My lunch: June 20, 2011

This weekend, just as I was leaving the farmers' market, I noticed a vendor I hadn't seen before. He was selling green stuff in a baggie...and no, despite Clintonville's hippie reputation, it wasn't pot. They were sprouts! I'd been searching for pea shoots for months, maybe over a year, and had had no luck finding them. Chip's mom got some at her local organic market, and served them to us on a salad. We had them again at basi italia on their version of the caprese salad (their house made mozzarella, pea shoots, pesto, and tomatoes). I have finally found them again and am so excited. Not only are they super nutrient-dense, they have a mild flavor and fun texture that add a neat twist to a salad.



Lemon asparagus penne, organic pear, raw almonds, dark chocolate with caramel and sea salt, lemon raspberry scone, and a salad with local organic salad mix, organic sunflower seeds, organic mushrooms, local pea shoots, and Campari tomato.

Chip's lunch: June 20, 2011

We had some friends over last weekend, to celebrate my job and their recent home purchase. Since their apartment was all packed up and ready to move, Laura brought dinner ingredients to our house and cooked here. She made this unbelievably delicious recipe, with just a few ingredients (including some beautiful asparagus from the Clintonville Farmers' Market). Laura is an amazing cook and baker, and has made us some fabulous food since we met her last year, including vegetarian Coneys, roasted vegetable lasagna, and raspberry scones with lemon icing (yep, I copied those too).

Which brings me to the scones. I was out running a few months ago and stopped at Laura's place on my way home (about 4 miles into my 5-mile run). As I was leaving, she offered me a scone, and far be it from me to turn down a baked good. She sent me home with two of these raspberry scones, with a lemon glaze that she invented herself. I chuckled as I ran the last mile, scones in one hand and iPod in the other. Some people run with energy gels; I run with scones. As soon as I got home, scone #1 was gone, and #2 was gone soon afterward. Even Chip liked it, and he flat out does NOT eat berries. I got some not-so-beautiful raspberries at the farmers' market this weekend, and figured they didn't have to look pretty to adorn scones. I veganized the recipe and used whole wheat flour, and it still turned out great. So great that Chip even ate these ones too, raspberries and all. Seriously, you need to try this recipe.

How to veganize:
-Instead of buttermilk, use 1 tsp lemon juice per cup of vegan milk (I used almond milk); allow to curdle for 5 minutes before adding to recipe.
-Instead of butter, use vegan margarine (I used Earth Balance)
-Instead of egg yolk, sub 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed and 3 tablespoons vegan milk



Lemon asparagus penne, organic applesauce, organic dark chocolate chips, pecans, dried cranberries, homemade lemon raspberry scones, and a salad with local organic salad mix, organic sunflower seeds, organic mushrooms, local pea shoots, and Campari tomato.

Chip's lunch: June 16, 2011

I decided it was finally time to try my hand at falafel. And I figured that while I was at it, I would try some hummus too. I mean, it's just lots of chickpeas, right? It's just mixing things together and making them taste good. I should've remembered why I don't make hummus. The reason is that I'm terrible at it. Absolutely horrible. Maybe I haven't found a good recipe yet. Maybe the chickpeas I use (canned organic) aren't the best kind for hummus. Perhaps my crappy blender isn't the appropriate tool to use to mix it all up. Whatever the reason, this hummus was not delicious, though it was palatable. Chip seemed to think it was "fine," but I was just not a fan.

The good news is that this falafel was much better than the hummus was. Per the recipe's instructions, I formed it into patties about the size of your average hamburger. Instead of deep frying, I sprayed a pan with olive oil, and sort of pan fried it that way. I cooked it on high enough heat to get it crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. It was actually quite good, and it was easy enough to make. I prepared the patties ahead of time (on Sunday), and froze them. I defrosted them during the day on Wednesday, and cooked them up for dinner in no time.



Homemade falafel, banana, homemade trail mix with organic Sultana golden raisins, dried cranberries, organic sunflower seeds, raw almonds, and organic dark chocolate chips, homemade hummus, and blanched veggies (local asparagus, organic red bell pepper, organic yellow bell pepper).

Chip's lunch: April 11, 2011

I've been really into spicy foods lately, and decided to satisfy that with some Jerk "chicken." My dad always made great jerk chicken when I was growing up, but when I called to ask for the recipe, he confessed that he'd misplaced it. So I went off in search of a new recipe, and found this one. I decided to give it a shot, though I was nervous, since the last time I tried an unknown jerk recipe, I was not a fan. This recipe turned out perfectly: lots of smoky spiciness, and plenty of garlic and onion. I added some chopped green onion and extra cinnamon (1/4 tsp isn't nearly enough), left out the cumin, and used one Habanero pepper. Yum!



Organic Fuji apple, mushroom and brown rice pilaf, dried cranberries, pecans, steamed asparagus, and Jamaican jerk Quorn "chicken."

Chip's lunch: April 6, 2011

I was running short on time and ideas this morning, when I remembered that I'd made a trip to Trader Joe's earlier in the week. Chip loves their fake meat, and the "chicken-less stuffed cutlet with black beans and corn" is always a hit. It's an easy way for me to up the protein in his lunch by a lot.



Organic Fuji apple, steamed asparagus with Parmesan cheese, pecans, dried cranberries, Kashi oatmeal dark chocolate chip cookies, and Trader Joe's chicken-less stuffed cutlet with black beans and corn.

Chip's lunch: February 15, 2011

Chip really enjoyed his last crackers and cheese lunch. He was able to kind of snack on it all day, and the non-finger foods that were in it didn't actually get eaten because he was too busy to take a few minutes to heat them up and eat them with utensils. That sounds ridiculous when I write it out...but he is a really busy guy! I think he could eat all of this lunch with his hands, except the tofu. Yes, we eat green beans and asparagus spears with our hands...totally normal, right?



Kashi whole grain crackers, local pepper jack cheese, local Colby cheese, banana, dried cherries, organic dark chocolate chips, dried cranberries, tofu scramble, and steamed green beans and asparagus.

Chip's lunch: February 10, 2011

We had leftovers for dinner last night, which means...nothing exciting or new for lunch. Somehow we've amassed quite the collection of veggies though, so I was able to slice them and steam them up with some quinoa for a nice balanced lunch.

We've been getting some of our produce at Costco. While we do have access to a fair amount of organic and local produce at the co-op up the street, well...it gets expensive. So if it's not on the Dirty Dozen list, we get it at Costco. So far, so good! We were also buying organic dried cranberries at the co-op, and they were far more expensive than was prudent. So the ones you see here are Craisins from Costco! Whenever we can find unsalted nuts, we get those at Costco too. Can you tell how much I love Costco?



Organic quinoa with mixed veggies (organic yellow bell pepper, green beans, asparagus, organic peas, and broccoli) organic blood orange, dried cranberries, raw almonds, and a banana.

Chip's lunch: January 31, 2011

Pop quiz: how was I feeling this morning?
a.) creative
b.) energetic
c.) wishing the sun would go back down so I could go back to bed

For a hint, check the top left corner of the lunchbox. That's right...rollups. Or as my dad would call them, "crap wraps." I guess they kind of are, in that I throw whatever crap is in the fridge into a whole wheat roll and call it lunch. Oh well...Chip loves them, and as soon as lunch was packed, I was able to get back in bed. Win-win?



Whole wheat rollups with saffron rice, hummus, organic carrot, organic Boston lettuce, and Campari tomato, steamed asparagus, homemade trail mix, banana, and an organic Honeycrisp apple.

Chip's lunch: January 3, 2011

Happy New Year! As has become usual now, we are only around for a few days. We spent Christmas in Hawaii, and now we have a few days home before Chip goes to Spain for work and I go home to visit my family in Maryland. Life will be like this for the forseeable future, with lots of trips in the next few months.

After returning from Hawaii, we made a run to Costco. To our delight, Gardein 7-Grain Crispy Tenders had returned! I was so bummed out when they were discontinued, because it was a great price, and they are a relatively healthy convenience food. We're so glad they're back!



Organic Honeycrisp apple, homemade banana bread, raw almonds, organic Sultana golden raisins, steamed asparagus, and Gardein 7-Grain crispy tenders with local honey.

Chip's lunch: November 2, 2010

I made sure we had plenty of leftovers from dinner so Chip could have a nice lunch. But...he packed this up himself! He even took the photo. This isn't what I would've packed or how I would've packed it, but he loved it, and that's what matters!

Also, I made turnips for the first time ever. I'd eaten them a few times growing up, but Chip had never had them. I found this recipe and veganized it. Chip enjoyed it and said he never would've guessed that he wasn't eating potatoes.



Gardein scallopini (grilled with Cajun spices), steamed asparagus, banana, Clif Builder bar, homemade trail mix (organic raw cashews, raw almonds, organic chocolate chips, organic Thompson raisins), and mashed CSA turnips.

Chip's lunch: November 1, 2010

Yep, it's definitely November here. I went for a run this evening and it was cloudy and 43*. The entire time, all I could think of was some warm food for dinner. As soon as I got home, I heated up some lentil soup and baked this asparagus. It was nice and warm and filling and wintry.

I love this easy asparagus recipe that my friend Christina invented while she was here visiting last December. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil (I use my trusty Misto), lay out the asparagus in a single layer on the pan, spray the asparagus with olive oil, and throw on whatever you want. I used organic panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan, sea salt, black pepper, and a touch of paprika.

Oh, and we got a new kind of apple this weekend in our CSA! While I enjoyed trying various kinds of apples that we picked up at the farmers' market last year from Ochs Fruit Farm, it's also neat to try even more kinds via our CSA. Last time, we got Northern Spy apples, and this time it's Gold Rush apples. The Northern Spies are very firm and fairly sweet, while the Gold Rushes are crispy and tangy, almost like a Granny Smith. Yum!

And finally, I made some clean oatmeal cookies tonight. I didn't have any eggs on hand, and wanted to see if I could veganize the recipe (the only non-vegan part is the egg). I used a flax egg instead of egg white (thank you for the idea, Sarah!), and used 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup oil instead of 1/2 cup oil, to reduce the fat. It turned out surprisingly well! Now that I know I can do this recipe vegan and lower fat, I think it'll be making a few more appearances.



Baked asparagus with Parmesan and bread crumbs, homemade clean vegan oatmeal cookies, organic dried cherries, CSA Gold Rush apple, and homemade vegan lentil soup.

Chip's lunch: October 4, 2010

Once again, we had dinner with some awesome friends of ours, and they were wonderful enough to leave us with some leftover homemade lasagna. Laura made us an amazing dinner, and apparently lasagna is her specialty. She loves lasagna so much that she throws lasagna parties. For one of her birthdays, she made three different kinds of lasagna, and invited a bunch of friends over to eat it with her. I think that is awesome! Lasagna is something I haven't yet mastered, but I'm hoping Laura will teach me. This stuff was incredible. As Chip would say, it was really "restaurant-y."



CSA Melrose apple, whole wheat graham crackers, raw almonds, steamed asparagus, and Laura's homemade roasted vegetable lasagna (with red pepper and eggplant).

Chip's lunch: September 30, 2010

This is another one I was able to make in the morning. Much to Chip's chagrin, there was no cheese around for his hot dog...but that also means that this lunch is vegan! Also, we've been enjoying all the different apples we've been getting from the farmers' market and through our CSA. This one is a Golden Delicious from the CSA...yum!



Vegan hot dog on whole wheat bun, homemade vegan pumpkin bread, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic chocolate chips, raw almonds, CSA Golden Delicious apple, and steamed asparagus.

Chip's lunch: September 23, 2010

I've been getting a little bored with the usual stuff lately, and decided to try something I had never made before: grilled tofu. I looked around for recipes, trying to find some new flavors. Usually we do tofu with an Asian sort of flavor: ginger, soy sauce, garlic, etc. I found this recipe for Cajun grilled tofu, and ran with it. We made it into sandwiches and it was a really nice change. I think we'll be doing this again.



Sandwich on organic whole wheat bread with grilled organic tofu (with Cajun spices), CSA kale, organic Boston lettuce, and Roma tomatoes from our garden, banana, organic dark chocolate chips, organic dried cherries, organic dried cranberries, organic Sultana golden raisins, steamed asparagus, and a CSA Golden Delicious apple.

Chip's lunch: September 22, 2010

Who doesn't love a delicious grilled cheese? A few months ago, we had a big tomato on hand, and I decided to try grilled cheese with it. It was way more amazing than I expected! My mom has always done grilled cheese (plain) with some tomato soup. I always thought it was a Philadelphia thing, but maybe it's just a thing thing. Anyway, with all the tomatoes overflowing in our garden still, I figured I'd try to use some up again. I can't guarantee that this will be perfectly delicious by lunchtime, but my fingers are crossed.



Grilled cheese on organic whole wheat bread with Tillamook Cheddar and Roma tomates from our garden, steamed asparagus, Kashi granola bar, whole wheat rollups with hummus, local salsa, organic carrot, and CSA kale, and a CSA apple (no idea what kind...it's not Red Delicious like yesterday, and I can't remember what they told me this is...maybe Gala).

Chip's lunch: September 15, 2010

I threw this one together this morning. I was out later than usual last night, doing a home visit for a prospective adopter for one of our fosters. If all goes to plan, she will go home on Friday! I saved asparagus from last night's dinner for lunch, and everything else took just a few minutes this morning.



Gardein 7-Grain Crispy Tenders, local Ohio honey, banana, organic dried cranberries, organic dark chocolate, organic Thompson raisins, steamed asparagus with sea salt and pepper, and a Cara Cara Navel orange.

Chip's lunch: September 7, 2010

We're back! I went for a late run last Thursday and promised myself I'd pack lunch Friday morning. It never happened. Chip threw together a few unphotogenic things that morning and was on his way.

We had a nice, relaxing Labor Day weekend (minus a bit of a cold that I had). We spent lots of time together, doing things we enjoy (a few little house projects, some long walks in the cool evenings, a few runs in the glorious afternoon sunshine, and a trip to the Three Creeks Metropark), and I also spent some time cooking. I decided to bite the bullet and buy some saffron on Saturday for $19. We both think saffron is awesome, but the price is hard to stomach. However, I'd been staring at Clean Eating Magazine's September/October issue long enough that all I wanted to eat was their "Penne with Broccoli, Kale, and Pine nuts in Simple Saffron Broth."

This issue gave recipes for five sauces that could be modified to make a bunch of different dishes. We tried the Alfredo sauce already, and we were both dying to try the "simple saffron broth." It's easy: in a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups vegetable broth, 4 teaspoons arrowroot powder, and 1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron threads; set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add 2 finely chopped shallots (I also added 2 small cloves crushed garlic) and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in broth mixture (I added 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder), increase heat to high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens slightly and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and season with salt. Cover and set aside to steep for at least 10 minutes.

I cooked up a 12-ounce box of organic penne (I meant to buy whole wheat penne, but I was on the phone with my mom in the grocery store, and I was very distracted), and with three minutes left to boil, I threw in 2 cups of organic broccoli florets and 2 cups of organic chopped spinach. Then I drained the pasta, and added the toasted organic pine nuts and the saffron sauce. It was really delicious! We added plenty of sea salt, and I improvised with the garlic and chipotle powder. We both felt it could use a little *something* else, but neither of us could put a finger on quite what. I think I'll try this again, but I'll for sure play around with the seasonings a bit more.



Organic penne with saffron broth, organic broccoli, organic spinach, and organic pine nuts, steamed asparagus with black pepper and sea salt, organic dried cranberries, organic Thompson raisins, raw almonds, organic raw cashews, organic dark chocolate, banana, and a CSA apple.

Chip's lunch: August 31, 2010

I was going to make grilled portobello sandwiches for dinner last night, but at the last minute, I decided to make this asparagus primavera (which I've made before). I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, so I just winged it, and subbed quinoa for the couscous. Chip hates couscous ("it's too small"), but loves quinoa. I think they're pretty similar, but whatever. Chip wolfed it down, though not without complaining a little bit about the carrots.

In the middle of dinner, I got up to let the dogs out into the backyard. When I turned around to go back inside, I saw Chip standing at the table doing something. I opened the door and totally caught him...he was loading up my plate with all the carrots from his plate that he didn't want! He was so busted! I'm not sure if he ate all the carrots in this lunch; we have a deal that I pack lunch, so he washes the lunchbox. I rarely get to see what's left of lunch, though the majority of the time it's nothing, not even a raisin.



Asparagus primavera with CSA carrots, organic corn, and organic quinoa, banana, Clif Z Bar (s'mores flavor), and organic applesauce.

Chip's lunch: August 4, 2010

I got the most recent Clean Eating Magazine a few days ago, but I didn't crack it open til today. Sometimes I just need to be in the right mood to look at food porn, you know? So of course, on the cover, was a dish involving noodles and Alfredo sauce. My two loves. The most comforting comfort food. Since I had everything on hand, I very excitedly whipped this up for dinner tonight. Chip enjoyed it, even though there's a decent amount of yogurt in it. Shhh! Do not tell him! He'll never eat it again.

The recipe is linked here, but in the magazine it didn't include the vegetables that are listed on this link. I just winged it with the broccoli, asparagus, and portobellos that we had on hand. I can't wait to try some of the other sauces in this issue, especially the saffron sauce. Saffron is one of Chip's favorite flavors ever, and I have a feeling he'll really like it.



Clean Alfredo sauce with organic whole wheat tri-color rotini/cavatappi, organic portobellos, asparagus, and broccoli, watermelon, organic raw cashews, raw almonds, milk chocolate from Holland, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic dried cranberries, and an organic Fuji apple.

Chip's lunch: July 27, 2010

We've been having dinners with no leftovers lately, which means that lunches have required some extra work. This one feels a little uninspired, but Chip was pretty excited about the rice. It's modified from a recipe my mom used to make growing up, called Browned Rice in Bouillon. It's pretty easy: saute some garlic and chopped onion in olive oil for a few minutes, then add rice and saute for five minutes. Add broth, cover, and simmer until done. It's a really basic recipe, but with some peas added in, it's got plenty of protein, veggies, and flavor.



Organic brown rice with CSA onion, organic garlic, organic vegetable broth, and organic peas, organic edamame with sea salt, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic applesauce with organic vanilla, and grilled sesame asparagus.