Football Fridays stretch long into the night, and so does a band nerd's appetite! For me, that means a huge PB &J sandwich for lunch to tie me over until dinner comes around. Tomorrow though, I'm taking something special for lunch; a crispy grilled panini with onions, peppers, and wonderful hummus! It's as simple as making a grilled cheese sandwich. What planet is 'hummus' from you ask? Planet savory-creamy-protein-spread of course! It's great on (just about) everything-- from pretzels and bagels to pastas and fresh vegetables. It's definitely worth making a big batch and you'll love how it gets slightly crispy on the edges in this sandwich, adding a nutty/salty/cheesy flavored filling.
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Lately vegetarianism has been the subject of the lunch table. One of the biggest lies I hear besides "I could never go vegetarian or I'll die" is "I'd be vegetarian but it's waaayy too expensive". Ok, maybe that is true... If you 1.) eat off the McDonald's $1 menu every day, all day or 2.) waste your paycheck on protein supplements and fancy organic meat substitutes. On the subject of that ole' farmer, I have a mock Big Mac patty recipe that feeds a family of four for under $10.00. Everything reheats great in the microwave for a quick lunch at school or work too.
A while back a friend of ours brought me a bunch of Asian vegetables from their garden. There was only one I could not name, and it sort of looks like a giant bald white hamster with a bunch of long stringy tails. How on God's green earth am I supposed to cook something with that? Like every brave vegan would do I washed the thing, cut it into fries and took a taste, contemplating what to make with it. I'm still not certain what it was but it tastes like a radish. So I had a fancy radish. And I had Chinese string beans. And noodles. But most of all... I was had peanut butter withdrawals (sweet peanut butter how I miss you so much). I'm not quite sure how it all happened but somehow sweet potatoes, string beans, and radish wound up sauteed with spicy peanut sauce on stringy udon noodles. . . oh yum!
A long time ago there was a girl who lived in east Texas who ate a lot of meat. A LOT. She also loved Mexican food. A LOT. She used to go to a local deli and order a giant baked potato called the Spud Ole', as big as her head and oozing with olives, jalapenos, onions, and cheese. Plot twist-- that girl was me and she still loves Mexican food but hold the animal please! Anyhow... I always stow at least one 5 lb bag of stew potatoes somewhere in the kitchen at all times for daily cooking (this is Starchtrek after all). I wanted to make teeny baked spuds for your lunchbox recipe but I got crazy with the knife and hacked them into itty bitty cubes before you could say 'Klingon'! So here you have it... homefries with a mexican kick!
I L-O-V-E pb & j sandwiches any day of the week. Crunchy peanutty strawberry stickiness between two thick homemade bread slices is mid-day heaven! But everybody knows how to make one and it's not very appealing. I stood in my kitchen naming off boring sandwich fillings for my VLC challenge- something that everyone has in the house. Got peanut butter? Yeah. Got jelly? Sure. And lots of leftover chocolate chips? Gimme! And what about... hot dog buns? What am I supposed to do with those? *Little annoying dancing banana starts singing "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" in my head*
Pasta salad is one of the many wonderful leftover-type foods that get more flavorful the longer they sit in your fridge, so you can take some for Monday's lunch then dollop it aside Friday's dinner. It tastes just like the tangy cool macaroni sides you scoop up at the salad bar, only this time only fresh wholesome ingredients are used. But it wouldn't be 'salad' if it had to be made one way! Throw whatever your crazy heart desires into the mix to make it your own. Just don't get too funky and blame the nastiness on me... K?
Sushi is one of the funnest (wow- that's a word?) ways wrap up tons of good-for-you vitamins. just one roll can give you 6g protein, and provides your body iron, iodine, magnesium, calcium, zinc, copper, and amino acids. In other words girls, sushi = better hair & nails! This recipe skips the gross dead fish part with lovely veggies. Make a bunch of these and freeze them ahead of time for a neat lunch on a busy week. You cannot go wrong with this sushi! Sulu will be proud you tried it- and so will your appetite!
Sunday morning- my ONLY day to relax, ride my beloved bike, and update blogs. I didn't want to eat a quick bowl of cereal in front of the t.v. I wanted something nostalgic and truly filling, and quick that I could plop back onto the bed with. Solution? Paaaaaaaaancakes of course! They only require 5 ingredients and about fifteen minutes of your precious time. Give the food synthesizer a break Scotty (Star Trek fans would get that one)!
Don't tell ANYONE your new secret! You've seen recipes for warm fudgey brownies all over Pinterest, just to your dispair. "All you have to do is grind up a few tablespoons of chia seeds and mix with 1/2 cup of agar agar powder, 2 tbsp cold-pressed organic coconut oil..." Where does one get all these crazy awesome ingredients that I don't know how to use? Personally, I crave the taste of my family's traditional non-vegan fluffy brownies. Their super thin crinkly top, thick fudgey second layer, fluffy and uber chocolatey middle, and dense sticky and extra chocolatey-er bottom layer. *shivers* What's a vegan girl to do on a choco-rampage!
What's twisty, tasty, and easy to eat on the run? Soft pretzels- without the animal products!! These things take only about an hour to make (includes prep time) and you can't mess them up. Seriously, they go with anything.
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