My lunch: June 11, 2012

My lunch is pretty much the same as Chip's, but I get yogurt instead of a brownie (more protein, plus Chip hates yogurt), and raspberries instead of an apple (tastier, plus Chip hates raspberries).

Life is good here in the VL household.  After a year at a job I didn't so much care for, I landed an awesome job at an amazing company, and I start tomorrow.  All the pets (3 cats and 2 dogs) are happy and healthy, and we have a foster greyhound too.  Chip is in town for the next few weeks, and we've been enjoying a lot of time together.  We've both been doing CrossFit at a box downtown, and it's been amazing for both of us.  I've lost about 20 pounds since October, and feel fantastic.  I'd like to maintain now, and have really upped my protein consumption to help with that.  And I'm still running 30+ miles a week, since my running buddy is an Australian Kelpie, after all!

Those of you who are familiar with CrossFit are probably familiar with the paleo diet.  Don't worry...I haven't gone all caveman yet.  The owner of our box loves to rib me for being vegetarian, and he comments that vegetarian athletes could be even better if they'd just eat meat, but I don't plan to start!  I can get plenty of plant-based protein, and while it's not "paleo," it seems to work for me.  I admit, though, that all the paleo talk has worn off on me a bit, and I've gotten a few recipes from CrossFit friends.  You'll see at least one later this week (spinach, strawberry, and walnut salad), and might notice a few differences in lunches now compared to a few months ago, but I promise...I'm still the same old vegetarian!



Fried rice with organic tofu and organic broccoli, Chobani blood orange Greek yogurt, raspberries, and a salad with organic lettuce, organic spinach, organic carrot, plum tomato, and walnuts.

Chip's lunch: June 11, 2012

We're back in action!  For now, I suppose.  Apparently I'm not very good at keeping up with this thing, so we'll see how long this lasts.

I start a new job tomorrow, and I'm extremely excited.  In my excitement, I did a meal plan for the week, which I haven't done since, oh, October.  This means I have lunches planned for the rest of the week.  Usually if I have a plan like this, I stick to it, so I might go on a week-long blogging binge.  I have no idea what my motivation will look like next week.

I made this week's meal plan by looking up the one I did for this week last year.  I modified it a little bit, and noticed that vegan coffee cake was in a few of the lunches I packed.  Since I didn't happen to make that this week, and since I wanted something a little healthier, I decided to finally try black bean brownies.  I used this recipe, minus the chocolate chips, plus probably a teaspoon of baking soda, and they turned out fantastically!  They're not super fudgy, but they have great texture and flavor, and Chip actually likes them.  I was seriously shocked.  Because really.  Beans + chocolate = delicious?  I wasn't so sure beforehand, but now I think I'll be making these again.



Fried rice with organic tofu and organic broccoli, homemade black bean brownies, organic raisins, raw almonds, macadamias, Honeycrisp apple, and a salad with organic lettuce, organic spinach, organic carrot, and plum tomato.