Hey guys, those of you who follow/ed me on Snapchat and/or Instagram/Instagram Stories over the past few years may already know what a huge advocate I am for Queens International Night Market. It’s basically an outdoor food market with tons of international cuisines represented at stalls where every food item is $5 or under, family-friendly, live music, games, tons of fun things to see, eat, drink, etc. — and it’s in my favorite borough, Queens. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a 30 minute walk from my apartment, of course- but I love the community-driven-feel to it, how unique it is… and how it’s a great thing to do every Saturday night from 6pm-midnight in the summer weather.

Well, it’s coming back in late April for its 3rd season. If you tried to go on opening night in the past few years, you know that the crowds were insane and it was very difficult to navigate. But every market night that passes, the process improves and they learn from every misstep — and this year, to that end, they’ve set up “Preview Nights” with ticketed nights to ease the congestion that they expect for the first few nights.

If you follow me on Snapchat, you already saw that it was another successful and delicious night at the Queens Night Market, my favorite summer Saturday night hangout. Salt & pepper crispy cauliflower for $4 at Tea Twitter, beef curry rice for $5 at Reso Box, passionfruit green tea for $4 at Panda Café, and Thai fried chicken wing for $1 a piece at Korgai. All yummy. Totally satisfying. Very happy. #Queens #happiness #heresmyfood #love #eaterny #FoodieHub #eeeeeats #latergram #NYC #instayum #instacute #AdventuresWithJinx #devourpower #newforkcity #yum #friedchicken #bubbletea #curry #Japanese #Thai

A post shared by Yvo (@feistyfoodie) on May 15, 2016 at 7:39pm PDT

Tickets will cost only $5 for the first 2 nights only after which it becomes free to everyone again, and go on sale today! Here is the official info from the organizer himself:

Personally, I can’t wait for them to come back and start sampling all the new cuisines and hit up some old favorites! Will I see you there on April 22?

Phew, guys! It’s been over a year (or even longer?) since I posted here with any regularity. I’m hoping I can ride this wave of motivation and start posting regularly again — not just about food (though still primarily about food, of course!), but everything that is going on in my life. To that end, I wanted to share a bit more about that than just “HI I’M BACK” like I did (I was just ironically very busy that week and had only enough brainpower to share what I wrote).

About a year ago, I began working out like a demon – to the tune of taking upwards of 9+ classes or workout sessions in a given 5 day period. I still don’t know what got into me, but oh my gosh, the strength gains I’ve made since then are incredible. The human body is amazing! Fitness has become a huge part of my life to the point where if I don’t work out one day, I not only miss it, but my energy levels become abysmal around 3 or 4 pm. It keeps me sane and focused and feeling good about myself, and I don’t think I’ll ever go back.

Related but only tangentially so, for over 15 years I’ve struggled with my weight. Accepting my body as it was, or trying to lose 10-20 lbs, it was always such a battle for me. I fought eating disorders that I’m still trying to become comfortable discussing openly, I ran 3x or more a week, I tried so, so hard to get to a place where I was happy with my body… but it never happened. Well, at the height of my eating disorder, I dropped down to an adult low of 128 lbs, but that wasn’t healthy and I still hated my body and what I had to do to get and stay there. But last year, after a month or two of steady working out, I decided that I would feel better if I fueled my workouts differently. I began logging my meals and calories on MyFitnessPal and figuring out my real calorie goals, and became very strict but not disordered, and began the process of losing weight. I can’t say I ever reached my goal weight, because the goal kept moving — as I gained strength and built muscle, I was very aware that I’d be physically smaller while weighing more. Eventually, I dropped the idea of a number target and settled on “feeling like the best possible version of me” —

Both of these things – packing my schedule with workouts and exercise classes coupled with eating as close to 1200 calories a day as possible — meant that I ate out much less, I had less time for friends or social activities or writing, and I was eating far less interesting (to the average Feisty Foodie fan) meals. While I became happier with my body and all that it’s capable of doing, I also missed writing here.

Then, something totally insane and crazy happened that left me with even less time to write.

I met someone.

Someone totally amazing, perfectly insane and insanely perfect as my life partner.

So we did what two totally insane and insanely perfect for each other people do when they meet.

We fell in love.

Then we got married.

Yup, the resident commitment-phobe went and got hitched. Now I spend most of my time in Jersey City (as evidenced by my Instagram showing off lots of yummy food in JC), but I’m still a Queens girl at heart of course.

All of this meant less time to write, more time… I hesitate to say nesting, but maybe honeymooning? As corny as it sounds, we’re super in love and super happy and excited to spend tons of time together and just make googly eyes at each other and just… you know?

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE. 

At the end of last year, I made the leap from working in the legal industry for roughly 20 years (on and off, give or take), and took a job in finance. What?? Totally different from anything I’ve ever done! Totally different from anything I know!

… and then I was laid off (mostly for economic reasons, I can’t really say – partially because I don’t know and partially because of the NDA I signed).

So now I have more time to write, while I look for a new job. Any leads would be most appreciated!!!

It’s been a rollercoaster of a year, and I look forward to seeing what’s next.

But in the meantime — onwards and upwards with more food & etc. posts here!!

Thanks always for being faithful and supportive readers, guys. I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

xoxo
ever yours in food and beyond,
Yvo

The other day while writing about what I’ve been up to over the past year, I started to write about my fitness routine and how it’s evolved since I started. After 3 paragraphs, I realized I wanted to dedicate an entire post to this topic!

I still can’t tell you from where I drew my inspiration or motivation. I know I wrote about motivation a year ago – and meant to expand upon the idea – but never knowing when my motivation might dry up or even where I got it, I spent all my energy still on working out. If you find yourself engulfed with motivation: ride the wave and don’t wait until Monday to start, or a new week, new month, new year, new billing cycle. Start while you feel motivated.

February 2016 saw me walking into a gym for which I’d purchased a Groupon for a 6 month membership for roughly $70 (super cheap, no-frills gym), signing up, and even though the next day was some random Thursday, I went early the next morning, went for a quick, lazy run (because I hadn’t worked out in so long, I didn’t want to risk injury), showered and got ready for work. I used a random reusable tote bag to carry all my gear to the gym instead of waiting to buy the “perfect” gym bag, and just managed to do everything “not perfectly” but “good enough” —

Hubba Hubby (who I didn’t meet until months later) likes to say “don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.” I’m inclined to agree with him — I searched for a gym bag for a few weeks and eventually gave up, then found one that suited my needs and was in my closet the whole time. Price: free (both since I already had it and because it was a Mets giveaway haha)! It fit my sneakers wrapped in a bag, my work clothes or workout clothes, a dopp kit with my face wash/daily routine necessities, and my wallet, so I was good to go. I was later gifted a sweet gym bag with separate shoe bag, little compartments for everything from sweaty workout clothes to electronics and jewelry, but I didn’t let my lack of perfect bag get in my way in the meantime.

All this to say: even 15 half-assed minutes at the gym is more than the 0 you would have done if you waited until all conditions were perfect to go.

I lucked into some really great classes, too. At my peak, my schedule looked like this:

Monday – 7-8am boot camp class followed by 20 minute run at the gym; 7-8pm kettlebell class
Tuesday – 7-8am yoga; 6pm Zumba class
Wednesday – 7-8am boot camp class followed by 20 minute run at the gym
Thursday – 7-8am yoga; 6:30pm Zumba class
Friday – 7-8am boot camp class followed by 20 minute run at the gym

That only lasted about a week or two though – I quickly dropped yoga because 5 early mornings in a row was too tough for me, and I didn’t like the instructor’s style that much. I kept the rest of that schedule for months though, even structuring my hanging out around my need to wake up early the next day or only hanging out after working out.

I felt great. Tons of energy. Really positive feelings about how my body was changing for the better. The diet came later and was separate, I assure you, they are two very separate (but related) things for me.

Honestly, though, everyone is different and what worked to get my butt into gear and addicted to this fitness lifestyle may not work for you. Hey, even doing 15 minutes of something every day – if that’s more than you do now – is fantastic. It revs your heart and makes you feel productive, and who knows? Maybe it’ll motivate you to do more!

I like to say, “The best workout is the one you’ll do” – and it’s so true. If you consistently will, say, walk 15 minutes a day: do that. If you consistently will do 5 sit-ups a day: do that. It doesn’t matter what “it” is, as long as you’ll DO “it” — you know?!

Because I had such great experiences with them, I want to give special shout-outs to the 3 places that kicked my butt consistently. I was not paid to talk about them (but if you wind up booking with them, you can definitely drop my name!).

First and foremost, my mornings wouldn’t have been the same without Kenny Pena and his brother Robert over at Evolve Fitness – I tried both their small classes and their boot camp classes, and enjoyed both. They kicked my butt repeatedly and told me I could do anything I put my mind to, including pull/chin-ups, something that women notoriously have trouble doing (it has to do with how our bodies are built and our center of gravity, I believe). I highly, highly recommend Evolve – definitely gave me a huge boost that led me to explore other types of activities to add into my routine.

A not-distant second is Zumba Kam. She was the first instructor I ever took for Zumba, and while I’ve since taken 2 other instructors, she remains my favorite. A few friends I’ve taken to class with me have noted that she’s not as structured perhaps as others, but I love that she’s not there to critique but to help you have fun while getting your fitness in. She has TONS of energy and pep, which makes every class fun, she switches up the music every few weeks to keep things from getting stale, she remembers your name even in huge classes (depending which session you take, the class can be 30+ or only 15ish). I really enjoyed class with her – I’m woefully uncoordinated but still enjoyed trying to keep up, laughing at myself and going with it. I actually still have classes left in my package, so if you sign up with her, you may bump into me sometimes!!

Last but definitely not least — Kettlebell Kickboxing with Dasha Libin. They’ve since moved into a larger, nicer facility, which unfortunately came with it a change in schedule, but Dasha created this amazing and intense kettlebell class that rocks you from your core to your booty. She was such an inspiration and I was truly lucky to be able to take classes with her leading — though Jenel is also pretty kick-ass (she covered for Dasha a few times that I took classes there)! If you’re not in the NYC-area or don’t want to commit to classes, they also have DVDs on their website, you’d just need to have access to kettlebells. Such great classes, honestly – another good vibe, good energy, and I always felt sore but stronger the next day. Loved that class!

Regardless of your fitness level or your fitness goals, a 15 minute walk in fresh air can do wonders for your mood, your focus, your well-being. Soon, it’ll be warm enough to do so regularly here in NYC – and I personally can’t wait!!

Do you have any fitness programs that you love and would recommend? Please share in comments — I’d love to hear from you!! I’m always looking for new things to add to my current routine (more on that in another post).

One of the perks of being press is being invited to super fun events like this one: Adega out in San Jose was just awarded a Michelin star — the first in San Jose! — and is one of only two Portuguese restaurants in the United States to boast any Michelin stars, and their chefs (soon-to-be husband & wife team, David Costa & Jessica Carreira) came to NYC to cook for us at Aldea — the other Michelin-starred Portuguese restaurant in the US. Phew, that was a mouthful — did that make sense? The chefs from Adega in San Jose cooked at Aldea in NYC. And I was invited to be a part of it.

After a wine tasting hour, we were ushered upstairs to be seated for a 5 course meal. A few seating mishaps later, everyone was happily chatting away and mingling, and I lucked into sitting across from a woman who runs marketing for the San Jose Airport and next to the man who runs Dessert Professional. Lively conversation ensued during the 2 hour lunch.

Our first course quickly landed alongside some wonderful bread made in-house and delicious butter. First course: caldo verde or Portuguese potato soup. A lovely little start to the meal; rich and creamy without overwhelming the palate.

Second: pastel de bacalhau or codfish cakes; a lightly fried, crisp exterior yielded to reveal fluffy shredded fish. If you’re not familiar with bacalao, it might sound weird – fish that’s dried, concentrating its flavor, then when you want to cook it, you soak it in warm/hot water to reconstitute it.  It’s very common in Caribbean cuisines (Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic both boast it as part of their cuisines) – I found this to be a very mild, inoffensive taste but not much pop to it either.

Third: cavala marinada com salad de algas (marinated mackerel and seaweed salad). The fish was very light and fresh, while the clouds upon which they sat were mild as well. But the seaweed salad was dripping with umami, a savoriness to it that mixed very well with the rest of the components and I couldn’t stop eating it. Really tasty.

Fourth: arroz de pato (duck rice). A few slices of perfectly cooked duck breast adorned the top (bad angling in the pic so you can’t see it), while the top part of the rice had this insanely crunchy crust that I gobbled up – it was SO good. I thought the portion was on the large side, given that this was course 4, but the others had been on the smaller side — the rice was interspersed generously with shredded duck (confit perhaps?) and a bit of bacon here and there, making it a flavor bomb. Really, really good, I was super glad I hadn’t stuffed myself silly on the bread earlier!

Fifth: pudim flan com gelado de baunilha (flan with vanilla ice cream). Extremely eggy flan with a fun sugar structure on top. This was very bland to me – satisfactory but nothing that would wow… but I’m not familiar with Portuguese desserts so I’m not sure if there was another one she could have made to good effect.

A very fun and delicious lunch — I was very happy learning more about other cultures and cuisines with which I’m not too familiar, and this was a great way to introduce me to dishes that were at once familiar and different. Congratulations on your Michelin star, Adega!!

You know I’m a huge fan of the Bay Area — there’s a ton of great food, shopping, culture, everything out there. I definitely recommend getting out there and checking out Adega if you can, and exploring all that San Jose has to offer!

And because I know some of you wonder… this was the swag we received. A very nice bottle of wine, a couple of magazines about the area, a small tin of airplane-shaped-paper clips (so cute!), a nifty reusable tote with map of San Jose on it, a bag of granola from Manresa, and a really cute necklace from Jet Set Candy — a small luggage tag with San Jose’s call letters on it.

That granola is legit, too — I broke into the bag the next morning and it was so, so good with plain Greek yogurt. I need to get more of it! Delicious (and I’m thrilled there’s no coconut in it).

Thanks to the great press and marketing teams that made this lunch possible, and for inviting me! I had a great time and enjoyed everything thoroughly!!

I was not paid to write about this experience and present my opinion freely.

We talked about how I kicked my body into shape, but what about that 20 lbs I lost? Honestly, to lose weight, you don’t need to go to the gym. The only thing you need to do to lose weight is eat less.

Simple, genius concept, right?

To that end, I began logging my calories about a year ago on MyFitnessPal (feel free to send me a friend request! I can always use more accountabillabuddies!) — they have a bar code scanner for those of us who eat foods with bar codes on them, restaurant finder which works pretty well for major chains and some smaller places but YMMV (it was never very helpful for me, but NYC has such an overwhelming number of smaller-run restaurants and eating establishments that it will be a long, long while before calorie counts become more accurate for those). Then, to streamline my life into the most efficient way to structure my calorie consumption on a daily basis, I began meal-prepping.

Every Sunday, I’d set aside time to make myself a breakfast casserole that I’d portion into 5 roughly-equal portions, logging how much the total casserole was and dividing it by 5 to get the calories of each piece. Then, I’d make and pack myself 5 lunches for the week, and every morning, I’d grab a breakfast, a lunch, and a snack, take them to work with me, and know for sure I was on the right track with my daily calories consumed.

Breakfast casserole – 6 eggs, frozen spinach or kale, shredded cheese, and a meat protein of some sort (usually breakfast sausage that I chopped or broke up and cooked)… generally under 200 calories a piece. Lunches varied widely depending on what I felt like eating that week — but I am fully aware that not everyone likes the idea of eating the same thing for a week!

It worked for me though, to help bring my weight down. I eventually lost 28 lbs just by eating less, and I never felt restricted. I was hungry sometimes, but… that’s part of dieting. Learning how to eat less than you’re used to, until you reach the weight you want.

Of course, once I met Hubba Hubby, I began meal prepping for both of us and had to take into account his own caloric goals and needs and balance with not making 2 totally different things for both of us but still keeping us on track.

I’ll be sharing more about what lunches I pack for him now, to combine speed, deliciousness, and efficiency — in another post, so stay tuned!

What do you do to stick to caloric goals for the week? How has meal prep improved your life? Let me know in comments!

One of the things I’ve learned over my many years of life is that you have to learn to be flexible and adapt to your situation. Sure, sometimes change is scary and sometimes we resist, but change is necessary and keeps things moving forward… usually. To that end, I mentioned in last week’s post about the fitness routine that kicked off my fitness life, and said that I no longer engage in that craziness.

The reasons for this are manifold. It started off with wanting to free up more time to spend with Hubba Hubby, so evening workouts quickly fell by the wayside. I kept up early mornings, but then I wanted to sleep in sometimes – sue me! – and the expense was pretty high… and I wanted to free up more of my budget to spend on trips and fun stuff with Hubba Hubby… so all of it fell by the wayside temporarily.

Luckily, a happy coincidence, Hubba Hubby is actually super focused on his own fitness and has his own goals. He’s been working out for way longer than I have — he was an athlete in his pre-college years, and kept up the fitness aspect long after he stopped participating in organized sports — so he totally understood and encouraged my dedication to working out to continue. To that end, we began working out together — I don’t mean like that, you pervs — and he helped me formulate my own fitness regimen. Having an in-building gym helps out a lot, of course, even if it is on the small side and not fully-stocked like a more expensive gym membership might be, but honestly if you wanted to you could easily do what I did with only a few free weights or kettlebells at home.

The first thing: download Strong Lifts (free app for both iPhone & Android) to your phone, enter your stats, and get started. There’s also Strong Curves (program by the same person) that focuses on different areas for women, and I know people swear by it — but I’ve yet to use it. While Strong Lifts will encourage you to keep going up in lift weight steadily, you can keep at a weight until you’re comfortable before moving on. I admit that I pushed forward initially in every category until I was squatting (with weak form) 200 lbs, but not everyone wants to do that.

Ladies out there, I assure you that lifting heavy did not make me bulky or muscle-bound. In fact, if you saw me right now, you probably wouldn’t notice that I even lift.  You’d think I was a little “toned” but not bulky whatsoever. My weight may not have dipped as low as it would have had I stuck to just weight loss, but I am smaller physically and I feel better than I ever have. I’m in way better health than I ever have been in my entire life! I have better stamina for hiking, better breathing for running, and I feel stronger. It’s amazing!!

I did Strong Lifts 3x a week with a 10 minute treadmill cool down after each session, and on “off” days, I’d run a couple of miles (on the treadmill because it was winter). This generally translated to M/W/F for lifting and T/Th for running.

Of course, life changed a bit more, so I now do something slightly different to keep my fitness goals going and to keep myself sane… which I’ll detail next week!!

How have you had to adapt your goals and routine to change as life progressed? Any tips on how to be flexible with your workouts? 

The 2017 New York Baby Show, on May 20 & 21 at Pier 94 will once again be the largest show for new and expectant parents in the country. Now in its 7th year, no other event provides a better experience for thousands of expectant and new families from New York and neighboring counties, seeking a family-friendly jamboree of top brands, great speakers and seminars, big giveaways, and lots of learning, support, bonding, and fun as you make your way into parenthood. We are giving away tickets for you and your family to experience the show. Normal ticket price is $30 per family (for 2 adults and up to 4 children), and $20 per individual.

I have 10 tickets (family OR single) to giveaway! Be one of the lucky ones to score free tickets — if you’re one of the first 10 to use this link, the tickets are yours! Maybe I’ll even see you there  And if you’re NOT one of the first 10 and aren’t able to snag free tickets, use this link for 50% off

Now, you may be wondering why I’d be going to such an event, or why I’m giving away tickets. Well, back in December, Hubba Hubby and I received some wonderful news! His sister is pregnant!!

…and SO ARE WE, which is why my fitness routine has had to change a ton since last year. But that’s a different type of post, and you’ll read more about that next week!

We’re super excited over the moon about this, though I’m still coming to terms with sharing this type of news with the world (I feel very protective, Mama-Grizzly towards Baby!). If you have any advice on the type of gear you used for your baby (crib, stroller, high chair, car seat, everything!!), we are all ears as there is so much stuff out there that we are overwhelmed and need help picking out what’s best for our first child!!!

Let me know in comments if you’re coming to the show and/or if you’d like to say hi — I love putting faces to my readers’ names!

Usual restrictions apply – contest not open to members of my actual family. Travel costs not included. Good luck!

I mentioned last week that Meal Prep helped me lose weight last year. Once I met Hubba Hubby and we began cohabiting though, I had to adjust my meal prep to include him and his goals (to be clear: I wanted and continue to want to make his lunches, though he tells me all the time that I don’t “have to” — this is one of the ways my family showed love growing up, and it continues to be one of my main love-languages; I cook/provide nourishment in the form of delicious food for those I love or care about greatly).

That proved rather difficult initially so my weight loss stagnated though I’m proud to say that neither of us gained weight during the beginning of our relationship, something that many people experience. I managed to eat intuitively and stopped tracking calories, but mostly my weight loss leveled off and I was stuck. Part of the problem was how I’d gotten used to making one big batch of something, and dividing it into equal portions to calculate the calories. Since I was serving him larger portions of what I cooked, and way too lazy to weigh out the portions, I didn’t have a good measure. Plus his nutrition goals were so different from mine! He is a protein-heavy eater (particularly animal flesh), while I’m light-to-moderate on protein from animals. He will eat some veggies (slight exaggeration; he has a preference for some veggies, but would be happy without eating any, BUT will eat any/almost all vegetables that I make); I love nearly all vegetables and am happy munching away on them. He avoids carbs regularly; I avoid excess carbs but I am happy to eat them as long as they fit my calories.

While I was able to keep both of us fed with mostly healthful choices, as I said our weight loss stagnated. Just as I was about to make an overhaul – I was playing with making different lunch for each of us every week – I lost my job, which means now I only make his lunches. (Again, because I want to – please don’t come at me with ultra-feminist ideas.)

To keep my sanity and his interest, though, I’ve found two things super helpful: the slow cooker!! and trying to keep things ‘international’ in flavor.

Right now, what I’ve been keeping in rotation…

Japanese Curry – this actually isn’t a slow cooker recipe at all, but something I’ve been making for well over 10 years. It’s a bit of a cheat – if you look at the link, I have adapted my method many times over the years now. Sometimes I add apple, sometimes I use fresh veggies, sometimes I use frozen, whatever’s on hand. I mix up the fresh vegetables based on what’s on hand, but my staples include carrots, onion, and celery. I prefer the Vermont Apple Curry medium hot, though I will buy what’s on sale sometimes and experiment — I’ve also liked the java curry but I don’t always see that one in stock.

“Mexican” – taco chili or chicken burrito bowls – this is much like something I was making myself when I was losing weight, though I wasn’t using the slow cooker and instead cooking the chicken in chunks. While the recipes both call for chicken breast, you can certainly use chicken thighs for more fat/flavor/happiness! I riff on both recipes, but the 2nd is definitely easier prep than the first – if only marginally.

Chicken Tikka Masala – Hubba Hubby LOVES Indian food, so he was pretty happy when I found this recipe. It’s super easy — there are different options in the link that give you the ‘easy’ route vs. the more involved route, so you can choose your own adventure so to speak, but I haven’t had any downside from using the ‘easy’ route. The garam masala spice blend was just something purchased at a random store, so no figuring out Indian spices either!

Lamb Tagine – inspired by one of our friends making tagine in his slow cooker, I looked up a couple of recipes and mashed it together with his. I adapted all of these recipes to suit what was in my pantry to limit how much stuff I have to run out and buy, but I’m pretty pleased with how this one tasted – or at least, with how pleased Hubba Hubby was, anyway!

For each of these, I mix up what I serve them with —  brown rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa are all popular options to go underneath each dish. I keep the portion size of brown rice low since it’s carb-heavy, but on the side I will sometimes toss naan (purchased at BJ’s or the grocery store) for dipping, I’ve even done tortillas on weeks where I forgot to get naan. My preference, however, is to include a side of vegetables – roasted asparagus right now while it’s springtime (sort of), roasted broccoli or roasted brussels sprouts, all vegetables I know he enjoys and that I can toss a sheetpan in the oven without much fuss while I make other things.

I tend to make these on Sunday, pack them all up and toss the boxes in the fridge. Every morning while we get ready, I take one out and supplement with breakfast yogurt, snacks, etc. and send him on his way with a fun and delicious lunch.

What types of meal prep do you do for the week to help ease your load? How do you use your slow cooker in meal planning? Do you have any recipes for the slow cooker you can recommend to add to our rotation?!

20 weeks pregnant

In last week’s Fitness Friday post, I talked about being flexible and adapting to change. I also mentioned that at my ‘peak’ I was squatting 200 lbs – in that squat rack behind me in the above pic – though with poor form. That was around late December.

Well, as it turned out, around that time, life threw Hubba Hubby and I a huge curveball: a positive pregnancy test. We were over-the-moon thrilled and overjoyed, but obviously had to re-evaluate and re-structure my workouts to prevent injury or damaging something.

ALL OF THE RESEARCH OUT THERE suggests that continuing your workouts (provided they aren’t full-body-contact-sports) during pregnancy is actually beneficial to your growing baby. I am not a doctor, licensed trainer or anything in those fields, so please do not take this as medical advice whatsoever – I can only tell you what I did and how I feel about it.

However, in the early days of pregnancy and reading about my body producing “relaxin” to help all of my joints/muscles ‘relax’ to accommodate baby-weight/growth, I was very uncomfortable with the idea of continuing my heavy lifts. I worried about hurting myself and/or baby, straining too much, pulling something, and being unable to continue with my fitness routine. Plus – to be totally honest, I knew that I’d gotten up to 200 lbs by slowly not going as low in my squat as I could/should for maximum results. I was more focused on the numbers going up than I was on keeping good form and building strength.

With all of those factors adding up, it made sense for me to de-load every one of my lifts and start over with my focus on proper form. I started with a 30lb kettlebell back in January – going all the way down, ass-2-grass as I like to call them (a2g for short), and have since moved up to 35. I’m having a ton of trouble and have been stuck for a few weeks now – not with the weight, which is fine, but keeping my back straight on the way up. I know I made the right choice for me.

I also de-loaded my other lifts, and stopped doing deadlifts as I wasn’t feeling comfortable with the stress it placed on my body early on. Lately, however, I’ve felt a calling back to doing lower back exercises as my back has started giving me trouble, though I haven’t gained much in terms of my front-loaded weight.

Now, my lifting routine looks like this: deep-squats 3x a week, alternating overhead press and bench press on those days. I finish lifting sessions with 45 minutes on the treadmill power-walking, because running isn’t comfortable for me.

But on ‘off’ days – days I don’t lift – I have discovered that if I am not active, I expect to fully hit a wall around 3 or 330 and desperately need a nap. I now make sure to get into the gym every.single.day, even if it’s just to walk for an hour on the treadmill, lest I fall prey to the sleepies.  It’s almost insane to me that I’m firmly in the second trimester and in the gym more than I was before I was pregnant — I frequently took breaks or didn’t go on weekends back then. Now? If I miss that morning powerwalk, I lose an hour later from being so exhausted that I’m totally useless.

Yes, that picture of me up top is just a few days ago – I’m 20 weeks pregnant and feeling strong! I’m not breaking any records, I’m not losing weight (obviously) or fat, but I’m keeping my strength up and will be ready to lift baby once baby is here.

How do you feel on days you don’t exercise? Have you figured out a way to work it into your schedule just so you can keep the good feelings flowing? Are you a morning or evening workout kind of person?  

I wrote last week about making Japanese curry for meal prep and linked to an old post wherein I made Japanese curry for the first time ever – back in 2006 – and I realized that I needed to update the pics, the method, all of it. Coincidentally, this week is Japanese curry week! so here we go… what I made for Hubba Hubby‘s lunches this week!

Family pack of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I only used half of this package – 5 chicken thighs – for 4 lunches; it would have been 5 but I ran out of clean containers, haha)
2 random apples, cut into chunks
Baby carrots that I cut into smaller pieces
1 medium onion that I cut into chunks
3 ribs of celery, chopped
1/2 package of Vermont Curry (full package pictured)

Cut chicken thighs into chunks; add to a hot frying pan with olive oil. (In the background, you can see the broccoli I roasted at 375 for 20 minutes with a bit of olive oil and salt – super simple, but a nice side for this lunch!)

After the chicken’s browned a little bit, add the chopped, cleaned celery and onion cut into chunks, to the pan. There should be a bit of liquid in the bottom of the pan at this point – mostly the olive oil and fat being rendered from the chicken, yum!

In the background of the above pic, you can see a bowl of the carrots that I cut into smaller chunks, then zapped in the microwave for 3 minutes in a bit of water. I don’t like super crunchy carrots in my curry, but I like having texture — so I soften them a little and reserve the water for later use. You’ll see!   Once the celery and onion is in the pan, I toss it all around a bit until they’re very slightly cooked. I like the crunch of celery and onion chunks, so I don’t cook these for very long – and then I break up the 6 pieces (half the box) of curry. See the ice cube shaped looking brown things?

They dissolve very quickly and break down in the liquid from the veggies and chicken, stir it all around quickly and it starts to coat everything… and smells delicious, doesn’t it? Ooh yeah… 

This is when I added the bowl of carrots + carrot water. Stir it all together and let it kind of melt down into what you see above — this actually wasn’t enough water, so I added a bit more using the same bowl. It’s going to continue to cook and thicken, so you don’t want it to be too thick at this point. Not yet.  

Then, finally, I added the diced apple. I try to keep everything roughly the same size, so it cooks evenly but also looks kinda nice (to me). I don’t bother peeling the apple because I think the pop of color is pretty, plus – something something fiber and nutrients (says my mom). Let all of this simmer for a few more minutes; the curry itself will thicken up, the chicken will finish cooking if it hasn’t already (and don’t worry if it’s already been fully-cooked; it takes a lot to overcook chicken thighs), the carrots will soften further, as will the celery and onion.

Your home should smell amazing. 

While all of that was happening, I’d tossed brown rice in the rice cooker – a housewarming gift from my mom years ago, it’s such a lifesaver because I don’t like standing at the stove tending to a pot of rice – and 2 links of Chinese sausage. Hubba Hubby loves extra protein in his meals, while I don’t care for Chinese sausage, so I like to hide these under the curry as a little surprise for him to find. It also flavors the rice a bit while it cooks (you add these to the rice cooker while the rice cooks, and they plump up/cook).

Once the rice was done, I scooped a bit into these divided containers we have. Roasted broccoli in the smaller side. And topped each portion of rice with some Chinese sausage!

Then scoops of the finished Japanese curry over the brown rice. Hubba Hubby loves sauce, so I made it a bit extra saucy for him. Let cool completely before covering and refrigerating!!! That’s for those pesky food safety concerns.

Close up of the finished dish.

What do you think? Will you be trying this yourself? Have you ever had Japanese curry?  

Tune in next week for step-by-step pictorial instructions for next week’s meal prep lunch!!

Happy Good Friday to those who observe or celebrate, and chag sameach pesach to those who observe or celebrate!!

It’s so funny to me — I’ve been writing as The Feisty Foodie for nearly 12 years now (officially May 2005, though I began writing about food much earlier than that with another name). Topics have run the gamut from my meals (home cooked, eaten out, everything in between), my relationship with my late father, sometimes my relationships, my late relatives, my family, even my dog sometimes.

But I hesitated a lot to write about my fitness goals – it felt contrary to the reason the site started – and I hesitated even more to talk about our pregnancy. It got to the point where Hubba Hubby, bursting with pride, joy, excitement, agreed to post a sonogram photo mini-announcement on April 1, so it could seem like a silly joke… and I could hopefully hide a bit behind that and not have to deal with, I don’t know what kind of backlash I feared. I was definitely wary of what I might hear from people — and while some people have been gossipy, rude, downright nasty — for the most part, everyone’s been so lovely and supportive. It makes my heart swell!

It still feels very, very private to me — our pregnancy and all its little quirks that make it firmly ours and no one else’s — but I’ve realized that documenting it publicly actually might be a good thing. Not just for me, but for anyone who stumbles on this and feels some connection to my own thoughts and feelings, and may never tell me that they read it — but at least hopefully might gain solace and comfort, or some tips (from comments, since lord only knows right now I’ve got nothing!) from it.

All this to say: I am trying to come to terms with sharing a bit more about our pregnancy, within my comfort zone. I have a lot of thoughts, some conflicting, some scary, all of them dying for a sympathetic ear.

How this relates to fitness, and being a fitmom/having a fitpregnancy, … it’s been a struggle to watch my weight go up steadily over the past few weeks. I didn’t gain during my first trimester (totally normal), and now it’s slowly creeping upwards and staying in a healthy range for both me and baby. I acknowledge and accept that — and have been continuing to eat more than I’d normally eat, in order to continue gaining — but sometimes that number on the scale freaks me out.

Roughly a year ago, I was this weight and creeping downwards, very happy about it. Now I’m climbing back up, intentionally, and not bulking for muscle gains… just for my baby to grow strong and healthy.

It’s an odd switch in my brain that I’ve had to flip.

What did you do to keep your mindset in the right place during pregnancy? How did you manage your weight gain during and after pregnancy?

**Doctor has stated firmly that my weight is nothing to be concerned over – it’s going up within range of what’s average and normal. Baby is doing great.

Last week was Japanese curry, this week: Indian curry! Chicken tikka masala, that is. I’m a fan of The Kitchn’s slow cooker version of this recipe – it’s essentially a ‘dump’ recipe where you just dump a bunch of ingredients into the slow cooker, turn it on and 4-8 hours later… voila! I tend to be a tweaker but this one I tweak very, very little…

Here I am prepping everything in the morning. I had the other half of that family pack of boneless/skinless chicken thighs that I used for the Japanese curry (I froze it in a big Ziploc bag – labeled for my convenience – and thawed it in the fridge overnight). I also realized that I’d used the last of my tomato paste the prior week, so I didn’t add that until much later in the cooking process. No biggie – the flavor didn’t change and I’m under the impression that it’s mostly a thickening agent anyway. (Also — there’s only one can of tomatoes in the pic, but I pulled out another one because these cans are only 14 oz and the recipe calls for 28.)

Half mixed in, half not. You can see that my slow cooker isn’t even 1/2 way full. The slow cooker liners really help with clean-up, add no funky weird plastic taste, and actually prevent burning/sticking in the corners/edges; you know how sometimes your edges get super hot and stuff sticks or burns or dries out over there? These kind of keep that from happening as a nice little coincidence.

{Note: a few people have asked me about the slow cooker liners. I use Reynolds slow cooker liners – affiliate link – though a few other brands make them as well. You should be able to find them at Target/Walmart or similar stores, and probably at your local supermarket as well, if it’s got a section that sells tin foil pans, aluminum foil, etc. We first saw them roughly 7 years ago here and now I’m a devoted fan.}

Here it is all mixed together. Smells great already! Then it goes bye-bye for 8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high. The first 2x I used high and it was fine, this time I used low and I think it was still fine – no major difference, at least none that Hubba Hubby told me about…  

And here it is after I’ve stirred in 3/4 cup of heavy cream and let it cook for roughly 30 minutes with the lid off, to help it thicken up. 

For a side dish this week — miso mushrooms! Funny how in the pic, the electric stovetop looks purple but it’s red in real life. This is a super simple side dish that I love and Hubba Hubby enjoys — he’s not a mushroom fan but said “you make the mushrooms taste like not-mushrooms” – while I disagree and think this just makes them very meaty-savory, if it makes him happy then hey, go for it.

I browned butter in the bottom of a large skillet, added a large container of sliced mushrooms and let them cook for a bit, tossing so every bit could touch the butter (half a stick, I think… oh boy). After a while, the mushrooms softened and shrank a little, and I added just a small spoonful of white/shiro miso…

stirring it all around until it melted into the liquid coming out of the mushrooms, and coating each one with its delicious savory flavor. Turn off the flames and enjoy that meaty mushroom taste!  

As for packing… oh boy. I love these Rubbermaid “divided rectangles” (around $3 for a pack of 3, at our local supermarket – Amazon has them for roughly double the price!) but the compartments aren’t completely separate, which means when Hubba Hubby tosses them into his gym bag… well, sometimes sauce will travel from one side to the other. Especially when there’s no rice or carby/starchy side dish soaking it up (more on that in a minute)…

Here’s where I had to get creative. Hubba Hubby has some macros/dietary goals that I don’t always quite understand or have trouble really embracing – one of them being a lower carb lifestyle than I enjoy. Chicken tikka masala is meant to be served over basmati rice — but I’ve been known to use brown rice for some extra fiber/protein/”full-feeling” and once you put enough sauce on it, it’s fine anyway. But I respect his lifestyle choices and I try to work around them best I can – it’s a nice challenge – so for this one, I went to the store to pick up cauliflower rice only to find they were all out! Giving him a container of just chicken tikka masala (basically chicken and sauce) with a side of miso mushrooms seemed like way too little food, so I compromised and cut up tortillas (our naan did not make it, unfortunately, and I didn’t realize until too late so I tossed the package — thankfully, we always have flour tortillas on hand for #TacoTuesday) – 1 per lunch box – and wrapped them in a sandwich bag on the side. I put the miso mushrooms close to that side to hopefully stem some of the sauce from jumping to the other side, and then filled the rest with chicken tikka masala.

I had a secret agenda for the wrapped tortillas too — to force Hubba Hubby to microwave the tortilla separately from the lunch. Hahaha! I outfoxed him since he will occasionally just microwave all of it together, to my chagrin, as I think it detracts from the quality of the final product. He said some of the sauce did jump to the other side, the tortillas stayed dry but the baggie got wet and was gross. Oh well. Overall, he said this week was a raging success — the mushrooms were great, he didn’t notice there was no rice or cauliflower rice, he didn’t feel like he was eating a ton of vegetables (probably because mushrooms barely count as vegetables!), and he enjoyed using the tortilla to make ‘mini tacos’ of the chicken tikka masala.

There you have it. Chicken tikka masala that tastes great and cooked while I busied myself doing other things.

What do you think? Would you make this yourself? What would you serve with it? What should I make as a side dish for next week?

Whether you’re on a restricted diet due to fitness goals or because you’re pregnant, oftentimes it’s so much easier to invite people over to eat instead of going out and struggling over a menu to find something that either fits your calorie goals or macros, or something that doesn’t make you want to shriek “WHY DO I LOVE EVERYTHING PREGNANT WOMEN AREN’T SUPPOSED TO EAT” – or worse, something that doesn’t make you want to hurl (I’m looking at you, white meat chicken and fully-cooked eggs!).

It helps if you have some basic kitchen know-how, but here is a menu I served recently when the lovely Matt & Kym offered to come visit us with their 18 month old instead of trying to find a place to accommodate all our various needs. I think it went over pretty well – the dishes are not particularly adventurous, and there was something for everyone, and we were all satisfied in the end.

For any brunch there must be beverages! Hubba Hubby is a skilled home mixologist with a well-stocked bar; normally when we host, I’d ask him to batch a cocktail. However, given that this was brunch and we only had 2 other adults joining us – and a total of 3 adults who might drink – I kept it simple and pulled out a bottle of sparkling wine to put next to the pitcher of OJ (Tropicana; who’s got time to fresh-squeeze OJ? besides, pregnant ladies aren’t supposed to drink non-pasteurized juices) for make-your-own-mimosas. We have a Keurig for hot coffee, and we always have a 2 gallon dispenser of (home) cold brew on hand, so we were pretty set for drinks. Some sugar cubes in a ramekin, a small container of half & half, and we’re good to go on beverages.

**Huge shout out to Hubba Hubby – after a few hours of gabbing and chatting, he pulled out his cocktail stuff and whipped up a few different drinks for our friends. I don’t remember the first one — but the second one was definitely this Clover Club, which tickled everyone’s fancy.  

And now the food – so simple – banana chocolate chunk muffins; mini croissants from BJ’s; Kerrygold butter; olive oil gold potatoes; thick-cut bacon; scrambled eggs.

Honestly, I’m not sure it gets easier than this. The muffins were from a Krusteaz mix, a pack of 3 for $2.99 at BJ’s (we are so lucky to live so close to a BJ’s wholesale club; if we had to drive any farther, I don’t know that we’d be members). You add egg and water and that’s it — seriously. The banana flavor is pretty muted, the chocolate chunks probably aren’t very “healthy” but they make a quick bite in the morning that fuels a lot of my early workouts.

The mini croissants were just picked up in the box and put out. If I were more certain more would have been eaten, I’d have popped them in a cloth napkin and then warmed them through in the oven — but not knowing what the turnover would be, I kept them as-is. No complaints.

Bacon — since I was cooking the whole pack of bacon, I laid them out a baking sheet and cooked them in the oven. This left me free to do other things in the meanwhile and I wasn’t chained to the stove during that time. Most packaged bacon will have instructions for oven-cooking, I followed these mostly and also looked at them to determine doneness.

For the potatoes — super simple, I diced up gold potatoes and two small onions, tossed it all with olive oil and a little salt, spread into one layer on a sheet pan and roasted them at 375 degrees for 40ish minutes, checking them every once in a while and shaking the sheet pan a little bit. You can line it with foil for easier clean up. Then I just scooped them into a serving dish (well, a casserole dish) and put them in a 200 degree oven to stay warm while I finished prepping – along with the bacon on a serving dish. Easy-peasy.

My scrambled eggs “recipe” isn’t a recipe — but I’m in the camp that makes them with salt, no pepper, and a generous ‘splash’ of milk or cream. I beat them by hand until they’re very frothy, and cook them in butter over med-high heat, running my spatula across the bottom as curds form. These I took off the heat after I could fold them but they were still a touch wet/moist in the center — mostly because I knew the residual heat would continue cooking them, and because they were going into the oven to be kept warm as well.

With the potatoes, bacon and eggs set up on platters in the oven staying warm, I just wiped down the countertops, wiped out the skillet, and waited for the bell to ring. Super simple, right?

And when it came time to eat — I was able to serve myself a reasonable portion size, opt out of the eggs (minus a tiny taste just to make sure they were OK), have some potatoes, bacon and a muffin, and not feel bad about my choices — and I don’t think anyone noticed what I did or didn’t eat. Hubba Hubby avoided the foods he didn’t like or want to eat, as did the others, but no one commented and everyone was super happy.

Sticking to your fitness goals/dietary needs/personal preferences isn’t too difficult with a little advance planning and understanding friends. While going out is surely fun (and you know I do love going out to eat!), sometimes it’s nice to entertain and have people come over for a low cost, low stress hang out.

Also, we love board games… so I may eventually post about what I serve during board game nights!!

How do you manage to keep your fitness goals, calorie goals, budget in check while still having an active social life? Share your tips in comments – I’d love to hear from you!!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’m big on slow cooker meal prep and that this “chicken taco chili” was in the rotation for Hubba Hubby. Well, I’m a recipe tweaker by nature, and this week’s is sliiiiightly different from the recipe linked – and a bit spicier, which makes for a HAPPY Hubba Hubby. You know what they say – happy hubby, happy life. Wait, wait, no, that’s not right…

In any case, my reason for tweaks this week? Well, given that I’m now packing lunch only for Hubba Hubby and not for me, and his dietary goals vary from mine slightly, I decided to boost the protein content by doubling the chicken breasts from 2 to 4. The spice level increase and the tomato content decrease was to cater to his tastebuds and not mine, while the salsa-switcheroo (and reduced tomatoes as a result) came from “what’s in the pantry so I don’t have to go out and buy salsa?” – and finally, I didn’t have any chili powder (I think I used it all up last time I made this), so I cobbled together the blend of spices that I use to make my own (beef-based) chili for regular tacos or for chili bowl nights.

Got all that? Well, no need to really think too hard about it — I actually measured and wrote down the measurements this time, for y’all

Here are all the ingredients ready to be dumped into the slow cooker. Another reason I like this recipe? I don’t have to chop anything. If you want to mince garlic fresh, by all means, but it spends so much time in the slow cooker it seems like a bit of a waste. Handy dandy pre-minced garlic (“foodies” and “gourmands” avert your eyes; this recipe is more for busy/tired moms on the go than for anyone expecting a gourmet meal) is super convenient for this type of recipe. My blend of spice choices is visible, a can of Rotel is the only tomato as far as I know (I forget if this Trader Joe’s salsa has tomatoes in it, but it’s green in color)… and Trader Joe’s “hatch valley salsa” which has hatch chilies in it. I didn’t taste it (I’m not a spicy-lover), but it smelled really lovely and flavorful.

Also, chicken breasts that I pulled from the freezer and thawed in the fridge overnight on a plate. Yes, these are from December — no frost bite, though, I checked — when I got pregnant, cooked white meat chicken was my first food aversion. It’s not that surprising honestly — I actually only began eating white meat chicken last year, when I buckled down and became serious about my dietary goals and caloric restrictions. It was still a little disappointing that something I’d only been eating for 7-8 months was my first aversion, but at the same time, at least I don’t really miss it (actually the thought of it right now is making my mouth go dry, so…). Err, my point: I haven’t been cooking chicken breasts, but it made sense to make them for Hubba Hubby (who has no such aversion) in a dish that I don’t plan on eating.  

Here is everything ready to be mixed! I didn’t rinse the black beans because the recipe calls for added liquid anyway. I don’t think it changes the final result – maybe in a stovetop chili, but not a slow cooker one. BTW – one of my little “tips” to keep track of spices that I’ve already added. First, as I measured and used each container, I would move it from the left of the slow cooker, to the right, so I would know it was already added. Second, I added them in little different spots so I could see how many scoops and if I lost track while counting, I could look down and count how many little piles. I do this while baking too though a lot of those colors are pretty similar. (While most of my measurements for this recipe are ‘1’ or ‘1/2 tsp’, I measured everything using a 1/2 tsp so I definitely had to count higher for some stuff!)

Mixed up with the chicken breasts covered up. Ready to go for 8 hours (or more, since I went to sleep and didn’t turn it off until I went in the kitchen the next morning).  
… and post-shredding in the morning. Basically, I took the lid out, and took two forks, and every chicken breast happily fell apart to shreds with some light poking and prodding. Some bigger chunks remained, so those I had to use the forks to pull apart a little, but still really tender and easy.

Since this has some veggies in it, and was slightly-liquidy, I didn’t bother with a veggie side. Though I suppose putting some roasted broccoli underneath would help a bit, it’s high-protein and will keep Hubba Hubby full through his workouts, I’m sure. I didn’t have 5 containers that matched in size, though, so the lunches all vary slightly in size – from 2.9 cups to 3.2, but just the container size. I kept the portions inside reasonably close… I also am not fully certain what size will fill him up best, so I gave a range of sizes for him to pick. On days where he’s lifting heavier or just wants extra protein, he can grab a bigger container.

Also — I tend to send this off to work with him with a small container of sour cream, some shredded cheddar, and toppings, to make it a little less… well, one-note. Plus though he has no white-meat-aversion, I tend to think the white meat in this still has a dry texture to it — the cheese and sour cream help with that.

We’ll see what kind of feedback we get from this week’s lunches!

Recipe adapted from Budget Bytes

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• Trader Joe’s hatch chili salsa
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 15 oz. can black beans
• 12 ounce package of frozen corn
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 C water
• 1 small can of Rotel

The rest of the instructions are basically the same – or just dump everything into the slow cooker (disposable liner optional), stir a bit to evenly distribute, cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4, and shred chicken with forks. Top with whatever you like your chili topped with, and enjoy!

How do you make your slow cooker chili? How spicy do you like it? And how do you keep everything from leaking everywhere? (I’m still uncertain if those containers are leak proof or if he’ll have to keep them upright in his gym bag…) Would love to hear in comments about your slow cooker chili recipes!

Perhaps not entirely fitness-related; more related to keeping on top of weight gain – at some point soon, I might talk about my struggle to accept my changing body as a good thing (please don’t berate me and tell me that I’m growing a living human being inside me – I know that logically, but that doesn’t mean mentally I’m just OK with gaining all the weight I worked super hard to lose last year). Right now, though, let’s talk about cravings.

The #1 question everyone asks me is, “Any cravings? What do you want to eat?” Having never been pregnant prior to this and having always been ‘me’ – I don’t know if everyone asks every pregnant woman this question, or if it’s specific to me. Either way, it’s been an interesting question to answer!

My first ‘strange’ craving was definitely sweets. I also craved dairy/calcium, in the form of my body telling me “I want something cold and creamy,” which I initially tried to satisfy with Greek yogurt. Since my body took that but laughed at me when I thought that might sate that desire, I began eating ice cream… a lot… which is unusual for me. I like sweets just fine, but I rarely craved them — and then the peanut butter cravings hit pretty hard. I constantly ogled peanut butter snacks in supermarkets, until Hubba Hubby was like, well, why don’t we get some? I finally hit the jackpot when I discovered Torico Ice Cream’s peanut butter banana chocolate chunk ice cream, which hit all the right notes – cold, creamy, sweet, and peanut buttery. Then the motherlode: Reese’s Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cups, on sale at BJ’s for something like $6-7 for a box of 18.

Of course, that craving quit on me halfway through the 2nd box, so we’ve still got some in the freezer.

I also went through a brief “need more veggies” phase, but I generally eat a pretty substantial amount of vegetables so that didn’t really change my life much. The nicoise salad phase was brief, and satisfied with salmon instead of tuna on my salads, but led to eating this very unsatisfying version at Beauborg at Le District.

But the one craving that has remained consistent throughout the past 10 weeks…

Sometimes all a girl wants is a good ol' BLAT – Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato. This one really hit the spot to kick off a lazy Sunday in with the hubs. #eeeeeats #FoodieHub #instayum #yum #love #happiness #food #devourpower #newforkcity #eaterny #brunch #breakfast #sandwiches #sandwich #Jersey #JerseyEats #JCeats #JerseyCity #bacon #avocado #local

A post shared by Yvo (@feistyfoodie) on Feb 27, 2017 at 7:36pm PST

BLT.

Craving #blt like whoa lately but with #avocado added. Thanks to @jc_eats we discovered the Little Sandwich Shop just a few blocks away – the price is right, delivery quick and dayum that BLAT scratched the itch. #eeeeeats #eaterny #love #happiness #yum #instayum #food #JerseyCity #Jersey #JCeats #JerseyEats #sandwich #sandwiches #bacon #local #delivery

A post shared by Yvo (@feistyfoodie) on Mar 14, 2017 at 8:45pm PDT

Kind of strange, but I attribute it to Hubba Hubby’s affinity for bacon/meat and mine for tomatoes being combined into one super craving. Plus, I’m not really eating/able to eat sandwiches in a traditional sense, so this cures that easily without the risk of listeria.

#1900: pre road trip to Philly for a gender reveal party, I grabbed a #BLT to fuel up. Not sure why it's on a roll, but given my BLT cravings lately – not the worst, honestly. Back to white toast next time though! #eeeeeats #eaterny #love #happiness #yum #instayum #food #JerseyEats #JCeats #JerseyCity #Jersey #NJ #sandwich #sandwiches #bacon #travel #treats

A post shared by Yvo (@feistyfoodie) on Mar 22, 2017 at 6:35pm PDT

Honestly I’m not even sure how many BLT I’ve eaten in this time period, just how many I’ve put on Instagram!

Hardly working while working hard: another #BLT to curb the craving while writing #ontheblog and tweaking the site. With #avocado of course. #eeeeeats #eaterny #love #happiness #yum #instayum #food #JerseyEats #JCeats #Jersey #JerseyCity #sandwich #sandwiches #bacon #local #NJ #devourpower #newforkcity

A post shared by Yvo (@feistyfoodie) on Mar 27, 2017 at 7:38pm PDT

I try to get avocado on all of them, and it’s so, so good.

Post-#workout #BLT hit the spot. Maybe I had #cheese #fries on the side too. #eeeeeats #FoodieHub #love #happiness #yum #instayum #devourpower #newforkcity #local #NYC #lunch #sandwich #sandwiches #bacon #NJ #JerseyEats #JCeats #Jersey #JerseyCity #fitness #fitmom #fit #fitpregnancy

A post shared by Yvo (@feistyfoodie) on Apr 7, 2017 at 8:13pm PDT

I’m learning where to get the best-made BLT’s in the neighborhood and beyond…

Everyone keeps asking me what Baby is making me crave the most. Well, Baby takes after Daddy with #bacon cravings and after Mommy with veggie cravings. I figure a #BLT with #avocado satisfies all of these cravings together in one shot. Efficiency runs in the family too. #eeeeeats #FoodieHub #love #happiness #yum #instayum #devourpower #newforkcity #local #NYC #eatingNYC #eater #food #foodgawker #instafood #eatfamous #myfab5 #JCeats #JerseyCity #JerseyEats #Jersey #sandwich #sandwiches #fitmom #fitpregnancy #fitness #pregnant

A post shared by Yvo (@feistyfoodie) on Apr 17, 2017 at 7:30pm PDT

And that sometimes a toasted sesame bagel with veggie cream cheese, bacon and tomato can be an excellent substitute for a BLT. Well, sort of. It’s an amazing sandwich in a different way, you know?

Winning at weekending: toasted sesame #bagel with veggie cream #cheese, #bacon and tomato. I think I may have found the perfect #breakfast #sandwich here. Give the weekend back to me… how did Sunday come so quickly? #eeeeeats #love #happiness #yum #instayum #devourpower #newforkcity #local #NYC #eatingNYC #eater #food #foodgawker #instafood #eatfamous #myfab5 #QueensEats #Queens #ForestHills #fitpregnancy #fitness #pregnant #brunch #sandwiches #foodilysm

A post shared by Yvo (@feistyfoodie) on Apr 23, 2017 at 6:21pm PDT

One more BLT, shall we?

Guys, I swear this isn't another #BLT … well, okay, it is, but the #menu called it an ALT: #bacon egg and #cheese #sandwich with lettuce, tomato and #avocado with a meyer lemon aioli. I regret NOTHING; it was the perfect #brunch before going to the Hot Sauce Expo. #eeeeeats #FoodieHub #love #happiness #yum #instayum #devourpower #newforkcity #local #NYC #eatingNYC #eater #food #foodgawker #instafood #eatfamous #myfab5 #Brooklyn #sandwiches #fitmom #fitpregnancy #fitness #pregnant

A post shared by Yvo (@feistyfoodie) on Apr 26, 2017 at 8:12am PDT

I kind of want one right now…

(I also notice that I want Asian food more often than I used to, specifically Chinese food, but I don’t know if that counts as a craving!)

If you’ve ever been or are now pregnant, what kind of cravings did you experience? Did you indulge them? How often? What kinds of cravings do you have [if/when not pregnant]? MOST IMPORTANTLY, where can I get your favorite BLT?  

Dessert tasting at 21 Club – the New York institution responsible for the first haute burger way back when.

Our menus – we tried one of every thing. Yes, really.

Profiteroles: classic in both taste and presentation. Not bad by any means – any fan of profiteroles would be happy to choose this – but not a standout. 

Upside down apple tart: another classic dessert, this one with an upside down presentation. Tasty, and I enjoyed the depth of flavor in the calvados caramel, but not quite a standout. To be fair, though, I love a good slice of apple pie with vanilla ice cream, and never find a need to stray far from the classic.  

This massive dessert was meant for two; “Drunken Strawberry Shortcake” or baba au rum. I think this may have been my favorite – it was super boozy, soaked in rum but deliciously so – a mild rum, honestly. The creme anglaise served on the side in a gravy boat was perfectly light and delicate to accompany the spongey cake, and the pistachios added just the right amount of crunch. And the fruit? Simply perfect.  

Baked Alaska – extremely classic dessert, but with a seasonal twist to it with meyer lemon semifreddo. The ‘marshmallow’ exterior was lightly sweet, and the fruit around it was both gorgeous and perfectly ripe, offsetting the sweetness with its own zippy taste. I loved this dessert, which was surprising to me since I haven’t really liked most baked Alaskas that I’ve sampled in the past. Watching them set it on fire was pretty cool too

Bananas foster – another very tasty, thoughtful and not overwhelmingly sweet version of the classic. The pastry chef here has a very light hand with sugar, and balances it well with all the flavors and fruits he uses. I thoroughly enjoyed not being in a sugar-coma afterwards.  

Chocolate souffle – perfectly executed with a totally airy body, and not too eggy for my tastes (I know what a souffle is but sometimes they just taste overwhelmingly like whipped egg with no nuance to it!). Absolutely delightful.  

Creme brulee tasting – again, classic desserts with slight twists, do you see a theme here? Vanilla, hazelnut and creamsicle. I surprised myself by liking the hazelnut the most; I would have thought creamsicle but that one was just a touch too subtle for me (I love citrus in desserts). The hazelnut was rich but just enough without putting you over the edge.  

I think what surprised me the most about this next and last dessert was that well, I generally don’t like cheesecake. I found this one to be more akin to fromage blanc (perhaps that’s just being nitpicky in name – my pastry knowledge is a little lacking) – very airy, delicate, but deliberate in its taste. Once again, the fruit surrounding it was just so perfectly picked that it enhanced the light dessert and brought it to new levels.

Overall, the pastry program at 21 Club was excellent. Some desserts perhaps weren’t to my exact tastes but I found everything so wonderfully refreshing and lightly sweet. I can’t imagine anyone being unhappy to end their meal with these items — perhaps unhappy that the meal itself was ending, but not unhappy about dessert.

Also — check out their theater prix fixe menu! You can add parking for $15 as well, which would be perfect as it’s a short hop to many Broadway theaters. I’m definitely planning on checking that out soon!!!

21 Club
21 W 52nd St
New York, NY 10019

Things you probably don’t know: Hubba Hubby lived in the DC area for roughly 10 years before he moved up here, and has a lot of fond memories and friends who still live in the area… leading us to take a quick whirlwind trip down there a few weekends ago. Our first stop: DBGB for brunch!

If the name sounds familiar, yes, there’s a location in NYC as well — where I went for a birthday celebration years back, but always meant to return after hearing how amazing their sausages are.

My first order of business: hot chocolate. Everyone else had cocktails but it was too early in the day for me for mocktails, so I went ahead and got a mug of hot chocolate. Satisfying, but nothing to excite.

Hubba Hubby ordered the Tunisienne sausage – lamb with exotic spices, topped with poached eggs. I tried a bite and thought it was fun, but I think I definitely won with my dish…

The Vermont cheddar sausage over scrambled eggs and a hash brown cake. Well — I talked about my pregnancy cravings, but I don’t think I’ve really delved into my pregnancy aversions – namely, scrambled or fully-cooked eggs. I really went out on a limb here ordering this but I AM SO THANKFUL I DID. First, that sausage was literally bursting with delicious pork & cheddar flavor; the hash brown cake was insanely crispy on the outside and incredible to the last bite; and those eggs? Oh my god, I don’t think I’ve ever had such creamy scrambled eggs, I ate every last scrap! Well, I shared a bit with my dining companions, but I definitely ate every last bite on my place. I was so excited that I could eat eggs! I really was, because eggs are a great source of protein (necessary for baby’s development) and choline (for brain development), and I have not been able to stomach them for the most part. My dish was definitely the clear winner, I think!! (Of course, everyone else had cocktails, and they probably agreed that they were the clear winners on that end…)  

After much gabbing and just hanging out – it was later into the brunching hours, so the place wasn’t bustling – we decided to wrap up with dessert. The strawberry shortcake sundae was really clever and well-enjoyed – the cubes of cake, the strawberry sauce and ice cream — all combined to really make you feel like you were eating the ice cream version of one of my favorite desserts.

Overall — the sausages really are a big draw here, really delicious and creative flavors. I loved that we had them with brunch — the eggs were stellar! (the poached eggs were perfect as well, I took a peek) and I definitely want to go back to sample some of the dinner sausages as well. Happy that this is in NYC too so I can get back sooner than later.

DBGB
multiple locations, check website for address

And finally, the last in my international series on meal prep (hahaha) – lamb tagine.

I mostly used the recipe straight from the link above – Real Simple’s slow cooker lamb tagine. The one major difference… well, aside from not measuring the dried apricots (used up what I had), using olives that were stuffed with garlic and jalapenos, I also used a tablespoon of harissa paste from Trader Joe’s. Mostly because I had it, maybe a bit because I thought Hubba Hubby would like the added spice.

Everything all up in there ready to get mixed! 

Everything mixed…

Then after 8 hours or so on low. Tender fall apart goodness!! 

These I boxed up with some roasted sweet potatoes (we’d recently had a rooftop BBQ and a friend brought cut up sweet potatoes tossed with maple syrup/butter/spices, wrapped into tin foil packets which we stuck on the grill!).

I will say however that the lamb shoulders I bought from BJ’s — well, lamb is pretty rich, so this came out very oily. Next time, I’ll need to skim it or reduce the oil somehow as it didn’t sit too well in the tummy! 

But flavor-wise, Hubba Hubby was really happy and continues to enjoy this. Maybe I’ll try a different cut of lamb next time?

How do you feel about packing lamb for lunch? Any great lamb/slow cooker recipes to share?

On our last day in DC, Hubba Hubby and I walked around near our Air BNB to find brunch. We’d unfortunately learned a very difficult lesson the day prior — I am unable to sit for long periods of time, so road trips are becoming increasingly difficult for me while pregnant (this is something that I cannot stress enough: I am so, so disappointed, because the largest part of me shrieks “I can still do anything I could do before I got pregnant” but the reality is some things cause me so much pain or discomfort that it truly isn’t worth it). To that end, I needed to get in a bit of exercise prior to eating and then sitting in the car for hours to get back home, and Hubba Hubby indulged me walking for nearly an hour of hangry chatter while I browsed menus at every restaurant we passed and finally decided on the first place we’d entered: Provision 14.

The man is a saint.

As his reward, I mean brunch, he chose crab cake Benedict. I tried some of his potatoes and oh my god they were amazing – crispy on the outside, well-seasoned, and fluffy potato on the inside.

As for the Benedict portion, I only tried a bite of the crabcake and thought it was fine. A little soft, a little bland, a little too much filler and not “jumbo lump” enough — but I bet it was good eaten with poached egg and Hollandaise!! Hubba Hubby was satisfied enough but I don’t think the dish wowed him either.  

I chose what sounded like the most interesting dish on the brunch menu: breakfast tots!! Tater tots, scrambled eggs, and bacon. I did not expect it to arrive looking like this, but I shrugged it off; I love cheese, and the whole dish held a lot of promise. I knew I was playing with fire with my scrambled egg aversion – I didn’t hope that they could be as good as the ones at DBGB had been – but whoa, did this dish disappoint. Everything was so dry! The scrambled eggs were cooked to within an inch of their lives to the point they were crumbly-dry, so sad!! The bacon was overly salty and crumbled into tiny dust bits. The cheese somehow managed to be dry and un-oily which is odd because if you use very cheap cheese, it tends to be very oily — but nope, this was dry too. The only part that was tasty? the tater tots, which I wound up digging through the entire dish to get to and eating them with a little ketchup, just for moisture. It was a very unpleasant dish and Hubba Hubby suggested, then begged me to order another dish, but I was full eating all the tots from this one so there was no need. It was just so, so, so disappointing. Ah well — I can make my own sometime soon, and make them DELICIOUS!!! In fact… I think I will. Soon!

Overall — Hubba Hubby had some fun mimosas and the place was bright, fun, service pleasant enough and a very good location for people watching. My dish was extremely disappointing, but perhaps other items on the menu were better. I don’t know that I’ll be back if only because I don’t live in DC and am not in the area all that frequently — but I’m not writing the place off entirely. It’s also in a really cute, fun area with lots of fun-looking places… and I think it turns into a club at night! See for yourself if you like it and let me know

Provision 14
2100 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20009

After a day spent brunching, catching up, then drinking (mocktails for me), the four of us wandered around looking for dinner. We briefly tried to get into one place that was packed to the gills, so we scooted across the street to find Sakerum, a dark Japanese restaurant/bar that said they could take us immediately. Sold!

We were seated in a private room in the back, as it turned out, which worked nicely for our raucous conversation. Our server was quick with recommendations and suggestions — though I took no pic of it (it’s just a teapot), the almond ‘tea’ (which was really more of a tisane) was incredible. It tasted creamy, almost like a warmed almond milk, but was clear and free of anything but water. When I opened the pot to peek inside, the basket contained almost entirely roughly-chopped almonds and a few other things. I have to look up the tea company he mentioned whose name is escaping me right now; it was so good, and naturally caffeine-free.

Our server told us the menu consisted of ‘small plates to share’ so we started with a roasted corn guacamole served with giant fried plantains. I enjoyed this as a starter, as did everyone else. I think they enjoyed their cocktails a little bit more though…

Next up was the grilled octopus on top of mango… the octopus was intensely tender and paired really nicely with the brightly sweet mango. We all thoroughly enjoyed this as well.

Then came our sushi!! This is the double trouble roll – I know, it’s so dark you can barely see – “Double fried shrimp tempura / poached shrimp / cream cheese / tempura crunch / sweet & spicy aioli” (from the menu). I liked this – it was only the slightest hint of spicy, not really spicy at all – and found it very tasty.

But this roll, the kazan roll, definitely took all of my interest and my breath away: “baked spicy masago crab salad / shrimp tempura / avocado / toasted black sesame seed aioli” – the topping was rich and heady, and underneath was your normal roll pieces that add a lot of textural interest and contrast. This was slightly spicier than the previous, and I enjoyed going back and forth between the two dishes and comparing which I liked more.  

Hard to see Chilean sea bass on a menu and not order it: “Sweet miso glaze / black bean paste / wakame & micro green salad / pickled daikon” – cooked super tender, another dish I enjoyed quite a bit, though not my favorite of the night.

The churrasco – our final savory dish of the night – “Sliced grilled short rib / sushi rice / chimichurri salsa” – I’ll be really upfront with you. While writing about this, I asked Hubba Hubby if we could recreate this dish in a few days. The tangy sushi rice topped with sliced steak cooked medium rare and slathered in a creamy chimichurri sauce – this combination just really worked to make my mouth happy. I thought the flavors all went really, really well together and I’m definitely excited to recreate – or more accurately, create my own version – of this dish soon.

We’ll see how it turns out!

For dessert – this was a really pretty mochi dish that came with ‘coconut snow’ so I didn’t try any, but everyone seemed pretty happy with it. I don’t know if they make their own mochi ice cream but from the grunts of happiness I heard, it’s still very good!

I ordered the churros with salted caramel and a chocolate dip. These were fine but nowhere near as good as Boqueria’s – our server said they’d just added them to the menu that week, so I imagine they’re still working out the kinks. Just lacked the proper chew on these… but I presume with time, they’ll get them to where they need to be.

We thoroughly enjoyed our entire meal, especially with our attentive server who came by to chat about our food with us several times. My one little complaint would be that it seemed a little pricey, but I’m not familiar with DC prices and was told that these were fairly normal. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back for some snacks and try some new things… but I’m definitely going to try to recreate that churrasco dish soon!!! (You’ll probably see it on my Instagram way before you’ll see it here.)

Sakerum
2204 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20009