Clean Plate

Macadamia nuts at 9:45 a.m.:

I tried to space out my carbs today. A banana before noon:

One slice of whole wheat bread with peanut butter after:

But I still ended up with a blood-sugar coma. Maybe I just can't eat bread in the middle of the day.

An apple at 2ish:

Celery at 4 p.m., because I have to have my afternoon crunchies. It's also nice and watery and salty, though it's more fun if you can dip it in a vat of salad dressing:

I was still hungry an hour and a half later, so I enjoyed some provolone:

And then for dinner, I made some minestrone  (rhyme intentional):

This is from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook (the old one; here is the new one ). It's topped with parmesan and parsley, and served with whole-wheat challah. I've been making this one for years. The husband really likes it. And it makes a ton. I'm pretty sure Katzen cooks without measuring, so her serving sizes are a bit off (maybe this is no longer true in the newer cookbooks). This recipe claimed it would yield four to six servings, but I divided it into more than six servings for storage after my husband and I dined.

What I love about this dish is it gives you everything in one bowl: vegetables, beans, protein, starch, and even fruit if you count tomatoes as a fruit. And it's tasty and satisfying. However, some of Katzen's recipes have a LOT of ingredients; this one involves a lot of chopping and a longer prep time than I can usually stand after working all day. But now I'll have some for future lunches and dinners.

And to top it all off:

A lovely Cara Cara orange. My husband and I split it so I only ate half.