I’m back to feeling healthy this week after a couple of home-cooked meals! I had the perfect balance of healthy + delicious for breakfast, lunches and dinners. Great workouts too! On the work front, I led a Flash Seminar at UVA on Real Food and the future of food and enjoyed talking to a round table of students (including several blog readers!) It was a busy week for Great Harvest too – Gluten Exclusion bread is nearly ready for sale!
It’s strange that this week I felt like I had zero cravings for sugar. I had almost no desserts and didn’t need that sweet bite after lunch or dinner. No idea what changed, but I’m hoping I just broke the habit : ) I don’t often have full desserts, but in the past I’ve been in the habit of seeking out just a bite or two of something after a savory meal. It’s crazy to me the ebb and flow of cravings.
Breakfast #1: Fried egg, Chocolate Babka bread (I froze some after Valentine’s and used it up!) and half a banana with sunflower butter.
Pancake day! I made a huge batch to last us a few days. Mazen loves pancakes. I always use our Great Harvest mix now because the flour is super fresh and the mix hearty as can be. I topped these with some coconut, chia seeds, sunbutter and syrup.
Leftover ‘cake with mocha almond butter and scrambled eggs. Mazen ate the same breakfast : )
For a special treat I made a batch of baked banana oatmeal this week hoping M would love it. The first day he did – gobbled it down. But he didn’t want to have anything to do with the leftovers. Bummer! But that means more for me : )
I added some sunflower butter after this photo because the square was lonely, and had some of Mazen’s pear.
Leftover bake + sunbutter + half a mango! My dad taught me how to eat a mango this way – cut off one of the cheeks and dip in with a spoon. Why didn’t I think of that before?
Hi friends! I’m an orange-eating turtle!
S: Socaaaaa! Sadly we lost (by a lot) but that usually means lots of running. I am just loving playing on a team again!
M: Off completely + snow day.
T: 30 minutes on the stairmaster (the most I’ve done in a while!) plus an upper body workout of Erin’s. I did the complete workout on my own and was proud – and tired – by the end.
W: Athletic conditioning! After 2 relatively easy days I was ready for a hard + sweaty workout again.
TH: Simple cardio day at the gym – 26 minutes on the stairmaster and 20 minutes on the elliptical plus a little big of stretching.
F: Gym with mom! I had personal training at 9:30 and mom and I did cardio together too. Erin said my back and shoulder muscles are really showing definition – how encouraging! I’m enjoying training so much.
S: With a high of 70* I knew I wanted to take advantage of the grandparents and go for a solo run. I covered about 4 miles – lovely! I also am not sure of my current schedule of back-to-back athletic conditioning and soccer days. The two are both hard on the body, so I might pull back on Saturdays a bit – not sure!
Loved this – pita topped with jalapeno hummus, olives, greens and yogurt. Orange on the side.
Well hello there Mr. No Bull Burger! You must have been hibernating all winter. In fact, he was – in my freezer. I thawed out a pack and forgot how good this lunch was! Served with some of that delicious Dutch gouda and some cinnamon chip Gluten X bread – yum!!
This leftover plate of mash taters, roasted cauliflower and pesto fish were sooooo good at noon!
The next day I topped a salad with the last of our fish along with cheese, pineapple, tomatoes, and Irish Soda Bread! Delish combo.
And finally – leftover cottage pie over a salad!
This was our Sunday night dinner – roasted herby organic butcher chicken with Brussels sprouts and pesto rice. For the rice I used my rice cooker and added a cube of our homemade frozen pesto. So easy to pack it with flavor!
Our Cook Smarts menu for the week:
M: Deconstructed Shepherd’s Pie with yogurt mashed potatoes. Loved this comfort food! Especially the yogurt-mashers. Plain yogurt on potatoes is one of my favorite ways to eat them.
T: Tilapia en Papillote with artichoke-spinach pesto and roasted cauliflower. WOW this meal got 4 stars!! I loved the pesto. I haven’t been the biggest fan of artichokes and Cook Smarts has really opened that door for me. This pesto was awesome! The fish was cooked in parchment and the cauliflower roasted with walnuts, parmesan and lemon. Matt proclaimed it the perfect cauliflower technique.
W: Baked risotto with artichoke pesto and peas and massaged kale salad – green!!
TH – mom and dad’s visit!
The Little Boy Who Ate His Green Beans. He ate 2x this much!
Happy April!
Kaila @healthyhelperblog! says
Love that simple pita bread lunch! Pita is such a fun alternative when you’re tired of normal bread! I love it with a greek turkey burger and tatziki sauce! 🙂
Jackie says
Happy April indeed! Let’s hope the east coast is done with winter!
Rebecca says
That photo of Mazen in the turtle suit eating an orange is adorable!!
Melanie says
So funny about the oatmeal. My 18-mo old daughter is the same way. This weekend she ate mini bell peppers for the first time – was devouring them. I was thrilled (so much vitamin C!!) since this is a kid who has a very limited repertoire of veggies so far. Plus, perfect (read: non-messy!) on-the-go snack anytime. The next day, though, nothin’. And she has shunned them every meal time since. Crazy kiddos. I’ll just keep introducing stuff and hope it all clicks at some point.
Your menus looks fantastic, Kath. You are so inspiring! You’ve definitely inspired me to have more hearty and wholesome lunches. I’m lucky enough to be a SAHM so I have time to invest in lunch, but just wasn’t doing it. Now I am! And trying to eat greens with lunch and dinner. Not only is it better for me but it feels more civilized. 🙂
I’ve really enjoyed finding your blog and getting to know you through your writing! Happy Spring!!!!
KathEats says
Thanks! And so typical with the peppers. They are so unpredictable!
[email protected] says
The pesto fish sounds gorgeous! As new fish fanatic…still on the salmon kick, I tried hake and wasn’t the biggest fan, what is tilapia similar too?
KathEats says
It’s a pretty neutral white fish. Similar to catfish and like a thin cod.
Jaclyn says
Perhaps an unexpected comment but I want you to know how healthy you look! Positively glowing. Thanks for being a role model of balanced health for your readers.
KathEats says
: ) Thank you
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats says
I’m sorry, chocolate babka bread!?!? That looks amazing. And I’m getting to try out cook smarts, so I can’t wait to see what’s in store! I’ve been traveling this past week and this upcoming weekend so hopefully next week I’ll be able to try out some meals!
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More says
YUM! I love pesto fish! I made some pesto salmon several weeks ago and I think it’s time I make more, I’ve been dreaming of it ever since. Such a simple but incredible dinner!
Marisa @ Uproot from Oregon says
Great idea to put the pesto cubes in the rice cooker! I need to try that!
Sars says
Just curious, you had chocolate bobka, cinnamon chip bread, syrup, Irish soda bread and yet you don’t consider those sweets? What do you feel is different about eating chocolate cake for breakfast but not for after dinner dessert? So maybe it’s not that your craving didn’t happen, it’s that you fulfilled the cravings at breakfast, right?
KathEats says
Maybe so.
Sars says
Honestly, I kinda thought this was an April Fool’s Day joke post, how you wrote that this week you had zero cravings for sugar and then BAM there’s a picture of chocolate babka, maple syrup, cinnamon chip bread! 😉
Melissa says
That doesn’t look like too much sugar to me (and balanced out with other healthy stuff!)–I think not craving desserts is still a triumph! 🙂
Michele says
I didn’t think it was a joke but I thought it was kind of funny ! 😉 That bobka bread looks amazing!!!!
lisa says
Hi Kath,
I wonder if all the sugar you get early in the day (at breakfast) is what usually sets off your later in the day cravings for a dessert or nibble of something sweet. I know that’s how it works for me, the longer I can avoid sugar in any form the better chance I have of not feeling a strong urge for a “treat”. This means a protein filled breakfast is usually on the menu, much as I would love to pig out on pancakes, chocolate bread, and the like.
KathEats says
Well this week I didn’t have cravings and had more sugar than normal at breakfast, so maybe it’s the opposite!
lisa says
Good point and just goes to show that everyone’s body works differently.
KathEats says
: )
Dana @ Conscious Kitchen Blog says
The pita lunch looks awesome! I could see myself adapting something like this and using it as a weekday work lunch.
Teresa Harris says
Hi Kath! Thanks for your post. I hope one day to have you in GRIT at Albemarle Square on Saturdays at 9:00am. Erin can tell you all about it! Just had my NoBull burger with an egg on top – delicious!
KathEats says
Sounds fun! The Square is a hike for me though 🙂
Emma says
That pesto fish looks delicious! We just had roasted cauliflower last night with veggie and chicken wraps. Is that two kinds of cauliflower? One looks roasted and one doesn’t.
KathEats says
Nope just one. Which doesn’t look roasted? You might be looking at the smashed potatoes?
Michele says
Have you ever tried a mixture of mashed cauliflower and potatoes together? I make it and add some greek yogurt to it. It’s delish!
Emma says
Oh! I’m sorry. I WAS looking at the potatoes. Their chunkiness fooled me! I love a homestyle smash like that.
Jessica says
Spring is coming!
Elizabeth {Positively Healthy} says
Great meals this week! Loving the baked oatmeal, it reminds me to add this to my breakfast! Great job on the workouts as well! 🙂
blueberry says
Hi Kath,
Can you do a post on freezers and how you keep it organized and keep things from getting freezerburn? I’d so appreciate it! I can’t figure out how to use my efficiently for bread and desserts and such.
KathEats says
The key is getting all oxygen out so wrapping in saran wrap or foil and then putting in a freezer safe bag would provide the most air tight protection.
Foodandfarm says
Is the artisan cheese shop in the same marketplace as the organic butcher?
KathEats says
No the Organic Butcher is in Main Street Market and the cheese shop is in the 400 Preston Building inside of Milli Joe Coffehouse
Livi says
Your pesto fish looks amazing!
Marie @ My Personal Finance Journey says
I’m jealous with the foods you prepared, I hope I would have that healthy food too! Last week I was starting to lessen my pork intake and more on vegetables and fish. I started to go jogging every 5:00 A.M. for about one hour, but this past few days I stopped because of the bad weather outside.
Emily @ It Comes Naturally Blog says
Wow, they look like amazing meals – I’ve definitely got some meal inspiration from this post!
simou says
nice recepies i like them
thank you so much you giving me some great idea