What I'm packin'

I believe in packing one's own lunch. At least, in theory.
Why? For a number of reasons:

It is probably more eco-friendly (assuming one limits the use of disposable packaging and buys foods that come unpackaged or in multi-serving sizes, and packs reusable guples, I tend to think it should be.)

It is definitely forces one to pre-meditate on the contents of her lunch, thereby encouraging likely better nutritional choices (there is medical evidence that, by planning a meal prior to when one plans to eat it, she is much more statistically likely to stick with a prestated nutritional plan).

It can make you feel smug and superior. (since I only pack lovely, tasty lunches, I enjoy eating my lovely, tasty food when my office mates are eating take-out chicken sandwiches AGAIN).

BUT - is it actually cheaper? If you pack what I just packed, perhaps not.

If one eats a cheap, bad sandwich and little else, then yes, it is cheaper to pack your own lunch.
But...(and I have noticed I almost never pack myself a sandwich), I was shocked to discover recently while using the fun sandwich calculator that my lunches are probably not a huge bargain, financially.

Nonetheless, packing your own lunch can be a weird homemaker-ish source of amusement for me, and now that I have a rockin' lunchbox (mine is a pink Lunchopolis, YMMV), I have even more impetus to pack a grande lunch.

For tomorrow, while my dinner was simmering, I packed:
1/2 cup of Fage total 2% yogurt with a teaspoon of raw, local honey from the JP Farmer's market

a salad, consisting of 1/2 a cucumber and a whole tomato (both brunoise) plus about 1/4 cup of flat-leaf parsley (from my husband's grandmother's garden), and a tablespoon of very finely diced raw red onion dressed with a few drops (circa 1/4 teaspoon) of olive oil, lemon juice, and a pinch of gray sea salt

a can of Archer Farms sugar free grapefruit energy drink (yay, Target, this is like a good-tasting, but just-as-caffeinated, Red Bull)

a single-serve bag of Almonds (Trader Joe's "just a handful...")

and some snacks that I'll prob leave in the fridge and eat as-needed over the week:
one slice of lowfat cheddar-flavored soy cheese
a berry fruit leather
an Odwalla protein bar (the protein one is the only Odwalla bar that meets my needs, in terms of its being high-protein and lower-sugar, plus all natural and good-tasting!)
a package of Kedem tea biscuits.

do you have any packable lunch ideas that are mostly natural, low-ish in fat (except for nuts, for which I make an exception), mostly free of fleshy animal protein, and low in sugars? bring it. and tell me about it!

and yes, you CAN do it yourself

I made a yummy sauce tonight that I thought I'd share, lest you imagine that I am all talk.
I walk the walk, too, kids.

So, my adoring and carb-enabling husband made pizza dough this afternoon (as well as a monsterous loaf of superseeded rye bread, but I digress...). It was happily rising at home when he told me about this. Immediately, I was considering what to put on it... and, using my superpower (I can remember what is in the fridge right now! because the answer is close-to-nothing), took intellectual stock of the cool chest and pantry.

dried mushrooms! aha! umame time!

a huge plastic jug of them.

from Costco. go figure.

so, I asked him to soak some. I didn't realize that this would be for too long in too much water.

When I got home, the mushrooms were rehydrated all right - into a strange, squishy, dilutely-flavored stew floating in a brown, dirt-infused broth.

But for some reason, I decided to try to make them into something. I imagined that their dark, earthy, savory, glutamic goodness was still in that bowl amongst all that water! I probably should have trashed them. But I am enormously glad that I didn't. And now, you will know what to do when this happens to you:

Rich mushroom pizza or whatever sauce a.k.a. everything in the pantry sauce (this would be great in place of a Bolognese sauce or over meaty-flavored items):

about one cup of dried mushrooms (don't bother to cut them or anything)
1.5 cu water
1/2 can tomato paste (lots of glutamate... mine was Trader Joe's organic tomato paste)
1/2 cup of good, dry red wine (I used RedTree Pinot Noir) (more here, too...)
1/3 cup sugar (do not substitute this, it is needed for caramelization and thickening of sauce - like a jam)
a few shakes of paprika
a shake of nutmeg (ONE shake of the cheap dry preground stuff, less if yours is better)
salt to taste (more than you might think)
a little garlic powder (to taste, I used maybe 1/2 tsp of the cheap stuff)
a shake of dried oregano

how to:
soak the mushrooms in the water until way rehydrated
into a large skillet over high heat, dump the following, in order:
1) the mushrooms and ALL of the liquid. allow it to come to a boil and reduce a little
2) the tomato paste, stir it in well.
3) the spices, stir.
keep reducing.
4) when reduced by 1/2, add the wine and somewhat lower the heat to a happy steady bubble.
stir.
5) continue to let reduce a bit, then add the sugar and stir very well.

turn the heat back up, keep stirring until desired thickness and yummy, scraping the caramelizing thick goodness from the edges and bottom of pan back into the sauce.
taste (let it cool a sec first, ok?)
and add salt as/if needed.

let cool slightly (it will thicken further) and serve.
this is so good. and free of fats and animal protein. but it has a very rich meaty earthy flavor.

I added some vegan sausage bits and parmesan as a topping over homemade pizza dough and cooked at 500 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. huzzah!

if you cook it, ymmv, since I never measure anything. give me your feedback, eh?

Tom Yummy!

Just needed to tell you about mg new snack discovery. Not an alternanut, but actual nuts (you are what you eat, indeed).

Way to go, Trader Joe's, cuz the Tom Yum chewy crisp cashews are addictively good. The flavor is savory, sweet, and complex, which for me constitutes a deeply satisfying snack.

All nuts do contain fat, and unfortunately cashews aren't the heathiest of nuts, with 25% of the fat coming atcha in the saturated (extra artery clogging) format. But these are all natural, vegan, and contain no trans fat (the evilest shit invented), and I think the benefits of a nice blend of vegan protein, mostly healthy fats, and complex carbs at killing between meal munchies outweigh the downsides.






Grab a handful (ONE handful) and enjoy. The natural lemongrass, chili, and touch of garlic makes this amazing!

Trader Joe's Tom Yum cashews, 2.8 oz, will run ya only 99 cents for 2.5 servings, a bahhhgin!

AlternaNuts!

I love nuts. You are what you eat, right?

They are easy to toss in my purse, stash in my glovebox, and shove in my pie-hole (actually, I am not such a fan of pie, but perhaps we'll discuss E's dessert laws another day? and Cheeto-hole lacks a certain ring, no?) on the go. They don't melt in the heat, they're not artificial, and they're not hard to procure in an unprocessed fashion. Nuts pack a nice wallop of nutrition, trace elements, and protein. Trouble is, all those benefits have a price - and that would be fat (most of it "good" but it is still fat...) and calories.

Typically I conquer this with portion control. But a 100-cal pack is not always satisfying, plus having some nut alternatives is useful culinary armamentation in the war against boredom and bad foods - be they bad tasting, bad for me, or bad for the environment.

So let's talk about alternanuts.

Recently, I tried making asparagus crisps, as described by the genius FoodplayerLinda over at her fabuluscious blog, Playing with Fire and Water. Linda is a real chef, and I strongly suspect she is a genius (see above comment). I had to modify her recipe a little (go read it, silly) , as I wound up salting the asparagus while it dried in the oven (salting the water only left them too bland once dried) and the dehydration oven time for mine was much longer (about 2 hours to her 30 minutes) - I suspect both of these are due to the fact that I was unable to just use a vegetable peeler to strip the asparagus down (I have an OXO GoodGrips veggie peeler, one size, that's all) and just used a knife and some patience...

BUT, once I made these light, tasty little snacks (mine turned out kinda the thickness of 70's potato stix, with an 'x', like the kind that came in a can), I found them to be amazingly addictive.

that, and they kinda taste a lot like pistachios.

all that without adding any fat.

so go try it. like right now. one tip, though - asparagus is mostly water. so once you remove the water, you may be surprised to see just how little mass is left. These really reduce down to nearly nothing. BUT that nothing is crisp and flavorful and mysteriously lacking the sometimes-present sulfur-y note that some people dislike in asparagus.

a day later, if they get a little limp, just flash 'em in the microwave again for like 14 seconds.
crispiness returns!

I am considering trying the same method with leeks, scallions, maybe kaffir leaves... and pre-sliced mushrooms. Crispy, gentle, tasty veggie-snacks are a winner.

Did you try it? How might you serve it?
I'm planning to powder 'em and encrust stuff, as well as serve over soups, salads, in a sushi roll, you name it. and by the handful, in place of nuts!