Saturday, May 26, 2012

This salad brought to you by...

 Lunch...I struggle with lunches at work because I can't bring anything that may need refrigeration or re-heated because the fridge is always over flowing and the kitchen is an absolute disaster by 10AM. I swear, people live here...there are honest to God bags of groceries in the fridges and every morning there is a group of people whipping up breakfast in the kitchen. Everything from toast and pancakes to scrambled eggs. So by about 10 AM the counter is covered in toast crumbs, the fridge has been totally rearranged and the microwave has had several explosions in it...
If you know me at all, you know I'm not going anywhere near that!
So this is one of my go-to lunch ideas. A simple container filled with chopped veggies, fruit, cheese and of course, a Shot Glass...with dressing in it!
The dressing is sometimes from a bottle but most often a drizzle of evoo and a glug of balsamic - which doesn't require chilling at all. The shot glass is tall enough to not spill as long as I don't toss my container around too much and fits nicely in the dishwasher in those little spaces you never quite know how to fit something in to. 
 Plus, you know, it's fun to have a shot of Jameson in my lunch to ease into the afternoon   ;0)
What do you have for lunch? I'm always looking to mix it up!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

What do you think of Rice Cereal?

 I keep a box of Cream of Rice cereal in the cupboard but I hardly ever cook it...I have mixed feelings that stem from the fact that if you try to make it in the microwave it will boil over, no matter how careful you are, plus...cooking! I don't dig cooking in the morning.
Weekends are different though. I can cook breakfast like a mad woman - mostly because breakfast on Saturday is always after 11:00 AM.
 I went nutty today and made 4 servings, in an attempt to have prepared breakfast for the next couple days. Since it's a nightmare in the micro I made it on the stove in the biggest pan I had, just in case it was prone to boiling over. It wasn't...because the directions are different...which I found out afterwards when I decided to read the instructions! Ha ha. Boil the water then add the rice...but it works if you do it all at once. Evidence:

Big pan, little blob of cereal, but 4 days of breakfast - so Yay!

It is surprisingly filling and I found that it really doesn't require as much syrup as say...grits or oatmeal, to taste sweet enough. Probably because rice itself is fairly sweet.
So, I'm on the fence about it. I kind of prefer my instant packet of grits for simplicity but there is just something nice about a soft bowl of warm goo in the morning.
What do you think?

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Favorites!

Today I made collard green wraps and I thought, "I love collard greens!"

I can't help it- they make me happy. With tuna salad or hummus rolled up, I think it might be the perfect food.  So I started thinking about the things that I always keep in stock...my favorites...my staples.  Everybody has staples. Before Celiac (bc) mine were ramen noodles, frozen vegetables and precooked chicken breasts. Now they look a little like this:
 Chocolate chip cookie dough Larabars - I have one for breakfast almost every day. When King Soopers runs them for $1 each, I clear the shelf.
Apparently, I have a thing for gf cookie dough...this is dairy free too and seriously heavenly.

 Parmesan pancakes - simple and go with everything. You can break them up for "croutons" in a salad or eat them like chips or toss them in with popcorn. 

Raisins...well, they go in lots of stuff and keep forever! I've taken to putting them in my tuna salad (goes good in those collard wraps!) and I find them to be a great snack with a handful of walnuts and chocolate chips - sort of trail mixy.


 A banana a day makes me happy - frozen and pulverized to creaminess is divine!

 Spinach may be one of the most perfect foods. I try to eat a pound a day ala Hot Chicks.

 I keep these in my drawer at work - so much better than a coke for that afternoon pick-me-up. Simple carbs = simple energy, no sugar/caffeine jitters then dragging. 

Expensive? Yes. Delicious? YES! Better than peanut? I think so...

What are your staples and must-haves at your house?

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Skinny Muffins & Fat Muffins




So... I'm on Pinterest. Heard of it? http://pinterest.com/dizzycocoa/ So many great things on there to try...
So I saw this picture for 1 minute skinny gf muffins that sounded simple and fun and I tried it (recipe here: http://heathereatsalmondbutter.com/2012/03/01/one-minute-flourless-muffin/). Mine ended up looking like this:

and did not taste good, but I can't say it tasted bad either. It didn't stick to the cup (as promised). It was definitely full of fiber though - I wouldn't recommend eating before something like a long car trip...
So, I think I'll stick to my 20 minute fat muffins:

 I use Pamela's baking and pancake mix and they are always delicious and never make me double over with stomach cramps.