I’m currently a little obsessed with Gwyneth Paltrow’s new book It’s All Good. I’ve paged through it about 4-5 times so far. The recipes are great, the pictures are beautiful and she’s not bad to look at either.

I’m also coming off of a weekend in Vegas, a few days of being sick and eating out an insane amount of times. So I could use a LOT of “good” this week. Lots of good vegetables, protein, workouts and water. She is my inspiration this week!

am workout: 20 minutes of physique 57 (strength)

coffee: (duh) + 1/2 & 1/2 while I made my daily “to do” list. I never cross off as much as I would like to…

breakfast: One of Gwyneth’s (and co-author Julia Turshen’s) favorite breakfasts is avocado toast and even though it’s nothing new, I thought the addition of mayo (she uses vegenaise) was interesting. Verdict? Yes, I love it! I don’t know what it is that makes it so delicious but I’m hooked. I had a touch of vegenaise + a small avocado on 2 slices of sprouted bread.

lunch: salad (also from the cookbook) with a delicious vegan, creamy parsley dressing and all sorts of toppings: cucumbers + garbanzo beans + beets + 2  hard-boiled eggs.

snack: baby carrots + greek yogurt ranch dip

workout: 30 minutes on the elliptical + 40 minute walk (to/from gym)

dinner: While making dinner I snacked on a few olives + chips and salsa. Burgers weren’t on the original menu but they kept getting pushed back so had to be eaten tonight. I also had them last night at a family cookout and have a lunch date at The Counter tomorrow. Life could be worse and you won’t ever catch me complaining about eating burgers. Broccolini + onion & jalapeno on the side!

dessert: small handful of dark chocolate almonds

approximate nutrition stats: 1955 calories, 121 grams fat (53%), 145 grams carbohydrates (28%), 40 grams fiber, 33 grams sugar, 96 grams protein (20%). My Dad (who works in Cardiac Rehab) might fall over if he sees that 50% of my calories came from fat…

I know Gwyneth can be polarizing – love or hate?  

I’ve had a recent obsession with Mediterranean/Lebanese/Israeli/Levantine cuisines lately. I cannot be stopped. My favorite restaurant? Zankou Chicken. (Trying Ta’eem next!)  My favorite cookbook? Modern Flavors of Arabia. My favorite lunch? This fattoush salad.

Fattoush salad (for those of you who aren’t familiar) is a bread salad made with greens and vegetables and fried pita bread. This version is so flavorful – and colorful – from sweet tomatoes, persian cucumbers, fresh lemon juice and bright herbs. I took a shortcut by buying pre-fried pita chips, but you could also use baked ones from the store. Just don’t skip the pita chips – they truly make this salad!

Serve the salad alongside some chicken shawarma or a slab of feta and fresh olives for a true feast.