Join Nutrition Specialist Andrea for a lowkey week and some meal planning! Andrea talks green juice, açaí bowls, granola, and more…*
*Disclaimer: Please be aware that this post contains content that some readers may find triggering. This is not intended to be dietary advice. Anything written here is not necessarily appropriate for the Enara program you are on or consistent with your particular goals.
Welcome to my food diary!
Saturday
Today was a lazy day. My boyfriend (Barry) and I have been in Mexico City the last few weeks, indulging in a lot of delicious (and some decadent) restaurant meals, and walking a lot to see the city. We are exhausted! Now that we are back in California and finally have a weekend with zero plans, we are indulging in a much needed day of rest. For a late breakfast/brunch I sauteed some TJ’s soyrizo with onions and red bell pepper and fried an egg to put on top. After napping and watching tv all day, Barry and I walked to a nearby açaí place. I got a beautiful and refreshing açaí bowl with berries, nuts, almond butter, and toasted coconut flakes. I don’t have açaí bowls often, as they can be pretty high in sugar, so this felt like a nice treat. Luckily they had a low sugar açaí option so I opted for that. Tonight we met up with a few friends for drinks and Mexican food (no I am not sick of Mexican food after being in Mexico the past month). I had two mezcal margaritas, chips and salsa, and split fajitas with B. I must say the refried beans at this place were to die for. I’m still thinking about those beans several days later…
Sunday
Another lazy morning binge watching a show on Netflix. Barry made us a lovely breakfast of yogurt parfait with berries & granola and some eggs with veggies (I taught him well). There are a few nut/ seed-based, low sugar granolas that I like to use occasionally (Nana Joe’s Paleo Sunrise or From the Fields). I typically do just a couple of tbsp to add a sweet crunch to the unflavored yogurt. For lunch we went to a little café and both got chicken Caesar salads and a green juice (spinach, lemon, turmeric, apple). I asked to share the juice to lighten the sugar load for the both of us but he politely declined so I drank only half. Prob not worth the 10$.
Luckily I had groceries left from my TJ’s haul last week. For dinner I thawed some salmon filets, made a salad with some mixed greens and Green Goddess dressing, roasted some broccolini, and split a frozen TJ’s gf mac and cheese between the two of us. For dessert I had some of the TJ’s frozen chocolate covered strawberries. I won’t make a habit of buying these because I found myself going back to the freezer periodically for more until they were gone (luckily there aren’t too many servings in a package). They are quite tasty.
Monday
I always start my day with coffee with a splash of unsweetened almond milk. My weekday breakfast is typically one of two options. Today I had oatmeal with blueberries and some nuts. Typically breakfast is between 10-11 am and I eat it while I’m working. Lunch was leftover ½ piece of salmon and broccoli and an orange. This was a light lunch because it was all I had left in the fridge, and all I had time for as I had back to back calls from 12-6pm. After my calls ended I was extremely hungry so I had an apple and some almond butter to tide me over before dinner. Barry and I did a 20 minute pilates video workout then met up with friends for dinner. We shared appetizers of roasted brussels sprouts and garlic parmesan chicken wings. I had two cocktails (should have stuck to one because I did not sleep well this night). Dinner was a branzino that came with cauliflower mash and garlic spinach. I was very happy the portion was enough for two because I was able to save half for lunch the next day (thankfully because I have no groceries left). The four of us shared a berry crisp for dessert.
Tuesday
This morning was coffee and some yogurt with strawberries, low sugar granola, and nuts for breakfast. These are items I always make sure to have on hand (along with oatmeal and eggs) so that I am able to eat the same breakfast consistently and don’t have to think about it. Today was another extremely busy work day where I was taking bites of food in between calls/meetings. Lunch was my leftover branzino and spinach. After work calls I had to rush to the Apple store for a Genius Bar appt, so I ate an orange to tide me over. Next to the Apple store was a frozen yogurt place that looked enticing. I was hungry and after my appointment I wanted to walk around this outdoor mall some so I got a small frozen yogurt with some grated dark chocolate and coconut on top. It honestly wasn’t very good (I got cherry flavored because I wanted to get the one that was the least sweet). I ate half of it just to put something in my stomach then threw it away. I had Barry marinade/prepare/cook the chicken while I was at the Apple store and when I got home I took care of the rest of dinner. We had my favorite Greek chicken, which is in the Stepwise Cookbook (go make it)! Barry forgot to add the olives and tomatoes so I sauteed those separately in a pan with some olive oil and feta, and added canned chickpeas for fiber. Roasted some cauliflower and voilà! It was tasty.
Wednesday
My late breakfast was yogurt with berries, nuts and granola. Today was another hectic day of work and meetings. Thankfully I happened to make it to Trader Joe’s in between work calls to get a couple more things I would need for dinner. For lunch I sauteed two TJ’s chicken and jalapeno sausage links which was satiating for a couple of hours. I became quite hungry by 4 pm. I had an orange quickly before my therapy call. Afterwards I made dinner for Barry and his coworker. I have been thinking of those refried beans since Saturday… and I had some frozen lean ground beef in the freezer, so I decided to do tacos. We had tacos, salad, roasted yellow squash, and refried beans. I had one glass of rosė.
Thursday
Today I had the same breakfast and for lunch I had some taco/bean/veggie leftovers on top of a salad with TJ’s green goddess dressing. Tonight I will have the Greek chicken leftovers from Tuesday with some cauliflower that I will roast and probably more salad. I roast cauliflower at least twice per week. I like to season with a lot of garlic powder, salt, pepper, and roast at 425 for 30 minutes or until browned and crispy. It’s SO delicious and goes with everything… This week of cooking is typically how I think of and execute meal planning. I have my staples for breakfast. Lunch is usually leftovers on a salad. And I plan to cook 2-4 dinner meals that will give me leftovers. Thanks for following along for my busy and boring week! ?
