Kale & Sesame Salad and a protein packed lunch

It's definitely been a while since my last post and I can't even begin to write about all the things that have happened. Lots of life changes in a very small time period and I've been incredibly busy adjusting/dealing with everything. One of those changes included moving out of my parents' house into my own apartment! I've been rushing around trying to get everything set up, painted, and actually furnished. I've been here for a week already and I've only JUST decided on a couch that won't arrive until Thursday. And I accidentally bought the wrong sized bed frame (but the bed is a whole other story).

Needless to say, all this has made it a little hard to pack lunches but I'm slowly getting settled in and I'm back on track. The first thing I did before moving in was shop for all the spices, sauces and marinades I could ever possibly need so I think it's pretty clear that the only thing I care about is the kitchen. It's true, I chose bay leaves over a couch and I think that's okay.

This kale and sesame salad is from a little while ago but it was so good and easy that I had to share, and it can easily be taken to work as a cold lunch the next day. My sister and I even made our own spring rolls filled with the ingredients below and some shrimp and vermicelli noodles (but I'm too lazy to type out a recipe for those).

What you'll need:

• Kale
• Sesame seeds
• Red cabbage
• Carrots
• Sesame oil

Instructions:

Shred the carrots and the red cabbage, chop up the kale, and toss with sesame oil and sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy!

I didn't have any leftover for work the next day, but I did my own take on a Starbucks Protein Bento meal and I think I won. 

• Kale, smoked salmon, olives and cucumbers
• Mixed nuts and dried fruit (hazelnuts, almonds, raisins, goji berries)
• Hardboiled egg and some cheese curds
• Apple slices and a breakfast bun

Pineapple Tomato Salsa with Trout + lunch idea

Idk why but this is where
my thoughts went

The other night I really wanted some tortilla chips but there was no salsa anywhere to be found. Anyone who is anyone knows that tortilla chips are just not eaten without salsa and cheese only can lead to digestive disasters (TMI?). Just to give everyone a look into my life, what I did find in the fridge was six bottles of ketchup. SIX BOTTLES. With varying amounts of ketchup in them. And not a single jar of salsa. Since I really needed something to occupy me while watching the cheesiest/worst of ABC Family dramas (read: Switched at Birth and The Lying Games - don't judge), I decided to make my own.  And no, I didn't use any ketchup for it but I did include some pineapple and damn it was good.

I ended up remaking this salsa two days two days in a row, which is pretty normal when I get obsessed with a food. I ended up using it as a dip, mixing it with my rice at lunch the next day, and pouring it over fish and pasta for dinner the next day. It's easy, versatile and cheap so it's a win win win all around especially if you like things hot. 

What you'll need:

• 3 tomatoes
• 1/2 an onion, medium
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 cup parsley (or just as much as you'd like)
• 2 green onions
• 1/2 lemon (or just use some lemon juice)
• Chili paste/powder or actual chili peppers (I use an extra hot mix that my dad made out of chilis from our garden. It's actually deadly.)
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Paprika, garlic powder (optional, you just need a little)
• Pineapple chunks (optional)

resolutions, freezing cold, and not so healthy eating

Reverse resolutions. That's what my January looked like this year. You know how people talk about January Joiners (and how incredibly annoying they are, because they are)? I'm the opposite of that. I went to the gym religiously before January but the minute it hit 2013 I was like nope, not happening, dropping off for good. Along with cutting the gym out of my life, I also stuck to a pretty healthy diet of chicken wings, poutine, grilled cheese, lasagna, sweet potato fries (forever), and some very very calorific drinks. But so what, who cares and it's not even my fault, it's the cold. I mean, who wants to eat lettuce leaves when it's -25C out? Exactly.

But now that my pants won't button up again, it's time to get back to balanced eating (ie: poutine once a month vs once a week) and a little bit more of a focus on my fitness because let's be real: I JUST WANT MY MUSCLES BACK.

I worked harder on these than it looks!

One thing that I have kept up with (other than never updating this blog) is packing my lunches! Since I've been pretty busy, I've tried to keep my lunch packing down to less than half an hour and I think I've come up with some pretty good things.

Spinach & pistachio salad, rolled salmon and goat cheese, and fruit

Don't judge the editing! I went overboard with Camera+ and can't take it back anymore.

• Salad: spinach, arugula, toasted pistachios (easy to toast, just place them in a pan with some raisins and a tiny bit of olive oil), olives, pomegranate balsamic, olive oil, and lemon juice for dressing
• Hardboiled egg, grilled nabolsi cheese, and some foccaccia crackers
• Fruit: pomegranate and blueberries, apple slices
• Half a croissant, smoked salmon rolled with fresh basil, goat cheese, and some pretzel sticks

Overnight oats, salad with hardboiled eggs, and fruit

• Overnight oats: Oats, greek yogurt, a little bit of milk, brown sugar, honey, almonds, goji berries
• Fruit: cactus pear and bananas
• Red pepper slices, 2 hard boiled eggs, and a salad: tomato, avocado, onions, raisins, olives, slivered almonds with lemon juice and olive oil for dressing

Okra, chickpeas, and avocado

• Okra stirfried with garlic, onion, and tomatoes
• Chickpeas with cumin, salt, and lemon
• Avocado, cucumber, cheese, and olives

Stuffed grape leaves and warm chickpea salad

• Stuffed grape leaves (will need to make a post about these!)
• Warm chickpea salad: chickpeas, tomato, garlic, onion, green peppers with lots of garlic and ginger
• Cherries, cucumber, and some blueberries with mixed nuts and raisins

Parsnip, Leek and Potato Soup

One of my coworkers is legitimately the queen of soups. She has a new amazing creation almost every day, most from vegetables she picked from her own garden. This inspired me to start experimenting with different vegetable mixes, which quickly lead to disasters like the turnip and chickpea situation (never again will I touch another turnip). Now I've learned to not make so much soup that I could feed the Duggars and to use ingredients that I'm slightly more comfortable with.

This one turned out really tasty and it didn't require much more than just the vegetables. I asked my coworker what spices she recommended using with a soup like this and she mentioned that the leeks have a special enough flavour that you don't need much more than salt and pepper - she was right!

This one won't take you more than 40 minutes from start to finish and makes enough to feed 2-3 people.

Ingredients:

• 1 large parsnip
• 2 small potatoes
• 1 leek
• 1 small onion
• Butter
• Nutmeg
• Salt and Pepper
• 4 cups vegetable stock

Baked chicken bruschetta

You know those days when you get home from work at 5:30, collapse into bed and the next thing you know it's almost 9pm and you've done absolutely nothing productive other than bitch about your wireless provider on Twitter and kick your sisters out of your room? Yep, I'm having a great night you guys!!! I figured it was time to block Twitter for the night (where would I be without Chrome's self control add-ons?) and try to be a little more productive. So not only am I about to actually step out of bed right after I post this, I'm finally sharing this recipe I've had drafted for over two weeks now! I know, I can't believe what a productive human being I am either.

I've made this baked chicken bruschetta twice already in the last couple of weeks, each time using slightly different ingredients. The first time I had fresh basil and parmesan and the second time I used kale and gouda. Both ways were really flavourful and there was cheese involved so it's a win no matter what, right? The dry basil in it is really key so I recommend using a lot!

Ingredients:

• 2 tomatoes
• 1 potato
• 1 onion
• Dry basil
• 2 garlic cloves
• Cubed chicken (mine had been boiled and I threw it in but you can fry up some raw chicken if you'd like)
• Grated parmesan (or any other type of cheese, I used gouda the second time I made it)
• Salt and pepper
• Black mustard seeds (optional)
• Fresh basil (optional)
• Kale (optional)