What do I eat for lunch?

I have had quite a few people interested in what I eat for lunch? I rarely have enough time to make lunch, like I do dinner. I try to always eat at least 1 pound of vegetables at lunch. By the time 12:30 rolls around, my body is actually asking me for veggies...so I try to deliver.

Here is a picture of a typical lunch for myself. It includes:

tons of chopped veggies (I try to rotate so I don't get tired of the same thing)
a cooked veggie burger from Costco (they are new and come in a white box.)
(I spray Bragg's amino acids on my burger to give it a great flavor)
1/2 C. beans (I really like white kidney beans)
a small serving of brown rice pasta
2 oz. of avocado
a drizzle of either balsamic vinaigrette or Cashew Ranch from Original Fast Foods.

Here is the recipe for Cashew Ranch Dressing:

In your blender. blend:
1 C. raw cashews
3/4 C. water (more if you want it to be thinner the next day)
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 t. garlic powder (sometimes I do more like 3/4 t.)
1/2 t. onion powder
1/4 t. REAL salt
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried dill
1 to 2 T. chia seeds if you want it really think

Blend until smooth, except the chia seeds. If you want it thick, add chia seeds and let sit for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

I love this dressing. It also works great if you want something creamy on a taco! Yummy!

My new favorite salad dressing

I have adapted this recipe from allrecipes.com. Here is my version:

In your blender, add:

1 C. good quality olive oil

1 C. awesome balsamic vinegar

1-2 t. stone ground organic mustard

2-4 T. RAW honey (depending on how sweet you like it)

1 large clove garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Blend in your blender and then try to keep from licking the blender as you pour it into your jar!
My family loves this...especially on a salad with mixed greens, green and red apple slices, celery, and dried cranberries. Should keep in the week for a few weeks...but I wouldn't know because we are eating it to quickly.

This is not my picture, but this is what it looks like...dark and thick! I like keeping my fresh dressings in mason jars..because the lids stay on and they fit well in the fridge.

Ranch Dressing

OK, so this is soo yummy! I have all my recipes in a new book ready to be tried and tested, but will have to buy all my ingredients little by little as we keep using up what we have. So, as the Hidden Valley Ranch is down to the last drop, I knew a new dip/dressing recipe was a MUST..especially one raw, with real ingredients and not loaded with tons of MSG and sodium.

Here is the link to the one I tried today. All I can say is that if it passed the test of my 6 year old, we are all in luck! (and you wont believe what the ingredient is that makes it creamy!)I separated the dressing into a few glass jars and put them in the fridge...better when chilled first. (The only thing I would do different next time, is maybe add a little less dill. I forgot to add the agave and it was still great. Enjoy. Look at this girl eating her veggies!)

When the kids get home from school, they have yummy veggies and fruit waiting for them. Victoria LOVES peanut butter with celery and apples and Jocelyn loves veggies and ranch. Tyler just grazes between both bowls of fruit and veggies. I find that cutting up veggies ahead of time helps when the kids are hungry and want a snack and they can get it out themselves. Besides fruit and veggies, I make a lot of home made popcorn on the stove (using grape seed oil because it has a high burning point), and have fruit leather, rice crackers, nuts, and yummy healthy cookies on hand (i will post this recipe soon!)