The Art of the Leftover

One of the most frustrating things about traveling for work is trying to figure out how much food I can keep in stock.  I have become an extremely strategic grocery shopper.  Ok, let's be real, I always have been.  One time the cashier at Food Emporium actually complimented me on my savings for the day.  Regardless, I've had to up the ante.  I hate wasting food -- it hurts my heart -- so I have to keep enough fresh food in the house to keep me happy, but not so much that I end up throwing some out.

I left for Dallas today, so for breakfast I made a sacrifice and added leftover apple crisp to my oatmeal.  (Ironic Oats?)

I made this wonderful apple crisp (care of Mark Bittman, of course) last Friday for the dinner that I hosted, and I wasn't about to let it go to waste, so I added some as a topping to my oatmeal.  Obviously not something I can do every day, but OMG delicious.  And maybe not actually that bad for you?  Fruit? Ha.

For lunch I finished off an open container of soup and a leftover sauce to jazz it up a little.  My mom got me the best vegetarian cookbook a while ago by Nava Atlas, and one of my favorites from the book is a peanut butter cilantro/parsley sauce.  This time I used parsley instead of cilantro because it's what I had, but I think I like it better with cilantro.  Anyway, I put this on pasta last week, but I thought the leftovers might go well with my sweet potato soup.  I was correct!  Just stirred it in a little bit of it.

I paired it with some roasted sweet potatoes and rainbow carrots, which I made last night with way too much cayenne pepper.  Oops.  Still tasty.

Nice depth of field, eh?

I like to bring dinner with me to the airport in general because the only edible thing at the American terminal is Cosi, and that hardly cuts it for me.  But today it was extra important to bring something because of my challenge for the month!  And I think a pre-made Cosi salad might count as fast food.

I put together a veggie burger sandwich on Ezekiel sesame bread.

The veggie burger's not on there yet :)

That's BBQ sauce on one side, Sabra supremely spicy hummus on the other (they're not messing around, by the way -- that stuff is HOT), red onion, and pumpkin seeds (a totally inspired decision, but an excellent one!).  I got desperate with the condiments since I had no actual veggies.  Ironically, I used an Amy's Texas veggie burger.  Ha!  That should be a daily challenge for me: locate veggie burger in Dallas.

I also packed a pear in a blanket for the plane.

Sorry, it's sidewise, but I'm not reloading it.

I'll be honest for a brief moment -- today was a rough single girl day.  Hence the dessert for breakfast and the brownie (homemade!  also care of Mark Bittman!) I brought for dessert on the plane.  I am 1000% guilty of being an emotional eater.  When I'm stressed I eat anything and everything, but when I'm upset, as I was today, I lose my appetite for all things savory.  I have no problem, however, with the carby, sweet things.  (See above.)  I'm feeling better and empowered now, and I don't feel at all guilty about the way I ate today.  I didn't binge... I had a single serving of apple crisp and a small brownie.  Sugar has its place in the diet, and comfort foods are called just that for a reason.  Did it solve my problems?  No.  But it did soothe me, and I ate what my body was physically (not mentally!) craving, which is what I think we're meant to do.  And, of course, I was extremely effective in clearing out the fridge!  Points all around.

I close with a mature anlaysis of dating, provided (published) by my previous employer, Workman Publishing Co.