Snacks and Lunch

I don’t personally care for shopping. It’s slightly overwhelming and I feel silly if I can’t find something easily. However, it’s much more fun with a friend and two sets of eyes. Not to mention, a second person can show you things you never thought to look at before. Perhaps they approach the store in a whole new way. So yesterday, I took my good friend Erin to the local Co-op with me to search for snack food.

I have been reading rave reviews about Kale chips all over the place. Perhaps my taste buds aren’t experienced enough to appreciate them. But honestly, this is not something I would EVER make again. I read warnings about over cooking them and sure enough the first batch came out browned and bitter (after only ten minutes). I made sure to check the second batch every couple minutes to make sure they were still green but crisp …better…but still nowhere near worth the amount of time this process took. I am not a picky eater. These are just not good. Even with salt. The only good part about them was the wonderful crunch they made when you bit into them…but they soon became a chewy blob I had to force myself to swallow. If, after all that, you still want to try to make them, here is the process I took:

wash the Kale,
dry it completely
rip it to pieces (I would also recommend cutting out the stems)
cover them in olive oil.
Bake at 350 for about six minutes, watching all the time so they don't turn brown.
Then, sprinkle them with salt.

Although I like to be positive as much as possible, I want to keep this blog realistic. I’m a college student, an intern, holding down a part-time job, and planning a wedding. It’s easy to say I have little extra time and money. Kale chips=waste of time. So, hungry as we were, Erin showed me how to make homemade hummus.


16 oz can garbanzo beans
¼ cup of juice from can of beans
¼ cup olive oil
Juice from one lemon
1.5 Tbs. tahini (which we bought in bulk at City Market)

GARLIC!! (chop one to three cloves depending on how much you like garlic)

Toss the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Tada, hummus!

Erin was the wonderful person who introduced me and my family to hummus. Now we are slightly addicted. My father and I used to eat it with crackers all the time before I cut wheat out of my diet. But yesterday we used fresh green beans.

Today’s lunch was something less than photogenic, but still delicious. A salmon melt (I can eat fish, my brother can’t). I can’t believe how large it was or how fast I ate it. But it was goooooood. I used a left over piece of grilled salmon from dinner, tomatoes sliced thinly from the garden, Daiya cheese and tapioca bread. I basically made a grilled cheese sandwich first because the cheese is the “wrinkly” kind, as we say at home, and can get pretty messy. Then I warmed the salmon and tomatoes and stuck them in between the bread and cheesey goodness.

To top it all off, I devoured a bowl of Purely Decadent, coconut milk, chocolate, non-dairy frozen dessert. Whew what a name! For the record, I hate coconut flakes (those waxy, squeaky things that are like chewing on bark). And while this ice cream had a slight coconutty taste, it was still fabulous. When I first had a suspicion that I was allergic to dairy I switched over to soy ice cream not knowing soy was a problem too. The taste was only mediocre but I made it work because it was better than nothing. My naturopath recommended this "ice cream." She sure knew what she was talking about! People who are allergic to nuts have to be careful about coconut products. I only tested high for almonds and moderately for peanuts, so I'm not too concerned for myself.