This is another recipe that we've tried from Clean Eating Magazine. I've found that most stir fries seem to taste the same after a while...soy sauce, garlic, ginger, veggies. So what's new? This one includes a few unusual ingredients that make it unique (honey and mustard, for example), and we both appreciated the change. Of course, I didn't tell Chip this one has mustard in it until after he ate it, because he thinks he hates mustard, but he might have to reconsider now!
Since I started working, I've been doing my best to plan meals for the week each Sunday. It's a lot of work, both in the planning part (leafing through blogs, cookbooks, etc) and the preparation part. But it makes life so much easier during the week, that it's absolutely worth it. I think part of what makes it so helpful is that I do some prep work on Sunday (i.e. for this recipe, I chopped veggies, pressed tofu, and made the sauce), but also that I just don't have to think about things during the week. I've got my little list of lunches and dinners for each day, and I can just fly through it all without a second thought.
Ginger soy tofu and edamame stir fry with organic tofu, organic edamame, organic cashews, local green beans, and organic bell pepper, organic brown rice, pecans, organic Sultana golden raisins, local graffiti cauliflower, and a CSA apple.
When I went on my Gardein-buying binge a few weeks ago, I must've inadvertently picked up some of the Gardein Beefless Tips. They're not my favorite, so I made them for dinner on Wednesday, a night on which I wasn't terribly hungry. I looked up a recipe for brown sauce that didn't include oyster sauce (not easy to find), and I had dinner on the table in a few short minutes. The brown sauce was not my cup of tea, though Chip loved it. It's not often that we get to eat Chinese food, since it so frequently contains non-vegetarian ingredients (oyster sauce, beef broth, pork, pork fat, fish, etc). Chip was happy to take these leftovers and he enjoyed them again at lunch.
Gardein beefless tips with organic broccoli, organic cauliflower, and steamed organic brown rice in homemade brown sauce, banana, organic Thompson raisins, and half of an organic Gala apple.
Even more avocado here. I kind of forgot about avocados for a while, and am so glad I rediscovered them! And even more tomatoes from our garden. I keep thinking that the tomato plant has bitten the dust, but it keeps resurrecting itself. On November 13th, I picked about 30 ripe tomatoes, and those may be the last. I gave away some to friends, and we've been going through the remaining few little by little. I hope the 'matoes do this well next year!
Oh, and Cuda "helped" me while I was taking the photo. He was pretty close to snagging a piece of apple, but I was able to fend him off in time.
And lunch:
Sandwich on organic whole wheat bread with organic avocado, organic redleaf lettuce, Roma tomato from our garden, and green bell pepper from our garden, brown rice pilaf, organic Thompson raisins, organic cauliflower, and an organic Gala apple.
A dilemma we face frequently: there's just a little bit of something left...what to do with it? We had a few tablespoons of pesto left. Not enough to put on noodles, which is our normal use for it. So I made what I always make when we have things to use up: rollups. I can put anything in a whole wheat wrap, and Chip will LOVE it. A few fruits and veggies round out a tasty lunch.
CSA Melrose apple, Navel orange, organic Thompson raisins, organic raw cashews, organic steamed cauliflower, and whole wheat rollups with pesto, organic redleaf lettuce, organic carrot, and Roma tomato from our garden.
Gardein is back in our house in a big way. For a while, we had been buying the 7-Grain Crispy Tenders in a bag of 50 from Costco. It was only $12 or so...really cheap. When that was discontinued, we went into Gardein withdrawal, because at the grocery store, a pack of 10 is $5. When these went on sale half price at Kroger, I *may* have bought them out. We like them that much. They're super convenient, have tons of protein, taste really good, and are clean. So, they're pretty much perfect.
As always, Chip was extremely excited for the PB&J rolls. He expressed his excitement in the morning when he saw me making them, and even when he got home, he reminded me how much he'd enjoyed them. Seriously...it's the simple things that make this guy happy!
Gardein 7-Grain Crispy Tenders, local Ohio honey, steamed organic cauliflower with sea salt and black pepper, organic dried cherries, organic blackberry applesauce, and whole wheat rollups with natural peanut butter and jelly.
I bought these spelt pretzels over the weekend and kept forgetting to include them in a lunch. Honestly, I'm not huge into spelt, but I really like the idea of diversifying the grains that we eat. It helps that these pretzels are organic too! A serving (20 pretzels) also includes 4 grams of protein, and every little bit helps.
Homemade fried rice with organic tofu, organic broccoli, and organic cauliflower, watermelon, organic Thompson raisins, organic dark chocolate, organic spelt pretzels, natural peanut butter, and a CSA apple (not sure what variety).
Today was another ridiculous day with the animals, and I spent a few hours with Jack at the emergency vet. It appears he was stung by something (bee? spider? wasp?) and it caused an allergic reaction. He was covered in hives, his face was all swollen and lumpy, and his eyes were swelling shut. It came on really quickly and got worse and worse. So...to the e-vet we went.
I got back kind of late, and just threw lunch together. Dinner had no leftovers, so I didn't have a good starting off point. It took me a solid half hour to make this lunch; that is far longer than usual, and reminded me why I usually try to have leftovers with our dinner.
Organic steamed cauliflower and broccoli with Smart balance, sea salt, and black pepper, hummus with organic pine nuts and organic spices, Stacy's pita chips, raw almonds, raw organic cashews, Kashi apple cereal bar, organic applesauce, and whole wheat rollups with avocado, organic greenleaf lettuce, organic baby spinach, local organic grape tomatoes from the farmers' market, organic carrot, and Newman's Own salsa.
This lunch was all requested by Chip. As we were eating dinner (the fried rice), I asked him what he wanted for lunch. He came up with everything you see here, except the pita. We wandered around the kitchen, the pantry, the fridge, for about 10 minutes, trying to figure out what to put in the side. Finally we decided to leave it empty. Then I saw the pitas in the fridge and a light bulb went off. I was really excited that I'd found something vegan to put in the side area, and was so proud of my vegan lunch. Eh, not so much. I forgot about that milk chocolate. So close! Maybe tomorrow.
Homemade fried rice with organic tofu, broccoli, and organic cauliflower, trail mix with milk chocolate from Holland, raw almonds, organic raw cashews, organic Sultana golden raisins, and organic dried cranberries, whole wheat pita with natural peanut butter, half of a banana (the other half had gone bad), and an organic Fuji apple with organic cinnamon.
This lunch is a first, in that I needed a lidded container for each part of the meal. It is also the first time that I offered Chip a sandwich or a salad and he picked salad. I was so sure he'd want an avocado sandwich! This is our second time trying kiwi fruit. Last time, he ate it, but wasn't thrilled with the consistency. Maybe this time he'll like it a little better.
Also, meet Frank! He's a beautiful young boy who retired at an early age from racing. He's a big dumb lug, and I just love him.
We were also surprised today with another foster: WWW Kojak ("Jack"). He's an owner surrender, and has not been well taken care of for the past few years. I hope I can love him back to health and help him put on a few pounds. He's a very sweet guy who seems really confused as to why his previous owner tied him to a man's front porch and then drove away.
And here's lunch:
All packed up (the utensils are under the dried fruit):
Salad with organic redleaf lettuce, organic carrot, grape tomato, local Cheddar/jack cheese, and avocado, organic quinoa with vegetable broth, garlic, cumin, and chipotle, organic dried cranberries, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic kiwi fruit, and steamed broccoli and organic cauliflower with butter and sea salt.
This is another yummy summer lunch. I really loved all the fresh veggies we were getting over the summer. The tempeh was delicious; the sauce was made of Sriracha, water, and some Sugar in the Raw. It was a touch spicy, but then again I love spicy food! As with the barbecued tempeh, I just sauteed the tempeh in some vegan margarine til it was warm and crispy, then I added the sauce and reduced it a little.
Tempeh with Sriracha-based sauce, organic blackberries, cinnamon grahams with peanut butter, hummus, and broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower.
I remember this lunch well also: I ate it in the library at school while doing some online shopping for Chip's upcoming birthday. I was embarrassed because I took a bite of that chocolate yogurt and made a face...it tasted absolutely terrible. I ate the raspberries but just couldn't bring myself to eat that yogurt. The rest was tasty though; lots of fresh fruits and veggies make a nice summery lunch!
Chocolate soy yogurt (I can't remember now which brand), organic raspberries, white corn organic tortilla strips, apple (under the grapes), grapes, hummus with chili powder, and broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower.
Someone asked how much my lunches cost, and I estimate this one at just about $3. The yogurt was about $1.25. The raspberries were about $.50, the chips about $.20, the apple $.30, the grapes maybe $.20, the hummus less than $.25, and the mixed veggies about $.40.
