It’s the most wonderful time of the year…TOMATO SEASON!

Tomatoes have started to make their appearance at my favorite famers’ booths at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market and I’m SO EXCITED! Juicy, flavorful tomatoes might be my most favorite of all the seasonal produce.

I’m also growing tomatoes on my back patio this year in four different containers. I have two Defiant tomato plants and two sun gold cherry tomato plants. The cherry tomatoes seem to be doing really well – just waiting for them to turn from green to orange – but TBD on the bigger guys.

I really enjoy the process of planting them and watching them grow. Finn also loves to pick the tomatoes when they’re ripe! I’ll take all your best tomato-growing tips if you have any to share.

I also planted banana peppers, shishito peppers and herbs. The shishitos have started producing and we picked a few on Friday! All herbs are doing well.

Okay, let’s transition into some recent eats. In today’s post I’m sharing breakfast and lunch (with 8 different salad combos!) and then I have tons of great dinners from the last month or so to share with you in the next one.

BREAKFAST

Dave’s Killer cinnamon raisin bagel with butter and cream cheese, scrambled eggs and fresh fruit.

Brekki bowl with Brekki original flavor pre-made overnight oats, fruit and almond butter.

Another Brekki bowl but this one with the strawberry flavor and add Purely Elizabeth berry crisp granola.

I recently received a selection of Brekki ready-to-eat oats to try out. I really enjoyed the different flavors and the cups were delicious on their own or turned into a breakfast bowl. I would buy Brekki at the store!

LUNCH

Dave’s Killer plain bagel with cream cheese, avocado and smoked salmon. Apple on the side.

Avocado toast on whole wheat sourdough (from the farmers market – I’ve yet to tackle whole wheat sourdough!) with hardboiled egg, cherries and blackberries. I ate a second piece of toast with salted butter and fig preserves.

TOMATOES ARE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bought my first tomatoes of the season at the farmers market last weekend and immediately came home to make “tomato toast” with them. I love layering toasted sourdough, Duke’s mayo, fresh basil, sliced tomatoes and a heavy sprinkle of sea salt. Hardboiled eggs and cherries on the side.

Homemade sourdough (first batch trying my dad’s higher hydrations/stretch and fold method and I’ve got some room to improve but texture and flavor was great!) with mayo, spicy mustard, avocado, turkey, tomatoes and pepper jack cheese. Watermelon on the side.

Whole Foods Pacific Protein blend, hardboiled eggs and cherries. This was a random lunch but this frozen blend is SO good and truly packed with protein to be a meatless option.

8 SALAD COMBOS

Time for the salad extravaganza! This is a good one because we’ve got toppers ranging from canned tuna to jammy eggs to tofu to grains. I definitely have a “kitchen sink” kind of mentality with salads and find that a lot of various things work together well in salad form. I typically aim for the following qualities in my salads:

• protein
• crunch
• cheese
• nut
• savory/sweet balance
• avocado…always!

Salad with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, strawberries, pepitas, avocado and dried cranberries. Topped with a can of Blue Harbor tuna and poppyseed dressing.

Another tuna-topped salad with arugula, cherry tomatoes, avocado, blueberry goat cheese, dried cranberries and pepitas. The arugula was tossed in lemon juice, olive oil, honey and sea salt.

I like the chunky/flaky texture of the Blue Harbor tuna. I first learned of this brand 4-5 years ago through an influencer campaign and I’ve bought it ever since!

Mixed greens, cucumbers, quinoa, mixed nuts, blueberry goat cheese, dried cranberries, avocado, carrots, hardboiled egg on the jammier side. I tossed the mixed greens in lemon juice, olive oil, honey and sea salt.

Arugula, chickpeas, hearts of palm, tomatoes, dried cranberries, radishes, pepitas, avocado, couscous and poppyseed dressing.

Arugula, chickpeas, deli turkey, pepitas, strawberries, hearts of palm, radishes, avocado, dried cranberries and homemade honey dijon balsamic.

Green leaf lettuce, smoked salmon, fresh mozzarella, avocado, blueberries, dried cranberries, carrots, chickpeas and poppyseed dressing.

Mixed greens and spinach tossed in lemon juice, olive oil, honey and sea salt with couscous, tofu, blueberry goat cheese, carrots, cucumbers, dried cranberries, pepitas.

Mixed greens tossed in the same lemon juice combo, cucumbers, carrots, bacon, jammy egg, avocado, dried cranberries and blueberry goat cheese.

The end! I’m now off to get a run in and the conditions out there are pretty brutal. It’s already 83 degrees at 10a and the humidity is 70%. I’m aiming for 8-9 but we’ll see what happens once I get on the road. I’ll be happy with anything over 6 today. Summer running is so challenging. I can’t believe I’m about to start marathon training in the heat of the summer! Ahhhhhhh….

QUESTIONS 

If you could only pick one…what is your favorite of all the seasonal produce? (Apple season, tomato season, winter squash season, etc.) 

What have you been eating for lunch lately?

Have you tried Brekki or any of the ready-to-eat refrigerated overnight oats?