Hello and happy Wednesday. It’s been a low-key but enjoyable week over here. Finn is down for a nap and I’ve got two dogs keeping me company. Virginia’s cockapoo Stella is spending the day with us.
This is an old photo but she’s still this cute! It’s great for Zoey to have some company today, and it makes me miss Sullie and extra lot.
First up for this post…another “What I Ate In A Day” similar to the post I wrote last Wednesday. It offers a more holistic view of everything I eat in a day instead of the highlight format my recent eats posts follow.
WHAT I ATE IN A DAY
7:30a – a big cup of coffee with collagen powder.
8:20a – smoothie. While I was making it I snacked on a few handfuls of Purely Elizabeth Blueberry Hemp Granola but once the smoothie was ready, I decided I wanted to drink it instead of do a smoothie bowl.
This was a great combo…these are rough estimates…
5 frozen figs
4 frozen strawberries
1/2 frozen banana
4-5 frozen peach slices
1/3 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 medjool date, pitted
1/2 cup coconut water
1/4-1/2 cup almond milk (start with less and add more if needed)
1/4 cup plain full-fat greek yogurt
Big spoonful of almond butter
I will remind you guys over and over and over again that the more frozen ingredients you use in smoothies, the better! It improves the taste and consistency so much and you don’t have to water them down with ice…which also ruins the texture. Here’s a post I wrote with all of my best tips for making smoothies that taste good and look pretty!
10:15a – I pulled a Dave’s Killer Bread English Muffin out of the freezer, defrosted it, toasted it and slathered it in salted Kerrygold butter.
12:30p – finished off a bag of salt and vinegar kettle chips while I opened and closed the fridge and freezer at least 10 times trying to decide what I wanted for lunch.
1:10p – lunch! I got creative with a salad/lentil bowl. I spotted a bag of Trader Joe’s Melodious Blend in my freezer and quickly steamed it in the microwave. I served it over arugula and topped it with rotisserie chicken, avocado, feta, cherry tomatoes and ranch dressing. I’m probably going to do a repeat of this again for lunch today because it was so good!
6p – a glass of Fever Tree Ginger Beer with a squeeze of lime while I was giving Finn his bath. This is my favorite brand of ginger ale. It’s so spicy.
7p – I had been craving sushi for a few days so I picked some up at Whole Foods earlier in the afternoon to have for dinner later. While I was there I also grabbed some vegetable potstickers. It was my first time trying them and I was very impressed. I’ll definitely buy them again. The sushi was good and fresh. The only bummer was that they didn’t include any wasabi in the package. Dipped everything in coconut aminos.
8:15p – time for dessert! Earlier this week I baked a peach pound cake with my mushy peaches (and froze the rest for smoothies). It was delicious warmed up with some vanilla ice cream.
9p – a cup of hot tea while I watched the hot mess that was The Bachelorette finale. SO GOOD.
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK
Since I haven’t been teaching, we’ve had a pretty relaxed schedule. It’s honestly been a wonderful change of pace.
On Monday we had a playdate with a friend in the neighborhood. Her son is almost 11 months old. He and Finn were so interactive. Finn was obsessed with this Fisher-Price car that they had and spent most of our visit sitting in it or playing around it.
On Tuesday we had a playdate with my friend Jen. She has four littles and her youngest is six months older than Finn. Once again, the two boys interacted with each other a ton. The cutest thing was when her son taught Finn how to get on the ride-on toy (so far Finn has just been pushing them around) and then the two boys took turns getting on and pushing each other! Jen and I didn’t encourage any of this…they did it all on their own. It was adorable.
(Not trying to make the photos all about Finn but don’t want to post photos of other people’s kiddos on the internet!)
And today we hit up story time at the library for the first time and it was great! First, I discovered that the library has a wonderful kid’s section with lots of toys and things for babies/toddlers to interact with. We’ll definitely go back when it’s not story time just to play and read books. Second, the actual story time was awesome. Finn loved the songs and games and all the clapping. His favorite moment was at the end when the leader got out bubbles and blew them all over the room. I also got to connect with some other moms so it was a win for everyone!
I think I hear someone who is awake from his nap and ready for lunch. Time to go! 🙂
What did you eat for dinner last night? Have you been craving anything lately?
Have you done anything fun/special with your kids lately?
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Finn is so cute! That is awesome that he has been interacting with other kids around his age and that they play together. Our little guy, Paul, has some buddies in daycare and I’d love to be a fly on the wall and watch them interact! My closest friend has a son that is 5 weeks older than Paul but he walked soooo much earlier (he just started walking 2 weeks ago at 16.5 months!) so they haven’t played much since they were at such different development points. I’m hoping to play more together now that he can walk.
Something new we did recently was go to the zoo! We went to a free one last weekend and Paul loved it! His fave exhibit was the fishes so I think we will take him to an aquarium at some point.
It’s been a game changer to watch him actually start to interact with other kids…and to see how even without language they kind of figure things out between them with us staying out of the way! Yes, I do think the walking helps a lot with the play interaction and YAY Paul for walking!!! That’s awesome! Finn is starting a preschool program in the fall and I think he’ll really enjoy it!
My mom and I took Finn to the zoo at 7 months and I’m dying to take him this fall when it’s a little cooler. Now that he’s a little older, I think he’ll really love it!
I appreciate that you are so conscientious about not posting pictures of others children on the internet. So many people post without giving it a second thought.
Thanks for saying that. It’s just something that’s been giving me a lot of pause lately. I save it for my private IG account just for my own memories! 🙂
Jen! Being injured is no fun, but it is nice to have a change of pace for a bit, right? As far as Whole Foods sushi, I didn’t have wasabi in mine a few weeks ago too — made me quite upset, as I love to use a lot of wasabi. Second of all, we go to storytime at our library all the time — I love the free activities libraries have for kids. Have a great day, friend! 🙂
This better not be a change they are making to the sushi packaging! I love lots of wasabi too. 🙂
I REALLY appreciate the libraries offering such wholesome, free activities. Wonderful.
We have that car for my 13 month old, we got it for her for hanukkah and it has been one of her absolute favorites! It’s the one thing she plays with daily in one way or another. Right now its climbing over it/on it, etc.
Aw, that’s awesome! 🙂 I thought about getting Finn one but I’m worried he’ll outgrow it quickly. He’s 14 months now. Do you think it’s something your daughter will continue to enjoy?
Check out Imaginon in uptown sometime! It’s a library (so it’s free) and devoted to children. They have several great play areas as well as story times.
Thank you! Adding that to our list of things to check out very soon!
Also – the storytimes at the Scaleybark library with Erin are awesome. She’s so great with the kids! And Scaleybark is moving to a brand new space soon so it will be so fresh and clean!
What did you eat for dinner last night? Have you been craving anything lately? My friend made me the most amazing dish. Saute a chopped yellow onion with olive oil and turmeric. Add boneless skinless chicken thigh. Let it cook half way and then add chopped potatoes and carrots. Lastly, add sliced green pepper, chopped tomatoes, and mushrooms. Add a splash of water or chicken broth plus a few squeezes of tomato paste. More turmeric to taste. Add 1 chili pepper (seeds in if you like spicy). Finish with fresh chopped parsley and plate. Mix plain Faye yogurt with finely chopped Persian cucumber and finely chopped fresh mint. Serve on the side. Such a dreamy dish and so healthy! I’ve also been hooked on sandwiches like you. I absolutely love Dave’s Killer Thin Sliced Good Seed Bread. Mostly just lots and lots of protein, thin sliced cheese, mayo, fresh tomato, and most importantly, fresh basil. It’s a game changer!
That dinner your friend made sounds SO good! I love anything with chicken thighs and that balance between spice and cool refreshing things like yogurt/cucumber/mint…can’t beat it! Yum, you have a good friend!
Finn is so cute! Good to know about the veggie potstickers. I don’t shop at Whole Foods, but I have a gift card I have to use at some point!
Thank you! 🙂 If you have a gift card for a special occasion, I have many suggestions for you…haha!
That sushi looks so amazing, and so does all your other food! Thanks for sharing, such a great post as always!
-Kate
https://daysofkate.com/