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Recent Eats (Featuring One of My Favorite Dinner Recipes Ever!)

Hi there. Tuesday was a solidly good day over here. It started with lots of snuggles and then I got Finn off to preschool at 9a. It was the first Tuesday in almost three years that I didn’t have to be at Vibes to teach at 9:30a. It’s still surreal that the studio is closed and weird to get used to this new schedule. I didn’t have downtime in that window today as I had a dentist appointment to have a filling replaced. My dentist is right next to the gym (I just rejoined Metro…more on that soon!) so I stopped in for a workout after the appointment.

The rest of my day looked like grocery shopping (had to take advantage of the 50% off pizza deal at Whole Foods since today was the last day), computer work, a long chat with my dad, teaching yoga and taking yoga. I am ending the day with leftovers, puppy time and feet up on the couch while I write this post.

Next up, some recent eats!

BREAKFAST

pumpkin oatmeal

Finn is a big fan of oatmeal but very quick to notice if I switch up my go-to recipe. I was able to sneak some pumpkin into a recent batch and he was none the wiser. Big win! 🙂 I stirred a little cottage cheese into mine (but left it out of his). Also fun to note is that he is still LOVING peanut butter and eats it by the spoonful. Makes my heart so happy.

purple smoothie bowl

I also rarely take photos of smoothies and smoothie bowls these days but I make them 2-3 times a week. I have smoothie bowls and pour a little of the smoothie in a cup for Finn. He likes them pink or purple. It’s one of the only ways I can get him to do fruit. I always sneak some spinach or riced cauliflower in there too.

LUNCH

quinoa and greens salad

Salad with mixed greens that I tossed in avocado oil, lemon juice and sea salt and then topped with quinoa, tomatoes, salt and pepper pistachios, avocado, turkey, feta and hummus.

whole foods turkey and wild rice soup

Creamy turkey and wild rice soup, toasted sourdough with salted butter, grapes and half a slice of leftover pumpkin pie. This soup was from Whole Foods and while I typically love their soups, I found this one to be a little too salty.

turkey bagel sandwich

Turkey, provolone, lettuce, tomato, spicy mustard and mayo on a sun-dried tomato bagel. I need more bagel sandwiches in my life.

Whole Foods red lentil dal and spinach soup

Red lentil dal with spinach soup from Whole Foods with toasted and buttered sourdough and a Lucy Rose apple. I first tried these apples last year and was excited to find them again and Trader Joe’s recently. They are pretty to cut into and taste great too!

spinach and quinoa salad

One more salad with chopped spinach, quinoa, hardboiled eggs, tomatoes, avocado, hearts of palm, salt and pepper pistachios, feta and caesar dressing. Finished it off with a drizzle of avocado oil and a big crank of sea salt. This was good but I am way more in a soup + toast place right now with lunches.

quiche and salad

Quiche is one of my favorite foods ever. I love it so much. This was a spinach and cheese from a little restaurant in Kingsport that I like to have lunch at when I am there for yoga teacher training. On the side was their “kitchen sink” kale salad.

DINNER

spaghetti squash casserole

I made my pizza-inspired spaghetti squash casserole for the first time in many months and it totally hit the spot. I swapped the marinara sauce for Trader Joe’s Autumnal Harvest pasta sauce and topped it all off with turkey pepperoni and cheese. On the side was some roasted brussel sprouts. I have eaten this for dinner three out of the last four nights. I am not the biggest fan of leftovers but this is one of those dishes that is even better the second time around!

pasta dinner

Here’s another dish with the Trader Joe’s Autumnal Harvest pasta sauce. This was Pasta Garofalo Fusilli Pasta with Whole Foods Italian Chicken Sausage, Whole Foods frozen Provencal Blend and freshly shredded parmesan. I made this on one of those “National Pasta Day” holidays. I made it up as I went and it was really tasty!

kingsport thai food

Thai takeout in my hotel room in Tennessee. This was fresh ginger, black mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers, onions, scallions and cilantro with tofu (ate with white rice) and fresh rolls with soft rice paper wrapped with shrimp, green apple, fresh pineapple, lettuce, cilantros, celery, carrots and a sweet chili sauce. I did not care for the pineapple in the rolls but other than that, they were good!

turkey chili

Lastly, turkey chili from the freezer topped with cheese, hot sauce, plain greek yogurt, avocado and saltines.

ETC

carrot cake cupcake

A carrot cake cupcake. The frequency of my carrot cake eating has been down lately. Need to turn that around. 😉

Reese's take 5

Definitely been getting my hands into Finn’s Halloween candy and I’m definitely a fan of Reese’s Take 5. The pretzels are so crunchy!

QUESTIONS

Do you still do smoothies/smoothie bowls once the weather cools down? 

Would you pick a soup + toast or salad lunch once the weather cools down? Any favorite fall/winter-friendly salad recipes to share? 

Have you tried the pizza-inspired spaghetti-squash casserole recipe yet!? (YOU MUST!)

{ 3 comments… add one }
  • Rachel November 5, 2021, 11:02 am

    I’ve been eyeing that spaghetti squash casserole recipe for a while now, you’ve convinced me to give it a try! I love the idea of a fall/pumpkin sauce version.

    My favorite thing for fall/winter salads is to keep a big container of pomegranate arils to sprinkle on top!

  • Moni November 6, 2021, 3:15 am

    Hi Jen 🙂
    I don’t eat raw foods in winter and fall. It makes my hands and feet cold and my stomach dosn’t love it either (but it also gets really cold where I live so that might not be the case in NC).
    I will try the spagetthis squash casserole this weekend and I am super excited! One thing Germany is thoroughly lacking though is pasta sauce with pumpkin! The pumpkin obsession is sadly a very american thing 🙁

  • kristen November 8, 2021, 8:29 am

    I love a soup and salad combo. On the go I like Panera squash or tomato soup with their Fuji salad. I like the salad so much I recreated it at home, so good! I get the dried apple slices at Trader Joe’s. Also, I have been making salads with romaine and Whole Foods Cole slaw mix. I like the crunch from the cabbage. Also been adding roasted unsalted peanuts to my salads and loving it lately. I am always up for smoothie bowls no matter the season. I still make your lemon Greek yogurt muffins and they are a huge hit in my house. We freeze them so we can enjoy them anytime.

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