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.

My lunch: June 13, 2011

A lunch for Katie? On a weekday? What is this? Oh yes, it's the other big news I mentioned in my last post. And that news is (sorry for those of you who were hoping for a pregnancy or something more exciting than this): I GOT A JOB! I don't need to go into detail here, but let's just say that it's been brutal, it's been a very long search, it's been emotional, and it's been very, very difficult. I am so excited to begin this job, and can't believe it's finally happened. I've been doing some shopping for work clothes (my last job had an extremely casual dress code), I got myself a lunch box, and I've been making plans like crazy. I'm almost as excited to eat this lunch as I am about the job :)



Homemade fried rice with organic local broccoli and organic tofu, red pear, grape fruit leather, raw almonds, homemade vegan coffee cake, and a salad with organic local redleaf lettuce, organic local salad mix, organic mushrooms, organic carrot, and Campari tomato.

Chip's lunch: June 13, 2011

Sometimes, I think my lunches are really pretty. This is one of those times. It's so colorful, and the picture turned out great (I have a crappy regular camera, and approximately zero photography skills). It looks tasty and healthy, and when Chip sneaked a peek, he was excited to get to eat it.

We have a few pieces of non-lunch-related news here. The more fun news is that our foster cat, Naomi, finally gave birth this weekend. She saw a vet in mid-May who estimated she was due June 1. When June 10 rolled around, we took her to a vet, who did an X-ray. The vet told us that she saw the most kittens she'd ever seen on an X-ray: 9 to 11. Average litter size is 5! We were shocked, and very upset, but hopeful that things would turn out OK. Naomi began labor this Saturday morning, and as of now, we have 7 kittens and she seems to be done. Whew! We are so glad the vet was mistaken, and all the little ones are healthy and strong. There's one calico, three orange and whites, and three torbies.

Here is one of the torbies, nursing herself into a milk coma:



Here's Naomi with all 7:



Check out my next entry for our other big news!



Homemade fried rice with local organic broccoli and organic tofu, homemade vegan coffee cake, raw almonds, dried cherries, organic Gala apple, and a salad with organic local redleaf lettuce, organic local salad mix, organic mushrooms, organic carrot, and Campari tomato.

Chip's lunch: May 5, 2011

I have been on a Mandarin orange kick lately, and thought I'd have Chip give them one more shot. And...they came back home with him after work. I don't get what's not to like! They're sweet, a little sour, bite-sized, and mild. I love them. Chip is just not a fan, and I guess it's time to accept it.

He did, however, enjoy the vegan Snickerdoodles I packed. I've been making lots of sweets, and while I'm not sure what's prompting it, Chip sure isn't complaining. I used this recipe, and while I followed it exactly, it didn't turn out quite like I'd hoped. They were tasty, but they were a tad on the salty side, and did have that floury, chewy texture like my mom's Snickerdoodles. I mean, it's not like we didn't eat them; they're long gone now :)



Homemade fried rice with organic broccoli and organic tofu, homemade vegan Snickerdoodles, pecans, dried cranberries, Mandarin oranges, and an organic Gala apple.

Chip's lunch: February 18, 2011

It's fried rice day again! I confess that I always make it same way: Trader Joe's fried rice with sauteed tofu and steamed broccoli. We were running low on broccoli, so I *gasp* threw in some green beans! Don't worry; it tasted just fine. We're still very much enjoying our Twin Oaks tofu, and are so glad it's available in Ohio now.



Homemade fried rice with organic tofu, broccoli, and green beans, homemade vegan peanut butter cookies, pecans, watermelon, and an organic Jonagold apple.

Chip's lunch: February 3, 2011

Oh, fried rice, how we love you. Fried rice has turned into a once a week thing in our house. Fortunately, it seems that neither of us will ever tire of it, and it's a super easy and complete meal, with plenty of vegan protein, carbs, and veggies.

I forgot to mention yesterday the recipe I used for the blondies. I'd never made blondies before, let alone vegan ones, so I was a bit nervous. This recipe turned out pretty well, and I think I'll try it again in the future. I'll probably make regular cookies instead of blondies though; I don't have any idea how to modify cooking time for blondies vs. cookies, so I was checking these every five minutes for almost an hour, trying to figure out if they were done or not!



Homemade fried rice with broccoli and organic tofu, homemade vegan blondies, pecans, and a banana.

Chip's lunch: January 25, 2011

While I was home in Maryland, I grabbed lunch with a friend at an awesome vegan restaurant, Great Sage. Afterward, we walked over to Roots for a little bit of shopping. I picked up some Twin Oaks tofu upon a very enthusiastic recommendation from my friend. She was right: it's great! It's organic, non-GMO, very firm (hardly any water to press out), and made by a co-op in Virginia (so it's local to the grocery store where I bought it). I love this stuff and wish it were available here in Ohio. I used it in yesterday's soup, and in this fried rice.

The potatoes are left over from the previous night's dinner. I made breakfast for dinner and made up these "country potatoes." Just organic potato, chopped organic onion, a few spices, and some margarine in a saute pan. Yum!



Organic Honeycrisp apple, homemade country potatoes, organic Sultana golden raisins, banana, and homemade fried rice with broccoli and organic tofu.

Chip's lunch: November 11, 2010

Oh, how we love Trader Joe's vegetable fried rice. It's become a once-a-week staple in our house. It's so easy and so inexpensive (dinner for both of us, plus lunch for both of us the next day is about $6 for the rice, tofu, and broccoli).

We bought these cherries at Costco. They're Montmorency dried cherries. The bag had all sorts of claims on it, including that these cherries have the highest antioxidant content of any fruit. Being all kinds of skeptical, I did a bit more research on this, and found that these cherries do have remarkable levels of anthocyanins, which are antioxidants that can help reduce inflammation and pain. In fact, cyanidin (found in sour cherries) was more effective than aspirin at controlling inflammation. You can read more here.

While I don't usually choose foods for homeopathic purposes, it's neat to know more about what we put in our bodies each day. Chip has really come to love his dried fruit, and this makes me even happier to pack it for him!



Homemade fried rice with organic tofu and organic broccoli, banana, dried cherries, Kashi wheat crackers, natural peanut butter, and an organic Gala 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.

Chip's lunch: September 10, 2010

Mmmm...restaurant leftovers! We haven't had those in a really long time! My wonderful friend Lori took me out to lunch at Kogen's yesterday, and I had plenty of sesame tofu left over for Chip to have it in his lunch. And look! No banana! I'm sure they'll be back next week though. This is partly because, well, it's Chip, and bananas are what he eats, as well as the fact that there are no fewer than eleven bananas in our fruit bowl right now.



CSA watermelon, 1/2 sandwich on local organic 10-grain bread with guacamole, organic spinach, Roma tomatoes from our garden, and CSA red pepper, organic dark chocolate, organic Thompson raisins, organic macadamias, organic applesauce, and leftover sesame tofu with broccoli, water chestnuts, and fried rice.

Chip's lunch: August 25, 2010

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).

Chip's lunch: July 22, 2010

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.

Chip's lunch: June 8, 2010

Some tasty dinner leftovers and a very special treat in this lunch. I made my usual fried rice last night, but this time I made it with Gardein Beefless Tips instead of tofu. Chip really loved it; I thought it was pretty good. We love the "chicken" Gardein products and thought we'd try the "beef." The texture wasn't quite right (too soft), but it tasted pretty good (as good as any fake steak we've tried so far).



Homemade fried rice with organic broccoli and Gardein beefless tips, 1/2 of a PB&J with natural peanut butter on local whole wheat bread, organic Sultana golden raisins, Double Stuf Oreos, Navel orange, and an organic Gala apple.

Chip's lunch: April 16, 2010

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's lunch: April 1, 2010

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.

Chip's lunch: February 3, 2010

Yum! Tons of protein is packed into this lunch: in the tofu, edamame, and peanut butter. Chip's been lifting and working out several times a week, and I'm going to have to adjust his lunches accordingly. I'm really proud of him for taking care of himself, especially since I know that doing cardio at the gym just really isn't his cup of tea. I can't wait for it to be warm out so we can go for bike rides together outdoors.

Note that the tofu and edamame are both organic. I try to make sure that all of the soy we eat is non-GMO. I do my best not to go too insane thinking about what we're eating and where it comes from, and I also try not to buy into conspiracy theories. But GMO soy is icky for a lot of reasons (biodiversity, control of the food supply, lack of reputable studies regarding the effects of the consumption of genetically modified organisms, etc), so I like to avoid it if I can.



Fried rice with organic tofu and broccoli, whole wheat peanut butter and grape jelly rollups, Quaker granola bar, organic edamame, and a whole Gala apple.

Chip's lunch: September 29, 2009

OK, so I just realized that this is identical to the lunch I made Chip on September 23. I think that's the first time I've ever done this! Chip didn't notice; the fried rice is one of his all-time favorites, so I'm sure he was glad to be getting lots of it.



Homemade fried rice with tofu and broccoli, farmers' market September Wonder apple, Quaker reduced sugar granola bar, and Trader Joe's vegetable gyozas.

Chip's Lunch: September 23, 2009

Another very easy lunch consisting of leftovers and pre-made stuff from Trader Joe's.



Homemade fried rice with tofu and broccoli, farmers' market September Wonder apple, Quaker reduced sugar granola bar, and Trader Joe's vegetable gyoza.

Chip's lunch: August 27, 2009

Another colorful lunch! I must be getting better at this whole "well-rounded lunch" thing.



Homemade fried rice with tofu and broccoli, farmers' market Gala apple with peanut butter, Quaker reduced sugar granola bar, and local seedless watermelon.