What I Ate This Week: Parfaits, Salads, Comfort Foods & More!

I get a lot of questions about what I eat daily, especially now that I’m pregnant, which inspired me to start jotting down and sharing exactly that! My hope is that this will show you that I do truly maintain a balanced diet – not TOOOOO crazy on clean eating only, allowing myself to indulge when I want to!

My cravings lately have been eating brown rice with ghee butter and Parmesan cheese. Obviously comfort food! Even though it may sound not too healthy, brown rice is still a great source of many different minerals like magnesium, selenium, contains fiber that helps lower cholesterol, and even contains zinc and iron. So if you want a comforting dish that still gives you nutrients, I love this simple concoction! 

You’ll also notice that I have some days where I eat primarily plant-based, some days where I eat a ton of cheese, and other days where I have chicken for breakfast and a burger for lunch. I love to follow an intuitive diet and eat what my body tells me to eat all while always trying to stay consistently mindful. I find that not following one particular diet helps me eat healthiest while enjoying life’s food pleasures! 

So here is the first week’s peek at what I’m eating this week in hopes that some of this plan will inspire you or give you ideas of what to eat as well! 

Monday

Breakfast: I love starting my mornings off with salads or soups! Who says you should only be eating breakfast items? For breakfast I had a big veggie salad: arugula, red onions, chickpeas, cucumbers, peppers, olives, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

Lunch: For a while I had a craving for a simply peanut butter and jelly sandwich. So I made an open faced PBJ with organic peanut butter, natural jelly with minimal sugar, and whole grain bread (If I’m going to eat bread – I make sure I find brands that are whole grain and even include additional ingredients like flax seed or chia seed).

Snack: I’ve also been craving pickled spicy vegetables, especially Giardinara. So for todays snack I whisked together vegan Kitehill creamed cheese mixed with Giardinara, and scopped it up with gluten free chips. Oh and also had 2-3 small clementines for a boost of vitamin C and antioxidants.

Dinner: Brown rice with ghee and parmesan cheese was promptly consumed in 2.5 seconds, followed by a big parfait of Greek Yogurt, coconut granola, blueberries and drizzled with honey. I can’t believe I’m eating dairy now, but that’s what lil bubby boi wants! It’s so strange cause I was strictly non-dairy before I was pregnant as it made me bloated and break out, but now it has zero effect on me! So parfaits are definitely one of my favorite healthy pregnancy indulgence.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Today’s breakfast was red pepper hummus with gluten free crackers. Wanted to make sure I got some protein to start my day and the gluten free crackers were made with almond flour and flax seed to deliver some healthy fats!

Lunch: A huuuuuge strawberry spinach salad: lots of spinach, 1 big handful of strawberries sliced up, goats milk feta cheese, 1 handful of crushed walnuts, balsamic vinegar and olive oil! 

Dinner:  We ordered lots of goodies from a new local spot called Veggie Grill, so I had their vegan taco salad (actually everything on their menu is vegan). Made with seitan “meat” corn, beans, tomatoes, baby kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, vegan cheese, and citrus vinaigrette! Oh and also a side of their vegan mac n cheese.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Leftover taco salad from Veggie Grill, but this time I topped it with some shredded rotisserie chicken and extra avocado. Always making sure I get protein and healthy fats in the mix.

Lunch: For lunch I made vegan creamed spinach and cauliflower fried rice! A total plant-based packed lunch for me! 

Dinner: I stopped by a salad bar after my Barre class and whipped up an easy Greek salad made with: spinach, chickpeas, red onions, feta cheese, cucumber, green pepper, oregano, oil and vinegar. Dessert was a protein shake made with 1 banana, a scoop of peanut butter, plant-based protein, and almond milk. 

Thursday

Breakfast: My fiance and I usually grab a no salt added rotisserie chicken during the week to use in our meals, so this morning I had chicken breast dipped in creamy garlic hummus.

Lunch: For lunch we had food catered to work from Doc B’s (omg one of my favorite places to get a veggie burger), and I indulged in a bun-less beef burger with kale slaw and cabbage slaw. Ugh their food is just too good.

Dinner: Dinner was light! My fiance whipped up oven baked salmon topped with homemade garlic dill sauce with a side of oven roasted asparagus topped with “So Delish” coconut vegan cheese (and real Parmesan cheese).

Friday

Breakfast: Egg white salad made with hard boiled egg whites, avocado mayo, dill pickles, red onion, and chopped dill. I had a HUGE bowl! I’m not quite sure how many eggs were in there but I don’t care!

Lunch:  I picked up a frozen saag paneer from Trader Joes (a spinach cheese dish) that is made with spinach *obvi*, and paneer cheese. If you want to make your own I found an easy recipe here!

Dinner: A buuuunch of turkey meatballs made with low sodium seasonings with leftover baked cheesy asparagus, followed by another huge Greek yogurt parfait!

Saturday

Breakfast: Sometimes I love to have soup in the morning, so I whipped up some split pea soup!

Snack: One of my favorite indulgences to grab when I’m running errands around the city is a Banana nut crunch smoothie from Freshii. Made with frozen Kefir, granola, banana, and almond milk. So simple yet so delicious.

Dinner: It was date night and I was craving sushi, so we went to a local spot called Friends Sushi (one of my faves) and I ordered my favorite pregnancy friendly cooked sushi options: Caterpillar roll, Dragon Roll, Red Spider, and King California are some classic cooked options that are so scrumptious!

Sunday

Breakfast: I kept it simple with a big, this time around, Coconut yogurt parfait with coconut granola, berries + honey!

Lunch: I met some girlfriends at Siena Tavern and ordered their brussels Sprout Salad topped with Chicken, and we all split an order of meatballs. I love the brussels sprout salad because it’s filling, and filling salads in Chicago restaurants are sometimes hard to come by!

Dinner: Another Sunday date night with my man and we went to Ema in River North. This Mediterranean spot has my favorite dips in the city. You HAVE to try their garlic  hummus, house-made labneh, charred eggplant spread, baked halloumi cheese, and grilled octopus!

 

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