subscribe to receive my posts, special offers, recipes, and workouts.
≡ Menu

Recent Eats: Beginning of My Second Trimester

Happy Sunday! I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving week. I’m picking up my nieces in Georgia on Tuesday or Wednesday to spend the holiday with us and I just registered for the big turkey trot here in town. It’s a 5-mile race which I think is the perfect distance for a Thanksgiving morning run! I’ll be teaching an early hot yoga class before that so I’ll be all warmed up and ready to go.

Also, I did all of my grocery shopping last night so I’m ready to go on the food front. I’ll be contributing the turkey and gravy as well as a dessert to Tanner’s family’s spread. My plan is to start the gravy today by making the stock. This is the recipe that I’ll be following. (Turkey and gravy.)

There has been so much blog news going on lately with my pregnancy announcement and Oregon trip that I haven’t shared a recent eats update in a long time! Here’s a compilation of the things I’ve been eating in the first couple weeks of my second trimester!

BREAKFAST

Plain full-fat greek yogurt (Fage is my favorite brand), Purely Elizabeth granola, dried cranberries, defrosted Trader Joe's semi-frozen figs and Wild Friends peanut cashew super butter.

Plain full-fat greek yogurt (Fage is my favorite brand), Purely Elizabeth granola, dried cranberries, defrosted Trader Joe’s semi-frozen figs and Wild Friends peanut cashew super butter.

Apple cinnamon egg white oatmeal wth cashew butter.

Apple cinnamon egg white oatmeal wth cashew butter. Recipe on Instagram.

Two eggs scrambled in salted Kerrygold butter, a pumpkin date muffin with Wild Friends peanut cashew super butter and fruit. 

Two eggs scrambled in salted Kerrygold butter, a pumpkin date muffin with Wild Friends peanut cashew super butter and fruit.

Green smoothie (that is a beautiful shade of purple thanks to all the berries!) with Purely Elizabeth granola. Recipe for smoothie on Instagram.

This is a blend of oats, chia seeds, mashed banana, raisins, cinnamon, almond milk and just a tiny bit of yogurt topped with pumpkin butter and Wild Friends peanut cashew super butter. 

I have been OFF overnight oats for years but they’re making a second trimester comeback! This is a blend of oats, chia seeds, mashed banana, raisins, cinnamon, almond milk and just a tiny bit of yogurt topped with pumpkin butter and Wild Friends peanut cashew super butter.

As you can tell I am having a moment with the Wild Friends peanut cashew super butter. It is SO GOOD. Remember, you can get 15% off your Wild Friends order this month with code pbrunner15. 

LUNCH

sourdough, butter, fig preserves, avocado, pepper jack, cheddar and thinly sliced apples. 

Oh I have so much lunch deliciousness for you. Grilled cheese has been a staple in my diet in the second trimester so far. This one has fig preserves, avocado, pepper jack, cheddar and thinly sliced apples.

Salad with arugula, strawberries, artichokes, toasted nuts, dried cranberries and avocado with homemade dijon honey balsamic dressing. 

Salad with arugula, strawberries, artichokes, toasted nuts, dried cranberries and avocado with homemade dijon honey balsamic dressing.

Soup + salad. I made a batch of my favorite butternut/apple/carrot/ginger soup last week and enjoyed so many bowls of it. Served here with massaged tuscan kale with quinoa, avocado and Tessemae’s green goddess dressing.

Leftover pasta with a kale salad with tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, parmesan and simply caesar dressing. 

Leftover pasta with a kale salad with tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, parmesan and simply caesar dressing.

grilled cheese with apples, avocado and fig preserves.

More grilled cheese.

More soup and salad. This salad was kale, hardboiled eggs, avocado and pumpkin seeds.

DINNER

Sweet potato noodles with an almond butter red curry sauce and shrimp. 

Sweet potato noodles with an almond butter red curry sauce and shrimp.

Chickpea and butternut squash stew over quinoa with arugula, plain greek yogurt and homemade naan

Chickpea and butternut squash stew over quinoa with arugula, plain greek yogurt and homemade naan. It’s been years since I’ve made homemade naan and it was so tasty. I will definitely be baking it again soon. It’s so simple. Here’s the recipe I used.

Panko crusted caesar chicken with roasted kale and tomatoes and roasted potatoes. 

Panko crusted caesar chicken with roasted kale and tomatoes and roasted potatoes.

Chili-lime cod over cilantro-lime rice with green beans.

Chili-lime cod over cilantro-lime rice with green beans. I posted the loose recipe on Instagram.

Oh look, more grilled cheese! This one with cheddar, avocado and bacon. 🙂

Fall-inspired one-pan roasted inner. Butternut squash, carrots, chicken-apple sausage, brussel sprouts, apples and onions.

Fall-inspired one-pan roasted inner. Butternut squash, carrots, chicken-apple sausage, brussel sprouts, apples and onions. When I served it I also made a honey mustard/apple cider vinegar sauce to spoon over it. Yum, yum.

Meyer lemon marinated chicken with shredded brussel sprouts and leftover rice. 

Meyer lemon marinated chicken with shredded brussel sprouts and leftover rice.

wild Alaskan salmon with steamed broccoli and sweet potatoes.

And last…wild Alaskan salmon with steamed broccoli and sweet potatoes. The salmon was so super easy. I just seasoned it with lemon pepper and salt and then made a mix of brown sugar and dijon to go on top. Baked at 400 for about 12 minutes.

That was a lot of food photos! I hope it gave you some good meal ideas. 🙂

What are you cooking for Thanksgiving? 

Did you crave more carbs when you were pregnant? 

What breakfast are you loving now that the weather is cooler? 

{ 5 comments }

Recent Posts…

Reading, Watching, Listening (Spring 2026 Edition)

Reading, Watching, Listening (Spring 2026 Edition)

Happy weekend! Another week in the books! I got three runs in (6.5 miles, 5.5 miles, 5.5 miles) and I have a trail run planned for tomorrow. Total weekly mileage will end up around 30-35 miles depending on if I go for 13 or 17 tomorrow! I’m 16 weeks out from the Golden Ultra so [...]

{ 7 comments }
Life Lately: 8 Years Old, A New Piercing, Trail Training and More

Life Lately: 8 Years Old, A New Piercing, Trail Training and More

Happy Memorial Day Weekend. It’s a very rainy one here in Charlotte and while I am a little bummed not to be spending the weekend in Florida with the fam or by the pool at our swim club (just opened for the season!), I’m also welcoming a slower pace and time at home. It’s been [...]

{ 2 comments }
24 Things I’ve Made for Lunch Recently

24 Things I’ve Made for Lunch Recently

Hi and happy May! As we roll into the first full week of a new month, I have almost a month’s worth of lunch ideas for you. It’s a great mix of sandwiches, bowls, salads and wraps. I hope you enjoy and find some inspiration for your midday meal! Open-faced chickpea salad sandwich on toasted [...]

{ 4 comments }
Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon (Race Recap + First Time Pacing + Update On My Hip)

Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon (Race Recap + First Time Pacing + Update On My Hip)

I ran the Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon on April 18 to pace a longtime client and friend in her first half marathon and had the best day out there! 2026 CHARLOTTE RACEFEST HALF MARATHON This was half marathon number 12 for me and a really fun, enjoyable and rewarding one! I started training my friend [...]

{ 1 comment }
15 Things I’ve Eaten for Dinner Recently

15 Things I’ve Eaten for Dinner Recently

YOU GUYS! It’s been SIX MONTHS since I wrote a recent eats post! (insert face screaming emoji here) These have been a mainstay on my blog for years. It’s probably my longest-running content series of all time. I have received countless comments and messages from people over the yeas about how useful they find them [...]

{ 4 comments }
Life Lately: Spring Edition

Life Lately: Spring Edition

Hello my friends! I hope this finds you enjoying all of the beauty and fresh starts that spring has to offer (and not too much of the sneezing and wheezing). Life has been good over here. I’m very much enjoying the longer days, cool mornings and warm afternoons and gorgeous blooms. Spring is so lovely [...]

{ 2 comments }
Moab Run The Rocks Race Recap (3 Day Stage Race)

Moab Run The Rocks Race Recap (3 Day Stage Race)

I cannot believe it’s been nearly a month since I completed Moab Run The Rocks! It’s a three-day stage race in Moab, Utah that’s put on by the same race organization, TransRockies Rockies Race Series, that I did my six-day Colorado race with back in August. TransRockies truly excels when it comes to planning and [...]

{ 2 comments }