Lunchbox Liz

Recently I went to a naturopath for a wellness visit. She had me keep a food journal for a week. I meticulously wrote down everything I ate even documenting the of ice cream I had for Sunday supper. When I gave it to her the next week, she said “whoopee you are the first client in a long time I haven’t had to tell not to eat pop tarts for breakfast!” I asked her if was really that bad out there. She told me that a significant number of her client’s problems could be improved or eliminated by cleaning up their diet. “Cleaning up” means not eating pop tarts for dinner or drinking a gallon of Coke every few days. Apparently it does not mean giving up a pint of ice cream for Sunday supper now and again. I was relieved.

Today’s Lunch
Winter Vegetable Salad
(This a recipe I submitted to the farm newsletter last year.)

1 head cauliflower steamed
1/2 fennel bulb
1 Dikon radish
1 kolrobi
1 head endive or sugarhat lettuce
1/2 cup olives
1 tbsp. Capers

Dressing
1 tsp. Lemon zest
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. Minced garlic
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
3/4 cups olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

--Adapted from a recipe in the November 2005 issue of Food and Wine

Chop veggies into bite-sized pieces. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over veggies. Allow to marinate for at least an hour. This is a very large recipe. I like to make it on Sunday and eat it during the week.