See this beauty of a vegetable that we got in our Poplar Ridge Farm CSA box? I didn’t even know what the heck it was at first. Once I figured out that it was
an eggplant, a little bit of excitement was lost because I don’t recall ever cooking (and probably barely ever eating) an eggplant in my life. So I settled on the idea of making some lasagna with it. It was the day after our fun dinner club evening, and I was still feeling a little out of it (okay, hungover) so I decided to wait until the very last minute to act on this plan. With our childrens’ hunger growing by the minute I finally moseyed on over to the grocery store at 5:45 P.M. to obtain mozzarella, Parmesan, and ricotta cheeses for the dish. This is when things suddenly came to a halt because I learned that all brands of ricotta cheese (at our grocery store) contain at least SIX ingredients!
If it weren’t for 3 of the 6 ingredients being random (like guar gum and xantham gum) I probably would have broken that damn 5-ingredient rule. It was frustrating to have to change gears so late in the evening, but I just left the ricotta at the store and went home. I knew my girls were hungry so I ignored all of our fresh and perishable produce (that would require creativity and time to prepare) and instead boiled some frozen butternut squash raviolis that I’d made weeks ago. The following day my husband and I ended up grilling the eggplant and following a recipe for Baba Ganouj. Our girls at least tried it, but both of them thought it was “disgusting” to say the least. And while we thought the flavors were quite opinionated we enjoyed this variation to the typical hummus spread.
Later in the weekend, I started feeling more like myself and once again got motivated in the kitchen. Here’s some of what we’ve been eating over the last couple of days and a few pics as well (click to enlarge)…
Breakfasts:
- Egg soufflé (pictured) with a side of biscuits and fruit
- Lots of granola cereal topped with berries, of course!
Lunches:
- 90 second brown rice (Uncle Ben’s bag) mixed with avocado and a little soy sauce
- “Toast pizza” which was whole-wheat sandwich bread toasted after being topped with plain tomato sauce, a little oregano, a dash of salt, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses (which my children devoured and asked for seconds and thirds of) served with grapes and apples
Dinners:
- Vegetarian tacos (which my 3-year-old hated so I gave her granola cereal for dinner instead)
- Spaghetti sauce with homemade whole-wheat noodles (which everyone loved!)
- Fish, squash fritters topped with goat cheese, and potato gratin (both of my girls despised everything except the potatoes…my 3-year-old was even showing off her gagging skills)
I had to get my last few “hot lunches” out of the way this week since my 5-year-old will be starting (…gulp) kindergarten on Friday! I cannot believe my baby is going off to the big school, and at the same time I can’t help but wonder…what in the world am I going to pack in her lunch box every day?! And to further complicate things she is going to a peanut/tree nut free school. So stay tuned because once I figure things out myself I will definitely be posting updates in regards to her lunches.
On a completely different note, my dad has been bugging me to offer some sort of 10-day pledge alternative for those readers that aren’t quite up for our “boot camp” style pledge. Let’s not forget that he didn’t even come close to finishing his own so-called pledge, but I suppose he’s just thinking in the best interest of those that may feel equally challenged. While I am taking him up on his suggestion, I do want to put one last plug out there for the pledge (which close to 400 people have signed up for by the way). My husband and I both maintain our belief that the 10 Days of Real Food pledge is the absolute best and most eye opening experience out there. And we do think it should be a realistic goal for most…it is temporary after all.
Plus, did I mention that we are doing our pledge for 100 days just to make a pledge for only 10 days sound even more attainable? Don’t get me wrong, we understand that people have different challenges such as busy jobs, picky kids, limited budgets, no interest in cooking, and maybe even not as many real food resources as we have here in Charlotte. So I would like to invite you to check out our new list of alternatives, but at the same time can you please leave me a comment as to what’s holding you back if you happen to be one of those people? Just curious…
You can substitute tofu for ricotta. It’s actually quite good. We make eggplant parm and it’s very good. The secret is to salt the eggplant. Prior to my healthy food switch, I thought eggplant was gross, but if done right, it is quite tasty.
As for the peanut free school, we picked up this new soynut butter at Walmart, and it is one of the best soynut butters we’ve ever tried. (my son has peanut allergies.) It does contain cane sugar, but maybe when you are done with the 100 days you can add it. It’s called Wow! Tastes Just Like Peanut Butter (yes, that is the name)… it is “school safe soybutter”. Non-GMO Canadian Toasted Soy, soy oil, cane sugar, Monoglyceride (from vegetable oil – prevents separation) sea salt. (that’s 5 ingredients) Unlike peanut butter, soy butter needs a little honey or something in, or it tastes too earthy.
Thanks for the tip…I did look at some sunflower butters and they all have some sort of sugar in them. I will definitely have to look at the soy one you recommended after our 100 days!
I’ve been eating a lot of the Ralphs Grade AA Large Eggs and a couple days before I heard about the recall I started getting stomach pains. They have gotten a LOT worse, I already went to the ER once, and if they could actually do anything for me I would go in again. This is literally the worst pain I have ever been in. I’ll know by tomorrow if its salmonella or not, the doctors have no idea as of now.
Weird eggplant! I’m just hoping I actually get one out of my garden this year :( Things are reeeeaaaally behind up here this year. Just wanted to let you know I tried your whole wheat waffles. Omg, amaaaaaaaazing. Fluffiest waffles ever. I think they’re better than the white flour waffles my mom made as a kid. Oh, and about the peanut butter thing… Can you use sunflower butter? It’s pretty yummy too and if you can’t find it, it’s so easy to make in a food processor.
Oh and another thing, lol… What’s holding me back is my husband. He has no ambition to eat any better. I eat a lot of real food as it is, and I’m slowly introducing real food to him. Maybe one day we’ll make it :P He’s pickier than my 3 year old, I swear. At the grocery store he’s the one that gives me trouble, not the kids! Haha
Heidi,
I have the Hubby issue too! What’s a girl to do?
So glad you liked the waffles! And I love to know that I can make my own sunflower butter, b/c all the store-bought ones have sugar in them (of course!). So I will definitely have to look into that further.
And you are not alone with the husband thing…I feel like I have been hearing this a lot lately! I am going to have to put some thought into this and write a post just about/for picky husbands! By the way, did you share this list with him yet? https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/
I’m so glad I’m not alone! What makes matters worse is my hubby is very very thin, so he sees no need to cut out things with added sugar or make the switch to whole grains :(
I haven’t shared the list with him, but I have read Michael Pollans books, and whenever I come across something interesting I read it aloud to him. He always agrees, but it doesn’t motivate him… He even has a history of heart disease in his family so I really want to change how he eats. A post for picky hubby’s would be awesome!
We have also been eating differently since watching Food Inc.
Here is a recipe using Eggplant, that you should try I think it can be made completely within your guidelines.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/trenette-with-eggplant-and-basil-pesto-recipe/index.html
We used whole grain pasta; I think it was Penne rigate since we weren’t able to find the Trenette.
It had a lot of flavor, no meat. It was good the next day as well since it made quite a bit.
Thanks I will have to give it a shot next time we get an eggplant in our CSA box!
A note on the ricotta cheese issue… I was discouraged when I read this post, as I hadn’t attempted to purchase (or yet look at the ingredients of, the ricotta I usually buy). All those thickeners? Horrible.
I have a recipe that calls for ricotta that I wanted to make this weekend, and just went to Trader Joe’s in search of their “Traditional Fresh Ricotta”. Ingredients are: Whole Milk, Whey, Vinegar and Salt. Yay! :)
I am so glad you told me that…next time we want to try to make lasagne it would definitely be worth the trip to Trader Joe’s!
I saw someone else mention all of the Bento blog sites to you. They are great for lunch inspiration! Bento is such a pretty presentation, particularly for real food, that almost anything would be appetizing. It might be a great way to encourage your picky girls to try new things! Here’s my favorite Bento site: http://www.anotherlunch.com/
Thanks so much for sharing…I am definitely going to need some lunch box inspiration so I will check out that site!
Your eggplant was an heirloom variety, I think, called Prosperosa. It is different (and tastier) than the Black Beauty variety usually found in the grocery store. I am a big eggplant fan and grow my own every year. It is definitely worth trying different recipes to see if your girls will enjoy it another way. The great part is that it has a mild flavor that can work with many spices and other ingredients. You may want to look into The Vegetarian 5 Ingredient cookbook by Nava Atlas. You will probably find things in there that you can pack in containers for your daughter’s lunches. I am a teacher myself, and try to only eat whole foods so I ALWAYS pack my lunch. School lunches can be frightening. I am following another blog of a teacher who decided to eat lunch from the cafeteria every day for a year, and as you can imagine, it isn’t going well. I didn’t sign the 10 day pledge because I already eat the way you do for the most part, but I am definitely part of the movement to a better way to eat. :) Thank you for bringing to light that it can be done, even by a busy Mom.
You sound like an eggplant pro! I will definitely give eggplant more of a chance the next time we get one.
And I couldn’t agree more about the school lunches…I checked out that other blog you mentioned about actually eating the lunches every day. Sounds like a very interesting little project!
This is way after the fact, but maybe you’ll see it. I always use cottage cheese instead of ricotta to make lasagna. It’s cheaper and no one ever notices the difference.
Organic Valley Ricotta has only four ingredients: Organic Whole Milk, Organic Skim Milk, Organic Vinegar, Salt.
I know you were pressed for time in this particular story but for future reference it is super simple to make your own ricotta. Bring 2 cups whole milk and 1 cup cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Wait 5 minutes for it to curdle and pour the mixture into a fine mesh sieve (i.e. Strainer, colander etc lol) In 15 minutes you have fresh homemade ricotta!! :)