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No lie. I am hungry a lot. I usually control this very well by being anal and carrying around tons of great low calorie snacks and by planning my meals religiously. One key is that I usually eat a HUGE breakfast. Yesterday this did not happen. On Saturday the organization I work for hosted a 5k. It was a great success and a lot of fun. The day was crazy however, and it started around 5:00 a.m. On the way home from the race I was feeling light headed and droopy, and I think it was 100% connected to the weird unbalanced combination of food I had that morning (banana, granola bar, banana, granola bar, granola, water…..) I got home from the race and was concentrating on getting some protein and fiber, while at the same time cleaning out my fridge for vacation. I came across what I have been eating for lunch all week. While not glamorous or extremely exciting, this meal filled me up and kept me going on my long day.
Summer harvest Chili
Ingredients:
1 cup summer squash (I used my patty pan)
1 cut carrot (I did mine in rounds)
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 medium banana peppers (any pepper will do, just make sure it is mild)
1 tsp coconut oil
1 can kidney beans (well rinsed)
1 can black beans (well rinsed)
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes with chilies (I was using trader joe’s brand, but I think muir glen is also a good option)
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
½ pepper
½ tsp cumin
Directions:
Chop up all of the vegetables and sauté them in the coconut oil until soft (around 5-7 minutes). Next add the spices, beans, and tomatoes (un-drained) and add water until it reaches a consistency you desire. Let simmer for around 20 minutes, and then enjoy!
Makes around 6 one cup servings.
The perfect summer veggie sandwich
Ingredients:
1 small bagel (I also use sandwich thins, English muffins, and plain old bread)
1 wedge laughing cow cheese (1 tbsp reduced fat cream cheese or hummus is also great!)
½ sliced tomato
Handful of spinach
A handful of sprouts
4 or 5 slices of cucumber
A dash of salt and pepper.
Directions:
Slap this together and you are in business.
The perfect lunch is born.
Because it is summer (a.k.a. it is so hot outside that I often have to wait for my car to cool down to touch my steering wheel)…I will post a simple summer salad. No cooking necessary.
Chickpea Vegetable Salad of Delight (yes, you must call it this every time you make it)
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped cucumbers
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup minced cilantro
1 small jalapeno chopped (remove seeds to decrease heat)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic (i used the kind from a jar)
2 tbs lime juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Directions
Drain and rinse your chickpeas. Put them aside in a large bowl.
Now collect all the vegetables that you are going to use and lined them up next to your cutting board. If you don’t have all the vegetables I listed, don’t worry about it. Use whatever you like and whatever you have around that will taste good raw.
Now collect all the vegetables that you are going to use and lined them up next to your cutting board. If you don’t have all the vegetables I listed, don’t worry about it. Use whatever you like and whatever you have around that will taste good raw.
Proceed to cut all of your vegetables to a size that is good for you. I don’t mind a rough chop, but I know some people like their vegetables cut a little finer.
Finely chop the jalapeno making sure to keep your hands protected. Make sure you don’t touch your eyes as well! Mince the cilantro using either a sharp kitchen knife, or clean kitchen scissors.
Add all of your chopped veggies to the bowl with the chickpeas. Now comes to time where you can be creative. I added olive oil, garlic and lime juice as a ‘dressing’. Feel free to sub any of those ingredients if you prefer different flavors.
Be creative with the spices as well. Perhaps you really like curry powder, give that a try! The spices I used are a fallback combination what I usually put on black beans that I thought might transfer well to chickpeas. I thought it tasted good.
Last, I sprinkled with feta cheese. I didn’t put too much on, but more would probably taste great!
I ate some of the right away, but I think salads like this always taste better the next day.
Some ideas on how to use this salad:
Use it as a protein rich side dish (last night my dinner was this salad, a sweet potato, and ½-cup bulgur)
Use as a topping for a green salad (today at lunch I put half a cup on top of spinach!)
Make a quesadilla with the ingredients and add shredded cheese.
Make rice or another grain and use salad as a topping.
Makes four generous servings.
Bonus: Adventures in cupcake land.
My lovely roommate Catlin and I embarked on making cupcakes for a baby shower last weekend. Catlin did about 85% of the grunt work and I just stood there and helped mix colors to create pink fondant. Enjoy. And yes we are available to cater private parties…
This is Lauren. The super cute baby mama whose shower was graced with the owl cupcakes.
Unfortunately I do not have the nutritional information on those. But I can let you know that we used a pound cake base for the cupcakes, and I really enjoyed the way it turned out!
