Chip's lunch: May 26, 2011

Every week, yahoo! publishes a list of seven dinner recipes. I browse through them sometimes, even though the vegetarian recipes are few and far between. I saw this one, and was shocked that it didn't include chicken. I adapted in a little to fit our needs (skipped the prosciutto, used vegan "heavy cream" instead of dairy heavy cream, used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock), and it turned out great. Satisfyingly creamy, with tons of protein and even some veggies. I froze some of the leftovers, and it is great reheated.



Organic whole wheat rotini with organic mushrooms, organic mushrooms, and vegan white wine cream sauce, banana, pita chips, raw vegan taco dip, and an organic Gala apple.

Chip's lunch: April 20, 2011

Last night I was leafing through Terry Walters' cookbook, Clean Start, to get some inspiration. I've felt really blah about cooking lately, and needed something to get my butt back in the kitchen. I leafed through the Spring section of the book (it's divided into seasons, as it focuses on eating seasonally), and found a delicious-looking recipe for split pea soup. I've never really had split pea soup, though it is traditionally part of Slovak Christmas Eve dinner. I decided to give it a shot, and wow! I thought it would taste or feel like it was lacking something, like salty smoky ham, or some kind of creaminess, but this stuff was amazing. Low fat, high in protein, full of veggies (onion, celery, and I added 2 cups of chopped carrots), and delicious. And plenty of leftovers for the freezer.

We ate our soup with some homemade bread. I finally got a stand mixer, and have been trying to take full advantage of it. I made bread for the first time ever, from a really basic recipe, and it turned out surprisingly well! I used 5 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup of ground flax seed. Chip has been enjoying it with PB&J, and it also went really well with this soup.



Homemade split pea soup, homemade whole wheat flax seed bread, organic dark chocolate chips, almonds, banana, and an organic Fuji apple.

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 10, 2011

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.

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 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 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: 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 20, 2010

This lunch was a rush job this morning. Since we had some CSA veggies to use up, I decided to invent some quinoa with vegetables. While that was cooking, I threw together everything else. The rollups were the last part. I considered adding another fruit, but I'm trying to watch the sugar in these lunches. I had bought these Field Roast Wild Mushroom Deli Slices the other day, and figured some rollups were another good way to use that up, as well as some more CSA veggies. I didn't realize it until now, but this lunch is vegan too! I love when that happens.



Organic quinoa with organic peas and CSA corn, homemade vegan pumpkin bread, organic Thompson raisins, organic dark chocolate, organic dried cranberries, whole wheat rollups with Field Roast, CSA kale, organic mushrooms, and Roma tomato from our garden, and a September Wonder apple from the farmers' market.

Chip's lunch: September 8, 2010

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.

Chip's lunch: July 30, 2010

I pulled off this lunch with the last of the veggies in the house (minus some spinach). Seems like our CSA and our farmers' market finds were just perfect for this week. This chocolate (Newman's Own organic) was on sale at Kroger this week, and I couldn't pass it up. Fortunately, it's Chip's new favorite thing, and a square here and there makes him so happy!

We have a busy weekend planned with greyhound events, house stuff, and...the Ohio State Fair! The only state fair I've ever experienced was in Maryland, and it was about ten years ago. I'm interested to see how the Midwest does it up. As my friend Lori told me today, "the Ohio State Fair...where they'll dip anything in batter and fry it." She says they do battered and fried funnel cake. Funnel cake. Which is batter that has been fried. They batter it and fry it more?! The only thing worse might be deep fried butter, which, apparently, is actually a thing that someone invented.



Vegan hot dog with Cheddar on whole wheat roll, steamed broccoli, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic dried cranberries, organic dark chocolate, organic applesauce, and organic peas and corn with margarine and spices.

Chip's lunch: July 27, 2010

We've been having dinners with no leftovers lately, which means that lunches have required some extra work. This one feels a little uninspired, but Chip was pretty excited about the rice. It's modified from a recipe my mom used to make growing up, called Browned Rice in Bouillon. It's pretty easy: saute some garlic and chopped onion in olive oil for a few minutes, then add rice and saute for five minutes. Add broth, cover, and simmer until done. It's a really basic recipe, but with some peas added in, it's got plenty of protein, veggies, and flavor.



Organic brown rice with CSA onion, organic garlic, organic vegetable broth, and organic peas, organic edamame with sea salt, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic applesauce with organic vanilla, and grilled sesame asparagus.

Chip's lunch: June 23, 2010

I am so glad I decided to subscribe to Clean Eating Magazine. There are lots of great ideas in it, and though they're not all vegetarian, they can often be tweaked. This recipe was full of flavor, and even Chip liked it! He's not too big on carrots (though he has come a LONG way from his days of removing even a molecule of carrot from his foods) and he hates vinegar, but the asparagus primavera got great reviews from him.




Whole wheat rollups with Boca black bean burger, organic spinach, CSA lettuce, organic red pepper, salsa, and local Cheddar jack cheese, pretzels, natural peanut butter, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic fair trade milk chocolate with hazelnuts, asparagus primavera with organic quinoa (asparagus, organic corn, CSA peas, organic carrot), and watermelon.

Chip's lunch: June 14, 2010

Week one of our CSA was a success! We picked up our share on Saturday morning. We got: lettuce, peas, chard, fresh sage, and massive amounts of strawberries. Shelling peas by hand (which I'd never done before Saturday) really makes you appreciate every last pea when you're cooking! We're enjoying everything so far, and a few things have made their way into this lunch. Too bad Chip will never eat a strawberry...we've got plenty of them!



Organic Fuji apple, whole wheat wraps with hummus, local Cheddar/jack cheese, CSA lettuce, organic red pepper, and cucumber, Kashi trail mix chewy granola bar, CSA peas with local butter, sea salt, and pepper, local honey, and Gardein 7-Grain Crispy Tenders.

Chip's lunch: June 10, 2010

This lunch features leftovers from tonight's dinner. I got this month's Clean Eating Magazine last week, and finally cracked it open yesterday. There are several vegetarian recipes that look tasty, and a few more that can be vegetarianized. I decided to make the Ginger Tofu Stir-fry Rice Bowl, and it turned out way better than I expected! We both loved the delicate flavor and the spices with the tofu.

Some of the veggies we used came from Nature's Garden Delivered. This is a pretty neat service. They call themselves an online farmers' market. You sign up to have produce delivered weekly or bi-weekly, and a few days before the delivery, you get a list of what will be in your box. This week we got 5 potatoes, 2 bunches of lettuce, 3 limes, 4 huge apples, 5 carrots, 4 bananas, 1 cucumber, 1 tomato, and 2 Valencia oranges (everything is organic). They do their best to source local produce, and everything that's not local is organic. It was really convenient to do everything online, and this morning when we woke up, our box was on our front porch. We got a coupon to try this out once, and while we enjoyed it, we won't do it again since we already signed up for a CSA (and we get our first box of that on Saturday). But for those who don't have time to go to farmers' markets or shop around, I think this is a great service.

Here's the recipe for the stir-fry (Clean Eating Magazine, July/August 2010, page 69):
-1 1/2 cups brown rice
-4 tbsp whole wheat flour
-1 1/2 tsp onion powder
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
-2 tsp ginger powder, divided
-14 oz. extra firm tofu, cubed
-Olive oil cooking spray
-1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
-1 carrot, peeled and julienned
-1 stalk celery, chopped (I subbed in asparagus)
-1 yellow onion, diced (I cut it in 1" squares instead of dicing)
-6 ounces snow peas (I used regular frozen peas and corn)
-2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
-1 tbsp rice vinegar

1. Cook brown rice according to package directions.
2. In a shallow bowl, stir together second through fourth ingredients, plus 1 tsp of ginger powder. Dredge each tofu cube in this mixture and set aside.
3. Briefly heat large nonstick skillet (I used a wok) over high heat. Mist with cooking spray and heat for one minute. Reduce heat to medium high and saute tofu until lightly browned. Remove tofu and set aside.
4. Mist same pan with cooking spray, saute veggies until cooked.
5. In another bowl, whisk together 1 tsp ginger powder, soy sauce, and vinegar. Reduce heat of skillet with veggies to medium low and pour soy sauce mixture on top of vegetables. Add tofu and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve 1 cup vegetable-tofu mixture over 1/2 cup rice in individual bowls.



Ginger tofu stir-fry (with organic tofu, organic red pepper, organic carrot, organic onion, local asparagus, organic corn, and organic peas), steamed organic brown rice, half of a PB&J on local whole wheat bread, Kashi peanut butter chewy granola bar, organic banana, and an organic Fuji apple.

Chip's lunch: June 2, 2010

So remember back in the day, when I said that Chip and I would pay a lot of money for vegetarian chicken tenders that taste like Burger King's? We've found them. And they're available at Costco, so we don't even have to pay a lot of money. We're on our second huge bag of these Gardein 7-Grain Crispy Tenders and are loving them. They're low in fat, high in protein, and super convenient.

Also, I'd like to draw your attention to the salad below. You can't see it at all, but I promise it's there: lettuce that I grew in our backyard! On a whim a few weeks ago, I bought a little tray of tiny Bibb lettuce sprouts. This lettuce has grown out of control to the point that I've even given some away to friends. It was totally a worthwhile investment (just $2)! I just planted some more seeds so we can have more lettuce later in the summer. Yum!

Sometime soon I'll have to post about our garden. This is my first year having a garden and I'm determined to do it right. We are attempting to grow: watermelon, strawberries, green beans, Bibb lettuce, some other kind of lettuce (I don't know what kind it is, but it looks delicious), Roma tomatoes, and basil. Everything is in pots at the moment, and we're hoping that this weekend is when we'll finally get our raised beds built.



Gardein 7-Grain Crispy Tenders, local Ohio honey, organic Michigan applesauce, organic fair trade milk chocolate, organic Sultana golden raisins, steamed broccoli with local butter and sea salt, and a salad with organic redleaf lettuce, organic homegrown Bibb lettuce, Campari tomato, organic peas, and organic corn. I included a little cup of hummus separately as salad dressing.

Chip's lunch: April 28, 2010

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.

Chip's lunch: April 15, 2010

Chip and I went out to dinner last night and got back late. Neither of us felt like making lunch, so we decided to just do it together to make it faster. Looking back, all Chip really did was stir the gnocchi. It's a start.



Trader Joe's gnocchi with organic peas (I added the peas), steamed organic broccoli, Clif Z Bar, trail mix (organic flame raisins, organic cashews, organic sunflower seeds, almonds), and an organic Gala apple.

Chip's lunch: April 14, 2010

Something tells me I'm going to get an earful about this lunch. I think everything will be acceptable to Chip except the peas and corn. I made them his favorite way (with butter and Season All), but I think he'll eat this lunch and still be hungry, while also being mad that he had to eat peas and corn.

I wrote him a nice lovey note that I included with the lunch, and maybe that will distract him...I hope!



Sandwich on local whole wheat bread with avocado (there's a full half of a large avocado there, but it's kinda hidden by the lettuce), Campari tomato, Cheddar, red onion, and organic redleaf lettuce, organic Michigan applesauce, Clif Z Bar, banana, and peas and corn steamed with butter and spices.

Chip's lunch: April 13, 2010

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.