Real Food for a Busy Hungry Girl

I usually say, "I don't like to cook," but what I really mean is, "I don't like to cook when I've worked all day and am tired and have somewhere else to go in two hours, or when the food is not really food but processed corn-nugget-nasty-whatever-was-on-sale-government-subsidized-crapola-disguised-as-food-product-but-is-really-just-flavored-sawdust-in-a-box food."  When I have no connection to my food, I have little to no motivation to cook it.

When I can buy food at the farmer's market where the person who grew it puts it into my hand with a smile, however, and I make the time to leisurely prepare it while I hum happy songs to myself on a Sunday afternoon, that is a different story.  My enjoyment rises exponentially and people (aka Oldman) actually say things like, "mmmm," when they eat it.  I want to care for those little eggplants like they are my babies (well, not really because then I'd be eating my babies and that's not really the kind of blog I'm writing here. . .)

My spoils from the farmer's market this week:
boy choy
spinach
eggplant
scallions
potatoes
apples
ground bison
raspberry tart
oatmeal chocolate chip cherry cookies

And I realize that making edible meals from actual food that came right from the ground or the animal without a factory in between it and my mouth is not that difficult.  For example, let's take the way I've been eating breakfast the past few weeks:

On Sunday evening, I scramble up a crap-ton of eggs with all sorts of whatever fresh vegetables and cheese I have.  (I realize that cheese is not necessarily "healthy," but I am not a healthy person for anyone to be around if I haven't had my cheese, so let's just keep our priorities straight.)  Then I put it into a big container, take it to work, and microwave small portions of it all week in the mornings when I get into my office.  Simple, healthy, easy, and cheap.

Melanie's Weekday Wonder-scramble:
8 eggs (fresh from the market, if possible, but definitely organic and cage-free) scrambled with a bit of organic milk
a small, organic red pepper
a giant handful of fresh, organic spinach from the market
fresh scallions from the market (are you seeing a pattern?)
shredded asiago or cheddar cheese
salt & pepper

Or, if I'm just making breakfast for one morning, say, on a weekend, this has been my favorite choice as of late:

Weekend Power-Breakfast:
two farm-fresh eggs, over medium
organic chicken-apple sausage
ezekiel sprouted grain bread, toasted with fresh butter from the market
sliced avocado with sea salt

For lunch, I've been eating salads with that same spinach and scallions from the market, a few different kinds of sprouts (they sell a mix called "Yoga Salad" at my local, natural market that is delicious and has at least five different kinds of sprouts), feta cheese, and Newman's Own garlic-parmesean vinaigrette.  And then, because salad only fills me up for like five minutes, I also eat either leftovers from dinner the night before, or some kinda frozen, natural-ish meal or burrito thing.

For snacks throughout the day, I eat apples and cheese from the market.  Or maybe a banana or some nuts.  Or a giant piece of chocolate cake that was left in the faculty room at work . . .

But my favorite snack lately has been cut up fresh veggies dipped in sunflower seed butter.  Seriously, y'all.  This stuff is like crack, but healthier, and without the possibility of losing your job, you friends, and your sanity.  So it's pretty much a win-win.

Organic red pepper and carrots about to take a dive into that sunflower seed butter

Later this week, I plan to use the rest of that stuff from the market in this meal that I'm super-excited about: bison meatballs, roasted potatoes, and bok choy sautéed in coconut oil.  Yum yum yum!  Hooray for real food!