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
201 Comments
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I love making cheese boards! We usually save them for a special treat and I serve with fresh baked gluten free bread.
My favorite quick & healthy meal to make is usually stir fry. I’ll do this when we’re short on time and use frozen veggies, shrimp and cauliflower rice. Throw in coconut aminos or coconut teriyaki and we’re good to go in about 10 minutes.
My favorite healthy dinner is Mexican Cauliflower Rice Bowls with veggies 🙂
Favorite healthy dinner: homemade hamburger patties (no buns) with roasted carrot “fries”
I would looooove to win
I love roasted veggies and some kind of protein, usually chicken thighs or chicken sausage, as a quick and healthy dinner!
Especially this time of year some of my favorite healthy meals are soup. It’s so easy to pack soups full of veggies, I often make meatless versions, and I can eat lunch from the leftovers all week!
My fav healthy dinner is cauliflower fried rice.
My favorite healthy dinner would be a Greek salad plate with all the fixings!
Following you on ig, @oliviadkyle
The cheese board looks amazing! Will def have to make one!
Totally random but do you make GF Sourdough bread???? LOL It looks amazing!
Thanks!!
Lauren
We love doing stir frys with whatever we can find in the fridge…super easy, quick, and healthy with a ton of veggies!
I love spaghetti squash!
I follow you on ig @cameerudolph
I follow Lorissa’s Kitchen in ig too. @cameerudolph
Grilled chicken breast, roasted asparagus and brown rice. I’m not a fan of cooking so I keep it simple!!
Yum! I need to try a cheese board!
Baked chicken and veggies on a sheet-pan, along with a healthy grain like brown rice. So easy & healthy!
Chicken with brown rice and kale. Our easy weekly go-to.
That cheese board looks so good!
Favorite healthy go to meal: roasted veggies and chicken over rice. Easy, filling, and healthy!
My favorite healthy dinner is buddha bowls- brown rice, sautéed kale, roasted veggies, tahini dressing, and avocado!
Can’t wait to make my next cheeseboard using your tips!
I love making giant Thai chopped salads. We also usually grill meat and veggies a few times a week. Simple and yummy!
We love to make homemade burrito bowls – easy to fills with lots of veggies and customizable – plus plenty of delicious leftovers for lunch the next day. 🙂
Lately my favorite healthy dinner is cauliflower fried rice!
I follow you on Instagram!
I follow on IG – @lndsywst
I really love healthy crock pot dinners – one of my favorites is chicken taco bowls. Chicken, beans, tomatoes, corn, and spices/seasonings all go in the crock pot, and then I just serve with rice/tortillas, salsa, and gauc. Super easy and delicious!
I follow you on Instagram 🙂
I love making stir-frys also, as an easy and healthy and quick dinner! MY favorite part is you can easily switch out the proteins and veggies and it’s a new rush each time! Added bonus – my kids love them, too!
Excited to try the Lorissa’s… jerky is just too hard and chewy so this sounds like a great alternative!
It’s 9 AM and now I want a cheese board!
Beautiful cheese board….are they legal at 8:00 am?? haha
I love making crockpot salsa chicken and then baking fajita vegetables using fajita seasoning in the oven for quick fajita bows! I also follow on Insta (missleahrae87)
I’m a big fan of turkey burgers with butternut squash fries! Easy and delicious!
I’m going I make a cheeseboard for brunch with friends!
One of my all time dinner faves is Gina’s Chicken with Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice: delicious! We like anything with veggies incorporated into the dish instead of on the side.
We love tacos!
I love cheeseboards! But mine never look that nice….
Follow you on Insta!
Following Lorissa’s Kitchen on Insta!
That cheese board looks amazing and now I want that for dinner!
My favorite healthy dinner is a vegetable stir fry. Frankly anything loaded with vegetables is fine by me. I love them!
My daughter loves eggs so for something quick and easy for dinner we eat egg/egg white omelettes frequently.
Can you link that sourdough again? I forgot to bookmark the recipe last time you did! I want to try it!
Favorite healthy dinner : stuffed sweet potatoes. I make a a bunch of different toppings and everyone adds what they like.
Yum! I love the softer texture of Lorissa’s and think adding them to a charcuterie plate is an amazing idea. I also love to eat this as a pre-workout snack – all of the protein keeps me super energized through a tough workout!
I have been struggling with new afternoon snack ideas for our girls and us, the cheese board is such a good idea since there is a little something for everyone!
Love me some cheese boards! These are a staple for us at every family dinner.
That cheese board sounds so easy to make! My cheese loving family would love me forever if I had that for a random day of the week! And Parmesan crisps?! I need to check those out!