Royal Weddings, Today's Plate and...Beans!

I woke up a bit later this morning because I didn't have to make my usual commute. Due to one of the gracious benefits of technology, I worked from home today! I hit the sofa in my pajamas, pulled out my laptop to begin work and popped on the Today Show. And there it was, all this hoopla about William and Kate's wedding and I managed to be surprised it was today. Okay now enough about that, I'm sure you've already seen and heard all of that.

I ate a whole cantelope for breakfast this morning. There's nothing like a really ripe cantelope. It's super easy to slice up and I've been finding great deals at the grocery store lately. Doesn't this look yummy?!

Lunch included...Okay, I'll let you guess?...You guessed right! A monster salad! (Followed by a green apple for dessert.)

This is about 7oz of organic spring greens (bit more than a bag), a couple handfuls of shredded carrots and my own version of the very tasty Tofu Ranch Dressing from ETL. I made it last weekend when I was in cooking mode.

Unfortunately, I haven't been cooking much since then. Longer days at the office and errands to run after work have left me eating leftovers, not that I'm complaining. I also made Lisa's Lovely Lentil Stew (from ETL) last weekend and have been eating it as a side dish at dinner each night this week. A big component of being a vegetarian, vegan or Nutritarian is eating enough beans. They are full of protein, calcium and fiber so I've found them to be a helpful replacement for meat. Lentils in particular are great because you don't have to soak them before cooking them.

Fun Fact: One cup of cooked Lentils has more than double the protein of one 16oz cup of fruit yogurt. And less calories!

I'll be eating more beans this weekend when the cooking bug brings me back in the kitchen. I discovered these no added salt canned beans in BPA free containers that should make cooking beans a lot easier. I initially had a hard time finding salt free canned beans so these are a great discovery for folks like me with neither the time or the patience to always soak dry beans in advance. You can usually find them at Whole Foods, some Wegmans stores (where I found them to be the cheapest) and other healthier food stores. 

I'll be sure to share recipes from this weekend's cooking endeavors. Stay tuned!