WIAW: Pregnancy Edition

It has been a seriously long time since I've done a WIAW post - they are always fun (for me. for you?), but to be honest, I generally think about doing one in the morning, take a picture of my breakfast, and then completely forget about the idea for the rest of the day. Not so great for blogging. Oops.

I actually followed through all day yesterday, and documented a day's worth of eats. It's nothing overly exciting, but it is a good representation of how and what I'm eating at this stage of pregnancy. I have reached a very sad point: my stomach just really can't hold the amount of food that it's used to, and my eyes are always bigger than my stomach these days. I'm having to do a little adjusting to incorporate more smaller "meals" throughout the day rather than trying to eat "three squares." And I'm always walking a fine line between hungry and overly stuffed. Awesome!

Anyway. Let's take a peek at the day!

Breakfast

The usual these days - yogurt and granola, with my first giant water bottle of the day. I've switched to Activia in an effort to keep things, ahem, moving. Pregnancy problems. Awk-ward.

Morning snack

Snacks are a pregnant lady's best friend. I travel with a lot of food these days, especially when I leave the house for work and know I'll be gone for 12 hours. It is always better to have food and not need it, than need it and not have it. I have learned that one from experience.

We had a small celebration for a co-worker who won an award, and there were several boxes of doughnuts calling my name. I managed to stick with half an Entenmann's pumpkin doughnut and some fruit. The doughnut was exactly as good as I imagined it to be.

The banana and PB is what I packed myself for my morning snack, but ended up not eating thanks to the treats. I love those little Jif Natural to-go cups, but they are really hard to find in stores! The only place I can get them is Target - not Wegmans, not Food Lion, not BJs. I stocked up last time I found them.

Lunch

I was starving at lunch time, and really glad I had brought an extra-large serving of leftover spaghetti and meatballs. I packed the rest of the pan into that container and thought it seemed like a bit much, but by the time I had lunch, I was ready for it. I ate slowly, and cleaned my plate.

Afternoon snack

It was pouring rain when I got home from work yesterday, and nothing sounded more appealing that a cup of hot chocolate. I made it with 1% milk and added some mini marshmallows. Because duh.

A few handfuls of yogurt-covered raisins accompanied my hot chocolate... I got these at Trader Joe's last week and could probably eat the whole box in one sitting. It's taking major self restraint to not demolish them.

Dinner

I was on single-girl dinner duty last night, and nothing sounded appealing - that is happening more often lately. I reach the end of the day, and food just doesn't sound good anymore, plus I'm usually still full from whatever else I've eaten all day. But, if I don't eat anything, I wake up hungry in the middle of the night. Like actual stomach-growling hunger. Best to avoid that.

I went with an apple and some Trader Joe's Collier Welsh cheddar cheese. It was just enough to keep the stomach grumbles at bay, and light enough that I didn't end up feeling ill afterwards. I mixed a little apple juice into my water - that's a trick I use when plain water just starts to get old. A little juice usually helps out.

I told you it wasn't super exciting - but it's what life looks like these days! Although, if I'm being honest, there is usually a lot more chocolate involved. What can I say? The baby likes it. :)

WIAW: not the norm

It's been a hot minute (do people still say that?) since I participated in What I Ate Wednesday - I can't even remember the last time I linked up! However, I am feeling a bit off my blogging game (a few family tragedies and unexpected travel will do that to ya), so I figured that a "routine" post would be a good way to keep easing back in.

If you've never heard of WIAW, check out Jenn's blog and read all about it. It's a lot of fun, and I've found a lot of great bloggers through this link-up. Join us!

On to the good stuff. Here are my Tuesday meals!

Breakfast was semi-standard. I had my usual coffee and yogurt, but no banana. C did the grocery shopping for me on Sunday after my race, and I forgot to put bananas on the list. I'm missing them a bit this week!

Lunch was not the norm. We ate leftovers on Monday night, and I realized that it left us with nothing for lunch on Tuesday. Our fridge is looking a little bare between my being gone last week and not wanting to do a big shop before a holiday weekend, soooo the pickin's are slim for lunches. I ended up at a local deli with my boss, and grabbed this awesome sandwich. Seriously - this thing hit the spot. This deli carves your meat fresh to order, so I watched them slice my turkey right off the bones the moment I ordered. It is delicious! I added spicy mustard, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and alfalfa sprouts, and it hit the spot. There is nothing like a good sammy!

When we got home, I was feeling like my sugar was a little low, so I grabbed a couple few several handfuls of trail mix before yoga. This particular bag of TM seems really raisin heavy. Why are they never heavy on the M&Ms?! Sigh.

Creepy finger veins and all...

Dinner was a change from the norm, too. Our freezers (we have an indoor and outdoor fridge/freezer) are packed to overflowing. Since we generally cook fresh foods, I rarely use the "in case of emergency" things I've collected. Therefore, we've got frozen TJ's entrees, frozen pizzas, and containers of soup, stew, and chili just taking up space. It's time to use some up! So dinner last night was chicken taquitos from TJ's, which C paired with some Spanish rice and doctored-up retried beans (some cheese and hot sauce goes a long way for those!). It was a delicious quick, semi-homemade meal, and there was enough leftover for lunches today. Winning!

We ate dinner while watching the finale of The Voice - we actually kept up with the whole season this time around! The there finalists were some of my faves, and I was happy to see any of them win. However, the results were not what I was expecting! I thought for sure that Christina would come in first. Color me surprised, America. I enjoyed the show, though - there were some really great musical performances and guests. I will miss it...  but my ALL TIME FAVE show is coming back soon: So You Think You Can Dance! HOORAY!

So tell me...

• Are you a sandwich lover like I am? What's your favorite combination?
• How do you keep inventory of what's hidden in your freezer??
• Did you watch the finale of The Voice? Were you surprised / happy / mad about the results?

WIAW: just use your imagination

I fully intended to participate  in WIAW this week... and then yesterday kind of got away from me. Whoops! I managed to get myself together about half the time, so you're just going to have to trust me on the rest. Considering this was the day after a snow day, we're lucky I had myself together at all. These random days away from work (while appreciated) totally throw my schedule off. But it's already Wednesday! So yay.

Thanks for the link-up, Jenn!

Breakfast was standard - banana and coffee. C was in charge of a Target run last weekend, and he came home with a treat: Archer Farms Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee K-cups! This is one of our very favorite coffees, but I generally try to get K-cups for a bit cheaper than Target sells them. Well, when you send your husband off shopping alone, who knows what gets thrown in the cart?! So I've been enjoying my coffee a little more than usual - it's so good!

My mid-morning snack was pretty standard, as well: yogurt wolfed down between meetings.

Totally failed to get a picture of my lunch, but that is probably for the best - it definitely wasn't pretty. I had some leftover spaghetti squash from dinner on Monday, which I mixed with basic marinara, and some tuna salad that I threw together with red onion, pickle, Greek yogurt, and a little light mayo. It was good, but I felt obligated to eat alone in my cubical because it was so stinky! Ahh... work lunches.

I don't usually do this, but I had to give in to a treat going around the office:

[source]

My curiosity totally got the best of me - and it was worth it, because that cookie was delicious! It really did taste like birthday cake.

I forgot to get a picture of my pre-gym snack, but I ate a Weight Watchers string cheese in the car on the way to yoga. My tummy was rumbling when we got home from work, and I needed something to hold me over! The cheese did the trick while I vinyasa'd for an hour.

I got home to a delicious dinner - salsa chicken burritos! Our crockpot totally kicked the bucket a few weeks ago (RIP, old friend) and I'd been feeling a bit like I'd lost a limb without it (over dramatic much?...). We rely on it so much during the week! Luckily, my sweet aunt promptly sent us a new one as a housewarming gift, and it arrived on Monday, so we had to test it out! Salsa chicken never fails. We wrapped the filling in flour tortillas with a little cheddar melted on top, and paired it with (un-pictured) side salads while watching The Voice (battle rounds - hooray!).

I was one happy camper! And looking forward to leftovers for lunch today already. I'm so happy to have a working crock-pot again!

So tell me...

• What's one kitchen appliance you can't live without? Obvi mine is my crock-pot...
• What are you watching on TV right now? C & I both love the Voice and kind of hate American Idol.

WIAW: not good lookin'

Welcome to another edition of What I Ate Wednesday! Today's theme is "ugly foods" - because things were not very pretty yesterday. It's a good thing that prettiness does not affect flavor or I would have been in trouble. Luckily, everything I ate tasted delicious. Obviously, I love a beautiful meal just as much as the next person, but sometimes beauty just ain't in the cards. Sorry 'bout it!

Thanks to Jenn for hosting this great link-up - if you've never heard of it or read about it, you can get more details here!

Standard - that banana got a little beat up in my purse but tasted fine!

Well that's gross... but delicious!
Leftover turkey taco meat over a leftover baked potato,
topped with salsa and Greek yogurt. I could eat that every day!

Cut up veggies and grapes - easy to grab and go on a busy day!

White bean & ham soup - far more delicious than it appears!
C & I put this together in the crockpot before work,
then blended half of it with the immersion blender before eating.
Hearty and delicious on [another] cold night!

I did a pretty good job with fruits & veggies yesterday - my snacks were clean, and that soup was loaded with carrots, celery, and onion. I have been trying harder to get my recommended 5 servings a day, because I've realized that, while I eat well most of the time, I don't get nearly as much produce as I should. I'm looking forward to the farmers' markets opening in the spring!

So tell me...

• What's the ugliest thing you've eaten recently? Was it delicious?
• Do you shop at farmers' markets? Why or why not?
• What's the best secret you know for getting more fruits and veggies in?

WIAW: not the norm

Let's not beat around the bush: they are predicting the BIGGEST SNOW STORM IN YEARS for, uhh, everywhere around the east coast it seems. Personally, I'm the in "I'll believe it when I see it" camp - I just don't have faith in our weather forecasters! But that doesn't mean I won't wear my pajamas inside out tonight, just in case.... (yes, I am a child).

Moving on. Happy WIAW! This link-up, hosted by Jenn, is one of my favorites - I really enjoy seeing the daily eats of other people (especially when people are honest about what they are eating - some days aren't perfect!). Yesterday was a little out of whack for me, and, as a result, the things I ate were not the norm for me. Take a look!

The day started out like normal, with coffee and a banana, followed by a mid-morning snack of yogurt. (Side note: has anyone else tried these Dannon Light & Fit Greek blends? I found them at Wal-mart over the weekend - this one is Raspberry Chocolate and it is downright decadent. They also had Strawberry Cheesecake, and it is also freakin' delicious. Try 'em if you find 'em!)

When lunch time rolled around, though, I just wasn't hungry. I don't know what was up, but that is almost never the case for me. I always want my lunch! Just couldn't do it yesterday, though, even though I had leftover baked spaghetti waiting in the fridge. Instead, I ate a cucumber-red onion-red wine vinegar salad that I'd thrown together, and some celery (with a side of ranch!) late in the afternoon. Veggies sounded ok, real lunch did not. Hmph. (And there's a preview of what's for lunch today... leftover leftovers? ha!)

By the time I got home, I was ready for dinner (phew) and knew I needed to eat before book club - otherwise I would be devouring all the snacks!! I ate some leftover pizza from the one we'd made on Monday night (and another side of ranch, duh) along with an un-pictured cup of tea because my throat was bothering me.

I didn't take any pictures at book club (because THAT is creepy), but our fab host-of-the-month, Stephanie, whipped up some yummy snacks for us, and I couldn't resist. While we chatted, I had some apples with a peanut butter dip (must get that recipe!) and some cranberry-rolled-goat cheese on Ritz. Just a few - my appetite still wasn't really there. Who am I?!

I rounded out the night with some red wine while watching the Olympics with C before bed... did anyone else see the Ice Dancing short programs last night? Or snowboarding? Poor Shaun White - the conditions on the half-pipe looked awful, and I felt really bad for the guys who weren't doing so well. But what can ya do?!

So there ya have it - my not-so-usual eats for a Tuesday. Back to regularly-scheduled programing today, I think!

So tell me...

• Are you ready for snow? Anyone else have a snow tradition (like inside-out pajamas) or is that just us NoVa people?...
• Do you make yourself eat when you're not hungry? I try not to, but also know I need to stick with some routine or else I'm HANGRY later!
• Are you watching the Olympics? What's your favorite winter sport?

WIAW: is winter over??

A "big" ice storm was predicted for us this morning, but, sadly, no such luck! It was off to work as usual for me, with a big mug of coffee & my boots on since all we really got was rain. I am a Winter baby through and through, but all this dreariness is really starting to get to me. I'm channeling spring today!

All weather-talk aside, it's time for our regular Wednesday programming: What I Ate Wednesday! Joining in on the fun again this week - thanks, Jenn, for hosting a great link-up!


Yesterday was pretty average, as far as eats go, but also delicious - it featured some of my favorites!

Normal breakfast - yogurt, (un-pictured) coffee, and a banana on it's very last legs. I choked that banana down - it was definitely a little too mushy for my liking. The yogurt actually ended up being my mid-morning snack, and held me over til lunch.

C & I had dinner with his parents on Monday night, and his mom sent us home with a bag full of yummy leftovers. That meant lunch - hooray! My mother-in-law was channeling summer (I'm telling you, the dreariness is getting old!), and made BBQ pulled chicken and my favorite pasta salad. It was delicious on Monday night, and just as good on Tuesday! That pasta salad is like Kryptonite... it's SO good. It's a family recipe that my MIL has shared with me, but I've never actually made it - she just has a special touch :)

Continuing to channel summer... dinner was burgers with guac! Moment of truth: C was horrified that I was taking a picture of dinner. He kept saying, "it's so ugly!!" and... well, that it is. But that doesn't mean it wasn't delicious! We pulled Trader Joe's Chili Lime Chicken Burgers out of the freezer, and C cooked them on the grill pan before topping them with guacamole and pepper jack. They were pretty good, but honestly? I've made a copycat version of these that are so much better (thanks to my BFF, Iowa Girl Eats!)- so I'll probably stick with making my own. This was the first time we've had the frozen TJ's version, and they were just... flat. Oh, well!

We had frozen broccoli with cheese sauce on the side, and shoe-string cheese fries that C made using our new mandolin (topped with ranch, duh). Truly, not pretty to look at it, but the whole meal tasted awesome, and helped me forget that it was rainy and cold outside. Plus, it was quick and easy, and you just can't beat that sometimes.

All in all, it was a day full of non-winter foods, and it was just what I wanted. I do love soups and stews, and I am generally craving carbs like nobody's business right now, but I am looking forward to the warm-weather foods! Can't wait for weekends of grilling out and lots of fresh veggies. Where are you, spring??

WIAW: A night out

I intended to write a What I Ate Wednesday post today featuring my eats from yesterday, like I usually do, but this is the only picture I managed to take all day:

Yeah, I was a little busy. Whoops! So much for Tuesday's food....

Luckily, I remembered that I hadn't yet shared about what we did over the weekend, so instead of Tuesday's food, you get Saturday's! WIAW lives on. (I'm sure you were worried....)


On Saturday, C & I had our final Restaurant Week experience: we met Stephanie and her husband for dinner at The Bavarian Chef, a well-known German restaurant in our town. We spent the evening chowing down on an amazing German feast, and spent almost three hours chatting about all kinds of things - sports, childhood, broken bones, pets... you name it, we probably covered it. We had so much fun, and the food was delicious, too. Can't beat that as far as a Saturday night double date goes!

We started the night with liters of beer (when in Rome Germany a German restaurant, right?) - I had gone to an intense BodyPump class on Saturday morning, and this beer was almost too much for me to handle!

The Restaurant Week menu is a three-course dinner: appetizer / salad, entree, and dessert. I forgot to take a picture of my Winter Salat, but it was delicious: it had parsnips and blueberries (odd combination, but worked really nicely) and a tangy vinaigrette.

For my entree, I went with pork chops and apples, a classic combination, and for dessert, I chose the bread pudding. As good as the pork chops were, the stars of the show were probably the side dishes: they are served family-style, and between the four of us, we got to choose five! Red cabbage, carrots, string beans, Spätzle, and potato dumplings.... I was in German-food heaven.

We almost chose a different restaurant for dinner that night, and I'm so glad that we didn't. We had such a great time at The Bavarian Chef, and I look forward to the next time we get a chance to visit.

WIAW: Just the facts

Fact: We are one week away from Christmas.
Fact: We are two weeks away from 2014.
Fact: We are three weeks away from my birthday!

Yippee!!

Fact: What I Ate Wednesday has been Christmas-fied this week.

Fact: I am currently playing a game with myself called "how many days past the 'use by' date on yogurt can you eat it and not get sick?" You don't want to know what day this is.

Fact: Taco salad is my favorite meal. Ground turkey, corn, red onion, and white cheddar, topped with lettuce, a little leftover guac, and salsa ranch. (Salsa ranch is exactly that: salsa + ranch. Try it. You'll be happy.)

Fact: "Use what's in the fridge" quesadillas can turn out pretty dang good. This one is turkey, bacon, white cheddar, and red onion, dipped in ranch.

Fact: Coming home from yoga with Stephanie to find this meal ready and waiting was like winning the lottery (which we did not).

Semi-unrelated Fact: Yoga was delightful - we vinyasa'd our little hearts out, and today, my back is sore. Better get to that class more often, methinks... Also, yoga with friends is definitely more fun!

Fact: My husband is an excellent quesadilla maker. Look at those golden-brown spots!

WIAW: dinner debacle

This week has been... off. I don't even have the words to explain it.

Monday night involved tripping down the garage stairs and twisting my ankle (luckily, all is fine), as well as kind of backing into the garage door safety sensor and knocking the wiring all askew so it wouldn't work (a trip to Home Depot and a little handiwork later, all is well).

Tuesday night involved getting home 40 minutes late due to a broken down train (the joys of public transportation), pizza dough that wouldn't cooperate, and an impromptu sidewalk conversation with the neighbors that lasted 30 minutes.

None of that sounds devastating, but C & I are definitely creatures of habit, and we have a "routine" once we get home for the day... it does not involve any of the things that have been happening, needless to say. I'm hoping things get back to normal soon!

One thing that is happening as planned: What I Ate Wednesday! I have really been enjoying linking up with Jenn for WIAW, and hope you all don't mind if I stick with this for a while. It's kind of fun, and it's definitely interesting to see other people's blog posts featuring the things that they eat on a "regular" (or not-so-regular) day.

Breakfast for me was the usual coffee & banana, plus a special addition. My uncle brought some delicious loaves of bread from the grocery store he works at for Thanksgiving, and I decided to bring the last into the office to share. Of course, I had to have a slice before I set it out for my hungry co-workers! This one was Triple Berry, and it was very good.

Leftovers were lunch (as usual) - I dished up some of the turkey noodle casserole, and it hit the spot! I'm so sad that this is gone now... will definitely have to make it (or something like it) again soon. With a yogurt on the side for some calcium, it was just what I needed mid-day.

As I mentioned, we got home 40 minutes later than usual due to the train situation, so I knew I needed something in my stomach before I went to the gym. I snacked on some of my favorite pita chips and hummus while doing a few quick things around the house, then it was off to BodyPump Express for me. I had been planning on yoga, but, as I mentioned above, everything "planned" this week has been out of whack. BodyPump was a good substitute, even though it was a short class.

While I was at Gold's, C was in charge of making pizza with some TJ's dough I'd thawed... it apparently fought him back. I'm not sure exactly what was going on, but when I got home, most of the kitchen was covered in flour and the dough was on the stone looking... misshapen. I don't know if it was because it was frozen and then sat on the counter all day (maybe I should have left it in the fridge), but it just didn't want to roll out and form correctly. What we ended up with was a little wonky looking, but it still tasted good at 9:15 when we finally sat down to eat! Pepperoni and olives were all I had on hand - no creative toppings this time. Paired with a glass of red and a side of ranch (AKA the best way to eat pizza).

I'm glad we decided to stick with the pizza instead of scrapping it - while it wasn't pretty, it still tasted good, and cold leftover pizza is always a good breakfast in my book. I guess you know what tomorrow's eats are now :)

Ever have those days where everything just doesn't go as planned? Can you bounce back, or does it throw you for a loop? Personally, I feel loopy this week.. ha!

WIAW: quick dinner & a winter treat

I fully intended to have a pleasant little "Happy Wednesday! Have a great day!" opener for this post, but then I spent the morning on the phone with the insurance company and the police filing a report about the things that were stolen out of our car last night, and now, well... let's just say I'm not really feeling it. Apparently, a lovely group of individuals wandered through our neighborhood last night causing a ruckus and taking whatever they pleased. People are wonderful, aren't they? So pardon me if I'm a little feistier than usual this morning.

Time for another edition of What I Ate Wednesday! Jenn has a great description of this link-up on her blog, and it is something that I've really started to enjoy doing. As usual, these pictures are from yesterday - typical workday eats.

Breakfast was coffee with a DIY yogurt parfait - I found on Monday that I was hungrier than usual by the time I got home from work, so I tried to add a little extra to my eats on Tuesday to combat that. I took my usual yogurt, but also added a little vanilla almond granola. So good!

On Sunday, I made a big batch of pea soup and divided it up for C & I to take for lunches this week. Looks really gross, but tastes delicious! Also, I had a little left in the bottom of a carton of cottage cheese, so I threw that in my bag as well. Mixed it with some salt and pepper (so good that way) and it made the perfect addition to my mid-day meal.

I didn't eat my usual banana with breakfast, so I ate this on my way to the train in the afternoon - excellent idea, because it kept my tummy from rumbling on the ride home.

Dinner was a little less organized than usual last night. Neither C or I could really decide what we wanted, so we ended up eating different things. For me, I put together a quesadilla with turkey lunch meat, provolone, bacon bits, and pesto. It was delicious! Probably would have been better if I'd managed to not flip it directly onto the stove top instead of the pan, but that's neither here nor there. Added a Caesar salad on the side, and snuck a few leftover TJ's garlic fries from the ones C was eating. This dinner was quick and easy, and it got the job done.

Last but not least, a little treat while watching the Voice - Nutella hot chocolate! I'm pretty sure I saw this on a blog (or possibly Pintrest), but I can't remember where now. Just heat up a cup of milk, and stir in a spoonful (or two!) of Nutella until it melts. This was SO good - might just be my new winter staple. :)

What's your favorite winter treat? What's your go-to dinner when you don't have plans? I can turn almost anything into a quesadilla... it's quite a talent!

WIAW: freezing cold edition

Y'all. We are officially in the midst of a cold freezing front! When I woke up yesterday morning, it was in the 50s, and by noon, it was in the 30s! I hear that some people even witnessed the first few snowflakes of the season. Feeling more like January than November around these parts, that's for sure. If you need me, you can find me snuggled under a blanket somewhere... or at least wishing I was.

I'm linking up for What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) again this week, so.... bring on the eats!

3/4 of the items in this picture are real shockers, aren't they?? No? Well... whatever. That top-right picture should throw you off a bit, though! Yesterday at work, I kid you not, there were three giant boxes of doughnuts from Dunkin' and a giant bag of Halloween candy. The fact that I managed to go the whole day and only have half a doughnut should be considered nothing short of a small miracle. My sweet tooth was sad.

Lunch was leftovers, per usual, and was really delicious! Since we had Monday off work, we decided to grill, so I pulled a package of bratwursts out of the freezer. We paired that with steamed broccoli and mayo-less potato salad (which I absolutely love). The potato salad turned out better than usual - I may have to recreate and get that recipe up here for you guys! It's quick and easy, and makes a great weeknight side dish.

Mid-afternoon, I went for a paper cup of pretzels (like a kindergartner, right??) - these are actually "pretzel puffs" with air in the middle... kind of weird. They made my mouth dry. Not the best snack I've ever had. Womp, womp.

Dinner last night was exactly what we were needing, given the frigid temps outside: homemade chicken noodle soup, courtesy of my sweet husband, with cheese toast on the side. I had some smoked Gouda in the fridge that I needed to use, and I pictured this getting melty and delicious... ummmmmm, no. I think something about the "smoked"ness of the cheese prevented it from melting the way regular Gouda does, and it just started blistering and getting weird instead. It still tasted delicious, but it definitely wasn't what I was imagining. C'est la vie!

We've got lots of soup left, and it will make perfect leftovers this week. At this point in the season, I can pretty much just leave my soup pot on the stove, because it will be in use constantly! There is truly nothing like a warm, hearty bowl of soup / stew / chili when the weather gets cold. What's your favorite recipe?