FoodFare

Mon, 07 May 2007 13:43:25 GMT

Well, It's been a while.

I quickly discovered last semester that if I was going to be a full time graduate student and still work twenty hours a week that I wasn't going to have time for other things. My social life vanished - as did lunch photos and meal planning. Eating well also became an increasing challenge, especially towards the end of the semester. One thing I still need to learn is how to eat healthy when I have no time... at the end of the semester the temptation of convenience, high-fat and low-nutritional value foods was overpowering.

But now my semester is over, and I'm taking a break from studying this summer - to recover. I'm looking forward to a lot, and one of the things high on my list is being able to eat well again, and to eat what I choose to eat, rather than what's available. Our CSA is also starting again soon, and the vegetables in the grocery store are looking better and better.

So, cheers to summer food!

This week I've been craving soups, with crusty bread and soft cheeses on the side. So, my meals this week are revolving around soups and stews...

Sunday May 6: Tofu and courgettes in madras sauce, with steamed mini bok choi seasoned with lemon and salt.

Monday May 7: French Onion Soup (made in the slow cooker) with gruyere and bread; side green salad

Tuesday May 8: Acorn Squash (made in the slow cooker) with raisins and cinnamon, green veggie

Wednesday May 9: Chick-pea enchiladas, green vegetable or salad

Thursday May 10: Mock Lamb Curry, basmati rice, green vegetable

Friday May 11: Gazpacho, Oka cheese, toast

Saturday May 12: Spiced sweet potato, grilled courgettes

Tofu Casserole

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:55:37 GMT

Casseroles are easy and fun, and so I'm trying different ones out to see how they work. This one was supposed to be a vegetarian version of tuna casserole.

It included:

Tofu Casserole from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook
Green salad mix with balsamic and olive oil in the dip container
Sliced mushrooms and carrot sticks with peppercorn ranch in the dip container

The casserole was ok. It was a bit ... bland. The sauce is essentially just a light cream made with milk thickened with flour. Other ingredients are sliced mushrooms, sliced celery, tofu, rosemary, and some cheddar and bread crumbs on the top. I think I could maybe dress it up a bit by including WAY more veggies, and browning the tofu first in spices. Hmmm....

In other news, I've started vermicomposting! I generate a lot of veggie scraps, and I hope to start growing herbs on my windowsill this spring. In a few years I hope to grow vegetables in containers on my sunny balcony, but I'm starting small. Vermicomposting will be good for my plants and fits in well with my eating phillosophy of minimizing consumption and waste. I found a good vermicomposting tutotial with text, pictures, and sound here. I purchased my bin ready made from a greenhouse project at a local university. It was very inexpensive ... just $20 for the bin and $15 for 1/2 a pound of worms to get me started. More info about where to buy these bins and the worm swap is here (scroll down to the R4 composting section), and here are some pics of my new bin at home:

We're storing it in our laundry nook, near the kitty litter:

Cover off, showing the newspaper (and my kitty):

And with the newspaper pulled away to show the soil underneath:

Sorry to anyone who also reads my personal journal and who sees these worm pics twice!

Boiled eggs, Pita bread and hummus, veggies & fruit

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 15:10:48 GMT

What on earth did I eat before I figured out that I LOVE boiled eggs, with salt and pepper?

It included:

Two boiled eggs, with salt and pepper in an envelope of wax paper to dip them in
Pita triangles and celery sticks (I brought hummus, too, but it's in a different container)
Cubed papaya

Other than the fact that the papaya was old and a bit soft, this lunch was absolutely delicious. Yum!!!

Meal Planning February 9-18, 2007

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 16:11:52 GMT

Last week there was no meal planning posted because I was trying to "eat from my freezer". I also had friends over last Saturday, and the all brought food, meaning that I spent much of the week eating leftovers.

Meal planning for the upcoming week is made easier by the fact that Thurs-Sunday I will be attending a conference, so eating out.

Friday February 9: Curried crockpot Dahl, from the freezer, with veggies

Saturday February 10: Vegan Shepherd's Pie, recipe from Vegan on a Shoestring (which I had forgotten about, and just discovered at the back of a cupboard where it had been since we moved last May - oops!)

Sunday February 11: Eat at a friend's house

Monday February 12: Quinoa and Mushroom Stiry Fry from Vegan on a Shoestring

Tuesday February 13: Vegetarian "Tuna" Casserole from the The Vegetarian Family Cookbook (another Christmas gift-card purchase), with broccoli

Wednesday February 14: Veggie Burger, with side-salad

Thursday February 15 - Saturday February 17: conference (eat out)

Sunday February 18: Tex-mex veggie chili from the freezer, with tortilla chips and side-salad

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Green Beans, Grapes

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 15:59:03 GMT

I originally made this spaghetti sauce as a vegetarian sun-dried tomato sauce, and had frozen some leftovers. However, in part of my efforts to eat beef (I need the iron) I cooked some lean ground and added to my frozen leftovers to make the sauce. It was yummy.

It included:

Sun-dried tomato spaghetti sauce with beef
Tri-colour spaghetti noodles
Green beans, lightly steamed
Seedless Grapes

I'm sure this isn't exactly a low-calorie lunch, but I left off the extra cheese, which has to help. Also, the size of the Laptop Lunchbox really helps you limit portions. This was plenty of spaghetti and meat sauce to satisfy me, but taking traditional Tupperware I would have brought more of the higher-calorie spaghetti and sauce, and fewer or no veggies.

Spanakopita, Veggies, Grapes

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 20:46:10 GMT

Last Saturday I had friends over to play games. Everyone brought some wine and some snacks. One friend brought these ready-made spanikopita things, and while I normally would not have bought them I decided to try them for for lunch. I'm "eating from my freezer" this week, and so these added a bit of variety.

It included:

Four mini spanakopitas (stuffed with spinach and cheese), baked
Celery sticks and sliced mushrooms with peppercorn ranch dressing
Grapes

I gotta say, this lunch was very, very tasty, and not too bad calorie-wise. I put the spanakopitas in the oven before my shower, and they were ready to transport just as I was leaving for work. I was afraid to look too closely at the ingredient list, but for an occasional treat I think these were easy and tasty.

Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, and Kale

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 20:16:18 GMT

Nothing ever tastes as good as roasted chicken!

It included:

A chicken breast, oven roasted on a bed of onions (there are a ton of baked onions underneath the chicken in my lunch box)
Kale, lightly steamed (with lemon juice in the dip container to pour over)
Mashed potatoes

This lunch was yummy! I've been eating kale a lot more lately, since they have it in stock at the local organic market near my home and there seems to be a shortage of edible leafy things in the markets right now. However I've noticed - how can I put this - that the colouring is apparently having an effect on me. Oh, what the hell: my pee turns this bright, bright yellow, nearly green, after I eat a huge bunch of steamed kale. How bizarre is that?

Meatballs, quinoa, carrot sticks

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 19:38:20 GMT

In the switch to cooking for one instead of two (my partner is away on a contract) I have been making waaaaaaay too much food, and freezing leftovers. The freezer was becoming ridiculously full, so last week I started eating from the freezer in order to recycle and make room.

It included:

meatballs and sauce
quinoa
carrot sticks with peppercorn ranch dressing
vanilla soy milk

These are the same meatballs I made on January 25. They were just as delicious in this lunch as on the day they were made. Neat, huh?

Borscht and veggies

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 17:47:00 GMT

I tried making borscht for the first time last week. It turned out ok, but not wonderful. I think I need to try other recipes.

It included:

Borscht in thermos (which stayed warm until 4:00 pm, when I finally had time to eat it!)
Red pepper and celery sticks (with peppercorn ranch dressing in the dip container)
Two boiled eggs with salt and pepper in wax paper
Papaya

I am amazed at how much I have begun to LOVE hard-boiled eggs with salt and pepper. Yummy!

Thai Butternut Squash

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:25:22 GMT

I made this last weekend, and it was my lunch on Monday. I'm a bit behind!

It included:
Thai Butternut Squash with Tofu, Coconut Milk, & Toasted Almonds
Basmati rice
green beans, steamed
President's choice mini-cheesecakes

When I started the squash dish in a big pot, the coconut milk with the spices really smelled divine. The recipe called for simmering it for about 20 min. I ended up doing it for a bit longer, and the squash just sort of disentegrated into mush. This resulted in a complete loss of the coconunt flavour and crunchiness of the almonds. It all just tasted the same. I think I will try to adapt the recipe for the sauce, which was really like a yellow curry, for another meal, but I doubt that I will prepare this version again. It was edible, but not really worth the effort for the way it turned out.

But the mini cheese-cakes were divine!!!

Maple Baked Beans

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:58:57 GMT

My father eats beans at least twice a week. From a can. When I was a child he would occasionally take me fishing, and he would open a can of beans and eat them cold. Or maybe, if he was feeling fancy, he would crack the lid and heat them over an open fire.

I never really liked those beans. However, when I receved my copy of Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker last week (a Christmas gift from a gift card) one of the recipes that jumped out at me was Maple Baked Beans. The key ingredient is maple syrup - an entire 1/2 cup of it.

It included:

Maple baked beans
Mashed potatoes
Cubed papaya and strawberries
Red pepper and cucumber

The beans turned out delicious. I mean, DELICIOUS. They were rich and sweet and yummy. Perhaps it's the bitterly cold winter weather, but for whatever reason these beans hit the spot!

Meatballs & Sauce

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:17:34 GMT

Meatballs were one of the first meals that I leaned to cook on my own. My sisters and I would often make supper for my family, since my parents finished work at 5 but we finished school at 3. My older sisters did this first, and me later. Dishes based on ground beef were popular, since it wasn't that expensive and everyone in the family liked it - even my crotchety father, who abhorred anything green.

This was a recipe that came from my mom's handwritten recipe book - she probably got it from a friend, but the origin is now lost in time. Traditionally we made the sauce with ketchup, but I began to use canned crushed tomatoes some time ago and I found it improved the sauce a lot. This time I used cubed tomatoes, since that was all that was available at the local grocer, and while it was still good the crushed tomatoes were much better.

I made this dish because I've been feeling extra-tired lately, and I suspect my iron is low. I still need to find good vegetarian sources of iron... hmmm....

Mac & Cheese with Kale

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:16:02 GMT

I love kale. I really, really do.

It included:

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese (recipe is here in the comments if anyone wants it)
Kale, lightly steamed, with lemon juice in the dip container to sprinkle over
Strawberries & papaya
chocolate soy milk in the drink container.

The combination of mac & cheese with a dark leafy green is just amazing! This lunch was so good... and it's a good thing, since I made so much mac & cheese that I will probably be eating it for the rest of the week!

Crockpot Dahl, Fruit, Cheese & Crackers

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 13:34:35 GMT

This is the same crockpot dahl that I had on January 13. I thawed it Sunday night.

It icnluded:

Curried crockpot Dahl (in the thermos)
Strawberries
Papaya
Cheese & Crackers

I gotta say, this lunch may not look that exciting, but it was delicious. The fruit was an amazing contrast between the spicy dahl. I've also been missing good fruit lately. Of course, since my partner is away I'll be eating strawberries and papaya all week, but that's ok.

ETA: yes, the dahl stayed hot in the thermos until I ate. I preheated with boiled water for about 10 min at around 8:15 am, then added the dahl and went to class. I finally ate at around 1, and it was still pleasantly warm. Those thermoses rock!

Meal Planning: Jan 20-28, 2007

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 21:21:04 GMT

I've already deviated from this, but here it is, none the less:

Saturday January 20th: Thai Butternut Squash with Tofu, Coconut Milk, & Toasted Almonds

Sunday January 21st: Dinner at a friend's house

Monday January 22nd: Slow-cooker borscht and sandwich

Tuesday January 23rd: Meatballs and sauce with rice and salad

Wednesday January 24: eat out

Thursday January 25: Macaroni & cheese with broccoli

Friday January 26: Maple baked beans, roasted potatoes, green veggie

Saturday January 27: Peanut vegetable orange chicken, rice, & green veggie

Teriyaki Sesame Tofu

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 20:39:01 GMT

This is a pretty easy recipe, and heated up well!

It included:

Tofu, marinated in teriyaki sauce, then sauteed and served with toasted sesame seeds
Zucchini, lightly brushed with olive oil (with minced garlic) and browned under the broiler
Vanilla yogurt with frozen berries
Edamame

I've decided that I don't like edamame. I find them oily and unpalatable. I think I will continue to enjoy soy as milk and tofu, but I'll be skipping the edamame from now on!

Tex-Mex Vegetarian Chili

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 19:18:54 GMT

This recipe is from World Vegetarian, and has become a staple. I also now have a bunch of it stored in my freezer. AWESOME.

It included:

Tex mex vegetarian chili
grated sharp cheddar to go on top of the chili
organic corn chips
dried apricots with almonds
chocolate soy milk

Bean Salad, Yogurt, & Veggies

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 15:04:07 GMT

I ate this same lunch, pretty much, Monday and Tuesday of this week. Bean salad is just so incredibly easy to make when you use canned beans, and is also tasty and good for you.

It included:

Bean salad, made from canned jumbo beans, onion, and parsley, with olive oil and white wine vinegrette
Vanilla yogurt with frozen berries
Carrot sticks and yellow pepper with blue cheese dressing

I also kept on the side a miso soup packet and a fruit cup. These went into my office desk as "emergency foods". I haven't used them yet, but there they are, just in case!

Meal Planning Jan 14-20, 2007

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 01:08:16 GMT

So, I've discovered that meal planning for an entire week means that I actually eat for about 1.5, since I inevitably eat out once or twice with friends. So, I'm gonna learn my lesson and buy one less meal.

Sunday January 14: Eat out with friends (we had Szechwan and it was AMAZING)

Monday January 15: Italian sausage and steamed kale with lemon

Tuesday January 16: Beef burger, garlic & butter brussel sprouts

Wednesday January 17: Tex-Mex vegetarian chili, with corn chips (maybe with polenta or cornbread if I feel energetic)

Thursday January 18: Teriyaki & sesame tofu and grilled zucchini

Friday January 19: Zaru Soba and edamame

Saturday January 20: Probably eat out

I've been dreaming about burgers and steak lately, which probably means that my iron is low. So I'm going to make sure to eat beef at least once a week for now, as well as spinach, kale, and other dark leafy greens. I need to look into what else is rich in iron as well ...

Crockpot Dahl & Muffins

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 18:57:33 GMT

Ok, I thought Dahl had to be made with lentils. I made this dish from this recipe, and it calls itself Dahl, although I'm not convinced. Either way, it was easy to make and came out very tasty, although I think I will use red or yellow peppers next time. Green peppers have such a strong flavour ...

It included:

Curried Crockpot Dahl: 190 Calories
Cucumber wedges with blue cheese dressing: 90 Calories
Two pumpkin muffins: 500 Calories
Vanilla soy milk: 125 Calories
TOTAL: 905 Calories

I made the muffins way back on October 23 2006, and froze a bunch unbaked in their paper cups. It's great to just take a few out of the freezer and bake them up in the morning. I popped these in the oven before I stepped into my shower, and by the time I was washed and dressed I was ready to have one for breakfast and to pack these ones for the lunch hour.

905 Calories is excellent, since this meal was my lunch + afternoon snack, too!

Red Beans & Coconut Rice

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 01:36:54 GMT

This dish was such a great discovery - so good, so easy!

It included:

Red beans & coconut rice: 500 Calories
Green beans, lightly steamed: 25 Calories
Cucumber and yellow pepper with blue cheese dipping sauce: 85 Calories
A cubed pear: 80 Calories
250 ml vanilla soy milk: 100 Calories
TOTAL: 790

The blue cheese dressing is a mixed blessing. I find it very strong so I don't eat much of it, but I never really, REALLY enjoy it either. I don't think I'll buy it again.

Cous cous + italian sausage

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 02:55:15 GMT

This was a yummy lunch ... although I had to forgo a lunch out with my fellow grad students to eat it. Bringing your own lunch can be antisocial when nobody else does it. Oh well.

It included:

Couscous with apricots, yellow pepper, raisins, and pine nuts: 420 Calories
Italian sausage: 400 calories
Spinach and sprout salad with sesame vinaigrette: 135 Calories
tangerine: 40 Calories
250 ml of vanilla soy milk: 100 Calories
TOTAL: 1,095 Calories

Holy cow, that was a high-cal lunch! The olive oil on the couscous, the sausage, and the vinaigrette really add up. The good news is I wasn't hungry for an afternoon snack!

I also made a new bag to transport my lunch box in. I wanted something that would fit a 500 ml bottle as well, in order to make transporting juice (or soy milk!) to school/work easier. This is to prevent me from buying a beverage to drink in class. Bringing your own is cheaper and healther - it means I avoid soft drinks!

The bag is a little large, but it suits my purposes just fine. And I love this fabric!

This one shows the extra pocket on the front:

Meal Planning: Jan 6-13th, 2007

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 21:26:59 GMT

I usually plan our meals about a week in advance, and then just buy what I need. Well, I try to do this; occasionally I fall off the wagon. However, I love it when I do it. The actual investment is pretty small, and it there are some significant benefits: I try new recipes; I eat a wider diversity of meals; my meals tend to be more nutritionally complete; I waste less food; and, I spend WAY less money. Aside from simply avoiding food wastage, I eat out less and save money on suppers - but also on lunches! The small investment of meal planning and organized grocery shopping really pays off over the long run. And, I actually prefer my own cooking to what I can buy for a reasonable price. Sure, I'll never make phad thai as well as our local Thai restaurant, but most often I prefer a meal I prepared myself (or made by my fiancé) than any take-out available.

In that spirit, I've decided to post my weekly meal plans here. I may not have time to post this every week (I may not have time to plan every week!) but I think it will be nice to see how much I actually follow the plans, and seeing how often I rotate / repeat meals, etc.

(Note: breakfasts are virtually always either toast, cereal, or oatmeal, often with fruit. Snacks are not listed here. Lunches, where not specified, are left-overs from the night before).

So, here's my plan for this week:

Saturday January 6th: French onion soup; avocado & sprout sandwich on twelve grain bread.

Sunday January 7th: Spiced acorn squash; steamed kale.

Monday January 8th: Red beans and coconut rice; green beans.

Tuesday January 9th: Curried crockpot dahl with sweet potato; green salad.

Wednesday January 10th: Cous-cous salad with chorizo & pine nuts; green salad.

Thursday January 12th: Chicken, carrot, and cucumber spring rolls with peanut sauce; edamame or green salad.

Friday January 13th: Veggie burger; green salad.

Boiled eggs

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:41:07 GMT

Hello, after a long hiatus! It was just impossible for me to keep up with this last semester, although I did continue to bring lunches to work/school most days. However, I didn't continue to track calories and my exercise level fell off substantially, as did the weight loss.

The good news is that I haven't gained back much of what I lost - maybe just a pound or two. I'm also planning on a schedule this semester that is a bit less hectic. Part of the reason is that I want my health to be right up there on my priority list with my grades, where it was last summer.

In that spirit, here is my first packed lunch of 2007!

It included:

Two boiled eggs, with salt and pepper folded in a packet of wax paper
Carrot sticks with hummus
Old Cheddar Cheese with vegetable crackers
A bosc pear

Everything is organic except the carrot sticks & hummus. Also, note the napkin on the side: I stitched up a few last fall, to avoid paper-towel use at the lunch hour.

Happy New Year!

Pita Pizza & Salad

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:45:57 GMT

This was actually my lunch from November 2nd!

We make pita pizzas as an easy, fast meal on busy nights. They taste better to us than most overly greasy take-out pizza, but are just as convenient. Two halves of a pita are stacked in the lunchbox, with wax paper between.

I've been so busy with school I've been eating out far more, and I've largely stopped tracking the calorie content of my meals. I suspect this is largely why the scale has been showing some unfriendly numbers lately! Well, nurturing my body is just as important as nurturing my mind, and I need to remember that. Making time to eat well and work on my health has to have the same priority as other things. I did it earlier this year, and I can do it again! It's encouraging to look back at the wonderful, healthy meals I was eating earlier this year for inspiration. Time to get back in the habit!