Tag Archives: spring

Junk in the Trunk

Posted on April 25, 2011 | 3 Comments

Or in the tote bag. And that’d be junk salads, thankyouverymuch.

Passover doesn’t officially end until sundown tomorrow night and leaving my current craving for an English muffin aside, I haven’t really craved any grains, beans, or too many potatoes. That has been a new experience for the most part and I credit having my gluten free matzah with the difference.

But enough about all of my eating over the past week. I want to focus on what has been my go-to lunch during the holiday: the junk salad. These things haven’t been small and I’ve loved trying different combinations of vegetables for my meal!

I’ve used romaine lettuce and spinach leaves as the base for every salad. They provide good nutrients, taste, and the perfect canvas for colorful toppings!

This salad had sliced carrot, English cucumber, red onion, artichoke hearts, red bell pepper, Feta cheese, dill, Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning salute, and a pickle on the side.

Today’s lunch changed up the mix a bit. The focal point was a beautiful roasted portobello mushroom cap that I roasted with Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute. I also had artichoke hearts, English cucumber, carrot, red onion, roasted cauliflower, Feta, black pepper, and green olives.

They take maybe 5 minutes to assemble, including washing an cutting some of the vegetables, and they take a good 25-30 minutes to eat (I’m a slow eater anyways) and I get to savor each bite!

With some extra (non-cheese) protein mixed in (beans, chicken) I am thrilled to continue toting junk salads for lunch throughout the spring and summer! They are naturally gluten free, healthy and all around satisfying!

What are your favorite salad toppings?

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Perfectly Relaxing

Posted on April 25, 2011 | 2 Comments

First, a Happy Easter to those of you who celebrated. I loved seeing folks all dressed up in bright spring colors on their way to celebrate the holiday! Although I did not have any Easter festivities to attend I managed to have a perfectly relaxing day (and weekend) with some of my favorite activities!

Sunday morning I slept in although it didn’t feel like it because I stayed up wayyyy too late reading Water for Elephants. I managed to stop with just a chapter or two left so I finished the book as soon as I woke up.

Breakfast was another egg with ~1/3 of a piece of matzah with red pepper spread and some fruit topped with cinnamon and charoset. This seems to be my favorite Passover breakfast this year.

After digesting a bit I went to the gym. I did about 35 minutes of cardio and did arms and shoulder weight training for about 15 minutes. It was much to nice to head directly home after I stretched so I took a very long way home and got in some extra walking.

Lunch was a quick veggie salad and then I made a smoothie to take up to the roof with me. Into the blender went strawberries, a bit of mango and pineapple, and Mango Peach VitaCoco coconut water. I enjoyed my smoothie in the sunshine and relaxed for a good part of the afternoon.

A storm rolled through not too long ago so I took advantage of the clouds to knock out some cooking for the week. I have a few meal dates on my calendar this week and want to make sure I have some meals ready to go to bring to work. I have been waiting patiently for the right time to try this asparagus soup recipe and today was the day! I swapped in onion for the leeks and some cooked kosher for Passover pasta (~2/3c) for the potatoes. As that simmered I roasted a head of cauliflower, portobello mushroom caps, a head of garlic, and baked some chicken. I did 15 minutes or so of prep work and then let my oven and stove do the rest of the work. Mission accomplished!

Despite snacking on a pear and drinking lots of water my stomach was ready for more food. I had an early dinner of my soup, which was basically spring in a bowl. I blended the soup to make it “creamy” and topped it with chives and a bit of Parmesan cheese. I’ll say it again – spring in a bowl perfection!

Other relaxing weekend highlights include:

  • sleeping in
  • walks in the sunshine
  • a Whole Foods run (shocker)
  • a quick and cool night walk just before a thunderstorm started

How did you relax this weekend?

How do you like to relax on the weekends?

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May in April?

Posted on April 11, 2011 | 3 Comments

Hi friends!  Can you believe it was in the mid-80s today?! It felt like the perfect May spring day and I was l.o.v.i.n.g. it! The sun was shining and I couldn’t spend enough time outside.

After a weekend full of sightseeing, eating, walking, and quality time with my parents I was looking forward to a slower-paced Monday but it seems like my mind was tricked by the summer-like weather.

I was in back-to-back meetings for the first 5 hours of the day which made it go by quickly. Luckily they were across campus so I got little snippets of sunshine! After work I stopped by Trader Joe’s, dropped off groceries, and then headed to Whole Foods for a few more items and dinner.

This hot bar salad contains greens and spinach, bell pepper, mushrooms, peas, corn, onion, beets, Cuban chick peas, black beans, and some Brazilian rice. It was the perfect al fresco dinner after a weekend of delicious (but somewhat indulgent) food with the ‘rents.

Walking home, the last thing I wanted to do was spend time in my apartment. Instead I met up with a friend and we went for a nice little walk through a new neighborhood. Another accidental 3.6 miles for the day and I’ve walked 9 miles today! Ooops. That wasn’t he slow-paced day I’d originally had in mind but it was totally worth it!

How do I calm achy arches and a tired body? A cold shower followed by rolling my feet with a frozen water bottle. It hits all the parts of my feet perfectly and feels sooo good!

If you were in DC today did you soak up some sun? What’s your favorite home remedy for sore / tired muscles?

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Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

Posted on April 6, 2011 | 6 Comments

In my efforts to dwindle my grains stash as I prepare for Passover, I decided to whip up this risotto earlier this week. The roasted squash adds  extra depth of flavor and the peas lighten the dish up just a tad as we try to kick off spring. This warm bowl is a perfect meal for cool early Spring night.

Ingredients:

  • 1 container peeled and cubed butter nut squash
  • 1/2c sweet onion, chopped
  • ~1/2c frozen peas
  • 1 c Arborio rice
  • 2c vegetable broth
  • ~2c water
  • garlic, salt, pepper to taste

Roast the butternut squash at 350* for about 30 minutes or until squash is cooked and lightly browned. You can roast this ahead of time to have on hand.

In a non-stick sprayed pan, saute onion and garlic over medium heat until the onion starts to turn translucent. Add in the Arborio rice and stir constantly for ~2 minutes until rice starts to toast.

Add about 1 cup of vegetable broth and stir continuously until broth cooks down. Add more broth and repeat. Continue to stir and add liquid as needed until rice is cooked (I switched to water after the 2 cups of broth).

When rice is cooked add in the butternut squash and peas and stir until they are warmed through.

Serve and enjoy! I love this plain as well as topped with some Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper.

I enjoyed a 1/2c cup serving of the risotto over a bed of spinach along with a half cup of cannellini beans.  It was the perfect Sunday comfort meal and left me stuffed!

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