Shrimp in Creamy Parsley Sauce (and Nutella Sugar Cookies for Dessert)

We can talk about how I've been failing miserably at Project Pack a Lunch over the last couple of months or (even better idea!) we can just talk about all the delicious food I've been making.

Starting with these:

I'm on a "diet"

That's right, Nutella sugar cookie sandwiches. Really I should just stop at Nutella and everyone should be all over them, but they're also so easy to make and absolutely delicious. I followed this recipe and was even running after two year olds while making them.

Now for the shrimp. My friends and I have a new obsession with making our food look as pretty as possible. (Thank you, Pinterest). I've seen a lot of photos of hollowed out avocado shells with food inside of them so I decided to do my own take on it. Since I can follow NO directions when it comes to cooking, this is what I ended up with: creamy parsley sauce with shrimp.

They passed the picky brother test!

No real recipe for these today, but here's what you need to make them:

- Sautée onions and garlic in butter
- Add the shrimp
- Add lots of chopped up parsley
- Let it all simmer
- Add in half & half cream (bad bad bad, but so good)
- Stir in 2 teaspoons of flour so that the cream thickens
- Let simmer for 3-5 minutes


- Hollow out avocado, make a side salad out of the avocado!
- Scoop some rice onto the avocado shell and scoop some shrimp sauce on top

Enjoy!

Lunch motivation

Got this "lunch" cookbook from Winners over the weekend. I mostly bought it because it was 3 bucks (I'll buy anything on sale).

I can't find the recipe of the cover photo anywhere!

But it turns out it's got some pretty easy and amazing looking recipes in it. Can't wait to try some of them out and share the results!

Salmon tortillas with sweet corn salad, anyone?

30 minute mushroom and tomato bowtie pasta

Update on the lunch packing? I cheated one of the days last month! That means I lose lunch buying privileges for the month of December. To be fair, I was also travelling a lot for work which meant my whole entire eating cycle was out of whack. Meals on the road are just not the same as home-cooked meal! Not to mention, I don't have toddlers eating half the food on my plate (did I ever mention I have 2 year old twin sisters?)

I just made this pasta and I thought it was too easy and delicious not to share. As with all my "recipes" there's a lot of trial and error. Mix in some ingredients that you love, change up the spices, and add extra of whatever you want. Make it your own recipe!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups bowtie pasta
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used old cheddar but you can use any kind you like)
• 2 tomatoes
• 4 large mushrooms
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp basil
• Salt
• 1 tbsp butter
• Olive oil

Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 3

The challenge of eating healthy

For the last little while I've been on my own personal quest to lead a healthier lifestyle. Coming from a girl whose favorite food is poutine (thank you Quebec), that means making big changes. Believe it or not changing your habits is not easy. At ALL.

I thought packing my lunches would lead me to healthier eating which would translate into the rest of my non-lunch meals. I was so terribly wrong. Although it has helped me with things like portion control (lol what is that even?), eating more fruits and vegetables, and actually eating more than two meals a day, my unhealthy food habits have stuck.

I blame this all on one thing: restaurants. I love food, I love going out to eat and trying new things. I love the whole restaurant experience, especially the socializing. But I think I love it too much. A couple of weekends ago I went out to eat six times in three days! That's five times too many.

Even though there are healthy options at restaurants, the reality is we're more likely to order something unhealthy. Something fried, cheesy, and/or filled with carbs. And I know it's not just me! The culture at restaurants, unless you go to a place like The Sidedoor, is large portions which just promotes overeating.

Delicious donuts from The Sidedoor. Contrary to this photo, they actually DO have small portions & healthy food!

So do I have to stop going to restaurants to fix my unhealthy eating habits? Not necessarily. It's not realistic to ban myself from going out to eat with friends. What I will do is put more thought into what I eat when I do go out. Maybe even have a small homemade healthy meal before I go out and order a salad or something similar while I'm there.

What I know is this: to start eating healthy, I need to start appreciating the food that I'm eating. Part of that appreciation comes in the preparation of the meal. Dining out so often means that I cut out an important step in becoming a healthier eater. Not to mention, it means spending a lot of money.

What do you think?

Packing lunches, managing a blog, and being lazy

So it's been over a month since my last post! The good news is, I've been packing a lunch every day since I started my challenge. The bad news is, I haven't been documenting or actually blogging. The one excuse I have is this: life got busy!

But I've learned something very important: you need to plan ahead!

I've compiled a bunch of the photos that I took before I stopped documenting and I'm starting to write up some easy and tasty recipes. Stay tuned for some great recipes!

For now, I'll share some photos of lunches I've had.