Lunch for the Week

We are just weeks away from sitting around a table with friends and family filled with love, laughter and, of course, lots of holiday food & drink temptations. How do we physically prepare ourselves for all of the eating and boozing that comes with the holidays?
Let’s start with the next 2 work weeks leading up to it all. I don’t know about you, but what really kills me are office lunches and all of the delicious home-made baked goods colleagues bring in this time of year to share with everyone. And, Allison & Christina’s office which is always filled with candy =) Prepare for these temptations by Planning for them: create alternatives that are just as good. The best way to do this is to bring your own lunch.
I know what you’re thinking: bringing a lunch everyday is much easier said than done, because of 2 things:
1) Who has extra time in the morning to make something & pack it up?
2) What can I make that’s healthy & tasty enough to pass up the office temptations?

I find it’s best to prepare something on Sunday or Monday night; enough to last me through the whole week (or at least most of it). If it's in my fridge, ready to eat, then I have nothing to worry about or prepare during the workweek. Healthy is important, because healthy keeps our energy up which helps us get through the workday and keeps us full so we don’t pick at unhealthy snacks. You’ll be surprised…once you get on a healthy streak, it won’t be so hard to turn away from the junk.

This week, try my vegetarian casserole...loaded with vitamins & protein:



Ingredients: ½ medium sized onion (diced into small pieces), 3 – 4 small cloves of garlic (diced into small pieces), olive oil for sautéing, 1 package of cubed, extra firm tofu, 1 package of sliced baby-bella mushrooms, 4-5 medium sized zucchini’s peeled and diced up into small pieces, 1 large bag of frozen chopped spinach, fat free (or reduced fat) shredded mozzarella cheese & Japanese- style breadcrumbs, called ‘Panko’.
Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 350 & take bag of frozen spinach out of freezer to allow it to thaw a little bit.
2) In saucepan, combine onion, garlic and tofu – sauté in a olive oil for a few minutes ... I’d say at least 7 minutes (until tofu cubes start to brown on the outside)
3) Add mushrooms and zucchini to pan. Let veggies cook for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add a little bit of skim milk or water to avoid burning on the bottom …but not too much! Just enough to moisten the pan
4) Add frozen spinach
5) Transfer veggie mixture to large mixing bowl & stir in shredded cheese
6) Spray casserole dish with 0 calorie cookie spray and pour casserole mixture into pan. Layer top with panko breadcrumb seasoning
7) Bake for 20 – 30 minutes

Go to the food store tonight, bring these ingredients as your grocery list & make your lunch for the rest of the week! Getting ready for the holiday’s doesn’t only mean holiday shopping for others, it means taking care of ourselves & getting our bodies ready too!