Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Fast Meal from the Freezer



As you can probably tell by my lack of posts I wasn’t home much today. I finally got in a little after 10pm from cooking class and there were no leftovers in the refrigerator for my husband’s lunch tomorrow. I hate the idea of my husband ordering food from downtown because you have no control over whether it is organic not to mention the fat and sodium content. Since my being out of the house all day happens with more regularity than I would like I keep things in the freezer for times like these.

When I got home from class I immediately grabbed a 2-cup container of seitan bolognese from the freezer and tossed it into the microwave to begin defrosting. I also started ½ cup of millet to go under the bolognese because my husband loves millet. (Who is this man and what did he do with my husband? Sorry for the diversion.) To round out his lunch tomorrow I am also including a spinach and tomato salad with shelled hempseeds, an apple with walnut butter, and the last few remaining kale chips for a snack. As my hubby would say, he gets tired of chewing before he gets full. While he is right that my food does require more chewing at least I know he is getting more than adequate nutrition.

Sorry for the lack of recipes today, I was swamped and spent far too much time in my car today. I will be back in the kitchen tomorrow and have many ideas to play with from cooking class tonight. I had the best warm cabbage slaw I have ever had in my life. Cooking class was fabulous tonight.

On a somewhat unrelated note I took the dulse granules to cooking class tonight for everyone to taste since almost all of us are watching some aspect of our respective diets. Everyone that tried the dulse liked it. So for those of you that are worried how it tastes it has been very popular here. The taste is very salty but a teaspoon contains 34mg of sodium versus 2300mg for regular iodized salt, or 1880mg for kosher salt. Additionally the dulse contains trace minerals that most of us can use.

That is all I have for tonight. Have a great evening everyone.

11 comments:

  1. Looks and sounds fab. I have millet in the cupboard that has only made some cameo appearances...I MUST USE MORE MILLET...I would be lost without you, I would be a well-intentioned but ineffective woman with unused millet in her cupboard...BTW am doing the lentil sprouts.

    Also, MUST CHECK OUT DULSE GRANULES!

    I'm excited about the news from cooking class...!

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  2. ah you answered my question about the kosher salt.you read my mind, id been wondering about why u used kosher instead of sea salt.

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  3. I really LOVE the idea of fast (and healthy) meal from the freezer!!! Your husband is so lucky!

    Just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your time stopping by my blog and responding to my comment from your last post. Can't wait to come back and read more about your blog!!! :)

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  4. Rose,

    The first time I tried millet my husband loved it. I think he likes telling people at the office he is eating bird seed for lunch. He is such a big joker. Maybe I should do a grains post about the nutritional difference of the various whole grains.

    How are your lentil sprouts doing? I can't wait to hear all about it.

    Michelle,

    That is too funny. I mentioned the sodium difference tonight because I said something about at cooking class and no one else had heard it. So I thought it was worth a mention here. Sea salt, which I didn't list above in the post, has similar sodium levels to the iodized salt (2150-2225mg of sodium) depending on the brand. BTW sometimes I write this things and realize what a numbers geek I am.

    talk to you soon,
    Alicia

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  5. Oraphan,

    I find that it works really well for me to have two cup portions of things in the freezer. Even though I enjoy cooking sometimes I am just too busy. Those little single servings come to the rescue a couple of times a month for my husband's lunch.

    I enjoyed looking at your blog yesterday. Can't wait to see what you do next, especially the sushi. I have a different idea for sushi this week that you may like. Last night I was talking to my Japanese friend at cooking class regarding a different presentation. Hopefully it will work out as well in reality as it looks in my head.

    Alicia

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  6. It looks sooo good! It is nice to have food like that in the freezer for when life is busy!
    Debra @ Vegan Family Style

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  7. Debra,

    Keeping meals in the freezer was something I did more of when I was working. It was a major life saver. The hubby and I would cook on the weekend and freeze it in single serving portions for the week. It worked fabulously well. Now I only keep 12 or so meals in the freezer for emergencies. It makes life so much easier when things are hectic.

    Life was so much easier when we weren't so concerned about nutrition. It certainly is easier to stop at a restaurant for dinner or to pick something up. But I wouldn't trade our healthier food for convenience.

    later,
    Alicia

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  8. You're apologizing for a lack of recipes today? You are a one woman Recipezaar! Take a break!

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  9. Shenandoah,

    Okay, I am still laughing. Thanks for the comment. You did put it into perspective for me.

    Alicia

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  10. Alicia, can you comment on how dulse compares in taste with kelp? I've been using kelp a bit and giving it to the dogs. From a nutritional standpoint, I can't really justify one over the other. -Matt

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  11. Matt,

    Great question! I think kelp has as more intense flavor than dulse. It would be similar to comparing arugula to romaine. I use the dulse like salt.

    From what I understand kelp has a little more iodine but they are both packed with trace vitamins and minerals. I have bought them both but find dulse to be more neutral. Over the last month I have gotten 6 omnivores to try it and all 6 of them asked me to pick them up some to use as a salt substitute. Dulse granules have 34mg of sodium per teaspoon and the kelp granules have 90mg.

    If you are looking for something to add a "fishy" flavor the kelp does a better job of replicating that flavor.

    My cats go crazy over both so I think your dogs would like the dulse too.

    Alicia

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