My lunch: June 22, 2011

The farmers' market has been so good to us this summer! While our garden has gotten huge without producing any fruit, the farmers' market is always full of tasty local treats, like this cucumber, the pepper jack cheese, and the raspberries in the scone. In attempting a garden for the second year in a row (and seeming to fail again...but we'll see about that in time), I have such an appreciation for the farmers at our market. I guess next year I will either need to commit and spend some time learning to garden (and actually gardening), or skip it altogether.



Organic Gala apple, CSA cucumber, fruit leather, homemade raspberry scone with lemon icing, local pepper Jack cheese, and whole grain crackers.

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.

My lunch: April 10, 2010

Today my friend Lori and I drove 3 pups from Columbus to Mansfield, OH. This was one leg of a long transport from somewhere in Tennessee to Ontario to a cattle dog rescue. All three dogs were adorable, but one of them (Whiskey) really stole my heart. She was a little bit shy at first, but all she wanted was attention and love. She snuggled with me in the car and was such a little love. And she has pointy ears like my Cal. I hope she gets the best home in the world, because she totally deserves it.

Here she is in the back of the car:


And when I tried to pose for a picture with her, she did this instead:


I packed some snacks for the drive, since I'm always hungry. In the interest of full disclosure, we didn't eat all of this on the drive. We were delayed an hour, and while we waited, we went into a restaurant and ate grilled cheese. I know. So not clean or healthy. But it was so delicious. Chip finished off the rest of the snacks when I got home.



Whole wheat rollups with organic avocado, local cheddar jack cheese, salsa, and organic redleaf lettuce, organic Braeburn apple, natural Fruit Roll-Ups, organic baby carrots, and whole wheat rollups with natural peanut butter and jelly.

Sarah's lunch: April 2, 2010

You read that right. When I have guests in town, I make them eat food out of tiny little boxes. My friend from college, Sarah, is here in Columbus, and she is ridiculously enthusiastic about my lunches. So I bought her a Laptop Lunch set, and I made her first lunch! Something is telling me that the experience of eating it will be better than the food...she's beside herself with excitement.

It was really fun to pack lunch for someone besides Chip or myself, and I hope I get to do it again soon. Sarah, I hope your first Laptop Lunch is everything you want it to be. I feel like it would only be better if Mariah Carey were in one of the containers.



Organic tri-color whole wheat rotini with pesto, Parm, and crushed red pepper, white bean and spinach soup, natural Fruit Roll-Up, homemade brownie, hummus, and blanched vegetables (red pepper and asparagus) with sea salt and cracked black pepper.

My lunch: March 27, 2010

Another weekend full of greyhound events = another lunch on the run for Katie. Once again, packing this lunch saved me from stopping and stuffing my face at a restaurant nearby the greyhound event (this time, my restaurant of choice would've been Red Robin...so glad I didn't actually go). I like to make my lunches with as many finger foods as possible. I usually have a dog leash in one hand, so I only have one hand left with which to grab food.

As always, it has a peanut butter sandwich. It's just so easy and tasty! This time there are grapes though. I absolutely love green grapes, but I don't buy them often. Chip refuses to touch them (they feel like "eyeballs" and they taste too "tangy"), so when I do buy them, I have to make sure I'm prepared to eat all of them. So they're a special treat that I buy once every few months or so.

Oh, and the cookie crumbles...that's us trying to make the best of a pretty huge baking failure on my part. I made a double batch of clean oatmeal cookies, and even though I sprayed the pans with Pam, every single cookie got stuck. So I have a big container of oatmeal cookie crumbs that we've been munching on, and since it's kinda like granola, Chip mixed it in with some nuts.

And the Fruit Roll-Up...I got a big box of them at Costco and they're really tasty! They're not quite as simple as Stretch Island fruit leathers, but they're much cheaper, and fairly clean. They're a nice sweet treat.

Finally, in other news, Kendrick met a couple this weekend who fell in love with him. Their home visit went well today, and he'll be going to stay with them this Friday. He'll be an only dog, and we're not sure how well he'll do with that, but we're hopeful that this is a successful and forever placement. They are wonderful people, and they really like him. He's been returned to the rescue once for separation anxiety, and we're hoping this doesn't become a trend for him. Cross your fingers!

Here he is "roaching." He seems to be too big to hold this pose too long, but it's adorable when he does!



And of course, here's lunch:



Natural peanut butter on sprouted grain bread, organic macadamias, organic raw almonds, homemade oatmeal cookie crumbles, Fruit Roll-Up simply fruit, organic baby carrots, and green seedless grapes.

My lunch: March 13, 2010

OK, I realize this is a bit boring, since it's not terribly inventive, and since it's pretty much what I pack myself any time I have weekend plans out of the house. Oh well. I think its colorful and fun and healthy, and makes 99 lunches on this blog. Wednesday's lunch will be number 100. What will I do to commemorate it?

Oh, and in other news...I am completely in love with Cameo apples. They can be found at the co-op down the street; the organic ones are only $1.49 a pound! I'm not sure what apples cost elsewhere in the country, but traditional apples at the grocery store here run about $1.50 or more per pound. So these are organic and a great price! They look and taste a lot like Gala, but perhaps just a touch mealier. We've been going through 3 or more a day in our house.



Organic Cameo apple, organic baby carrots, cranberry/raspberry fruit strip, more apple, organic almonds, organic macadamias, and a sandwich with natural peanut butter on sprouted grain bread.

Chip's lunch: January 27, 2010

This lunch was tough to put together. We went to CostCo this Sunday instead of the grocery store, so we didn't have all of the usual stuff around. We don't have many vegetables around, and this apple is the last of our fruit. So it's off to the grocery store for me today, and off to work with a creative lunch for Chip!



Flatout wrap: 1/2 with PB&J and 1/2 with lettuce, black beans, cheddar, salsa, and mushrooms, organic granola with chocolate chips, Trader Joe's organic apple raspberry fruit strip, saffron rice, and a Gala apple