Hi, hi! I’m here to share quite the round up of recent eats before I head off to Charlotte Yoga to teach a double header. I’m teaching my regular Thursday morning class in addition to covering the class before for a fellow instructor.
I have 22 different meals in this post, the bulk of which are lunch and dinner. I hope it provides you with some good inspiration for your own meals!
BREAKFAST
Frozen banana, spinach, cauliflower rice, peaches, mangos, pineapple and strawberries blended with coconut water, fresh ginger and a medjool date. It’s rare that I do a green smoothie without nut butter and greek yogurt but this was a refreshing blend that will be on repeat for the upcoming warm weather months.
Bagel from Poppy’s Bagesl with salted butter and cream cheese. One half was honey wheat and the other half was cinnamon raisin.
LUNCH
Romaine, arugula, seven-grain blend, cherry tomatoes, hearts of palm, feta, dried cranberries, avocado and pepitas with poppyseed dressing.
Ham sandwich with avocado, havarti, sweet pickles and mayo on honey wheat. Mango and chips on the side.
Sourdough toast with butter, mashed avocado, sauerkraut and a fried egg.
Arugula tossed in olive oil, lemon juice and salt and topped with couscous cooked with steamed broccoli, beets, tomatoes, dried cranberries, avocado, pepitas and feta with poppyseed dressing.
Broccoli cheddar quiche with a side salad, sliced avocado and grapes.
Same sandwich as above, swap turkey for the ham!
Couscous with steamed broccoli, leftover diced chicken, avocado, feta and hummus.
Whole wheat sourdough toast with mashed avocado, sauerkraut and a jammy egg.
Arugula with olive oil, lemon juice and salt topped with a seven-grain blend, chopped turkey, roasted sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, avocado, pepitas, feta and dried cranberries with poppyseed dressing. Loved the combo of the turkey and roasted sweet potatoes on this one.
And one lunch out from Happy + Hale in Durham! This was arugula, mint, quinoa, beets, black beans, sweet potatoes, pepitas, avocado, lime and lemon tahini dressing. I’ve been to Happy + Hale three times now and haven’t ordered anything other than this bowl because it’s so good.
DINNERS OUT IN DURHAM
Since I ended lunch with a Durham restaurant meal, I’ll start dinner with the three dinner’s I had out with my mom while we were in Durham a couple of weeks ago for clinic at Duke.
The first night we walked down to Thai at Main Street. We started with fresh rolls and steamed dumplings.
I saw so many positive reviews for the drunken noodles so I had to try them. Not my normal Thai order but they were good. I had tofu as my protein.
The second evening we found ourselves at Bleu Olive at the suggestion of a blog reader and Durham resident. It’s a family-owned Greek spot. I love Mediterranean food so was looking forward to dining at this restaurant. We kicked things off with the dip sampler. It had tzatziki, feta dip, babaganoush and hummus.
I chose the fish special for my entree. It was steelhead trout over creamy parmesan orzo and topped with a mixture of red peppers, capers, fennel and spinach. This was really delicious. I would absolutely return to Bleu Olive.
The final evening we had an early reservation at Vin Rouge for French fare. The reviews for this restaurant were great and it was difficult to come by a reservation – even on Sunday/Monday/Tuesday. I had mussels and fries and dipped lots of the crusty bread in the mussel broth as well.
Overall, we had a great three nights of dining in Durham. More than anything, I was thrilled that my mom was up for being out and about. <3
DINNERS AT HOME
Romaine with crispy chicken nuggets, tomatoes, carrots, avocado, shredded cheddar and a mix of Trader Joe’s Cilantro Dressing and ranch dressing with some Frank’s Red Hot.
Steamed rice, shredded rotisserie chicken, shredded cheddar cheese, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted mushrooms, steamed green beans and a mix of hummus and Cedar’s feta dip.
Same dinner, a little simpler. Steamed rice, shredded rotisserie chicken, steamed green beans and hummus and feta dip with a little hot sauce.
Grilled filet with sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions. Salad and baked potato on the side.
Sticky jasmine rice with seared ahi tuna, edamame, avocado, seaweed salad, cucumbers and wasabi aioli. I haven’t had this dinner in way too long and it will be making it back into regular rotation.
Parmesan couscous cooked with steamed broccoli, air fried veggie burger, shredded cheddar, avocado, hummus and a fried egg. Everything finished off with some Frank’s Red Hot. This dinner looks like a hot mess but it’s one of my go-to comfort dinners. Love the combo of the grain + veggie burger + egg with some kind of cheese, veggie and spread.
Last one is a delicious one! I wandered into the kitchen with minimal inspiration on Saturday night and was pretty proud of what I put together! I sautéed a few thin-sliced chicken breasts with Dizzy Pig’s Mediterranean-ish rub. On the side I sautéed zucchini, cherry tomatoes, sweet onion and kalamata olives. I served the chicken and veggies over rice with some Greek giant beans in a tomato broth that I got at a local greek market. They were sooo good and added so much to this dish. I will definitely be buying these again and have also learned that Trader Joe’s carries them too. A little bit of Cedar’s feta dip to finish the dish off but if you don’t have the feta dip it’s also great with a sprinkle of plain feta. I did that with the leftovers because I was out of the dip. Highly recommend this dinner combo!
Alright, I’m off to tackle the day. Have a good one, friends!
QUESTIONS
What is your favorite type of cuisine to go out for?
What are some of your favorite spreads for topping bowl meals with?
What did you eat for dinner last night?
Where do you purchase your ahi tuna? I get nervous about eating raw fish but LOVE LOVE LOVE ahi tuna.
This was sushi-grade ahi tuna from Whole Foods. Sushi-grade tuna has generally been frozen for a set number of hours to kill off any potential parasites. When I am buying ahi tuna in the grocery store, I always try to make sure it looks fresh and that the color is good.
All of the meals look delicious. My favorite type of food is Middle Eastern food!
The green smoothie looks refreshing. How much frozen cauliflower rice did you use? I’ve been wanting to try adding it to my smoothies.
I don’t really measure it out. It’s pretty forgiving. Maybe around 1/3-1/2 cup?
So glad you got to enjoy some lovely meals out with your mom!
Your photography looks really good here, everything looks so colorful and appealing!
1. My favorite cuisine to go out for is Persian/Middle Eastern.
2. Tzatziki!
3. Last night I had polenta with soft boiled eggs and some air fried broccoli.
Sounds like you and I like many of the same things. Yum to everything on your list. And thanks for the idea of using polenta as a bowl base!
Hi Jen. I love your “eats” posts and you’ve given me new ideas for lunch and dinner. The last picture with the giant beans in a tomato sauce is my favorite! Looks so good. You’ve posted about going to the local Greek store and I know the cans you’re talking about. Makes our life easy, I grab the Greek dolmathes in the can and they are so good. You might also like the jar of taramosalata spread on bread/crackers. If you ever want to try to make the giant beans here is an easy recipe. I’ve also made them with just olive oil, s&p, oregano when I don’t feel like the tomatoes. ?
https://www.hearthealthygreek.com/greek-gigantes-plaki/
Thank you so much for these suggestions and for the recipe link!!!