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.

My lunch: July 5, 2011

Someone at work the other day had a turkey and avocado sandwich and I got really jealous. It's just not the same for vegetarians! I got some Tofurkey veggie lunchmeat and made some wraps, and they turned out pretty well. I got some beautiful lettuce from our garden; I bought the Revolution lettuce seedlings at the farmers' market, and they grew really well! It's a nice dark red color, and aside from looking pretty, it tastes fantastic!



Whole wheat rollups with vegan smoked turkey, avocado, Campari tomato, Revolution lettuce from our garden, and organic tahini, organic vanilla soy yogurt with CSA blueberries, raw almonds, raspberries from the farmers' market, and and organic D'Anjou pear.

My lunch: June 27, 2011

I know I've mentioned Fudha here before, but I have to call them out again: I love that they're all about local businesses, and while they've recently merged with another company called Faveroo, that just means that we get even more local deals.

A few months ago, I bought a huge ($50) Fudha for Wellness Forum Foods. I'd gotten their prepared foods at the Clintonville Community Market, and was excited to try some new vegan stuff. I sent Chip over and he asked the chef (who also just happens to live 2 blocks from us) to just use up the whole certificate with whatever he had on hand that was tasty. We got lots of stuff, including a tempeh sandwich, Mexican split pea soup, oven fried tofu (SO delicious!), and these spicy Thai peanut noodles. They have a spicy, gingery sauce that I just love. They can be eaten warm or cold: cold is nice and refreshing in the summer.



Spicy Thai peanut noodles, organic vanilla soy yogurt with CSA blueberries, raw almonds, organic D'Anjou pear, and organic strawberries.

My lunch: June 14, 2011

My lunch was similar to Chip's, but I got to pack a few things that would just be wasted in a Chip lunch. One is yogurt. I really love soy yogurt. I don't know why, especially since I'm not a fan of dairy yogurt, but soy yogurt is just such a nice, easy, tasty, quick snack. I love it! And I had a beautiful nectarine. Chip has a very short list of acceptable fruits, and some of my faves don't make the cut: kiwi, nectarines, peaches, pears, cherries (fresh ones), raspberries, strawberries, etc. I'm happy to mix things up here with this beautiful white nectarine!



Homemade Margherita pizza with whole wheat crust, Campari tomatoes, and buffalo milk mozzarella, raspberry soy yogurt, white nectarine, and a salad with organic local red leaf lettuce, organic local salad mix, organic carrots, organic mushrooms, Campari tomatoes, and a local pastured egg.

My lunch: April 21, 2011

On this day, I went on a road trip to Wheeling, West Virginia, with the president of our greyhound rescue group to get three retired racers from the adoption kennel. In brief, once dogs retire from racing, they are either euthanized or if a rescue group has space, they are "petted out." Most racetracks have adoption kennels on their premises, where volunteers care for the dogs until they are either adopted locally, or sent to rescue groups in other areas. The adoption kennel at Wheeling has about 40 dogs at a time (which is small compared to others: Daytona's kennel can have over 200 dogs at a time), and there are always more waiting to come in.This time we picked up Cry Dorthy, Starz Cry Bambam, and WW North Pole. While there, we picked out dogs for our next road trip in May. Those dogs are being vetted (spayed/neutered, dentals, etc), and we'll pick them up in a few weeks. The president of the rescue chose Braska Caleb, and when she saw how in love I was with this big black boy, she let me choose Darcass the Night. We will return in early May to get those boys and one more, and bring them to Ohio to be adopted. I can't wait!



Veggie Booty, organic baby carrots, raw almonds, pecans, organic raspberry soy yogurt, and a sandwich on local 10-grain bread with natural peanut butter and banana.

My lunch: July 13, 2010

I was really excited to make lunch for myself. Not so I could eat it (though it does look tasty), but so I could get some new stuff on the old blog. You know...yogurt, blueberries, carrots, etc. We got a great haul from the CSA this weekend, and I am glad I was able to use some things in my lunch here.

I don't think we'll be packing lunches while we're home in Maryland, so this will be it for this week. Catch you next Monday!



Organic raspberry soy yogurt with wheat germ and CSA blueberries, CSA carrots (white and orange!!), Kashi strawberry cereal bar, Yummy Earth organic lollipop, organic crispy almonds, organic raw cashews, organic Sultana golden raisins, and natural peanut butter on local organic whole wheat bread.

My lunch: July 7, 2009

I remember this lunch well also: I ate it in the library at school while doing some online shopping for Chip's upcoming birthday. I was embarrassed because I took a bite of that chocolate yogurt and made a face...it tasted absolutely terrible. I ate the raspberries but just couldn't bring myself to eat that yogurt. The rest was tasty though; lots of fresh fruits and veggies make a nice summery lunch!



Chocolate soy yogurt (I can't remember now which brand), organic raspberries, white corn organic tortilla strips, apple (under the grapes), grapes, hummus with chili powder, and broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower.

Someone asked how much my lunches cost, and I estimate this one at just about $3. The yogurt was about $1.25. The raspberries were about $.50, the chips about $.20, the apple $.30, the grapes maybe $.20, the hummus less than $.25, and the mixed veggies about $.40.