Recipe - Greek Lentil Salad

Over the past couple of months, I have been pretty good at bringing my lunch to work.  Not only do I save money and time during my work day by already having something to eat with me, I'm also able to bring healthier meals. Last December I shared two recipes for an easy lunch - a Mexican bean salad and a spin on Mujadara - and this recipe is in the same vein as those two.  It basically involves opening a can, very minimal food prep, and something that is easy to transport and lasts for a couple of days in your fridge. This one I'm calling Greek Lentil Salad.

1 (540 ml) can lentils, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

3/4 cup cucumber, diced

1/2 cup crumbled feta

6-8 black olives, pitted and quartered

1 tbsp Za'atar spice (or just oregano)

Juice from 1/2 lemon (or equivalent from a bottle)

2 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  You may wish to adjust the flavour by adding more lemon juice or olive oil.  If you like more or less of the vegetables, feta, or olives, just do whatever works for you.  To tell you the truth, I don't even really measure anything, I just throw a bunch of things in, but the measurements provided above will get you started.  The fibre and protein in this meal keep you full so this should last for 3-4 meals.

It's even better on the second day. 

Recipe - Two Easy Lunches

I have been meaning to share these two recipes for awhile and I've never gotten around to it. They aren't really festive for this time of year, but you know what? In a time that is hectic and full of indulgences, this is something easy and fairly healthy you can prepare for your lunch or a quick dinner.  

These two meals were born out of necessity from living in the basement and not wanting to make anything complicated, while at the same time needing something decent to eat! 

I'll call this one Mexican bean salad

1 (540 ml) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (540 ml) can chick peas, drained and rinsed

1 (284 ml) can Rotel tomatoes (mild or spicy, whatever your preference)

1 (341 ml) can corn, drained

2 cups cooked rice (I use the microwave instant rice, specifically the lime and cilantro flavour)

salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.  To me the flavour comes from the rice and Rotel tomatoes, but if you wanted to add some chili powder or hot sauce, that would work too. You could also cut up a green pepper, but then we're making this too complicated ;)

For the second one, I don't have any fancy photos as I forgot to take them last time I made this recipe, but you'll get the idea.  

I'm going to call this Easy Mujadara, which is probably just an insult to the original dish, but it was the inspiration.  Mujadara is a Lebanese dish and I've had it on my Pinterest page for awhile but have never made the actual dish.  

1 (540 ml) can of cooked lentils, drained and rinsed

1 (540 ml) can of chick peas, drained and rinsed

2 cups of cooked rice (I use the same microwave rice as above, but the brown basmati)

1 cup fried onions (the ones you can add to salads)

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt, pepper, olive oil

Combine the ingredients, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil.  The first serving with the fresh rice is slightly warm, and then when I eat the leftovers I like to warm it up a bit. 

Summer Picnics

With lots of summer sports in our future this year, I know we will be taking many packed lunches/suppers with us to eat by the side of the field, rink, and baseball diamond. E's baseball is at noon on Sundays so that always requires a picnic lunch, and then three out of five weeknights, we have something at 6:00 pm, so the kids can maybe eat beforehand, but the parents may be the ones eating on the sidelines. 

The go-to for the kids is a peanut butter and jam sandwich for obvious reasons, and they don't really get tired of it, but it's always good if we have leftover pizza (which is what Q is eating in both photos above). 

Some other ideas that we typically bring along:

Dip and crackers,

Meat, cheese and crackers (or as I like to call it a portable charcuterie), 

Ham and cheese sandwich on a bun (for some reason a bun sandwich seems like such a treat on a picnic),

Veggies and hummus, or

Salad with a side of protein (I'm always looking for salads that travel well and last for a couple of days in the fridge). 

For our extras, we like to bring cookies, cut up pear or apples, mini Diet Pepsi, meat sticks or jerky, and trail mix. 

And it's always a fine idea to add an order of french fries or ice cream if you've got the option nearby :)

Let's Look - Go to Summer Lunches

Linking up with Shay and Erika for this month's Let's Look link up.  For this month we are talking go-to summer lunches. 

There are really just a couple of lunches that are different in the summer from the rest of the year so I'll just mention those here.  I wrote about my normal lunches a couple of months ago here.

Sausages on the BBQ - since we're often out in our yard, it's easy to cook these up 

Corn on the Cob - although sometimes paired with a sandwich or sausage, two ears of corn is enough for a meal on its own for me!

Smorgasbord - cut up meat and cheese, vegetables, dips, fruit, cookies, crackers, and other odds and ends.  Everyone finds enough to eat and we can usually graze on it all afternoon while we are in and out. It's also great because we can clean out a bunch of stuff from the fridge.  This is one of our standard camping "meals" too. 

, 

Webers - When we go camping at Algonquin or Arrowhead we always stop in at Webers on the way up.  Burgers and poutine, yum!

 

Something special that I buy only in the summer is lemonade and iced tea, the frozen concentrate ones.  Sometimes we will make up one at lunch and all enjoy a glass or two. 

Friday Favourites

Linking up with Andrea, Erika and Narci for Friday Favourites.

I'm loving the new show Workin' Moms.  I don't know if you can access this online anywhere in the US, but it's on CBC on Tuesday nights for you Canadians.  It is a creation of Catherine Reitman who also stars in it.  It's funny and real and I think most moms can relate to this stuff.  Plus I love that it's filmed in Toronto.  

  

Q's new favourite thing is sucking his thumb.  He has had a soother since he was about 3 weeks old but he has recently been chewing on his hands and then found his thumb.  I am trying to encourage the soother over the thumb, but I don't think I can abolish the thumb altogether.  I'm really not happy about this, but maybe I'm worried for nothing. E never sucked his thumb so I didn't have to think about this before.  I'm torn between wanting to constantly remove his thumb from his mouth and give him his soother instead, and also not always be depriving him of something that he likes. I guess it could be useful for times when we are driving and can't get his soother back in his mouth, he can just find his thumb instead.  But I don't want to encourage this habit. Am I overthinking this?

I saw La La Land on Monday and thought it was pretty good.  I love Emma Stone, I love Ryan Gosling, I love Los Angeles.  It was a big winner at the Golden Globes, but it's not your typical dramatic Oscar film so we'll see how it does.  The movie made me want to go back to LA.  Here we are when we visited in 2009.

Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich is one of my favourite meals.  This week we stepped it up a bit with this recipe (substituting gouda cheese for the gruyere).  I like Campbell's Tomato Soup as much as the next guy, but if you have time, make your own, it's so tasty.  

Happy Friday!

Lunch Box Ideas

School has begun and that means a packed lunch is required (not that we really got a break from that since E had four weeks of summer camp where we needed to make him a lunch). 

Last year, E's lunch featured a lot of ham and cheese sandwiches.  This year he has informed me that he wants less sandwiches, and definitely no cheese ones.  I've also been informed he is not interested in the same thing two days in a row. So I am searching for some more exciting ideas. 

We are very lucky because E is not a picky eater (except for his current stance on the sandwiches), and he eats well so usually whatever we pack gets eaten. 

Some ideas I have come up with so far:

- Pizza pasta salad
- Chick pea, feta and tomato salad
- Mini-quiches (I can make these ahead and freeze them)
- Quesadillas
- Leftovers that can be kept warm in his thermos
- Hummus spread on a wrap with vegetables rolled up
- Sunflower seed butter and banana
- Falafel and pitas with tzatziki sauce

Also, aside from the usual fruit and cut up vegetables, I want to make more fun (and healthy) cookies, breads, and muffins that he can take.  I also bought a bunch of different dried fruit and seeds (and added coconut flakes and chocolate chips) for our own nut-free trail mix.  We combined it all in a big container so it will be easy to grab.

This cookie was a special treat for the first day of school, baked by Bake Sale.

I really try to avoid crackers, pretzels, apple sauce, granola bars and other processed foods, but sometimes they are an easy addition to the lunch bag when you are running low on fresh whole foods.  I have heard that there is a milk program at the school so I'm hoping to order some milk for E.  We also have the Lunch Lady program on Fridays. Some of his favourites include the Farm Plate, Pierogies, Baked Chicken Fingers, Pancakes with Yoghurt and Berries, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and Macaroni and Cheese.  We will be participating in this program again this year.

Good luck with your lunch boxes, parents!! Leave any other ideas in the comments. 

School Lunches

Ah, yes, the dreaded school lunch.  School starts on Tuesday and we will have been away for the weekend and then the stores are closed when we get back.  I need to start planning last week now for what we will put in E's lunch on the first day (not to mention every other day after that).

When I was growing up, my school only had a cafeteria in grade 6 when the new school open (Hillcrest Academy, what up!) so I brought a bag lunch everyday.  I think I mostly had sandwiches, fruit, and maybe the odd granola bar or pudding (but very rarely, we didn't eat a lot of packaged foods). When I got to high school I was "allowed" to buy pizza for my lunch once a week from the local pizza place downtown.  I remember thinking when I graduated from high school, "I never have to pack a lunch again!".  Then I started my summer job, and had to bring a lunch most days.  But when I got to university and lived in residence for 3 years, I had a meal plan at the cafeteria and was spoiled by not having to put together any more lunches.  Then I moved out of residence and my lunch making resumed.  And I still pack a lunch for work most days.  So therefore I am a bag lunch expert, but I still feel challenged by knowing E needs lunch everyday.  I want to make sure he eats it but I also want to make sure he doesn't eat it all for recess.  I'm also torn between not wanting to buy a lot of prepackaged snack food but also the convenience of just throwing a bunch of stuff into his lunch bag without having to prepare a lot in advance.

I have found a few ideas on Pinterest (of course) for 30 days of lunch, no repeats.  Something that is obvious but that I've just figured out by looking at these posts is that there is no magic to preparing a lunch.  Buy fruits and vegetables and put them in a container.  Cut up cheese and meat and put it in a container.  Make cookies and muffins and put them in a container.

We have a lot of plastic containers, and a few special ones for lunch, so I think I'm ready.

Also I have no idea what the food situation is like at the school.  I don't think they have a cafeteria, but I think they have pizza day sometimes and a lunch lady who prepares some things (although whether a JK kid can go over to purchase these items is a question). We'll figure it out as it comes.  At the very least, the after school program has a snack so even if E eats all of his lunch for recess, he won't starve before we come to pick him up.

Eating Alone

I know some people think that eating alone in a restaurant is something beyond their comfort zone.  I consider it a luxury.  I don't mean grabbing something at a food court or a drive-thru and scarfing it down (although I do that at times...ahem...Chipotle), but I mean walking into a restaurant and saying "Table for one" and being served an entire meal.  Sometimes I eat at the bar, which is so convenient when the restaurant is busy, but I also don't mind a whole table to myself.  

It is rare that I have the opportunity to take an hour to myself to eat lunch.  I enjoy eating lunch with my co-workers, of course, when I can and I'm not eating in my office, and I like going out to eat with Dave and E. But when I can, I will go out, order a glass of wine, my lunch, and read a book.  It's also so much less lonely than eating in a food court or take out on a park bench or something.  

If you think this is not something for you, that's fine, but seriously, try it sometime.  Trust me, no one is paying any attention to you, wondering why you're eating alone.  They are all wrapped up in their own lunch companions.  

Last week at Earls, some wine, the Santa Fe chicken salad, and filling in my new agenda.

Recipe - Portobello, Kale and Gouda Paninis

After indulging over the holidays, we have been focusing on lighter suppers. I like eating a few meatless meals a week, and nothing is better to me than a grilled cheese.  This version kicks it up several notches, so although it is just a sandwich for supper, it is still a special meal.

Portobello, Kale and Gouda Panini

4 cups fresh kale
2 cloves garlic
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes
1/4 cup olive oil
sea salt

4 portobello mushrooms, stems removed
4 generous slices gouda
8 slices sturdy bread, like French, ciabatta, etc.
olive oil

Place kale, garlic, lemon juice and chili pepper flakes in a food processor or blender.  Blend until smooth, drizzle oil in as you keep blending.  Season with sea salt to taste.

Grill mushrooms until soft, about four minutes per side.  Remove from heat and slice into thick slices.  (You may wish to place them on a paper towel to absorb some of their moisture.)

Spread the kale mixture on the bread, top with sliced mushrooms and cheese.  Cover with other slice of bread (repeat for all of the sandwiches).  Generously brush the bread with oil.  Grill until cheese is melted.

Taco Salad

I love Mexican food, and one of my favourite things to make is taco salad.  I have made it for potlucks and for my bag lunch to take to work.  It is something that you can easily make and one that you can add or subtract whatever you want to make it your own.  Here is my version:



Taco Salad



1 lb ground beef, cooked and crumbled
2 cups corn (frozen or canned)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 bell pepper, any colour, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped (or 2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved)
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
250 mL sour cream (or less depending on preferred consistency)
500 mL salsa (or less depending on preferred consistency) (get the fresh stuff in the deli section, not the bottled Old El Paso style stuff)
Tortilla chips or Doritos, broken into small pieces

 

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and serve.  Optional, serve sour cream and salsa on the side for people to add their own.  Makes enough for a large crowd, or for a small crowd with lots of leftovers.

 

Will keep covered in the fridge for a couple of days. Because you're using prepared salsa, it is not necessary to add taco-style spices to the meat, but you can.  Another option is to omit the beef, use shredded chicken breast, or nothing at all for a vegetarian option.  This is very kid friendly too, and they can help dump everything in and mix it. 



E wanted to take a picture of his plate too, and this is what he took: