Where Is All The Produce?
Posted: March 18, 2011 at 5:05 pmI woke up this morning to find a fairly empty refrigerator. Namely, we had NO produce. Ummm…how? $50 of our last week’s grocery bill came in the form of fruits and veggies! I guess on the bright side that means we ate our fair share of produce over the last six days. I can always find a silver lining. And I can always find reasonable options even without an emergency trip to the colorful bounty of your local grocer.
This morning I did manage to scrounge up one piece of produce for my pre-workout snack. Every morning I eat a banana before heading out the door for my workout. I always make sure to buy enough to get me through the week, so I still had my banana waiting for me before spin class.
Once I got home from the 45 minute spin class, the hunger beast had set in. What to do? What to do? I actually felt like having something different than oats again, but the pantry and fridge were still bare. So, I turned to the freezer.
Two whole wheat waffles spread with peanut butter and a Trader Joe’s Mango chicken sausage worked well in a pinch.
Can you tell I tried to make it look more appetizing with a cute smiley face? 😉
Leftovers also work wonders when you run out of options. We had Heather’s Green Chile Beef Stew a couple nights ago for dinner and I dove into the leftovers for lunch.
It included corn and potatoes so I guess I did manage to find some produce. 😉
Shortly after lunch I broke for my dark chocolate + decaf coffee fix.
What some may call a bad habit, I call a sanity keeper. This much needed break recharges me so I can keep that good mom perspective we talked about yesterday. Of course this is just a little pre-snack to my real afternoon snack.
I dug another Springtime Lemon Raspberry Muffin out of the freezer to have with a Black Cherry Chobani. Two bits of raspberries and black cherry “stuff” count as produce, right? I did miss my crunchy apple though. I eat an apple literally every day. If only the saying claimed to keep the dentist away. Darn.
Now to figure out dinner. I do the shopping tomorrow so I have a feeling I will be eating these tonight.
I promised the husband we could get Chick-Fil-A for the two of us soon since Makenzie’s trip had him quite jealous. Might as well get a grilled chicken sandwich with a side salad when the only option at home would be a PBJ. At least I learned something today. I really do love my fruits and veggies!
Question of the Day – What would be your go to meal options with NO produce?
Hey, how resourceful! You made some great meals. I just bought those mango chicken sausages. How are they? I am starving at the moment en route home to Boston and could use a real meal. Teaches me to read your blog when I’m hungry 😉
I love them. They’re one of my favorite flavors. Those, the apple, and the spicy jalapeno.
If I didn’t have produce — I’d go with PBJ, eggs/toast or a protein smoothie (although they aren’t as good without a banana in there).
Have fun at Chick-Fil-A!
ha – funny you ask, that’s what’s going on for me today!!
no produce left except ONE grapefruit!! I ate that by itself and had a protein shake instead of fresh juice this morning… but I MISSED it!! I have to go shopping before the morning! lunch was quinoa and beans, with sun dried tomatoes. I also had a chobani, so if you’re saying that’s fruit, then GOOD!
That stew looks amazing. I think my go to meal when I am lacking produce is nachos. I always have cheese, beans, chips, chicken, and salsa…and it is always good.
Definitely chickfila for me – go hard or go home!
I’m thinking about rocking some chick fil a for dinner too!! I hit up the store yesterday, but didn’t really get enough food to eat and Hubby’s out of town…
If hubby’s out of town I would be going out too. I hate cooking just for myself.
My go to meal is canned soup. I try to have several cans of it around for those nights that I either don’t want to cook or we just don’t have anything around.
We are running low on fresh produce ourselves. Sigh.
Sounds like you managed great. If I ran out of produce completely, I’d be stumped at first, and then I’d be going through the freezer for frozen veggies! And I’d probably cook up some beans and eat some dried nettles too.
I read an article recently about why caffeine is actually good for you! It was good for balancing my perspectives, since I have ordinarily assumed (partly because it has a bad effect on me) that it’s a terrible thing.
love
Ela
I only shy away from caffeine because of b’feeding right now. I notice it affects baby B when I have it. Boo!
My go to meal with no produce is eggs, bacon, and toast. Yummy!
Oh man, i hate when I’m out of fruit! When the boyfriend eats two bananas in a day, I literally cringe. I’m a banana hoarder. 😉 I’ve been craving frozen waffles lately. Random but good.
My go to meal would be a frozen veggie burger (I consider that a treat) and a glass of wine. The only thing I seem to constantly run out of is bananas! Between smoothies, post-workout snacks and banana soft serve, I go through a ton per week!!
Since it’s been so warm in Dallas, it’s hard to think about warm meals, so lots of fresh fruit & salad. I think I’d make some hummus or a cold quinoa salad if I had to resort to the pantry.
I’d either do a burrito bowl with rice, salsa, and a can of black beans (and whatever toppings we have at the time,) or some kinda donburi (rice with whatever you have on top.) Tonight will probably be chickpeas and onions over rice with hoisin sauce because I’m trying to hold off of grocery shopping til Monday.
What?? I’m not the only one who runs out of produce? 🙂
I can usually scrape some frozen fruit from the freezer (for oatmeal or smoothies) and I usually keep frozen veggies as well. I also keep canned fruit and some vegetables for little produce “emergencies”.
We did have canned peaches but not even canned veggies. Frozen either. I don’t know how it happened. LOL
My go to meal is a protein shake with spinach and banana but if I am out of produce I will add almond butter, oats, almond milk, agave and ice. Sometimes a loaded bowl of oats is my choice when I am just not in the mood to cook especially after a late workout. I hate being out of produce. Maybe look into a CSA program. I need to start looking into one as well.
The same thing happened to me this morning! I had to throw some raisins into my oatmeal instead of the usual chopped banana or strawberries. Whenever I’m out of produce, I usually end up eating a TON of it once I get my hands on it, which is just what I did tonight. 🙂
I have a feeling there will be a lot in upcoming meals myself. Just have to hit the stores first.
I eat an apple every day too 🙂 I panic when I run out!
Yay for fruit and veggies!!! I think a bit of daily choccie and a cuppa is a GREAT idea! It’s healthy in my book 🙂
My go-to meal with no produce is always spaghetti and meatballs. I always have a box of pasta and a jar of sauce in the pantry. It’s a great back-up meal for all kinds of situations!!
I’m currently drooling over your Chic-Fil-A!! : )
i love that we’re friends on dailymile– you’re so inspiring!
This happens to me quite often. Tomato sauce… olives… pickles… those are all veggies. At least that’s what I tell myself 😉 I love Chick Fila!
I like the way you think. LOL
this happens to me every friday! No matter how much I try we are out of produce…or at least produce that doesn’t require lots of prep by the end of the week. My go to is whole wheat pasta with sauce and some italian white beans..pantry staples that are vaguely produce!
My husband loves chick fila too but we don’t have them in New England!
I’m in the same boat too, b/c I’m out of produce myself! I try to keep frozen fruit in the freezer as a “back-up” and that kind of helps. I mixed some frozen blueberries with some grapenuts and yogurt last night and that kind of helped with me some fruit.
I literally NEED my produce. If I don’t have it, I have a mild anxiety attack (that is no exaggeration)! I have a banana in the morning with my oats or whatever else I am having. I have an apple mid-morning with date balls or PB, I eat grapes mixed in with my greek yogurt with trail mix, chia seeds, and flax with my lunch (which also contains a good amount of greens, etc). Then I usually have another banana in the afternoon with my tofu pudding…more chia seeds and flax are added to that yummy mix-up! I go out of my way to have produce because I love the freshness, and I just love knowing how good it is for me! I am excited to be trying some new veggies this weekend and will let you know how they turn out! Gotta get the most of this Japanese produce before I leave (less than a month, eek!)
Definitely eggs!
I think it’s cute that you made a little smiley face with your meal. I like whole wheat frozen waffles too. I usually just eat 1 but spread my peanut butter real thick haha. And always downed with a glass of cold skim milk.
And yes, chocolate is definitely a sanity keeper 😉
Gah! I haven’t seen the Black Cherry Chobani…I’m on a mission now 🙂
Um…breakfast look super tasty too! Great job on the banana 😛
Haha, to be honest, I’m a little bit of a produce diva and will rearrange my day to go buy some if there’s none in the house. My best tip is to keep a few big bags of frozen fruits and veggies in the freezer, so you’re never totally without!!
If we don’t have any produce, I eat spaghetti. Tomato sauce seriously has some lycopene, vitamin A in there!
Ahhhh……potato chips? Perfect match for my post this morning.
We often run out of produce too by the weekend – I usually go for smoothies, leftovers, canned soup, PBJ, cereal, yogurt, whatever I can find! If nothing sounds appealing I will just go to the store.
Totally random information about chick-fil-a. In college there was a chick-fil-a in my dorm and it was included on our meal plan. All I ever ate was the grilled chicken sandwich and now…seriously almost 12 years later I can’t stomach chick-fil-a. Serious burnout. 🙂 haha!
Okay what just completely depressed me was just realizing it has been 11 1/2 years since I was a freshman in college. 🙁
Isnt it crazy how fast time goes?!
If I don’t have anything else… I’d probably eat canned fruits and frozen veggies. I always get a ton of frozen veggies when they’re on sale and I have coupons, so they’re always around at least! Yogurt is also really yummy!
And I love your smiley face :). What’s not to love about a meal that’s smiling back at you?
I’m moving at the end of this week so I’ve been forced to get a little creative in the kitchen! The other day for lunch I had a whole wheat tortilla topped with a crumbled veggie burger, chickpeas, salsa, and Daiya…then I popped it under the broiler and had it “tostada” style! ‘Twas tasty!