That's right! A special weekend lunch! Chip and I were out and about today, so I packed some snacks to munch on while we were away from home. I didn't have a big breakfast, and after I went running and then spent two hours at a greyhound meet and greet with Roxie, I was pretty hungry! We met a family there that really fell in love with her, and we're expecting to receive their application on her any time. It's really exciting, but I got tears in my eyes once I said goodbye to them. I adore this girl, and it won't feel right to sit on the couch without her snuggled up to me. She's such a special dog, and I really hope this potential adoption works out. But really...who could resist this:
In other news, we are getting another foster tonight. She is coming up from Jefferson County Kennel Club in Florida. Her track name is Where's Raw Bone, and I think we're going to call her Bonnie. She's a little black girl who was born October 25, 2007. She ran 3 races and took 4th, 7th, and 7th. Tonight we're headed to a dog washing place that donates their tubs to our rescue group; we'll get all the hounds from this haul cleaned up, microchipped, etc. and then bring little Bonnie home.
OK, back to the lunch. It was more like a collection of snacks, but still satisfying and delicious (and vegan).
Peanut butter on Ezekiel bread, organic baby carrots, organic flame raisins, organic roasted and salted sunflower seeds, and an organic Gala apple.
First, I have to apologize for the terrible picture. I packed lunch, went to get the camera, fell asleep, woke up, took the photo, and stumbled upstairs. I promise this looks and tastes much better than this photo makes it seem!
Two weeks ago I went to Whole Foods with a friend for lunch. I grabbed some Szechuan green beans from the hot bar and I had to restrain myself from shoveling them all in my mouth at once. They were so delicious! I hadn't had them since college, where there was this nasty Chinese buffet up the road from campus, and we'd all go and stuff our faces and hate life for 24 hours. So I looked up a recipe and figured I should try and make them myself. I didn't know until I searched online that the green beans are usually deep fried in canola oil. No wonder they were so painful in college! I steamed mine and then tossed them in the sauce. I think they turned out OK. Chip loved them, but I thought they were just OK. Definitely not as satisfying as the ones from Whole Foods, but definitely cleaner.
Szechuan green beans with organic tofu and organic brown rice, no sugar added applesauce with nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon, and allspice, and half of a PB&J on Ezekiel bread.
When I saw this recipe on the Clean Eating Mama's blog, I got really hungry. I knew I had most of the ingredients on hand already, and that the temperature would be dropping over the next few days. There's nothing like a hearty soup to warm you up (but not fill you up too much). We both enjoyed it this evening, and we're both looking forward to having more for lunch tomorrow.
I used spinach instead of kale (I just don't like kale...I've tried really hard), and I did a cup of lentils and a cup of brown rice instead of two cups of brown rice. I also played around with the spices, and really liked the crushed red pepper that we threw in. My soup turned into more of a stew than Tasha's did, but it was delicious nonetheless. We ate it with toasted Ezekiel bread dipped in...yum!
Homemade spinach soup, Ezekiel bread and local Colby cheese, organic flame raisins, organic dark chocolate squares, and a whole Gala apple.
I can't believe we've made it for two days eating clean! I mean, I can't believe I've managed to eat and cook nothing but clean food for 48 hours. It's necessitated several trips to the co-op up the street, but it's been worth it. I hope we can keep it up.
On the bike ride back from school today, I started craving pizza from Carrabba's. I worked there when I was 20 and ate a LOT of their food for a year or so! My fave was the Italian chicken pizza, but obviously I can't eat or make that, right? So I decided to attempt a Margherita pizza, and it turned out SO well! I found this recipe for Carrabba's pizza crust. I had to run to the co-op and get some organic white flour and dry yeast. I've never cooked with yeast before. Ever. I've also never kneaded dough. While it was rising, I went for a run with the dog. When I came back, the dough was ready to be punched down and turned into crust. My mouth was watering the whole time it was baking (525* for about 15 minutes).
A few things to note, if you would like to attempt your own pizza (especially if you want it to be like Carrabba's):
-After you spread the dough onto the pan, brush a very thin layer of olive oil over the whole crust, especially the edges.
-After the olive oil, throw on a very light sprinkle of grated Parm, then a touch of sea salt and cracked pepper.
-Don't put the basil on top until the pizza comes out of the oven; otherwise, it will burn.
Margherita pizza (with Campari tomatoes, organic basil, local Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, and homemade organic crust), a whole banana, snack mix (organic roasted and salted sunflower seeds, organic raw almonds, organic dried apricots, organic flame raisins, and organic dark chocolate), and a salad with redleaf lettuce, white mushroom, Campari tomato, organic carrot, and sunflower seeds.
Another lunch of leftovers from a clean dinner...it was delicious! I made broiled veggies and tofu with lemon pepper marinade. The recipe called for salmon, so I used tofu instead. Once everything was in the oven, I reduced the leftover marinade (you can do that when you're not cooking meat) with a little bit of butter and added a touch of garlic. Chip LOVED it! I was OK with it. Turns out he's easier to please than I thought.
I asked Chip yesterday if he would eat nuts and dried fruit if I purchased them. He swore he would, so I've decided to hold him to his word. I went to the co-op up the street and bought some organic dried apricots, organic flame raisins, organic raw almonds, and organic dry roasted and salted sunflower seeds. I threw a few of those together to make trail mix for Chip's lunch. I hope he likes it...and that he actually eats it!
Broiled organic tofu and white mushrooms, white onion, and organic zucchini with lemon pepper sauce, brown rice with onion and vegetable broth, homemade trail mix, and a whole Navel orange.
Clean Eating Magazine! That's right; I am a subscriber. I got my first issue in the mail on Saturday. While it's not a vegetarian publication, they do focus on eating healthy, whole foods (clean eating = "consuming food its most natural state"). I'm hoping to get us eating cleaner and feeling healthier than we have been. That means saying goodbye to meat substitutes and hello to vegetarian proteins like tofu, seitan, beans, lentils, and tempeh.
Clean eating endorses the consumption of 5 small meals throughout the day (or more like 3 meals and 2 snacks). It definitely takes some planning, as far as stocking the kitchen with appropriate foods, as well as eating the right stuff at the right time. I'm a big mindless eater (and I'm a cookie-holic) and I hope to learn to break that habit.
So...I present our first lunch with a Clean Eating Magazine recipe! I made Chicken A La King (substituting broiled tofu for the chicken, and veggie stock for the chicken stock) and it was a HUGE hit. I've been craving my mom's chicken pot pie for years and this really hit the spot! The mag served it in whole wheat wraps, but I decided to go the less messy route and serve it over brown rice steamed in veggie broth. We both ate sensible portions and had plenty left over for both of us to have lunch tomorrow. I can't wait to try more clean eating recipes!
"Chicken" a la king, brown rice (organic tofu, organic veggie stock, mushrooms, organic local milk, flour, organic peas, organic carrots, onion, organic corn, salt, black pepper), Nature Valley granola bar, Whole Foods veggie crackers with local Colby cheese, and a whole Gala apple.
Chip loves a hot lunch, and he never minds leftovers. So...leftovers it is! I like that this meal is balanced, and that it also looks and tastes similar to meals we had growing up. It's fun to eat different stuff (like tofu, tempeh, etc) but it's also nice to eat familiar stuff like this.
Brown rice pilaf, vegan black pepper steak, steamed broccoli, homemade whole wheat blueberry muffin, and half of an organic Gala apple.
This lunch was a snap to make; only took 5 minutes or so! I made a very fruitful trip to Whole Foods today since Chip was home (we share a car and he takes it to work every day; since there's been a foot of snow on the ground for a month, riding my bike has been a less than appealing option). Everything in this lunch except the hummus is from today's shopping excursion. I always spend way too much money there, but when I'm eating all this tasty food, I tend to forget how much I spent on it!
Organic Gala apple, organic spelt pretzels, organic vanilla cremes, Gardein "Santa Fe Goodness" (vegan chicken stuffed with black beans and corn and topped with a smoky tomato sauce), and hummus to dip the pretzels in.
Does something look funny about this to you? Chip worked from home this afternoon, so I didn't pack him his usual lunch. I was happy to be able to cook something for his lunch, however, and that allowed me to make one of his faves that he never gets when he's at work: grilled cheese! He had no idea that I was making this for him, so when I brought the plate to him in our office, he was delighted.
1/2 of a grilled cheese on locally made organic whole wheat bread, homemade whole wheat blueberry muffin, hummus (with olive oil, black pepper, sage, and chili powder), broccoli, and navel orange slices.
There's a fruit or vegetable in every part of this lunch! Since the only way to get Chip to eat blueberries is to make them into muffins...that's what I did. I used this recipe and was not impressed with the results. But we will eat them, because we do not waste things!
We got about a foot of snow today, and I hope that the soup can keep Chip warm at lunch. It's Whole Foods tomato bisque. I could eat this stuff every day. I went to Whole Foods both days this weekend, which is unusual for me. I didn't buy much each time, but I definitely took advantage of their hot bar and salad bar. Yum!
Edit: Chip reports that he loves these muffins. Maybe it's just me?
Sandwich on locally made organic whole wheat bread with lettuce, spinach, organic salsa, hummus, and cheddar, tomato bisque, homemade whole wheat blueberry muffin, and a whole organic Gala apple.
This is probably the lunch with the most fruit and veggies that I've ever packed. I've slowly been working in more and more fruits and vegetables, and Chip hasn't protested yet. Since we're kinda laissez-faire about breakfast and dinner here, the best way to guarantee that we get lots of the middle of the pyramid (apparently grains are the bottom...who knew?) each day is to eat a lot of it at lunch. We eat broccoli like candy anyway, so this shouldn't be too difficult. I count this as five (!!!) fruits and veggies (according to this site):
2 servings: 1 cup of broccoli (1/2 cup of broccoli or 5 florets is a serving)
1 serving: 1 orange
1 serving: 2/3 cup applesauce
1 serving: tomato, onion, and peppers in the chili
And...this lunch just happens to be vegan! I never do that on purpose, but I'm always so glad when it turns out that way.
Oops! I fell asleep last night before I could make lunch! I threw this together quickly this morning. I love keeping ravioli on hand in the fridge for a quick easy lunch. I was able to make the rest of the lunch in the time it took the ravioli to cook. All in all, it was less than 10 minutes!
Gala apple, 1/2 of a PB&J on locally made organic 10-grain bread, Nature Valley granola bar, banana, and organic spinach ravioli with cabernet marinara sauce.
I've been browsing the Crepes of Wrath blog lately. There are lots of fun and easy recipes that are either vegetarian or could easily be. I found her Jamaican jerk chicken and adapted the recipe a little with Quorn "chicken" cutlets. This meat analogue feels and tastes a lot like chicken; it's probably the closest of any meat substitute I've tried. We don't buy it often, partly because it's relatively expensive and partly because we try as best we can to eat more "clean" foods. But...this was a special treat, and although it looks kinda funny, it tasted great!
Salad (romaine lettuce and spinach) with Jamaican jerk "chicken," applesauce (with vanilla, evaporated cane juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, Nature Valley granola bar, banana, and PB&J rollups on whole wheat flatbread.
With the crazy snow storm that came through Ohio this weekend, we were in the mood for some winter comfort food. We were outdoors a fair amount in the snow: we shoveled, we walked dogs, I went running, etc. When I got back from my run on Saturday, I was pleased that Chip had started this chili cooking (to be fair, I chopped all the veggies, rinsed the beans, put the ingredients in the pot, and left him a note asking him to turn the stove on). It smells so good, and it tastes even better. This time, we added a habanero for the first time; it was *way* spicier than we expected! I would do it again, but I'd reduce the amount of chili powder for sure.
Chip and I took the dogs out to run around on Friday afternoon after he was done working. They had a ball! The snow was falling hard, but it was powdery and not terribly deep at the time. It's been a long time since I've seen snow falling so hard, with such huge flakes. It was just beautiful. I adore snow. When I was little, I loved it because I liked to go sledding and get off of school. I don't know why I still love it, but I really do. It just makes everything look so fresh and beautiful and peaceful. Here in Columbus, I love to walk through Walhalla Ravine in the snow. It's this beautiful refuge in the middle of the city.
A few photos of the fun on Friday:
And of course...Monday's lunch:
Homemade vegan chili, Quaker caramel rice cakes, half of a Gala apple, and homemade cornbread.
I've been meaning to do breakfast for lunch for a while now, and I finally got around to it. Sometimes I'm just dying for something dense and sweet, and these oat pancakes are the most healthy way I can find to satisfy that. We had them for dinner on Wednesday, and the leftovers went into Thursday's lunch. I like to eat them with fruit; Chip prefers real maple syrup. The applesauce is the same as I made earlier in the week, and the eggs are from a farm near Columbus. They're pastured eggs, which makes us (and the hens) very happy.
Homemade oat pancakes with 100% maple syrup, applesauce (with evaporated cane juice, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and allspice), and scrambled pastured eggs with salt and pepper.
Yum! Tons of protein is packed into this lunch: in the tofu, edamame, and peanut butter. Chip's been lifting and working out several times a week, and I'm going to have to adjust his lunches accordingly. I'm really proud of him for taking care of himself, especially since I know that doing cardio at the gym just really isn't his cup of tea. I can't wait for it to be warm out so we can go for bike rides together outdoors.
Note that the tofu and edamame are both organic. I try to make sure that all of the soy we eat is non-GMO. I do my best not to go too insane thinking about what we're eating and where it comes from, and I also try not to buy into conspiracy theories. But GMO soy is icky for a lot of reasons (biodiversity, control of the food supply, lack of reputable studies regarding the effects of the consumption of genetically modified organisms, etc), so I like to avoid it if I can.
Fried rice with organic tofu and broccoli, whole wheat peanut butter and grape jelly rollups, Quaker granola bar, organic edamame, and a whole Gala apple.
Chip's been on a cereal kick lately, so I've been trying to stock the house with plenty of healthy, not-too-sugary cereals. I love Kashi cereal but it's crazy expensive, so we usually end up buying Cascadian Farm organic cereal. I think tomorrow I'm going to pack breakfast for lunch, so perhaps we'll be seeing cereal again.
The applesauce is a quick version of a family recipe. My grandmother used to make applesauce from scratch, and it's become a staple of family gatherings (along with pork roast, sauerkraut, etc...hey; they're German!). Since I don't really have the equipment to make applesauce from whole apples, I try to recreate her recipe with store-bought applesauce. I started with Musselman's no sugar added applesauce, and just added a dash of evaporated cane juice, then cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract to taste. Allspice and cloves can add some good flavor too, but I didn't happen to have any on hand. I promise that that this makes the most delicious applesauce ever.
Left over mushroom pizza on whole wheat crust from Mama Mimi's, Cascadian Farm organic multigrain checks cereal (plus a container of unsweetened soymilk that's not pictured), Quaker granola bar, applesauce, and a whole navel orange.
This is another accidentally vegan lunch. If we hadn't run out of cheese today, it wouldn't be vegan. But since I left it out, it's an all-vegan meal (yes...Oreos are vegan; not all vegan food is healthy). The refried beans are left over from tonight's dinner.
A few years ago, I came across a recipe for refried beans that is so easy and so much more delicious than the ones that come pre-made in a can. It's super easy: just saute 3 or 4 cloves of crushed garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil with 1 teaspoon of cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder. After two minutes, add in 1 15-ounce can of pinto beans with liquid (I usually rinse them and then put them back in the can with fresh water; bean water weirds me out). Simmer covered for about ten minutes. After 10 minutes, uncover and use a fork to smash the beans. Continue to cook until they're thick enough, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Gala apple with cinnamon, diced Campari tomato, Romaine lettuce, whole wheat tortillas, homemade organic refried beans, organic salsa, Oreo, and Mi-Del ginger snaps.
