A Week of Eats--September 23

I didn't have much time to cook last week, which worked out fine in the end since I was still finishing some leftovers at the beginning of the week and went out to celebrate my birthday at the end.

Clockwise from top L:

• Oatmeal with bananas, yogurt, peanut butter and granola.  I have made two rather unfortunate bowls of oatmeal recently; I think I need to experiment with longer cooking times and less liquids.
• I feasted on these birthday flowers from Keizo with my eyes and nose!  They look even better now that they have bloomed more fully.
• Spiced lentil soup, the one meal I managed to throw together for the week.
• Egg breakfast sandwich on naan with a plum on the side.
• Recovery food. I had a headache most of the day on Friday, but wouldn't dream of missing my birthday celebration that evening.  I went and had a great time...and then could hardly stand up (or sit down) on Saturday with a case of the chills, body aches and headache.  So I made some instant soup with lots of vegetables; these are the leftovers I ate on Sunday with a zucchini muffin and half an Asian pear.
• Sunday night I was feeling better so I made some coconut/peanut dressing to top my salad with.  Garlic naan on the side.
• More muffins for breakfast with yogurt and undrinkable coffee (this is day two it has tasted really off to me...I blame being sick.  Even water tastes a little weird)
• Leftover soup with a grilled cheese (comfort food at its best) and homemade applesauce from upstairs.

There was a huge difference in how I felt between Saturday and Sunday, but less of a difference Sunday to Monday.  Less of a headache, but more coughing.  I hope another early night will put me on the mend for the first day of October tomorrow!

A Week of Eats--September 16

A lot of repeat meals this week, with just a little variety thrown in at the end.

Clockwise from top left:

• Vegetable quiche.
• Quiche for breakfast with apple, PB and coffee.
• Pasta bake from Smitten Kitchen; I substituted chard from the garden for the broccoli rabe and added some sweet potato chunks.  Rich, delicious, and I still have leftovers!
• Pasta bake with salad, but the most important thing in this photo is the pumpkin beer.
• Sardine salad melt with grapes for lunch felt just right on a rainy day.
• Unattractive but tasty quesadilla with mozarella, crushed up black bean patty and pickled peppers and onions dipped in tomato sauce (I mentioned it would appear again!)
• Potato medley before they turned into oven baked fries.
• Veggie burger with all the fixin's and fries on the side.  Quick and easy Sunday night meal.

Have a great week!

The Lunch Bunch

As someone who enjoyed school quite a bit when I was younger, lunch was never my favorite subject, but as a working stiff, lunch is most definitely one of the highlights of my day!  Mid-day breaks away from a computer screen and soul-sucking fluorescent lights are really important to maintain sanity in my opinion, and the chance to eat something is icing on the cake.

Working at City Hall downtown near a plethora of tasty restaurants makes it tempting to eat out regularly, but neither my wallet nor my waistline can afford to do so these days.  I pack my lunch almost everyday, a habit I got into many years ago when my mother told me if I wanted to take lunch to school, I had better get used to packing it myself.  Back then I had an Elmo lunch box, all through high school and for the first semester of grad school I used a simple blue insulated bag, but today I use the one pictured below, a gift from my mom--so stylish!

My lunches generally fit into one of three categories: leftovers, sandwiches, or salads.  If you want more descriptive lunchbox inspiration, I highly recommend the "Lunch in Box" post on Kath Eats Real Food.  I also aim for a variety of ingredients and textures in my packed meals; I usually have something crunchy and something sweet to round out the meal.

My tried and true lunch packing tips:

• Wide mouth salsa jars (Tostitos brand work well) are awesome leftover containers, especially if you plan on microwaving your meal.
• The key to non-soggy sandwiches is in the layering; I use lettuce, cheese and avocado as buffers between really juicy things like tomatoes and the bread.  The square tupperware prevents smooshing as well.
• I find that if I really pack in the greens, add a bunch of toppings and then pour on the dressing my salads usually hold up until lunch time.
• While I feel some mild eco-guilt about all of the little plastic containers and extra packaging, nothing beats the convenience of single serve yogurts and snacks like granola bars.

A Week of Eats--September 9

Having time on the weekends to meal plan is making a difference in my weekly eats.  Right now, choosing two recipes that will work for at least two meals and deciding on a few lunch/snack staples seems just about right in terms of quantity as well as time spent in the kitchen.

Clockwise from top left:

• I decorated two pre-made pizza crusts on Monday night with quick roasted veggies (15 mins @ 500*) shredded Italian blend cheeses and dollops of herbed goat chesse.  Plenty of leftovers!
• Green salad with tomato grilled cheese for dinner on Tuesday.  
• Pancakes for breakfast on Sunday.  I made plain, blueberry and craisin/coconut varieties, but couldn't leave the plain ones well enough alone and topped them with vanilla yogurt and nectarine.
• Wednesday night's project was these quinoa black bean patties (recipe from the back of a TJ's quinoa bag, I think...)  A bit messier than I like to be on a weeknight--multiple pans, steps and hand molding--but overall a nice, healthy, versatile recipe.  Not all of the patties held together well, something I think could be improved by adding an extra egg next time.
• The next three meals showcase the versatility of the black bean patties:
• Crumbled black bean patty nachos with avocado and salsa;
• Black bean "burger" with all the fixin's and the last bit of curried potato salad;
• Black bean patty on a bed of greens with tomatoes and homemade pickles, green bean "fries" and curried potato salad. 
• Greek-style salad with arugula, garbanzo beans, banana peppers, red onions, tomatoes and leftover quinoa.  Simple dressing with equal parts olive oil and cider vinegar, salt and pepper.  Sweet potatoes on the side. 

I have still have some random vegetables in my fridge and on the counter due to last week's double whammy of going to the farmer's market and inheriting my housemate's CSA share when she went out of town, so you can expect to see some zucchini and lots of potatoes next week, as well as something with the leftover tomato sauce from the pizza.

A Week of Eats--September 2

A pretty good variety of things this week!

Clockwise from top left:

• Being an adult isn't always fun, but one perk is eating a banana split for lunch if you feel like it.
• Being an adult also means not wasting produce that is past its prime by blending it into a breakfast smoothie.
• Delectable roasted sweet potato, cucumber and mushroom salad with a simple maple-y dressing leftovers from a potluck lunch with friends last weekend.
• Oddly named "Asian style fried rice with beans" from BH&G (one of two recipes I followed this week.  I must be an adult!)  I liked that this was pretty much a complete vegetarian meal, but I had to add some salsa to give it a bit more flavor.
• Quick Friday night dinner thrown together after getting home after 7 PM from work: pasta, pesto, tomatoes, roasted corn and leftover chicken.
• Saturday's farmer's market haul.  I have barely been all summer, and I was not prepared for all of the fall pumpkins and squash taking over the stalls.  It was a challenge to find salad greens and a few remaining peaches.
• Breaking up the smoothie routine with sunny side up eggs, toast, jam and nectarine on the side.
• This dinner probably took less than 30 minutes to put together, but felt rather fancy all the same.  Tilapia on a bed of spinach with lemon butter (microwaved in parchment paper) and curried potato salad.  I would make both dishes again, but use less curry powder and maybe add a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon to the potatoes.

A Week of Eats--August 26

It was a big week around these parts.  Thousands of students returned to classes at UVA, making certain parts of town including my regular grocery store a bit less pleasant.  I had my first official job interview and ran the Charlottesville Women's Four Miler.  <--They are still accepting donations for the UVA Cancer Center Breast Care Program through September 23, 2013.

Summer and the accompanying feeling of relaxed freedom are starting to fade.  Real 'fall' may still be several weeks away on the calendar, but for me Labor Day weekend marks the beginning of the transition.  While I don't expect summer temperatures and humidity to disappear instantly, I can usually count on nicer weather by my birthday towards the end of the month.

Here are a few things I ate this week:

Top R: Started the week out right with a big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast Monday morning.  Topped with cottage cheese, strawberries, a spoon of peanut butter and coconut sprinkles.

Top L: Power breakfast before my interview on Thursday.  My interview was in Blacksburg, about two hours away and my plan was to leave before 10, arrive with plenty of time to grab lunch and review my notes before my 2 PM interview.  Highway closures completely changed that plan, and I sat in traffic for nearly four hours, had a Clif bar for lunch and went straight into the interview 90 minutes late.  Despite these complications, the actual interview was a positive experience and regardless of the outcome, I am glad to have the first one behind me.

Bottom R: Chicken and veggie fajitas. I made these on Wednesday after my final (hilly) training run for the Four Miler on Saturday and ate four of them.

Bottom L: I'm calling this dish "Fiesta Noodles" and it served me well as my dinner the night before the race.  It consisted of leftover fajita filling and roasted corn mixed into a pot of pasta with cottage cheese and melted shredded cheddar.  Served with some spicy "taco stand" pickles and avocado on the side.

The morning of the race, I ate two pieces of whole wheat toast with jam and peanut butter and drank a cup of coffee before I left the house.  I packed a banana to eat while waiting to line up and drank 20 oz of water.  I am writing about all this to remember it for future races--my time this year was significantly faster than last year's--from just over 38 minutes to under 36!  While people I had previously passed still flew past me in the last 1/2 mile (argh! There should be a prize for being consistent!) I am really, really pleased with my time.