Eat Like a Rabbit

Paul's folks had a major issue with their kitchen earlier this year. Their upstairs water heater flooded their kitchen and ruined--among other things--years of collected recipes. You can see all the marked pages in the cookbooks that the insurance company replaced. I also benefited because we learned one of the cookbooks The Occasional Vegetarian was out of print. Kathleen graciously sent me a used copy when she found a source. I'm happy my stomach is more settled because I've already read it cover-to-cover. (Yes, I do find enjoyment just reading cookbooks.) I've already used two recipes and will be going back to it later in the week.

I purchased a 1 pound package of spinach at Costco on Thursday and am determined to finish it off before the end of this week. One pound doesn't sound like much, but it looks like a lot, probably because I'm not running to the kitchen when I get home from work like I once did. I hope that excitement will return. Anyway, below are some ideas I have for getting that extra iron into my tummy because the vitamins still aren't staying down all the time.

Last week at work went better than I had planned, but there was enough going on that I really appreciated the light dinner ideas I has scheduled during last week's post. The only change I made was to have Mexican Pizza on Friday night instead of the Egg Fu Yung, which means I have at least one meal already planned for this coming week! It's kind of like a roll-over.

Menu for the Week

• Egg Fu Yung with Asian Patties
• Corn on the Cob. . .maybe in a cold soup with fresh tomatoes
• Pasta and white bean dip on rolls
• Bagels (which I will get fresh from Einstein Brothers Monday or Wednesday with a coupon for 1/2 off a Baker's Dozen) and Smoothies
• Morningstar Farms Black Bean Burgers

Paul still has quite a collection of black eyed peas and rice for his lunch. Perhaps he will want some this week for dinner one night which will let me off the hook more.

Exactly a week ago, we attended a wedding at the Omni Resort in Champions Gate, Florida. We loved the wedding and are so happy for Sarah and John, but more importantly, we enjoyed this (see photo) particular menu item so much that the efforts of a duplication will likely be part of our menu this week.

I have fallen off the wagon of my menu plan to eliminate unnecessary stress in my life the last couple of weeks due to friends and family visiting, which throws off my schedule a bit. (I'm a creature of habit.) But, I'm back on this week!

Menu for Week of June 1

• Cold Wild Rice with fruit and nuts salad, veggie-meat
• Open-faced grilled cheese with aged white cheddar on dark wheat bread and mixed green salad
• Pizza on Flatbread with veggie-chicken spinach, and zucchini
• Cereal or Smoothies and Sandwiches
• Corn(?) and. . .

I have purchased fresh corn on sale at differing grocery stores for the last two weeks. It's a great summer treat and so inspiring because the fresh flavors make you want to do something just as fresh to go with it. We've already eaten this week's supply of corn, and I hope to acquire more on Thursday or Friday when I do my big bi-weekly grocery shopping.

Perhaps this post will talk Paul into getting me a camera for my birthday. I had expected to be done at work before lunch time, but had a surprise patient. At noon I ran out to scavenge for a lunch as I have been sick for a week and my stomach was finally getting its gumption back. All I passed as I drove a couple block radius (too afraid to drive far as I have a bad sense of direction) was a Sobik's Subs. It has been about 4 years since I have been to one and thought I would visit in the spirit of trial for ELAR. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera to take a picture of my meal.

As I entered the restaurant, two smiling ladies were working at the counter, one of them more flushed with the heat of an oven and deep fryer.

This is often a favorite lunch spot of us in Winter Park, Florida. It is very close to the hospital where Paul works and near shopping areas I may visit on my days off. The selling point of this restaurant is a relaxed atmosphere with outside eating, a selection of sandwiches and salads, and their amazing creation of smoothies--with or without yogurt.

This post is in honor of our dear friend, Garalynne, a nutritionist in Savannah, Georgia. Garalynne has been taught how to eat well, and when she and her husband, Trevor, lived in Orlando, they would come over many Saturday nights for smoothies. Paul has a 3-ish cup blender that is perfect for individual drinks. We love our memories with our friends.

The best healthy late evening snack is smoothies and popcorn. Be creative with both. Here are some options: