The Desperate One

Today's lunch was packed fast and furious style.  I had less than 2 minutes to figure out what I wanted and it was as desperate assembly of flavor and nutrition:

• Ezekiel English muffin
• smoked salmon 
• strawberries
• a ton of broccoli 

First off, a word of warning: don't EVER eat this much broccoli in one meal!!!  Your stomach will hate you and anyone that comes within whiffing distant of your desk will be offended by you.  Nuff said.  Anyway, other than feeling like the Goodyear blimp with a slow and foul leak, this meal was pretty good.  I really wanted to put some cheese on my freshly toasted English muffin but we didn't have any at home.  So I had the brilliant idea to go to the closest sandwich shop by job and ask them for a slice of cheddar cheese.  They charged me 69¢ for 1 measly slice of cheese.  See, this is why I can't be trusted to not pack my lunch.  When I'm hungry I get irrational and buy any and everything my heart desires.  Bad for my wallet and bad for my thighs.  So, like a sucker I plunked down my 69¢ and schlepped it (wrapped up in deli paper and tape and inside a paper bag, so wasteful) back to my office and had a simple sandwich.

I'm really loving these English muffins.  They are hearty and grainy and really satisfying to chew.  That makes sense, right?  I like eating a bread that's got good chew.  Sometimes some of the little grains land in a perfect spot between my top and bottom teeth and powerful choppers turn the little grain into a tasty dust that rolls all over my tongue.  Yum! But one random thing that annoys me about this brand of English muffin is that they give the nutritional information on the side and use half a muffin as 1 serving.  Yeah right!!  I hate that kind of foolishness.  Who eats half an English muffin?  A maniac!  That's who!  The type of person that slices a muffin in half and then LEAVES the other half floundering around in the bag only to become depressed, despondent and dry, is the type of person that I would cross to the other side of the street to get away from if I saw them coming.  So listen, Ezekiel people, I know you probably think your customers are health conscious people who like low calorie, portion controlled servings, so you want to please them by putting smaller numbers on your nutrition info, but COME ON!!  You know only sociopaths eat half a muffin and they are too busy callously charming old ladies out of their pension to eat your muffins.  So just give it to us straight.  We can deal with the fact that English muffins have a lot of calories.  Don't try to play us for fools with this half a muffin per serving crap.*









__________________________________
*Yes, yes I did just go on an unprovoked rant about English muffins.  Not to mention, my creepy description of chewing bread.  No excuses, just acknowledging that it happened.  I bet you think this way too sometimes.  Right?  Hopefully?  Um, who are these men in white coats  coming into my room and why do they have a butterfly net?

All Aboard

Hello again!  Get ready for a ride on the lunch train.  Here's what I've been eating for the past few weeks:

•  Bowl of salad with mixed greens, Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, grilled salmon
• cara cara orange

I've been taking lunch and breakfast with me to work lately.  The 4 photos above are examples of what I ate every day for over a week:

• Trader Joe's sandwich slim
• 3 clementines
• broccoli
• strawberries
• green salad (I keep the salad dressing in the fridge at work)
• tuna salad (with a little bit of veggie frittata mixed in)
• Breakfast:  egg white & veggie frittata with a slice of Ezekiel (we have a toaster at work too)

This is what I pack on Friday's when I know I'm going to go out with friends for dinner.  Last week we went to a hip new Southern restaurant that features shatter skin fried chicken and a chocolate mousse parfait that could make you slap your own mother!  I wanted to eat clean and low calorie/fat during the day so I could indulge in the pleasures of the flesh (and cocoa bean) that night:

• lunch:  salad bowl full of mixed greens, cucumbers, bell peppers, salmon (at the bottom of the bowl) and balsamic vinaigrette 
• breakfast:  same old veggie frittata

Finally, here's what been on the menu this week:

• strawberries (I put them in my oatmeal, packets of which are kept at my desk at work)
• grapefruit cocktail (I forgot how delicious this is)
• broccoli 
• clementines
• mixed green salad with cucumbers and bell peppers
• boiled potatoes (yellow skin, red skin, and PURPLE)
• whole wheat pasta with a little bit of chicken sausage and lots of Brussels sprouts and tomatoes
• turkey meatballs

Phew!  That was a long one!  

I may or may not have had a Miss America viewing partying this weekend, where I may or may not have served a boiling pot of cheesy fondue in which I definitely dipped potatoes, Brussels sprouts and broccoli instead of bread.  I also, allegedly, served a big pot of creamy chocolate fondue as well and dipped the strawberries and some bananas in it.  Sooo, even though I tried not to have leftovers this year (all three weeks of it), most of my veggies this weeks were leftover from this supposed party that might have happened on Saturday night.

I'm going out to dinner at a steakhouse tomorrow night so it's going to be veggie frittata and salad again tomorrow.  So far, my packed food has been the best damage control for my late night muchies habit and dinners out with friends.  It's restaurant week here and I know I want to try some of the places that I'd normally never be able to afford, but it's going to be tough to not over indulge.  I figure if I fill up on broccoli and fruit all day I'll be too bloated to eat an entire 10 oz. steak and 2 slices of cheesecake at night.  I hope so, anyway!

Mexican Wednesday

Today was a back-of-the-freezer day.  Luckily, I had something that fit in with the International Week theme that I created last night.

• TJ's Black Bean & Corn Enchilada
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar & jack cheese
• green salad with red bell pepper
• tangerine

Nothing special.  I had to add a little cheese on top of these enchiladas because I can't support the "dairy free" enchilada movement.  Ok, maybe it's not exactly a movement.  But enchiladas are supposed to be cheesy.  It's the law!  Anyway, it wouldn't have mattered if I drowned these enchiladas in cheese because they were not very tasty.  Super salty and the sauce was gloopy.  I guess I buy these ready meals for an emergency lunch on days, like today, when fresh food is running low and we want to eat up whatever we have.  Oh, but it's a drag to eat this stuff.  I know I have other options, like buying lunch at one of my favorite sandwich shops (I'm looking at you, Pret).  But I can't bring myself to buy a lunch when I know I  have the ability to pack something.  I've got to get better at choosing my emergency lunch items.

We had our office holiday party tonight.  (Hence the after midnight post.)  It was at a really great barbecue restaurant and I had a little bit of everything.  The best part was taking a doggie bag home.  Now I've got to figure out how to shoehorn leftover Mississippi barbecue and grilled salmon in this international theme.  

Japanese Tuesday

I think I'm trying to force a theme here.  But today's lunch had a slight (very slight, actually) Japanese feel to it.  I guess it was just the fish and rice, but let's call it International Week here at A Packable Feast:

• broiled tilapia over a bed of basmati rice
• pineapple chunks
• green salad with red bell peppers smushed in with a tangerine
• rosemary and thyme walnuts

Well, the rice was leftover from our extravagant Sunday night take-out dinner.  But the tilapia filets were sitting in our freezer, begging to be cooked this week.  Anyway, on to the nuts!

I made a big batch of these nuts as holiday gifts for the office.  I put them in little jars and made some little gift bags.  Rats! I just realized I should have taken a picture of them for this here bloggy wog. Sorry.  I got the recipe from a recent issue of Self Magazine.  Here it is:

Rosemary and Thyme Walnuts

• 5 teaspoons olive oil
• 5 teaspoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 3 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 cups walnut halves
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat oven to 350°. In a bowl, whisk 5 tsp olive oil with 5 tsp pure maple syrup and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. Stir in 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary and 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme. Add 2 cups walnut halves; toss well to coat. Spread evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until fragrant and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme and 1/4 tsp kosher salt. Cool completely.

I just had another big realization.  I used 5 TABLESPOONS OF OIL AND MAPLE SYRUP instead of 5 teaspoons!!!  What the heck was I thinking.  No wonder they were so sweet and oily!! Sheesh!! I can't believe I was so stupid.  Anyway, learn from my mistakes.  Read your recipes carefully, kiddies.

Indian Monday

After surviving the never-ending meatloaf, we decided to order in last night.  Hence, today's lunch:

• green salad with red bell peppers
• tangerines
• lamb bhuna ghosht 
• basmati rice with crispy bits of garlic

We ended up making a great bolognese sauce with the remainder of the meatloaf.  It was dinner for at least 3 nights.  Thanks for all the great ideas.  Then, I convinced myself that since it's a short week and we will be gone for all of next week (California, here we come!) that shouldn't cook enormous amounts of food.  I also convinced myself that since I save so much money by packing my lunch and breakfast 5 days a week we should treat ourselves to a big Sunday night take-out Indian meal.  $77 and an intense case of heartburn later... 

Well, don't I feel stupid!

But it was pretty nice to have a such a warm and filling lunch this afternoon.  I'm surprised and kind of sad that it hasn't snowed here yet.  I think I get a sick sense of smugness when I leave to go back to California for Christmas and NYC is covered in a blanket of snow.  However, it was so bad last winter that I don't dare miss the snow too much.  Anyway, I'm feeling bad about getting take-out last night.  Not only was it waaaaay too expensive but it was also really unhealthy.  Why do we do things like that?  Or, I guess I should say, why do I do things like that? Do you ever do things like that? You know, irrational spending coupled with irrational eating.  Oh well.  Acknowledge and move on.

Third Time's A Charm

BO-ring!!!  This lunch epitomizes Hump Day:

• turkey meatloaf with ketchup
• steamed broccoli
• 2 tangerines
• green salad with red bell peppers

I tried to make it a bit more healthy than yesterday, but it's clearly not any more exciting.  Thanks for the great suggestions.  I'm going to try to spruce up this poor meatloaf for the rest of the week.  Oh, I decided to go for all fruit and veggie sides today because ate about 10 lbs of Christmas cookies and homemade toffee that some evil person left lying around the office.  You know I'm a sucker for a sugary treat!  But, obviously, when you eat it every hour throughout the entire day...it's not really a "treat" anymore.  So, I decided to counteract yesterday's overindulgence.  Besides, the Luna bars that I have in the house are essentially glorified rice crispy squares (dipped in chocolate).  What is the deal (hello, I'm Jerry Seinfeld) with all these dang bars?  Actually, I should say, what's the deal with me buying and eating them when I know full well that they are just candy?!  When they first invented them they were supposed to be for "energy" or "protein" or some bunk like that.  But we all know they are just another thing that we can stuff into our pie-holes under the pretense of being healthy.  And even if they are meant to supplement or replace your meals because you're so busy working out, running marathons or whatever, then I still shouldn't be eating them since my most intense activities have consisted of me walking to the subway and pushing my way through the doors to find the first open seat.  Ok, rant over.  That was my inane way of mentioning that I'm going to try to stop eating Luna bars.  Do you ever eat these energy bar things?  Why or why not? Am I doing them wrong?

Loafing

So this was day 2 of meatloaf mania.  So far, it's pretty good:

• sugar snap peas
• Luna bar (s'mores flavor)
• frozen pineapple chunks
• turkey meatloaf with a squirt of ketchup

Ok, like I said.  This is pretty good.  It's not majorly unhealthy and it's tasty and filling.  But, it is kind of boring and unimaginative.  After all, I did make a big pronouncement about cutting leftovers out of my lunch regime.  Now, here I cooking giant portions of food just so I can use the leftovers for lunch.  I guess it's harder to get super creative with lunch than I realized.  But I still want to start thinking outside the box. No pun intended.

Anyway, I'll leave you with a couple of questions.  What the hell can I do with the 3 lbs. of leftover turkey meatloaf we have?  I sure there are lots of different ways to "repurpose" this beast, but I'm too complacent to figure them out right now.  Also, do you guys ever eat meatloaf?  I didn't grow up eating it.  In fact, I think my parents would call this "exotic" American food.  But I tried making it a few years ago when I wanted to make a supposed classic American comfort meal.  I think I was trying to be kitschy, but I actually really ended up liking it.  So, was it a staple in your home or is it mystery meat to you?