Chronicles of Becoming a Grownup III

How many of my wrist and finger muscles are working as I type this right now??

Gross anatomy is on the brain. Luckily for me, I have all spring break at home to study! #turnup.

Each time I come home is a different experience, because I learn more and grow more every time I go back to school. I think this is a good time for the next part of “Chronicles of Becoming a Grownup”! (here is part I and II)

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1) When I was taking the train from Boston to NY to come home for spring break, I ran into a guy from my high school who I was kinda friends with back in the day. I was so surprised to see him that I said his name out loud in disbelief, half regretting it because thereafter I would have to talk to him.

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But it wasn’t weird. We caught up on life and had a pleasant train ride together, because we’re adults (with quasi-sheltered lives still) who can talk to each other like adults, despite the awkward high school world in which we once lived.

2) I’m over mirrors. Like, I guess I need them to make sure I don’t have spinach in my teeth and that my hair is at least a 6/10, but coming home to big mirrors is a reminder of why I was so obsessed with my body image.

At my apartment this year, I don’t change in front of any body-length mirrors, so I don’t really have time to “body check” (checking for chubby spots/muscles/imperfections, which can easily become an unhealthy habit). I have learned that the availability of big mirrors increases the likelihood of body checking, so I have also learned to be more deliberate in not dwelling too long in the mirror (striving for humility and self-esteem!).

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My advice to anyone who has trouble quitting body checking: do what this cat does.

No I’m kidding. For real: try to only have a full length mirror by your front door, so you can only check yourself when you’re fully dressed and ready to leave your place. Don’t let the mirror steal your joy!

3) I’m not afraid to challenge some things that my parents say. Not because I want to be a rebel, but because I want us all to find and know Truth. This goal allows our arguments to flourish in understanding, rationality, and trust in God, who knows better than any of us.

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4) Lent is showing me that I really am attached to peanut butter…so it’s good that I’m giving it up for 40 days. It’s hammering home that idea that food is just food.

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5) The family and I went to the Maryknoll Sisters’ annual charity concert again this year, and I was really getting into those classical pieces. Orchestra concerts, in my mind, were always the “bran flakes” of all events—fine but just meh. This year, although I’m no music connoisseur, I appreciated the music, the performers, and even the spectators more than ever. I don’t love classical music now, but I just appreciate it for what it is. This applies to a lot of other things/people in the world too.

It also didn’t hurt that the orchestra ended with a fantastic Lion King medley.

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Mini desserts are also a bonus.

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the pignoli cookie in the middle was the BEST

4) Despite all these new things I’m realizing at home, some things will always be the same. Like how my body seems to want more sleep and more food than ever when I’m at home.

Madre’s cooking is rocking my world per usual.

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Pillsbury crescent rolls are my childhood literally rolled into buttery, flaky parcels of goodness

6) Pop and I also went to go see a movie in theaters just like we did last spring break! This weekend we watched The Shack, based on the book by William P. Young. We both loved it! It has unmistakably Christian themes, but I think anyone can learn a lot about why tragic loss/evil happens from this movie.

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7) I really need to stretch more. These muscles aren’t getting any more flexy on their own!

So tell me:

An example of how you’ve learned to appreciate the “bran flakes of life.”

Thoughts on body checking in the mirror?

Have you watched any good movies lately?

Two things you did this weekend!

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WIAW: My New Favorite Thing

So there’s no Greek yogurt here at BU. Y’all know how much I love the stuff and tend to get a lot of it in my tummy…and on my laptop and calculator.

Since I’m currently separated from the creamy, tangy dairy product, I’ve found another thing that is quickly rising on my OMG-I-Want-It-Every-Day list (you have a list like that too, don’t lie).

It’s cottage cheese.

The sound of the words cottage and cheese together kind of make me squeamish, but I have been opened to a whole new world during this time of adaptation without Greek yogurt. You’ll see below how I like my cottage cheese.

I’ve also thrown in some of the other things I’ve been eating in the past week!

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Sharing my eats on Jenn’s WIAW!

Breakfasts

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Dorm oatmeal with vanilla protein powder, banana, and peanut butter

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Makeshift overnight oats: warmed up some quick oats with water, added protein powder and banana, put it into an almost-empty sunflower seed butter jar, left in fridge overnight, enjoyed in the morn!

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And again in a pb jar 🙂

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My new favorite thing: cottage cheese with strawberry yogurt and peanut butter + whole wheat apple cinnamon muffin with more pb + an apple + glass o’ milk

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Weirdest brunch ever: two eggs with veggies and whole wheat toast + three pieces of dim sum (dining hall special of that day) + my new favorite thing

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Whole wheat apple pancake with pb and a glass o’ milk + my new favorite thing…again.

Lunches

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Huge salad + roast beef, provolone, lettuce, tomato, honey mustard panini on multigrain

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Lunch with brother Ben: cornmeal-crusted fish tacos + a few bites of his “El Guapo” burrito that contained everything and anything (beef, rice, beans, veggies, sweet plantains…and probably more)

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Snacky lunch in the dorm: apple + Wheat Thins (a lot more than what’s pictured here) with sunflower seed butter (delicious!) + mixed nuts + unpictured banana

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Baked pollock with roasted potatoes and bruschetta + salad with a hard boiled egg, feta, and light honey mustard dressing

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Moroccan chicken with quinoa + salad with some sort of bean tuna salad and balsamic dressing

Snacks

LOTS of fruit and nuts!

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Post-workout oatmeal with vanilla protein powder, half a banana, and sunflower seed butter

Dinners

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Turkey breast + mashed sweet potatoes + cornbread(?) stuffing + broccoli {I did it all for the carbs. YUMMM.}

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Butternut squash risotto with vegan chicken + salad with lentils and honey mustard dressing

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A different kind of Moroccan chicken + squash (and later I ate spaghetti and a meatball with more veggies at the Catholic center!)

Desserts

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Yes. My new favorite thing for dessert too. With granola!

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Freshly baked apple pie and a brownie from one of the faculty in residence living on our floor! She even read us stories as we ate her baked goods. She’s the sweetest (pun intended)!

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Cookies and cream ice cream at bro’s apartment

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Vanilla soft serve with granola

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Free peanut butter Insomnia cookie before watching the hypnotist

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Banana cake. WOW so good.

Plus a bunch of other free cookies and treats that EVERYONE KEEPS PUTTING IN OUR FACES. I mean, I’m not complaining (I’m so grateful for such generous friends!), but this week has definitely been a little more sugar-coated than normal. I guess I can just stop getting things like banana cake from the dining hall…I guess…

Holy crap, so much foooooood. It’s a good thing we walk a lot here 😉

Happy Wednesday, friends!

So tell me:

What have you been obsessed with lately? 

Do you like cottage cheese? How do you like to eat it?

WIAW: Dorm and Dining Hall

Why hello there!

I’m seriously going to be so excited whenever I manage to get a post up while I’m in school. Keep in mind that I’m writing these while classes have not even started yet…

Anyway, I have FOOD for you all today! Lots of it. I’ve always been interested in seeing what people eat in college (especially the food at UCLA, where Julianna goes), because there’s the infamous “Freshman 15” that creeps up in the back of everyone’s mind. I can see how that could happen quickly because all of a sudden, there are all these food choices around you in the dining hall, and it’s tempting to want ALL OF IT. Not to mention the free pizza that’s at every social event.

I think I’m quite fortunate to be at Boston University, where there are so many healthy options beyond the salad bar. The Sargent College of Health and Rehab Sciences (my college within BU!) has a food program called Sargent Choice, which just ensures the availability of healthy, wholesome meal choices. They’re so delicious too! {Not as good as your food though, mama.}

Alright, onto the noshes. Here are some of my eats from the past week!

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Joining Jenn‘s world wide food party!

Breakfasts

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In dorm: multigrain bread with sunflower seed butter and banana + apple with peanut butter

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In dorm: oatmeal with vanilla protein powder, peanut butter, jam, and half a banana

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In dining hall: cottage cheese with natural peanut butter (!!!), jam, and a sliced banana

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In dining hall: oatmeal with cinnamon, jam, peanut butter, and half a banana + cottage cheese, strawberry yogurt, Sargent Choice granola (that I accidentally dumped in there…oh well!), and the other half of the banana + a chat with God 🙂

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In dining hall: whole wheat French toast (basically, the answer to my prayers) with peanut butter and banana + scrambled eggs with ketchup + glass o’ milk

Lunches

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FYSOP lunch every day: huge turkey, muenster, lettuce, tomato sandwich + kettle cooked potato chips + an unpictured chocolate chip cookie 😀

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In the fancier dining hall: seafood stew (really tasty!) with naan + salad

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Restaurant with family: I shared bites of yen ta fo soup, shrimp pad thai, papaya salad, and basil pork. Mostly shrimp pad thai and papaya salad!

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In dining hall: salad with cowboy caviar, feta, and a hard boiled egg + black bean burger on whole wheat with some fancy pico on the side

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In an on-campus food court: eel-cucumber-avocado-brown rice sushi

Snacks

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Lots of apples (with and without nut butter)

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Handy snacks in my dorm room: Wheat Thins, sweet and salty peanuts, mixed nuts

Dinners

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In the dining hall: Firecracker tofu + brown rice + veggies x2

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In the dining hall: Mexican rice with pastor chicken, salsa, and cilantro

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In dining hall: sweet chicken sandwich on whole wheat bun + salad with hummus and feta

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Dinner with family on Labor Day: clay hot pots (mine was the eel one on top left)

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In dining hall: salad with hummus + grilled salmon with soba noodles (more like chow mein noodles)

Desserts

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Ice cream social = free ice cream!! Vegan (soy) tahitian vanilla + strawberry added after this photo was taken

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Insomnia cookie! Oatmeal raisin. Not reallyyyyy worth the $1.50.

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In dining hall: plain yogurt + a dollop of strawberry yogurt + Sargent choice granola

And that’s a wrap! There were definitely more snacks in there, but I’m not going to take a picture of every banana I eat. For both of our sakes.

I hope to update you all on college life (since classes started yesterday) soon! I have a “Weekly Moves and Grooves” (aka weekly workouts) post in the works for ya too.

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

So tell me:

What have you been snacking on lately?

Has there been a food you’ve tried just for the hype/experience? 

Behind the Scenes #17: Just…Food.

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Reflecting on food with my fellow food lover, Amanda!

1. We’re finally home! After visiting several cities for the admitted students’ days at University of Maryland and University of Virginia, I’m so happy to be chillin’ out back at our house. Except for the fact that there were patches of snow on the ground when we arrived…Excuse me?

2. Remember how I said I despise driving in DC? Well, I meant it. I meant it with a deep burning passion, because getting out of that city was a pain yesterday. It’s a good thing I had this brunch at Busboys & Poets beforehand, which made things a whole lot more bearable 😉

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Mom and I shared the Oaxaca omelette that had black beans, pico, cheese, and GUACAMOLE. Served with the best home fries and whole wheat toast. So, so delicious.

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I had to take a picture of the men’s restroom sign. Had to.

3. After this amazing breakfast and almost a week without my usual breakfasts at home, I had some sort of enlightenment: I might be okay with savory breakfasts. I’m as shocked as you are, but I think I’ll start introducing some eggy, toasty-type breakfasts into my rotation! Sweet breakfasts will always have a special place in my belly heart though 🙂

4. I drove the whole 4.5 hours back home from DC yesterday, which has resulted in major tightness in my neck today. Luckily, we made a stop for Naked Juice and Cinnabons by the highway, so it’s all good.

5. After I attended altar server rehearsal at church for the Holy Thursday and Good Friday Masses last night, I met my parents and Victoria and her mom for dinner at a fancy tapas restaurant called 42. We had to wait a little while for a table to open up, but it was definitely worth it. We shared everything, and everything was divine. (A lot of these are small plates! Others aren’t 😉 )

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Crispy calamari, shrimp, and jalapeño with lemon tartar sauce

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Spring salad with arugula, grapefruit, asparagus, radish, pecans, and house balsamic vinaigrette

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Beef and pork pastry with burrata cheese and egg-yolk sauce

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Macau pepper steak with soft egg, burnt scallion chimichurri and brioche

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My dish: Halibut with mango pepper sauce, pickled mushrooms, zucchini, squash, and mint

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Mom’s dish (my FAVORITE of the night): whole wheat tortellini with black truffle, ricotta, parmesan, and herbs

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Victoria’s dish: Vegetable paella

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Dad’s dish: Branzino with lemon jam and roasted peanut potato

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Wendy’s (Victoria’s mom) dish: Kale caesar salad

6. Yeah, I’m not done yet. You didn’t think we wouldn’t leave room for dessert, did you??

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Cutest little plate of milk and cookies ever. Coconut macaroon, double chocolate chunk, snickerdoodle, and peanut butter cookies!

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Creme brûlée doughnuts. YOU READ THAT FLIPPIN’ RIGHT.

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“The Bar”: Ovaltine mousse, peanut butter crunch, dulce de leche, vanilla ice cream

I don’t know where all this food went, because looking at all these pictures, it looks like it was meant for 20 people. We didn’t finish the desserts, but we cleaned up our plates pretty darn well!

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This was before the food came. If we took a picture afterwards, we would have been slouching with our eyes closed…but still smiling 😀

7. I did have some MUCH needed house-made food for lunch yesterday though:

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Salad with homemade honey mustard dressing and a soft-boiled egg

Plus some fruit and snap peas with hummus. The freshness of this simple meal made my belly so happy…before I filled it with all those tapas, which also made my belly very happy. Tooooo happy.

8. Surprisingly, I was hungry for breakfast this morning. I was also craving oats and nut butter, so I had some cookie dough cereal and it hit the spot! Since we don’t have any ripe bananas currently, I ate it with kiwis, but I ended up eating those separately. Kiwis + nut butter is not my combo of choice.

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9. Of course, my hospitable mom set up a huge bed+breakfast spread for our guests:

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Because we obviously don’t have enough food in our lives.

10. I had a dream last night that I had a super cute piglet as a pet!!! I want him back.

Happy Holy Thursday! May we remember to serve others as the Lord has served us. 🙂

So tell me: 

When was the last time you really craved light, fresh food?

Sweet or savory breakfast?

Would you want a pet piglet?

WIAW: Benefit Week Eats

Good morning!

I hope you all had a good-spirited April Fools’ Day! Nothing much happened around here. The only thing some people (including myself) did in school was turn on our cell phone alarms for 2:23 PM, and then we left them in our lockers to make a commotion right before school ended. Apparently it caused a little bit of concern, since I guess it is alarming (literally) when all the lockers seem to come to life. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking though. After all, we’ve gotta save some juice for senior prank 😉

With the lack of posts all last week, I have not shown my recent eats! What a shame since I obviously love posting food pictures (*cough* Instagram). So naturally, I’m joining this week’s WIAW party to share what fueled me through my moves and grooves during Benefit Week!

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As always, hosted by my hero, Jenn. 😉

In absolutely no particular order, here are some of the things I’ve been eating:

Breakfasts

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Overnight oats in a mug

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Overnight oats in a peanut butter jar. GAHHH. (Perfect for transporting to early morning AP Calc review.)

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Overnight oats in an almond butter jar. Also taken to early AP Calc review. I’m sure people were judging, but guatever. 

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Gina’s cookie dough cereal with bananas and strawberries

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Banana bread English muffin with nut butter, banana slices + glass o’ milk (haven’t had one of those in a while!)

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Strawberry banana oats with a heavenly puddle of peanut butter.

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Amanda’s oatmeal cookie dough smoothie (with spinach for green powahhh) + Greek yogurt for spoon dipping

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Friday’s nut butter-less breakfast: Greek yogurt, strawberries, banana, chia, hemp, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey

Lunches

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Whole wheat wrap with avocado, spinach, soft boiled egg, feta, and salsa added later. SO GOOD. I had another variation of this for dinner one night with two eggs and spicy brown mustard instead of salsa. I highly recommend this combo!

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Crab cakes on Benefit day!

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Chicken, cheese, spinach, spicy brown mustard sandwich on some weird-looking, but delicious, purple fruit/seed bread

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Naked Juice samples at school!

Snacks

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Cute cookies and goodies from the “Eloise at the Plaza”-themed dressing room

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A crapton of white cheddar popcorn and animal crackers from our circus dressing room

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I brought a Greek yogurt mess to dance almost every day last week. Included strawberries, banana slices, and nut butter.

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Green tea frappuccino from Starbucks on Benefit day (Thanks to Susie and others for picking up 15 orders!)

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I tried it! Carrots and almond butter— pretty darn tasty!

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Greek yogurt with banana and pineapple. Loving the summery produce!

I’ve also been having lots of dried figs and Greek yogurt per usual. 😉

Dinners

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Farro, spinach, grilled chicken

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Multigrain pasta, spinach, soft-boiled egg

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Grilled chicken, spinach, feta + avocado toast

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Farro, spinach, ground turkey, avocado, sriracha

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The best tomatoes I’ve ever eaten. Just wash ’em and eat. So fresh and flavorful!

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Dinner with the family (Ben was home for a day!) on Sunday! Ben got Sambal chicken and seafood. The other three of us shared a huge Sushi for Two platter. We also had some spring rolls as appetizer. Mmmmm.

How’s THAT for a recent eats recap?! It’s a good thing I just ate dinner, because otherwise, I would be hangry right about now. 😉

I hope you all have a great day!

So tell me:

What is the best vegetable you’ve eaten recently?

What do you like to put in wraps?