Loving Leftovers

Josh and I are back in Nashville, and while New York was absolutely wonderful, I am so thankful to be home. As energizing, adventurous and exciting as traveling is, I’m very much a person of routine, and there is nothing more comforting than to sleep in your own bed and wake up in your own surroundings.

I’m also a creature of habit when it comes to my food. I’ve said it before, but I love my breakfast of Greek yogurt, berries, oats, coconut oil, cinnamon, flax and chia seeds. I love my daily lunch salads with spinach, dark greens, chickpeas, tomatoes, avocado and a variety of other mix-ins. Dinner is typically when I enjoy changing things up, but most of our meals are vegetable based with some dairy or eggs added and sometimes a little lean meat.

I say all this because, as much as I love trying new restaurants when we travel, at some point you (or at least I) become ready for something simple, healthy, and homemade. I had gotten to that point.

And I am happy to say that at this moment, I have just finished my Greek yogurt and coffee and am sitting on the sofa, covered in Josh’s 49er’s blanket with Josh beside me and Tucker stretched out between us. Home. It’s a good feeling.

I have lots of pictures from New York that I’m excited to share with you, but we leave for Michigan to see my extended family tomorrow, so for today, we’re taking it easy, unpacking, catching up on laundry and household things, before repacking and heading north. Eight of us will pile into two cars with two dogs, wrapped presents in tow, and make the 8-9 hour trek to Somerset, Michigan (just outside of Jackson) and hope for good roads. They are calling for some snow, but hopefully it will set in after we arrive!

I’ll cut the rambling short here and briefly talk about these leftovers. Anyone else a fan of leftovers? I love them. I love eating them just as they are and I love mixing them in with other things to make them feel fresh.

I recently made these Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato Gratin for some company we had, then made them again for the blog. So with just the two of us, we had lots of leftovers. Which was a blessing, as things have been crazy these last several weeks and it was great to have some healthy dishes in the fridge ready to heat up or add to a salad.

I used the Roasted Brussels Sprouts over a bed of greens for myself and added a few croutons, some leftover BBQ chicken we had (also from having company) and fixed some whole grain and flax toast, then made a similar plate for Josh but without the greens. Nothing fancy, but it was tasty!

What about you, have you had lots of leftovers with all your holiday dinners and get-togethers? And how about New Years, any exciting plans? Are you ready for 2014?