My lunch: June 15, 2011

Similar to Chip's from the same day, with a few little tweaks. We've tried kiwi twice, and he just can't like it. So I guess I'll have to eat all the kiwis in the family! I found out recently that I'm no longer allergic, so I've been trying to make up for lost time. Yes, kiwi allergies exist, I swear.



Salad with organic local redleaf lettuce, organic local salad mix, organic corn, and spiced black beans, organic carrots, raw almonds, organic kiwi, homemade guacamole, and salsa.

Chip's lunch: June 15, 2011

Chip and I had homemade Chipotle-style burritos the night before this lunch, with some spiced black beans (cumin, garlic, lime, and chili powder) in lieu of meat. I couldn't figure out a way to get a burrito in these lunchboxes. It was the first time I'd been really stumped, and I started to get really frustrated! Eventually I gave up and turned it into a sort of southwestern salad. Similar to the original ingredients, with more lettuce, and no tortilla. I whipped up the guac myself for dinner. It turned out really well this time...it's always different since I just throw ingredients together and cross my fingers. As usual, it was just avocado, red onion, tomato, a small amount of garlic, salt, pepper, and lime juice. It got a little brown while waiting for lunch time, but that was to be expected.



Salad with organic local redleaf lettuce, organic local salad mix, spiced black beans, organic corn, and Tillamook Cheddar cheese, banana, Kashi trail mix bar, organic applesauce, homemade guacamole, and salsa.

Chip's lunch: June 8, 2011

I made a pledge about two months ago that I would eat a salad a day. I realized that without any planning around food, I would just graze on all the easy stuff in the kitchen: diet soda, candy, chips, crackers, cookies, etc. I wasn't taking the (small amount of) time to put together decent meals for myself, and I was paying for it for sure!

In keeping with this, I have been making sure to keep the fridge full of lettuce, salad, hardboiled eggs, and other salad ingredients. I wash and prepare some things ahead of time, but I still have to assemble it when it's salad time. The salad mix here came from the farmers' market this weekend. It's been plenty rainy and overcast, which is perfect for lettuce, and there's been a ton of it at the market. Our lettuce in our garden is growing like crazy, and I can't wait to put it in some lunches soon!



Salad with local organic salad mix, organic corn, organic bell pepper, and avocado, organic Gala apple, pecans, dried cranberries, and Rising Moon organic spinach florentine vegan ravioli with organic marinara sauce.

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: March 8, 2011

Who doesn't love quesadillas? We had some red onion and green pepper on hand (which we don't usually have; usually I use a whole onion or whole bell pepper when I have one), so I made them into a quesadilla. Some local pepper jack cheese added some spice, and black beans added lean protein. Topped off with some Newman's Own salsa..yum!



Quesadilla on whole grain tortilla with local pepper jack cheese, reduced fat Colby cheese, organic black beans, organic green bell pepper, red onion, Campari tomato, and organic corn, banana, organic flame raisins, homemade vegan tapioca pudding, and salsa.

Chip's lunch: March 7, 2011

Chip and I were looking through some photos this weekend of his last business trip to Spain. He went out to dinner with some co-workers (including native Spaniards) and had a gigantic paella. The pictures looked so neat, and since I love saffron, I decided I could make paella. Why not, right?

It didn't turn out at all how I expected it to look (bright yellow and fluffy), but it did taste great. The recipe called for short grain white rice, but I decided that short grain brown rice would be OK (I bought sweet brown rice without having any idea what it was). Sweet brown rice is kinda sticky and is what is used for brown rice sushi. Of course, I learned this after I made the purchase. I need a smart phone so I can look these things up when I'm at the store.

So anyway, I used this recipe as a guide, and added and subtracted things based on what was in the fridge. I added mushrooms and corn, and left out peas and artichokes. It smelled awesome, and with the addition of some extra paprika and garlic, plus some chipotle powder, it tasted close to perfect.

In reading about sweet brown rice, I discovered that it is commonly used in rice pudding. I love pudding so much. I wish vegetables tasted like pudding; I would eat a lot more of them. I asked Chip if he likes rice pudding and he made a face. Then he offered that he does like tapioca pudding. I feel like if you're going to dislike a pudding, it should be the one with the texture and appearance of frog eggs, but whatever. So I looked up a recipe for vegan tapioca pudding and whipped it up really quickly. It tastes much better than I expected (though a bit too sweet), and Chip might even like it more than I do!



Homemade paella with organic brown rice, organic corn, organic red bell pepper, organic crimini mushrooms, onion, and organic spinach, homemade vegan tapioca pudding, raw almonds, banana, and an organic Pinova apple.

Chip's lunch: March 3, 2011

This Monday, I saw one of those websites that does a weekly list of 7 recipe ideas; one of the ideas was poblano chicken. Most of the ingredients were not vegetarian, so I started doing some googling. I decided to try to recreate the chipotle cream rotini from Betty's, since it's one of Chip's favorite things. I found this site that told me how to make my own vegan heavy cream, and I kind of just winged the rest. It went something like this...

Sauce ingredients:
1 block of silken tofu, firm or extra firm
4+ cups of vegan milk
1 7-oz. can of chipotle peppers in adobo
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons margarine
2 cloves pressed garlic
salt and pepper to taste

In a blender or food processor, puree the peppers in one cup of milk. In a pot over medium heat, melt the margarine; add the flour and cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Slowly whisk in the chipotle/milk mixture. While this is warming, puree the remaining milk with the tofu until very smooth. Whisk this into the pot and warm, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I mixed this with whole wheat penne (it was 5 cups dry) and lots of veggies. It was so good! Very creamy, and indistinguishable from a dairy version. Much lower fat too!

Also, today we said goodbye to a foster dog whom we've had for almost three weeks. On a whim, I offered to temporarily foster a blind senior cocker spaniel for a friend's rescue group. I am not a little dog person, and I'd never had a blind dog, and was starting to regret my offer until Fudge arrived. I was instantly smitten, and he was such a happy, wonderful addition to our household for the time he was here. He is such a sweet boy, and he really took everything in stride. Within 48 hours he knew the layout of our house, including the stairs, the couch, and the water bowls. He leaped onto furniture and leaped off, which amazed me, since he had no idea where the floor was. We both agreed that if we weren't planning an international move, we would've kept him (moving our own 4 pets is enough). I cried a lot when I dropped him off for transport today, but I know his forever family will love him so much. Safe travels, sweet Fudge.

Here's Fudge with Cal. He took his cues from Cal, and followed him everywhere.



Here he is today, thinking he was looking right at me:



And lunch:



Salad with organic redleaf lettuce, organic spinach, organic carrot, Campari tomato, and local alfalfa sprouts, organic applesauce, organic flame raisins, banana, and homemade chipotle cream penne with tofu and vegetables (organic corn, organic mushrooms, organic green bell pepper, and red onion).

Chip's lunch: February 17, 2011

For the past few days, I've been trying to plan our garden for the summer. I know what worked (tomatoes) what didn't (not a single strawberry grew), and what failed miserably (zucchini + squash bugs = disaster), and am hoping to bring some experience and effort this year to make our garden really awesome. All this thinking about veggies made me really want some summery produce! I picked up some watermelon, plus some beautiful lettuce and bell pepper. This looks like a really summery lunch, no? The weather has been teasing us lately (it's supposed to be 65* today, and not one week ago we were seeing 3* overnight), and I'm so ready for summer now!



Salad with organic Boston lettuce, organic corn, organic black beans, Campari tomato, organic red bell pepper, and organic avocado, homemade vegan peanut butter cookies (Tasha's recipe), raw almonds, dried cranberries, and watermelon.

Chip's lunch: February 11, 2011

When Chip is out of town, I find myself eating a lot of crap, whether that's frozen garlic bread or microwave dinners. I seem to have kicked the Cheet-os habit somehow, so there's that. Anyway, one of my favorites is Amy's Veggie Loaf. It's a nice whole meal, with protein, carbs, and veggies. I decided last night that I would try to make my own vegan loaf.

I found this recipe; it got so many great reviews that I figured, why not try it? It made a big mess, with all the chopping, mixing, food processing, sauteeing, and mashing. It turned out just OK. Chip really liked it, which is great, because, well, he eats a lot. It was a little bit sweet for me; it was missing a bit of something savory, I think. Overall though, it was pretty successful. Lots of veggies and protein in it, and it can be eaten alone or on a sandwich.



Homemade lentil loaf, organic peas and organic corn, pecans, dried cranberries, banana, and homemade organic mashed potatoes with vegan gravy.

Chip's lunch: February 4, 2011

I invented this pizza for dinner last night, and kept calling it "Mexican pizza"...until I looked up what Mexican pizza actually is. This isn't it. But it's modeled after the Southwestern Pizza from Whole World Natural Restaurant. I haven't actually been there, but since it's a vegetarian restaurant, and it's so close by, we are hoping to go soon. Chip and I have a deal that every time one of our fosters is adopted, we go out to dinner. So as soon as Hendrix is adopted (I picked him up last night), we'll be headed up the street to Whole World!

I made this crust with the usual recipe, with whole wheat flour. This was the third time I'd made it, and it turned out better than ever! I made a double recipe, and used half right away while freezing the other half for later. I cooked up some black beans with cumin, garlic, and chipotle, then mashed them and used them as the sauce. I topped Chip's half with local pepper jack cheese, and then added some organic corn, Campari tomato, and chopped organic yellow bell pepper. We topped it all off with salsa and avocado and YUM! We both enjoyed it, and are glad that we have plenty of leftovers for both of our lunches.



Homemade southwestern pizza with local pepper jack cheese, spiced organic black beans, organic corn, Campari tomato, and organic yellow bell pepper, banana, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic dark chocolate chips, avocado, Newman's Own salsa, and an organic Jonagold apple.

Chip's lunch: November 19, 2010

This is our last lunch before a long break. We will be in Maryland (and Virginia, and Pennsylvania twice) over Thanksgiving, and two days after we return, Chip will be embarking on another marathon business trip to California and the Canary Islands.



Homemade vegan chili, steamed organic brown rice with organic peas and organic corn, dried organic cranberries, organic Thompson raisins, banana, and a CSA Melrose apple.

Chip's lunch: November 17, 2010

It was really gross here on Tuesday: foggy, misty, rainy, icky, chilly. Chip and I both wanted some dinner that would keep us warm and fill us up. I surprised Chip with quesadillas...quesadillas that I attempted to make as healthy as possible. Whole wheat tortillas, reduced fat cheese, black beans, and veggies, plus plenty of salsa and avocado. It hit the spot perfectly, and fortunately, these quesadillas warm up pretty well, so in the lunch they went!



Quesadilla with whole wheat tortilla, reduced fat Cheddar Jack cheese, organic black beans, organic corn, green bell pepper from our garden, and Roma tomato from our garden, Newman's Own salsa, Navel orange, raw organic cashews, and a banana.

Chip's lunch: November 16, 2010

It was grocery day in our house, so I used up what was left of a few things while making lunch in a rush in the morning. Chip made the sandwich while I made everything else. Before I could stop him, he cut the sandwich "the wrong way." In order for things to fit in the lunchbox, they have to be just so. And he did it wrong. I overreacted for a second and then as I looked away, he cut the sandwich again and lined up the four little pieces in the lunchbox. It fit perfectly and I felt like an idiot for having been so concerned. Sometimes we (OK, I) kinda get set on how things should be in our heads, and it can be hard to consider that just maybe a different way could work!



Salad with organic redleaf lettuce, organic corn, organic carrot, Roma tomato from our garden, and green bell pepper from our garden, organic avocado for the salad, dried cherries, raw organic cashews, organic blackberry applesauce, and PB&J on organic whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter.

Chip's lunch: November 12, 2010

The night before I packed this lunch, I decided I was going to make cornbread from scratch. I love cornbread, and I'd never made it from scratch before. I bought my cornmeal and set to work finding recipes. Being a northerner, I never really realized that there are so many kinds of cornbread. We have the sweet kind (think Jiffy mix), and that's it. But in the South, they eat unsweetened cornbread, and in the Southwest, there are corn cakes, which are sweeter and often have vegetables in them (like corn kernels, hot peppers, etc). I finally found this recipe, and decided to lower its fat content and try it out. We both liked it a lot...it was sweet enough to be a treat, but not too sweet. I made four mini loaves and they were gone in just a few days.



Salad with organic redleaf lettuce, organic carrot, organic corn, and Roma tomato from our garden, banana, raw organic cashews, organic dark chocolate, dried organic cranberries, and homemade cornbread.

Chip's lunch: November 10, 2010

That's right...still using up the chili I made last time Chip was out of town. It's been so convenient for the nights I don't feel like cooking, and for a quick easy lunch. It also makes a neat treat for friends. Friend does me a favor, I give friend chili. Friend brings me food, I give friend lentil soup. Friend tells me I look pretty, I give friend chili AND lentil soup. And so on.



Homemade vegan chili, organic peas, organic corn, organic dried cranberries, organic dark chocolate, organic brown rice steamed with vegetable bouillon, and an organic Gala apple.

Chip's lunch: October 27, 2010

When Chip goes away on business trips (the most recent one was 12 days), I almost never cook, and I find it really difficult to eat healthfully. It's easy for me to munch on an apple or banana, but I never feel like cooking or eating vegetables. So once he got home, I was ready for some serious rabbit food. I was browsing Tasha's blog, and saw all her mouthwatering photos of salads. The woman eats a salad EVERY day for lunch! I was totally inspired, so I ran to the grocery store to get some lettuce. I threw in a few other veggies, and made it into sort of a Southwestern thing. I threw some BBQ Fritos on Chip's salad (for Tuesday's dinner), and he thought it was the best thing ever!



Salad with redleaf lettuce, CSA corn, organic black beans, organic avocado, and Roma tomato from our garden, pita chips, organic Thompson raisins, organic raw cashews, and organic blackberry applesauce.

Chip's lunch: October 26, 2010

So I'm no gardener, and I have no idea whether this is normal or not, but our Roma tomato plant gave us 20 tomatoes on Sunday. I gave a few to the neighbors, and I've been trying to throw tomatoes into everything we eat. So...pasta with tomatoes it is!



Organic whole wheat tri-color cavatappi with pesto and Roma tomato from our garden, baked breaded mushrooms, organic Thompson raisins, CSA corn and organic peas, and a CSA Northern Spy apple

Chip's lunch: October 6, 2010

These mushrooms have been sitting in the fridge for a while, being neglected and overlooked. A cool rainy fall day was the perfect time to roast them with some bell peppers and make Clean Eating Magazine's Chicken & Portobello Focaccia...minus the chicken. It's quick and easy, and we had the tomatoes and basil growing in the garden. I have to say that even though our garden wasn't a huge success, I've really enjoyed having it, and I hope next year's garden is even better.



Organic locally made whole wheat bun with roasted organic portobellos, CSA green peppers, and red peppers from Lori's garden, plus Roma tomato from our garden, basil from our garden, mozzarella, and organic pine nuts, CSA corn, organic dried cherries, organic chocolate chips, organic Sultana golden raisins, banana, and a CSA Melrose apple.

Chip's lunch: October 5, 2010

W got some blueberries in our CSA share this week, so I decided to make some blueberry pancakes. Except once I'd mixed up the batter, I took the blueberries out of the fridge and realized...they're grapes! They are so delicious too. But they're definitely not interchangeable with blueberries for pancake purposes. So I mixed in some cranberries instead. Chip was so excited to see these in his lunch until he realized the cranberries weren't chocolate chips. Apparently we don't know our foods too well! He enjoyed this lunch just the same, and especially liked the scrambled egg...no surprise there.



100% pure maple syrup, homemade oatmeal pancakes with cranberries, banana, Kashi granola bar, pastured eggs with CSA Swiss chard, CSA corn, organic mushrooms, and peppers from my friend Lori's garden, and a CSA Melrose apple.

Chip's lunch: September 21, 2010

Here's another meal that was born of having tons of CSA veggies on hand and trying to be creative with them. The rice took forever to cook, but the rest was really easy. Just threw the rice and veggies into the wok, added some other tasty stuff (garlic, onion, soy sauce, Sriracha), et voila! It was really tasty, and we both got leftovers for our lunches!



Fried rice with organic local brown rice, organic peas, farmers' market green beans, CSA bell pepper, and CSA corn, organic edamame with sea salt, organic Thompson raisins, organic dried cranberries, Navy bean pie, and a CSA red delicious apple.