Our day on a plate

Breakfast: breakfast burrito comprising of scrambled eggs, sharp Cheddar, spinach, and avocado in a whole wheat and corn tortilla with pico de gallo and Greek yogurt on the side; cantaloupe.

Alex has been craving breakfast burritos, so we had them a couple of times that week. Serene and I had the breakfast burrito version pictured above, and Alex had one with bacon, without spinach, and topped with light sour cream instead of Greek yogurt. I like to use Greek yogurt in place of sour cream for whenever the occasion calls for it, but Alex is not (yet) convinced it is healthier and tastes the same. We were going to have tacos for dinner so making fresh pico de gallo made sense. All I put in the pico de gallo is chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper, all according to taste. We're not really into spicy foods, so I don't ever really use jalepeños or chili peppers.
Lunch: zucchini fritters on a bed of spinach topped with avocado and a Greek yogurt sauce.

Zucchini squash was only 3 lbs/$1 at the local farmers market, so I didn't hesitate to pick some up. It's my second favorite veggie (after spinach), and I recently saw this zucchini fritters recipe that I wanted to try. I pretty much followed it but substituted whole wheat flour for flour in the fritters recipe and Greek yogurt for sour cream in the sauce. They were so yummy; Serene ate quite a few too! We topped them with the Greek yogurt sauce and fresh avocado. We like avocado on everything. Serene will hold out her food and say "peas" (please) to indicate that she wants more "avo" (avocado) on it.

Dinner: chicken tacos in corn tortillas with spinach, pico de gallo, sharp Cheddar, guacamole, and Greek yogurt; corn on the cob.

We had some church family over to plan an upcoming conference, so I decided to have a taco bar for dinner - easy for me, fun for guests, and tasty and healthy for all. Since I whipped up pico de gallo in the morning, all I had to do was prep and shred the chicken, make guacamole, and put all the other ingredients in bowls for self-serving. Another taco bar ingredient I included was hash browns because we love California-style burritos with hash browns or fries in them (totally not healthy, but so crispy and good!). Those disappeared by the time I took the picture above. Nevertheless, a friend said, "These are the cleanest tacos I've ever eaten." We also had an elote bar; most people love to slather a combination of butter, lime, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, and chili powder on their corn on the cob for the Mexican-style street corn, but I like my corn on the cob plain. Now that I look through the food we ate on this day, I realize that we eat meals featuring a lot of recurring ingredients like spinach and avocado. They are frequent purchases during grocery store runs, and I tend to put them in almost everything we eat.

See other foods we eat on a typical day here.

Our day on a plate

Breakfast: multigrain berry oatmeal with flaxseed and chia seeds, bananas, and frozen wild blueberries; dry roasted unsalted almonds.

I've been on an oatmeal kick. I like my oatmeal made with half soy milk and half water, sprinkled generously with seeds, and topped with fruit. Add a side of almonds, and I am good to go! I introduced oatmeal to Serene before she turned one, but she wasn't a fan of the texture. These days, she gobbles up oatmeal as quickly as I do, which makes me pretty happy.

Lunch: open-faced pesto, light mozzarella, romaine lettuce, spinach, tomato, cucumber, avocado, and alfalfa sprout sandwich on whole-wheat bread; blackberries and blueberries.

I love fresh veggie sandwiches, especially when there's a hefty bunch of alfalfa sprouts in it! Sprouts add the perfect crunch and texture to a sammie, I think. Whenever I happen to be eating at a deli, I'll always order their fresh veggie sandwich (if they have one). Yum. Serene had a variation of the sandwich with just pesto, light mozzarella, spinach, and avocado. We finished with tons of sweet blueberries and blackberries.

Afternoon Snack: almond butter "ice cream"; berry "ice cream."

I had a couple of overripe bananas so I decided to make "ice cream" out of them. The two scoops of ice cream pictured above are made with just two ingredients each! Just dice up the bananas into even-sized coins and freeze them overnight. The next day, throw the frozen banana slices into a food processor and whiz them up until you have the consistency of creamy ice cream. You can eat the banana ice cream plain, or toss in some toppings for different flavors. I added a dollop of unsalted almond butter to half of my banana ice cream, and some frozen berries to the other half. You can eat the ice cream right out of the food processor, but I think it tastes better (and more firm) after being put into an airtight container to freeze again until completely solid. Both the almond butter and berry "ice cream" were so yummy. Serene loved it too. I think she thought she was eating real ice cream. I had no qualms about her eating this kind since it's sugar-free, healthy, and so good for the body! I think this will be my go-to to-do for overripe bananas from now on. I'm looking forward to throwing in different ingredients next time.

Dinner: kung pao chicken with bell peppers, zucchini, and bok choy over brown rice; bean sprout banchan.

I wasn't keen on cooking an extensive meal this night since we scheduled an evening of visits with our neighbors, so I unearthed a bag of Trader Joe's kung pao chicken from the freezer. It's one of their westernized Chinese dishes that is convenient to have for a quick-I-don't-feel-like-cooking-much meal. I stir-fried the meat in a jiffy and added fresh bok choy, bell peppers, and zucchini to incorporate lots of veggies before tossing it in some soy ginger sauce and peanuts. We served it over steamy brown rice with, per Alex's request, some fried eggs on the side - which made it an ultimate comfort meal. I've been whipping up bean sprout banchan every week for the past three weeks adapted from this recipe. It's so good, simple to make, and stores in the fridge for an easy snack or side dish. I just blanch a pound of bean sprouts, chill it, and then mix in 1 tsp sea salt, 2 minced garlic cloves, a handful of chopped green onions, 1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame seeds, 2 tsp sesame oil, and Japanese red pepper to taste. The bean sprout banchan gives a nice, refreshing crunch alongside the kung pao chicken.

See other foods we eat on a typical day here.

Our day on a plate

Breakfast: unsalted almond butter on whole-wheat toast, chia seed pudding topped with fresh blueberries, banana.

Chia seed pudding is a newfound favorite. So good, and so good for you, since it's a source of fiber, protein, and omega 3. I just mixed 1/4 cup chia seeds, 1 cup unsweetened soy milk, and some clover honey (to taste) together, soaked it overnight so the seeds can plump up, and topped it with blueberries for breakfast in the morning. I heard you can substitute for coconut/almond milk and agave nectar as well. Serene loves chia seed pudding too; it tastes like tapioca pudding, but is way healthier. We had it with toast spread with almond butter and banana - I had more toast than banana, and Serene had more banana than toast.


Lunch: baby spinach and tri-colored quinoa salad with Persian cucumbers, grape tomatoes, Clementine oranges, avocado, and blueberries for mama. A deconstructed salad of quinoa, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, Clementine oranges, blueberries, avocado, corn on the cob, crunchy broccoli florets, and a pita wedge for baby.

I'm so happy to have finally checked out a local farmers market that sells fresh produce for so cheap, thanks to a friend's recommendation. I was elated in there; I think I bought a gigantic box of different fruits, veggies, and herbs for only $9.00. Therefore, we made use of some of the tastiness for lunch, with quinoa for protein. I like my salads dressing-free, and Serene is not a fan of raw leafy greens (yet?), so I made her a deconstructed salad of sorts comprising of everything in my salad except for spinach, and added a pita wedge, crunchy broccoli florets, and corn on the cob. She loves corn on the cob, and would happily eat through a few cobbettes for a meal. She ate everything else, except for the cucumbers and most of the quinoa. This was her first time sampling the seed, so I'm not surprised. Here's to hoping she'll develop a liking, or tolerance, for quinoa in the future.


Afternoon snack: baby carrots dipped in hummus, yellow cherries, grapes.

I don't like condiments in general, and will often use hummus, pesto, or avocado as substitutes. Like baby carrots dipped in tasty hummus. Serene can't have them yet, but she had cherries and grapes with me. Yellow cherries are my favorite fruit, and I was so happy to find them at the farmers market, even though it isn't exactly cherry season. Serene loves fruit in general, especially yellow cherries. She is fond of grapes too, just as Alex is.


Dinner: soy braised pork with tofu and boiled eggs over Japanese white rice, garlic sautéed bok choy, chicken soup with carrots and potatoes.

As I get older, I miss my mom's cooking more and more. We always had humble, comforting dishes over white rice as I was growing up, and I've been itching to learn how to whip up more Chinese home cooking. I think my mom makes the best Chinese food in the world, but she's so pro that she never measures her ingredients. I've been asking other family members and friends for basic recipes, and I was so excited to try a couple of them out. A Chinese meal at home almost always requires a clear soup, a protein dish, and a veggie dish. My dearest friend gave me some tips on making chicken soup with carrots and potatoes; it turned out being super easy, refreshingly tasty, and reminiscent of my childhood. The veggie dish was bok choy sautéed in a bit of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, shallot, and ginger. My sweet cousin shared a basic template for soy braised pork, so I played around with what I had in the kitchen, and adapted it into a yummy soy braised pork with tofu and boiled eggs. We all loved it, and I think I'll be making it more often (and will be sharing the recipe on this space soon).

See other foods we eat on a typical day here.

Our day on a plate

I was making our breakfast yesterday, and thought it might be fun to document the food we eat on a typical day. Perhaps I'll do this periodically. Either that, or I'm running out of post ideas.

Breakfast: avocado on whole-wheat toast, eggs scrambled in a bit of extra virgin olive oil with baby spinach. Water for mama and unsweetened soy milk for baby (tried-and-true beverages during all our meals).

Avocado toast is my favorite go-to breakfast. It's fast, easy, and so insanely tasty. I'm pretty biased as an avocado aficionado. I love them in almost everything. I will always ask Alex if I can add avocado to my order at a restaurant. Serene loves avocado too, which we call avo around here. She could eat avo toast and eggs with spinach every day. Thankful for that, because this is an easy, nutritious breakfast that we eat often.

Lunch: mini hand rolls, sides of edamame and Clementine oranges. Mama's rolls are stuffed with Japanese white rice, tilapia poke, avocado, and baby spinach. Baby's rolls are stuffed with any combination of Japanese white rice, avocado, egg, corn, and spinach.

I usually look for a quick and easy-to-prep lunch most days, like steamed chicken and veggie dumplings from Trader Joe's, or cheese and veggie quesadillas, or more often, leftovers from dinner the night before. On this day, I found frozen tilapia sashimi in the freezer that I forgot we had. It was a jackpot moment because I had been craving sushi (my favorite food). I knew we had leftover rice in the fridge, avocado, and snack-sized roasted seaweed, among other things with which we could make impromptu hand rolls. I cut up the tilapia sashimi and dressed it to make poke (I will probably share the recipe soon). I prepped the other ingredients, which just meant cutting up avocado, putting spinach in a bowl, heating up the edamame, corn, and rice, and frying an egg. We typically eat brown rice around here, but when I'm pregnant, I want white rice all the way. Serene loves bits and pieces of everything in a roll. Mama gets her poke, and baby gets food in a fun roll. We're both happy, and Alex was thrilled for our budget's sake when he found out my sushi craving had been satisfied for free when I had been asking him to take us to my favorite local all-you-can-eat sushi joint.

Mid-afternoon snack: multigrain and seed crackers spread with Brie cheese, semi-defrosted frozen wild blueberries.

Serene always wants a snack after she wakes up from her afternoon nap. Dinner is still at least an hour and half away, and she gets hangry (hungry + angry) waiting - very much like her mama. She loves crackers, especially since she's currently teething (her top two front teeth are emerging!). Usually she'll have a graham cracker and some fruit, but we had some cheese left over from our quiet New Year's Eve celebration, so we're all too happy to down some fancy cheese and crackers. Blueberries, or berries in general, are some of Serene's favorite fruit. I just bought frozen blueberries at the grocery store this week since fresh blueberries aren't in season, and are therefore pretty expensive.

Dinner: whole-wheat spaghetti in marinara sauce topped with baked garlic and herb-stuffed turkey meatballs, garlic roasted broccoli topped with parmesan.

Dinner is always special, because Alex is home to eat dinner with us. We're a pasta-loving family, and spaghetti and meatballs is a favorite, specifically when the meatballs are homemade. I use dear Ruby's recipe as a template, and we are all fans. Alex, as an unabashed meat lover, loves these meatballs because he says they taste like they're bad for you. I love them because they're not bad for you at all since they're made of lean ground turkey, some fresh Parmesan, and tons of herbs. I'll usually make a big batch of whatever we're having for dinner so that we have leftovers for the following day, which is partly how we survive around here with a fifteen-month-old and another babe on the way.

See other foods we eat on a typical day here.