Hi Everyone!

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Hope you are all well.

Please be careful, Covid-19 cases are on the rise all over the world and I pray that you and your families stay safe.

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In the middle of the pandemic, many ordinary things have changed for all of us, especially grocery shopping. Now we use instacart and have everything delivered. But we have to follow guidelines and hopefully make it safer for all.

Bob and I ordered groceries from Trader Joe’s this past week and I wanted to share a quick recap of some of my lunches and desserts that I made with the new items. I wish I could have gone to the store. I miss browsing the aisles for new items, but for now online shopping is the only way for me.

These lunches and snacks are all quick and I thought it could possibly save you time in the kitchen since school is back in session.

Of course everything is pumpkin online but I controlled myself.

All the sandwich ingredients can be substituted with items that you prefer in each category and just consider this a general guideline.

I know there are many days I stand in the kitchen trying to think of something new to have for lunch that isn’t time consuming to make or isn’t old reliable soup; so I hope these photos and brief descriptions give you some new ideas.

First sandwich is melted white cheddar cheese with fresh gala apples and 1 slice of no nitrite/no nitrate & no sugar added bacon (bacon is a treat for me, so that is why I only used 1 slice) on an everything ciabatta roll served with a side salad of organic romaine lettuce with cucumbers and radishes and fresh blueberries (a small side of cheddar wisps crackers for Bob).

*Cooks Note– eliminating the sugar from the bacon gives us a little wiggle room to have a dessert with sugar. For me to stay within my food restrictions and post transplant guidelines I have to give and take here and there.

Shopping List:

Trader Joe’s No Sugar Dry Rubbed Uncured Bacon for $4.49

Trader Joe’s Everything Ciabatta Rolls for $2.49 (qty. 4)

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First dessert– is chocolate hummus with fresh apples and pumpkin cranberry crackers with spiced pumpkin seeds for a fall touch.

Other items to eat with the chocolate hummus are bananas, strawberries, & no salt pretzels.

The hummus is made with cooked chickpeas, tahini, sea salt, cocoa and cane sugar. Absolutely delicious and I am becoming quite obsessed.

Shopping List:

 Trader Joe’s Chocolate Hummus (8 oz) for $1.99

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps for 3.99

Trader Joe’s  Pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin Seeds for $2.99

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The next sandwich is spicy avocado hummus with a hard-boiled egg and fresh tomatoes and chives on a bakery roll, served with an organic romaine lettuce side salad with pecans and some of the leftover hard-boiled egg that didn’t fit on the roll and organic blue corn chips.

There is a quick story with the hummus… I am no fan of avocado at all. I have never had the desire to have avocado toast or guacamole etc. and then this product came on the market and I tasted it and it wasn’t so bad and I decided to buy it. All who know me were shocked that I ingested anything that had avocado in it. It is very spicy and not a strong avocado flavor and I think that is why I liked it. So, I can now say that I have tried it but I am still not ready for anything else avocado.

Shopping List:

Trader Joe’s Organic Spicy Avocado Hummus in an eight-ounce tub for $2.99

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The next dessert is the ultimate fall comfort dessert and it is southern fried apples. Reminds me of eating the inside of an apple pie without the crust (think Cracker Barrel if you have ever been there) with snickerdoodle ice cream- ahh!

Apple pie or pumpkin ice cream would taste great too.

This needs a recipe and was not store bought but very easy to prepare…… I have been using this recipe for years and I think I printed it from All Recipes back in the day….

Fried Apples

Ingredients:

½ cup butter

2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

½ cup white sugar

4 granny smith apples- peeled cored and sliced

Directions:

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir sugar and cinnamon into the hot butter.

Add apples and cook until the apples begin to break down, 5-8 minutes

Serve over pancakes or waffles or ice cream.

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I hope these images gave you some inspiration for lunch.

Enjoy and stay well and make a plan to VOTE!

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Until my next post, make every day a celebration!

Stay well,

Diane

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