Quick and Easy Meals

I'm a gourmet cook and I over the last 37.5 years of my marriage, I've cooked some 25,000 meals (excluding breakfasts) for Dr. D… But today wasn't one of these days 'cuz I went out to lunch with a couple girlfriends.  First time in 3 years (I know, I'm pathetic when it comes to social life.)

 Point is, Dr. D. had to fix his own lunch today.  It's not like I had abandoned him.  The refrigerator was filled with food:  a fillet of fresh fish to be grilled; a tray of chicken tenders to be sautéed; cans of tuna, sardines and herring chilling; fresh carrots and tomatoes; apples, pears, papaya and banana; and yogurt; and whole wheat bread and tortillas.  Enough?

When I came home, there were no dirty pots or pans, just a plate on the side of the sink.  "Well, did you have lunch," I asked, worried that Dr. D. would just have skipped a meal (a cardinal sin, if you ask me.)  Lesson: this guy won't cook.

"'Of course; and a very healthy meal… herrings, carrots, peanuts, and whole wheat bread."  D. was in a rush today and had to cook-and-eat in five minutes.  

"Dear," he said, "you can really fix a healthy meal AND eat it in five minutes.  Don't give me the I don't have time excuse, because it takes no time to fix a balanced meal, and you don't need to cook either."

I must say that D. has a point.  While America hides behind excuses like "I don't have time" or "I don't cook" to justify fast food diet and weight gain, there are alternatives for no-cooking, no-time meals.  Take it from D.   For over 20 years, he packed his lunch before setting out to his medical clinic where he would have a 10-minute lunch (on good days) between two emergent care patients.

Here are a few of Ds. combos:

- Carrots, whole wheat bread, hard boiled egg white, apple.

- Roma tomato, canned tuna in water, whole wheat bun, nectarine.

- Canned green beans with almonds and olive oil, whole wheat roll, turkey breast.

- Black beans with canned salmon, whole wheat tortilla, apricot.

- Yogurt, granola, frozen-defrosted raspberries, and whole grain crackers.

Or any left-over soup I had  made the night before and could get into the microwave that day. 

Dr. D. says: Control what you eat.  Pack your own healthy lunch.