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The winter. A time for snow, netflix, dry skin, and comfort food- grilled cheese and soup, warm brownie sundaes, chicken pot pie and creamy hot chocolate. Now if you’ve followed me long enough, you know that I’m not against any of these foods. In fact I think it’s important to love the food you eat which includes both unhealthy and healthy, but too much of a good thing is just–too much! So I wanted to give you a peek into 3 meals in a typical winter day for me! And since the rest of my family has to eat, these meals also work for them! Mama isn’t a short-order cook!  Plus I can cook in bulk (heyyyy crockpot/pressure cooker!) which I happen to love for the winter so I can freeze in larger batches!

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BREAKFAST: Egg & Avocado Toast

I love eggs! I think they are so versatile! This is one of my favorite combinations and how cute is my little egg pan? I love the color and it is perfect on those mornings I’m just making for myself!

Ingredients:

  • 1 egg
  • 1-2 TBS Avocado
  • 1 slice of Ezekiel bread (or bread of choice)
  • Salt & Pepper

Warm up the skillet and lightly grease with non-stick cooking spray, butter, coconut oil etc. While it’s warming up, toast your bread. Once skillet is warmed up, crack your egg on it and flip the egg after about 1-2 minutes depending on how runny you like the middle. Smear the avocado on the toast, then pop the egg on top of it. Use a fork to get that runny middle out! (Salt & pepper as needed!)

Egg + Avocado Toast: www.claresmith.me

Mini Egg Pan: www.claresmith.me Honorable mention: Oatmeal on the crockpot! There are a lot of flavor combinations with oatmeal, but here’s the basic recipe I use for the crockpot at night (or stovetop if I have time in the morning).

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup oats (steel-cut or old-fashioned)
  • 3 cups water
  • Salt
  • 1 cup half and half  OR coconut milk
  • Toppings/Stir-Ins of choice: fruit, nut butter, shredded coconut, sliced almonds etc. Seen here: fresh peaches and cinnamon!

Combine the oats and water and place in crockpot overnight on low. Add the milk, salt and toppings before you eat, when you wake up!  I love this “peaches ‘n cream” one! (I freeze fresh fruit in-season and pull out for winter months!)

Peaches 'n Cream Oatmeal (Crockpot) : www.claresmith.me

LUNCH: Crunchy Winter Salad

It’s no secret. I don’t LOVE salads, however there are ways that I can love them more and that usually means I’m adding some unique toppings to them! (I just love a CRUNCH!) So here is my go-to winter salad!

Ingredients:

  • 2 handfuls of spinach/lettuce of choice
  • 4 oz cooked chicken breast (optional)
  • 1/4 cup Pomegranate Seeds
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup sliced cucumbers
  • 1/4 cup feta cheese
  • Salad Dressing of choice (I love “Garlic Expressions” or olive oil, lemon juice, s&p)

Toss all ingredients together in a big bowl and enjoy the flavor explosion!

Crunchy Winter Salad: www.claresmith.me

Tip: I’ve started “bagging” the bagged salads because of all the negative things I’ve heard about them. (And remember this post on instagram? A little extra protein from my salad mix? Gross) So I invested in a salad spinner so that I can really rinse out those spinach and romaine leaves when I buy from the produce section at the grocery!IMG_8899

DINNER: Vegetable Beef Soup

I recently got a pressure cooker (which also can be used as a crockpot and rice/quinoa cooker) and I’m loving all of the various ways I can use it. When I don’t plan anything, the pressure cooker side makes making a meal fast—whereas if I have myself together in the morning, the crockpot is fantastic! (And yes, this is my 2nd crockpot! I love them!)

Pressure Cooker : www.claresmith.me

I am always posting crockpot meals on instagram. I seriously love using it because by the time dinner comes around, my focus is split a million ways and there’s nothing better than having something slow-cook all day long! I love soups because it’s a great way to pack in some great foods and they make great mini (and regular!) meals for leftovers. It was hard to pick just one of my favorite soups (check out my white chicken chili and chicken fajita soup!) but I went with this one because there are hardly any ingredients to it! I love basic! (Add a side salad and a roll and boom–dinner served!)

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground turkey or lean beef
  • 1 16 oz package of frozen mixed vegetables
  • 1 14.5 oz. can beef broth
  • 1 14.5 oz. can tomato juice
  • salt and pepper
  • Optional: potatoes, additional flavorings (onion powder, Mrs. Dash etc)

Brown your turkey or beef. Drain fat, then add vegetables, beef broth and tomato juice. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low 6-8 hrs or high 4-5. (I recommend doubling this recipe!)

Vegetable Beef Soup: www.claresmith.me

Of course, I eat more than these 3 times in a day and if you follow me on instagram, you see some snapshots of these things. (protein shakes, fruit + nut butter, cottage cheese + veggies, fruit bowls (see below!) to name a few!)

Pomegranate, Blueberries, Banana, Coconut: www.claresmith.me

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So there you go! A very typical winter day’s worth of meals! Now wouldn’t you love a chance to grab some new healthy cooking appliances from Kohl’s? I thought so! Fill out the entries below to have a chance at the $100 gift card! The giveaway ends Monday February 1st.

(Check out these money-saving codes!)

  • 1/29-2/3 $10 off $50 home purchase with Promo Code HOME10
  • 1/29-1/30 20% off using promo code FORYOU20 (2 days only)
    These codes can be stacked!

Thank you, Kohl’s for sponsoring this post and giveaway! 

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