberries to my post-run oatmeal are probably dwindling. I really like blueberries with strawberries after my run in my oatmeal but as we change seasons, I will be going back to diced apple. This recipe for autumn oatmeal was a good one if you are interested!

Along with my oatmeal I had two cups of coffee at home before heading to Panera later in the morning to get some work done. I had even more coffee while at Panera, although I mixed in decaf to make it acceptable.

My usual Panera salad order! I might be getting tired of it so I will need to pick something different next time I am there. Maybe. I’m not sure.

My son and I ran errands later in the day and somehow ended up at Vincent’s for an early dinner. We used to go to Vincent’s all the time but realized we hadn’t been there in over two years!

I love Vincent’s sauce (we buy the jars to use at home) and I love their zucchini marinara. Sometimes I order it with extra vegetables to make it more like a primavera but I went basic yesterday. So good and really filling!

Vincent’s is included in my round up of best places for zucchini noodles on Long Island!

Typical dessert when I got home! Can’t get enough chocolate chips.

See what I mean, this was a really quick recap of what I ate yesterday!

[bctt tweet=”quick look at what I ate yesterday on the blog today! #panera #vincents #zucchini #zoodles #longisland #lieats #longislandeats” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Do you like zucchini noodles? Or do you call them zoodles? Or spiralized zucchini? Do you make your own?

What have you been eating for dessert lately?

Which fruits do you like to add to your oatmea? Do you change it with the seasons?

Recent Food & Fashion (Nordstrom Sale Continued)

 

Let’s talk food before quickly discussing the Nordstrom sale today, okay?!

I’m currently obsessed with the very basic yet delicious combination of pizza with salad.

I cannot get enough to the point where I’m talking myself out of picking up pizza every night for dinner to pair with a salad because I already have food in the house!

This was my pizza with salad plate X 2 the other night. We had grandma pizza from La Scala which is a top favorite pizza place on Long Island for me. I used to live down the block from La Scala but then we moved after my divorce so now I’m not always in that area. It’s not exactly far though, maybe a 10 minute drive? It’s totally worth it even when I have like five other pizza places right near me to choose from.

If I’m not eating pizza and salad for dinner, I’ve been making melted mozzarella and tomato OR mashed chick peas and avocado on toasted Ezekiel bread. With a basic side salad. I thought I took a picture of those meals yet I cannot find them in my phone! I don’t know what happened, I’m so annoyed!

And oh, I’m loving the Trader Joe’s Green Goddess dressing. I’m totally behind on the Green Goddess dressing craze but I finally bought it and it’s terrific.

Here’s a tasty veggie plate from The Little Beet. This time I chose the roasted broccoli (it’s so good with lemon!), a new roasted kale salad, and the Brussels sprouts salad.

An ACAI BOWL!! I haven’t had one I think since last summer.

This acai bowl was from Bango Bowls and I really liked it. It’s much better than Red Mango’s acai bowl and even better than the one I get down by the beach.

Would you believe that I couldn’t even finish it? Next time I may order a kids sized açaí bowl. Seriously, this was way too much, even for me.

Nordstrom makes the best lattes if you want my opinion.

I had one the other afternoon while scoping out the half-yearly sale.

Truthfully, I remain mostly underwhelmed by the Nordstrom markdowns, especially in the shoe department. Sure, there were a few designer shoes marked down but they were still pricey and honestly not worthy of reporting.

Only a few Nordstrom sale stand outs to share in addition to the links I mentioned in Friday’s post.

The sale on dresses seems to be a decent one. This Topshop Crepe Wrap Minidress is a nice staple.

I adore Ted Baker style and this Ted Baker Embellished Skater Dress is a great deal. They didn’t have my size in the store!

I have the Abercrombie version of this off the shoulder dress. Can’t go wrong at this price. Get a few colors!

Sweat shorts are a fixture in my wardrobe and these Chaser Love Shorts are perfect.

And last but certainly not least, MY FAVORITE JEANS are on sale! I didn’t see them in the store but found them online. 7 For All Mankind jeans fit me PERFECTLY, making them worth every penny. When your jeans are more comfortable than sweats or leggings, you know you have found a winner. I’ve been planning a post about these jeans for a while, just haven’t gotten around to it! They are life changing as they are SO COMFORTABLE and sit so well in all the right places. Not to mention, they look really nice 🙂

I’m the worst blogger because I never think to take proper pictures but I have worn my favorite jeans in some posts lately. I have both the ripped style and this other pair in a dark denim with no rips.  It’s all about 7’s B(air) denim – so super soft!

If you have any questions about the Nordstrom sale or need my help making your decisions, let me know!

[bctt tweet=”Recent meals on the blog today plus my picks for the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale on the blog today! #wiaw #pizza #salad #Nordstrom #halfyearlysale #acaibowl ” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Are you an açaí bowl fan? Which toppings do you get?

Favorite brand of jeans that fit you the best lately?

 

 

 

What I Ate On Sunday

 

Let’s take a look at what I ate on Sunday – It’s been a while since I had a full day of meals to share!

Breakfast:

If you only knew how excited I was to think to take this early morning breakfast picture! While it used to be routine for me to remember to take food photos, it’s not anymore. I fell out of the habit, especially with breakfast!

So lucky for us (totally sarcastic tone right there), I remembered to grab my phone to take a picture of my early morning breakfast. Long time readers are aware of my two-part breakfast routine – pre and post run.

This is my usual pre-run bowl of oatmeal mixed with some frozen blueberries, cinnamon and peanut butter. I eat the same oatmeal with blueberries and peanut butter post-run, with the addition of Skoop protein powder and lately, diced apple too.

On this particular morning, I didn’t run but I always eat the same two-part breakfast anyway, a few hours apart. My stomach is a creature of habit.

Lunch:

Ah Red Mango, my former favorite lunch! Another habit I fell out of over the last few years was my weekend Red Mango parfait. Frozen yogurt, especially Red Mango, was the best lunch ever in my eyes for so long! Until it just wasn’t.

A few weeks ago I had a Red mango parfait but I didn’t love it as much as I once did which definitely made me sad. I think I wrote about it– hold on–yes, here’s the post.

On Sunday while shopping the mall, I was in the mood for my parfait so I gave it another go. This time for a change, I swapped out the blueberries for sliced bananas and it was the greatest decision ever.

Layered between the original yogurt was strawberries, bananas, dark chocolate chips, and Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola. < – You like how I know what type of granola Red Mango uses?!

Snack:

Unpictured are the baby carrots with Trader Joe’s chunky guacamole that I snacked on in the afternoon before making dinner. Whenever that chunky guacamole is in the house, I end up snacking.

Dinner:

This was the night that I experimented with the new Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi! After testing out the cook-the-gnocchi-in-a-pan method to see that it worked out well, I was like – okay, now what? I was not in the mood for adding a marinara sauce so I threw my stir fry vegetables into the pan along with chick peas and Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki. DINNER.

Since Sunday I did cook the cauliflower gnocchi again in a marinara sauce – it’s very good! I still say the cauliflower gnocchi has no flavor but good texture so it just takes on the flavors of whatever you cook with it.

Dessert:

As basic as it gets at night when I have dessert at home….

[bctt tweet=”What I Ate on Sunday on the blog today! #wiaw #traderjoes #redmango #frozenyogurt #cauliflowergnocchi” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Anyone try the Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi since we last spoke about it?

What used to be your favorite lunch and now you rarely eat it?

Dinner At Zuma (WIAW)

 

I haven’t done an actual What I Ate Wednesday post in a while now! Today seemed like a good day to link up with Laura at Sprint To The Table. 🙂

Breakfast:

I tried so hard this time around to capture pictures of my pre and post workout breakfast. Really, I tried.

My mornings always start out like the image below. A nice mug of coffee next to my laptop. I always drink a big glass of water with a drop of apple cider vinegar mixed in when I first wake up – we can be sure I never think to take a picture of that though, I’m still half asleep.

As I sip my mug of coffee, I work on my blog, usually text with Heather simultaneously about clothes or whatever else since we are both up early. Once I finish my coffee, I make a small bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and peanut butter, also known as pre-workout breakfast.

Of course I missed the picture.

Then my son is up and out the door for school, I either run or do a killer Pure Barre workout, shower and prepare another bowl of oatmeal. This is where I totally failed AGAIN. Missed the picture! I’m a really boring breakfast person at this point in my blogging life though as I eat the same oatmeal every day anyway. It’s basically this blueberry pie protein oatmeal recipe, only lately I add diced apples too.

Snack:

I bought mandarin oranges for my son but I eat them too when they are in the house. Mandarin oranges are cute, taste good, and provide a nice dose of Vitamin C and Vitamin A.

Lunch:

Typical lunch salad on rotation right now featuring a mix of the Trader Joe’s veggies & greens salad mix with the addition of a Dr. Praeger’s veggie burger, chick peas, avocado, and roasted string beans.

Dinner:

I had a delicious dinner at Zuma!

Zuma is a modern Japanese restaurant in the city and has been on my radar of restaurants to try for a while. Zuma has a bunch of locations worldwide, including one in Las Vegas. It was on my maybe list for Vegas but we ultimately chose to hold off for the city location here instead.

There was a lot on the menu to choose from and they recommended that we order a few things to share. From what I recall, each part of the menu is cooked in a separate kitchen or something like that.

We chose the rock shrimp tempura on the right and on the left, I believe it was a salmon and tuna tartare which came with those flat bread chips.

Plus a few sushi rolls which I forgot to get pictures of until after we were already in the middle of eating.

My only problem with Zuma is that they don’t have those crispy rice tuna things,  also known as my favorite appetizer. Koi, my other favorite Japanese spot does have them though, and Koi is only a few blocks down from Zuma. We passed Koi on the way to Zuma so now I want to go there again really soon. I haven’t been to Koi now in a few years I think! Funny, both Zuma and Koi have Las Vegas locations too.

Did I not have dessert? I don’t think I did because I don’t see a picture here in my phone. Hmm.

[bctt tweet=”What I Ate Wednesday on the blog today including dinner at Zuma! #wiaw #Zuma #NYCeats #NYCfood #sushi #eats” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Do you have a favorite Japanese restaurant? What do you like to order?

What have you been eating for breakfast lately?

Anyone else drink Apple Cider Vinegar in their water in the morning?

Normal Hungry Person + Recent Eats

 

My appetite has been A DREAM without running. You have no idea! As a runner, I have gotten so used to being that person who NEEDS TO EAT AND EAT NOW. I don’t feel that way right now which is making this little break from running so very enjoyable. It’s nice to be a normal hungry person. You know, like someone who feels their hunger approaching but can survive without eating for a bit? Someone who can eat and feel satisfied, rather than wonder what’s next AND can go a bunch of hours satisfied without even a stomach rumble.

Did I ever expect this sudden little running break to sort of feel as though it’s changing my life and perspective on my workout routine? Not at all! It’s starting to seem like dropping the dumb shampoo bottle on my foot last week was meant to happen. As if it was a little way to jolt me into shaking up my routine and help me to see that perhaps it was time for a change. Obviously I will know more about what I mean here when I start running again but I really think that I’m going to be running less. My foot feels fine and looks a million times better but I may wait until I go back to the doctor for the re-check just to ensure that it’s safe to run. The thought of causing a stress fracture scares me.  

Anyway! Time to talk food. 🙂

Breakfast still means oatmeal which I always fail to photograph. It’s still looking just like this! A little bit of oatmeal with blueberries, cinnamon, and peanut butter before a Pure Barre workout followed by more of the same after I take a shower. I do add diced apples and Skoop Protein Powder to my post-workout bowl lately though.

I’ve been eating a ton of colorful bowls loaded with veggies and plant-based proteins for lunch…and dinner.

This bowl in particular contains quinoa, lentils and avocado seasoned with the everything but the bagel sesame seasoning from Trader Joe’s. This seasoning, especially when combined with avocado, just makes for an amazing flavor/texture combination without much work.

So this meal looks like a mishmosh of food but it was actually really good. It’s basically another veggie bowl with quinoa involved BUT it also includes a mashed up Dr. Praeger’s veggie burger. I was feeling a need for texture and the veggie burger served the purpose. This bowl was made more Italian style by cooking it with Italian seasonings, tomato paste, and parmesan cheese. I can’t recall if I added tomato sauce too. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.

Here’s a giant salad using that crispy and crunchy salad mix from Trader Joe’s which I mentioned in Monday’s post. I doctored it further with spinach, avocado, chick peas, and roasted green beans. This salad mix will be a regular purchase I think for a bit, I do really like it!

Oh! And I made wild salmon for dinner again. I made a basic maple dijon marinade but Lauren sent me a recipe for an even better looking marinade that I hope to try next week! When I do, I will certainly give you the details.

My all-time favorite snack which I got away from for a while is now really back in my rotation.  Granny Smith apples with peanut butter and chocolate chips.

[bctt tweet=”I feel like a normal hungry person plus recent eats on the blog today! #hungry #runner #WIAW #recenteats #traderjoes #oatmeal #veggies #salad” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Would you call yourself a normal hungry person or a runner’s version of a hungry person?

How quickly does your appetite respond to running more/running less/rest days?

 

Dropped Something On My Foot + Monday’s Meals

 

Oh, hey. It’s Wednesday again, just like that! I guess after this week we will start to feel like we are in the routine swing of things? Gosh I get so thrown off and out of routine after these holiday break weeks.

So I didn’t get a chance to tell you that I very randomly dropped a full bottle of shampoo on the top of my right foot while in the shower on Saturday after my long run.

I KNOW.

How ridiculous?

This wouldn’t be a big deal except I dropped the shampoo bottle on my foot and I need my foot to run, among other important life things.

I get really nutty and protective when it comes to my feet and take major precaution to keep them safe and uninjured so dropping the shampoo bottle on the top of that really delicate part of my foot was really not okay!

I felt it on occasion throughout the day on Saturday and but then I actually forgot that the whole thing happened — until Sunday morning during Pure Barre in my living room when I looked down at my foot and saw it was swollen and bruised. Luckily, it didn’t hurt AT ALL but the sight of it and fear of causing real damage by running on it is what has kept me from running since Saturday.

I’m not one of those runners. You know, the runners who run through anything when they should probably back off? That’s not me. I run a whole lot but I know when I should take precautions. A swollen top of foot should probably not be run on, just in case. Why risk creating an injury when you can just take a few days to rest?

Sometimes I think that I shock people with my ability to back off easily. For example, my dad’s first response was, “you better not run on it!” – like hello – I know that! I am not stupid. In fact, I am pretty sure my foot is fine even today but mentally I am so scared of hurting it that I’m taking my foot to the doctor later today just to be super safe and told when it’s okay to run on it.

I totally understand that runners are stubborn. I am stubborn by nature. Stubborn is not the same as stupid. You may think you aren’t injured and something is just a little bruised. But see, running creates stress and impact and that could present a whole new host of problems that may not have occurred had you just let something rest and heal for a few days.

Okay, enough about my foot, time to talk food.

Monday turned into a rest day from everything which was really nice if you want to know the truth. I thought who I was resting my foot, sleeping a little late and staying in my pajamas until lunch time.

Breakfast:

Since I slept late and didn’t workout in any way, I only had one breakfast. Weird concept for me! I like having a normal person appetite. 🙂

I found interest in bananas again by the way! It happened so randomly but one day last week I was like, oh I think I am in the mood to buy bananas again!

Peanut butter and cinnamon were added to the oatmeal.

Lunch:

I realized I hadn’t made a Dr. Prager’s Veggie Burger in a while! I paired it with roasted broccoli, spiraled carrots and the colorful carrot coins.

Dinner:

Look who cooked and ate wild salmon! My son actually likes salmon so I figured I should buy it for a change as a dinner option. I’m not a huge salmon eater but the health benefits of wild salmon are pretty spectacular so I decided I should eat it too. It made him happy actually that I was eating what he was eating so we decided salmon is a dinner I should make once a week.

Do I love salmon? I wouldn’t call it my favorite but I’m going to try to make it a favorite since wild salmon is really a nutritional powerhouse with benefits like rich in B vitamins especially B12, anti-inflammatory Omega 3’s, good source of protein and vitamin D, potassium, selenium, cancer-fighting properties, improves blood flow which can prevent blood clots, and strengthens the immune system.

Remember, I’m in no way vegan and I’m not classified as a vegetarian either because I will eat fish from time to time. 

Dessert:

Apple with peanut butter and chocolate, just like old times.

On a side note, I updated my Mac to High Sierra. Since then, I am having issues with my photos. Anyone else? I can’t save photos unless they are coming from my phone photo library via the cloud and any editing I do on my laptop won’t save either. Please let me know if you are experiencing this too!

[bctt tweet=”I sort of hurt my foot plus Monday’s Meals on the blog today! #WIAW #runner #footissues #recenteats #wildsalmon #eats #drpraegers #oatmeal #restday” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Ever drop something on your foot? What did you drop and did you hurt yourself?

Are you a wild salmon fan? How do you like to cook it?

 

Monday in Meals (WIAW)

 

 

It’s already Wednesday! I’m sort of wishing the week away because I am just so ready for the weekend to be here already. I honestly keep thinking we are a day ahead of where we actually are though in the week, probably because I was out Monday night. This always happens to me when I go out on a Monday night! I get so thrown off but it was worth it this time because I was out enjoying really good food. 🙂

Let’s discuss Monday in meals!

Breakfast:

Um, how AMAZING does this English muffin with peanut butter look to you? Such a simple meal but always so delicious and satisfying especially with a mug of Yogi Kava Stress Relief tea. Great flavor combination!

Also, I am back to buying Thomas’ Whole Wheat English muffins. While I do still enjoy the Trader Joe’s British Muffins, I like the crispness of Thomas’ English Muffins and don’t really care much about the ingredients list as I used to. With a quick glance, it’s good enough.

Lunch:

I made a big salad with roasted sweet potatoes (both roasted Japanese sweet potatoes and regular sweet potatoes) plus a mix of quinoa and lentils that I cooked in the morning to have for the week.

Dinner:

Monday night I had a really good dinner at Allora.

We started with this margarita pizza. I could eat pizzas like this every day for the rest of my life and never complain once that I am bored with my meal.

I forget exactly what was in this salad but I do know it was a shaved Brussels sprouts with kale salad and I really liked it.

Oh, plus this order of Brussels sprouts which were cooked with bacon and I didn’t complain or say please make them without bacon. I just ate around it.

Crazy milkshakes are still a thing. Remember when I went to Black Tap for the crazy milkshakes last year? More and more restaurants are making them now too.

While this milkshake isn’t as large or as over the top as Black Tap, I enjoyed eating all of the toppings and never opened the straw to drink the actual chocolate shake. I bet that’s what happens to people who order these crazy milkshakes a majority of the time.

Linking up today with Sprint 2 The Table for What I Ate Wednesday!

[bctt tweet=”Monday in Meals! #WIAW #milkshakes #pizza #food #salads ” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Have you ever ordered one of the crazy milkshakes that have been trending? Did you like it? What were the toppings?

What have you been eating for breakfast lately?

I Ate Organic Rotisserie Chicken – Here’s What Happened

 

I ate organic rotisserie chicken! As a vegetarian, I had a craving for chicken and needed to do something about it.

So I have something BIG to discuss regarding food today. While today’s post mostly shows what I ate on Monday, the real story stems from Sunday night.

I ate CHICKEN. Rotisserie chicken. Organic rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods. By choice. Because I woke up Sunday morning and decided I was going to buy an organic rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods and eat it for dinner for the first time in six years.

Yeah.

Now, I have gone through these organic rotisserie chicken phases in the past where I think maybe I should have it for dinner. I even get myself to Whole Foods to buy the chicken and then, no pun intended, I chicken out.

But this time, I went through with it.

Why? That’s a great question. I don’t totally know why. I can’t even say it was a craving. It was just on my mind like hey, let’s have a simple, old school dinner. Maybe you need more protein and should eat chicken like you used to. If you don’t like it, it’s not like you have to ever eat it again. You can easily go right back to eating a mostly vegetarian diet except for those random nights of sushi thrown in making you a pescatarian.

I think a large part of why I ate the rotisserie chicken was simply because for a brief second, it’s what I wanted to do.

So how did it go? Well, I took a bite and it tasted just as I remember rotisserie chicken to taste. In that moment, I think I liked it just how I liked it for the first 33 years of my life that I ate it before switching to a meatless diet.

On my dinner plate along with the rotisserie chicken was roasted vegetables, the same type of meal I would serve myself for years in the past.  

What I noticed:

Contrary to popular belief, I was not immediately more full by eating a major increase in protein at dinner in comparison to my usual meals. It took a few hours before I realized I was still full, rather than get a little bit hungry. I had no digestion problems that I noticed, maybe just a heaviness in my stomach that felt a little different than usual. I did wonder several times why I ate the chicken though! Like what happened? Did I really just do that? Did I really want to do that? I don’t know that I want to do that again.

Monday morning:

I had my usual small bowl of oatmeal before I ran but then once I was running, I HAD ZERO ENERGY. It was so extremely noticeable to me that I couldn’t understand what was wrong. I didn’t run on Sunday so what the heck?

Oh right, I had chicken for dinner with vegetables and no carbs.

In fact, I had a salad for lunch on Sunday followed by chicken and vegetables for dinner.

I need carbs to run and feel like myself. It was so oddly crazy for me to experience such a level of muscle lethargy. I can barely explain this or put it into the right words. I made it three miles before heading home. At first I didn’t understand what was wrong! I’ve been running solidly for about six years now with a meatless diet, a diet focused heavily on carbs.

I get dead legs on occasion but this was different. It took a few minutes for me to realize I should think about what I ate the day before! With the way my usual diet is, it’s very rare that I need to think about what I eat in terms of running. I have a tough stomach and always eat enough carbs to fuel my workouts so this was almost funny to me to see how quickly a lack of carbohydrates can affect me. And, it all made sense to me all over again as to why I never could run very much before I switched to a meatless diet. I remember so clearly the initial switch away from high protein to meatless and in turn, higher complex carbs! Running and muscle recovery/strength was amazing!

Of course I understand completely that this was NOT because I ate chicken. It was because I didn’t include carbs with my meals which is exactly what I used to not do in the past. I easily could have made a potato with my dinner Sunday night but I honestly was not even thinking about it or worrying about balancing my meals. I was simply eating what I felt like eating at the time.

Will I eat chicken again? I don’t plan on it. I’m over it.

Am I sorry that I ate it? No, not really. It’s totally okay to eat something if I want to try eating it.

I tried chicken for dinner after six years and now feel satisfied with my attempt. In fact, I think it helped me ever so quickly to remember why I LOVE and appreciate the usual nutrient-dense meatless foods that normally eat.

Believe me, I was super excited for my post-run oatmeal (in a jar!) after that terrible run. I even added banana to the usual mix. Give me all the carbs please.

After breakfast, I made a big pot of quinoa to have for lunches and dinners this week. Since quinoa is a plant-based complete source of protein, it’s something I want to make sure I am a little more mindful about eating more often. Usually I get lazy and just open a can of organic chickpeas rather than easily boil a pot of quinoa. Quinoa is so easy to make and I always have it in the pantry!

Big salad for lunch which also included some roasted sweet potatoes. I had a giant sweet potato to use so I used half for lunch and would use the other half with dinner.

Side note: Instead of combining let’s say chickpeas and brown rice in order to reach a complete source of plant-based protein, you can simply eat quinoa which is already complete with the essential amino acids. Make sense? See, I still know this stuff even though I don’t talk about it much. 🙂

For dinner I used more of the quinoa and the rest of a giant sweet potato for combined with roasted broccoli, peppers, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on top.

I’m even back to warmed apple slices with peanut butter and some chocolate at night as a snack!

I’ve talked about my meatless diet in the past and why I suddenly switched my diet six years ago. It all stemmed from a random stomach virus and was not at all thought out or planned in advance. I go into detail about it in this post which includes the many health benefits I noticed from eating a meatless diet, in case you are interested in reading it.

Meatless isn’t for everyone or it may be for you for only a short period of time. Or maybe you are meatless a majority of the time. I think everyone has to customize their diets based upon their own needs and beliefs and remember it’s okay for it to change. It’s also okay to think about changing and then not change or just try a switch to see if you want to change.

Like my friend said, I didn’t sign an agreement when I chose to stop eating meat and poultry. At any time, I am free to taste or try something again and then choose to not eat it in the future. I think that’s a huge point to remember and one that I never thought about until she said it.

[bctt tweet=”I ate chicken for the first time in years, here’s what happened #ontheblog #WIAW #organic #organicchicken #wholefoods” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Any other meatless eaters out there? Have you thought about trying a piece of chicken or meat or anything recently?

 

 

Recent Meals + Pizza Bagel Craving

 

 

Last week I was trying to decide if I should highlight a full day of meals OR a variety of recent meals in Wednesday posts. Based on the comments and my opinion thrown in too, I have a feeling I will continue to rotate between the two ideas, depending upon the week. How does that sound?

This week I have a whole bunch of recent lunches and dinners to discuss!

I hadn’t had a Subway veggie sandwich in a while so this really hit the spot. It’s all about the extra pickles and honey mustard!

My son is always pushing for Moe’s or Chipotle for dinner during the week even though he knows I am cooking. It’s a daily battle that I forget to talk about, probably because I try really hard to tune it out. On occasion, he succeeds and we end up at one of the restaurants. Often I just get something for him but sometimes I get myself a vegetarian salad too.

I think I prefer Chipotle over Moe’s even though I order the same salad loaded with all the vegetarian toppings at both places.

Although, Moe’s has the salsa bar and Chipotle doesn’t so there’s one plus on the Moe’s side of things.

How yummy do the toppings for these vegetable fajitas look?! I told you recently that vegetable fajitas are my most favorite Mexican restaurant order and this plate did not disappoint.

Here’s a Maoz salad while at the mall. Their roasted broccoli is the best.

I made this big salad for lunch the other day. It included the roasted cauliflower I bought at Stew Leonard’s (which I mentioned in Monday’s post)  so it had a lot of extra flavor tossed in. I really liked it!

I thought to buy red peppers and onion the other day at the grocery store in order to make a version of  this recipe for vegan sloppy joe’s that Laura and I enjoyed during our recipe challenge last year. It’s not like I actually looked at the recipe again though, I just combined what I thought I remembered it involved and then added it to a bowl with roasted sweet potatoes and parmesan cheese.

And then there was my pizza bagel craving which I woke up with the other morning, knowing I wanted it for dinner. I bought whole wheat bagels which crisp really nicely when making a pizza bagel.

After the pizza bagel craving though, I realized I should buy my favorite Food For Life Ezekiel Sandwich buns again. I love to eat them opened-faced with melted mozzarella and tomato. This is now the meal craving of the week, for lunch or dinner. It’s a nice twist actually on the pizza bagel!

I plan to pop in tomorrow for a quick Thanksgiving post but just in case I don’t and/or just in case you are traveling, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

[bctt tweet=”Lots of recent meals to share today on the blog! #wiaw #food #maoz #salad #veggies #moes #chipotle #pizzabagel” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Are you cooking anything? Please tell me what you are making!

 

Yesterday’s Meals + Tomato Soup + Bored With Dinner

So I have a question before we take a look at what I ate yesterday. Do we prefer seeing a full day of meals (as in, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert) or do we prefer when I round-up a whole bunch of recent eats from the last few days? Please let me know as I try to decide which way to continue to go with What I Ate Wednesday style posts. 🙂

Breakfast:

Do I even need to tell you again how obsessed I am with all things Henri Bendel at the moment? I want everything. EVERYTHING. It’s one part loving their girlie bags and accessories, one part their marketing strategy that always makes EVERYTHING look so darn appealing. Like now I am trying to rationalize needing this tote. I think I need it. 🙂

Anyway, the usual breakfast is going on here. Pre-run oatmeal with cinnamon, chia seeds and blueberries (peanut butter added after taking the picture) and coffee.

Post-run oatmeal which really looked like the above with the addition of diced apples. No picture.

Lunch:

I’m currently on a soup kick, which if you know me, is a little bit weird. I am NOT a soup lover.

However, I do make an exception for tomato soup. I love tomato soup (although I have to be in the soup mood to eat it).

At home, I LOVE the Trader Joe’s Organic Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup (low sodium). When I am out, I do like Panera’s tomato soup which I ordered yesterday with a salad for lunch while working.

Dinner:

I’m bored lately with dinner at home. Actually, it’s not that I’m bored with dinner in terms of eating, it’s that I don’t feel like thinking about it, going food shopping and then cooking.

This is a plant-based power bowl of sorts involving roasted Japanese sweet potatoes, lentils, quinoa and the julienned root vegetables from Trader Joe’s. Easy enough.

Dessert:

I had one of those mini dark chocolate bars again from Trader Joe’s plus some slices of a honey crisp apple dipped in the jar of peanut butter.

[bctt tweet=”What I Ate Yesterday! #WIAW #Panera #Soup #Powerbowl #oatmeal #bendelgirl” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Are you a soup lover? Which soup is your favorite?

Who else is bored with dinner? What do you do when that happens?

Anyone having problems logging into the blog? Please let me know, it seems a bit slow and yesterday I am aware there were times that no one could log in. Thanks!