Happy Tuesday! I hope your week is off to a great start. I received the most wonderful gift of sleep this morning from a friend and fellow teacher. I texted her late last night on the off-chance she was planning on coming to class and could teach for me. I wasn’t feeling well but told her I would rally and be there if not. I didn’t hear back from her so I was planning to get up and teach when I received a text from her at 5:43 a.m. that she’d be happy to cover. I sent her lots of heart emojis, got back in bed and felt like a new girl after two more hours of sleep.
I so appreciate good friends and teamwork. <3
Let’s jump into recent eats.
I am back on the smoothie bandwagon now that temps are up. Mornings have been really warm and humid. This was my set up heading in to train my clients this morning. Smoothie, coffee and water. 🙂
The smoothie mix I’ve been making lately has been Premier Protein Chocolate Milkshake protein powder with frozen bananas, frozen berries, frozen cherries, spinach, a pinch of sea salt and peanut or almond butter. The nail color that I’m loving this week is OPI’s Grapely Admired from their Infinite Shine Collection.
But I haven’t forgotten about chia pudding.
This week I’ve experimented with adding some oats in with the chia seeds. More on that later. I drizzled coconut milk over the top of this bowl and topped it all off with almond butter and berries.
And of course scrambled eggs and sweet potato breakfast bowls.
Lunch has been much of the same. Lots of salads but I’ve been enjoying fresh berries in my salads since they’re in season. This was a meatless mix of spinach, arugula, avocado, pistachios, radishes, blueberries and strawberries.
More salad and berry goodness. This one included deli turkey.
Berry-less salad with spinach, arugula, avocado, tomatoes, radishes, dried cranberries, deli turkey, toasted walnuts with chili powder and balsamic vinaigrette.
I’ve been eating tons of fruit since everything seems to be in season and on sale at the store. So good.
As usual, dinners have been the highlight. Here’s my favorite pad thai recipe made with shrimp along with sautéed bok choy on the side.
Bone-in pork chop cooked in cast iron. My dad told me to brine the pork chop so I did for a few hours in a kosher salt, brown sugar and water mixture and I swear it made a huge difference in the chop. I cooked it in a cast iron skillet with Dizzy Pig Raging River Rub. I served it alongside pumpkin gnocchi from ALDI and sautéed Cruciferous Crunch from Trader Joe’s.
One pan roasted dinners are ALWAYS a winner! Trader Joe’s Spicy Chicken Italian Sausage, potatoes, carrots, turnips, peppers and a sweet onion.
Sushi dinner with some girlfriends at Namastay Kitchen. Our sushi chef is super talented and I think he makes some of the best sushi in Charlotte.
To wrap it all up, here’s the roasted broccoli I shared with you last week along with marinated, baked chicken quarters and pureed cauliflower. I am all about brining and marinating lately. This chicken was awesome and I’ll share the marinade with you soon!
Do you ever brine pork or chicken?
Any favorite marinades to share?
Hi Jen, quick question-
How many personal training clients do you try to have each week? Just wondering as I’ve had a semi-recent career change.
Hey Courtney – I teach 10 yoga classes every week and spend about 10 hours training clients (I’ve cut way back in the past year on training). I spend the rest of my time split between blog and my role as marketing director at the studio.
Brining is such a miracle for flavor and moisture! Of course, it requires planning ahead; but when we roast chicken, we now often brine beforehand to make it a little more interesting. I hear brining chicken in pickle juice is the secret to Chik-fil-A flavor at home. I’d have to eat a lot of pickles first, but I think I’m up to the challenge.
I’d love to try the pickle juice brine!
My dad told me that even if you can only brine for a couple of hours that it’s better than nothing!
That gingerade kombucha is my favorite! And I’ve been putting berries on all of my salads lately.
I’m making a pork chop tonight with a BIG salad and cannot wait…Bone in of course, because I love that fat! 🙂
Bone-in is where all the good flavor is at! 🙂
that nail color…yes please!
What proportions did you use for your kosher salt, brown sugar and water brine?
I didn’t measure!
No problem, I’ll look one up and give it a try. Thanks.