Happy Friday! This Friday lunch has tons of fruits and veggies, so I decided to add in a special treat. Teddy Grahams have been a Chip favorite for years. We never buy them, and I'm not really sure why. But I picked some up the other day and Chip had a huge smile on his face when I pulled them out of the grocery bag.
In other news, Roxie went back home to her family today. She was SO excited to see her dad when he arrived. She was jumping all over him, which I have absolutely never seen her do. It was adorable. And our little Heidi went to her forever home tonight. Her family is super excited about adopting her, and they are wonderful people. And how could they resist this face?
Cal is mystified as to where his buddies have gone, and he's been curled up on the couch in a little ball all evening.
And lunch. I squeezed a little bit of lemon juice onto the apple because it started to turn brown as soon as I cut it.
Sandwich on local whole wheat bread with roasted portobello, Cheddar, organic spring mix, and spices, watermelon, Teddy Grahams, banana, and an organic Rainier apple.
Yikes...this lunch is low on fruits and veggies, but I guess that goes along with the whole, "needing to go grocery shopping" thing. I made these quesadillas for dinner tonight, and Chip said, "this is why we never go out to dinner. Because this tastes better than going out, and it's cheaper and it's in reasonable portions." I took that as a request to make it again, so here it is!
Also, by request, here's how I made this guac:
2 large avocados
1/4 red onion, chopped
5 or 6 Campari tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 large lime, juiced
salt and pepper to taste
Quesadilla with cheddar jack cheese, organic black beans, and red onion, homemade cornbread, organic fair trade dark and milk chocolate, raw almonds, organic Fuji apple, Newman's Own salsa, and homemade guacamole (avocado, Campari tomato, red onion, garlic, lime juice, salt, and pepper).
I think I'm in a lunch rut again. I haven't been cooking so much for dinner, and I've been slacking on the grocery shopping, so making lunch hasn't been very fun. I need to get out and get some good food in the house again. The crappy weather has been deterring me, but now that it's sunny, I have no excuse!
Organic quinoa with organic carrot (with vegetable broth, cumin, garlic, and black pepper), Navel orange, fair trade organic dark chocolate, banana, and a salad with organic redleaf lettuce, organic spring mix, Campari tomato, organic peas, organic corn, and avocado.
I did a very bad/good thing this weekend. It's bad because it is unhealthy, but it's good because it's delicious. For some reason, I've had cake on my mind. My mom made me a recipe from a Betty Crocker cookbook a few times when I was growing up: Bonnie Butter Cake with French Silk frosting. I was able to find a recipe online (since Mom and her cookbook are in Maryland), and decided to whip up a batch of cupcakes. We've eaten far too many of them already. Starting Monday I will attempt to give them away to friends because no two people need to eat this much butter and sugar!
Funny story: Chip took his first bite of one of these and we had the following exchange.
Chip: I thought these were all organic.
Katie: They are.
Chip: But they don't taste healthy.
Katie: They aren't healthy.
(Moral of the story: organic does not necessarily = healthy!)
Organic Gala apple, homemade cupcake, organic fair trade dark chocolate, organic flame raisins, organic cashews, organic roasted & salted sunflower seeds, almonds, banana, and a whole wheat wrap with avocado, Cheddar, organic carrot, Newman's Own salsa, organic spring mix, and organic redleaf lettuce.
We've been having such beautiful weather here all week (around 70* and sunny every day), and this just feels like a nice, light, colorful, spring lunch.
Tillamook cheddar cheese, Ancient Grains crackers, banana, organic flame raisins, organic fair trade dark chocolate, organic applesauce, and a salad with organic redleaf lettuce, organic spring mix, organic carrot, Campari tomato, and avocado. I included a little cup of hummus for salad dressing, per Chip's request.
I feel like I've been slacking on lunches lately. I didn't make one for Tuesday, and Monday's was thrown together really quickly in the morning. I took a few extra minutes to make this one, and Chip approves of it in advance. And as will many lunches in the near future, it includes spring mix. We've barely made a dent in that stuff since I bought it last week! I love Costco, but I guess it's not necessary for just two people.
In other news, I found this in a hanging fern on our front porch two Fridays ago. In the time since, the speckled egg died and two more blueish ones were laid. Tonight I discovered that one of the baby birds hatched! I can't wait to watch them grow up!
And lunch:
Organic quinoa with organic vegetable broth and organic garlic, whole wheat rollups with hummus, Cheddar, Campari tomato, and organic spring mix, fair trade organic dark chocolate with almonds, organic flame raisins, organic unsweetened applesauce, and a whole Navel orange.
So my camera deleted all its files, and this lunch's picture was lost. It was beautiful too; I threw together lunch this morning, so I got a great photo of it outdoors with good light. Oh well.
Whole wheat wrap with roasted portobellos, roasted red onion, organic spring mix, organic redleaf lettuce, cheddar cheese, and salsa, banana, Clif Z Bar, organic Michigan applesauce, and a salad with organic redleaf lettuce, organic spring mix, and organic carrot.
Happy Friday! Dinner leftovers and a few Chip faves in this one. Healthy, vegan, and clean.
Homemade fried rice with broccoli and organic tofu, banana, organic flame raisins, PB&J on local whole wheat bread, and a whole organic Cameo apple.
Chip and I went out to dinner last night and got back late. Neither of us felt like making lunch, so we decided to just do it together to make it faster. Looking back, all Chip really did was stir the gnocchi. It's a start.
Trader Joe's gnocchi with organic peas (I added the peas), steamed organic broccoli, Clif Z Bar, trail mix (organic flame raisins, organic cashews, organic sunflower seeds, almonds), and an organic Gala apple.
Something tells me I'm going to get an earful about this lunch. I think everything will be acceptable to Chip except the peas and corn. I made them his favorite way (with butter and Season All), but I think he'll eat this lunch and still be hungry, while also being mad that he had to eat peas and corn.
I wrote him a nice lovey note that I included with the lunch, and maybe that will distract him...I hope!
Sandwich on local whole wheat bread with avocado (there's a full half of a large avocado there, but it's kinda hidden by the lettuce), Campari tomato, Cheddar, red onion, and organic redleaf lettuce, organic Michigan applesauce, Clif Z Bar, banana, and peas and corn steamed with butter and spices.
I managed to pull off another springy, colorful, vegan lunch today! And I'm exhausted. I'm finally back into running, after eight weeks of nothing but terrible, painful, breathless, awful runs. I set out to run 5 today and did 7 because I felt so good! Time to go rest those legs.
Salad with organic spring mix, organic redleaf lettuce, organic carrot, Campari tomato, and organic peas, Gardein "Santa Fe Good Stuff"* (vegan chicken stuffed with black beans and corn with a roasted tomato sauce), Clif Z Bar, Navel orange, and an organic Braeburn apple.
*I wouldn't think this would be clean, but it's featured in this month's Clean Eating Magazine.
Yum! A nice fresh vegan lunch for a beautiful spring day. I picked up THREE pounds of organic spring mix at Costco this weekend, and I'll be attempting to use it up for at least two weeks. Fortunately I also got a salad spinner on Saturday. I've been keeping it in the fridge, filled with clean salad, so it makes grabbing a salad really easy. I hope that helps us burn through this spring mix! So far we've each had two salads, and this lunch includes some spring mix as well.
In other news, Kendrick went to his forever home today. We're a little nervous to see how things go (he gets some serious separation anxiety), but we're definitely optimistic. His new family is lovely, and they have another greyhound to keep Ken company. Yay for Kendrick! I miss him already.
Here he is in his new family's car, ready to head home from a long walk at Highbanks Metro Park. He's one of the happiest dogs I've ever met. Love that smiling face!
And of course, lunch:
Sandwich on local whole wheat bread with hummus, organic carrot, organic redleaf lettuce, organic spring mix, and black pepper, organic Braeburn apple with natural peanut butter, organic flame raisins, organic fair trade dark chocolate with almonds, saffron rice, and a whole banana.
Today my friend Lori and I drove 3 pups from Columbus to Mansfield, OH. This was one leg of a long transport from somewhere in Tennessee to Ontario to a cattle dog rescue. All three dogs were adorable, but one of them (Whiskey) really stole my heart. She was a little bit shy at first, but all she wanted was attention and love. She snuggled with me in the car and was such a little love. And she has pointy ears like my Cal. I hope she gets the best home in the world, because she totally deserves it.
Here she is in the back of the car:
And when I tried to pose for a picture with her, she did this instead:
I packed some snacks for the drive, since I'm always hungry. In the interest of full disclosure, we didn't eat all of this on the drive. We were delayed an hour, and while we waited, we went into a restaurant and ate grilled cheese. I know. So not clean or healthy. But it was so delicious. Chip finished off the rest of the snacks when I got home.
Whole wheat rollups with organic avocado, local cheddar jack cheese, salsa, and organic redleaf lettuce, organic Braeburn apple, natural Fruit Roll-Ups, organic baby carrots, and whole wheat rollups with natural peanut butter and jelly.
I threw together today's lunch in a few minutes this morning. Nothing terribly interesting about it, but it's got plenty of fruit, veggies, and protein. Happy Friday!
Organic quinoa with organic peas, PB&J on local whole wheat bread, organic raw cashews, fair trade organic dark chocolate with almonds, organic banana, and an organic Cameo apple.
One of my friends from California mentioned a burrito in her facebook status yesterday. It wasn't just any burrito, though. It was a burrito from Super Taqueria (or "Super Taq"). These burritos are not very good for you. But...they are extremely cheap, they're full of good stuff, they come with all the fresh salsa you can eat, and they are authentically Mexican (as approved by some visiting co-workers from Mexico last year). I used to eat one for lunch often: pinto beans, cheese, tons of avocado, and lots of salsa for under $3!
So I decided to make some burritos for tonight's dinner. I sauteed some garlic in olive oil, then added about a tablespoon of cumin, a teaspoon of chili powder, some sea salt, and a can of organic black beans (rinsed). I simmered til the beans started to fall apart. We put the beans on the tortillas and added some local cheddar/jack cheese. Then we microwaved for a few seconds so it would all be nice and melty. We threw in some veggies and YUM! These were amazing. This is a lunch of leftovers, but I know Chip is really going to love it.
Also, I took this photo on the deck this evening while it was still light out. I think it looks much better than a photo taken with a flash at 11 pm in my kitchen.
Organic medium salsa, avocado, two flour tortillas, organic black beans, organic fair trade 55% dark chocolate with almonds, organic flame raisins, organic Michigan applesauce, local Cheddar/jack cheese, organic redleaf lettuce, and diced Campari tomatoes.
We adore mushrooms in this house. I love to order roasted Portobellos when we go out to restaurants, but for some reason I didn't think I could do them at home. Well...I went for it tonight, and I nailed it. These mushrooms were amazing, and the yellow peppers added a lot of flavor. Tonight for dinner I made Clean Eating Magazine's recipe for Chicken & Portobello Focaccia, but I subbed out the chicken in favor of strips of yellow pepper. It was incredible. I enjoyed every bite of that sandwich and was excited to make more for Chip's lunch tomorrow.
I put my own twist on the second sandwich (the one in this lunch) and I know Chip will love it. I roasted a Portobello cap and a quarter of a yellow pepper (both cut into strips) at 400* for 15 minutes (sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with spices and sea salt and pepper). So easy and so delicious and healthy.
Sandwich on local organic whole wheat bread with roasted organic Portobello and organic yellow pepper, Roma tomato, organic redleaf lettuce, and pesto, banana, Nature Valley granola bar, organic roasted and salted sunflower seeds, organic flame raisins, almonds, and a whole Navel orange.
This is the quickest lunch I've ever made! I scooped some dinner leftovers (quinoa and peas) into one container, cut up the banana and apple, sliced off a piece of cornbread, and tossed in a handful of raisins and almonds...all in about 5 minutes. Super healthy and super easy.
Organic quinoa and organic peas (cooked with vegetable bouillon, sage, chili powder, and cumin), homemade cornbread, organic flame raisins, almonds, banana, and an organic Cameo apple.
You read that right. When I have guests in town, I make them eat food out of tiny little boxes. My friend from college, Sarah, is here in Columbus, and she is ridiculously enthusiastic about my lunches. So I bought her a Laptop Lunch set, and I made her first lunch! Something is telling me that the experience of eating it will be better than the food...she's beside herself with excitement.
It was really fun to pack lunch for someone besides Chip or myself, and I hope I get to do it again soon. Sarah, I hope your first Laptop Lunch is everything you want it to be. I feel like it would only be better if Mariah Carey were in one of the containers.
Organic tri-color whole wheat rotini with pesto, Parm, and crushed red pepper, white bean and spinach soup, natural Fruit Roll-Up, homemade brownie, hummus, and blanched vegetables (red pepper and asparagus) with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
I feel like this is a fun springtime lunch. The weather got warm - almost hot - overnight here, and this light lunch full of vegetables feels just right for this time of year.
Organic whole wheat tri-color rotini with pesto and fresh Roma tomato, white bean and spinach soup, organic flame raisins, organic dark chocolate with almonds, homemade brownie, hummus, and blanched vegetables (red pepper and asparagus) with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
Happy April Fool's Day! I wish I were one of those people who could pull off really amazing pranks. I always try and fool Chip (like casually mentioning that I had veal for lunch, or very seriously telling him I need to move to Latvia, or hiding from him and surprising him) but it rarely works. If it involves telling him something untrue, I usually crack a smile before the first sentence is out of my mouth, and by then it's all over. I guess because I can't play jokes, I don't take them well either. Chip's really good at fooling me, and I must be really gullible too. I wonder what today has in store for me.
I thought about making an elaborate April Fool's Day lunch, but wasn't sure what would be really funny. Then a friend from college rolled into town and I've been spending a lot of time with her, and lunch has been kinda the last thing on my mind. So today is just a very regular, normal lunch.
Homemade fried rice with broccoli, organic tofu, and pastured eggs, Honey Nut Cheerios (with a separate container of plain soymilk), organic dark chocolate with almonds, banana, and a whole organic Cameo apple.
