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?
