Bites of My Life

Not a proponent of short weeks after all, anyone else? Starting the week on a Tuesday is no bueno. I felt rushed and unorganized all week. Despite yesterday being a busy Monday, and this post coming to you on a Tuesday, I already feel better about how this week is unfolding.

I was back home in OKC (again), but for some really good friend’s and kind of family wedding. In Dallas this weekend and next for the first time in what feels like for forever.

-Favorite non-egg Whole 30 breakfast: 1 banana sliced and laid out, drizzle of almond or cashew butter, tahini and sprinkled with cinnamon.
-Ate this for lunch everyday last week. Swapped the potatoes for a purple and regular sweet potato and loved it with the tahini mustard sauce for a non-meat Whole30 meal!
-Barely slept last Thursday night and all the early morning workout classes I wanted to take were full. Groggy eyed I made it through this arm workout before leaving for the airport. Only 15 minutes and such a burnout.
-After a bit of a slow start I’m really getting into Where The Crawdads Sing and only have about 50 pages left.
-Weekend meals on Whole30 and at my parents were very makeshift, but I made it happen. Lots of snack plates with salami, avocado, fruit and either olives, nuts or plantain chips. Besides a glass of wine Friday and Saturday night, I held strong all weekend.
-Such a fun night celebrating the new Mr. and Mrs. Krenger. Chloe married my BIL’s brother so we are now just one big happy family!
-Honored that Chloe and Joseph asked me to make Perfect CCC’s for their wedding. They forgo dinner and did a massive desserts only table at their reception. Not to brag, but my cookies were easily the first to go.
-Shishito peppers. The EASIEST thing to make why I don’t do this more is beyond me? My parents started getting a farm fresh delivery of fruits, veggies and eggs, so we cooked these up as a snack Sunday. Just a little oil in a cast iron skillet, roast the peppers about 7 minutes until they blister. Sprinkle with flaky salt and lemon zest and you are done.
-Got home around 7:45 Sunday night and shoveled down some sweet potato chips with salsa for a very sad Whole30 dinner before unpacking, showering and falling into bed.

Annie

Bites of My Life

Hey September, I said heyyyyyy Septemberrrrrr. Beyonce reference to Hey Mrs. Carter anyone? That was so bad, OK moving on.

Labor Day how was it? I was back in Oklahoma City after my mom, middle sis and the babies came to visit me in Dallas. I wish I had video of me squeezed between two car seats with two crying babies in the pouring rain on our drive back to Oklahoma… I was home for the first OU home game, but got to sneak in good family time, good food, so many walks and prepped 150 Perfect CCCs that I’m making for my friend Chloe’s wedding this weekend! Got back in town yesterday and went into full on #SeptemberWhole30 prep mode. Let the games begin.

-A taste of fall, but also full on basic white girl move by trying the new Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. Verdict it’s delicious if you like pumpkin things, but you can’t modify it so it’s a niiiice sugar dose in your morning coffee. Still worth ordering at least one this season.
-I joined a volleyball league with some friends here in Dallas. Thankfully we were friends first so they don’t drop me because of my poor athleticism and weak contribution…
-Was on a kick last week of pilates, Royal Blue and then a neighborhood stroll. These were good mornings.
-Favorite new TJ’s find is this Suja celery juice. Just celery and lemon and only $2.99. Only a little more than a stalk of organic celery that you’d juice yourself.
-PizZA with my pizza loving mini me at True Food Kitchen. Loved having them in town for a couple days.
-We picked up Bird Bakery for our lunch on the road. This was my first BB experience and the chicken salad is truly out of this world.
-Got to my parents and did what I did best, cleaned out their fridge. The results were this yummy thai inspired cauliflower fried rice with curry and turmeric seasonings in it and thai curry cashews on top!
-Another parent fridge raid meal. Chicken salad, mismatched veggies, cottage cheese (are you yay or nay?) over mixed greens.
-A true depiction of gameday, inside Seven47 and my relationship with my sis and BIL.
-Back in Dallas after a packed weekend. Had to take a breather before heading to the grocery store, so my Whole 30 Day 1 lunch was an apple and almond butter because it was legit the only food I had.
-I’m getting wildly obsessed with sharing my grocery hauls, but y’all are into them, so I’m into them to. I save them all to a highlight on my instagram.
-First official whole 30 meal was this 5-ingredient sausage and peppers with marinara that The Defined Dish did on her instagram last week!

Annie

Bites of My Life

Coming off a few days in Dallas last week, a few days in OKC, then off to Grand Lake to celebrate my best friend Maddie’s bachelorette aka Camp Cloud. A nod to her future last name (Cloud) and I just love a good theme so we took the camp thing and ran hard with it. Ending a busy week while simultaneously preparing for another one. My mom and sister are coming to Dallas later this week before I head back to OKC for Labor Day and the return of OU football!

-Really really trying to read before bed. This incredible book helps!
-Fresh chop…finally.
-Checked into the Tucker Hotel (my parents) last Tuesday for work in OKC before heading off on Maddie’s bachelorette. How amazing is this bed frame? Here’s the link if you love it too.
-Is it really a party unless there is a balloon garland these days? Actually much easier to make than you may think with the help of these kits.
-Perks of bachelorette trips is getting all your best friends together.
-Camper gifts thanks to Liquid IV, Etsy and Kate and Co. And if you order Liquid IV, use code _ANNIETUCKER for 20% off your order).
-Camper and counselor aka bride and maid of honor!
-Build-your-own breakfast sandwiches per the bride-to-be’s request and “Maddie’s Mimosa Bar” thanks to her cute future Mother-in-Law!
-Absolutely tooting my own horn with this scrappy Sunday dinner that turned out to be enough for lunches this week too. Posted step-by-step stories on how I made it over on instagram.

Annie

p.s. Did you see last week’s recipe post? This 3-Bean Salad is vegan friendly and perfect for lunches.
p.s.s. I’m doing September Whole 30 starting next Tuesday. Anyone else? I’m working on a post rounding up Whole 30 recipes I already have, but can sense more coming to the blog this upcoming month.

Bites of My Life

I had the realization that I’m going to be away from Dallas the next four weekends. After a sheer panic I calmed down knowing it’s all for good reasons. This weekend is Maddie’s bachelorette, followed by Labor Day/first OU game, a wedding and a work event. I honestly just love my time in Dallas and don’t like the idea of being gone so much. Just when I thought summer was the busy season and ready for the structure of fall, the new season hit me with it’s craziness.

-First visit to Flower Child and I’m hooked. Mother Earth bowl because it’s what you do.
-Cheers to two full months in Dallas and having these friends to eat my way through the city with. We went to the hot new Te Deseo on Tuesday. We loved it, but pro-tip: sit in the bar or courtyard if you can.
-3-Bean salad packed with vegan protein was prepped for lunches last week and is coming to the blog tomorrow!
-Pressed Juicery had it’s grand opening last week and I shamelessly waited in line at 7AM to claim my free item. I have bought their juices before (which are great), but had never tried a “freeze” until now. Being that the ingredients are so minimal I didn’t even feel weird eating it for breakfast. It 100% lives up to the hype.
-I had big plans to make this for dinners last week. After busy work days I had zero energy to even boil water so a big salad using the pasta’s ingredients did the job.
-Working on my matcha guide for Dallas. I’ve heard great things about Drip, but there matcha didn’t stand up…
-I was co-maid of honor for both of my sisters, but being maid of honor for one of my best friends is really special. Maddie was in Dallas this weekend to wedding dress shop and invited me along. I feel incredibly honored to have been part of the process. Seeing her firsthand in the dress (she said yes!!!) is something I’ll never forget. It’s a stunner. Celebratory sparklers at lunch to honor the day!
-Followed by rounds and rounds of ranch waters with her dress shopping squad.
-My contribution to Hatch Chili “fam” dinner. A group of some new friends here in Dallas got together Sunday night to cook up as many Central Market Hatch Chili items as we could. There were hatch chili tortilla chips with hatch chili guac and hatch chili sausage for appetizers, hatch chili burgers with hatch chili pepper jack, hatch chili marinated beer can chicken, my hatch chili corn succotash and broccolini grilled with hatch chilis. Finished off with cheesecake…no hatch chilis involved there.

Annie

Bites of My Life

Last week started and ended well I can’t say it didn’t, but several parts of last week had me feeling off and foggy headed. I mentioned this to a few people today and got similar responses. Were they just agreeing with me to sympathize or was the Mercury in retrograde again?? I mention this because last weeks photos look like roses, food and sunshine, but a picture isn’t always worth a thousand words…

Anyone else off last week? Maybe the Texas heat wave is just making me loopy!

-A basic lunch, but one that always hits the spot (and is super easy yet still impressive. My co-working space co-workers were all oohing and over of this simple meal). Two brown rice cakes, one with smashed avo the other with almond butter and fruit of choice.
-The Defined Dish’s Thai Larb is becoming a weekday staple, I use sambal olek instead of fresh chilis and serve it salad style.
-Doing things with Outdoor Voices and Olivia in the midst of the Texas heat and Klyde Warren Park! There is some kind of free workout going on everyday here (which I love to take advantage of).
-Wine Wednesday with one of my Dallas besties and her new V I E W.
-Hosted a giveaway with Made by Maddie last week to show off these incred new tin plates she is carrying on her site. The response to the giveaway was insane (over 1,000 entries)!! She has more colors coming in, but you can shop her plate inventory here.
-In other MBM how great are these lemons she gifted me!
-After having an off day Thursday it was to refreshing to grab dinner with a new friend at one of our mutually favorite spots, Honor Bar.
-To help be more productive on Fridays, I like to work from a coffee shop where I can have some inspiring surroundings and treat myself to a matcha. Went to Merit last week and the matcha was hundo p.
-Taylor in town!
-My bestie came down and we had the best time bopping around Dallas.
-I love a successful random fridge meal.
-Trying out a new overnight oats recipe that, mainly so I can use my new meal prep jars. The recipe -> 1/3 cup rolled oats, 1/3 cup almond milk, 2 tablespoons chia seeds, 1 teaspoon almond butter and lots of cinnamon.

Annie

Binge bite: If you aren’t watching Queer Eye on Netflix, stop what you are doing and add it to your queue. I started watching it a few weeks ago after my sister recommended it and I can’t stop watching. It is the most uplifting positive show and they way the fab 5 changes these people’s lives gets my crying every time. I started on the current season 4 and I’d recommend you do the same!

Also while we are on the binge watching category, I’m HOOKED on the Gourmet Makes videos from Bon Appetit. Y’all know I love BA, but this video series has taken my obsession to another level. I’ve watched every video Claire has made, but her recent experiment with gourmet Pop Tarts was a favorite. And also had me cravvvvving a Pop Tart.