A day of Preparation

I have been trying to figure out lunches that I can make ahead or at least partially make ahead that are also pretty high in protein.  After my lunch hour workouts the lunches I have been making just aren't cutting it, I find I am hungry about an hour or two after I eat and starving by dinner time.  So, this weekend just ended up being the weekend I decided to figure out my lunches.  I had to go to the grocery store for one of those big shopping trips anyway so I made a separate list with just things I needed or wanted, in addition to our normal list. 

My list included: dried Garbanzo Beans, peppers, garlic, dried Black beans, celery, cucumbers, oats, onions, dried fruit, flax seed, mushrooms, potatoes, nuts, tomatoes, fresh fruits, pretzels, tofu just to name a few.  If you notice I am trying to keep with a vegetarian theme.  I can control what I eat for breakfast and lunch, but dinner is our family time and I am grateful to have a husband who makes dinner every night during the week.

I was inspired by a blog I came across called Oh She Glows, the author did a two part post on make ahead lunches. So I decided that I could do the same but with my own recipes.  When coming up with lunch ideas I also was thinking about how I could do as much prep as I could to make my mornings easier.  I bought dry beans, rice and couscous, all of which I made a larger batch so I was able to freeze some for later use.

My goal was to make granola bars, various salads, and wrap stuffers.  I spent the day cooking the beans, rice, and couscous, roasting vegetables, sauteing the mushrooms, and cutting raw vegetables.

I roasted the tomatoes with garlic, onion, olive oil and salt and pepper for about 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. While the tomatoes were in the oven I sauteed the mushrooms with garlic, onion, salt and pepper and sherry until the sherry was absorbed, then added just a few of the roasted tomatoes.

On top of the preparation I did today, I also bought items that I can just throw in my bag. Oranges, carrots, hummus, yogurts, bananas and premade trail mix. This week will be a test, I should have enough snacks and protein to make it through the day.

Homemade Granola Bars

Make ahead Lunches: Vegetarian Salads