Reluctant meal planning

So, I've been doing a lot of reading of food blogs lately, especially since I don't cook, and don't much like bothering with thinking about cooking. Lucky for me, the b/f is quite willing to do all the cooking, but he does like some help in meal planning. So I've been trying to do my bit by coming up with suggestions for meals that are tasty, healthy, and can be prepared in a reasonable amount of time. I'm here to tell you, that is not easy.

At the same time, I've also been looking for ideas on what to take for lunch during the week. Which is more of a challenge than the dinner thing, because if you Google "lunch ideas" or something similar, everything seems to be about what to prepare for your kid's lunch. Apparently, adults never get bored with whatever it is that they're brown bagging. Or maybe they just go out for lunch when they can't face another sandwich. Personally, I'm at least as tired of my restaurant options around work as I am with the sandwiches I've been taking. And it really adds insult to injury to drop ten bucks for a lunch that you didn't particularly enjoy.

Today I made some waldorf salad as something a little different to go along with my sandwich. I've never made this before, so I based it off this recipe. I started with that recipe because the calories per serving were more reasonable than others (some of them were quite high). I dropped the cabbage and reduced the amounts to give me just enough for lunch for a couple of days. Here's what I came up with:

Waldorf Salad

1 Tbl. mayonnaise
1 tsp. sugar
1 pinch salt
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 Tbl. chopped walnuts

Stir together mayo, sugar, and salt. Mix in remaining ingredients. Chill.

Pretty easy, huh? It tastes pretty good, and gave me two servings, about a cup each. I figure each serving is around 120 calories, which is quite reasonable. This, plus a sandwich and one of the bran muffins I found in the freezer today should make a nice lunch.

Blog discovery

This week I discovered Less is Enough, and devoured (pun intended) her Dollar a Day project. I have to say I was impressed by what that woman could eat for just a dollar. There have been times in my life when money was exceedingly tight, and I'm rather proud that I managed to never go hungry. With some planning and creativity, I always had enough to eat. I discovered that I like spaghetti sauce better without meat in it, and beans and cornbread will fill me up faster than I ever imagined. While white flour is cheaper than whole wheat, whole grains will keep you full for a lot longer. And, if you can find a cheap hand mill and a source of cheap wheat berries (which I did), you can produce a lot of cheap, filling food. Buy, boy, this woman has me beat. I don't think I ever managed fresh fruit when things were really tight; maybe some discounted canned peaches on occasion, but that's it. My hat is off to you, Rebecca Currie.

Rainy birthday

Today is my birthday, and it's raining. But I don't really mind, because it has finally warmed up enough that I can venture outside - sans coat - without risking hypothermia. It has been a long, dreary, cold winter, and I am cheered beyond words to see my crocuses waking up:



So, while I would really like to get out in the garden and play in the dirt, I'm far from sad to be settling for this:


A sock and a movie. Do I know how to party, or what?