Getting ready

So we're all back to work, and the baby is away from home and us full time for the first time. To try and make things easier, I'm getting into the habit of making food ahead of time. I have always been a fan of making lunches the night before and Sundays have often been my time to cook something big with leftovers in mind. Now, I'm cooking for three and need to be more mindful about nutrition than ever before. Things have to be yummy, simple and portable. This past week, I made a rice casserole with whole grain rice, broccoli, peas and white kidney beans. It was a little bland but did the trick. The baby didn't like it too much but she ate leftover beans the next day and I enjoyed the dish with salsa.

Today, I took about 20 minutes and made macaroni and cheese with peas, whole milk and squash. One pot is enough for a few adult lunches and several kid-sized portions - plus it will freeze well. I also chopped up a carrot and some broccoli, and boiled it until tender, which the baby will love as finger food. I'll also send along in baby's lunch bag some yogurt (baby's favorite!), chickpeas (soaking as I type), fruit (like applesauce, banana or avocado), and cereal. And that's a week of meals. Done.

I just hope I can keep this up because it's inspiring to be on the ball and ready to face the week with one less thing to worry about.

Quick Nutrition

We found a new favorite side dish tonight. Wary of yet another veggie and rice/pasta combo, a tin of chickpeas caught my eye in the pantry. I threw a spoonful of ginger and garlic into a large bowl and whisked it with 3 tbs olive oil, the juice of a lemon, salt & pepper, 2 tbs curry powder and about 1/4 onion and 2 carrots - both grated. I then chopped up some cauliflower and broccoli we happened to have in our crisper - and BAM. Side Dish done. It was as delish as it was easy to make. Plus it's pretty decent for you.

I entered the values into Spark People and for 1/2 cup serving of this salad, there are approx. 235 calories, 40g carbs, 6g fat and 7g protein. Plus you're getting good fiber from the chickpeas and veggies. You can also change it up by adding whatever veggies or other ingredients you have on hand.

I think I'll add some canned tuna to the leftovers for a great lunch tomorrow!

Easy quiche x 2

Looking for an easy anytime-meal? The answer is quiche. You can have it for dinner, lunch, brunch, you name it! And you can add whatever you'd like to it for endless possibilities. This weekend, I made a ham, cheddar and green onion quiche. And the dish can be as complicated or simple as you want it.

This weekend's attempt was made with a pre-made frozen pie shell, six eggs (I find that a good ratio for a 12" pie dish), about 1/4 cup milk and your chopped up ingredients. You can up the ante by making your pie shell from scratch. Leave out the pie shell altogether and you'll reduce calories plus get to call your quiche a frittata.

If the ingredients are soft (like cheese, deli meat, tomato) you can add them right into the egg mixture. If they're harder (like leeks, onion, broccoli) you should cook them, and let them cool, before adding to the mixture. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake about 20 minutes until the egg is cooked in the middle and the top of the quiche is golden brown.

I had quiche and a salad for dinner with a salad; leftover quiche and sweet potato wedges for brunch the next day.

Lasagna ? I hardly know ya!

Lasagna is something most people enjoy or make on a regular basis. The basics are layers of pasta, sauce and fillers. There are a million different types: white sauce, traditional with tomato sauce, meat, spinach, veggie, fancy or simple, you name it. I made one recently with no-bake noodles (a time and sanity saver), plain old tomato sauce, mushrooms, spinach, beef and green peppers. It was simple and delsih. I did use cheese (because I'm a cheese addict) and alternated between mozza and ricotta. I love ricotta in lasagna and tend to use it whenever I make the dish.

The thing I really love about lasagna, no matter the variety, is that it's great for so many occasions. You can bring it to a pot-luck, have it at a dinner party, leftovers are great, and you can make a big batch and freeze portions for use at another time. I made two lasagnas this time around: one for now and one for freezing for work lunches. It's an easy and economical solution to the morning rush! Just grab a container out of the fridge and away you go.
ps. I just want to mention I love the lighting in my new kitchen. It's helping me make great strides in my food photography!

What not to eat

Being busy and energy-zapped leads to interesting meal choices. During this past week, I've had a leftover meeting sandwich (eww), leftover fish and rice from home (not so eww), basically skipped lunch once in favour of more coffee and went to the pub near my work for a lunch study session. Not all smart or healthy choices during a busy work week. Aside from making a batch of cookies on Sunday night I haven't really cooked much of anything this whole week. I need inspiration, time and some get-up-and-go. Hopefully this weekend will bring me a little more food luck!

Quiche!

I'm so happy with the way the quiche turned out. The crust was a little time consuming but actually pretty easy for a hand-made crust. The filling took no time and it all tasted great. I did some substitutions including: using some local leek I got at the farmer's market, using ham instead of bacon, and plain milk instead of cream. Using the original recipe would result in a richer quiche but my version was a bit healthier and tasted great to me!

Crust from scratch, rolled out and then put into pie dish. The silver thingies are crust protectors I scored for my birthday. Kitchen gadgets rule!
Leeks! You've got to really wash them out well and then sweat them with some onions. Fry up some ham (or bacon) and add that to the egg mixture before baking

The finished product! Quiche Lorraine...yum! And I have enough leeks leftover to try leek and potato soup tomorrow.

Pasta salad for lunch

I've been a littlle lax lately with preparing lunches. If I don't get lunches together either the night before or in the morning, we end up eating crap and spending too much for said crap food. But what do you do when you're sick of leftovers and sandwiches? The other night I decided to improvise with what was in my fridge and cupboard and make a nice pasta salad. You could use whatever you had but here's what I used:

Bowtie pasta (about 2 cups)

Cherry tomatoes (1 pint and cut in half)

Black beans (1/2 can, rinsed)

Green pepper (1/2 pepper, sliced thinly)

1/4 cup light mayo

2 tbs mustard

1/3 cup mozza cheese (cubed, could also use feta or shredded cheddar)

dash of salt & pepper, paprika and chili powder.

Cook the pasta as per directions on the package. Drain and put aside to cool. Then chop/prepare the rest of the ingredients. Put into large bowl and add the dressing ingredients. Mix and combine with the cooled pasta. Then divide the salad up into small covered bowls or reusable lunch containers. Presto - lunch for at least two days. It was easy and it'll be there waiting in the fridge!