So many choices, so few mealtimes !

I was talking to a friend yesterday about dinner and lunch ideas and a thought crossed my mind- life is too short to eat bad food ! We were talking about different recipes and several were things I would want to make and could make according to my new way of eating. Problem is there are only so many meals in a given week and I am afraid that I might forget some of these ideas before I can try them out. We all have the same problem in life. We eat three meals a day, seven days a week and there are a couple of billion different ways to combine healthy, flavorful ingredients for these. Why should we waste an opportunity on something that comes out of a can, is served at a fast food counter or is packaged after being altered for maximum appeal in color and taste ? Last I checked, nothing coming out of Hostess, Stoufffers or Chef Boyardee looks as remotely appetizing as mixed baby greens or a fresh cut ripe papaya.

Perhaps the thought was brought on by a moment of panic and freezing. We did several hallway walks yesterday and we were joking and being silly the whole time. Mynew goal is to get my son to love movement as much as he loves fresh fruit, veggies and whole grains, so there must be some amusement involved. For reasons I am not totally sure of, I decided it would be fun to make a quick dash between entrances on the outside while in our stocking feet ( and son without a shirt). It was sunny but an incredibly stiff, cold north wind was blowing. We got out, dashed to the other entrance, only to discover the lock was not working and we were temporarily stuck outside , freezing. The situation was remedied in less than a minute and we both laughed about how mommy had a dumb idea and we got rosy cheeks out of the day. It was bracing !

Breakfast was quinoa with frozen blueberries and walnuts. It seems if you put frozen berries in hot cereal it helps to cool the cereal, thaw the berries and the temp mix is just right.

Lunch was the last of the lentil soup, the last of the celery, more carrots than normal , rye crisp crackers and hummus. I am oing to have to make another batch of lentil soup this coming week, and to do so I need a ham bone. Good thing ham is dirt cheap this week due to Easter !Lentil soup seems to be our favorite, with minestrone coming in a close second.I may make a batch of each to stock the freezer with.

Dinner got a little out of hand , due to a need to use up some veggies that have been sitting in the fridge for a little while now. The meal was 15 minute garbanzo salad ( garbanzo, tomato, celery and fresh herbs on a bed of salad greens) , Sesame Orange Kale and Chard, roast rutabega, carrot and sweet potato and a pork loin chop seasoned with ginger , tumeric and garlic. Somehow I bought too much of a couple of things two weeks ago and rather than toss them I determined to find a way to use them up. We go shopping on Saturday where a new stock comes in so I am kind of pressed to use it up. It happens some times !