Lunch Munch

Last week I met Bruce at home for a quick lunch. She (yes, her name is Bruce. Bruce Lee Brown to be very specific) baked in the sun while I threw together a quick quesadilla and salad.



"Quesadilla" Ingredients

• Whole wheat tortilla
• 2 tbsp red pepper hummus
• 2 tbsp homemade guac

By request... Quesadilla Cals: 150 + 40 + 80 = 270

Salad Ingredients

• Romaine
• Fresh tomato from Mom's garden (does it get any better?)
• Tons of salsa
• 2 tbsp light sour cream

(I rarely count vegetable calories unless it's something substantial. Lettuce and tomatoes are freebies in my book. The salsa was "fresh" from Costco)

Salad: 20 + 50 = 70

So the whole lunch was about 340. I usually shoot for about 350 cals at lunch time and then have a 150-200 cal snack at 3:00 or 3:30.

Rediculously simple, and the most satisfying lunch I've had in a long time. Definitely worth a reapeat.

Happy Monday :)

My first attempt...

I've been lusting over the delicious-looking food and beautiful photos in Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking since purchasing the cookbook last month.

Last night I made "Otsu," and it was even tastier than I hoped. A must-read/cook/taste.



We didn't have the suggested noodles so I used some rice noodles that were stashed in the cupboard and they worked quite well. Next time I'll remember to add the cilantro and toasted sesame garnish. It's hard to imagine this dish being any better, but those finishing touches might just be the icing on the cake.

My new favorite breakfast

• 1/2 container honey Oikos
• Heaping tsp ground golden flax seeds
• Generous handfull of blueberries (raspberries, blackberries, etc.)
• 1/4 cup granola

Even better in the lovely cherry blossom bowls from Parker's mom.

A delicious way to start the day :)

Quick Weeknight Pasta

Parker and I stopped by City Vineyard last weekend in search of Organic wine and got sidetracked by some of their new food offerings. I purchased some rosemary flavored whole wheat pasta along with some artichoke hearts and threw together a quick pasta when we got home.



I combined the following ingredients and the finished product made about 3-5 servings:

• 2 cups rosemary pasta
• 5 sun dried tomatoes
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 zucchini
• 10-12 small brown mushrooms
• salt and pepper
• sprinkle of red pepper flakes

After chopping the 1/2 onion finely, I warmed a medium frying pan over medium-high heat with a splash of olive oil. While letting the onion cook down I occasionally added a splash of water to prevent the onion from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the onions became transparent I added the chopped sun dried tomatoes and let the mix continue to cook (while adding more water) until the liquid had evaporated, the tomatoes were rehydrated, and the onions were caramelized. I then added the chopped bell pepper, chopped zucchini, and seasoning. When the pasta finished cooking I stirred in the mushrooms into the mixture. To serve, I put about 2 cups of the mixture over about 3/4 cup pasta and topped with 2-3 quartered artichoke hearts. Delicious dinner, even better leftovers.

Mountain-o-muffins

After receiving a huge bag of fresh apples from a friend, I decided to try this recipe for WW Apple Muffins from Suite Apple Pie. I had small apples rather than large ones so I added five, along with a splash of vanilla and about 1/2 tsp each of allspice and cinnamon. They were the perfect snack yesterday and a delicious breakfast this morning.



I can't wait to try some of the other recipes from Sarah's great blog.

I'm having a lovely Monday- hope you are as well :)

Summer Veggies

Happy Tuesday!

I am so excited that the lovely Ms. Molly gave the Sloppy Jane recipe a try and it was a success! When I saw this recipe at Itzy's Kitchen I was so excited to give it a try and it turned out even better than I hoped- I'm thrilled that Molly and Ryan loved it, too!

Last night I was excited to make dinner with tons of fresh summer veggies. We stopped at the health food store after work to pick up some staples for the week:

• Ezekial Muffins
• Oikos Yogurt (the honey flavor is amazing!)
• Ginger Beer for P
• Bananas
• Quinoa for Zucchini boats

We also buzzed by City Vineyard and I decided to try a new bottle of wine made with organic grapes:

It was sooooo tasty! Just what the doctor ordered after a very long Monday :) I used a little self-restraint and only had a glass (plus a little splash) but it is definitely one I'll buy again.

For dinner, I chopped up some fresh new potatoes my mom bought at the farmers market and tossed them in the juice of one lemon, salt, pepper, herbs de provence, and a little olive oil. I poured the whole mix onto a baking sheet and popped them in the oven at 425. I think they baked for about 40 minutes but I didn't pay too much attention. I stirred them around a few times and pulled them out of the oven when they looked nice and crispy. A delicious late summer treat!

Along with that I made a "glop" that Parker said looked like barf. And then he ate a giant plate of said barf ;) It used the following ingredients and added them to a saucepan on medium high heat in this order:

• splash of olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion cooked thoroughly
• 5 chopped carrots
• fresh peas (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 10 sliced mushrooms
• lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp low fat sour cream
• about 1/4 c fresh grated Romano cheese

I cooked the onion for about 15 minutes before adding the carrots, waiting until those started to soften before adding the peas, and then threw in the mushrooms and lemon juice after the peas softened. I put a lid on for a little bit so the peas would steam and threw in the sour cream and Romano at the last minute before serving.

My plate:

It was a great, fairly quick, very easy and fresh summer meal!

Hope you're having a lovely week!

Success!

I'm back in the real world this week after an amazing vacation with my incredible family in one of the the most beautiful places I've ever been.





We are so incredibly fortunate so have a place to reunite every year that remains so unchanged.



At the lake, we all take turns cooking meals so this week has been a slow start getting back into the practice of making my own food every day- I was so spoiled having delicious meals prepared every day and not having to worry about anything other than overeating!

I finally worked up the courage to make my own pizza crust using this recipe. Miracle of all miracles, it worked! Parker and I made his and hers sides on the same large crust:



My side (on the left) was topped with a little pesto, fresh tomato slices, a sprinkle of goat cheese, and then I added fresh basil after it came out of the oven.

Parker's side (on the right) was topped with homemade tomato sauce (his own creation of diced tomatoes simmered with whole garlic cloves- so good!), fresh mozzarella cheese, and fresh tomato slices. He also added fresh basil after the pizza finished baking.

I took a note from the Mom Naan and pre-baked the crust until it just started to turn golden brown before adding the toppings. I think that helped the crust stay crunchier and allowed the dough to fully cook without overcooking the toppings.

Here was my plate (well, my first plate- I ended up eating this x 2!):



The dough made enough for two large pizzas so I refrigerated the rest to use the following night. I'm so thrilled that I finally had success making my own pizza dough and can't wait to try other toppings.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday!