Put your hands in the air and back away from the sandwich!

Don’t get me wrong – sandwiches are GREAT and I love them!  They are practically the perfect lunch (or post-workout) food.  They don’t take too much time to assemble and they fit nicely into one hand – how many of us eat on the go these days?  I mean, really, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich is probably the perfect sandwich – it’s easy to make and packs a powerful punch for delivering the perfect combination of protein and carbs to help satisfy a post-workout hunger.  And, hello, it’s PEANUT BUTTER and PEANUT BUTTER is AWESOME!!!  Unfortunately, not all peanut butters are created equal (Don’t forget to read the ingredients!  If the jar says more than peanuts and salt, you may be getting more (bad stuff) than you bargained for.) and most jellies are just fruit-flavored sugar so you have to watch the pb&j consumption. Of course, for those of you that are my age or older and grew up with Sesame Street®, we all learned to count by peanut butter sandwiches so we can’t help that we LOVE them.  A la peanut butter sandwiches!  Ah….memories….Love you Count von Count!

Anyway, while sandwiches are delicious and fun to assemble, sometimes opening your lunch sack to find another sandwich can be slightly boring and sad sometimes.  Variety is the spice of life after all and you don’t want to be bored with your food.  Food is to be enjoyed, savored and celebrated.  Food usually brings us together and yet another sandwich can cause you to want to run far, far away and find the nearest vending machine and have a Snickers bar for lunch.  Bad cravings!  Bad, bad!! (see, it’s the whole peanut butter thing again!  Although, don’t get a Snickers.  That’s a really, really bad choice.  Get a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and share one or buy the Nutrageous.  Trust me on this one.) 

Sorry, I keep getting off topic.  Back to my story.  As you know, I’m a runner.  Running makes me happy.  And hungry.  And some days I’m REALLY hungry.  So, you know I look for interesting and fun recipes in all kinds of places and I found a great one in an unexpected place.  Okay, so not really unexpected for me but maybe for you.  I subscribe to Runner’s World magazine (big surprise, eh?) and I also get emails from them with interesting articles and links to blogs that aren’t always in the print issue.  This recipe actually came from there!  The article is entitled, “Don’t Cook Now” and features “delicious, minimal-prep recovery meals ready in 20 minutes or less.”  Um, is that speaking to you the same way it spoke to me?  Delicious?  WIN!  Minimal-prep? WIN!! Ready in 20 minutes or less?  WIN!!!  And the first recipe jumped out at me right away.  Yes, it does say “recovery meal” but that doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate this dish into your every day life even if you don’t go participate in endurance sports.  Usually the hardest part in any healthy life is making sure that healthy food choices are made.  I mean, it’s just so easy to swing through the drive-thru and grab dinner on the way home or run to the snack bar and grab a quick, don’t have to think about it burger for lunch and take it back to your desk and eat.  Well, this offers you the opportunity to break out of that rut even if for one day a week – or every other week – or even a month – and even the smallest change will benefit you in a BIG way!  And, as evidenced by the fact that I licked the container clean and seriously wished I packed myself more, this change is DELISH!  You will love it! 

And, yes, it really took less than 20 minutes to make.  I prepped the salad last night, dressed it this morning (my preference – you can certainly dress the salad immediately after making it and put it in the fridge) and separated into lunch containers for husband and me.  Yes, I pack my husband his lunch.  I’m very June Cleaver, aren’t I?  Hey, this way, I know he’s eating good stuff instead of doing the snack bar/drive-thru dance.  I love him enough to do that.  And, he’s a good sport and eats it! J 

Overall, this salad was the BOMB and I’m glad there’s more because I’m already looking forward to lunch tomorrow.  It was quite possibly one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.  Hey, have you ever watched that show on Food Network?  The food they eat always looks just so fabulous and sounds so decadent and rich and, sometimes, forbidden.  I had tried to come up with something that I could say was the “best thing I ever ate” and really couldn’t.  Okay, so I’m picky so there’s lots that I haven’t tried (and won’t ever try) but I also like many things and find that the entire meal, rather than just one dish, makes something memorable.  This salad – all in one little container – definitely fits into the premise of this show and is standing atop my list of “the best thing I ever ate (that I made myself).”  Try it and see for yourself!  Recipe’s down there. ↓

Happy (no)cooking, eating and drinking!

Hello Nurse!

Chickpea, Cherry and Ginger Salad

2 15 ½ ounce cans chickpeas

1 11-ounce can mandarin oranges

½ red onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

2/3 cup chopped pecans

2/3 cup dried tart cherries

1 jalapeno, minced

1 cup parsley, chopped

4 ounces feta

2 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients through vinegar.  Whisk apple-cider vinegar and olive oil; add salt and pepper.  Pour over chickpea salad and mix well.