Wednesday morning has arrived again! Funny how quickly it comes up with a short week. Note = not a complaint by any means.

I devoured some pretty tasty eats yesterday. I could even say my meals yesterday rivaled the ice cream, cheesecake bars, and healthified /proteinified twice baked potatoes from this weekend. I know I had quite the full, satisfied belly all day long. Also not a complaint by any means. Time to share the delectable feasting with you all for another edition of What I Ate Wednesday!

I warned you that my meals this week would inevitably include two things – berries and watermelon. So it should come as no surprise that my breakfast looked the exact same. And that I don’t feel the need to take a picture of said exact same breakfast two days in a row…so behold the recycled photo!

I have no shame in recycling blog photos when necessary. Besides…it’s so pretty. Plus, I can only have so much creative energy when it comes to food. And I had creative juices going for lunch.

A plate chock full of color! We have quite the load of produce to work through this week so I piled up the watermelon, grapes, carrots, and cucumber, then got to work on the star of the show. English muffin pizza!

We had some fire roasted diced tomatoes for another recipe that I needed to use. What better way than to make pizza sauce for English muffin pizzas, right? Maybe not super original, but definitely super delicious!

I blended up about 1/4 cup of the fire roasted diced tomatoes with an immersion blender while my English muffins got started toasting in a toaster oven. I then topped both muffin halves with the sauce, oregano, red pepper flakes, and shredded cheese. I toasted them a few minutes more until the cheese got nice and melted. Pizza for lunch = win!

When snack time rolled around I wasn’t as hungry as normal and only wanted more fruit. I shall seriously miss the plethora of fruit when summer comes to pass. But let’s just pretend that will never happen, mmmkay?

I crafted together a yogurt bowl to reflect my love of summer. Pineapple Chobani yogurt. Fresh mango chunks. Bites of banana. A splash of light coconut milk. A sprinkling of Cheerios. 

The tropics in a bowl with such a perfect blend of textures and flavors.

After so much delicious food I probably could have stopped there for the day, had dry toast for dinner, and still gone to bed with a happy belly. But where’s the fun in that?

Instead, I went big with one of the best recipes I have stumbled across in blog land recently. “Best” namely because its so easy. And Mama Pea only has her own cookbook and all. I kind of adore her. Big hugs, Sarah! The peanut noodle bowl was a huge hit! 

I adapted it only the slightest bit – zucchini instead of bell pepper, no cilantro, udon instead of rice noodles – so please give her recipe a look and get in on the tasty action!

And that’s where we end – with me fully intending to eat the exact same things all day today. Delicious, filling, nutritious, and fun? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

• How often do you use blogs for recipe inspiration? 
• What is a food combo that never fails to leave your belly super satisfied?

You know what? I think moving back into a regular schedule after a holiday weekend is harder for me than after a week-long vacation! With vacation, you miss the comforts of home and feel ready to return to “normal”. With a weekend full of fun with friends, unplugging, good food, and relaxation – I just didn’t want it to end! Catching up on my fun?

• July’s Goals & FFF Features 
• An Interesting Run
• Lake Fun to Celebrate the Holiday
• How To Top Off the Holiday Weekend
• Self-Love Reflection: Forgiving Others

Luckily some of the holiday fun will carry over. I like to call it the holiday bonus effect.

For example, this morning I woke up more refreshed than I have in a long time. I think unplugging the last couple of days and then napping yesterday were just what I needed. Plus, the knowledge I only have four more days until another weekend makes the whole busy routine thing a little easier to swallow.

Just like all the holiday summer cookout deals I scored on fresh fruit at the grocery stores this weekend. Berries and watermelon will appear in many meals this week no doubt. 

Delicious fresh fruit to satisfy my taste buds all the week long? Holiday bonus, indeed!

Yet another bonus? Recipe inspiration. Twice baked potato casserole over the weekend? Why not turn that idea into a twice baked potato with a protein punch for dinner? Oh. So. Good!

Twice Baked Protein Potato

• 3 baking potatoes
• 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Wrap potatoes in foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

While potatoes bake, drain and rinse the white beans. Mash beans with a fork until relatively smooth. Add to a bowl with 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and the chopped green onions. After potatoes finish baking, slice the potatoes in half and scoop out the insides into the mixing bowl leaving about 1/4” on each side to remain sturdy. Add milk and mix the ingredients together.

Spoon mixture back into potato skins. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and more chopped green onion. Return to oven for 15 minutes.

Serve up with some delicious veggies. My choice? Sauteed mushrooms and roasted green beans. Two of my favorites!

And one last holiday bonus? Great food like this just gives great fuel for a great workout. Which I will share with you later, don’t you fret.

• Best part of your weekend? Clue me in!
• Best thing you ate this weekend?