WIAW – Meals Through the Week

Well I finally did it.  I remembered that today is What I Ate Wednesday.  Only problem?  I didn’t remember to photograph a whole day’s worth of eats.  However, I was able to photograph every mealtime at least once during the week, including breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner.  So although this may not be one single day of eats for me, it still represents the meals I enjoyed this past week.  Baby steps, right?

Breakfast

Over the weekend, my husband was actually out of town in Orlando.  He went to play in a softball tournament, and to golf and spend time with his grandpa.  Being alone means that I have free reign over my meals and can eat things that he may not care for so much.  Now don’t get me wrong, Tim is a trooper when it comes to trying new foods, but sometimes he would rather have a Blueberry Eggo Waffle than one of my delicious (?) concoctions.  Sunday morning, I decided to make a quick and simple breakfast, but ate and enjoyed it slowly.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon sugar, stevia, or your favorite sugar substitute OR 1 teaspoon sugar-free caramel syrup (which is what I used)
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Cook oats and water in microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds.  Stir and microwave for an additional 30 seconds.  Add vanilla and sweetener to oats, then stir together.  Add mashed banana on top, along with peanut butter, and sprinkle cinnamon.  There you have it, a filling breakfast that is ready in less than 5 minutes.

I enjoyed my bowl of Peanut Butter Banana Bread Oatmeal alongside a cup of coffee, served black.

Breakfast was also accompanied by my Sunday morning devotionals.

If you are looking for a good devotional website, I recommend www.girlfriendsingod.com.  It is the website I use to get daily devotionals sent straight to my inbox each morning.  It helps me to start my day off on a calm and positive note.  Feel free to check it out if you’re interested!

Lunch

Lunch on Saturday was a ‘clean out the fridge’ smoothie after I got back from a jog with my dog, Tebow.  I constantly try to use all of my groceries before they go bad in order to not waste money.  That means I throw a lot of fruits and veggies into the freezer and then use them for smoothies, and this mealtime was no exception.

Into the blender went:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 bag baby spinach
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Let me tell you that this smoothie was not only delicious, but also nutritious and filling.  I swear that you could not taste the spinach whatsoever.

Served up in my cup I got at the Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw concert this past July.

Nothing screams Rock N’ Roll like Kenny, Tim and a spinach smoothie…or maybe not!

Snack

My go-to snack this past week was a Pumpkin Chocolate Cupcake that I made on a whim.  I guess this recipe would kind of go with October’s WIAW theme, it could be considered a Healthy Halloween Treat.  Pumpkin = Fall = Halloween.  Once again, I was cleaning out my fridge and pantry, and realized I had the ingredients and more to make a Pinterest recipe I had seen where the only two ingredients were chocolate cake mix + a can of pumpkin puree.  I am rarely known to follow a recipe, so I decided to take my own twist on the simple treat.

Chocolate Pumpkin Protein Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 1 scoop protein powder (I used Cookies & Cream, but feel free to use Vanilla or Chocolate flavors too.)
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients and blend with a hand mixer.  Batter will be thick.  Place batter evenly into cupcake liners and bake 18-20 minutes until fully cooked through.

I stored these cupcakes in the refrigerator and enjoyed them throughout the week.  Feel free to smear a little peanut butter on top for a little ‘icing’ action.  It is delicious!

Dinner

Tim came back home Sunday evening, and I was so happy to see his face.  This also means I was back to preparing full meals in order to fill him up, while still keeping dinner as healthy as possible for the both of us.  I decided to give stuffed chicken a chance by butterflying two chicken breasts, stuffing with low-fat mozzarella string cheese and broccoli, pan searing and then baking until fully cooked.  I served the chicken alongside ‘oven fried’ zucchini, which I lightly breaded in whole wheat flour, eggs, and panko bread crumbs.

There you have it.  A nice sample of my eats for the week.  Maybe next week I will remember to photograph one whole day of eats.  We will see!

Questions:

• What is the best thing you ate this week?

• Do you tend to make smaller, much simpler meals when you are only cooking for yourself?

• Any good Pinterest recipes you’ve made lately?

• Tell me what your favorite Halloween/Fall treat is!

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