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.
Perfection.
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.
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.
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.
-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.
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.
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.
-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).
-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
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.
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.
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!
Ready, set, go!
xoxo
Gina
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slow cooker chicken & black bean chili!
LOVE cheese boards and make them for dinner all the time!
My favorite healthy dinner is paleomg’s spaghetti squash pizza casserole. It’s filling, delicious, and makes a ton so I can eat leftovers for lunch all week!
I’m following you on insta! @lizchin6
My favorite healthy dinner right now since it’s so cold would be chili and cornbread.
I’m loving poke bowls at the moment!
The cheeseboard looks amazing! Ironically under the post about a full days of eat, I wonder if you have any advice/recos on Intermittent Fasting (IF)? I see tips about it literally everywhere and I’m curious what your opinion on this is. Is it just the fad health trend or is there some truth to the craze? (I apologize if you’ve written a post about this before but I don’t recall seeing one).
Thanks 😀
i can definitely do an updated post on it!
I follow you on IG!
Protein and veggies is my favorite quick, healthy dinner!
I’ll have to give the Lorissa’s Kitchen items a try. They both sound delicious. As far as healthy dinners go, my go-to is quick and easy. Baked chicken thighs, and whatever veggies I have on hand.
I’m on a serious sushi kick!!
One of my fave healthy breakfast meals — not super original here just gonna go with a classic overnight oats since that’s what I’ve been having lots lately 😉
I’ve always loved cheeseboards. They’re such a fun idea and there are so many variations about what you can put on them.
Favorite healthy dinner is salmon and veggies!
Cheese boards are our go-to for Holidays. New Years? Cheese board. Valentines? Cheese Board. National Cheese day? cheese board.
Our fave healthy dinner is actually just chicken and veggies. It’s all about the spice though. Right now we are OBSESSED with Penzey’s Krakow Nights. So good.
roasted veggies, rice and meat 🙂
Favorite healthy dinner is a shrimp stir fry!
I follow on instagram
I follow Lorissa’s Kitchen on IG
Chicken Kale Caesar Salads are a favorite healthy rotation for us!!
My favorite healthy dinner is a baked sweet potato with a lean protein and topped with avocado! So quick and easy too.
My favorite is peppersteak. We eat that at least once a month.
Gah–now all I can think about is making a cheese board! Currently we’ve been eating whatever I can throw in the Instapot each evening. Got it for Christmas and the obsession is going strong!
That tuna looks so good!
Lettuce wraps with seasoned ground turkey and veggies, topped with chili garlic sauce
We love stir fry!
My favorite healthy dinner is Baked salmon filet brushed with olive oil, and salt pepper. Served with brown rice and roasted asparagus or broccoli, or I’ll just sere it atop a kale salad with dried cranberries, goat cheese, and walnuts. Yum!
I love salmon for dinner with a big salad and Barrio bread. (I’m a Tucson reader!) 🙂
Honey-Lime Shrimp Bowls
My go to healthy dinner is roasting various veggies and chicken sausage.
My favorite healthy dinner is protein and veggies sautéed together! I also like turkey meatballs with spaghetti squash and marinara.
Dinner looks delish and I’m always looking for quick, healthy meals to put together. Can you share the details (ingredient amounts) on your peanut sauce?
Looks amazing
I love roasted chicken with roasted veggies or seared ahi with a homemade avocado/tomato salsa.
My go to healthy dinner lately has been chicken sausage with sauted onions and peppers with a base of quinoa. Also I love cauliflower fried rice with shrimp. Easy, healthy and delicious weeknight meals. 🙂
Skinny veggie soup in crockpot.
I love grilled chicken breast and salad.
My favorite healthy dinner is a Santa Fe Salad!
Following on IG @jporter974
Follow both on IG @jporter974
My favorite healthy dinner is grilled chicken and fresh veggies.
My favorite healthy dinner is turkey sausage cut up into small pieces with sliced mushrooms, garlic, and fresh green beans cooked in a pan with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil 🙂
Following both on IG @kolbamber
I do a lot of salads.i try and change up what I put in them.
I like avocado, hard boiled egg & tomato salad with a little sea salt & pepper. I can’t wait for summer for fresh tomatoes!
I follow on instagram @jwal90
I follow both on instagram
Honey Lime Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles.