What I Eat in a Day

Living in an apartment by myself has been very eye-opening. It's my first time truly living alone, and well, cooking for one is more challenging that I thought it would be, since I always end up making too much food. Leftovers, anyone?! That aside, I love experimenting in the kitchen, so I made a goal to cook as much as I can in this space. As a fun little experiment, I wanted to take pictures of what I was eating on a daily basis and share them here on The Bella Insider, unedited with tips + personal comments. Of course, the food down below isn't what I eat every day, but I think it gives a good idea of a normal day of meals for some future food inspiration to you gals living on your own. I hope you can excuse the picture quality, as I used my phone for all the pictures in my little experiment! Here we go:

Breakfast: 8:30 am

veggie egg scramble | whole grain toast | navel orange | GoodBelly Mango JuiceDrink

I take breakfast very seriously. After all, it's the most important meal of the day, right? A typical breakfast for me is quite large, so it keeps me full for a morning of work. Here I quickly sautéed 1/4 of a white onion, a handful of spinach, 1/2 a tomato, and a handful of baby bella mushrooms with two eggs. Shame on me for not scrambling these eggs first before tossing the veggies in! I also like to have some fruit for breakfast. I might be a weirdo, but the white stuff on oranges doesn't bother me, since I know the fiber is healthy. Finally, I usually just drink water with lemon, but I went to Whole Foods the other day and sampled GoodBelly for the first time. I knew I had to get it! The packaging says its packed with probiotics for good digestion, but I mostly just got it because it tasted really good. 

Lunch: 12:00 pm

zuppa toscana (similar to the one at Olive Garden, recipe here) 

Since I eat such a large breakfast on most days, I usually have a lighter lunch. This soup recipe is one of my favorites, because it's so tasty, easy to make, and has KALE! It's one of my favorite veggies when blanched with hot liquid, because the color turns bright green. It's also easy to make this soup vegetarian by substituting ground Italian sausage with beans and chicken stock with vegetable stock.  

Afternoon Snack: 3:00 pm

baby carrots | mini bell peppers | yellow tomatoes | grandma's humus (my favorite)

I always get hungry before dinner, so I have to have an afternoon snack to hold me over. When it comes to snacking, I always try to reach for fresh fruits and vegetables. I love mine with lots of color, so I reach for those with a side of hummus. I have to thank my roommate from last year for introducing The Mediterranean Chef's "grandma's humus" to me, because it's so garlicky and tasty - my new favorite! Also, yellow tomatoes are so sweet. If you haven't tried them yet, you definitely should!

Dinner: 7:00 pm

homemade pizza (dough recipe here) | kale salad

Pizza isn't a common dinner for me, but I crave it a lot. One of my close girlfriends came over for dinner, and we both wanted pizza, so we decided to make our own from scratch. Pizza is a great way to use leftovers, so we topped ours with homemade meatballs using leftover ground turkey and veggies sitting in my fridge such as red onions, bell peppers, spinach, and mushrooms. The kale salad had red onions, sliced strawberries, and avocado and was topped with olive oil/lemon juice (my favorite simple dressing!) The silly oven didn't get hot enough for the crust to get golden brown, but it was still delicious. One must-have in my future kitchen: a pizza stone. 

Dessert: 9:00 pm

strawberries | Wensleydale with blueberries | water crackers

If I don't watch what I eat, I could possibly eat dessert for every meal, because I have a huge sweet tooth. No meal feels complete without something sweet at the end. I hope I'm not alone on that thought! I think it's great to venture out of your comfort zone when it comes to food, so I try out a new cheese every time I go grocery shopping. For dessert, I have just a small chunk with some water crackers and fruit. The one pictured is a bit chalky in texture, so it's not my favorite, but I'm glad I still gave it a go. Another go-to dessert is a piece or two of dark chocolate. Yum!

I forgot to mention that if a drink wasn't shown in the photos, I probably had water with lemon - my go-to. I have to warn you that I'm no nutritionist or health expert, so please feel free to critique what I'm eating if you're into healthy food! I've learned a thing or two from my gymnastics days, so I try to avoid processed foods as best as I can, and I love fresh and wholesome food, but a splurge here or there is totally worth it in moderation. If you have any specific questions about what I eat, recipe details, or general questions about a college girl's diet, let me know down below in the comments. I'd be happy to answer them! For more food pictures, follow along my food hashtag #sawahthefatty and my Instagram feed @sarah_thebella. Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day!