Breakfast: Broccoli Omelet
I do not like scallions. I don't like them in food, I don't like them in cream cheese, I don't like them in miso soup. I never have, and probably never will. They have a weird texture, they make my stomach feel gross and I WILL pick them out of my food whenever possible. This was one of the first things crossed off the shopping list. I already knew I wouldn't be making a scallion omelet for breakfast.
Actually, overall not a huge fan of making omelets when I have to get to work. Or making anything that requires time and dishes as I lurch around the apartment trying to make myself socially presentable and get out the door on time. Nothing like knowing you have a sink full of dishes waiting for you when you get home to jump start your day.
As far as meals from this food challenge go, I would not do this one again, not on a workday.
I substituted the scallions with some broccoli I had leftover from the weekend, and it was a good way to use those up since they aren't part of the food list for this week. The omelet came out okay, I guess I'm used to using more eggs usually, because just two made for a pretty sad omelet. It was more of a broccoli scrambled egg by the time it was done. Also a little salty for my taste, I would use less salt or no salt at all, especially with the feta added.
Deliciousness Level: good, but too much cooking for a workday, and a little salty for the morning
Lunch: Greek Salad with Lentils
Today's lunch was completely assembled last night and was one of the easiest meals so far (if you count the lentils as leftovers). Just chop up a cucumber and bell pepper, and add feta, lentils and spinach and you're ready to go.
I used green peppers because I can't stand red bell peppers. I don't know why, I've just always hated them. I don't know if there's even any noticeable difference, but I could munch on green bell peppers all day, just don't even think about putting a red bell pepper near my face. I think it traces back to some childhood trauma. My aunt tells a story of when I was a baby and I thought I was eating apple, but it was really red bell pepper, and I burst into tears. I guess I never got over the red bell pepper and its lies.
Aaaaaanyways. Today's lunch was one of my favorites so far. The lentils were delicious as expected, and while it might be one of the less impressive sounding lunches, it was absolutely tasty and filling. The cucumber and green pepper bits added a nice crunch in contrast to the soft lentils and feta. Overall, a perfect office lunch
Deliciousness level: quite delicious!
Snack: Mango Banana Smoothie with Chia Seeds
I was a bit skeptical of making a smoothie 8 hours before drinking it, but the chia seeds helps keep the thickness you expect out of a smoothie, and the mango adds the 'smoothie'-ness to keep this tasty. I blended all the ingredients (and used honey instead of vanilla extract), but added the chia seeds separately so they could gel up during the day. Admittedly, this visually is maybe not so appealing. It's basically just chilled mango mush, but for an afternoon snack during a long day at work, this definitely hits the spot.
Deliciousness Level: Has a GREAT personality.
Dinner: Roasted Fennel and Chicken
For food that 'sounds harder than it actually is', roasted fennel is high on that list. I got home early today (7:30, huzzah!) so even though the fennel took about 45 minutes to cook (from start to finish), I'm still finished dinner before 9, win!
To cook the fennel, I just sliced it in strategically placed wedges keeping a part of the root attached to each section to hold the pieces together. Toss on some oil, throw it in the oven, catch up on Louie, flip the pieces and watch the next episode.
And then this magic happens. I actually liked the raw fennel better than roasted, but maybe I should have left it a little longer in the oven since it was the really small roasted bits that tasted the most delicious. Also the idea that this would be enough fennel to wilt the spinach by their own heat is laughable. This was basically a raw spinach salad with pieces of warm fennel and chicken tossed in. Not my favorite meal to date, and it's not particularly filling, but it's a cool idea and I'm glad I tried it.
Deliciousness Level: Acceptably delicious.
Dessert: Medjool Dates stuffed with Almonds
I've only had medjool dates once as a salad topping and loved the thick creamy sweetness of it. So I was delighted to see it makes it's way onto my shopping list this week! This 'dessert' is disappointingly tiny (I want more!) but the dates are actually so rich that it does a nice job of satisfying my sweet tooth. I don't know what the almond was all about, but I guess they had to do something more interesting than just make us eat dates. There was a curious lack of direction on how to actually pit the date, so I just made a slit big enough to pop out the pit and replaced it with an almond.
Deliciousness Level: luxurious and delightful
I'll be prepping lunch and snack for tomorrow, but not right now. First I'm going to relax a bit, since I have so much TIME tonight!
Want to follow along from the beginning? Start Here, then check out Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3
Deliciousness Level: Has a GREAT personality.
Dinner: Roasted Fennel and Chicken
For food that 'sounds harder than it actually is', roasted fennel is high on that list. I got home early today (7:30, huzzah!) so even though the fennel took about 45 minutes to cook (from start to finish), I'm still finished dinner before 9, win!
To cook the fennel, I just sliced it in strategically placed wedges keeping a part of the root attached to each section to hold the pieces together. Toss on some oil, throw it in the oven, catch up on Louie, flip the pieces and watch the next episode.
And then this magic happens. I actually liked the raw fennel better than roasted, but maybe I should have left it a little longer in the oven since it was the really small roasted bits that tasted the most delicious. Also the idea that this would be enough fennel to wilt the spinach by their own heat is laughable. This was basically a raw spinach salad with pieces of warm fennel and chicken tossed in. Not my favorite meal to date, and it's not particularly filling, but it's a cool idea and I'm glad I tried it.
Deliciousness Level: Acceptably delicious.
Dessert: Medjool Dates stuffed with Almonds
I've only had medjool dates once as a salad topping and loved the thick creamy sweetness of it. So I was delighted to see it makes it's way onto my shopping list this week! This 'dessert' is disappointingly tiny (I want more!) but the dates are actually so rich that it does a nice job of satisfying my sweet tooth. I don't know what the almond was all about, but I guess they had to do something more interesting than just make us eat dates. There was a curious lack of direction on how to actually pit the date, so I just made a slit big enough to pop out the pit and replaced it with an almond.
Deliciousness Level: luxurious and delightful
I'll be prepping lunch and snack for tomorrow, but not right now. First I'm going to relax a bit, since I have so much TIME tonight!
Want to follow along from the beginning? Start Here, then check out Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3
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