Birthday Celebrations
My brother turned 27 yesterday! I can’t believe my older brother is going to be a daddy in just a few months! I’m so excited for him and my lovely sister-in-law. They’re going to make fantastic parents (and I cannot wait to be an aunt!) Since I’m lucky enough to be in the same city as my brother and his wife, birthday celebrations are always a lot of fun. Even though my parents are back in Ohio, I’m thankful to have family here in Virginia. My brother and his wife were the biggest motivation for me moving here, and I so happy to be near them.
So in this little “What I Ate Wednesday” here’s what some of my meals have looked like, including my brother’s birthday dinner!
Breakfast
I’ve broken out of my smoothie rut, and I’ve been enjoying greek yogurt with frozen blueberries. I wish blueberries weren’t so expensive. Regardless, this breakfast does a pretty good job of keeping me full. If you’re really looking for a protein packed breakfast, try this trick with your Greek yogurt.
I love how simple and quick this breakfast is. I’ve been doing more blog-writing in the morning before work, so a breakfast that is quick to prepare is key.
Lunch
Since I didn’t have any leftovers to pack, I grabbed this salad from the cafeteria at work and paired it with a side of tomato soup. It wasn’t bad, for cafeteria food. I love chickpeas on my salad, because they give it a little more staying power than just veggies.
Afternoon snack
I’ve seen so many bloggers raving about Quest bars, but when I tried the brownie flavor, I was terribly disappointed. I wanted to like it, but I thought it tasted like a shoe. I’d heard good thing about the Cinnamon Roll flavor though, so I gave it a shot, and it actually did taste pretty good. I ordered a box on Amazon, because they’re super expensive to buy individually. These only have 170 calories, and pack in 17g fiber and 20g protein. (You can order them here.)
That bar will keep you insanely full, I swear. Maybe I’ll add Quest bars to my next round of Protein Bar Reviews.
Dinner
The birthday celebration! We went to dinner at Stuzzi, which is a local Italian place that serves Neapolitan style pizza. It’s pretty good (although I have so many pizza places I love) and it’s a little nicer than your standard pizza joint, so it was perfect for a birthday. Alex and I split a small plate of gnocchi (which was creamy and delicious) and a vegetarian pizza. The pizza had mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, and artichokes. So yummy. I think pizza is my favorite way to get vegetables…
After dinner, Alex and I walked to Sweet Frog because I’d be craving fro-yo all week. Gotta love frozen yogurt. I loaded my chocolate/cake batter/cookies n’ cream combination with lots of chocolate. What can I say, sometimes you just need some chocolate. It was the perfect ending to a delicious dinner.
“It tasted like a shoe..” totally made me laugh out loud!
Haha it’s the best way I could think to describe it!
SUCH a good tip for the greek yogurt!
So nice to be able to live close to siblings and celebrate special days with them! Love the looks of the food. I totally agree with you about the blueberries. I really need to buy another bag. I can’t wait until I can go pick some fresh ones!
the cinnamon roll is my favorite quest flavor too! I also like the apple one. Warm it in the microwave for like 10 seconds, warm apple pie without the guilt!
I definitely need to try it warmed up!
I don’t care for the chocolate/peanut butter combinations of Quest but do really like the fruity ones. They do, however, make me extremely bloated sometimes (from all that fiber and protein I suppose).
It baffles me (as my older brother just had a child as well) that wow…we are getting older.
Weird! I didn’t think about that. I haven’t noticed that for me yet, but I’ve only had a few!
You DO love Greek flavors. Lol…Birthday dinners are the best. We either make grilled pizzas or go out for Indian- at least for the last few years. YUM!
That quest bar sounds good! Love Sweet Frog too. I didn’t realize you are a Richmond gal! That’s where I’m from! So many great restaurants in Carytown and all over really! I’m heading over to check out your restaurant reviews 😀
Oh my goodness! Why have we not hung out?! You need to come to a Virginia Bloggers meet up sometime! 🙂
17 g fiber!! I’ve never been the biggest fan of frozen fruit, but I think blueberries on top of cereal or yogurt (still partly frozen, before they get mushy) is a good option!
Haha I know, it’s so much fiber!
I haven’t tried Quest bars yet. I’ve heard really great things though. Sounds like I’ll have to try the Cinnamon Roll first 🙂 As for birthday traditions, every year (for the past seven years or so) my family and I have gone to Brio for my birthday. Surprisingly, that’s where I met Marty 🙂
It’s funny though, as of last year I decided to start having my birthday dinner at my parents house. I feel like it’s much easier to talk to everyone (as opposed to 20 of us being stuck at a rectangular table.) Plus, it’s much cheaper!!
That is so true! I love celebrations at home, because it’s easier to visit with everyone!
I love reading your blog 🙂 And I agree with like everything you sad 😛 Chickpeas on salad YES quest bars are filling YES chocolate is good OBVIOUSLY haha have a good week!