2022.03.01
I sort of wish I had been making a better log of simplistic food preparations I've leaned on in my new "work from home" era... ("recipes" is generally way too generous a term.)
But like all of these are beyond easy and have very good flavor and satiation to calorie ration
1. Banana and Nutella in a Joseph's Flax Wrap (or more recently, an unsliced small Pita) My go-to breakfast.
2. Oatmeal with a splurtch of canned whipped cream (or as one ex cutely misheard it, whisper-cream). Another breakfast standby, also good as a snack.
3. Prewashed Greens w/ Salsa and maybe crumbled Tortilla for a quick and dirty "taco salad" (I don't do this one as much I should, I let the greens go bad too often)
4. Microwave Mac and Cheese covered in Salsa (almost equal proportions... the flavor to calorie ratio of salsa is unbelievable.)
5. My latest find: Microwave-in-Bag Green Beans, with a ramekin of horseradish mustard
6. Cup Noodles ramen, with a nice heap of Sriracha
7. And a chicken sausage, also in that wrap or pita, with mustard and/or sometimes crumbled chips...
I've had to mess around with frozen treats. Like really good chocolate coated things just won't last long, and pints of anything are similarly too hard to resist and regulate. Lately I realized old fashioned fudgesicle-brand pops, like the no-sugar-added type, do a pretty good job of hitting that chocolate and texture note, but not SO well that I'm tempted to rip through a box over a day or two. Also, Outshine Creamy Coconut hits that creamy texture most other fruit bars don't, similar for Luigi's Lemon Italian Ice. (Their cherry is pretty good too.)
I can't believe I was on the verge of Marie Kondo-ing the coffee maker, because a pot of coffee, chilled and consumed over 2 days, has been my single strongest quarantine ritual. Oh, and Atomic Fireball candies - 20-30 calories of mouth entertainment and distraction.
One thing WFH has reinforced is once things are at home, I'm not going to have a lot of willpower. I eat and drink in part as a angsty mental release throughout the day, and so I have to be careful about what is at hand. The good news is, if my brain has labeled something as "Melissa's" I'm generally good at respecting that boundary.
I've regained about 10 of the 15 pounds I lost at the start of quarantine, and I'm still intrigued by my body's reaction to the perception of food scarcity, or maybe the "danger" of food-gathering, is to eat less.
Anyway, let me know if you have any low-preparation, reasonable calorie food treats you've found tasty and useful
