Ride Like The Wind

I worked a little late tonight, but I got home way faster than I expected because there was no wind pushing against me and my bicycle during my 10 mile journey home. I ride along the Hudson River here in NYC and sometimes it feels like I'm pedaling through mud when there is a breeze coming off the water. Tonight it was easy, no-breezy riding the whole way home. I made it from door to door in 50 minutes. It usually takes at least 62, sometimes even 70 minutes. Anyschway...no one wants to hear about my cycling feats. Let's talk lunch:

• sugar snap peas
• chicken and chorizo chili
• frozen peaches
• crunchy bell peppers

I had the same exact lunch yesterday. And I'm going to have the same lunch tomorrow. It's predictable, but tasty.
I'm still doing breakfast at desk (the saddest parody of "breakfast in bed" known to humankind). I've been keeping a lot of produce in the office fridge at work. Every week I bring in some fresh berries and add them to my packet of oatmeal. I keep the box oatmeal in my desk drawer. The hard boiled egg comes from the batch I make every Sunday night. Are hard boiled eggs gross to you? I could see how they would be gross to other people. But I love 'em!

This Feels Weird

This is the first lunch in weeks that is not a salad. It feels funny not having a cool crunch in my box. Here's what I did have:

• sugar snap peas
• chicken and sausage chili
• frozen pineapples
• Puffins

We are going out of town this weekend and the Master of the House made this chili so we could use up the fresh produce we have left. It's got lots of fresh veggies in it and he used chorizo instead of the regular chicken basil sausage that we usually have. It's way more spicy than I'm used to, but still tasty! I think this is going to be lunch for the rest of the week. I've got to eat up all the other fresh vegetables in the house for dinner. Tonight I'm having a grilled portobello sandwich. Yum!

Summer Crunch

Hi! I'm alive.

See that's me back in May at the 5 Boro Bike Tour. Waaaay back in May. I packed a lunch to sustain me during the 42 mile ride. I stuck it in my basket.
Yikes, this was a long time ago...Cara Cara oranges were still in season.
I also packed a turkey and cheese wrap for the ride.

Now I'm just going to show you a tiny sample of the lunches I've been taking to work since we last chatted.

Those little beige pellets are Puffins. I was a little obsessed with them in June. Great in milk, but also perfect to crunch on as a snack/side dish at my desk. Puffins and salad have been pretty much the featured players in my lunches this summer. Lots of crunchiness.
Salad!
Puffins!
Salad and Puffins!
Rinse. Repeat.
Now I'm kind of over Puffins. I had a few unfortunate run ins with the Cinnamon Puffins one too many times so ... Well, let's not go there. We were having such a nice catch-up.
I've been boiling a whole bunch of hard boiled eggs on Sunday night and packing them up for breakfast in the mornings. Good stuff.

That's all for now. I'm really going to try to get back to blogging the way I used to (i.e., more than once every 3 months). Also, I have to show you guys the delicious Summer Coq au Vain that I made in the slow cooker and have been gobbling up every day this week. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer!

A Royal Finish

There are some benefits to waking up at the crack of dawn. It's 6:30 a.m. and I'm dressed and ready for work already. All because I had to see the Royal Wedding live. My alarm went off at 5:00 and I crept out of bed to watch the festivities. I packed this beauty in the meantime:

• frozen pineapple
• vegan corn muffin (baked by the Boo)
• broccoli
• chicken and veggie fried rice

The wedding has been pretty entertaining so far. Well, as entertaining as a royal wedding can be. I'm actually getting kind of sleepy though. I wonder if I can take a nap in my work clothes without wrinkling them too badly. Anyway, have a great weekend!

Once More With Spirit!

Spring is here, but it is slowly trying to kill me. All the pollen in the air has my eyes on fire and I'm sniffling like a drug seeking dog. Ugh, this is the time of year that I'm actually glad I work in hermetically sealed skyscraper where you can't open any windows. Air is my enemy until mid June. Moving on...my old man cooked up another killer meal last night and I reaped benefits again today:

• homemade chicken and veggie fried rice
• vegan corn muffin
• frozen peaches
• grapes
• light cheddar cheese stick

It is gross that I gush so much about Mr. Lovah Lovah? I don't mean to be sappy I just want to make my appreciation known. Also, I kind of want to show the effort it takes to make my lunches everyday. Someone commented that they wanted to know how I find the time to pack a meal (or 2 on a good day) every day. Well, the most important thing is having everything I need in the fridge. About 85-90% of the food me and my bloke eat comes from our own kitchen. This is mainly because we are cheap, and secondly because we like to know what we are putting in our mouths. So, in order to achieve this we do a lot of grocery shopping.

Oh! Speaking of grocery shopping, has anyone seen Extreme Couponing? Sheesh, it makes me feel like I'm throwing money down the toilet when it comes to grocery shopping. I'm taking on a lot of little mini self challenges these days, so I'm not going to start to obsess over coupons, but that show did remind me to stick to our food budget a bit more closely. Anyway, I've comforted myself with the fact that there aren't any coupons for fresh fruit and veggies and that's what we go through the fastest her on the Estate.

I'm looking forward to a quiet night tonight and getting to bed early. I've got a 5:00 a.m. date with my TV. Royal Wedding, y'all!

Let's Hear It For The Boo!

It's been a long day, but I finally made it home in one piece. Let's jump right in. Shall we?

• turkey meatloaf
• roasted potatoes
• red grapes
• broccoli
• light cheddar cheese stick

My main man has been on quite the cooking spree this week. He made another batch of those gorgeous roasted potatoes for dinner last night and they found their way into my lunchbox today. Honestly, sometimes leftovers are the most comfortable and welcomed sight in the morning when I'm figuring out what to make for lunch. Thank goodness he's been in the mood to cook for us this week because I know I sure haven't felt like doing it.

I'm a bit disappointed in myself tonight because I caved and had half of a cupcake tonight at a comedy show. I know in the grand scheme of this is not a big deal at all. In fact, it could even be seen as a triumph since I didn't eat the whole thing, or more than one, for that matter. However, after reading all that stuff about the toxicity of sugar I really wanted to break my cravings for the stuff. I told myself that I was not longer going to have sweets (candy, cakes, ice cream,or sugared drinks, etc.) unless it was a special occasion or "worth it" in some way. I know that's how most healthy eaters operate, but for me that is an extreme lifestyle change. I don't think I've ever gone more than 24 hours without eating something sugary. I'm not kidding. If it's not jam on toast in the morning, it's an "energy bar" (which is basically an overpriced, extra chemicalized candy bar) in the afternoon or vanilla yogurt at night. And that's when I'm trying to be healthy. On a bad day it's nonstop chocolate and cakes. Anyway, that's why that article kind of shook me up. I feel like I have a real problem with sugar so the obvious thing for me to do was cut out sweets. I was doing a pretty good job this week until tonight. Anyway, it's not the end of the world and I'm not going to get diabetes from half a (moist, delicious, creamy, fluffy) cupcake. But, I will have to strengthen my resolve if I'm going to kick this thing. Wish me luck.

Can't Stop, Won't Stop

Hello! Well, I've officially caught stupid royal wedding fever. Ugh, I'm usually immune to bugs like this but not matter how much I tried to steer clear of those who were infected, it still managed to get me, via the TV. I'm sat here on the couch watching some Entertainment Tonight tell me about Kate's floral choices. Yeah, it's got me bad. Anywho, I digress.

• turkey meatloaf
• broccoli
• red grapes
• light cheddar cheese stick
• romaine lettuce, carrots, bell peppers
• balsamic vinaigrette (not shown, I forgot to put it in the picture)

Well, I know I declared that I was allergic to carrots last week, but I really don't think I'm going to stop eating them. They are just too good. I'll limit myself to just 1 a day. That doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to eat a carrot a day, it just means that I can have one when I want to. I was telling Mr. Man about my carrot rationing this morning and he was not too pleased about it. Especially since I made the morbid joke that the nerdiest way to die is from eating carrots and since I'm probably the nerdiest person alive, it would sort of be a poetic way to go. Anyway, I'm not going to off myself for a bunch of carrots.

Speaking of my big hunk o' man, he made that there turkey meatloaf and it was another humdinger. Oh, that reminds me. Here is the recipe for the garlic chicken he always makes:

Garlic Chicken

• 1 chicken, 3-4 lbs cut into 8 serving pieces (trimmed of excess fat)
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 heads of garlic, separated in cloves
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or any herb)
  

Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Working in batches if necessary, add the chicken and cook, turning frequently, until well browned. 7-10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pan. Add the garlic cloves and saute over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Pour in the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Transfer chicken to a slow cooker. Sprinkle with thyme and add the garlic mixture. Cove and cook until the chicken is tender and opaque throughout, 3 hours on the low-heat setting.

The recipe comes from Williams Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking.

If you try it out let me know. I'm sure you'll see it here again sometime soon.