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.
Our local co-op has had some really awesome avocados lately, and we've definitely been taking advantage. I've also been meaning to get some alfalfa sprouts, and finally picked some up on my last trip. These are produced right here in Columbus, and it's nice to be able to get *something* local at this time of year!
Sandwich on organic whole wheat bread with organic avocado, local alfalfa sprouts, Campari tomato, and organic redleaf lettuce, navel orange, organic flame raisins, homemade vegan peanut butter cookies, and homemade harira.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dinner tonight was so delicious, but so not photogenic! Part of it is that the sauce turns out sort of a grayish color, and part of it is that I used white satin carrots from our CSA that didn't add the usual orange carrot color. I used the usual recipe for "chicken" (aka baked tofu) a la king, and it was delicious, as always.
Also, we are trying out a new kind of orange. Chip is "meh" about oranges, but I told him he can't take them away from me! We've only got four fruits that he'll eat (apple, orange, banana, watermelon), and I refuse to cede oranges. I've read that Cara Cara Navels are delicious, as well as being a beautiful shade of red, and I hope that he enjoys this one.
"Chicken" a la king with CSA carrots, organic corn, organic peas, organic mushrooms, and organic tofu, organic steamed brown rice, organic Thompson raisins, organic dark chocolate, organic dried cranberries, banana, and a Cara Cara Navel orange.
Oh, breakfast for lunch. We've had a crazy past 36 hours, including a dog fight in our house, two trips to the emergency vet, and surgery and stitches for poor little Emmy. I didn't get to sleep on Wednesday night at all, so I woke up from a nap on Thursday at 10 p.m.(!!!) and threw this together. Breakfast for lunch is often quicker to throw together than lunch for lunch, and that was the idea here. While the omelet cooked, I made everything else, and all in all it only took about ten minutes. And then I went back to bed!
Organic Fuji apple, Navel orange, raw almonds, organic creamy wheat cereal with organic vanilla and a tiny sprinkle of brown sugar, and a pastured egg omelet with Cheddar and asparagus.
Something about this lunch keeps making me all warm and fuzzy when I look at it. I think it has something to do with the packaging of the Kashi bar...it looks so fun and healthy. I'm such a sucker for slick marketing...sometimes I completely disregard all common sense and that's how I end up with stuff like 100 Fruit Roll-ups from Costco. Chip doesn't eat Fruit Roll-ups. And I can't eat 100 of them! I've been giving them away to friends, slowly but surely.
I think it also makes me warm and fuzzy because it seems like a very kid-friendly lunch. Everything but the tofu, I think. Crackers and cheese, orange, applesauce, cereal bar...it's all stuff I ate as a little kid. It's very comforting, safe food. That's usually Chip's favorite kind of food!
Cashew tofu with organic carrots, local organic broccoli, and organic onion, organic brown rice made with organic vegetable broth, Ancient Grains crackers, local organic pepper jack cheese, Kashi apple cereal bar, organic Michigan applesauce, and an organic Valencia orange.
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.
I made this lunch wanting to fill it with love, support, and happiness for Chip. He's been having a rough week at work, and it's only going to get more stressful on Saturday, when he heads to California for three weeks. I hope the Teddy Grahams and Kool-Aid put a smile on his face and help him get through the day.
Homemade pad thai with organic tofu and broccoli, Navel orange, organic Thompson raisins, Kool-Aid singles packet, organic fair trade dark chocolate with almonds, organic cashews, raw almonds, Teddy Grahams, and an organic Gala apple.
I think I'm in a lunch rut again. I haven't been cooking so much for dinner, and I've been slacking on the grocery shopping, so making lunch hasn't been very fun. I need to get out and get some good food in the house again. The crappy weather has been deterring me, but now that it's sunny, I have no excuse!
Organic quinoa with organic carrot (with vegetable broth, cumin, garlic, and black pepper), Navel orange, fair trade organic dark chocolate, banana, and a salad with organic redleaf lettuce, organic spring mix, Campari tomato, organic peas, organic corn, and avocado.
I feel like I've been slacking on lunches lately. I didn't make one for Tuesday, and Monday's was thrown together really quickly in the morning. I took a few extra minutes to make this one, and Chip approves of it in advance. And as will many lunches in the near future, it includes spring mix. We've barely made a dent in that stuff since I bought it last week! I love Costco, but I guess it's not necessary for just two people.
In other news, I found this in a hanging fern on our front porch two Fridays ago. In the time since, the speckled egg died and two more blueish ones were laid. Tonight I discovered that one of the baby birds hatched! I can't wait to watch them grow up!
And lunch:
Organic quinoa with organic vegetable broth and organic garlic, whole wheat rollups with hummus, Cheddar, Campari tomato, and organic spring mix, fair trade organic dark chocolate with almonds, organic flame raisins, organic unsweetened applesauce, and a whole Navel orange.
I managed to pull off another springy, colorful, vegan lunch today! And I'm exhausted. I'm finally back into running, after eight weeks of nothing but terrible, painful, breathless, awful runs. I set out to run 5 today and did 7 because I felt so good! Time to go rest those legs.
Salad with organic spring mix, organic redleaf lettuce, organic carrot, Campari tomato, and organic peas, Gardein "Santa Fe Good Stuff"* (vegan chicken stuffed with black beans and corn with a roasted tomato sauce), Clif Z Bar, Navel orange, and an organic Braeburn apple.
*I wouldn't think this would be clean, but it's featured in this month's Clean Eating Magazine.
We adore mushrooms in this house. I love to order roasted Portobellos when we go out to restaurants, but for some reason I didn't think I could do them at home. Well...I went for it tonight, and I nailed it. These mushrooms were amazing, and the yellow peppers added a lot of flavor. Tonight for dinner I made Clean Eating Magazine's recipe for Chicken & Portobello Focaccia, but I subbed out the chicken in favor of strips of yellow pepper. It was incredible. I enjoyed every bite of that sandwich and was excited to make more for Chip's lunch tomorrow.
I put my own twist on the second sandwich (the one in this lunch) and I know Chip will love it. I roasted a Portobello cap and a quarter of a yellow pepper (both cut into strips) at 400* for 15 minutes (sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with spices and sea salt and pepper). So easy and so delicious and healthy.
Sandwich on local organic whole wheat bread with roasted organic Portobello and organic yellow pepper, Roma tomato, organic redleaf lettuce, and pesto, banana, Nature Valley granola bar, organic roasted and salted sunflower seeds, organic flame raisins, almonds, and a whole Navel orange.
My goal with this lunch was to perk Chip up. The tart orange might do the trick, and he loves anything involving noodles and tomato sauce. And he's a raisin-holic lately, so perhaps they will help too. Work has been crazy and the weather has been crap, and we're both kinda in a funk. I hope this lunch puts a smile on his face. I'm more of an emotional eater than he is, but I definitely think that a healthy, well-balanced meal can put someone in a better mood.
Navel orange, organic edamame with sea salt, organic Thompson raisins, organic local applesauce, and organic whole wheat tri-color noodles with tomato basil sauce and asparagus.
So close! After I packed this lunch I realized it was almost vegan. If I went back and took out that slice of cheese, it would be the third vegan lunch in a row. Shoot!
Oh well. This one has a brownie in it, which I hope makes up for the non-veganness. It's made from a gluten free and vegan mix sent to me by one of my bff's from California. She's a celiac and has helped me understand this condition a lot more. While you'll never find me anywhere near tapioca bread or rice pasta, I do think these brownies are tasty. They've very crumbly, but the flavor is awesome.
Whole Navel orange, organic edamame with sea salt, organic Thompson flame raisins, organic raw almonds, gluten free and vegan brownie, and a sandwich on local whole wheat bread with hummus, organic salsa, organic redleaf lettuce, organic carrot, red onion, and local American cheese.
So...I fell asleep last night before I could pack Chip's lunch. I woke up this morning and as I was coming downstairs, telling Chip about a crazy dream I had, I realized he was frantically packing a lunch for himself. I felt terrible! So I put some extra time into this one (the sandwich part) and hope it's super tasty. It's definitely healthy! And caprese is one of his favorite things ever. So I think I earned some brownie points (caprese points?) with this one.
Sandwich on organic locally made whole wheat bread with hummus, organic baby spinach, organic redleaf lettuce, organic carrot, organic salsa, and Cheddar, Caprese with campari tomato and local mozzarella, organic dark chocolate, organic cashews, organic almonds, homemade clean oatmeal cookies, and a whole Navel orange.
Although it seems like winter may finally be on its way out, we've been enjoying some hot wintry soups for the past two weeks. Last night I made lentil soup (same recipe as always), and added a cup of chopped organic carrot and about a half cup of chopped celery. I like to load this soup up with veggies, because they add nutrients that we can hardly even taste.
The creator of the recipe for this soup notes that it is really inexpensive per serving. I estimate that even with all organic ingredients (including the spices!), this costs about $.50 per serving (assuming 8 servings). We buy things like lentils and spices in bulk from the local co-op, so we don't end up paying for things like packaging and marketing.
Whole Navel orange, organic banana, pretzel snaps, organic flame raisins, organic sprouted almonds, organic roasted and salted sunflower seeds, organic dark chocolate, and homemade organic lentil soup.
Another lunch of leftovers from a clean dinner...it was delicious! I made broiled veggies and tofu with lemon pepper marinade. The recipe called for salmon, so I used tofu instead. Once everything was in the oven, I reduced the leftover marinade (you can do that when you're not cooking meat) with a little bit of butter and added a touch of garlic. Chip LOVED it! I was OK with it. Turns out he's easier to please than I thought.
I asked Chip yesterday if he would eat nuts and dried fruit if I purchased them. He swore he would, so I've decided to hold him to his word. I went to the co-op up the street and bought some organic dried apricots, organic flame raisins, organic raw almonds, and organic dry roasted and salted sunflower seeds. I threw a few of those together to make trail mix for Chip's lunch. I hope he likes it...and that he actually eats it!
Broiled organic tofu and white mushrooms, white onion, and organic zucchini with lemon pepper sauce, brown rice with onion and vegetable broth, homemade trail mix, and a whole Navel orange.
