Lunch

Quinoa with black beans, corn, chicken, avocado and salsa. Turned out pretty tasty.

Chicken strips seared in a skillet and doused in a soy sauce, served with buttered egg noodles.

Giant mixing bowl sized salad of mixed greens, carrots, radishes, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, topped with half a pound of smoked crumbled pork loin on top.

It was so smoky and yummy, didn’t even need a dressing.

Under 500 calories, and 60+gr protein.

Two eggs over easy, avocado, sprouts and sliced tomato.

Yesterday I had grilled jerk chicken with coconut rice and beans and some sautéed spinach. Today I'm having shrimp with what remains of the coconut rice and beans and sautéed broccoli.

Today I had one of those pouches of tuna (sweet and spicy) that always make me think of cat food. I ate this over a bowl of arugula, with a handful of dried cranberries, another of maple glazed pecans, and some beets, with a drizzle of light balsamic vinaigrette.

A little more than a third of a bagged salad (Taylor Farms Sweet Kale) with a pouch of Thai Chili Tuna. Threw in a handful of nuts and some extra craisins

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PAPYRUS3 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Giant salad in a big mixing bowl: Mixed greens, onion, cucumber, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds; dressed with a mix of avocado mash, red wine vinegar, and fresh-ground black pepper. Firm tofu cut in sort of log shapes, baked until lightly crispy, then dipped in - brace yourself - ketchup. (I love ketchup.) Plus a couple of prunes.

you had every step of the way...until ketchup😗

You crazy!! 😅

Nah. Or at least not because of ketchup, I'd argue.😆 🤣 My preferred ketchup contains tomato concentrate, balsamic vinegar, distilled vinegar, salt and less than 2% of onion powder, garlic powder, and spices. That's it. Coincidentally, those are organic, besides - not why I chose that brand, though. (I adore vinegar, BTW.)

It has 10 calories per 16 grams (1 tablespoon). I can have a big ol' serving of it for not many calories. Ketchup has a long culinary tradition (early 1800s, if not earlier). It's good, to my taste (and evidently not yours, which is not a criticism, because tastes are individual).

Ketchup seems like it's really demonized these days, with salsa often preferred as better. I like salsa, too. They're not dramatically different nutritionally. Ketchup is a little more calorie dense, because it's cooked down (concentrated), but still pretty calorie efficient, IMO. I sought out an unsweetened brand because I tend not to like things very sweet. and (to my tastes) unsweetened ones taste more tomato-y. (I wonder if they have to use better tomato varieties because the sugar in a tomato recipe smooths out acidity.) Even the mainstream brands with HFCS only have around 20 calories per tablespoon - not crazy high calorie, IMO.

PAPYRUS3 wrote: »

@AnnPT77 - ok...that 'ketchup' thing. I've only had typical store brands (like Heinz) - full of sugar. I hate the sweetness of ketchup so maybe I should give a unsweetened brand. Won't be putting on my salad though. However, I do put Frank's hot sauce on greens...well, everything lol!

Kroger (aka Albertson’s out west) and Heinz both have a good unsweetened ketchup, at about 15/tbsp

We actually tried making our own when we realized we were out with air fries in the crisper. It was pretty darn good and I’d def consider trying to experiment with homemade again.

Lunch today (pretty common) was rice and black beans with some added cooked veg and some feta (and added spices). Tomorrow is my work lunch and it is going to be pasta, including various options including meatballs, which I am admittedly excited about. My favorite lunch is salad with some protein on it, but I have been having issues with raw greens, sadly.