how #iNfLuEnCeR of me would it be to say “you guys have been asking…”? because nobody really asked, but i love to hear what other people do/eat/listen to/wear/read/watch on a daily basis, so i figured i’d share a realistic rundown of what i eat in a day. if you’ve been a longtime reader of the blog, or know me, or some combination of the both, you know that i try hard to be healthy but definitely have my fun foods too (hellooooo dairy queen!). today’s post is a normal weekday for me. i’ll share what weekends look like for me in a different post.
breakfast // lunch
while breakfast foods are some of my faves (looking at you, pancakes/waffles/pastries), i’m not really much of a breakfast eater. never have been. at first it started as not having time in the morning before school [although that changed when i could drive and would stop at the gas station before school to get poptarts, a reese’s fast break bar, and a starbucks frappuccino. every day. you can see why my health journey begins later in life]. it continued into college where i didn’t take a class before 10am the entire four years (who am i with this 5am workout stuff?!). now i’m just used to not eating until late morning, almost lunch. turns out i had been intermittent fasting without knowing it for a long time.
ok, that was long-winded; get to the point, kelsey! when i “break my fast” i usually do it with a smoothie [#fab4smoothie if i bring from home, otherwise i grab one from so good so you here downtown mpls] or some sort of salad. i’m not talking a boring lettuce + crappy dressing combo; my salads have a ton of ‘extras’ and solid protein. think salmon + arugula + sunflower seeds + microgreens + cucumbers. or chicken + kale + egg + roasted broccoli + blue cheese. they’re always huge, and always full of flavor. i believe in the power of greens for your digestive system and as a prebiotic, so i’m big on packing as many in as i can during lunch. plus, i’m all about volume, and you can eat a lot of greens. i also love to play around with dressings [yes, i heard how lame i sounded there].
snack
i’m not sure about those people that swear they don’t need snacks. it’s weird to me. i always need some sort of snack between lunch and dinner. honestly, i think it’s more of a mental thing, because after my lunch i’m not really that hungry, but i just need a little something between the end of the workday/commute and when i get home to eat dinner. fun fact about me: i LOVE to eat in the car. always have. so snacking on my way home is a common occurrence. i usually have a bar of some sort, an apple/banana, or bag of nuts. i know, kind boring, but i try to keep it healthy-ish.
dinner
dinner is usually cooked at home, partially because we have little kids, and partially because we don’t live close to many restaurants (so i’ll keep watching you foodies from afar via instagram stories!). on our rotating menu is the following:
- cauliflower crust pizza
- roasted sheet pan veggies + chicken sausage
- banza chickpea pasta + sauce
- veggie noodles + sauce
- loaded salads (typically towards the end of the week – grab romaine and top with whatever is left in the fridge)
- wraps (same concept as loaded salad)
- soup and sandwiches (i’ve started to get a little more creative with my soups and sandwiches by making my own creations! hummus + sprout sandwiches, homemade soup with leftover roasted veggies, chicken, and bone broth)
- grilled chicken/burgers and veggies (in the summer)
dessert
you guys didn’t think i’d forget dessert, did you?! of course not. i end the night with something (usually a lotta things) sweet. i have a raging sweet tooth, and it usually manifests itself in the way of my kid’s leftover halloween candy, the marshmallows we have for potty training (hey, i peed on the big girl potty today, too), or my one true love, a dairy queen blizzard. i’ve been asked the question more than once “but how do you eat blizzards and look like that?!” first off, thank you – you’re v kind, but high-waisted pants do wonders. second, a blizzard isn’t going to make or break whether or not my jeans fit tomorrow. i figure i’m what i do MOST of the time, and most of the time i eat pretty healthy, so a blizzard is really there to feed my mental health. raise your red-spoon clutching hand if you’re with me!
thanks for reading, friends š as always, happy to answer any questions you may have here or over on the gram.