Some meals of late! The last of the 2013 bunch. Now that the holidays have come and gone, I am really hoping to get back into meal planning. We had so much to do that I don’t think we had a meal plan a single week in December! I bought a year-long subscription to Cook Smarts, so I’m ready to get going!
Mornings when Mazen wakes up with the sun are the best : )
It gave me the chance to photograph some French toast on the porch! I think this was one of our 60* days we had right before Christmas.
French toast topped with banana, almond butter and some granola
The next morning was dark as can be. He went from regularly waking up at 6:45 to a regression of 6am. Sometimes 5:55 : (
Yogurt + granola + bananas + nut butter. Get in my belly stat.
Another dark one – scrambled eggs, banana half and a roll with jam!
And here are two breakfasts from our Dallas trip:
Raisin Bran cereal with banana and coffee
And peanut butter toast with banana before hot yoga
On the lunch front I’ve been alternating between salads and soups. This day was a salad with a No Bull Burger on top – lots of melted cheese too! It was served with buttery toast and a bed of greens.
During the busy holidays Matt made some crockpot meals for the employees’ lunch. Mazen and I went down to try out his recipes and join in on the excitement.
One day it was BBQ served on Virginia buns, which I had with a side salad
And another day it was chili, which was too hot to put down next to the toddler and take a photo.
Here is Mazen helping Matt make pie boxes!
And here are two of my Texas lunches – both piles of leftovers from our dinner with salad greens for a bed.
Karen came over before Xmas for a special dinner: steaks with Brussels and potatoes. We opened presents and sipped red wine.
I did not eat all of that steak – we had lots of leftovers!
The next night Matt and I had plans for salads to lighten up the week. We cooked some No Bull Burgers and served them with sherry cheese dip on top.
Once the greens were gone this happened. {Yes Matt ate his salad out of the container! It was a fancy night
}
We made an awesome curried fish chowder with potatoes and cod. This was the leftover version – I swear I took photos of the first night and had some recipe notes, but I can’t find either!! Maybe I will find them : )
Kale chips to share on the side!
And lastly, this was a mixture of turkey breast (Karen made one and brought us some slices) served with sautéed broccoli, greens, wild rice and a ginger sauce on top. Healthy, but not one of my favorite meals of the year….
Here’s to great meals in 2014!
Elizabeth says
These meals still look super yummy! I am not a huge steak person but your steak looks super divine!
Jackie says
Yum! These look great!!!
Ali @ Peaches and Football says
I’ve always, always loved how much color variety you pack into your dishes Kath. They always look wonderfully colorful. I need to figure out a way to do that as well. You can’t know how jealous I am at even the mention of a 60 degree day. That seems crazy to me – and about 4 or 5 months before we see that up North!
I have a feeling Maze is going to love helping out around the bakery when he’s older. My parents owned a toy store when I was a kid and I adored helping with little tasks. He’s going to be a great helper. 🙂
Ashley @ Saving Money in your Twenties says
Aww- that pic of Mazen on Matt’s lap making boxes is so cute!
Amanda says
Was the sherry cheese dip the one your mom made (I remember it from a recent post…)? Do you have the recipe? 🙂
KathEats says
Yes, it’s a mix of equal parts cream cheese and cheddar mixed in a food processor with a garlic clove and a splash of sherry. Generally 1-2 cups of each cheese.
Mom says
The garlic can be minced by hand or put through a garlic press.
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More says
How sweet of you guys to make lunches for the staff during the holidays! I always love when employers make those little gestures, really shows their appreciation for their team. 🙂
Amelia says
For not having set meal plans, they all look pretty tasty! I have been in such a breakfast rut lately which is weird since it is my favorite meal of the day. I typically end up eating one of your meals above (scrambled egg/ banana/ toast with pb&j or ab&j).
I bet the bakery was hoppin’ for the holidays! It’s so nice of Matt to provide meals to all of your hard workers. 🙂
Maria says
Wow! Surprised to see those nut thins. “Natural pecan flavor. Natural butter flavor. ”
I do not have your credentials, so I’m not sure what “natural,” means. I tried to search on the internet, and it looks like it means nothing (i.e., there is no legal definition, so they can say it and not be challenged). Is this true?
Thanks. PS: Curried fish chowder looked outstanding. GREAT idea!
KathEats says
I’m not really sure since it’s such a vague term. I assumed a dust of sorts, but I guess you do raise a red flag.
Michelle @ A Healthy Mrs says
Good looking eats! 🙂
Courtney says
Your photos are mouthwatering. You mention natural light often… What do you use when you want to get a shot when light sources aren’t so great?
KathEats says
These days just the lights in my house. The bookcase lights in the dining room are great.
Katie @ Peace Love and Oats says
I love these posts because they always remind me to eat more veggies, and for me ideas on how to do so!
Sanaz@Run for Cake says
Meal planning makes my life so much easier! I love these posts because they inspire me to try out new recipes. 🙂
Shel@PeachyPalate says
You officially have me eating eggs! I put it solely down to all your eggy breakfast and egg top salads…coupled with the amazing pics that made them look so enticing! Any tips for making amazing scrambled eggs? I’ve had fried, frittata, and omelet and pancakes (with egg in the mix for a change!)…but scrambled eggs didn’t work out too well…
KathEats says
I scramble them in a jar and add a splash of milk and a pinch of salt and then heat a tiny bit of butter and scramble them with a spatula.
Shel@PeachyPalate says
I’ll give it a whirl!
Nicole says
The trick with scrambled eggs is to cook them low and slow and take them off the heat when they’re one tiny step from being done—that’ll give you creamy eggs instead of rubbery.
Christine@ Apple of My Eye says
Great looking meals! I swear, food just looks better when it comes through the lens of your camera 😉
Carolyn says
Do you always eat breakfast immediately upon waking? Not that you should delay hunger just so you have better lighting for photos, but I was just curious. I’m often not hungry until I’ve been awake for a couple hours.
KathEats says
I do. I wake up really hungry. I think it’s just my metabolism. Mazen wakes up even hungrier : )
Emma says
I would have DEFINITELY eaten that whole steak. 🙂 Looks like a ribeye, my favorite! And I love Brussels spouts so much. I would make them every week if it wasn’t ridiculous.
Dana @ Conscious Kitchen Blog says
I love CookSmarts. Can’t wait to see what recipes you try out. It’s nice to have the weekly meal planning inspiration even if I don’t use all their recipes.
Jesse says
oh love the idea of granola on french toast, never would have thought of that!
http://semiweeklyeats.blogspot.com/2014/01/work-outfit-6.html
Carrie says
Will you do another favorite/newly discovered products post again soon? I love to see what you have found and what works for you. Also I have been enjoying the home décor posts so much!
KathEats says
Yep one is coming up!
Chelsea @BigBitesLittleBudget says
I am such a fan of leftovers put over salad for easy lunches. Makes for such a great meal. I can’t wait to see what you will have in store for meals in 2014!
Liz @ Tip Top Shape says
Those are some good-looking eats!
Florence says
All of these look so yummy and so healthy! I love this series!
@simple green moms says
Love the consistency of your meal pics!! =) Definitely need to check into CookSmarts… Meal planning makes a world of difference!
Christine says
I hope you find the recipe for the curried fish chowder with potatoes and cod. It sounds and looks wonderful!
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance says
Love all the banana used!
Livi says
how do you like hot yoga? do you do it regularly? I used to but my doctor recommended I stop because of my low resting HR. But I always loved going in the winter the most!!
KathEats says
I love it!! But only hot vinyasa (not so much a fan of Bikram).
Alex @ Kenzie Life says
I’ve been craving Raisin Bran lately–it’s my favorite cereal along with a bit of banana on top 🙂 Everything looks awesome and I think I’m going to have to make the sherry cheese dip. It sounds great!
jen says
No idea why, but 14 months was when my girl slept the best, then it started getting worse and worse again (probably thanks to endlessly teething her 2 year molars) until we started enforcing some sleep rules just before she turned 2. We bought the sheep clock that tells her when it’s okay to get up and it’s been awesome! Even if she’s up before 6 now, she plays quietly until 6 when the sheep says it’s okay to get up for the day. Though, ATM baby #2 is getting up at 4 or 5 most mornings, so… yawn.
Maria says
Kath, excuse my ignorance if you’ve already mentioned this before, but how is Karen doing? I remember you mentioned her cancer had returned a while back.
KathEats says
She is doing great! She just finished all of her radiation and chemo and actually sailed through. She’s headed to the Caribbean for a nice vacation soon : )