What's better than an awesome dinner?

The leftovers for lunch the next day! When I wake up in the morning I've usually got a lot on my mind; what time is it? What did the cat destroy last night? What am I going to wear?

But it's very reassuring to open the fridge and see a Tupperware container with last night’s leftovers just WAITING to be thrown in my lunch box.


Even though there is endless good food to be enjoyed at work, I am also well aware that it is in no way economically to spend more on lunch than you make in one hour....

I've got an old school Purple Artic Zone lunchbox---and we make a little more dinner than we can eat and magically, my lunch gets packed every night-- problem solved.


So today, I'm having whole wheat penne pasta with a Bolognese sauce that I made with 1/2 soy crumbles and 1/2 Quorn crumbles (mushroom protein) and a can of tomato mushroom spaghetti sauce. I added some frozen spinach to the sauce to give it some greenery and that to me is the best part. I LOVE spinach---sautéed with garlic it is SO delicious and went great with the pasta.



I'm also having....a roasted beet! I roasted the beets for about an hour (they were big) in the oven at 375 wrapped in aluminum foil. I put just a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper on them before roasting. They are so good tossed into salads, served with walnuts, honey, and goat cheese...or plain which is how I eat them for lunch. They are a bit sweet and have an earthy flavor, and apparently the golden ones are sweeter, I learned that yesterday. I also learned that the juice is really good too.... To read about some of the health benefits of eating or drinking beets click here:
http://www.aimforherbs.com/remakingbeets.html


I'll admit I wasn't always a beet lover, in fact, it was Ryan that first converted me, I'm not sure I'd ever gotten the courage up enough to try one before then. He assured me that they were good, and that they were not like any preconceived notion of a beet that I may have. I trust him, so I tried them. I've been converting folks ever since, I take them to pot lucks at school and usually if I lurk over the table and force people to try them, I leave with an empty plate! They were my favorite thing to sell at the restaurant because I truly believe that everyone WANTS to eat healthy, but there are things holding them back... convenience, confusion, money, and in the case with beets, fear. I take satisfaction in getting people over that fear---

When Ryan roasts them he cuts them into small pieces and tosses them into salads, I've been hooked ever since that first time. Once I got a bit carried away and ate too many beets over too short a period of time.....let's just say I don't recommend that.


But as an addition to lunch or dinner every now and again they get me excited!

I went to the school yesterday for the first time all summer... Walking into the bare room with the ultra shiny floors, I got REALLY excited about the school year starting and seeing the kids again and meeting new faces. It got me thinking, what vegetables can I sneak into my famous cookies this year? I've done zucchini and carrots...any other suggestions?