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.

Stuffed & Baked Vegetables (and fried)

I've been doing well with my lunches (for the last 3 days!) I'll post a full run-down of this weeks meals over the weekend. For now, I thought I would share a dish that I had for lunch today. Stuffed vegetables with rice!

The best thing about this dish is how versatile it is. You can really make it however you want and it's so easy! You can stuff any type of vegetable you want, with any type of filling. It's most often made with ground beef fried with onions and pine nuts but it's very easy to make it vegetarian if you substitute the meat with mushrooms or tofu (haven't ever tried it with those ingredients but just the thought is making my mouth water - will try asap and report back!)

The tray I made consisted of carrots, potatoes, eggplant, and artichoke hearts but I would have loved to include green or red peppers, zucchini, or tomatoes had we had any.

Just as a side note, I don't usually cook with measurements so I'm trying my best right now! Play around with it and see what works best for you.

Artichoke and carrot stuffed with ground beef.