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dani california cooks

homegrown and homemade in CA

What I Ate Wednesday

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If you followed along with my meal planning post, I’m sure many of these eats won’t be a surprise at all, but wanted to pop in to share just the same! I love the “What I Ate Wednesday” posts of fellow bloggers for snack and meal inspiration, but I do want to caveat that what I eat may be enough/right for me, but different for you. And certainly the “What I Ate Wednesdays” that I used to share during my disordered eating are different than how I eat now! Sometimes I’ll read someone else’s WIAW and think “wow that’s not a lot of food” or “they should be eating more of ____” but I’m working hard on not silent or even vocally judging other people’s eating habits. Treat others as you’d like to be treated, right?

Linking up with the rest of the crew over at Arman’s blog for the weekly series! Also - check out his 3-ingredient pumpkin brownies he posted today. Might have to add those into the rotation since I make his regular 3-ingredient brownies pretty much every week…

BREAKFAST

I grabbed a dried apricot and a couple of almonds out the door early in the morning. Tuesday is a teaching spinning day, and the class was packed with hard workers and it was a TOUGH class. Any guesses why my Tuesday classes are always more crowded than Thursday? I’m thinking that people are more likely to stick to a workout routine at the beginning of the week and then work/lack of sleep catches up with them…

Afterwards, I dug into my pre-prepared overnight oats with rolled oats, a little bit of chia seeds, soy milk, and 4% Siggis icelandic yogurt topped with blueberries. I discovered whole milk yogurt this weekend and I’m never going back. It tastes so much better and doesn’t irritate my tummy at all. And coffee.

SNACK

I’m always pretty hungry mid-morning after teaching cycle, so I was glad I had this Rxbar for good carbs, protein, and healthy fats on hand.

LUNCH

I dug into leftover soup, a Bread SRSLY gluten-free sourdough roll, Wholly Guacamole mini packs and sliced leftover celery that was about to go bad.

SNACK

I had a banana and some nuts and some of Arman’s 3-Ingredient Brownies. All unpictured!

DINNER

I had an early dinner of two scrambled eggs with spinach and feta and some toast before I was off to my first soccer game!

I joined a team with a bunch of my colleagues because I was always envious of the other people who got to do these kinds of things while I was traveling every week. It was SO, SO fun - so much better than I expected. We played two games and I scored 2 goals! Now I can’t move.

SNACK

I returned home and had a hefty recovery snack of a smoothie - this one had soymilk, peanut butter, frozen berries, protein powder, and spinach.

I’m drinking it as I write this to you and re-watching Ali Wong Baby Cobra which is just hysterical. The gals from the bachelorette this weekend introduced it to me and it’s definitely worth checking out - heads up, it’s raunchy!

 

This Week’s Super Flexible Meal Plan

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I had a truly wonderful weekend in Washington DC for Paige’s bachelorette. It was great to catch up with old friends, do some really fun activities, and celebrate this bride-to-be! I met her and her now fiance right after we graduated college and it really warms my heart to have watched them grow into the super solid couple they are today. It wasn’t a big pain to fly to DC and back because I did direct flights, and boy does not having a layover make SUCH a big difference!

Since I didn’t have time to grocery shop on Sunday evening and we have a busy week ahead, I’m grabbing some groceries after work for a very flexible meal plan.

Dinners:

  • Monday: Gochujang tofu stir fry - I will take pictures if I have time and share this delicious recipe that’s on the weekly rotation
  • Tuesday: Probably and early dinner of eggs/toast for me and Nate to fend for himself - I’m joining a soccer league with my colleagues and we have a 7pm game!
  • Wednesday: Pick up Chipotle
  • Thursday: Dinner out at Marlowe!
  • Friday: Driving to LA for Labor Day weekend!

Lunches:

  • I have two lunches out with colleagues this week
  • Other days will be leftover soup, gluten-free sourdough rolls, and raw veggies

Breakfasts:

  • Overnight oats with chia seeds, whole milk yogurt, and blueberries (The Maid of Honor this weekend served us a yogurt bar with whole milk yogurt and I was SO surprised with how much better whole milk yogurt tasted and how it didn’t irritate my stomach AT ALL)

Snacks/Dessert:

Recent Fancies

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Happy Friday, everyone! I’m linking up with Friday Favorites to share some of my “recent” fancies as of late.

  1. Coconut oil body butter - I’ve mentioned a few times that I’ve been dabbling in more natural beauty products, and Skinny Coconut Oil sent me some samples of their coconut oils to try. I love the one that is infused with almond oil. I’ve heard that coconut oil on it’s own isn’t the greatest moisturizer, but when mixed with other natural oils it works wonders. Nate’s been a lucky guy getting a lot of foot massages as we watch the Olympics. Really the only way I can get him to watch the Olympics with me is to bribe him…
  2. 48 oz kombucha - I discovered that GT’s sells their kombucha in a bigger and better size at Whole Foods for $6.99, and it lasted us all week! A great deal compared to the 16oz that you usually grab for around $3 or $4

    Nate was like “hold it out like you caught a really big fish to show it’s size!”

  3. Dorky office products - I’ve always been a sucker for Staples, and when I was in 3rd grade my birthday present was a big container of school supplies (no joke!). I recently purchased this mouse pad and since I don’t have a cubicle or office given that I move around often from client to client, this is one way to personalize my workspace
  4. Avocado toast - I DEFINITELY late to the game on this one but I’ve been loving avocado toast recently! I’ve had it at several spots around SF, and the one at The Jane is definitely the best http://

    Ahhh brunch perfection

    A photo posted by Dani Nemzer (@danicaliforniacooks) on

  5. Awesome weekend activities - two weeks ago we tailgated and went to the Kenny Chesney/Miranda Lambert/Sam Hunt/Old Dominion concert, and last weekend we went to a hilarious comedy show called “Mortified” where comedians read from their real high school diaries. This weekend we are off to my company-sponsored weekend away in Lake Tahoe! Definitely follow along on my Instagram for fun pictures of the weekend

Recent Fancies

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First of all - I’m so sorry for the unplanned MIA from the blog. There’s been a lot going on recently - personally and professionally - and sometimes the blog (unfortunately) takes the back seat. Hopefully you’ve been too busy with everything summer to even notice :).

On to the good stuff - I’ve been accumulating a lot of things/links/products that I’ve been loving as of late, so I plan to share these in a weekly series called “Recent Fancies”. Hope you enjoy!

  1. Hodo Soy soy milk - I had been looking for a non-dairy milk that didn’t have a bunch of add-ins. This one is just organic soy beans and water - doesn’t get much more simple and real than that. It’s high in protein and low in sugar too. I wish they sold it at more places - I’ve only seen it in Bi-Rite in the city
  2. This soup from Oh She Glows - I subbed chickpeas for lentils and added fresh ginger and zucchini and I’m already excited about the leftovers
  3. The Nordstrom’s half yearly sale - I just bought these boots in gray and I can’t wait for them to arrive!
  4. Summer farmer’s markets - I have been buying the most beautiful bouquets and sampling fruit that looks like the color of sunsets
  5. Pilates at Core40 - I go through phases but I always seem to come back to this Lagree workout and I just adore it. It’s intense and therapeutic at the same time. I’m lucky I get free classes since I teach cycle at Core40, but I would pay for them even if I didn’t!

Pants from Old Navy Active

Out of Office!

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For the next ten days, I’ll be taking two long weekends to the East Coast and Mexico City. In between, I’ll be kicking off my new project at work. It seems like a good time to take a little vacay from blogging too, so I’ll be….

Looking forward to coming back and sharing all some new recipes I have stockpiled, as well as plenty of updates from the trips.

In the meantime, here are some links to keep you busy!

Stay tuned in for real-time updates through my Facebook and Instagram!

WIAW - It’s summer!!

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Two exclamation points to title this post because a typical San Francisco summer is cold, foggy, and windy - but not this week! I think that means the mosquitoes have been taking shelter in doors because I’ve found myself woken up by bites and buzzing for the past two nights…

Linking up with the rest of the crew to share Tuesday’s eats!

BREAKFAST

Grabbed a prune and some almonds a little after 6am before heading out to teach cycle. Fun class this morning! I am feeling a bit over-cycled right now since I’ve taught 5 classes in the past week so I’m looking forward to having next week off.

Afterwards, walked to work after (about a mile) and my stomach was grumbling by 8:15am. I had prepped this coconut flour breakfast bake on Sunday, and heated it up in the microwave with a dash of almond milk. Served with plenty of PB and blueberries. On Monday I hadn’t eaten any meat, and although I ate plenty of eggs and chickpeas and even a protein bar I did go to bed feeling a little hungry. Maybe it was the runger from my morning run! Anyways, this breakfast was really delicious and filling.

Afterwards I had an early morning networking coffee with a colleague at Starbucks, and had my go-to black coffee.

LUNCH

I snacked on a couple of unpictured baby carrots before the main event - massaged kale with avocado and lemon, topped with a baked chickpea burger and leftover roasted sweet potatoes. Plus some ‘kraut on the side. Had some hot lemon water too.

I had to leave work early for back-to-back doctor’s appointments (gotta fit them in when you can!) and I ate a Quest bar and a green apple in between appointments…still trying to get rid of the Quest bars that I horded over the years. I think that may be the last - I don’t mind the non-chocolate flavors but these ones are wayyy too Stevia-y for me and sit like a brick in my stomach.

On my way back home, I swung by Juice Shop for some of their free samples. Don’t you think they should call themselves the Juice Box given their tiny litte stand?!

This one had zero sweetness - a bit too green for my taste!

 

 

DINNER

I made my own take on this pesto with zoodles and shrimp. I love making huge batches of pesto and freezing it in little containers to defrost for a quick dinner. All you have to do is then zoodle-fy the zoodles and cook the meat! To bulk this up for Nate I usually give him a couple of pieces of bread along with it.

I shared half a DELICIOUS peach with Nate and some chocolate that tasted like soap (ugh) and tea before bed. That didn’t stop me for going back for one more square of chocolate after this was eaten…

Have a great Wednesday!!

10 Healthy Dinners that Make Great Leftover Lunches

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Since I’ve stopped traveling for work, I’ve learned the beauty that is the LEFTOVERS. How nice is it to cook yourself a delicious, healthy dinner and lo and behold - it’s also your delicious and healthy lunch the next day?! For me, it’s cost effective and saves me a lot of time.

Here’s a roundup of some of my favorite recipes that I’ve had great success with for dinner and lunch the next day, plus some ideas on how to turn the leftovers into the perfect lunch salad.

  • Black bean burgers - this recipe was a huge hit for meatless Monday, and I had leftover burgers two days in a row for lunch on top of a bed of kale massaged with lemon juice and tahini. Or use avocado instead of the tahini!
  • Roasted fish with heirloom tomatoes - delicious fresh out of the oven for dinner, plus save yourself a filet or two to have cold atop of a bed of greens. Save some of the roasted tomatoes too! I’ve made this with salmon, halibut, you name it fish3
  • Slow cooker chicken curry - I love making a crockpot recipe in the morning when I am planning on going to a post-work workout class, and it’s ready for me when I’m home! Plus the leftovers (plus if you serve with grains or caulirice) hold up well to be heated up
  • One-pan sausage and roasted veg - I make variations of that recipe linked here. I put leftovers over a bed of spinach and nuke everything in the microwave at work, plus I bring a mini tupperware of sauerkraut to eat it with!
  • Lightened up pad thai - I ate this fresh one night, and then brought half to work the next day. It even tasted good cold, and I’ve subbed tofu for a non-meat version too
  • Almost 5-Ingredient Spaghetti Pie - not the most photogenic, but super delicious and reheats really well
  • Miso ginger chicken and vegetable soup - Soup holds up so well as leftovers, and it’s always something I look forward to eating at lunch

Ginger Miso Chickpea and Chicken Soup | danicaliforniacooks.com

  • Chicken in veggie “couscous” - Nate is always happy when he has a massive amount of this to heat up at work, plus he brings some salsa on the side
  • Tuna melts - The go to for us when we don’t have anything in the house. Double this recipe for leftovers of tuna: 1 can of water-packed tuna, 1 tbsp Earth Balance vegan mayo, squeeze of lemon juice, couple of dashes of red wine vinegar, 1/4 chopped onion, salt, and pepper. Make it a Dani California Cooks tuna melt for dinner by toasting ezekial bread and layering a slice of cheese on top and broiling for a couple of mins! Save the leftover tuna for a salad the next day
  • Enchilada bake - I’ve made meatless versions of this with just beans, and I think it tastes better the next day! (Always add a big handful of spinach to my tupperware too)

There you have it! Any I should add to the list or try for next week?

Weekly Meal Plan & Workouts

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Hello, everyone! Checking in on a Tuesday - going crazy over here. Wanted to share the weekly meal plan and my workouts for the week. Hopefully it will give you some inspiration, or maybe you’ll just invite yourself over for dinner!

Breakfasts: eggs/fruit, protein bars/fruit (depends on whether I have time to cook in the morning or am off to teach a cycle class)

Lunch: I have a few work lunches scheduled so I’m hoping to convince the person I’m meeting to go to Soma Chicken so I can get this awesome salad I’ve been devouring recently:

http://

But on the days I don’t have lunches planned, I’ll be eating turning dinner leftovers into salads. Or buying lunch if I’ve underestimated how much we’ll eat at dinner!

Snacks: cut up vegetables, trail mix, nut butter, hard boiled eggs, fruit <- depends on what I’m in the mood for/hunger level. Going to try and pay more attention to my afternoon hunger more this week. I tend to eat a 3-4pm snack whether I’m hungry or not, so I’m just going to work on being mindful of that.

Dinners: Nate will only be home for 2 dinners this week, so I’m on my own for a lot of them! Our utilities company shut off power for an entire night a few weeks ago, which meant that even our freezer/fridge was off for 8 hours. We’ve been trying to eat through everything in the freezer to start fresh!

  • Monday: these pesto zoodles and salmon (seriously the BEST!)
  • Tuesday: more pesto zoodles for me, plus salmon
  • Wednesday: shrimp teriyaki bowls (cauli rice for me, brown rice for the bf)
  • Thursday: trying Andie Mitchell’s lightened up pad thai from her new cookbook
  • Friday: bringing leftover pad thai to the airport before I fly to LA (<- i’m off to visit family and my best friend who just returned from the peace corps!)

Workouts:

  • Sunday: rest day
  • Monday: 4 mile run to golden gate park and back
  • Tuesday: teach cycle, maybe take pilates after if the class has space
  • Wednesday: walk to work/walk back (about 5 miles)
  • Thursday: teach cycle
  • Friday: pilates
  • Saturday/Sunday: whatever workouts the parents want! I hope it’s hiking one day 🙂

On a somewhat unrelated note, I’m interested in your favorite high-protein meatless monday meals. Any recommendations for next week’s meal plan?

WIAW - Bachelorette Camping Trip

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Hello from your funemployed blogging friend —-> me! I have two weeks in between jobs, and I handed over my phone and computer when I resigned on Friday. I’m currently using my computer from college which has several of the keys removed (unsure how that happened), and the only way people have been able to contact me is through e-mail and Facebook. I don’t feel so “off the grid” but without a phone, I haven’t been able to make any sort of spontaneous plans.

The first part of my funemployment was a fantastic bachelorette camping trip with Alana from Hungry and Fit. Her wedding is the following weekend so I’m just spending the whole week in LA! I thought I would share my eats from Monday of the camping trip to change things up a bit. Linking up over at Arman’s to share!

BREAKFAST

Monday morning was no different than most Mondays over the past two years…I found myself on a plane. I had brought some hardboiled eggs and strawberries for breakfast, plus coffee I purchased during our delay. No pictures as I didn’t have a phone to snap one, and my camera was packed away! Delta also gave us this snack pack on the way down to LAX, and I ate more fresh strawberries from it.

LUNCH

My mom picked me up from the airport, and I had a couple of minutes to catch up at home and eat some carrots before getting grabbed by the bachelorette squad! All of us have known each other and been friends for a long time, so it was really special that we all get to be bridesmaids for Alana together. First stop was lunch at the Reel Inn, one of my favorite restaurants (on my list of the best places to eat on the westside of LA - note that it’s dog friendly too)

Noke is on “team bride” too!

 

We all got delicious fish dishes and chowed down. I had the grilled mahi mahi with rice and salad.

We drove up a little past Malibu to the campsite, and we immediately set up our tent in the daylight and adorned our bachelorette gear. We took a walk down to the beach and saw WHALES and played with the beach ball until Noke (the pup) accidentally pierced it.

Unclear what the other campers and beach go-ers thought of our outfits..

We returned back to the campsite and noshed on everything from carrots and hummus to guac and chips.

DINNER

Robyn had the ingenious idea of making grilled burritos for dinner, so Jamie had gotten all of the ingredients and had previously cooked the brown rice. We made some guac, and then stuffed tortillas with black bean, rice, cheese, and guac. Wrapped them in foil and then tossed them right on the grill in the fire - it was perfection! Going to remember this for camping next time.

We also were told that you can grill the pits of avocado and they become really tasty….but that’s a lie. We all spit it out after sampling. It tastes like soap!

As the sun started to go down, we enjoyed brownies that Robyn’s mom had made (actually the best brownies in the world) and of course made s’mores. And wine! It was a feast and I definitely overdid it. We played bachelorette games and caught up around the campfire. We all went to bed super stuffed and ready for a hike the next day!

It was a great day, and overall a wonderful camping trip with old friends. Now time to sleep and recover for the wedding this weekend!

25 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me

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I stumbled upon an old post of Julie’s earlier this week, I soon discovered that we both have a serious desire/love/obsession with owning multiple dachsunds as pets. So I wanted to share this with you, and maybe you and I will find something in common that we didn’t know we had before!

So here goes! 25 things you (probably) don’t know about me.

  1. I’m happiest when…I am out to long and relaxed dinner at a trendy, low-lit restaurant with friends/family/boyfriend
  2. …especially if it…involves lots of good food and wine, and we hang around for hours!
  3. I’ve always wanted to…be able to speak more languages fluently. I actually started out in college as a Romance Languages major!

Instead I graduated with a degree in Public Health…

  1. My family and I…are super close. And when we travel, we look like this petite family of brunettes just bopping around town. Us in Sweden among all of the tall blondes <- hilarious.
  2. I was a terrible…liar as a teenager. My parents ALWAYS knew if I said I was going to a friend’s house but I was really going to a party. Let’s just say that I never got away with anything.
  3. My first job was.…working as a sales associate at Lucky Brand Jeans! I got awesome discounts.
  4. I could probably eat tuna salad every day. My mom says when she was pregnant with me she ate a lot of tuna, so maybe that’s where my love comes from! I have a couple of awesome tuna salad recipes on the blog actually.
Tuna Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Raisins | danicaliforniacooks.com

This tuna salad with apples, walnuts, and raisins is delicious.

  1. I wish I could…dance. I LOVE to dance. But I have trouble moving my feet and arms at the same time. Coordination is rough, people.
  2. I was born on the same day as...Aaron Carter. Hah!
  3. My all-time favorite films are… About a Boy, Billy Elliot, and Love Actually. All British!
  4. I do a pretty mean...gosh I have no idea. I’ve had multiple people tell me I look like Michele Bachmann but I don’t think that has anything to do with impressions.
  5. I’m still mad…that I was such a whiny baby when I studied abroad in Panama in high school. I was so homesick that I didn’t fully embrace living in this tiny town and everything that went along with it!

Me and my host family

  1. I met my husband…to be determined! But if this read boyfriend, I met Nate at work. We tried to keep our romance a secret for a while, but it turns out everybody knew already!
  2. I always knew I wanted…a big family. One day!
  3. I’m not afraid to…admit that I am a total pop culture vulture. I love E! News, I read People magazine regularly, I know who has broken up with who and who is rumored to be doing XYZ. I’ve been a Belieber for some time and I re-watch One Direction X-factor auditions on Youtube.
  4. I make the best…conversation starters. Seriously - I can talk to a stranger (or a wall). Probably why I like teaching Spinning so much - I can just talk into the mic for days and no one needs to respond!

My family and Nate came to one of my Spinning classes and we decided to take our group photo before we got all sweaty

  1. I have absolutely no patience for…plane delays! Probably comes from traveling so much for work. Seriously. Even things like a 15 minute delay will set off some kind of irrational anger.
  2. I always cry when…I watch any sort of birthing scene in a movie or TV show. 16 and Pregnant is a real tear jerker for me - that is no lie.
  3. I’m in management consulting now and am all professional and all that, but I still have the ability to very easily switch back into my sorority girl self. It’s not pretty.
  4. I spent 2 years living in Washington, DC after college before moving back to California!

Back in DC when Nate wore sport coats and I wore statement baubles and took pictures in front of American flags. Now in SF, we wear hoodies and ripped jeans!

  1. I wish the USA was smaller. I have so many family and friends that live all over it, and I want to live in the same community as all of them.
  2. At age 5, I was deeply in love with reading and being bossy.
  3. I believe if people…just had a little more empathy around individuals who need a little financial assistance or welfare…. the world would be a better place. Seriously. Not everyone can support their basic needs all of the time. I’m sure we all could use a leg up at times.
  4. I can’t stand…”grass is always greener” conversations. If I make a decision, that is that! I do not like to be in limbo or wallow.
  5. Whenever Keeping Up with the Kardashians is on, I watch! See #15.

There you have it! That’s life and a little about me, beyond the food!