Happy Friday! I’m drinking coffee and a green smoothie while I write this post and then it’s off to the yoga studio to teach my seventh and final class of the week. It’s been such a great week of teaching! I have a little April Fools joke planned for my class. I teach hot power yoga but I’m going to go in and tell them that I thought we’d do something different today and do a Yin practice. I’ll explain to them that I’ve picked about eight postures that we’ll hold for 4-5 minutes each and ask if they are up for trying it. Either that or I’ll tell them we’re starting class with 100 chaturanga push ups…haha. 😉

Finn and I have a fun weekend ahead of us so I’m going to get this post and my class done so we can get to it! I’ve got a round up of what I’ve eaten the last two weeks for ya. While my last recent eats post was heavy on the lunch ideas, I’d say dinner is where this one shines!

BREAKFAST

Here’s the aforementioned green smoothie and coffee. My coffee is Bulletproof’s Original Ground Coffee and has Bulletproof Collagen Protein mixed in. My smoothie is a blend of frozen spinach, peaches, strawberries, bananas, raspberries, a Medjool date, plain Greek yogurt, almond butter, oat milk and coconut water.

I have been loving this plate for a different breakfast. Toasted wheat sourdough (I didn’t make it, Verdant Bread did) with salted Kerrygold Butter, hardboiled eggs (I ate the first one while I was making my plate) and fruit. On this day it was a sumo mandarin.

LUNCH

Alllll the salads lately.

This is my salad bowl of the week. I’ve eaten it three days in a row and it’s 100%. Arugula tossed in olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt and topped with a grain (I’ve done couscous and farro – farro was the best!), avocado, feta, pistachios, beets, deli chicken, tomatoes, dried cranberries and a lemon tahini dressing.

I don’t have exact proportions but the dressing was a mix of tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, coconut aminos (or soy sauce), maple syrup and water.

Another salad with same arugula base, the Minute microwaveable brown rice & quinoa cup that I blogged about last week, deli turkey, toasted pecans, avocado, cherry tomatoes, feta, dried cranberries and poppyseed dressing.

Chopped spinach tossed in lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt and topped with the same brown rice & quinoa cup above, deli turkey, white beans, pepitas, avocado, feta, cherry tomatoes, dried cranberries and poppyseed dressing.

Last one! Same mix as above but no grains and different greens. Highly recommend white beans on your salad instead of chickpeas as a way to change it up. They are so creamy and delicious!

DINNER

Beef stroganoff with steamed peas. Beef stroganoff is one of my favorite childhood comfort foods. I pulled some ground beef out of the freezer last weekend and couldn’t get beef stroganoff off my mind so I made a big pan of it on Monday and have been eating it all week. My family has always done ground beef instead of strips of beef in our stroganoff. This was a great dinner and the leftovers reheated very well. Loosely based on this recipe. I made a several changes, the most notable being that I added fresh mushrooms when I was sautéing the onions and ground beef. Also subbed chicken bone broth for the beef broth, added a bit of dijon mustard to the sauce and additional spices.

Seared and baked chicken thighs with roasted sweet potatoes and mushrooms and sautéed shredded brussel sprouts with bacon. I seasoned boneless, skinless chicken thighs with Dizzy Pig Rubs and then seared them in a skillet and finished them in the oven. Need to post my shredded brussel sprouts recipe soon because it’s melt in your mouth good.

Pasta skillet with fusilli, chicken sausage, artichoke hearts, Whole Foods Provencal Frozen Vegetable Blend (very good and flavorful), marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella and shredded parmesan.

Loved this dinner. Seared tuna rice bowl with an Eat Smart Stir Fry Fresh Veggie Blend (added some frozen edamame), avocado and sriracha aioli. I cooked the veggies with Trader Joe’s Soyaki sauce. FYI: the tuna was frozen sushi-grade that I got from ALDI. They have some great frozen seafood options!

Of course I had to get a veggie burger bowl in there. Steamed rice topped with shredded cheese, hummus, tzatziki, roasted broccoli with the Harissa Tahini I blogged about last week, an air fried veggie burger and more tahini squeezed on top.

Sushi dinner out at New Zealand Cafe. If you’re in the Charlotte area, this is a great hole in the wall spot for take out or dine in sushi. Fresh, flavorful and prices are good.

Lastly, a family meal from YAFO that I picked up for dinner with Dorie and Bevin. If you’re in the Charlotte area, this is a great deal. For $38 you get your choice of protein, two sides, greek salad, rice, a tub of hummus and four sauces. The portions are generous. This fed three adults and one child with leftovers.

That’s a wrap for me! Time to teach yoga. Enjoy your Friday friends!

QUESTIONS

Do you add anything to your coffee? 

Best thing you cooked or ate for dinner this week? 

Did you pull or fall for any April fools jokes?