After that whirlwind of a trip yesterday, I slept until 8:15am today. Usually, I’m up between 7-7:30am, but this morning, there was no way that was happening.
It always amazes me that you can fly halfway across the country and then come back, all in a day. Yesterday was one of those days – to Texas and back.
Since my body traveled hundreds of miles per hour and thousands of miles yesterday, no wonder I was pooped this morning!
Poor Lu, I made him stay in bed with me until 8:15am. Lucky for him, it only takes him about 10-15 minutes to shower and get ready for work, but usually he’s out the door by 8am (sorry, Lu!)
People ask me all the time what my daily “routine” is as a from-home career blogger. It definitely varies (case in point: yesterday), so I figured I’d share a bit about my days.
I plan my blogging days by what I need to get done, of course. So, some days are dedicated to making the recipes for upcoming blog posts. On those days, I make sure I’ve grocery shopped ahead of time so I don’t have to waste time shopping (although, there’s a gourmet grocery store in my actual building – convenient, eh?) If it’s that kind of day (a cooking day), it goes something like this:
- 7:30am: Wake up, wash my face, make coffee and get in my blogiform (workout spandex and a ratty t-shirt, usually!) Then, I walk Lu out the door.
- 7:45am: Check all e-mails, respond to the ones that are urgent.
- 8:30am: Check all social media messages and posts from the night before (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc) – and personally respond to mostly all of them.
- 9am: Make my morning green smoothie and promote the day’s blog post – post it on Facebook, Pinterest, Tweet it, post it on Instagram.
- 9:30-11:30am: This is what I call the “take care of business” time: respond to all those non-urgent e-mails, work on open projects, check in with Meaghan (our Brand & Community Manager!), help with customer service with the Inspiralizer and plan my editorial calendar (ie recipe writing), and whatever comes to me that day!
- 11:30am-2:30pm: Cook! I usually try to cook 2-3 recipes per day, but it varies based on the difficulty of recipe, what comes up that day and also, my patience. While I cook, I try to post on Snapchat, share the process on Instagram. This is my favorite part of the day (obviously!) and totally zens me out.
- 2:30-3:30pm: Sit at my desk and eat leftover recipes for lunch (or, I’ll make something quick) and respond to e-mails that came through while cooking.
- 3:30-6:30pm: Edit all of my photos taken from the day’s recipes, edit the recipes (make any tweaks based on my cooking trials), calculate the nutritional information and then write the actual blog post. I also respond to pending e-mails during this time and take care of any other urgent deadlines or requests.
- 6:30pm: Lu usually walks in around this time and on a good day, we make it to the gym or out for a run.
- 7:30pm: Cook dinner.
- 8/8:30pm: Eat dinner.
- 9pm: This is usually when I get back to any e-mails I couldn’t get to that day or finish up my blog posts, if I didn’t have time at the end of the day. I also check in with social media, check all my comments and messages from followers and respond to them.
- 10pm: I try to check out of Inspiralized at this time and spend time with Lu, but lately, it’s been all about wedding planning.
- 11/11:30pm: Bedtime!
Other types of blogging days consist of strategizing, working with brands, meetings in the city, and hours and hours of recipe development (those days, I love!) Some days I hop on the Subway to Whole Foods in TriBeCa to get an ingredient I can’t find in Jersey City – I’ll usually coordinate work lunches or coffee meetings on those days.
I can’t even tell you how I truly fill my days, but let me tell you, I work all day every day and rarely ever take a day off (the last day I took off was the Friday of my bachelorette party and before that, it was when I was in the Dominican Republic over Christmas/New Year’s!) But the thing is, is that, I don’t want to take days off – I love what I do, I love coming up with new recipes to share and I love reading your reactions – whether it’s one of you tagging another friend on Instagram and saying “let’s make this!” or it’s a heartfelt e-mail.
Anyway, enough blabbering. Today’s recipe is loaded with umami flavor and tons of healthy greens. Bok choy will quickly become one of your favorite ways to get in your veggies (aside from spiralizing, of course!) and you’ll find yourself adding it all your stir fries and meals.
The sriracha at the end is optional, but I love the spiciness it gives to the savory veggies and chicken. The zucchini noodles are perfect here, as when they cook, the moisture they release blends in with the extra juices from the chicken and makes somewhat of a sauce.
If you’re a vegetarian, use edamame beans or tofu. If you’re Paleo or gluten-free, just substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce!
Oh and in the summertime, grill the chicken and bok choy in this recipe – it will really infuse those flavors!
Have you ever dreamed of being a blogger? What kind of blogger would you be (lifestyle, food, DIY, etc)?
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Sesame Chicken and Bok Choy Zucchini Noodle Bowl with Sriracha
Ingredients
- For the chicken and marinade:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon sriracha or pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 boneless chicken breast sliced into thin strips
- For the rest:
- 2 medium zucchinis
- 1/2 ” piece of ginger
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 scallions
- 1 bunch of bok choy
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
- Whisk together all the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce. Add the chicken strips to a zip-tight plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Shake the bag to toss and place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
- While the chicken marinates, spiralize the zucchinis using Blade D, mince the ginger and garlic and dice the scallions, separating the white and green parts. Also, chop the ends off of the bok choy and discard.
- Once chicken is done marinating, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and then add in the chicken with marinade and white parts of the scallions and season with salt and pepper. Once cooked, transfer to a plate and then rinse the skillet under cold water until cool. Put the skillet back over medium heat and add in the sesame oil. Once oil heats, add in the ginger, garlic and let cook for 10 seconds or unil fragrant. Then, add in the bok choy. Season with salt, pepper, cover and cook for 5 minutes or until bok choy is wilted and cooked through, slightly seared and brown. Transfer the bok choy to a plate and immediately add in the zucchini noodles, cooking for 3-5 minutes or until al dente. Once noodles are cooked, toss in the chicken with juices and toss for another minute to heat up the chicken.
- Divide the chicken and zucchini noodles into bowls and top with bok choy. Garnish with sesame seeds and green parts of the scallions.
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