Day Off

Today was a pretty light day for me cooking. I had no-fuss Oat Bran for breakfast and yogurt and almonds for lunch. Jules, the roast-maker in our household, made a gorgeous dinner with the beef cross rib roast I bought at the farmer's market yesterday. With the roast, she baked potatoes and steamed yellow and green beans as well as asparagus. Mmmm....

Weekend

Breakfast - Vegetable egg scramble (serves 1)
2 brown eggs
1 cup chopped raw spinach
1/4 cup chopped raw mushrooms
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
Olive oil for the pan
A dash or two of ground black pepper and paprika

Sometimes I add some grated cheese on top but this morning I opted not to.

For lunch, I actually made another weekend breakfast choice...

Lunch - Whole grain pancake with stewed fruit (serves 3)
Pancake
1 cup whole grain pancake mix
1 cup skim milk
1 brown egg
1/8 tsp olive oil for the mix and a bit for the pan

Stewed fruit
4 small gala apples
1/2 cup rhubarb
1/2 cup mango (optional)
1-2 tsp unrefined granulated sugar or Agave nectar
3/4 - 1 cup water

Peel and dice apples (the smaller, the less time it will take), place in small pot with the water and sugar of choice. Cook on medium-low heat - I have never timed this process but I would estimate around 30-45 minutes. Once the fruit is nice and soft, spread a generous portion on top of the pancake.

Dinner - Spinach salad with mini pita tuna melts (serves 2)
Spinach Salad (per serving)
1 cup raw spinach
1/8 cup chopped mushroom
1/8 cup diced green pepper
1/8 cup diced red pepper
1/8 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup sliced zucchini
1-2 tsp poppy seed dressing
Grated cheese (optional)

Mini Pita Tuna Melts
6 mini whole wheat pitas
1 can low sodium tuna
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/8 cup diced green pepper
1 tbsp mayonnaise
Grated cheese

Mix up tuna, mayo, onion and pepper. Spoon portion onto each pita evenly. Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Bake at 350 F until cheese is melted (5-10 minutes).

Farmer's Market

Finally, I made it to the farmer's market. It helped that I found out it is actually open from 8 am - 3 pm on Saturdays and not just until noon like I thought. Saturday mornings are for sleeping in and then relaxing with a cup of coffee and breakfast and a good book, not going out into the bitter cold with the snow falling and ice on the roads. I ended up getting there at 1 pm and holy cow, I don't think I expected such a large building to be packed with so many people. I managed to pick up a few things I wanted - a beef cross rib roast for $14 (the last time we bought the same cut at the grocery store it was a couple of dollars more and it was filled with whatever drugs they give commercial beef), some organic whole wheat pitas, a couple dozen organic eggs ($4 per dozen, over a dollar less than the grocery store), some organic pork sausage and for Jules I picked up her favourite smoked salmon dip and some hummus. I passed by all of the produce - they only really had potatoes, cabbage, carrots and apples which is pretty much what I expected seeing as how it's the end of January. It will be nice once the spring and summer months are here and everything is available.

I have decided to create a new blog devoted to my new passion for cooking. One month into my new diet-changing project and I'm not sure that I'll ever go back. Time and results will tell, I suppose...