Snacks for the office worker, Part 1

It is 3PM. Your lunch is wearing off, and Mr. Texas Claw doughnut is calling for you from just beyond the vending machine glass. Eaaaat mee.. its only a dollar... sweet sugary goodness... E7. ohh yea.. thats the stuff...

Snap out of it! In this new series of posts, I am going to provide alternatives for Mr. Texas claw that will leave you satisfied and feeling well, not ill. Fresh veggies! Carrot sticks, sugar snap peas (ohh soo delicious), and bell peppers (amazing how zingy they taste as a fresh raw snack). Total investment: 5 mins of chopping vegetables. Reward: this wont put you in a food coma, or make you feel ill with preservative and sugar glut.

Green tea works wonders around mid-afternoon to curb sleepiness at the office (although eating mostly veggies and protein for lunch helps prevent the sleepiness altogether). So next time you want to grab a snickers.. think twice and know that you arent alone...We ALL want those snacks, but we also have the power to choose a better way to get over that afternoon slump.

Crab Salad

What's for dinner? It's great to know the answer to that question in advance of the 5PM open-the-fridge-and-stare onslaught. If you wait till the 6PM stomach rumbles, then you're really in trouble. At that point, my normal self would go pleading to Potato with puppy dog eyes to go out to dinner-- to which he readily agrees.. understandable considering that he too is facing the evening tummy growl.

But what are the consequences of this? A big one is that the source of my food.. the ingredients and methods used to prepare the meal.. are no longer known. Of course a cook serving someone else is going to make sacrifices in nutrition to benifit flavor.. They are in business to sell food, after all...

And the pocket book. Not everything comes down to money-- but a surprising amount does. Eating out is expensive, both in the initial cost (dinner entrees in Old Town Alexandria are $$) and in misc costs (gas for the car to and fro, dental work and doctor visits resulting from poor overall nutrition).

But every moment is an opportunity to make a choice for the better, no matter how many wrong or even just slightly off decisions litter your past. Potato is a big fan of the saying "past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior"-- but I am a little more optimistic. I have to be, otherwise I'd be in trouble (ie my past behavior doesnt bode well for my future). It's a small thing, I know, but making the choice to eat dinner at home, and eat food I prepared, is my little vote for change. Change in where the food comes from (I buy organic whenver I can, and local food as well) and where my money goes (to the farmers! I am still looking into the CSA/local grocer programs, thanks for all of your input thus far).

So today's dinner was simple. But I made it, and thats good enough for me :)

Crab Salad:
Imitation Crab, cut and flaked
chopped celery
chopped green onions
chopped white onion pieces (just a sprinkle)
all natural mayonnaise
Mix and eat with homemade bread or crackers.

Veggies:
Broccoli pieces, cut
Turnip pieces, cut
Veggies boiled together and served with a small amount of butter, salt and freshly ground peppercorns.

Day 1. This is going to take longer than I thought

Since this is day 1 after vacation, I am still loaded up with goodies from home. THIS is one of them.. though it doesnt look like much, 2,179 miles (yes I looked it up) has a way of wilting one's style. This is an Egg Dosa, a flat breakfast entree made from rice batter (the process of making the batter is coming up in a future post, with pictures!) that is poured like a pancake on a hot skillet. An egg is then cracked over the top of it, and the whole ensemble is cooked on both sides. The pile next to the dosa is called puudi, a grainy dry condiment that you pile into a heap and poke your finger right in the middle to make a volcano shape. Then you pour whatever edible oil you want (the traditional way is to use sesame oil, which is what I had this morning) in the volcano and mix it all up. The volcano part is really just for fun. But I've seen lots of people do it (older and respectable people too.. not just kids or hooligans) so I wonder if it really is a traditional method of eating puudi. As a side note, sesame oil is delicious. Its not really the sesame oil you find at the grocery store, which has a distinctly oriental smell and flavor.. it is golden yellow and has a hint of sesame flavor that is much more subtle.

Ok so breakfast went well. No brainer. Add to that coffee with no milk (still hadnt made it to the store) and I was good to go. I woke up late, which put me in kind of a sour mood, plus I had to drag myself to work. But at work, my lunch (also courtesy my wonderful mom) was wonderful. It is not fully adherent to the rules of the game, because I am sure the bread has high fructose corn syrup (at my trip to the grocery store, I discovered that the ENTIRE bread aisle is pretty much off limits if you want to be a strict adherent to the rules. So what to do? Make your own!! (coming up on Fridays post). Anyway, this sandwich has cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, mustard (from a little packet, so no idea if its compliant or not with the ideal), romaine lettuce, tomatoes, avocado slices, bell pepper slices, and cucumber slices. It was piled so high with veggies that I couldnt even finish it!! Delicious. I'd also like to thank Suee's cell phone for providing the oh so wonderful picture:After work, it was time to go shopping. $67 dollars later, I was loaded up with tons of veggies, even some I've never cooked with before (turnips? swiss chard?) organic milk, a small tub of plain yogurt to serve as the culture for homemade yogurt (my mom told me how to make it.. that post is for another day), organic eggs, organic chicken, shrimp, and imitation crab meat (without even thinking I added this to the cart.. I didnt check the package for the level of processing.. but it is my understanding that it is mashed up fish. Oh well, when I use it I'll investigate further). Dinner was fast, shrimp with cocktail sauce from the fridge (at lease the cocktail sauce didnt have HFCS.. but it did have some questionable ingredients) and boiled broccoli and radishes. Not bad for a quick meal.

I also had a glass of red wine, which is supposed to be good in some respect.. but I just enjoyed it. I tried to take it slow with the process of eating, and savor the food.. eating at the table in between sips of wine... It was hard to focus on just the meal. I caught myself getting up a few times to chop veggies for tomorrows meal (vegetarian broth for soup!) which I am particularly excited about.. but I was missing tonights meal in the process! Ahh well.. old habits are hard to break.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I am also taking a multivitamin supplement as well as fish oil and vitamin D supplement. These aren't really part of the book, but my old doc recommended the daily multi.. and the fish oil seems good (mood booster? maybe its a placebo effect but I swear I am just a smidgen happier with fish oil).

Election Night Special!

Election night 2008 was a historic event on U St in DC. I watched the results roll in at Suee and Tad's place, while coloring a printout of the electoral college map with scented red and blue markers. The streets were quiet during the beginning of the announcements-- I imagine many people sitting just like we were, nervous and anxious as the states were being called, huddled in living rooms with eyes glued to the tv.

Well what better way to dispel nervous energy than TACO MOUNTAIN! Such a ridiculous pile of taco goodness (topped with Tad's guacamole and Suee's cheesy been dip), I am sure, has never before made an appearance at an election night dinner. Taco mountain underscores a fundamental paradigm shift of the present bloggerita.. I have decided to eat meat again. But this is another story for another time*.

Before McCain's concession speech, we started hearing intermittent screams and cheering outside. After president-elect Obama gave his speech, the roars were louder than the cheers from Grant Park coming through the cable broadcast. We couldnt just sit there, we had to get out! And so we did!! U street was alive with people- screaming, hugging, high-fiving anything that stood still long enough-- the party even extended to cab drivers and riders, while the street was still open. Eventually the roads were blocked to car traffic, and people swarmed the streets dancing and cheering. We moved towards the drums, rhythmically pumping up the crowd on 14th and U. People were dancing on top of the bus waiting booth.. a young guy was waving from the top of the street light.. and the drums played on. This is where a Washington Post photographer captured the moment (photo below taken from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2008/11/05/GA2008110500823.html?sid=ST2008110502454 )..celebrating the election results with hundreds of people.

And after a full night of nerves relieved by festive and uncontrollable cheering and partying.. we were more than a little tired. But never fear! Special election night Jello Parfaits awaited us back at the apartment-- Blue raspberry and Strawberry Jello with whipped cream. A fantastic end to a great night!

*The Omnivore's Dilemma had something to do with it

Dragon Fruit

The Korean market is a magical place of hope and wonder: Behold, the DRAGON! errr.. fruit. The phytological history of the dragon fruit was concisely summed up by my nephew: A dragon visits and leaves the dragon fruit.

Ok so perhaps that is not the most scientific of explanations-- according to Wiki, the dragon fruit is a fruit from a cactus like plant, grown in tropical South-East Asian countries. After a quick tutorial on how to eat it (cut in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon), we were ready to eat!

The crunchy black seeds gave the fleshy fruit a texture akin to the texture of kiwi, but the taste was different-- sweeter and plainer -- and delicious! It was expensive.. but definitely worth a try! I am willing to splurge on this fruit again. And until the day I can try it amidst its natural environs, I will have to be content with the glories of the Korean market.

Garden Salsa!

My tomato plant yielded its last two tomatoes- and what better way to celebrate the fresh harvest than in salsa!!

Garden Salsa

Tomato, finely diced (it helps if the tomato is not soft, but just ripe enough to be firm and bright red)

Onion, finely diced

Cucumber, diced

Cilantro

Salt to taste

Fresh salsa is one of my most favorite cooking ingredients.. I love to use it on breakfast burritos, quesadillas, as dressing for salad-- Potato even eats the fresh salsa on his hot dogs! (He swears this is one of the best ways to eat a hot dog)

Sprouts!

I am trying my hand at home-made (is that the right word?) sprouts! After some internet research and a few phone calls to mom, I have come up with an action plan:

Day 1: Soak whole mung beans in water
Day 2: Rinse and drain soaked mung beans. Wrap in wet paper towel and set in a bowl in a warm dark place
Day 3: Observe, Rinse and wrap again in wet paper towel
Day 4: Observe, if sprouts are long enough, dry on paper towel and store in fridge in zip-lock baggie

Today is Day 3. Progress is steady, I have sprouts about 1/4 inch long (so still pretty small). So far no traces of mold or anything like that (which I am worried about in my 70 deg kitchen).. the sprouts are more puny than the mung bean sprouts you buy at the store, but my online reading suggests that this is because store-bought sprouts are grown in controlled temp environments with chemicals and gasses and other things that lil ol me won't (or can't) add to a bunch of beans in water.