We love our fresh veggies and fruits here, too. Always have a variety on hand.
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We have a Sprouts a few miles away. I like Sprouts just fine, and they have some excellent prices and sales on produce. But my husband (who is often grocery shopping with me or on his own) is not a fan. He feels their produce is not as nice as other stores.
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I agree they don’t have a lot of varieties, kind of boring vegetables, boring to me.
Last night I had a craving to make a batch of baked oatmeal to have for breakfasts this week. It’s very filling and you can vary the additions (fruit, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, choc chips) and spices (cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, etc.)
Last night I made this one (this blog has many many baked oatmeal recipes - it’s kind of her/their calling card) but I used fresh blueberries and halved blackberries, dried cherries and almonds.
It’s good with butter or jam, drizzled with peanut butter or a dollop of yogurt. No “sugar”, but maple syrup for sweetner.
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I really like oatmeal but mine is far more boring! I have been adding chai spiced pecans as a topper. There’s an oatmeal with blueberries and coconut milk that I really like but truth be told it could be a dessert too.
This week’s menu includes a Greek inspired white bean burger topped with marinated cucumbers. I’m finding things like marinated cucumber and red onion adds a lot of flavor and are very easy to prepare and have on hand. A lot of the recipes I’ve been trying use oat flour - basically oatmeal pulverized in my Vitamix. Mr. Sabaray’s triglycerides are very high so I am hoping introducing healthier options in a familiar format (bean burger vs. hamburger) will help him make better choices going forward.
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I also love marinated (sort of a pickled cheat) cucumbers and onions. Gives a fresh “crunch” to a burger or any sandwich.
Thanks for posting the baked oatmeal recipe and comments. It looks great, and I could serve it to my GF sister.
Do you use quick oats (as recommended by author, for denser cake-like texture) or regular or steel cut?
I used rolled (not quick) oats. Most of the time that is what I have at home. The texture is a little more chewy and not mushy which I like.
Editing to say, I also just halfed the recipe and still got about 6 pieces. I cut them and put them in a container and will pull a “slice” out of the freezer as needed. H wouldn’t touch this with a ten foot pole so 6 slices is plenty for me. Then I’ll make a different combo next time! Doesn’t take long to bake.
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After 10 days of “vacation eating” (hearty breakfasts, boozy brunches, daily happy hour snacks and cocktails, red meat-centric dinners, nightly desserts - oh my!) I’m back home trying to make amends 
Posting here for accountability, I guess.
I’ll be avoiding red meat and alcohol entirely for a couple of weeks while I recalibrate my digestive system.
I’m back to focusing on lean protein and fiber at all meals, and eating mindfully and carefully during the workweek, with dessert being a weekend treat only. Avoiding restaurant meals, too, as it is too challenging to adhere to these parameters when I’m not in charge of the food prep.
Tonight’s dinner: Warm Farro Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Brussels - Sip and Spice
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Glad you had a nice vacation. Nice job getting back on track!
I try to do the same kind of thing. It can be hard when retired (each week is “six Saturdays and a Sunday”), with lots of opportunities to go out with friends etc. But also lots more opportunities for outdoor exercise with ability to cherry pick appropriate weather. Alas, I still carry a few pounds from the last vacation and need to try harder. Maybe will try the above recipe 
We don’t go out to dinner very often. Or get take out. Less than one time a week I would say that I don’t cook. Because of this when I am at a restaurant or getting take out I don’t want to worry about what I’m eating! I will make my choices on what my budget allows and then mostly what sounds good. I often don’t eat it all and will bring home leftovers but no “calorie counting” when I’m out to eat.
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Yesterday’s lunch was surprisingly good and filling… 148 calories.
Calcium-added 2% cottage cheese (86g) plus chopped walnuts (12g). For some reason I really like that combination of textures, getting some nice crunch from the nuts.
I had intended to do a “lunch part 2” but got distracted with other things. Admittedly around 5pm I had a snack (banana plus 1T almond butter) to tide me over to a late dinner. But I was surprised to not get hungry earlier.
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I now have cottage cheese and fruit in the afternoon, so that’s calcium in my diet. I have oatmeal raisin cookie every day, and I’m down to the lowest weight in years, this gives me a bit of cushion for Mother’s Day, lol.
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What’s your favorite way to use/eat cottage cheese?
When we were little my mom used to let us mix in a spoon of jam to make it sweeter.
She also made a delicious simple cottage cheese pie - sort of like a healthier “cheater” cheesecake.
I like to make cottage cheese pancakes.
And to top my baked potato with cottage cheese (instead of sour cream) and salt and pepper and chives!
But yeah, cottage cheese and fruit - especially pineapple - is good. I prefer full fat cottage cheese. I also think it is one food item that is worth spending a little more and upgrading from the sometimes mediocre store brand.
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My favorite way is to mix it with cooked and buttered egg noodles, s&p. Brings me right back to my childhood.
Second to that, I mix it with a bit of raspberry jam and use it as a filling for these flourless pancakes https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/two-ingredient-banana-pancakes-3881265 for a high protein breakfast treat.
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Some days for lunch I’ll make a cottage cheese bowl- cut up veggies, a sprinkling of nuts and a few berries.
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Full fat, small curd, with pepper, no add-ins.
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I like chives in my cottage cheese…. it brings me back to childhood when my mother and I would snip chives from under the willow tree, add to our cottage cheese for lunch (older sister was off at school). I usually don’t buy it that way since hubby is not a fan and it seems to have a lot of extra sodium. Last year I put a chive plant in the garden, and mostly I use with cottage cheese. It came back this year, and I also planted some chive seeds (which may or may not work - we’ll see).
I use cottage cheese for a whole grain pancake recipe. For my children, I often gave the choice these “thick pancakes” or “thin pancakes” (swedish platte, like crepes - this is what I grew up with). Very different recipes, but we loved them both.
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I have cottage cheese with Wild blueberry jam sometime, I don’t know what I get, most likely the cheapest which is probably the full version, lol.
But I notice I dream very well when I eat some sort of cheese in the afternoon/evening.
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Most brands there is not a price difference between full or low fat. Usually if one is on sale, the other is too. Sort of like with sour cream or cream cheese.