Luuuunnch!

I have a few peeps asking about what I bring to work for lunch. For those of you who don't know me, it's a rarity to see me eating lunch from a restaurant. Number 1, I rarely have time at work to leave for lunch. Number 2, I always feel far too heavy and my wallet feels far too light after going out to lunch. I bring a variety of things to work for lunch. Some days it's just two pieces of fruit and an odwalla bar (if you've yet to discover the godliness of the odwalla bar...click here and become familiar. $.99/each at Kroger in the organic section).

Anyhow, sometimes I bring in a can of healthy select, low sodium soup or a frozen Amy's burrito ($2.14 in the frozen organic section at Kroger) but usually it's leftovers from the night before. I LOVE leftovers.

However, many of you have families who actually eat the leftovers so pictured is an idea that's full of flavor but just the right combo to keep you full. Whole wheat tortilla (you can use wheat bread, of course), swiss cheese, salami, lettuce, brown mustard. It's a great combo of good fats, protein, and whole grain carbs to keep you full all afternoon. And of course, an orange is a surprisingly sweet and nutritious ending to this wrap.

I hope this is helpful and you consider bringing your lunch to work too!

Heart-healthy and Wallet-friendly Pasta Dish

This Italian NEVER thought that subsituting an oil-based, tomato-based, or creme-based pasta sauce with reduced-sodium chicken broth would cut the mustard, but I've been schooled. This is quite possibly one of the most fresh and satisfying recipe I've made thus far and I've got plenty of leftovers to enjoy it for days to come. I ate a large portion last night (far too large, couldn't help myself), then I put the remainder of the meal in three separate tupperware container and off they went to the freezer for quick easy lunches that aren't housed in a chemical-laden box. Tip: always freeze leftovers in portions that you can easily snag and take to work. Sometimes we waste leftovers cause we're sick of them or we just eat them cause their there...make use of your food and be wise about not wasting. I assume everyone reading this is smart enough bring your lunch to work (unless you travel for work or if you're rich and can eat out daily), so make it easier on yourself by freezing leftovers.

Recipe:

8 oz whole-wheat angel hair pasta
sliced grape tomatoes (they go in very last)

4 cups spinach

1 large yellow onion

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

2 large chicken breasts

oregneno

garlic

Sautee the onions in a bit of oilve oil until transparent, add bite sized chicken pieces, seasonings, and finally spinach. Once the spinach has been sauteed, add 1 cup of chicken broth, 1 tbs butter, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the broth combo to the cooked angel hair pasta and mix together well. Add grape tomatoes at very end. Most importantly, squeeze fresh lemon over your serving...it absolutely completes the package.

This entire meal (which divided into many meals) cost approximately $7.20...you can't even go out to one lunch for less that that these days, PLUS you have tax/tip....but this $7.20 made me one giant dinner and three lunches. SO, $3.00 dinner and three $1.40 lunches. You gotta use your melon, peeps. :)

minimalist approach to dinner

This particular evening, I was craving very specific foods. When I crave something, i almost always listen and follow through. I find that if I don't, I end up eating far too much of something unhealthy out of frusteration. Plus, I truely believe that the body will tell you what it needs and I am all ears.

I know you're gonna ask, and the answer is YES...the steak is cooked. I eat my meat fairly rare so I'm sorry if the image bothers you as it often does for vegetarians or those who are adament about eating their meat well done.

So this dinner is very very simple. A small serving of steak pan cooked with lemon-pepper and garlic, kale sauteed with lemon-pepper and sea salt, and a bowl of cucumber/tomato salad with balsamic vinegrette.

You can see in the very last picture, how I portion my selections. I'm always very heavy on the produce, medium on the meat, and medium on the carbs...no carbs for this dinner, but plenty in other meals :)

I hope everyone is doing well. Check back for my angel hair whole-wheat pasta tomorrow...I'm using chicken stock and dry wine instead of oil or sugary sauce. I've never tried this, but the recipe looks fantastic so I look forward to sharing it with you.

Ay de mi!...Mexican-Style Casserole

The inspiration? A monstrosity of a zucchini from my dad's garden. I'm not a huge fan of stand-alone zucchini so i had to come up with something tasty to polish this beast off....the zucchini, of course ;)

Meanwhile, this took a bit of time, but the finished product was more than worth it.

First things first, the marinade for the chicken: 1 tbs vinegar, 1tbs chili powder, 1 garlic clove, 1 tbs cinammon, 1 tbs cumin, 1 tbs olive oil. Cut up chicken pieces and let marinate in this concoction while you prep the rest.

Sautee 1 medium-large spanish onion in olive oil until transparent. Add diced tomatoes, corn, and zucchini pieces and chili powder/garlic. Let sautee until cooked to your liking. In the meantime, start pan-cooking that chicken and get your spanish rice started.

When everything is cooked, transfer all ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix in 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (your choice, i go with muenster since that's what most mexican dishes are made with...and because the flavor is unbeatable in a dish like this). Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 pan, add a thin topping of shredded cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes just until the cheese is fully melted.

Good times, people. Good times. I felt really satisfied after eating this. Not too full but not craving anything else. This meal has it all and the leftovers will freeze nicely to grab for quick lunches.

There is a first and last time for everything...

...and this is the first and last time that I will make Cake Pops. Holy mother of devil's food, it was madness. First you bake a two layer cake (I chose devil's food). Then you destroy the cake in a giant mixing bowl and mix in (with your hands, not a spoon or else you have devil's food-parts flying all about) 1.5 cups of double fudge chocolate frosting. Once it becomes the consistancy of playdough, you scoop out relatively small spheres and set them on a baking sheet. Then you dip one end of a sucker stick in melted chocolate and spear the cake balls with the chocolatey end to adhere them. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for at least 45 minutes to make sure that the stick and cake ball are well adhered and then bring em out fot the grand finale. Melt any type of chocolate you like ( i did milk chocolate...my very favorite, and mint-flavored white chocolate). Dip the cake balls into the chocolate and use a spoon to help cover the uncovered parts so that you don't risk losing the cake from your stick (it gets really heavy and difficult to manage). Then leave them on wax paper to dry and then transfer them to a platter and you're ready to wow your audience.

But whatever you do, don't forget to leave time to clean up your kitchen, post cake-balling. Mine was a MESS! I had devil's food all over, frosting everywhere, tons of dishes with hardened chocolate and sprinkles covering my whole world. I'm telling you, this was fun once, and the people at the dinner party like them...but man alive, that was some serious work.

P.S. I made 20 originally and only 13 made it out of the final chocolate dipping alive and well. Total challenge!

Tiny Tuna Tostadas

This is what happens when you only have a few ingredients left. Not bad though, i must say I will make these again. Tons of protein, fiber, and healthy as heck.

1 can of tuna in water

1/4 cup shredded provolone

1 tomato

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 whole wheat tortillas

Bake at 350 for two shakes of a lamb's tail and voila!

Mid-Summer's Night Snack

I've found that if I've got a bad case of the snacks (just wanna eat something...anything...feed me!) that veggies are my best bet. Especially if I'm snackish at night. It used to be cereal but cereal is dangerous to me...can't seem to get enough, it's just so tasty and perfect. Then it was blue corn chips and hummus. I had to end that relationship immediately. I found myself booty-calling the irrestistible combo late nights, waking only to find that my pantaloons were too tight and all that were left were the crumbs of our scandalous affair.

Anyhow, let's not relive that sad tale of loss and codependency. Onto the good stuff...SUMMER SQUASH! I will be honest, i'm not a huge fan of the spongey texture so I have to slice those bad boys super thin. Then I drizzle olive oil on a baking sheet, rub the slices onto the oil front/back, sprinkle crushed sea salt, garlic, pepper, and the squeeze a lemon liberally over the whole thing. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes (i like my well done, bake to your liking) and voila! Perfect snack packed with flavor. Almost makes me not miss the days of blue corn chips and I...but I digress. Enjoy!