Greek Veggie Quinoa Salad

Happy Monday! I spent a few hours yesterday prepping meals for the week and wanted to share a recipe with you. In preparations for the #bestfriendscleanse I’m starting in a few weeks, I’ve been collecting recipe ideas that fit in with the meal plan, and this Greek Veggie Quinoa Salad sounded so good, I just had to give it a try.

This is my spin on the Greek Chickpea Salad recipe in the Skinnytaste cookbook — I don’t love chickpeas in make-ahead salad because I think they get sort of gross by the end of the week, and I’m also not a huge fan of raw red onion in salads, because I find the flavor really overpowering.

Greek Veggie Quinoa Salad (view & log on MyFitnessPal)
Makes 5 servings, 16 ounces each

• 1 cup quinoa, prepared*
• 2 bell peppers (I used one red and one green – go with whatever looks good in the produce section!)
• 4-5 persian cucumbers, or 2 cups chopped cucumber
• 16 oz cherry tomatoes
• 3 oz feta cheese
• 4 oz pitted kalamata olives
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Chop all vegetables so they are roughly the same size. I like to cut my cherry tomatoes in half if they’re on the larger size; if they’re smaller, fine to leave them whole. Chop the olives as small as possible. Combine vegetables with feta and olives; mix so that all ingredients are well distributed. Add the olive oil and vinegar, as well as the salt and pepper, and mix well. Finally, add the quinoa 1/4 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition to ensure that the quinoa is well distributed through the salad. Portion out the servings; I used the 16-oz deli containers I mentioned in last Friday’s post and this recipe was the perfect amount to fill them.

*Ingredient tip: I love Trader Joe’s frozen grain options. Their frozen quinoa comes in 1-cup portions; heat them up for 3-4 minutes and you’re good to go! I always keep quinoa and brown rice on hands for recipes like this, when I don’t want to have to go through the hassle of making quinoa on the stove top. 

This recipe would be a great side dish with some grilled chicken or fish for lunch or dinner, or can stand alone as a snack. I packed it to have as my afternoon snack this week, along with a serving of Spark. I’m doing double workouts every afternoon this week to make up for the fact that I’ll be away all weekend indulging in one last summer vacation, so a heartier snack is in order to help get me through those workouts!

What I Ate Wednesday, Post-Vacation Edition

Happy hump day! I got back from San Francisco on Monday night, and am still trying to catch up on real life. I worked from home yesterday to catch up on email, and I devoted a good chunk of time last night to grocery shopping and meal prepping for the rest of the week. I’ve got ten days between my SF trip and my next vacation, so I’m focusing on maintaining a regular exercise routine and keeping my meals healthy and clean. In that light, it seemed like today was a good time for another What I Ate Wednesday post!

Breakfast:I decided to make a few jars of overnight oats for the rest of the week. This is my FAVORITE oats recipe – it tastes like such a treat but has a good mix of protein and carbs. I didn’t take a picture, partially because I was in a rush this morning and partially because this recipe just doesn’t photograph that well, but trust me, it’s delicious. This recipe is for one jar, but can easily be adapted if you want to make multiple jars in advance, like I did for the three remaining work days this week.

I also had cold brew coffee to jump start my day. I began making cold brew at home a few months ago and trust me when I tell you, it is a game changer. I would happily provide instructions for my process, but my friend K has already done the honors. She was super skeptical when I first described how I make my cold brew (… it involves a nylon sock, DON’T JUDGE IT TIL YOU TRY IT) but once she tasted the results she was sold. Check out her post on the process! I also buy sugar free vanilla syrup to add to it at home and with a splash of milk added as well, it tastes just as good as any Starbucks offering at a fraction of the price!

Lunch: This is not the most attractive lunch to look at, but it sure does taste good! I love how great the fresh produce is right now, so I  loaded my salad up with lots of veggies for crunch and flavor – multi colored peppers, LOTS of cucumbers (my fave!), some gorgeous tomatoes (there’s nothing better than August tomatoes, you’ll never convince me otherwise), all topped with a light dressing. I grilled up some chicken to go with it. Normally I prefer to marinate my chicken myself, but I was crunched for time this week, so I kept it simple with Purdue’s Perfect Portions Italian Chicken Breast. The convenience of the pre-portioned packages can’t be beat, and this marinade is pretty tasty. Again, not my preferred meat option, but sometimes I have to go the convenient route in order to keep my food choices on point.

Afternoon snack: I bought a juicer a few months ago, and it has seriously changed my life. I was spending up to $10 at a time for green juices, either prepackaged at the store or at a local juice bar, and the expenses were really adding up. I received a gift card to Bloomingdale’s for my birthday, and when I saw that they had the Breville Multi-Speed Juice Fountain on sale, I decided to treat myself. Have you seen the documentary “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”? It’s available on Netflix, and this is the juicer used by the subject of the documentary, so I figured it was a pretty safe bet. It’s been great for me so far and I’m pleasantly surprised at how quickly I can juice enough produce for a few days’ worth of juices. Clean up isn’t ideal, but the whole process (prepping produce, juicing, and cleanup) takes less than 20 minutes, and I’m saving money in the long run while also doing a good deed for my body. Today’s juice includes cucumber, celery, green apple, kale, ginger, and lemon juice – yum!

Dinner: My evening is pretty jammed today! I’m taking a double at Studio Poise tonight – first, Poise Xpress, followed by Hip Hop Flow yoga to unwind. After getting my sweat on, I’ve got book club to look forward to with some of my favorite ladies. This is a great way to spend an evening, but it’s not exactly conducive to having a well-balanced meal! I don’t like to eat anything too heavy before working out, and I won’t feel like a big dinner after yoga, so I packed some snacks to nosh on throughout the evening. I’ve got some fresh pineapple & berries, a container of Dannon’s Oikos Zero yogurt (my new favorite yogurt – the texture is awesome!), and the tasty treat pictured here. Cottage cheese is a personal favorite snack, and today I stirred some homemade pesto in for extra flavor. Served alongside some cherry tomatoes and a serving of Triscuit Minis, and I know this will be the perfect snack to munch on while chatting about this month’s book selection! Pro tip: the nutrition for a serving of these mini Triscuits is almost exactly the same as a serving of the regular version, but the mini serving is 28 crackers, while the regulars only allow 6. For a snack like this, I like tricking my brain into thinking I’m eating more by having the crackers in a smaller size.

What are some of the healthy meals you’re cooking up this week? How do you help yourself recover physically and mentally after a vacation?

Note: Any brands mentioned in this post are there simply because I’m a fan! I was not paid to mention any of these brands, and my opinions are 100% my own. 

What I Ate Wednesday

I’ve dedicated a lot of time to talking about fitness on this blog, but so far haven’t really touched on nutrition. The reality is, overall health and wellness requires revamping both your physical fitness and your diet. Even if you’re working out for two hours every day, if you continue to eat poorly, you won’t see the results you want.

I don’t follow any crazy strict diet. I like carbs. I like to indulge in a glass of wine when I’ve had a crazy day at the office. I think red meat is fantastic, and I can’t imagine a world without the rare ice cream treat. The key, for me, has been finding balance.

I strive for an 85/15 balance. If I eat clean 85% of the time, then I still have 15% of my diet for treats. This doesn’t mean demolishing a plate of nachos at the bar during a Sunday football game — but it does mean I can have that glass of wine with dinner or treat myself to an ice cream cone after an afternoon of kayaking.

I’ll talk more about clean eating in a later post – there’s a lot of information out there and it can definitely be taken to extremes. I’ll clarify the approach that I take, which has worked for me thus far.

Today, I wanted to share a typical day of meals. I work at a desk job from 9-5, so I’m fairly sedentary during the day. I do my T25 workout in the morning before I leave for the office, and I usually take a class or two after work as well. I usually aim for 1400-1700 calories/day.

I track my meals using My Fitness Pal. My diary is visible to friends on the site, so if you’re interested in getting a broader sense of my nutrition, you can view it here. If you wish to add me as a friend on MFP, please click here. Full disclosure, I actually documented everything I ate yesterday, but “What I Ate Tuesday” doesn’t have the same ring to it!

8am – Breakfast – Chocolate Vegan Shakeology – 350 calories

I always have my Shakeology for breakfast. I will have a glass of water when I first wake up, before I do T25 for the morning, and then I make my shake before I leave for work and sip it during my commute and my morning email catch up. Today, I blended a banana, one cup of unsweetened coconut milk, and two scoops of PB2 to make a filling breakfast that came in at 350 calories. My recipes can vary but I always aim for 250-350 calories to make sure I’m starting my day with a filling meal.

11 am – Morning Snack – Iced green tea, green grapes, & hard boiled egg – 175 calories

Every morning, as soon as I get to work, I brew a glass of green tea and stick it in the fridge. By 11am, it’s ready to drink over ice; I add a splash of lemon juice for flavor. I’ve stopped drinking coffee since I added Shakeology into my daily meal routine, but I like the small caffeine boost I get from the green tea. There’s a lot of debate over the health benefits of green tea, but I like the taste and the caffeine, so it’s a nice addition to my morning. I like grapes because they’re easy to snack on while I work, and the hard boiled egg has enough protein to fill me up until my lunch break. This snack comes in at 175 calories, which is just about right for a snack.

12:30 pm – Lunch – Apple, 2 slices sprouted grain bread, natural peanut butter – 400 calories

Not the most exciting lunch in the world, but one that is filling and will carry me through my day. I love Food for Life Cinnamon Raisin 7 Sprouted Grains bread – you can find it in the freezer section of your local grocery store (I know that Whole Foods, Hannaford’s, and Stop & Shop all stock it in my area). I love buying frozen bread because it’s more economical; when I buy fresh bread I end up tossing more than half the loaf because it goes stale before I can use it up. I toast the bread and then top it with all natural peanut butter – I like to buy the freshly ground variety available in the Whole Foods bulk section. Lately I’ve been going with the honey roasted variety, but the unsalted peanut and the almond butter varieties are also both great options! Lastly, I’m in love with this apple variety, also from Whole Foods – Envy Apples. They taste AMAZING! I prefer to buy local apples when I can but it’s not quite apple season yet, so I’m indulging in these until fall gets here. The meal comes in at about 400 calories, which is great for lunch.

3pm – Afternoon Snack – Iced green tea or water and Krave beef jerky – 80 calories

Danielle, the amazing owner of Studio Poise, turned me on to Krave jerky. HOLY COW IS IT DELICIOUS. The company makes a variety of jerky flavors, and produces pork, beef, and turkey jerky varieties. I picked up the Five Peppercorn beef jerky when I was shopping at Whole Foods last night and I’m addicted. It is REALLY TEMPTING to just keep dipping into the bag, so the next time I buy this, I’ll portion it out at home into the appropriate sizes. One ounce of the jerky comes in at 80 calories and gives a nice protein boost to carry me through the end of the afternoon. The sodium content in this brand of jerky isn’t nearly as bad as some of the other brands on the market, but jerky is a salty food, so make sure to keep up with water intake alongside this snack.

7pm – Dinner – Skinny Huevos Rancheros – 500-550 calories

This is my FAVORITE go-to dinner after a workout! Confession time: when I was first starting out on my fitness journey, I would occasionally rationalize to myself that by going all-out in Zumba, I had earned the right to stop at Chipotle on my way home. I was sabotaging myself! I love Mexican food, and it is possible to make a meal at home that doesn’t destroy your diet, as long as you’re smart about your ingredients. This meal feels like a real indulgence, but it comes in at about 500 calories! I topped mine with two eggs tonight because I was hungry after taking two classes at the studio. I listen to my body — if I wasn’t as hungry, I’d probably only make one tortilla. This is also a great recipe to share with someone; just add a nice green salad to round out the meal.

 

What are some of your favorite healthy go-to meals? Where do you go to find healthy recipes? Let me know in the comments!