Hi MoFo'ers! Lately, I have been making an effort to eat more veggies at lunch time. Some days, if I'm lucky, there are some tasty leftovers in the fridge that I can heat up for lunch. But many days, there are not... and I come home from teaching or doing yoga, and I'm hungry... and I'll start eating everything in sight. Without a little assistance from my non-hungry-self, my hungry-self can plow through a bag of granola and a couple power bars in no time flat.
But today, by the time I got home for lunch, I'd just ridden my bike for an hour and done two hours of a hard yoga class and I was Ready To Eat. Happily, this whole beautiful lunch took me about 10 minutes to throw together!
So, in an effort to stave off such occasions, I've been doing a little more veggie prep whenever I have the chance. Like, if I am preparing dinner, but I don't need the oven - I will roast up a bunch of beets or cauliflower... or when I was grilling veggies for yesterday's lunch, I grilled twice as many as we actually needed. Simple stuff like that. I'm not sure what took me so long to figure this out.
tofu ricotta, grilled eggplants, grilled summer squash, roasted beets, roasted cauliflower, cherry tomatoes from the garden
But today, by the time I got home for lunch, I'd just ridden my bike for an hour and done two hours of a hard yoga class and I was Ready To Eat. Happily, this whole beautiful lunch took me about 10 minutes to throw together!
And, guess what? It was really, really good.
Another thing happening lately is that I have been really reveling in veggies. Seriously, they are SO GOOD. Why do they have such a bad rap, when they are actually so amazing?? Each individual veggie offers different flavors and textures and colors and culinary potential.
Just take my lunch today: those tomatoes were so fresh and sweet and bright; meanwhile the beets were also very sweet, but in a deeper, earthier way; the roasted cauliflower (with a little dill-salt sprinkled on) was so satisfying and chewy and had great little caramelized bits; and somehow - the grilled eggplants paired the best with the tofu ricotta - even though they were a little bland on their own... It's just absolutely amazing.
Just take my lunch today: those tomatoes were so fresh and sweet and bright; meanwhile the beets were also very sweet, but in a deeper, earthier way; the roasted cauliflower (with a little dill-salt sprinkled on) was so satisfying and chewy and had great little caramelized bits; and somehow - the grilled eggplants paired the best with the tofu ricotta - even though they were a little bland on their own... It's just absolutely amazing.
I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but veggies are really good.
I am always trying to eat more veggies. I used to roast up a whole bunch to keep in the fridge, though lately I have been pretty slack with that. But I always have grape tomatoes and cucumber slices around.
ReplyDeletecuke slices is a good idea. A good thing to nibble when you just need to nibble. Usually I use sauerkraut for that purpose. I'll get an extra cuke next time!
DeleteYour drawings are so cute and the food looks delicious!
ReplyDeletethanks Katie!! <3
DeleteYou're a friggin' genius, lady. I totally need to work ahead more often.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I just got Tom to start eating beets and cauliflower. Veg by veg, he's seeing the light!
veg by veg!!
DeleteHunger makes us eat all sorts of strange things! Good thing you had sense to prepare something beautiful and delicious! Oh, and nutritious!!!
ReplyDeleteyes, beautiful + nutritious + delicious is truly the perfect combo. I'm not sure why beautiful matters so much, but it really does help.
DeleteThey are! I love those types of meals and i don't eat them often enough.
ReplyDeleteI know! They really aren't hard, and yet somehow I forget to make meals like this. For me, having some sort of sauce / salad dressing / dip already on hand in the fridge is a big part of this plan working out.
DeleteLove this illustration!
ReplyDeletethanks!! I was kinda proud of it. :)
DeleteThis is totally my type of meal :) grilled summer squash is one of my favorite things. I had bbq fennel this summer, it was delicious. I need to get a hibachi!
ReplyDeleteoooh, I've been eyeing fennel at the market, but I wouldn't have thought to grill it. Great idea!
DeleteI am the Choir and I approve this message! :-D
ReplyDelete-choirqueer
CQ! this is one of my favorite blog comments of all time! <3
DeleteI love roast veggies, they taste so much better. Two of my least favorite veggies are cauliflower and brussel sprouts but I think the flavour of both improves on roasting.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean! I actually like both of those veggies, but roasting them really makes them amazing. I especially LOVE roasted brussels, thanks for the reminder. I've seen them at the farmers market lately, so I'll pick some up next time.
DeletePreach it, sister Amey! I've been trying to do the same thing for lunch. If I have the veggies already prepared then it's easy to eat a healthful lunch. My hungry self wants to nuke a potato and smother it with Daiya or Vegan Gourmet shreds if I don't have veggies ready to go!
ReplyDeleteThe veggie hate thing is mysterious to me as well. I think part of it is just a cultural conditioning thing-- because so many of us were told as kids "you HAVE to eat your veggies", many people stop as soon as they get the chance. It's much like being forced to run in gym class, I think. Almost everyone seems to have a story about being forced to eat some veggie they didn't like (undercooked/uncooked onions for me), or being forced to run laps in gym class when they weren't feeling it... so maybe it's not surprising that so many adults dread both things!
ReplyDelete