This Monday was especially painful because the sun was radiating into my patients’ rooms all day long. It was heavenly, but I was stuck in the hospital. So it was agonizingly beautiful. Such a tease! At least I had good food to enjoy on my lunch break…
Bars, apples, baggies, tupperware. Fabulous.
In the tupp: spinach, seaweed salad, carrots, broccoli, and pepitas.
To the people who asked, I sometimes make my own seaweed salad, but this one was store bought (you can see a different salad of the same brand here). Occasionally they have them at whole foods in the prepared foods section. The main ingreds are wakame, arame, sesame seeds, garlic, and oil. When I make my salads myself, I use an excess amount of soy sauce and Bragg’s liquid aminos, though.
In the orange baggy: horse carrots chopped for my munching pleasure
In the foggy baggy: pretz, almonds, raisins, pistachios, carob chips
Yes, after searching high and low, I finally got my hands on some carob chips (I haven’t been able to find them in months).
I’m not sure what the unsweetened deal is, but they certainly tasted sweet :P Mmmmmm…yep, I am officially in love.
By the way, this (cell phone) pic is a week old, but I have been meaning to mention…I slipped back into an old habit.
Dirty little secret time.
My Kombucha addiction is back in all it’s full fledged glory. I have been getting one EVERY day on my lunch break as a “treat” for the afternoon. But let’s face the facts here, it’s not really a treat when you have one every friggin’ day. Eh. Not sure if I care. Sometimes I’m willing to be broke for small pleasures. Is that bad?
On the way home from work I brainstormed the easiest dinner.
Add Gardein bbq pulled “pork” to pan with cooking spray and sizzle sizzle.
Ok, honestly, it looked (looks) a little bit like cat food 😕 Gross.
Fortunately, a few seconds on the grill, a fist-full of broccoli, and some spatula maneuvering got that hideous image out of my head.
The broccoli soaked up the extra sauce, and next thing I knew (less than 10 minutes later) it was good and ready. Much like the other Gardein products I have tried, the texture of the sauce was a bit bizarre (almost goopy like), but frying it in the pan made a BIG difference.
Although I have never actually had pulled pork (or any pork for that matter), I feel like this vegan version was fairly authentic. It was stringy, but more chewy (like real meat), and saucy without being overly so (the heat of the pan made it thicken up more realistically).
I heaped the meat onto toasted whole wheat sandwich thins, with saucy broccoli on the side.
I polished it off in 2.79 seconds. Kyle timed me.
Dessert was a bowl of mixed yummies: pretz, carob chips, raisins. It’s the trail mix of champions, I tell ya!
Oh and guess what finally came in the mail!?! My secret cupid gift!!
I don’t even care that Valentine’s Day was actually a month ago…so many goodies 🙂
Perfect for lunch snackeroos.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with rewarding yourself with some Kombucha every day. Why wouldn’t you deserve it? 🙂
Kombucha…now in Californa, I felt that I needed one every day. Here, I don’t know what it is…maybe the cold that has prevented me from a daily purchase. Can’t wait to be back in the Bay.
I totally wondered whether you made your own seaweed salad. I don’t think I’d have it in me to do it. For some reason, it makes me a little gaggy. Maybe because it tastes like the sea?
Thank you for giving a thorough review of those Gardein shreds and for not just saying “they were good.” There IS something funky with the Gardein sauces, and I can’t figure it out! I have wanted to try the “pork” shreds, so I think I’ma have to now.
Hope your Tuesday is gorgeous and lovely!
ah i always get made fun of for getting the unsweetened carob chips, ha.
lovin the seaweed salad, lady.
have g reat day
Being inside all day when it is sunny and super nice outside sucks! I HATE it. My office has no windows, which is torture, but every time I walk to the bathroom or the kitchen or anywhere else and see the (early) spring sunshine streaming through the windows…MORE torture. Agonizing is right. Ugh! And then after work you are too exhausted to go out and enjoy it (if there is any daylight left at that point anyway) so it is piles upon piles of suckage if you ask me, which you didn’t…. 🙂
Courtney
I’ve totally snuck back into my kombucha habit lately. Those, and coconut chais from Bonobos are making frequent appearances in my life (and my bank statement). They’re just so tasty though!
I agree about the texture of the Gardein products. I’ve made two different “chicken” breast products and nuked them both and they were definitely kinda goopy. I’ve got one that is breaded, though, so I’m going to try baking it in the toaster oven and hope it’s a bit tastier. Even with the weird texture, though, I’m loving how much protein I get. Even though I know we don’t need tons and tons of protein, I feel so much more satisfied that way!
Okay I kinda want to try that “pulled meat” substitute…and I don’t even like pulled BBQ things really.
Awesome cupid gift!
I totally know the feeling – my patients have floor to ceiling windows and the sunshine can be tortuous to see/feel from a short distance!
Be careful with those truffles…they are AMAZING! I had to limit myself to one a night (http://apartmentnearchinatown.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/just-one/)
p.s. I love your abundant lunches. So colorful and fun.
lunch salad looks delish, and what a nice cupid gift!!
awwww your secret bloggie gift was jam packed with good shiz! glad you finally got it 🙂
i say you work like a maniac and deserve to get yourself a kombucha everyday. but hey thats just me and i usually convince myself that my buck 50 cup of joe is well deserved everyday haha
every once in a while i get these bizarre craving for seaweed salad, and then nothing else can satiate it! mmm salty goodness, i’m impressed you make your own!
Great lunch and package!
that is the most amazing secret cupid gift! i LOVE carob chips. definitely go through stages where i will eat a bowl of them with some sort of dried fruit for dessert every night until i polish off a bag.
lunch looks great! wheres breakfast??? 😉
that cupid gift is off the chain!!! i always hear mix reviews on carob. obviously I should just try it myself and make my own decisions.
happy Tuesday Elise!
I am still holding out on trying Kombucha because I have an incredibly addictive personality and I know I’d go bankrupt!
That seaweed salad looks amazing!
I’ve been dying to get my hands on some carob chips! I actually almost bought them the last time I was at the health food store, but I was already spending mucho dinero and decided to wait :/ I’m so curious as to what they taste like!
Your lunch looks so fun. I love meals that are a mix of a bunch of different goodies =)
I recently got addicted to Kombucha when I won some free coupons on a blog giveaway. Seriously, it’s so good! I don’t even understand how some people say they don’t like it at first. I loved it from my very first sip!
Talk about hitting the JACKPOT with your secret cupid gift!
I hate when the sun is shining and I’m cooped up indoors. Oh well, I guess its better than being forced to go out in 6 inches of snow and ice shards flying at your face!
The Gardein “pulled pork” actually looks pretty good!
An awesome, life-saving, kicking-a$$ girl like you deserves a treat every day. Kombucha it up girlfriend!
the other day I seriously considered skipping class on account of the weather being too dang gorgeous to spend the day indoors. That seems like a legit excuse to me, no?
Awww what a wonderful cupid gift! And it’s nice that it came in March – like a little surprise 🙂
Woohoo for Vday gift!! I used to be a pulled pork girl back in my meat eating days so I’ve been eyeing that Gardein product. Thanks for the review, pooks!
Horse carrots trump horse apples any day of the week.
i really need to get my butt to bonobos.
ha – why do our patients get such amaze views? and the funny thing is, all they do is whine about the crappy food. this isnt a hotel!!!!!!!!
thanks, and can i just say, your blog name is adorable!!
im not sure if you are a new reader or not, but i generally snack on everything you see above through the day. it’s not so much a breakfast, lunch, and dinner kinda thing, more of a constant graze when i can get a few seconds away from my patients.
i LOOOOOOVE carob. so much better than chocolate.
yeah, i should have know better. dont do it!!!!!! hahaha
they are so good…seriously, i freakin’ love ’em!!! definite dent in the wallet though.
i know, right??? it was love at first sip for me too…much to my bank account’s detriment…
ha! definitely.
awww. thanks girly. ps i did this carbon footprint thing today and totally thought of you. between the yogurt and bread making your CO2 footprint is probz AMAZING…well, except for the empty wine bottles 😉 i kid, i kid!
dude, i would do it! do you think my boss would fire me if i called in sick for the same reason? thank god for unions!!