I knew I'd be facing dining out in Grove City again today for lunch, so daughter and I determined to go to McDonalds, where I was pretty sure I could get a decent salad (with darker greens than iceberg lettuce!). I was given the crispy chicken on mine and didn't realize it until I'd eaten my portion (slightly less than half the chicken), so it was more fat than I'd intended for lunch. To prepare for this lunch I made sure to have a substantial breakfast, and I didn't have time until afternoon to get in any fruit!
For supper I wanted a lot of veggies done in an interesting and satisfying way, for one of the few times this week our whole family will sit down to supper together. I had spaghetti squash on hand, already cooked, and wanted to do something with that. One recipe that tempted me is "Spaghetti Squash I," with feta and black olives and tomatoes. But I wanted more veggies than that, and I had zucchini and eggplant on hand, so I did this instead: "SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH RATATOUILLE SAUCE."
This dish includes no oil but I put in a tablespoon or so of olive oil, and I added some sweet white wine, too, to mellow the expected harshness of the flavors. I also added some frozen dried-tomato (and basil) pesto lurking in the back of my freezer, in lieu of the fresh basil in the recipe.
Verdict: Excellent, and everybody else liked it, too. I have leftovers I know I'll enjoy in the next few days.
TODAY'S MENU
Breakfast--South Beach Multi-grain Wrap (100 calories, 9g fiber?), 1/2 teaspoon butter to sautee one green onion and scramble one medium egg and two whites
Lunch--McDonalds Southwest Chicken Salad with Lowfat Balsamic Vinaigrette (all shared with daughter, so I calculate I had about 275 calories from my portion, including a couple of ounces of the chicken)
Snack--Leftover strawberry smoothie (includes some spinach and flax seed meal) with additional banana added; half to 3/4 ounce roasted edamame
Supper--SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH RATATOIULLE SAUCE (I had about a cup of squash and one to 1-1/2 cups of the sauce. The family had some of this as a side dish with their braised steaks and leftover mashed potatoes and rice.) ; apple with peanut butter
My hubby has to travel often for work. When he can't find anything else he goes to Subway for a veggie sandwich on whole wheat, or a veggies salad and soup. It is one of the few places he can always find low fat vegan food, even in an airport. I thought that may come in handy for you in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe spaghetti squash was a great idea for dinner.
have a good evening,
Alicia
Yes, Alicia, I had a nice Subway salad a couple of weeks ago. I didn't know they had soup! It's been very interesting exploring our little community for lunches with hubby--it's nice that I know even if I can't find anything acceptable I can just wait until I get home afterwards. :-)
ReplyDeleteCindy,
ReplyDeleteI don't know for certain that all Subways have soup, but the hubby has found it at a few airport locations.
A few months ago in Tulsa he had a heck of a time finding healthy food. Apparently Oklahoma isn't the easiest place to be vegan. Rather sad actually. I would have expected you could find a healthy salad everywhere but it isn't always that easy.
have a great day today,
Alicia