Espress(o) Yoself.

Oh, hello.  If you came here for a recipe today, here's your warning so you can feel free to navigate other wondrous blog pages, pinterest or facebook: no recipe today (okay, just a little lunch idea, but nothing you're going to write home about).  Today's post simply contains the musings of a caffeinated comfort food addict.  There, I said it.

Hello, my name is Melody and I'm a carbaholic.

Is this a problem?  A little over a month ago, I started a Raw Food Cleanse.  Amazing!  While it was only three days, it really changed my whole perspective about the food I put in my body.  I even gave up caffeine completely for over a week!  I would recommend you read it in conjunction with watching Forks Over Knives, but only if you're ready to make some dietary changes.  And some (or most of you) are probably not wanting to do that and that's totally cool.  After I finished the cleanse, I was hooked on some raw kale.  I still am!  Right now in life, there is literally nothing more I could want for lunch than a trip to the Whole Foods Salad Bar.  Pile that ugly container full of garlicky kale, spinach, mixed greens, chickpeas, roasted sweet potato, pumpkin seeds and some lemon tahini dressing and it's heaven.  It tastes amazing, fills me up and leaves me feeling great and energized until dinner.

Git in muh belly.

So what's the problem?  Laziness.  While for awhile it was so easy to come home on my lunch break and fix delicious raw zucchini pasta or a Hugh Jass salad (as Mama Pea likes to call them), when I run out of ingredients or fail to make a shopping trip when I should, I end up eating this:

Warning: May be habit forming.

What is this unusual mess?  It's the magical combination of Daiya cheddar "cheese" shreds and homemade hummus cooked grilled cheese style in a cast iron skillet with a teaspoon full of Earth Balance Vegan Margarine.  I was introduced to this killer combo by Peas and Thank You, where they are aptly referred to as "crack wraps".  And while crack is whack, these are not.  This is my default lunch, snack, meal, or comfort food when I am feeling too lazy to cut up veggies for salads or something more healthy and full of nutrients.  It could be worse, thought right?  Not when you start washing it down with egg nog flavored soy milk.  That's when you know it's a problem.  And now the caffeine is starting to slowly sneak in.  While I don't have a daily cup in the morning, I might have a latte in the afternoon, or a cup of black tea one morning because I'm feeling too festive not to.  Or a full blown two shot cafe americano.  Hello, espresso; let's be friends again.  While allowing myself caffeine during the week (but not daily) is forgivable, I have decided, the lack of vegetables at lunch is not.

I hereby resolve to find a solution.  If I wrote it on a blog, I have to hold to it.  It's like law now.  Here's my best idea.  What if I actually make it a rule that I MUST make a list before making my weekly trip that I MUST make to Whole Foods and then when I bring home all the nutrient dense veggies on my list, I will wash, chop, and store them in the fridge immediately.  I even wrote it in the largest font so you can hold me to it.  That way, it takes literally seconds to throw together a healthy salad or stir fry and I don't find myself making excuses to make things that melt on a daily basis.  If I can get more fiber and greens into my breakfasts and lunches, then it's okay if I make things like cheezy chili mac for dinner if I feel so inclined.

I know I'm not alone in this rut thing.  What kind of food ruts do you get stuck in?  Is caffeine a necessary evil, or do you stay away from it?

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