When there's nothing to eat in this house

April 27th, 2009

3480594398 948b7f20f3 o When there's nothing to eat in this house

Yesterday I did some big ol’ shopping. The stores are teeming with springtime goodies like ramps and fiddleheads, and even the more standard lettuce and tomatoes look delicious. I rolled home a whole lotta food in our granny shopping cart and felt ready for a week of great eats.

But here’s the thing. I’m making a lot of chickpea recipes this week to prepare for my upcoming Cooking Club, and I need time for those suckers to soak. Same goes for the rice dish I’m making…the brown rice needs some time to soak off it’s phytic acid. So here I am, a full refrigerator and empty belly for lunch. What to do, what to do…

I call it ‘shopping in your own fridge’, which is similar to the wallet-friendly ‘shopping in your own closet.’ Have you heard about this? You can pay someone to come over and look at all your old clothes and reinvent them into something you’d actually wear. So this is what I was doing in my fridge, looking for something to reinvent into lunch.

Ever since I made this birthday cake, I’ve had leftover sweet potato puree. You’d think by now it would have gone bad, but it still smelled roasty and sweet. I credit its longevity to Lock-n-Lock, my favorite kitchen helper. If you’ve never heard of Lock-n-Lock, check ‘em out. You can put soup in these things and throw it in your purse for lunch. No spills because those suckers are airtight. Which was good news for my sweet potato.

Sweet potato and my pantry’s never ending supply of quinoa came together for a delicious meal. I simply stirred in the sweet potato to the cooked quinoa, then sprinkled with coconut and almonds. I can’t decide if this should be breakfast or dessert but today it’s definitely lunch!

What do you eat when there’s nothing to eat in your house?

11 Comments groceries, quick and easy, vegan, vegetarian, whole grains

  • http://www.culinarywannabe.blogspot.com Culinary Wannabe

    Very creative, especially with the coconut! Yum! When there is nothing to eat, we eat cereal. I love cereal and eat it every night that my husband isn’t home for dinner.

  • http://balancejoyanddelicias.blogspot.com/ coco

    thanks for stopping by my blog and left such a sweet comment! Your blog looks awesome, can’t wait to read more! :D

  • http://balancejoyanddelicias.blogspot.com/ coco

    oh…. when there’s nothing in my house I’d eat pasta (always there’s dry pasta somewhere in my pantry) :)

  • http://libby.withnall.com Libby

    That looks so yummy. I love quinoa and I love sweet potato – never thought to put them together. Will def. be trying this soon.

    Libby

  • http://dietdessertndogs.com Ricki

    I’m always amazed at how long my sweet potato puree lasts! This sounds like a great way to use it. (I’d say breakfast) ;)

  • http://healthyashley.blogspot.com healthy ashley

    Your lunch looks good! I like the sweet combo! I always go for oatmeal when there’s “nothing” in the fridge :)

  • Holly S.

    I am having that dilemma right now– what to bring for lunch while I’m on campus all day! You have inspired me to think outside the box and lunch might just be leftover basmati, tuna, and spaghetti sauce!

  • http://bonnenutrition.blogspot.com/ Sweta

    I just tried quinoa last night-loved it.Must try making a dessert with it next time-your lunch sounds good!

  • http://findyourbalancehealth.com Michelle

    @CulinaryWannabe – the coconut really makes it! as for cereal, please read about extrusion at this post if you haven’t already, i feel obligated to pass this info on! http://www.findyourbalancehealth.com/2009/04/extrude-me-breakfast-is-served/

    @Coco – yes, pasta is a great standby, sometimes just with butter if I don’t have sauce!

    @Libby – that roasted sweet potato puree was really really tasty. just throw the potato in the toaster oven/oven until it’s soft, then peel and puree in food processor!

    @Ricki – i was totally amazed it hadn’t gone bad! i thought i’d blend it with coconut milk and make a soup but never got around to it. yummy stuff.

    @healthyashley – oatmeal, perfect!

    @Holly S. – that sounds really good! tuna and tomato sauce is a real italian traditional combo. yum!

    @Sweta – Ah! A newly crowned quinoa lover! Wonderful stuff, isn’t it?

  • http://www.soapandchocolate.com Diana (Soap & Chocolate)

    I have had many a moment such as this, when lack of supplies draws some forced creativity out of me! Actually, I kind of like it when that happens. I have the satisfied feeling of using some ingredients that needed to get used up AND the bonus of having created something on my own (and an original recipe is always great fuel for a blog post!).

  • Tamara

    Oh this is brilliant! I somehow always gravitate towards bread when theres nothing to eat in my house… in fact i gravitate towards bread any time. which isn’t healthy. Now you’ve inspired me!

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