Monday, February 12, 2018

A full day of eats + how I make my cheese boards

This post is sponsored by my friends at Lorissa’s Kitchen. Be sure to check out an awesome giveaway at the end of this post!

Hi friends! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! We’re here in San Diego enjoying some time with friends, hanging at the beach, and eating at all of our favorite places. I’ll be back soon with a recap.

In the meantime, I thought I’d pop in and share a whole day of eats. I frequently receive WIAW-style post requests, and I totally get it because I love getting new ideas for healthy meals and snacks. Here’s what a full day looked like recently and it was a pretty *normal* day. It was a teaching day (barre and Zumba), and I spent the rest of the time chasing the girls around, blogging, and the usual to-dos.

Here we go!

7:20am I have a mug of herbal tea to-go as I take Liv to her doctor’s appointment. I’m usually not hungry first thing in the morning, but the tea is just enough to wake me up and get me going.

9:30am: I’m back from the school drop-offs, and have some time to grab a quick bite before teaching. I make 2 eggs with 2 egg whites, scrambled, and serve it with my favorite green salad, and a big piece of homemade sourdough.

Sourdough 3

Perfection.

Breakfast 3

I head to teach an intense barre class before picking up P, putting her down for nap, blitzing on work and chores.

1:00 pm: Lunch! We usually have leftovers from dinner on hand, and they’re often the bulk of my lunches, unless I make a smoothie. I’m excited that we have some leftover rice and sauteed rainbow chard, so I heat those up and serve with some tuna tataki. This tuna is one of my favorite recent Whole Foods finds; you can find it over by the sushi counter in the freezer! Just defrost and eat. 

Tuna bowl

During naps, I like to prep dinner if I have time. Since I’m caught up on work for the most part, and dinner will take about 10 minutes to put together, I spend some time assembling a cheese board. We usually keep all of the fixings in the fridge, just in case friends decide to pop by, or we want a fun afternoon snack.

So many friends have asked about how I put the cheese boards together, and while they’re a mix of things in the fridge, there is a bit of a method behind the madness. I make this particular cheese board with all of the usual suspects (different types of hard and soft cheeses, almonds, charcuterie, berries, pickles, olives, fruit and honey) and add a little something extra to the mix: Lorissa’s Kitchen meat snacks.

Cheese board prep 7

Here’s what I do:

-Start with a large wood cutting board. You can get fancypants and get a large marble slab or unique tile, too. 

Cheese board prep

-Make piles of cheese, evenly spaced around the board. I like to use a mix of different types of cheese (cow, sheep, goat), flavors (spicy or herbed) or textures (soft, creamy, hard) so everyone has something they like.

-Add the charcuterie. I’ll usually do prosciutto and some type of salami, also in piles, spaced around the board. To take things to the next level, I add piles of my latest fave high-protein snack: Lorissa’s Kitchen.

Cheese board prep 2

I don’t eat pork products, and the usual meat that I’ll add to the cheese board is often pork-based (like prosciutto or salame). I LOVE the Lorissa’s Kitchen protein snacks, especially the Ginger Teriyaki Chicken and Korean Barbeque Beef. They’re the perfect size for a cheese board; the super soft bite is the perfect stacking size with a piece of cheese! Liv was PUMPED when she saw these on the cheese board.

Cheese board prep 3

Cheese board prep 6

A little bit about Lorissa’s Kitchen:

-They were created with a health-conscious, on-the-go person in mind. Lorissa wanted to create a snack that was based on her values on sustainability and good ingredients, and something that was easy to take with you. The chicken cuts are antibiotic-free, the steak strips are 100% grassfed, and all of the ingredients are things you can pronounce. 😉 They use 100% grassfed beef, and there are no preservatives, no added MSG, gluten, added growth hormones, or added nitrites. Just sustainably-sourced meat + seasonings. 

– They’re different than jerky. The texture is softer with a nice chew to them. I don’t usually love traditional jerky because it’s too dry and chewy for my taste; Lorissa’s Kitchen products are soft, tender, and beautifully-flavored. 

I LOVE how portable these are, and have a bag stashed in my gym bag and in my tote for a quick high-protein snack. They’re the perfect “running around” snack. 

Cheese board 4

-Fill in the gaps! I’ll fill in the gaps on the cheese board with a mixture of tastes and textures: briny (olives and cornichons), sweet (dried fruit), crunchy (crisp apples or pears, sliced), and salty (salted or herbed nuts, or parmesan crisps). 

Cheese board prep 5

-Crackers! I’ll serve a couple types of crackers and some jam in a little bowl. When I’m feeling extra extra, I’ll add a bowl of tapenade or pesto, too.

That’s it! Cover and keep in the fridge until an hour or so before serving. (I like to set it out a little bit before parties so the cheese can come down to room temperature.)

5:15pm: Cheese board time! I’ll occasionally make these when I know the Pilot will be home from work at a normal time. It’s fun to surprise him with a cheese board. #truelove 

Cheese board prep 4

Ok, I make it for myself, too. 😉

We devour the cheese board, and I snack on bites of it while I prep dinner: shrimp and veggie bowls with peanut sauce.

I start a large pot of water to boil, salt it, and add some spaghetti noodles. Next, I sauté some frozen mixed veggies in a large pan with avocado oil, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper. (I skip out on the onion so it’s a bit more mild for the girls). When the veggies are soft, I stir in a pound of fresh shrimp (tails removed), and season well with salt and pepper.

Shrimp cooking

While the shrimp cooks, I whisk the sauce: peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, honey, salt and pepper. When the noodles are down, I strain them, and add them to the pan with the shrimp and veggies. Next, the sauce goes on top, I stir it all together and serve. It’s one of those quick on-the-fly recipes that the girls love.

Shrimp skillet

8:50: I enjoy my bowl of pasta and shrimp after teaching a sweaty Zumba class, and have another glass of tea before calling it a night. 

Now, it’s giveaway time!

My friends at Lorissa’s Kitchen sent me the HAUL of protein snacks to share with two lucky reader friends.

Two winners will each receive an enormous pack of Lorissa’s Kitchen products + whatever fun goodies I decide to throw in the package. 😉 

Please enter via the widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ready, set, go!

xoxo

Gina

The post A full day of eats + how I make my cheese boards appeared first on The Fitnessista.



from The Fitnessista http://ift.tt/2Ex06LZ
via IFTTT

No comments:

Post a Comment

Speedster Jump Rope HIIT Workout

  Workout equipment: Jump rope Workout type: 12 Minute Timer setting: 18 x :10 x :30 1. High knees w/ jump rope ...

Popular Posts