Staying on the wagon + some awesome dinners
Hi! How’s it going? It’s rainy and gloomy and fantastic.
We had a morning playdate with Whitney and Wyn, and during naptime, I’m packing up Kale Yeah shirts and getting ready for Zumba.
During spin on Monday, I gave my class major kudos for showing up. It can be hard to get back into the usual routine after a huge holiday, and they were there ready to rock it out.
Played this song for the last sprint:
I’ve found that something that works best for me during the holiday season is to stick to my schedule and normal eats as much as I possibly can. After a big party or event, it can be easy to think “Oh well, I overdid it so I might as well keep going” and end up spiraling into habits that leave you feeling lethargic and blah.
I’ve also found that having a balance of treats, rest, and cocktails in my regular life -not just the holiday season- keeps me from wanting to “rebel” and overindulge. They don’t seem as tempting when you allow yourself to do and have these things on a regular basis. Back in the day, I wouldn’t have treats as often, and during the holiday season I would turn into a cookie monster. Now, a cookie is just a cookie. If I want one, I eat one, enjoy it, and go on with life. 🙂
I’m not sure what this is, but just wanted to give a little fist bump to you for sticking with your routine as much as possible during the holidays! Remember that it’s the forest and not the trees; go for a grand scheme of things approach.
I’ve had some requests for more everyday type eats, so I thought I’d share some recent highlights.
Crab cakes!
We’ve decided that we want to start taking advantage of the fresh seafood around us, so we picked up some lump crab meat from Point Loma Seafoods (the best!!) and I got to work on these crab cakes.
I followed the recipe from Delicious Disney (an old favorite cookbook) and they were AMAZING. They were a little more labor-intensive than the usual 20-minute cooking blitzes, but it was totally worth it.
Next, some sweet potato, zucchini and chicken enchiladas.
For these, I sautéed a chopped shallot, one chopped zucchini and 2 cloves of garlic in a little olive oil. While they were cooking, I boiled 2 large (peeled and chopped) sweet potatoes for about 7 minutes, and drained the sweet potatoes before adding them to the skillet with the veggies. I seasoned everything with about 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon chili powder, salt, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon oregano. Next, I added shredded rotisserie chicken (at the last minute, just to heat it up without drying it out) before wrapping the mixture in corn tortillas. I dipped each tortilla in this sauce before rolling, and topped with grated manchego. Everything went in the oven for 20 minutes. Since I had leftover sweet potato mixture, I saved it and have been enjoying it with dippy eggs for breakfast.
Another recent bfast: Paleo bread with peanut butter, berries, honey and a side of scrambled eggs.
Last night’s dinner: rosemary salmon with a cranberry bourbon sauce.
Still not over cranberry sauce.
I made my usual sear-and-bake salmon (with salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary) and for the sauce, I heated 8 oz organic cranberries with 1/4 cup bourbon, 4 tablespoons honey, and 1/4 cup orange juice. When the berries started to pop and sizzle, I turned the heat down to low until serving. It was an awesome sweet and savory combo!
Any awesome dinners lately? What’s your favorite rainy day or crockpot meal? I’m hankering for some pho…
See ya in the morning!
xoxo
G
Post Navigation:
2014 Holiday Gift Guide: the toddler edition → ← Favorite things giveaway: Erin Condren38 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Oh I haven’t made that paleo bread in a long time! I need a batch.
Although it’s not dinner, for my lunches lately I’ve been obsessed with making a big batch of a warm potato salad from Smitten Kitchen (a link to the recipe at the bottom) – it’s green lentils, new potatoes, and parsley with a mustard-shallot-olive-oil dressing with pickles and capers. It may sound strange but it’s tangy and oh-so good! I make a big batch and have it over massaged kale leaves for lunch. So filling!
>>http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2014/01/warm-lentil-and-potato-salad/
The recipe is super easy and comes together so quickly, it’s been a perfect, quick and portable meal.
I’m in Europe so dinners have been street food at the local Christmas markets – no need to dirty plates when you don’t have to 🙂
that sounds fantastic. thank you for the link!!
and amen to that. 🙂
All of your meals look delicious, but that Paleo bread (with honey + butter) looks divine! Must make that soon 🙂 My favorite crockpot meal is chili. It is so easy, and it is hard to mess it up! I just throw whatever veggies I have on hand in the pot, and it usually turns out pretty good. With a side of cornbread, of course!
Those enchiladas look yummy!!
that cranberry salmon looks amazing! We had a crockpot chili last night that was amazing.
that sounds so good! i’ve been wanting to make some chili!
Hey — what brand of tortillas do you use? I want to find something made without wheat that is soft enough to roll but the local grocery stores only has corn which can be kinda crumbly…..thank you!
i can’t remember what brand those ones were, but they were from sprouts. i just read the back and make sure they’re gf and no funky ingredients (usually, corn, water, lime juice, salt only). to keep them from crumbling, i heat them slightly and dip in sauce before rolling
Oh my, everything looks so yummy! Thanks for the inspiration. I have been in a dinner rut lately. My Monday evening Zumba ® class killed it and I was so proud of them too. Made my heart smile.
so awesome!! my zumba class crushed it last night, too. it was one of those nights when i didn’t really feel like teaching, and they turned that around SO fast
Yummy meals! I completely agree on enjoying small treats in your regular routine so it doesn’t get out of control. I used up my cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving on a burger. The extra flavor was really nice.
i’ve decided cranberry sauce is good on anything 😉 haha
your dinners look amazing!!! Especially the salmon and crab cakes….yum!!!
Those crab cakes look amazing! Yes to fist pumps and seeing the forest through the trees. Great way to describe it.
Oh, I am going to stay in Point Loma when I am in San Diego in May, I NEED to pick up Seafood there!! Those Crab Cakes and Enchilladas look amazing.
I love veggiefrittatas for breakfast lately and I am a little obsessed with grilled catfish. So good!
they have DELICIOUS food there, too. the calamari is what dreams are made of, and awesome sushi.
Gosh your dinners look so gourmet! I love making asian style meals in the crockpot, particularly honey sesame chicken.
ohhh i’ll have to try that one!
Impressive every day eats right there!! 🙂 Fancy Pants!
Mmm, we’re still loving cranberry sauce over here too! Pho always sounds good on these rainy days. I made another batch of tomato soup with prosciutto, arugula grilled cheese with a bit of sriracha mayo. So good! Another favorite for this weather is crockpot turkey, pumpkin chili. So good!
that sounds INSANE!! what tomato soup recipe do you use??
I use this one, choosing top quality jarred tomatoes and double it (but not the onion): http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/meyers-classic-tomato-soup.aspx. It’s really good!
The recipes sound amazing! Any chance they can be printed easily instead of having to copy and paste? I definitely have to try the enchiladas!
i think this time she just typed them out since she was just sharing her dinners, not a recipe (though i do think they are “recipe” worthy! 🙂 )
Hi Gina! I like to make sure I’m always into my healthy eating and working out back on Monday to start the week, no matter how much I indulged over the weekend. It’s true you can’t say no to all the good stuff, but you can’t go overboard everyday. Love the crabcakes! I’ve never made those at home before. I’ve been eating a lot of spaghetti squash for dinner these days. I get home late from teaching classes, so it’s quick and easy.
Haven’t been to the grocery store in over week (usually go every other day for fresh produce) because of all the leftovers. Last night: stuffing waffles with crisped turkey and jalapeno cranberry sauce. Side of roasted veggies.
I need to try that paleo bread recipe- sounds amazing! I love seeing your daily eats, and totally miss your WIAW posts!
My favorite crockpot recipe is salsa chicken (aka salsa + chicken in a crockpot for 6 hours, then shred!) It’s the easiest way to cook up a week’s worth of chicken with limited time!
wow, thanks for sharing the Trans Siberia video, love it!
I can’t wait to make those enchiladas… they look fantastic! I’ve been on the biggest Mexican kick since Thanksgiving…
After a 2-1/2 hour commute home last night (!!), I was so glad I had chicken, broccoli, and rice in the crockpot! I’m also hankering for crockpot shepherd’s pie!
i LOVE enchiladas. enchillada and tamales are ony my list to make over breakd (we already bought the ingredients haha 🙂 cant wait to go home!)
and that cranberry sauce sounds so good with the bourbon!
the enchiladas look delicious! I am going to try this!
I love turkey pumpkin chili on a cold NYC night!
Love the idea of cranberry sauce on salmon!
I’m obsessed with soup lately. I made a roasted eggplant & lentil one the other day that was delicious with a poached egg and herbed feta on top.
Tis the cranberry season! I’ve been putting some in my oatmeal most mornings 🙂
Kheema: Indian Ground Beef with Peas has been my go to cold night meal, so good and easy!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/kheema-indian-ground-beef-with-peas-recipe.html?oc=linkback
okay, I’m only making ALL OF THIS
Made chicken pot pie risotto for the family on Saturday night… delicious!