the other night i made these black bean burgers. i changed the recipe a little bit to suit my taste/laziness, leaving out the cumin because i didn't think i had any, but i'm pretty sure i do, and used one can of well drained rotel in place of the green onions and tomatoes. for the cilantro, instead of measuring it, i just chopped the stems off the end of the bunch and threw it in the cuisinart. me loves cilantro so too much isn't a concern.
i froze most of them but then ended up pulling them out of the freezer for an easy lunch to serve my sisters and some nephews. popped in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350 and they were ready to go. i served them with an avocado mashed up in mayo, but i think guac would be a better topping. i just didn't have enough avocados on hand to make quac.
overall, i thought they were pretty good. not like crazy delicious, order them at a restaurant good, but tasty, healthy, and pretty economical considering they probably cost $2.50ish to make eight good sized patties-something i'll make again to pull out for lunch.
you see, i'm terrible about eating lunch. the boys usually eat pb&j or quesadillas with carrot sticks and fruit, but i get tired of that, so then i just don't eat. and then, mysteriously, i'm really crabby and tired all afternoon and get to the point were nothing would make me happier than a double cheeseburger. drool.
i'm trying to be better about taking care of myself instead of investing all my energy (or lack of) and resources in the boys. not only does my body feel better when i eat-duh, but my mood is better. instead of feeling like a frumpy sahm who eats the boys leftover lunches as i clear the table, i feel like a grown-up who is rewarded with a tasty lunch after a morning of work and play.
the challenge is doing this on a modest food budget. i've often told tim that if we had excess money, i would much rather spend it on food than a bigger house or better cars. buying all organics and not thinking twice about buying five new ingredients for a recipe that i will have no other use for-yes please. but for now, not my reality.
so my lunch criteria is healthyish, tasty, and frugal. oh, and easy. leftovers are great but not always available. so what do you have for lunch?
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lately (alongside the dreaded kid leftovers) i blend up a smoothie (sometimes fruit, sometimes chocolate)
ReplyDeletebought the ingredients to make me a double batch of them there bean burgers, so thanks very much!
yup, right there with you! Sometimes I put extra food on the kids plates knowing they won't eat it all so I have more leftovers when they are done. For lunch we usually have quesadillas or leftover dinner or breakfast if we still haven't gotten to that yet. Sometimes I get more creative and put in some avocado or tomato with a regular sandwich and that is reward enough for the morning.
ReplyDeleteWe are big on leftovers around here for lunch. Aaron and I at least. The kids eat deli-meat, cheese fruits and veggies, quesadillas, pb&j, bunnyroni. Stuff along those lines. I will die if I don't eat. Honest.
ReplyDeleteI've been into smoothies lately as well. And hard-boiled eggs are an inexpensive easy thing to have on hand that make a GREAT, protein-packed snack/addition to a meal.
I sometimes eat leftovers, but usually will let Beej have those to take to work. Or else I'll have sandwiches- sometimes deli meat style or a grilled cheese and tomato or something like that, depending on what we have around the house. I won't ever skip lunch- breakfast sure, but never lunch.
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to make black bean burgers lately, I'll have to try these.
This sounds oddly familiar. Same menu for our girls, quite often the same situation for me with eating their leftovers, or finally getting to eat around an hour after they sat down and well after they're finished. Even then my meal is interrupted several times, and if I get around to finishing it it's often gone cold. Oh, the sacrifices of motherhood! Definitely not a good sacrifice most of the time though, especially when it results in me being a grumpy mommy.
ReplyDeleteAs far as "mom food", when I do take the time for something different for myself, I like to have burritos premade in the freezer. I've made some with leftover homemade refried beans and mexican rice with a bit of cheese that were really tasty (good for lent/Fridays), as well as a chicken, corn and black bean burrito or a chicken and refried bean burrito. I defrost them in the microwave while I get the girls' food made and then crisp them up on the cast iron skillet. Very tasty. Having bierocks in the freezer is also a nice standby. I have a chicken salad recipe that I really like for when I have playdates (for the moms that is, kids still get standard kid food) and I always enjoy eating the leftovers for lunch over the next few days. Smoothies are also good, but those tend to be more of a breakfast thing around here, especially since that is the only thing Claire will eat if I make them. All of these suggestions tend to be few and far between though. It's just so much easier to make another pb&j/quesadilla/grilled cheese/turkey sandwich than to do something else for myself.
I agree with everyone... I don't think I ever make a lunch for me. In fact, I usually just eat the leftover mac&cheese straight from the pan before I clean it out!
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