What I Ate Wednesday

It's been a long time since I've posted a What I Ate Wednesday! This is what I ate yesterday. Yesterday was unusual because Estella woke up at 6ish instead of her usual 7, and then fell asleep around 7 again and slept in her chair for two hours! This meant I had time to enjoy some tea and reading all by myself! I also had some kombucha, and of course water.

For breakfast I had banana-cinnamon-almond muesli. It's not uncommon for me to have a snack before lunch, but muesli is pretty filling so I didn't need anything today.

For lunch I had vegetable and sausage stew - Love this! It has Brussels sprouts, fennel, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, onion, and sausage. Some chicken broth and tomatoes create the base. Yum! Thanks for making it, Mom and Jessica!

For a snack I had half an avocado with some chipotle bbq Beanitos - chips made of black beans! They have a few varieties of bean types and flavors and all the kinds I've tried are good. 

For dinner we had chickpea salad. I tweaked the recipe a little bit to suit our taste and I didn't mash the chickpeas. It was tasty. I ate mine on a bed of spinach and Marshall had his on a slice of bread. The chickpeas were hard for him to keep on the bread though. That would have worked better if I had mashed them. I want to make a version of this with curry flavors next time!

Unfortunately, this day did not end with dark chocolate like I had planned....That was really just because I forgot though so it's not too sad. I'll have some tonight : ) ...If I remember. 

Menu

Sunday - Leftover chicken dumpling soup, bread

Monday - A skillet dish with sausage, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes

Tuesday - Chickpea Salad - Mock chicken salad

Wednesday - Pasta with sun-dried tomato chicken sausage, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and pesto

Thursday - Tim is cooking for house church -- I think he said he was making soy sauce chicken. It's probably really good because Tim is a great cook.

Friday - A skillet dish with thinly sliced steak, diced red potatoes and broccoli, all flavored with worcestershire, garlic and herbs

Saturday - Massaged kale salad with lentils sweet potatoes and caramelized onions


My first full-week menu in a very long time! We have so much food right now that it actually made it difficult (but a fun challenge!) to plan this menu because I am trying to use everything before it goes bad and incorporate it into tasty meals. We have a lot of meat and vegetables that I want to use wisely and I think this menu is helping me to just that.

I'm planning to do a mid-week post of eats, breastfeeding edition #1 ; )

Menu

Monday - Leftover pasta, salad -- I made a dish with pasta, kale, sweet potatoes, and a smoked apple chardonnay chicken sausage from Trader Joe's last week and we're having that tonight with a salad. The sausage from TJ's is delicious. I decided to buy some convenience type foods so I can whip up an easy dinner if I'm really tired or Estella is fussy, and I've found some things we really like. I got the smoked apple chardonnay chicken sausage as well as a pesto chicken sausage. Both are pre-cooked so they just need to be heated for a few minutes and they're ready!

Tuesday - We're starting back up our weekly house church meetings! We took a break for December and early January but I'm happy to be starting again. Carol is going to make soup and I'm making bread.

Wednesday - Beef and vegetable soup


The rest of week/weekend is undecided because the Schaeffers will be here! Yay! There may be lasagna, possibly lentil curry, and there could be some kind of soup. Not much of a plan, I know. This is my first time posting a menu in a long time though. I'll get the hang of it again soon : )

I'm Back!

I didn't have any inspiration for this blog during the last month of my pregnancy, but now that recovery from birth is well under way and I'll be home alone with Estella most of the time, I want to make sure I have some me-time things to do. Therefore, I plan to be back in action on Our Tasty Menus during nap time and/or on the weekends when Marshall is taking care of her.

I'm finally getting back into the swing of meal planning after a couple weeks of help. Yesterday I cooked dinner by myself for the first time in three weeks (since Estella's birth)! I plan to post a menu this weekend, and that will be the first full-week menu plan in quite some time. I'm looking forward to settling into a routine again.

The blog should be back to it's usual self with menus, days of eats, recipes, and hopefully more videos, though no promises as to when since I don't know what the next one will be about.

I'm excited to be back!

Spicy Pan-Fried Swai -- A 15 Minute Affordable Fish Dinner

One of my nutritional goals for the past few months has been to get more seafood into our diet. But one thing I knew could be a hindrance is the expense. Seafood is not always affordable. Sales help, of course, but even then it can be pricey.

One thing I have going for me though is that I'm not a fish snob. I've never lived on the coast, so even though I've had delicious fresh fish a few times in my life, I don't require it. Not to say that the swai I am presenting here is less than stellar, I am just not promising it will satisfy the pickiest of fish eaters. That being said, I find it to be sweet, tender, moist, and flaky when prepared well. I prefer it over tilapia which I would say is the best comparison if you're not familiar with swai. 

So not only would I consider swai to be tasty, it is also one of few fish that falls into the affordable category. Further proof that I'm not a fish snob, I actually get this from the frozen section at Target! I pay $7.99 for 24. oz. which usually turns out to be 5 fillets, sometimes 6. That means two or three dinners since one fillet each is enough for Marshall and I, and I could also get away with using one for both of us if I flake it up in a soup or pasta dish. It still isn't the cheapest meal to appear on our menu, but I'd call that pretty affordable for fish.

So not only is swai affordable and tasty, it is also said to have a high fish oil content, which is one of the great reasons to eat fish is the first place! So if you're not familiar with it I'd recommend giving it a try. This simple recipe I am sharing here takes only 15 minutes to prepare (at most!). Not many dinners can claim they're healthy, affordable, and ready in 15 minutes. This one can!

Spicy Pan-Fried Swai

Ingredients:
Swai fillets -- As many as you need for your group
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of cajun seasoning (or similar) per fillet -- my mix has salt, onion salt, garlic salt, paprika, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.
1 tablespoon butter per fillet

Directions:
Heat a pan as large as you need over medium-high heat with the butter, allowing it to melt. While your pan is heating season the top side of your fish fillets. Once your pan comes to temperature and the butter is melted, add your fillets with the seasoned side down. Now season the side facing up. Let cook about 3 minutes and then flip over each fillet. Allow to cook until tender and flaky, about 3 more minutes. The time will vary based on how hot your pan is and how thick your fillets are.

I served this with rice and peas with spinach, and these sides only take a few minutes as well. The peas and spinach I just tossed in a small covered pot with a tiny bit of water on medium heat and let it cook until the spinach was wilted and the peas were hot (and added a small bit of butter and salt at the end), and I took some leftover cooked rice and heated that in the same pan as the fish once I removed the fish from the pan. It soaked up the excess butter and spices left in the pan and was delicious.


So there you go - that's my 15 minute affordable fish dinner.

If you're looking for more inexpensive ways to eat seafood check out my salmon salad and lemon shrimp and herby cream cheese sandwiches.


Thanks for introducing me to swai, Mom!

My Favorite Snacks Lately

A lot of these snacks are not new to me, I've just been especially interested in them these days. However, there is one exception to that which I will point out. I have been more hungry these days since my baby is supposed to be putting on some weight right now so I've been trying my best to have healthy snacks around since I eat pretty frequently and don't want to eat the same things all the time. I definitely have some splurges here and there (one of which I mention near the end), but I know it's best for me and my baby to stick to the healthy options, plus I feel better and enjoy these foods anyway. Let's jump right in!

My all-time favorite green smoothie

For me this is usually a meal (typically breakfast, though sometimes lunch) rather than a snack, but I do sometimes make a smoothie in the afternoon or make one on a Saturday morning before making a more elaborate breakfast a little later in the morning. 

Buttery coconut oil popcorn

I talk plenty about my love for popcorn in the linked post, but it remains true. Just made this today : )

My favorite homemade granola bars

I find these bars to be a great way to get a bunch of seeds into my diet that might not be there otherwise. I reduced the amount of brown sugar in these and don't usually use the dried fruit anymore, so the sugar content is a bit lower than what it used to be. I like to switch up the nuts and seeds, too. Lately I've been putting some chia seeds in place of some of the flax. 

Dark chocolate almond milk is definitely one of my splurges health-wise. There is 17 grams of sugar per 8 oz. cup in this but I never drink that much at a time, and I feel I can justify it because of the calcium. I don't think all splurges need justification, but I have this often enough that my reason makes me feel better : )  

These are a new snack to me which I found out about from my Love with Food box. I recently heard about this subscription box and thought it looked fun, and there was a coupon to get a discount on your first box. I gave it a go and loved it! These (though a sample size) were one of the items in my first box and they also sent a coupon. I went out and bought them at Target shortly after discovering them, and they happened to be on sale, too! These are a bit pricey, but so are most other healthy packaged snacks. I think they're a great option for a convenient, healthy, on the go snack, and I will definitely purchase them again. They'd be especially good for travelling.

Speaking of Love with Food, when I signed up they gave me a referral link! I honestly don't know what the benefit is for me because I haven't checked, but I know that YOU can get your first box for $5.99 instead of $9.99. That's what I paid for my first box and the value was higher than what I paid for sure. Plus it was fun to receive in the mail! Let me know if you decide to get a box (there is no obligation to continue getting the box, you just need to cancel the subscription). I'd love to hear if you like it!

I had a smoothie for lunch today and popcorn for an afternoon snack, and I'm thinking about having some dark chocolate almond milk for dessert, so there's my proof that these snacks are favorites : )

Menu

Sunday - Kaese Spaetzle -- We both love this dish. This time I made it with onions and smoked Gouda cheese, and I added some milk to make more of a cheese sauce instead of just grated cheese. Yummy!

Monday - Pasta with sausage, broccoli, onions, kalamata olives, and spicy olive oil

Tuesday - Cabbage and sausage soup - Yum!

Wednesday - Slow cooker green lentil curry and rice -- I made a version of this recipe a couple weeks ago and it was fantastic, but I did the spices pretty different. I'll post my version soon!

Thursday - Tim is making enchiladas for house church

Friday - Kalamata olive pizza -- Marshall and I have been making pizza together most Friday nights lately : )