I absolutely love leftovers. I know some people are not fans and all I have to say about that is I do not understand! Why wouldn’t one want a delicious homemade meal that they don’t have to cook? Maybe the non-loving leftover person doesn’t do the cookin
g in the first place? Well, I do an obscene amount of cooking around here and if having leftovers means I am off the hook then I am all over it.
Today was the perfect day to have leftovers. We were very busy with a playdate, errands, and an out-of-town guest. It would have sent me over the edge if I also had to prepare a delicious homemade meal for dinner. So I was in luck that I made a huge batch of chili and whole-grain cornbread last night. I agree it is a little random to eat chili when the heat index is approaching 100 degrees, but when I brought that point up to my husband he said, “Well, what do they do in Texas?” So we decided our cravings didn’t have to match the weather, and we chowed down on some (mostly bean with a little bit of ground pork) chili. My picky daughter (who probably likes 1 out of 10 new things I give her) actually liked this dish too, which made me like it even more. I guess if you mix together equal parts chili, cornbread and cheese what’s not to love?
We have actually been eating all sorts of quick and easy meals this week. Here are some of the highlights and photos…
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast with jelly, and fruit
- Lunch: Peanut butter and banana (instead of jelly) sandwich, whole-wheat pretzels, and fruit
- Dinner: Leftover roasted potatoes (that were turned into mashed potatoes), a very quick cooking zucchini/sliced almond recipe, and some other leftovers
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I guess we must have subconsciously been on some sort of kick to make it easy on me in the kitchen this week (which I love) because we also went out to lunch one day. A local blog reader recently recommended that we try Luna’s Living Kitchen, which is actually a vegan restaurant close to Uptown Charlotte. We were in the area and decided to check it out. Prior to the 100 days I have to admit that I probably would have turned my nose up to Vegan food. While I have no desire to become a Vegan (or even a Vegetarian f
or that matter) I do recognize that they are extremely conscious of what they put in their bodies and often favor local fare over the processed/refined stuff. So I figured it was worth a shot to see what this place was all about.
We ordered three different dishes (and dessert!) between the four of us so my 
husband and I could sample more than one thing. Our favorite dish was the veggie burger on whole-grain bread – yum! It was the type of meal that makes you feel sad when it is over. My 5-year-old had the lasagne, which was served slightly chilled and had no sign of a noodle. They instead used thinly slices pieces of zucchini in place of noodles (which I thought was creative and different) and then topped the dish with cucumber slices. While she didn’t chow down or anything she did eat it slowly which leads me to believe she liked it okay. She did suck down her coconut milk though…because of course they don’t serve dairy!
On the other hand, my younger daughter was unfortunately not a very big fan of their version of oatmeal, which was made with buckwheat 
instead of oats. She is incredibly picky though, and I suppose since she ate chili for the first time this week she must have already maxed out on her limit of new foods or something. She did eat the bananas off the top though, and I also had some nuts in my purse I gave her too. But luckily both of our children loved the “banana ice cream” for dessert (pictured), which was simply pureed frozen bananas! We certainly don’t have to limit them when it comes to a treat like that. So all in all we really enjoyed our outing at Luna’s and will definitely eat there again (although I hope I have a little better luck selecting a dish for my 3-year-old next time!).
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Also check out the latest post on my other blog, The Food Illusion, entitled Milk – good or bad?
Wow, I love trying raw vegan food but, I too, would find it hard converting my 4 kids to it! At the moment I have some raw, vegan pizza bases in the freezer – to pull out at anytime for a gorgeous pizza topped with h-made pesto, sliced tomato, grated zuchini & carrot, avocado and sprouts. Just slightly warmed – it is delicious! I buy them ready-made from our local organic markets and they are made from buckwheat, carrots, seeds, basil and other wonders – a real treat.
Lisa,
I think you will find this post very interesting if your girls loved the banana “ice cream.” Enjoy!
http://www.choosingraw.com/this-post-will-change-your-life/
Okay, I am totally going to make this at home now…thank you for sharing!
That is so cool hearing about the banana cream! I’ve been making it at home for a month or so. Just peel and cut bananas into chunks, freeze – run them through a food processor (maybe needing a splash of milk) and it’s the wonderful texture of soft serve:) We like to add frozen strawberries and my daughter LOVES to add a spoonful of peanut butter and some cocoa powder! I’ve told everyone I can about it – it’s such a great summer treat!!
Peanut butter and cocoa powder sound like great additions…can’t wait to experiment with this!
Ever since I read your article in the Charlotte Observer I have loved your blog! I too went to Luna’s the other day and got that exact same veggie burger! I loved it. I also wanted to let you know I made your chocolate peanut balls but modified them slightly and they were AMAZING. I think it’s so great what your family is doing!
Thank you so much for the comment!
LOL. I am from Texas and in answer to your hubby’s question “Well, what do they do in Texas?”, we eat chili. It was 102 degrees today with a heat index of 110. Yet, if you offerred me a bowl of chili, I would take it.
Last week we had a heat index of 118 and wouldn’t you know that was the day we had some homemade chili with poblano peppers, jalepenos, hatch chili peppers and tabasco all included in the mix. The hotter and spicier the better! And you just have to have sour cream and shredded cheese on top. Oh, and don’t forget the jalepeno cornbread.
Okay, my husband and I are loving your comment…thanks for shedding some light on how Texans really do eat!!
Yes, I love the banana ice cream idea! I make it all the time, just add a bit of coconut milk or cream to make it a bit creamier. So so so yummy.
I finally made it last night and it was delicious (and easy!)
This was a great blog entry. Please continue to post great content like this!
Where do you find the whole wheat pretzels and what brand are they? I can’t seem to find any.
Jen – are you local to the Charlotte area? If so, Earthfare on Johnston Rd. carries them… Splits is the brand name.
If not, it looks like they sell them from their website, in bulk: https://secure.uniquesplits.com/dev/index2.php
I purchased the Sprouted 100% Whole Grain Wheat Pretzels, but they have several kinds, not all of which are ‘whole grain’.
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The link that Violent Monkey shared is the same brand that we buy: https://secure.uniquesplits.com/dev/index2.php I just stick to their “sprouted 100% whole grain splits” which I found at Earthfare. My girls LOVE these pretzels and I think they taste incredibly similar to what I remember refined pretzels tasting like. My mom also found this same brand of pretzels at a health food store in New York state.
HOLY CRAP! This banana thing is the best kept secret EVER! Just made some for the kids (and myself) and it was so unbelievably easy & delish… I am just in awe!
Kristi I couldn’t agree with you more! I cannot believe how creamy and good (and healthy) it is and that we never knew about it! Now I want to start working on variations (adding PB, other fruit, chocolate, etc.) So fun and easy!
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I learned about banana ice cream from a co-worker at the natural foods grocery store, and I love it! My 17 year old son is a high school wrestler and really has to watch his food choices during the season – he said that the banana ice cream “saved his sanity” when he was denying himself other sugary treats!