So here I am, trying to get hundreds, no thousands of words written a day, and hopefully not starve our household in the process. So I'm turning to my favorite snacks and picking the best restaurant to grab meals for lunch and dinner. But I'm also going through Yankee Belle and finding the quickest, easiest dinners I can for poor ManO.
Lunch is about quick snacky meals, leftovers or getting out of the house. Writing at home can be productive but I need breaks for mental and physical reasons. Sometimes it's better to write somewhere else and eat there so you don't feel guilty about taking a spot for hours.
Snunches (snacky lunches): I'm a big fan of fruit and cheese. I take it up a notch by putting a sliced pear (high fiber) and Tillamook cheese on a rice cake and broiling or microwaving til the cheese melts. Nuts or hard boiled eggs are great for snunches too. And then there are salads I can pre-make and stick in the fridge.
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| My pear-and-cheese toast would have looked more scrumptious on a pretty plate but I'm so busy I had to eat it off my beaten up but beloved mini cookie sheet. |
Favorite lunch franchise of the moment: - Zoe's Kitchen
I am fortunate to have a local Mediterranean restaurant run by the same family for decades but I discovered Zoe's down the street. It is my favorite place for soup, hummus and a salad, enough to take leftovers home. Healthy, healthy, healthy AND gluten free options galore. AND their seating space is HUGE so I can sit down and read research or plug in and type.
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| When I want to eat the Mediterranean Diet but don't have time to cook, Zoe's is where I go. |
Yankee Belle Quick Dinners are perfect, for when you have a few moments to cook or can let the oven or crock pot do the work. Dinner is about keeping ManO happy and myself fueled. All these meals can be adapted by using veggies or gluten free pasta, bread or cake mix/all purpose GF flour.
Jan Drexler's Quick Chicken for Speedbo
Ruthy's easy barbecued beef sandwiches
Missy's Quick Chili
Virginia's Huevos Rancheros
Mindy's easy chocolate cake
Now why the chocolate cake? Well, for one, Mindy's posts are full of chocolate ideas. But two. your family may need a reward for leaving you alone to do what you need to do during busy times. Who am I kidding? I need a reward during Speedbo!
Lastly, let the leftovers do the work: Pinterest, that treasure chest of so many good ideas, got me thinking about a great leftover idea. Cupcake leftovers. These aren't Jan's delicious cupcake war desserts but taking leftovers like turkey and dressing, spaghetti, mac and cheese, etc. and putting them in individual cupcake/muffin liners, freezing and then putting them in a freezer safe bag to be reheated later in the week. I remember mini pot pies when I was a child but also spaghetti and mac and cheese in round tins. Works as well today.
So, when life is crazy busy, what do you eat that requires little or no cooking? Where do you like to go to get a healthy meal you didn't have to fix yourself? Are you ready for the busyness of Spring?
I tend to put things into the oven while I get another couple hundred words down. Thanks for the quick ideas. Now is when I have to cook double meals so that my fellas will have food to eat while I'm gone. I hope it lasts a while....
ReplyDeleteGood luck with that. Having a teen boy in the house is about like having an unexpected snow storm. The fridge gets raided!
ReplyDeleteThink Crock Pot, Julie. Tina Radcliffe will confirm that it is a writer's best friend.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are so right. Our families do deserve to be rewarded when we immerse ourselves in our writing and ignore all but their basic needs. They feel neglected. So a nice little treat reminds them that we still love them. Of course, such treats also serve to sustain us as we muddle through scene after scene.
Well, we're under a winter storm warning for tonight into tomorrow. Two inches of sleet forecasted. We'll see how that plays out, but the pantry is stocked and the freezer is full of venison, so we should be fine. Throw in the fact that it'll be out of here by Friday and there's not a whole lot to worry about. 😄
Good luck with the writing.
Oh, venison. So jealous.
DeleteMy crockpot died a sad death during the holidays and hasn't been replaced. May have to do something about that!
Be safe. Right now it is supposed to just be sleet instead of snow but wait twelve hours and it will be different. My sister in Maryland expects 10 inches. Ugh.
I love the term snunches! LOL
ReplyDeleteThat's an amazing idea with the pear! I'll have to buy some this week. Would be really tasty!
Thanks for the info on Zoe's. I've seen one before but didn't know what kind of food it had. I would love that!
I remember when the first one near here was in Greensboro. And now they are everywhere!
DeletePears have the highest fiber of the tree fruits. Who knew?
And I can eat pear peel! I cannot eat apple peel. Ick.
DeleteOh, that's right. My family will want food this month....
ReplyDeleteLOL! My husband is already complaining that he hasn't had a decent meal in the last week, and it's only March 4th! I tell him it isn't my fault. He works in FOOD SERVICE! But I do feel sorry for the guy. He's had a lot of meetings lately - scheduled for 1:00, which is after lunch for everyone except him. Think about it - when do food service people eat? After everyone else. So when there's a meeting scheduled for "after lunch," he misses his lunch.
Long story short (too late!), I'm cooking during Speedbo. It shortens my already crammed writing day, but I do want to keep my husband healthy and happy.
The rest of the family are on their own.
I'll have to make hubby a pie. And some homemade bread. He'll love both of those, and he'll forget about the pizza we had the other night....
DeleteI hadn't thought about that Jan but you are right. He should be allowed to brownbag it.
DeleteI'm cooking about twice a week and really stretching those leftovers. I will get back to variety when the veggies start coming in at the farmer's market!
Let's hear it for pie!!!! What kind?
I'm actually thinking of an English Steak and Ale pie. Shades of Downton Abbey :)
DeleteAlthough he'd love ANY kind of pie!
Oh, and it doesn't look good when the food service director brown bags his lunch. Sends the wrong kind of message.... ;)
DeleteBut couldn't he take it from the cafeteria is a clear bag that says, "I love our food!"?
DeleteGreat, Julie! You must have known I was looking for #Speedbo fast and easy meals! :)
ReplyDeleteMy hubby (bless his heart) actually enjoyed the frozen pizza we ate for dinner last night. We don't "do" pizza often....and I got over 1000 words yesterday!
Love the frozen cupcake idea. I have some leftover Southwest soup I can rescue with this suggestion. Thanks!
Happy #Speedbo to all!
That's the great thing about the connection between Yankee-Belle and Seekerville. WE know this is a crazy month for a lot of folks.
DeleteHappy Speedbo back to you. And congrats on the 1000.
Okay -- snunches is such a fun word to say...snunches, snunches, snunches. LOL Love that!!!!
ReplyDeleteSince I live alone I tend to freeze a lot of portions so that's my go to when I'm on a time crunch. Right now I have carrot soup, lentil soup, sweet potato curry and some mystery containers (from my daughter) in the freezer. So I'm all set.
And healthy eating out --- There are a number of wonderful vegetarian restaurants close by and they all provide a take out menu. I'd eat there all the time if I could but very expensive so we save it for special occasions and I make humble meals at home.
Such wonderful soups. And those mystery containers intrigue me!
DeleteIsn't that crazy that in order to eat veggies that are good for you, things get expensive? I just saw where Whole Foods is dropping their prices on dry goods and mixes but not on produce. UGH.
Hope things are warming up your way.
This is a wonderful, marvelous, go-to-work, get-'er-done post, Julie! I love how you prepared for Speedbo, and how you laid this all out. It's PERFECT!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSpeedbo comes at the perfect time: March. The change of seasons. Hope of spring. Before life goes crazy with warm weather commitments. Thanks for listing great links/ideas for me! I've learned to cook big to cover two meals... and to enjoy sandwiches at least one night/week. Speedbo's schedule is a great way for folks to prepare for the reality of contracts/family/work. Good for you!
Ruthy, and we have to give props to our families that put up with those days, weeks, months when dinner isn't quite what it usually is. And Speedbo is a great dry run for reality but you take it to the extremes. Good for YOU!
DeleteGreat advice for meals during busy times. Perfect for writers. I'm on a few deadlines now so this is very timely for me. Barbecued beef sandwiches. Yummy. And the chocolate cake...my favorite. And you mentioned the P work which could sent me spiraling into that dark place where I spend hours over there. So many pretty, yummy things on Pinterest....so little time.
ReplyDeleteChocolate and Pinterest. Two of the greatest temptations around.
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