1.9.09

Breakfast

Today was my early day at work, and since I can’t bring myself to eat breakfast at 6:00 in the morning, I settled for a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice before I left. I brought along some items to assemble and eat for breakfast once I arrived: a 6 oz cup of fat free vanilla yogurt, ½ cup of granola cereal, and a banana which I sliced and mixed in with the yogurt and cereal.

Because I ate so early, I had a second breakfast/late morning snack a little later. I work right outside of a kitchen (or inside the kitchen, depending how you look at it), and after breakfast is over the “leftovers” are available. Usually, they look pretty unappetizing (not that the food is bad, it just gets old after awhile) so I don't normally partake. Today, though, I couldn't resist as I didn't have any extra snacks with me. I had a bran muffin and about 1 egg's worth of scrambled egg substitute. Satisfying and free...just the way I like it :)

All together, this meal provided:

Grains: 2 1/2 oz whole (granola cereal and small bran muffin)

Fruits: 1 3/4 cup (orange juice and banana)

Vegetables: 0

Milk: 3/4 cup (yogurt)

Meats & beans: 1 oz (egg substitute)

Oils: 1 teaspoon (oil used in bran muffin)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $1.36

Lunch
I finished off the lentil soup today (there was about 1 1/2 cups left). I was out of plain yogurt, so I added a teaspoon of low fat cream cheese instead. It still had the same effect of adding a little creaminess to the soup. I also had half of a whole wheat bagel (still using the Lenders that I bought for the trip) with about a teaspoon of cream cheese, along with 6 baby carrots on the side. The lentil soup was still good, but I don't think I could have eaten it for another day! At least the addition of cream cheese made it seem a little different.

All together, this meal provided:

Grains: 1 oz whole (bagel)

Fruits: 0

Vegetables: 1 3/4 cups (lentil soup-counted all as a vegetable this time, and raw carrots on the side)

Milk: 0

Meats & beans: 0

Oils: 0

The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.62

Dinner
Tonight I turned to my Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet cookbook for meal ideas. I wanted something cheap, nutritious and definitely easy since I had been up since 5am and not had enough sleep at all. I decided on 2 different recipes that I thought would go nicely together: Sweet Potato Quesadillas and Garlicky Black Beans. I had all of the ingredients on hand too, which increased the attractiveness further. The only change I made was to use salsa instead of green chilies in the quesadillas. I figured it wouldn't make a difference, and it didn't. Both recipes turned out very well and went perfectly together-just as I imagined. At least my lack of sleep had no effect on my ability to put flavors together!
I had 3 triangle wedges of the quesadillas with about 3/4 cup of the black beans with some extra salsa on the side-a very filling and inexpensive meal!

Recipes:
Sweet Potato Quesadillas (From The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, by Nava Atlas)

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes
one 4-7 oz can chopped mild green chilies (I used salsa instead)
4 8-10 inch tortillas (I used Manny's-multi grain variety)
1 cup grated cheddar or monterey jack cheese
Reduced fat sour cream or soy yogurt for topping, optional

1. Bake or microwave the sweet potatoes in their skins until done but still firm. When cool enough to handle, peel and slice 1/4 inch thick.
2. To make quesadillas, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange sweet potatoes and chilies on the entire surface of 2 tortillas. Sprinkle with the cheese, and cover with remaining tortillas. Arrange the quesadillas on a nonstick baking sheet and bake until the tortillas become lightly golden and crisp on the outside, about 12 to 15 minutes; or grill them on a nonstick griddle on on both sides until golden. Cut each quesadilla into 4 equal wedges.

Garlicky Black Beans (From The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, by Nava Atlas)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
Two 16-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed, or 4 cups cooked black beans (from about 1 2/3 cups raw)
Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon, or to taste
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro or parsley (I used about 2 teaspoons dried cilantro)

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and saute over low heat until golden, 1 or 2 minutes.
2. Add the beans, 1/2 cup of water, and the lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a gentle simmer.
3. Remove about 3/4 cup of the beans, mash them, and return to the saucepan. Simmer very gently for another 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro, and serve.

All together, this meal provided:

Grains: 2 oz whole (tortilla)

Fruits: 0

Vegetables: 1 cup (sweet potato and salsa)

Milk: 2 cups (about 1/2 cup of reduced fat cheddar)

Meats & beans: 3 oz (3/4 cup of beans)

Oils: 2 teaspoons (olive oil used to prepare beans)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $2.04

How did I do today?

Grains: 6 oz out of 6 oz (all were whole)

Fruits: 1 ¾ cups out of 2 cups

Vegetables: 2 ½ cups out of 2 ½ cups

Milk: 2 ½ cups out of 3 cups

Meats & beans: 4 oz out of 5 ½ oz

Oils: 3 tsp out of 6 tsp

Total cost for the day: $4.02