My weekend was intense…but really good. I traveled to Kingsport, Tennessee to lead the second weekend of our yoga teacher training at VIDA Hot Yoga. This weekend we covered things like early class sequencing, the eight limbs of yoga, discussion of the Yamas ahimsa and stay, asana breakdowns, practice teaching, loving kindness practices and more.
I got to Kingsport around 3:30p on Friday. The hotel has a nice gym (I haven’t been to an actual gym in Charlotte since last March) and I wanted to get in a workout for myself before I spent the weekend teaching and training. I did three miles of intervals on the treadmill and a quick dumbbell strength workout that took less than 20 minutes but was super effective. I’ll be sharing it soon. I had taken two full rest days before this workout and my body felt so great and energized. It was a great way to kick off the weekend and get in the zone.
After a quick shower, I headed to the studio for our Friday evening session. I led a hot power yoga practice and then we had a group meeting until 8:30p. Saturday was TT from 8a-6p and I met a group of my former teacher trainees for dinner. Sunday looked like training all day from 7:30a-4:30p and I arrived home very tired at 8p tonight. I’m not really sure why I’m writing a blog post after all of that but I needed a quiet, focused activity to transition me back home and to get me ready for bed.
Finn is upstairs sleeping. His nanny put him down before I got home and while I am DYING to kiss his sweet face, I am so grateful for the opportunity to decompress. I’m looking forward to spending most of tomorrow with him. I’ve been struggling with some mom guilt lately.
I edited a bunch of food photos on a break earlier today so that’s what I’m going to share in this post!
BREAKFAST
Yogurt bowl with FAGE Total 5% Plain, honey, bananas, homemade granola, strawberries and peanut butter.
Cottage cheese scrambled eggs, toasted sourdough with salted butter, sumo mandarin and strawberries. Fun story. Finn told me he wanted a bagel but when we sat down to eat together, he wanted my toast. (Of course he did.) So I gave him some and he said, “Thanks mommy. Thanks for sharing.” My heart melts. Take all of my food.
Smoothie bowl topped with frozen banana, frozen strawberries, frozen raspberries, frozen blueberries, frozen spinach, frozen cauliflower rice, plain greek yogurt, a medjool date and peanut butter topped with homemade granola.
Kodiak Cakes plain oatmeal with mashed banana, cinnamon, blueberries and peanut butter added. To be honest, I am struggling with oatmeal right now. I could only eat half of this because it felt so heavy. I have to really be in the mood for oatmeal these days to enjoy it.
LUNCH
SUSHI! Spicy tuna wrapped in avocado and salmon. Also ate a bunch of edamame.
Mediterranean quinoa bowl. Quinoa, baby spinach, artichoke hearts, avocado, tomatoes, pistachios, kalamata olives, hummus and tzatziki with a drizzle of olive oil.
Turkey sub with provolone, avocado spread, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo and oil and vinegar. Does anyone else love oil and vinegar on a sub sandwich? The tang is so good.
Avocado toast on homemade sourdough with salted butter and hemp hearts. Sumo mandarin on the side.
Bagel sandwich with turkey, provolone, lettuce, tomato and mayo. Pickle on the side.
Quinoa, sautéed local ground beef, sautéed spinach, avocado, tomatoes, hummus and tzatziki.
Road trip lunch of PBJ with Cheez Its and grapes.
DINNER
Last week I made the most delicious dinner that keeps on giving…pizza-inspired spaghetti squash casserole. I ate this for dinner three times and Finn loved it too. The first night I made it, he ate THREE servings!
Here’s an example of how I eat it. This was with roasted broccoli.
Veggie quesadilla with sautéed peppers, cheese and a three-bean combo. Served with cilantro-lime aioli and salsa.
Veggie quinoa bowl with roasted sweet potatoes, brussels and sweet onions, hummus and avocado.
Dinner salad out in Kingsport with mixed greens, avocado, tomato, balsamic and sesame crusted tuna.
One of my BEST quinoa/veggie burger bowls ever. Quinoa topped with melted shredded Mexican cheese, an air-fried Dr. Praeger’s veggie burger, salsa, cilantro-lime crema, sautéed baby kale, avocado, cilantro and lime juice. SO GOOD!
In all of my spare time I have created a new *just for fun* food instagram account dedicated to meals in bowls. You can follow it here or just look our for the bowls in my recent eats recaps on the blog! Sometimes I think it’s nice/helpful to have everything in one place for inspiration so that’s why I started it. 🙂
Friday night late night hotel room dinner of a chicken caesar.
ETC
It’s not a VIDA teacher training weekend without a blackberry cupcake from Little Cakes. Best, especially paired with Schitt’s Creek.
Homemade sourdough. First time hand kneading (thanks to some mixer issues) + first time baking in my Staub. Winning over here! They turned out beautifully. The back loaf is so much darker because I forgot to reset the timer and got wrapped up in work after I took the lid off of the dutch oven. I kind of like the different bakes though because the flavor and texture is a little different.
That’s all I have for you. TIME FOR BED!
QUESTIONS
What did you do this weekend? Do you ever work weekends?
Do you like oatmeal? Do you eat it regularly?
Last thing you baked?
My mom used to always make oatmeal on the first day of school. It’s not my favorite, and maybe because it’s forever associated with that for me, lol. Also it does just feel heavy. I love granola though and other recipes that use oats.
At the recommendation of a friend I tried this cinnamon rolls recipe today on a snowy day in DC. They were so delicious!! This was my first time making cinnamon rolls from scratch and very glad I was pointed to these! https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/perfectly-pillowy-cinnamon-rolls-recipe
Thanks for sharing your weekend & eats! I have been making oatmeal on the stovetop & adding in egg whites for protein & whipping it all up for a fluffy oatmeal. Must add peanut butter & fruit toppings toppings next. Love oatmeal & it keeps me fuller longer when I make this version. I baked banana chocolate chip muffins this weekend! That’s what happens when all the bananas ripen at once and it’s winter! Thanks for all the food inspiration!
I love reading your blog and I think you are a great mama! How would someone who has never baked sourdough bread get started? I am intimidated by this but want to learn as I love to cook.
I love vinegar & oil and a sprinkle of dried oregano on my sandwiches. So good.
Especially since the pandemic started, I often work one whole day of the weekend (as well as the five weekdays). I have a demanding job that requires 40+ hours per week to handle (billable hours so there is no “work smarter not harder” in my position), and with having to spend two days a week overseeing my sons’ remote learning (my husband supervises the other three days/week), it’s impossible for me to get all of my work done Monday through Friday. Not ideal, but it is what it is.
I love oatmeal but seldom have the motivation to make it in the mornings. . . which is silly because it’s pretty quick and easy. I also go through periods of eating a lot of overnight oats, which have a different texture that I also enjoy.
The last thing I baked was a cranberry cake before Christmas. (I’m not much of a whiz in the kitchen, and I just recently recovered from Covid, which kept me down from Boxing Day until last week.)
The mom guilt — ugh. It’s real. It’s obvious to me that Finn is a healthy, happy toddler with a close bond to Mom, but I know there is no point in telling you “don’t feel guilty.” I think it comes with the territory. 🙂
Fellow weekend warrior over here! I’m a doctor
and usually work one weekend a month in addition to my weekdays. It’s a nice change of pace from weekdays, can be a lot slower / quieter. I do feel badly about missing out on time with my daughter especially now that she’s in full time school on weekdays (well right now she’s home due to virtual school ….. ) mom guilt never ends. You’re doing a wonderful job, Finn has all that he needs and more. I see you / hear you sister, hang in there.
Any tips for hand kneading sourdough? I actually got started w sourdough baking from one of your very detailed posts. I moved to Tanzania for work in September and even dehydrated my starter and brought some with me! I don’t have my beloved stand mixer/bread hook here but people hand knead bread right?!
Re: oatmeal, I just finished a Whole30 (did refer back to some of your posts, so helpful!) and I thought I’d be dying to eat oats and they just aren’t that appealing right now. Okay, perhaps it has something to do with days in the 90s but idk. Now we’re only a few days into re-intro so we’ll see what happens craving-wise.
Love your blog! It reminds me of home these days, always look forward to your posts 🙂
What did you do this weekend? Do you ever work weekends?
I went out for sushi and some guava martinis. Nothing outrageously exciting, but had a great time.
Do you like oatmeal? Do you eat it regularly?
Of all of the things I could eat for breakfast, oatmeal is probably my least favorite thing to eat. I do frequently eat grits with cheese with runny eggs or make my own breakfast sandwiches, but oatmeal is so very boring. I do eat it sometimes when I’m really in a hurry (usually overnight oats) and can’t be bothered to cook breakfast.
Last thing you baked?
Pumpkin protein muffins. Super delicious. I really loathe baking, so usually just make a giant batch and freeze them. Same with bread.