Hello, everyone! How is your week going so far?

I have been loving the sunnier days lately and am looking forward to a couple of days in the 50s and 60s coming up!

We went to my grandparents’ house for a quick overnight weekend trip which was nice. A change of scenery can be so refreshing!

During our stay we went on the toboggan run at Pokagon State Park in Indiana. It was quite the thrill ride with the weight of me, Alec, and my parents all on one sled! I was somewhat paranoid we were going to go flying off the edge.

I feel like the winter is flying by and soon we will already be into spring!

What have you been up to lately for fun on the weekends (or whenever your time off is)??

Recent February meals & snacks for your own eating inspiration! 

Thursdays have become our routine veggie bowl dinner night, so let’s start things off with bowl #1!

Utilizing my trusted recipe source, Hummusapien, for her roasted veggie bowl w/ tahini honey mustard. One of my tried and true faves!

Quinoa and/or brown rice w/ a bed of heavily seasoned roasted sweet potatoes + brussels, topped w/ roasted chickpeas and smothered w/ the best tahini honey mustard dressing. Prepped in “stages” throughout my week and therefore ready to go once Thursday dinner (and Friday leftovers) rolls around.

In case you’re curious / find this sort of thing helpful as far as meal prep examples/ideas go…
–> Sunday: prep grain
–> Tuesday: roast veggies
–> Thursday: make sauce / eat!

Bowls #2 and #3 were new-to-me bowls in the past month. This one was a “chickpea glow bowl” w/ the tastiest almond butter curry sauce.

My version included quinoa topped w/ roasted cauliflower + sweet potatoes + carrots + roasted chickpeas, finished off w/ plenty of sauce.

I will surely be including this in our recipe rotation going forward! (Not that I have an actual rotation; just a list of recipes to regularly return to).

One more bowl –> black bean & sweet potato bowl w/ mango tahini sauce. I had been wanting to try this recipe for a while, but honestly didn’t totally love it so probably wouldn’t make it again. But could still be worth trying if it sounds good to you! Kale massaged w/ mango tahini sauce, roasted black beans + sweet potatoes, some quinoa, + plenty more tahini sauce for drizzling. If I don’t LOVE a dish I probably won’t make it again – too many other good options to go around!

Another dinner recently was mahi-mahi (frozen, wild-caught from Costco) seasoned w/ curry powder along with coconut rice and roasted bell peppers + red onion. Simple yet satisfying!

I enjoyed this while watching a house tour show on YouTube when Alec was gone one evening. I am NOT the type of dietitian who thinks *you always need to be eating sans-TV or phone to be eating mindfully*! I’ve been finding that having something to do or watch on nights when Alec isn’t home for dinner is usually relaxing for me, given that I am at home alone/”in my own head” so much of the work week (minus interacting with clients!). Having an intentional fun distraction can certainly be helpful!

I absolutely LOVED this mint chip brownie Lara bar I randomly got as an “emergency snack” on my way to yoga. The yoga studio I go to is a good 25-30 mins from our townhouse — I thought I was “fine” hunger-wise when I left, and ended up needing to desperately grab something to tide me over for the class before I got home for dinner! A fine selection my snack turned out to be. Some Lara bars I find delicious; some, not so much.

Sometimes I make my fudgy almond cacao energy bites using peppermint extract instead of almond extract, which turn out very similar in taste to the above Lara bar in case you’d like to give this a try!

I am all about snacks and you can read more about some of the benefits of eating regularly throughout the day here!

Beautifully sunny day for a beautiful tray of roasted veggies promptly heading into the oven! Chopped tri-color bell peppers, jalapeño pepper, and red onion, all drizzled with avocado oil and seasoned w/ plenty of salt + pepper. I made this to go along with a simple dinner of roasted potatoes (seasoned w/ salt, pepper, garlic powder, + lots of paprika) and sunny + runny eggs. This ended up being such a satisfying dinner! (Or would be good for breakfast… personally I like eggs for dinner typically).

Egg/veggie/roasted potato dinner above was inspired by the fact that for a few weeks, I had a lot of extra potatoes to use up from a soup recipe and the next dinner pictured below. The soup was a newer favorite – white bean & kale soup. I absolutely love this soup, which I have made for lunches a couple of times this winter. This time I doubled the recipe and ended up freezing some leftover at the end of the week. I “loosely” follow the recipe and adjust amounts of veggies/broth/spices as I feel would be good while I’m making it. (Less broth, more veggies/add-ins, more spices/seasoning).

My brothers came over for dinner recently and I made pistachio chicken, roasted broccoli, and roasted potatoes (simply cut + seasoned w/ LOTS of Italian seasoning, salt + pepper).  Also a side salad of arugula + carrot + green bell pepper, drizzled w/ homemade dark balsamic. The roasted broccoli + roasted potatoes w/ Italian seasoning are now my go-to sides for when I make pistachio chicken. (Leftovers the next night pictured here).

What is your favorite Girl Scout cookie?? I’ve made some homemade versions a couple of times recently. These were homemade Tagalongs for our weekly lunch at church. If you have followed along the blog during my previous adventures at Juicy Kitchen, you may know I used to make (my favorite) Samoas every week.

Also homemade Thin Mints for one evening when a couple of our friends came over for dinner. Both super easy, both vegan + gluten free, and both I will definitely make again! I made the Thin Mints a couple of weeks before the Tagalongs and only had wedding-themed cookie cutters (so opted for the “less-suggestive” February-themed hearts as opposed to rings, wedding bells, etc. Especially since our friends were dating. Lol.) I then proceeded to buy these cookie cutters on Amazon for future use!

I have been loving my morning whole fruit juice blends! This one is orange + carrot + frozen mango + ginger + a couple dates + water. All blended in the Vitamix. I usually portion it into a few glasses that I enjoy post-run / pre-breakfast the following few days before blending a new batch. A new variety along w/ the grapefruit + blueberry blend I have also been doing. Recipe details found in the Run Fast Eat Slow cookbook.

Still going strong w/ my overnight oats + frozen (thawed) berry obsession… I don’t know if this will ever get old! Out of everything I eat, I probably look forward to this + morning coffee (and my dark chocolate) the most each day!

To change things up a bit snacking-wise, I made some brownie granola bars from Minimalist Baker using toasted oats + pecans. Pictured with a couple of our usual coconut cacao bars that we eat every week!

Have you given my berry cacao smoothie a try? So refreshing and tasty – basically a berry milkshake/sorbet experience for your tastebuds! I love to eat mine topped w/ granola.

Lastly… a plate of my favorite almond flour chocolate chip cookies. So soft with the best texture! I like to make them with mini chocolate chips.

Everyday Enjoyment: 

Sunnier + warmer February: While the days have been all over the place as far as random snow then random warmer days, and the days are still *mostly* gray, I’m grateful for the warmer and sunnier days that we have had in February so far! It’s nice to not feel like it is such a hassle to go outside (runs, walks, getting the car ready) as far as snow goes, and the sun makes ALL the difference to me on any given day! There have also been a number of beautiful sunrises + sunsets lately which I always love. A run or walk with a sunrise versus a totally gray sky is the best mental and energetic upgrade to my day!

Sleeping (decently) better: My sleep is still not great, but it has been significantly better in the past week or so compared to the previous couple of months! Having more energy for each day from good sleep is also something that makes a huge difference for me!

Blog articles from some of my go-to websites: I often like to read from my various go-to blogs when I am eating lunch… most of them are bloggers and/or websites that I have been following for a long time (some, like Hummusapien and PB Runner, for 10-15 years). Here are a few recent posts I’ve enjoyed below!

–> I’ve Been Changed: My Journey to Eating Meat Again
–> Why You Should Decide Once (And Stick With It)
–> My Only February Goal  [love the focus on walking daily!]
–> What to Cook This February

What do you like to do throughout the winter (fun, hobbies, etc.) to help with the potential challenges of the season?

What are you looking forward to with spring?? 

Happy mid-week! I hope you have a good rest of the week!