Lunch Hack: Mediterannean Pita

Life has gotten so incredibly busy I often find myself resorting to fast food or coffee shop scones to get through the day. Gaining 10 lbs in the last year and feeling tired all the time tells me I need to get organized again and start packing healthier meals. This morning I had 5 minutes to spare so I looked in the fridge to see if there was something I could throw together to bring along.  This is what I came up with. It worked well for a day that I don't have access to a fridge and didn't have my chillable lunch box with me. I don't know that I would leave it in the car all day on a hot day but it certainly survived a few hours in the office and kept me out of the drive-though.

• 1 individual sized pack (or about 2 tbs) Sabra Hummus
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

• 1/3 package leftover broccoli slaw mix (I almost always have this in the fridge or some type of homemade slaw - just the veggies, no dressing. Almost any variation of julienne veggies will work. I know, it's packaged food but this is one of the compromises I make in the winter when I'm not pulling fresh veggies out of my own garden anyway)
• Pita bread (regular bread, crackers, tortilla chips, whatever...)

I did a quick blend of the hummus and lemon juice, poured it into a container with the slaw mix and viola! By the time I had lunch it had been well tossed and was ready to eat. My only regret is not grabbing a few of the lovely (nightshade free marinated) Greek olives from the fridge to add a little fat to the meal. As it was it was pretty satisfying but the olives would have been the kicker... or some feta... or a little chicken... maybe avocado...

You get the picture, it's not about a recipe here. It's about learning how to work with and make the most out of what you've got while still enjoying nutritious, yummy and SAFE meals.

*Note: sesame seeds can be cross-reactive to nightshade allergy. This means that even though they are not a nightshade, those with nightshade allergy may have trouble with them. I find that I'm OK as long as I don't have too much/too often. If you can't handle sesame seeds it's pretty easy to make your own hummus. Blend up can of garbanzos with1 tbsp lemon juice, pinch of salt, a little olive oil and as much water as needed to make it creamy.

Ugly Apple Cookies

They say baking is a precise art, but nothing in my kitchen is precise. I bake the way I cook, glance at a recipe to get an idea and then start putting things together until they are the way I want them. Most of the time it works. Sometimes I fail but sometimes I come up with something good enough to document so I can put it in my 3 ring recipe binder and forget about forever. 

I had a little extra time this evening, which is a rare thing. The boy child was enjoying what was possibly the last nice day of fall and my man was working late in the shop downstairs. I thought it would be nice to have some of his favorite Oatmeal Raisin cookies ready when he was done but I soon realized I didn't have any raisins... or butter... or eggs... and only 1/2 cup of brown sugar.  Hmmm...

What I did have was 2 mushy bananas, a freezer full of apples from our woods and some dried cranberries. I combined my favorite oatmeal raisin cookie recipe from Paula Deen with the ingredients I had on hand, a glass of wine in the other hand, and a "devil may care" attitude and ended up with a pretty darn good (and healthy) cookie. Because there is no butter and very little sugar they didn't spread like cookies usually do. They almost have the texture of a muffin. Maybe next time I'll try them in a muffin pan and see what happens.

Ingredients:

2 over-ripe bananas

1/2 cup apple sauce

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup rice milk (or any substitute)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp ground flax

1 cup diced apples

3 cups flour or GF all purpose baking flour 

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups old fashioned oats 

2 tsp cinnamon, apple pie spice or any combination of cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice

1 cup dried cranberries

*walnuts would be a nice addition but my kiddo is allergic

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Peel and mash bananas in a mixing bowl. Add apple sauce, vanilla, rice milk, brown sugar and flax. Stir well. Add apples & combine.

In a separate bowl combine all other ingredients.

Stir together wet & dry ingredients. Add a little more flour or oats if it's too wet.

Drop spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen. Yummy.

Colorful Summer Slaw

I came home from the Farmer's Market yesterday with such beautiful produce. I could hardly wait to start finding creative ways to use it. For this fresh summer coleslaw I used chioggia beets but any variety will do. This is also an easy recipe to vary depending on which veggies you have on hand. You'll want to end up with a total of  3 cups grated of any of the following: carrot, radish, kohlrabi, cabbage (any variety), beets (any variety), broccoli (stems and florets). This recipe has no mayo so it's a little lighter/healthier, easier to keep fresh for a picnic and appropriate for those with egg allergies. At a pot-luck or picnic people will "ooh" & "aah" over the visual appeal of the dish with it's bright mix of colors & it's packed with nutrients like potassium, vitamin C, iron, magnesium and folate.

• 2 tablespoons Annie's Naturals Dijon mustard
• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Cracked black pepper
• 2 Beets (any color or variety)
• 3 Carrots (buy carrots with greens and use can use the tops instead of the parsley)
• 1  Kohlrabi
• (use about 1 cup of each veggie when shredded)
• 3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley leaves or carrot tops

Directions

Wash & shred beets, carrots & kohlrabi

In a small, non-metal bowl whisk together mustard, red wine vinegar, mustard seed, honey, salt and olive oil. Season with pepper to taste. combine beets, carrots, kohlrabi and parsley in large serving bowl, pour dressing over salad, toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. This can be served immediately but is better if given a few hours in the fridge for the flavors to blend.