Tuesday's Eats:: Making Up Meals

Posting this semester will definitely be all over the place, but this weekend I was so productive with homework that I actually have time to write something! This weekend was so much fun with a HUGE badger win over Michigan, hanging out with my friends a lot and just finally having a moment to breathe. When it comes to food, my weekends are pretty similar as we aren't served anything in our sorority house. This means all of us eat a lot of leftovers or random snacks. This "Tuesday Eats" is from Sunday and I am pleased with how I was able to make a tasty full day of eating from just what I had around... no spending on food for me this week. Here is what I ate: 

Breakfast: Pumpkin Spice Skyr w/ Blueberries, Grain Free Granola, Plums and Turmeric Juice Shot

I absolutely love the fall for all the foods. I really love pumpkin foods, and the Pumpkin Spice skyr is what I look forward to the most. When it isn't in season, I add cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to my yogurt just to get same idea. My only complaint about fall foods is that it is so much so focused on pumpkin, but there are others like maple and sweet potato flavors that are so underrated. Even with that, I am still so happy to see my Pumpkin Spice Siggi's back on the shelves. 

Lunch: Eggs w/ Salsa, Leftover Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and Carrots w/ Hummus 

On Sundays we are served brunch in my sorority, so I made for a lunch of mix of leftovers and brunch. I grabbed some scrambled eggs, but of course had to have some leftover Brussel sprouts as those are one of my favorite things we are served. I honestly only added the carrots and hummus to add a little color, but it worked out to make a good meal. 

Snack: Smoothie (blueberries, banana, yogurt, fig, spinach, cinnamon)

I love the weekends because I can make better snacks for myself then just beef jerky or fruit with nut butter. I just wanted something small, so I threw a bunch on things in the blender and hoped for the best. I was pleasantly surprised with how good this was! I have been really liking to add cinnamon to my smoothies, just like with my yogurt mentioned above, because it adds some warmth to an otherwise cold snack. 

Dinner: Salmon Bowl w/ Cauliflower Rice, Broccoli, Leftover Brussel Sprouts and Capers

Dinner was just a random bowl of leftovers, which is typical for my Saturday and Sunday nights. I could easily order in food, but why would I do that when I can make these bowls for free instead of paying over $10? I have gotten really good at putting together leftovers in a way that tastes good, and is a little different every time. For this bowl, it was the capers and a little lemon juice I added that really brought everything together. 

Dessert: Chocolate Banana Protein Pudding w/ Hemp Seeds and Granola 

I was procrastinating doing homework when I saw a recipe online for a protein pudding. I decided to give it a try and I am so surprised by how good it tasted, even if it was pretty ugly looking. I was thinking it would taste like straight protein but it didn't! All it is, is chocolate protein powder, milk, peanut butter and mashed banana. Letting it sit in the fridge allows it to thicken up into a pudding like consistency. I am not the biggest pudding fan to begin with, but it is really nice to know that I can easily make myself a dessert if I have a sweet tooth that day. 

Until Next Time! 

xoxo,

Maddie

Tuesday's Eats: Some Real Meals Again

You would think the first week of classes would be pretty calm and relaxed right? Nope. Between working, homework, classes and sorority recruitment I have had no time this week. Everything has been back to back so much so that I found myself eating mainly protein bars (Bhu and Perfect Bars) and fruit, but no real meals. This week I wanted to make a point of eating real meals instead of just snacks. I always find that meals keep me fuller and happier than just a bunch of snack. Monday was the first day of eating real meals again, and lets say it turned out pretty well. Here is what I ate. 

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Toast w/ Rhubarb Jam, Blueberries and an Orange 

The highlight of this breakfast was the rhubarb jam. My mom made it for the first time this summer and it was amazing. It was the perfect level of tartness. I just had it on toast, but it would also be so good with almond butter or in yogurt. I've also been experimenting with different protein sources other than yogurt (though I still love my yogurt), and microwave scrambled eggs have been on repeat. They are easy and fast which is great for week day breakfasts. 

Lunch: Salad w/ Taco Seasoned Tofu, Cucumbers, Tomato, Carrot and Salsa with Baby Bel Cheese

Being grain free means that most of my meals consist of fruits/veggies and protein. Initially I was struggling to make meals that kept me full, but I find that if I fill the whole plate with veggies and then top it with a lot of protein staying full isn't a problem. We always have a salad bar for lunch and dinner, so I took ingredients from teh salad bar and then just topped it off with tofu that had been leftover from taco night. Not a crazy meal, but not bad either. 

Dinner: Alfredo Zoodles w/ Chicken, Broccoli, Olives,  and Tomato 

You have no idea how excited I was for zoodles. Everyone was having pasta with Alfredo Sauce so I was preparing myself to have just some broccoli and chicken but instead I was able to make a delicious meal with extra topping from the salad bar. The chicken this night was so good for some reason, I went back for seconds. 

Dessert: Apple and Dark Chocolate (unpictured) 

I had been initially thinking I would want a smoothie for dessert, but instead it wasn't that hungry but definitely still had a sweet tooth. To remedy this first I had some dark chocolate which is my usual dessert of choice if I want something small. I was still a little hungry since I had eaten an early dinner. For some reason an apple was sounding so good to me, so I had that as well. Apples are never my "dessert" of choice, but today it was what I wanted so I just rolled with it. 

Until next time, 

Maddie 

Tuesday's Eats: Back at School

      It's been a while. Between working, greek life and packing for school I have not been able to find anytime to blog. I've mentioned in the past how I've been eating grain free and feeling a lot better, so in the last couple of weeks I have tested different grains to see what I might be able to tolerate. The answer... pretty much none of them. So far, I have done the best with rice but I will still be sticking with grain free for a while because I still didn't feel good after rice two days in a row.
      Another life update is that I am back at school. I got back at the end of last week. Right now,  we don't have food service right now (I am still in the sorority house) so my meals are either eating out or whatever I can make using a fridge, blender and microwave. This means my meals are not that exciting but I have managed to make some good meals for myself regardless. Here is what I've been eating.

Breakfast: Skyr w/ Strawberries and Grain Free Granola

Back to my usual school breakfast of a parfait. This one was really good because I used coconut Icelandic Provisions and Purely Elizabeth Vanilla Almond Butter granola. This granola is by far and away the best grain free granola out there. I have tried a lot of different grain free granolas because if you have been looking at my old "what I eat posts" you'll notice that granola has always been a staple in my diet. I would say that Purely Elizabeth is the best gluten free and grain free granolas out there.

AM Snack: Cashews 

Cashews are my favorite nut and its crazy how many I have eaten this yummy and already this school year. I had easy access to them at work so I could enjoy them whenever and my parents got me some when moving in as a treat. I typically don't buy nuts for myself because they are so expensive but I always make sure to enjoy them when I have a chance. My only complaint is that the 365 brand isn't as salty as others, and being a salt fan, this is a little bit of a let down. 

Lunch: Strawberry Chicken Salad, Plums, Cheese and Carrots w/ Quac 

I have seriously eaten this salad 3 times in the past 2 days, its a little much. We get all of the leftovers in my sorority house so I had this for lunch the initial day, dinner that night, and then lunch this day. I don't mind it becuase it tastes really good, but I need a break from it too. I changed it up a little by adding the fruit and veggies on the side. It is times like these where I look forward to meal service so that I can eat a little more variety in my days but oh well, at least it tasted good. 

Dinner: Naf Naf Grilled (Catered) 

I had a work meeting this night and it catered Naf Naf which is a middle eastern grill. I really appreciated this choice because it was so easy for me to make a grain free meal. In my bowl there was lettuce, chicken, steak, falafel, various veggie toppings, bit of tahini and a couple other random things.  I ended up eating two bowls worth of food with hopes that I could avoid needing to eat food that I bought at home. 

Bedtime Snack: Coconut Peanut Butter Perfect Bar

Not eating again definitely didn't happen. Because I had dinner so early, I ended up needing something before bed so I chose a perfect bar. The honey helped give me a little something sweet while the bar still had enough protein to keep me full throughout the night. I would never turn down a Perfect Bar any time of day so this addition is no surprise to me. 

Until next time, 

Maddie