Month: June 2015

When you Bring A Leftover Salad to Work for Lunch

~ learningsimple ~ Leave a comment

When I retrieved my salad out of the fridge at work I got a “So that’s your salad? Everyone has been asking who’s salad that is, it looks good!” It made me a little nervous, and it somewhat amazed me how closely people investigate the food that you bring to work. I guess I just don’t ever pay any mind to what is in the fridge I just try to find a little spot for what I’ve brought.

After thinking about Salads ALL DAY yesterday I picked up a few things to start my tour of summer salads. Spinach, Strawberries, Mushrooms, Almonds. I already had the Romaine Lettuce, Cheese and Blueberries on hand. I mixed it all together and this is what it looked like:

Summer Salad

I thought I had a vinegerette dressing in the pantry, but after a desperate search I turned up nothing and googled a recipe. I actually had all the staples on hand: Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Garlic Clove, Honey, Dijon Mustard, Salt and Pepper and I even found a salad dressing jar hidden at the back of the cupboard that had been a wedding present that was perfect for mixing it in.

When I brought what was left of the salad in for lunch today I added the leftover peas and kidney beans from dinner on Monday. I meant to add the hard boiled eggs I had made last night too, but sadly I forgot. To everyone at work I say YES, it was as good as it looked. . . but please bring your own and quit staring so intently at my food, it makes me uncomfortable.

Simple Meals

~ learningsimple ~ Leave a comment

I planned M-F on the meal menu this week and I desperately need to stop at the store for some fresh produce to go along with the main courses. . . Monday, was well, very Monday like, so when I left work the last thing I wanted to do was face the grocery store. I had planned on making sausage as the main part of our meal last night, but was unsure of what I would be able to scrounge up for sides. I ended up settling on kidney beans and peas. . . Talk about simple meals. It took all of 20 minutes to prepare so we got an extra long outside play session in before dinner and I would not take back those extra 20 minutes of bouncing on the trampoline and toddler giggles for anything. The sausage I cut into bite size pieces and threw in the skillet to warm. I dumped a can of kidney beans in a pan with a little garlic and boiled some water for the frozen pieces. . .and I added about a tablespoon of butter, just for a touch of flavor. Such an easy dinner. I am happy to report the babe ate everything on his plate (with the exception of a few peas he just couldn’t manage to get on his fork) and then proceeded to steal some of MY kidney beans. Dinner doesn’t have to be a lenthy complicated affair.

This dinner promted a discussion about cold foods we can eat during summer, as I believe kidney beans, cold on a salad are absolutely heavenly and a mom in my mommies group suggested cold kidney beans as a snack for toddlers, what a great idea! Her suggestion started the wheel are churning in my head for healthy cold summer salads. My hubby isn’t a big fan of mayonaise based pasta salad and neither am I, I’m going to see how he likes a vinegrette based one, but I also am thinking bean salads, maybe broccoli salads, I’m sure the possibilities are endless. . . I will definetly report back on what I come up with but any suggestions are more than welcome.