BeeZee

I prefer to eat when I'm hungry. I eat small amounts throughout the day so actually there are many days I don't even have a "regular" meal. I am uncomfortable eating a heavy meal late at night so my "dinner" would probably resemble breakfast (cereal, yogurt) most weekdays. Growing up, we had regular, traditional meals at the customary time of day. My mother is aghast at my eating habits at times .

Using some seasonal goods from local farms...grilled veg panzanella, heavy on veg, light on bread (zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, tomato, parsley) served with a side of leftover cooked chicken. The tomato was a bit under-ripe, but still had more flavor than the usual supermarket stock. It was pretty, should have taken a photo.

I used to adjust my car seat distance from the steering wheel so I could balance something flat between the bottom of the wheel and my lap (impromptu tray) - my leather portfolio was a good stand in. Being in sales...and often traveling up to 2 hours to a client...I would find a shady parking lot to park and eat something with minimal crumbs like a bagel. Local convenience store (Wawa) sells pre-washed seedless grapes in a plastic container, which are great for the car, too. I don't enjoy eating in the car, but it is sometimes a necessity when in "road warrior" mode and trying to make all the stops in a limited amount of time.

DH wouldn't touch a raw tomato as a kid and made his mother remove any large chunks of tomato from cooked sauce. He said it was a texture issue and outgrew that. Interestingly, his adult son seems to have the same aversion.

my kind of breakfast, too. Today I didn't have the cottage cheese or yogurt, but had a good fresh apricot and some blueberries (not so good) with a biscotti. Since I usually eat cottage cheese with fruit, I've been buying the "no salt added" variety, which allows for some customization.

I always have cans of mandarin oranges. I just love them as a canned fruit not resembling any kind of fresh fruit.

sort of a fail in the looks dept, but tasted good. For Passover instead of the leaden cakes that are the norm, I bought a pre-made pie "crust" made from macaroons and filled it with strawberry mousse made from fresh berries. Didn't set properly because I had a gelatin mishap, but it tasted good. And my Mom made macaroons topped with dark chocolate and chopped pistachios, which are 100X better than the canned ones.

my husband and I often dine out with another couple who do not eat as much as we do...they often share an entree. So when it comes time to "split" the bill, we decide amicably on an amount to be contributed. The other couple always offers to split the check, but we will throw in a couple of extra dollars to offset the difference (often it is easiest for us to pay the tip to offset the difference). I agree that it is harder to work things out with larger groups, or heaven forbid, co-workers, where there are too many personalities to accommodate (or hidden politics).

my local supermarket has some shelves in a back hallway area next to the dairy dept...OK, so it's also the hallway back to the restrooms, but I try to overlook that. They put canned and boxed items on those shelves at huge discount. Often it is a seasonal item or brand that is discontinued. I will buy those items because they are completely sealed up and not past any kind of sell by date. Produce it dicey, I've looked at that rack but unless I was making something where I was cooking the fruit or veg down (because much of the items are badly bruised and would need a lot of trimming), I pass. Although a co-worker goes that route for her homemade baby food, since she's just going to cut it up to cook down/puree anyhow.

if cutting up a "standard" cuke, not the "seedless" type...I halve, then scoop the seeds and surrounding gel before slicing or dicing for salad.

salted plum? BTW, having eaten a whole bunch of white chocolate (filled with raspberry jam) recently...the salty element sounds awesome How about thai peanut (ie sate)? could be worked in with the coconut

Generally we will make sure to go to a restaurant which isn't offering a "special" menu. One enjoyable meal was a neighborhood Italian restaurant which dimmed the lights and sprinkled the tables with rose petals for the holiday, but nothing else was changed. It was kind of fun because it was unpretentious. We generally plan on gorging on chocolates, anyhow.

Last night we had a mini-Thanksgiving redo for 4 people. 12lb turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed redskin potatoes, sugar snap peas and gravy. The turkey was the freebie I got from the supermarket after Thanksgiving. It cooked up perfectly, must be because of the smaller size. Saved the carcass to make soup, and leftovers will be enjoyed tonight.

Ann_T, that is a spectacular photo. Like artwork.

when the hoummus gets kind of stale, my husband likes to eat it on flatbread topped with salsa. TJ's artichoke and red pepper "tapenade" makes a fine topper, also (and the flavor profile meshes better in my opinion). Plus it adds a bit more oil.

NJ Monthly Magazine just ran this article online today: http://njmonthly.com/blogs/soup-to-nuts/2015/1/12/a-better-school-lunch-made-by-moms.html?utm_source=New+Jersey+Monthly&utm_campaign=1f8dbf757b-Side_Dish_issue286&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_206acb9213-1f8dbf757b-72348969&ct=t(Side_Dish_Issue_286) A Mom in Northern New Jersey decided to start a business making healthier lunches available by subscription.

dark chocolate mini tart shells with white chocolate mousse

I got a selection of interesting teas from Teavana, various seasoning blends and flavored salts, and blood orange infused olive oil which should make a nice salad dressing.

after finishing the container of salted caramel gelato, I'll give it thumbs up. Not really "true" gelato since it has egg yolks, but it kept quite well in the freezer for 2 weeks as I worked my way through it. Unlike other TJ's products, I agree with the stated 8 servings per container.

I make turkey (only) meatloaf and keep it moist by adding cooked, finely chopped mushrooms and onions to the meat.

well, after buyer's remorse for picking up 2 pies (apple and blueberry crumb) for what is now going to be dinner for 6...tradition for my family seems to be an excess of desserts.

Taco salad sans tortilla bowl (so it actually retains some healthy qualities) - chopped romaine, top with a drizzle of buttermilk ranch type dressing, cooked black beans, chopped up fajita seasoned chicken, pico de gallo (phooey on winter tomatoes), corn salsa, and a big spoonful of guac or diced avocadoes. Squirt lime all over the top.

I found something similar to what Crepes mentions...I had slightly elevated trigylcerides and cholesterol (my diet is generally low fat, primarily vegetarian, but I used to eat a lot of simple carbs) and by focusing on adding fiber and watching the refined sugars/simple carbs I lowered my total cholesterol by 25 points.

I don't think my parents forced us to finish everything on our plate, at a certain point where you are sitting there with congealed bits that you obviously are not going to eat...they would just release us from the table. My sister went through a stretch where she didn't like a lot of vegetables (ironically, she was vegetarian for much of her young adult life...) so my parents allowed her to eat pickled beets as an alternate. Nobody else ate them, just kept a glass jar in the fridge. I always liked veggies, except maybe lima beans. Mom made one meal for the family (meat, veg, starch). That's probably one thing that got drilled into me, meat/veg/starch. When I make a meal that is just meat/veg, I feel like I did something "wrong" or that the meal is incomplete. Although I'm perfectly fine just eating veg/starch as I do most of the time now. Unrelated to food, but related to the table...when I was mad at my sister and it was my turn to set the table, I'd lick her plate before setting it down when nobody was looking!

Co-worker gave me some green tomatoes and little eggplants he picked before they got killed by frost...so I made eggplant and chickpea curry. Also has some chard which I needed to use up. Color not too attractive, but tasty.