This has been the worst week. We're in a heatwave from hell. 100+ degree days. It was soooo HOT I saw two fire hydrants fighting over a dog. Ba dum bum ching ;) Seriously, it's been awful. I went to the Farmer's Market but I was in and out of there. I did run into my pal Sandy who found this in her travels a few months back. How AWESOME is this?!
Thank you Sandy. I love it. It was christened this AM with some Italian Roast.
I grabbed just the basics at the market (zucchini, a big sweet onion, strawberries, Reed avocados, tomatoes, and figs) ran the couple of errands I absolutely needed to do and retreated back to my house.
Breakfast: I came home and made a Greek Breakfast Bowl.
Shelly's Greek Breakfast Bowl: I beat a couple of eggs with a sprinkle of Greek seasoning (blend of oregano, black pepper, garlic, sage found in the spice aisle.) Cooked them with a few chopped cherry tomatoes till done. Spooned the egg mixture in bowls and top with chopped Kalamata olives and Feta cheese. Protein packed and yummy.
Lunch: I've been trying not to put on the oven unless it's super early or really late to not heat up the house. So we've been doing a lot of cold eats. Yesterday, I made Individual Crab Louis Salads. I love these little individual salads. Everything is layered in a plastic cup, covered with wrap, grab a plastic fork and you can take off, lunch in hand. You can make them the night before and it makes life easier on busy days.
A typical Crab Louie salad consists of Crab Meat (I used canned), hard boiled Eggs, Tomato, Asparagus, Cucumber, Romaine Lettuce with a Louie dressing (mine is healthified.) I added olives (thanks Michelle H for those delicious anchovy stuffed olives, another gift from a pal) instead of asparagus (any olive will do.)
Shelly's Louis-ish Dressing
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (I use plain 2%)
1/2 teaspoon Paprika (I used Hungarian Sweet)
1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
Salt to taste
a few twists of Black Pepper
Mix till well combined. Great as a salad dressing or dip for veggies, meat or fish.
Dinner: We had an afternoon thunderstorm. 20 minutes of rain and few booms and a flash or two. When the lawn furniture had sufficiently dried I packed up my bento with more cold eats and sat outside. I love the world after it rains.
Pink Box (top left): Sliced Tomatoes with Shelly's Yogurt Feta Dressing (just plain yogurt, with a little feta cheese, oregano, salt & pepper)
Green Box (top right): Shelly's PBJ & Banana Trail Mix
Blue Box (bottom left): Roast Beef and Swiss Cold Cut Roll-up w/ mustard
Orange Box (bottom right): Grapes
Shelly's PBJ & Banana Trail Mix
A couple of Tablespoons of Peanuts
1/4 cup Freeze Dried Banana Strawberry Bits (I use Gerber Graduates Mini Fruits found in the baby food aisle 25 cals for a 1/4 cup)
Mix. Eat.
More Bento Meal Ideas
Snacks: Went outside to watch the Perseid meteor shower which is usually a disappointment and a pain-in-the-neck literally. This year it was GREAT. I saw 20+ the first few minutes I was out there. Plus I ate this delicious dessert under the stars.
I used some of the Farmer's Market figs to make a yummy protein-packed dessert. I have a tree and it's given me 4 so far this year. I should have more by the end of the week, lots are almost ripe but not quite there yet. I couldn't pass up a basket for $2. I roasted a few. Roasted figs are delicious on Greek Yogurt (or Ricotta Cheese) for breakfast or like I had them for dessert. The roasted figs stay for several days in the fridge.
Shelly's Roasted Figs
6 Mission Figs, halved
1 teaspoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup
Dash or two of Cinnamon
Ricotta or Greek Yogurt
Half the figs. Place them on a foil wrapped cookie sheet. In a small bowl, I place 1 Tablespoon of Sugar Free Torani Syrup (SF Vanilla, SF Vanilla Bean, SF Caramel, SF Cinnamon Vanilla would all be yummy), 1 teaspoon of Butter, and a dash or two of Cinnamon. Nuke for 25 seconds. Spoon over each fig half. The mixture is plenty for 12 halves. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
More days in my pouch.
