April is rollin’ by in the blink of an eye. Soon we’ll be sweltering in steamy days at the pool. Super excited! This Lately features the meals leading up to our big Easter weekend. It was a great week of meals, and I’m thankful that half of the time I could get out in some natural light for brighter, better photos!
Hellllllllo oatmeal!! Oatmeal and I are still in love, but I don’t make it as much because it takes just that much longer to make than all of our other breakfast favorites (eggs + toast // yogurt bowl // cereal // smoothie). It’s a sad excuse, but when I have a toddler saying EAT EAT EAT at my feet, time is of the essence! But it’s still one of my favorite breakfasts – hearty and customizable – and I had it three times this week!
Day 1 – whipped banana oats mixed with oat bran topped with yogurt, jam and Barney Butter.
Day 2 – same mix with just Barney Butter plopped inside and cranberries mixed in.
When I do make oatmeal these days it’s a huge portion so I can reheat it in a second the next day. Here was a leftover batch – heated just to the point of warmth – and mixed with yogurt (a 2014 creation!) I also stirred in some grapefruit (weird but good!) and sunbutter on top. It’s kind of like overnight oats with a warm twist.
Next up: leftover bacon, cheese and spinach frittata with toast + coffee. LOOK AT ME EATING VEGETABLES AT BREAKFAST!!
And lastly – scrambled eggs with cinnamon raisin toast + butter and cantaloupe.
S/S: I had back-to-back soccer games last weekend, and boy did that tire me out!!
M: My legs needed a full day of rest, so all we did on Monday was walk to the gym for Mazen’s first swimming lesson! I would have loved to soak in the hot tub a bit too… He loved the pool and is great at jumping off the side into my arms. Not so great at being dunked, but hopefully he’ll get better at that with time.
T: Small group with Erin. We worked on our chipper workout from last week and completed all of the time/number requirements. I finished early and was assigned some crazy exercises – like walking around the track with a kettle bell upside down and my arm at a right angle. HARD STUFF!
W: Wednesday was athletic conditioning. Class was a bit easier than usual thanks to a different combo of exercises. Or maybe it just felt easy. There’s really nothing easy about that class! But the time flew by and we didn’t do any major sprinting or running.
TH: After a really hard week (starting with my soccer games) I was thankful for a day of easy cardio. I read my magazine on the elliptical for a while and walked there and back adding 1.5 miles to the day.
F: Friday morning Mazen woke up sick, so I had to cancel training with Erin. Larbs and I had grand plans for afternoon exercise during naptime but showers became a higher priority. Instead we walked downtown and back twice, so that was something.
S: Athletic conditioning, Blaise style. Blaise won’t let you stop for a second and requires 100% effort at all times (or you get called out in front of the class!) so class was hard. I left tired all over.
Here’s a happy lunch – a classic quesadilla and salad! I stuffed the ‘dilla with some sharp cheddar cheese and used a frozen regular white tortilla from Whole Foods I had leftover from a recipe. For the salad I used leftover frozen peas and carrots and tossed them with some chopped romaine and an olive oil/honey/apple cider vinegar dressing.
Next up: leftover Kale + Farro soup. This was so amazing for lunch!
Day 3 – easy peasy leftover beef stir fry!
And finally, a salad topped with leftover farro, cheese and hot smoked salmon. Remember Oak River Salmon? The business is coming to life, and I was asked to test the shipping process. Not only did the salmon arrive safe and sound, but it tasted just as good as last time! I love having this for lunch.
Cook Smarts to the rescue…
Orange Sesame Beef Stir-Fry. This was great – I loved the sauce! Served over rice.
Chicken Curry with Cauliflower and Green Beans and Rice. LOVED the cauliflower in the curry! It soaked up all the delicious juices! Never want to make curry without it.
We skipped a Cook Smarts day to have some leftovers in the fridge – hamburgers from our party and salads with honey almonds and cheese. Half a burger for me – they were pretty big as a whole.
And finally…Cook Smarts Orzo salad with made-from-scratch beans, feta and broccoli. Served with Larbs and Karen and some celebratory white wine!
Happy Cooking, Happy Eating!
Jeri says
With it being grilling season (when is it not though?) and my love of a good burger, I have never thought (because what’s the point) in eating only half the burger, but loading up with a side salad or even a light pasta salad. I always ate the WHOLE burger and all the fries.
What would I do without you in my new healthy life? OOH I picked up a new food! Fresh english peas. The kind int he pod that have to be shelled. I purchased 2 pounds from whole foods. Needless to say, i shelled a pod into the bowl, I shelled a pod into my mouth. It is that crunchy snack I want without the added salt. As well as edamame. I’m in love! And so is my tummy!
KathEats says
Yum peas!
Ali @ Peaches and Football says
Hi Kath – do you make oats in your rice cooker? I thought I read that you’ve done that before and it worked well. I put a rice cooker on my wedding registry and am hoping it will allow me morning oats since I otherwise wouldn’t have time. Just wondering if that might help to have them done in the A.M. so all you’d have to do is scoop, top, and serve. 🙂
KathEats says
Yes I think steel cut are really best for this so I need to get some of those!
Kaila @healthyhelperblog! says
Awwww the pictures of Mazen with the oven mitts on is adorable! He is such a cute kid! 🙂
Shel@PeachyPalate says
Beef Stir Fry is awesome! Made something similar last week, yummers!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats says
I also made the orange beef stir fry crom cook smarts, I really liked it! And I’m all about oatmeal in the mornings: I make it quickly at home and then pack it up and take it to work so I can actually sit down and eat without feeling too rushed
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More says
Somebody got a hair cut! 😉
Jackie says
Yum, as always!
Kavi says
Seeing your portion sizes is so helpful to me! Especially as Jeri mentioned in regards to eating just half a burger, and with a side salad instead of fries. A daily reminder that my stomach doesn’t always need as much as my eyes think 😉
Hannah @ eat, drink, and save money says
I feel you about breakfast! It is the meal that is the most rushed around here since my one year old always wants to eat as soon as he wakes. We do a lot of baked oatmeal. I’ll cook a big casserole dish of it and we eat it throughout the week. I’ve been getting tired of it, so I think I’ll try the frittata. What a good way to sneak in more veggies!
Livi says
Your food photos are always so beautiful! I want all your meals now ha!
meredith @ The Cookie ChRUNicles says
Nothing I love more than cooked oats with greek yogurt – served cold! The best….I always make a big post of steel cut oats for the week to save on time. I love it reheated or eaten straight from the fridge.
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
It all looks wonderful as usual. I think it’s time to incorporate more salads into my life, yours always look so good.
Allison Galassie says
I love seeing what you eat! I’m on a weight-loss journey (not going so great) and I’m struggling with not being hungry all the time, so I am amazed that you keep portions so great and stay full.
Ali says
Yeah, sweltering weather is no where near right around the corner here. It snowed last week. Horrible winter. Horrible spring. Just about everyone I work with is still dealing with SAD because we just haven’t been warming up or getting any sun. I’m moving to Tennessee in August and cannot wait. As for the oatmeal, why don’t you make a small oatmeal bake (1/2 pan) on the weekends or make a bigger batch of oatmeal and divide into individual containers for the week if time is an issue and you want oatmeal? If I am feeling oatmeal or know I am going to have a lot of busy weekdays with work, I make a big batch of plain oatmeal, add milk when I warm it up and add whatever topping I am feeling the day of. It’s super easy and quick and just as good. The prep work is nothing.
Molly says
Do you have a rice cooker with the porridge setting? I set mine on a timer almost every night so that our oats are ready to go when we get up. My little guy is quite impatient for his breakfast and it has made our mornings so much smoother. Loved the recap this week!
KathEats says
I haven’t loved rice cooker oatmeal as much as stove top but otherwise this is a great idea. Perhaps I need to try it with steel cut
Emma says
I LOVE putting cranberries in our oatmeal! I buy a few bags when they’re on sale during the fall holiday season and wash and freeze them – then I can just grab some out of the freezer and chop them for the oats or muffins or whatever. I’m on my last bag now, but I’ve never seen them on sale fresh in spring or summer. Don’t you love a seasonal treat? I feel like we’ve eaten nothing but asparagus and strawberries for the past several weeks – hooray, spring!
Of course, I’m not above buying those sweetened cranberry-raisin things for a treat, but we try to stick with the actual fruit.
Tatum @ Eats From The Oil Patch says
I hopped back on the oatmeal train this week! Those cook smart meals always look amazing!!
M says
Hey Kath! Just curious whether you’re going to rely as heavily on cook smarts during the late Spring/Summer when seasonal fruits and veggies start booming? I — like you — love shopping at farmer’s markets and being creative with what I find, so I was curious if you’re going to try and adapt cook smarts’ meals or take a break? Personally it seems like a great option to have in the winter when the days are shorter and there’s less variety in the produce section, but I’m not sure how I’d use it in the summertime months.
Thanks!
KathEats says
Jess follows a pretty seasonal plan, so I don’t think it will be too much of a problem. We’ll also just adapt so if I recipe calls for something I can’t get at the market I’ll swap in something I can (assuming they are swapable)
M says
Cool, thanks!
Kat says
We have a small market that I went to with my cooksmarts list and I found nearly everything seasonally that I needed for the week. That was without substitutions! I save my creativity and extras for the weekend/non cook smarts days. Just wanted to let you know my experience this weekend. 🙂
Erin Shmidt says
Ryder loves eggs too!
Becky@TheSavedRunner says
Now I am hungry. 🙂 Everything looks amazing!
Molly says
Yes! Steel cut oatmeal is the key.
Amy says
Hello Kath,
Mmm….good eats here! I love how you eat so many veggies. I’m impressed and that’s inspiring (I should eat a bit more of those). Anyways, I have a question, where did you get your lovely white plate/dishes set? I see you have some amazing white dishes and bowls in this post, that seem to all be a matching set. The square dish, the long rectangular plate, the white bowls? Do you know of the brand/kind? I broke my very last dish (I had them for years) a few nights ago, so now I’m just using “mis-matched” dishes….and I believe it’s time to get new ones. But with such a large investment, I want to get a good set.
Thank you!
~Amy
KathEats says
A lot of our dishes are the Great White line from Pottery Barn. The square plates match, but they’re a specialty set Karen got us before our wedding. I just love white dishes, so I mix and match but they all match!
Amy says
Hello Kath,
Great! Thank you very much for letting me know! Indeed, they are lovely!
~Amy 🙂
Katie says
Hi Kath,
I love how deep orange your cantaloupe looks! The ones I find are always much paler…looks like a nice breakfast!
I’m not sure if other readers have experienced this, but thought I’d mention that for quite a while now, I’ve noticed that most days, your current post doesn’t show up when I access your site – I can only see the previous day’s post. I can get to the current day’s post by going through your twitter feed, but it’s extra steps, and I’m sure it’s not what you intended. Might be something to discuss with your tech/website guru!
KathEats says
Ugh, that’s so annoying for you! I’m sorry. I will let him know!
jillian says
I’ve been having the same issue — I don’t see the current post. I’ve also been having issues seeing the comments at times. (I’m using firefox…)
KathEats says
Thanks for the feedback – we’re on it
KathEats says
PS. Please keep me up to date if it gets better/worse. I don’t know about this stuff unless you guys let me know : )
jen says
I’m still having this issue on my android tablet too. I thought it was fixed on your end and I was supposed to learn how to clear my cache? Comments are behind too. Both issues started for me a few months ago.
KathEats says
Thanks
Jessica says
Same here! Comments lag as well. Not a huge deal, but yeah. 🙂
KathEats says
We’re working on it right now..
Heather J. says
Yeah i was on yesterday afternoon and this post wasn’t on your sight.
Laura says
I am having a problem on my desktop and laptop with pictures not loading (I use chrome). Where the picture should be it is blank and says “foodblog-6343” Some pictures will load and stay and some will load and then disappear and then come back, all while I’m trying to read the post. It just started doing that in the past few months maybe. I have to keep reloading the page and then new pictures will show up and some other ones won’t. Any ideas? I remembered something about clearing the cache, maybe I need to do that? I miss seeing all the pictures!!
KathEats says
Laura, I’ve sent this on to my manager. This is the first of this kind of problem I’ve heard of. Sorry you’re having to deal with it!
Pat says
I have no problem on my desktop. Current post comes right up.
Shannon says
I am curious why you don’t get up a half hour or an hour before Mazen? My son is the same age and even though its rough sometimes, for my sanity and to get everyone out the door on time I have to get up before my toddler. You might try it – its pretty amazing to have an hour of peace to drink a cup of coffee and make a healthy breakfast before my lil guy is up.
KathEats says
Because I’m still obsessed with sleep!! I agree it sounds kind of heavenly though. Some days M sleeps till closer to 730 and I get up and doing things around the house. Love those days!
Shannon says
Wow you are lucky! My little guy gets up at 6:30 so I am up with the birds at 5:30. 5:00 on days I workout before work.
jen says
Early risers are rough, and it forces such an early dinner, bedtime too! Mine are both 530am types. The almost 3 year old has to stay in bed till 6, but the baby is still up at 5 some mornings… and half the night sometimes. Ugh. I too, am obsessed with sleep right now!
KathEats says
M was up at 6:15 this morning – should have gone to bed sooner!!
Shannon says
I love these posts about all the foods you eat in a day, but I’d love to see your daily snacks. Or a post on just snacks. As a nursing mama I am constantly needing in-between meal bites and I am getting tired of the same old greek yogurt and cheese and crackers. Would love some inspiration!
KathEats says
Here’s a post I did all about snack ideas: https://www.katheats.com/gallery-of-snacks
But I agree a week’s worth of real snacks would be fun. It just sounds like a hard thing to document! But I’m going to plan one
Alex @ Kenzie Life says
Mazen looks so grown up! I’m starting to get back into salads now that the weather is warming up. Craving a quesadilla with it 🙂
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
I always love the pictures of your meals! So many pretty veggies…they make me smile! 🙂
Melissa says
Mazen throwing oven mitts = quite possibly the cutest picture of him yet haha. It’s so typical for his age, yet so cute!
Michelle @ A Healthy Mrs says
I always feel hungry after reading these posts — so much yummy food! 🙂
Lynn @ The Actor’s Diet says
Those last pics of Mazen are priceless. Thought you’d appreciate the video my husband just made for work about getting kids to go to sleep: http://www.buzzfeed.com/video/abefg/the-stages-of-putting-a-toddler-to-bed
Maggie says
Your meals are always so preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty. I need to pretend I blog and actually try to make mine look presentable! haha
Polly @ Tasty Food Project says
That orange sesame beef stir-fry looks so good! All of your meals look delicious!
simple green moms says
look at you eating veggies for breakfast is right! =) whoop whoop!
heidi kokborg says
Your eats look really good. I haven’t had nut butter on my oatmeal for ages – you just made me crave it! It’s supposed to be really cold in Denmark this weekend so oatmeal with nut butter would be just perfect! 🙂