There is hope for tuna afterall!

So.. 4pm rolled around. And my belly said.. "Hey!!! Feed me. Now!"

And my brain said, "Okay.. we'll feed the belly.. but remember the elephant... and your commitment.. Jamaica is closer with every passing minute!! Eat some protein, and something healthy"

Any some other voice said... "Oh crap. I can't be bothered to make food.. I don't want to waste time making food.. can't I just have protein-less cereal or super fatty grilled cheese?" Le sigh. All my quick go to's are too fatening or not fullfulling. Yeesh.

Looking through my cupboard.. I think.. I should have some tuna. First stop: the interweb. Or the wondrous O'verse as I like to call it. Query: How to make tuna NOT fishly unpalatible.

I can't say it helped much. Back to the kitchen, to stare into to fridge. I was leaning towards some mockery of a tuna melt. And then the idea began to form..

I took my trusty box of ready-veggies from the fridge. This is a lidded container I keep in the fridge of my fresh veggie stock, easy to pull all items out at once, use what you need, and then easy to put away. It also makes it easier to keep tabs on what needs to be used up, rather than opening the fridge produce drawer, and inspecting 12 different items at once.

So..the answer ended up being a type of tuna stir fry.

How it was done:

(all measurements are eyeballed approximates)

Salt and Pepper

Garlic and R.Pepper shaker

1/4 c stick-sliced zucchini

1/10th of a red pepper; sliced

1 TBSP Canola Oil

1C and as needed water

1/4 cup of broccolie floretts

2 chopped baby carrots

1/4 c chopped cauliflower florretts

1/2 a "juicebox" of coconut soy milk drink

1/2 tbls of green curry paste (pre mix with water)

3 tbls half and half cream (or milk)

1/2 tbls of chopped shallot onion

1/2 small red potato, sliced paper thin

1/2 can tuna (from water)

1 triangle of light laughing cow cheese

As items were ready/chopped they went into the wok. Prepping and cooking took about 15 minutes tops, but I wasn't paying attention. The ingredients were all basically chosen as they were things in my fridge needing be be used up. This didnt' take much time because all veggies are right there in the box. I take one out, chop off what is needed, then swap it for the next one. I'm amazed at how much time this saves me, and why I never though of it before.

Anyhow. The results were actually quite yummy, though a tad spicy for my taste.

It was certainly a mind trick to think I was eating something yummy, slightly creamy, and that this was really all healthy ingredients. To make it even healthier next time, I'd ommit the small amount of Canola oil, trade the half and half for skim milk, and omit the piece of cheese (that really didnt' do anything for the meal) Oh and best of all?? I barely even noticed the taste of tuna!!! I'll be making this again for sure! Bonus: Clean up was nice and quick! All leftover veggies went back in their box, and all went in the fridge! No re wrapping and placing 8 individual ingredients in and out of the fridge.

The "Hi, I'm new here" introductory entry. Or what it's all about.

I don't particularly enjoy cooking.. except when I do. Generally I try to stay out of my kitchen, for I know that once I step inside, if I really start to create something edible, I'm usually in there for a minimum of 2 hours, and my evening is gone. So I try to avoid this. My eating habits usually tend to fall into the "what is the absolute fastest thing I can find to fill my belly with?" Bonus points if I don't have to use the microwave, and I certainly don't want to be involved with taking a number of things out of the fridge, cutting them up (never mind dirtying pots or pans) and I definitely have no interest in turning on the stove. Oh, and aside from soup.. I'm not a fan of canned food.

So.. has anyone out there yet asked... "Well what on earth do you EAT?" I certainly wasn't eating very healthy for a long number of years. It's one of the dangers of living solo. I would eat chips, crackers with kraft sliced cheese (a favorite quickfood) cookies, though rarely, as I know how disgustinly short a time a whole bag would last.. so I'd only by a bag every 3 months or soo.. grilled cheese I ate mostly cereal. Rice Krispies, a bi monthly box of resses pieces or golden grhamas.. boiled eggs, canned soup.. ect. If a meal could be prepared, eaten and cleaned up within 10 or 15 minutes, then stove exceptions were made.

It was a delightfully time saving way of "eating". Don't get me wrong... there were numerous times where I'd pull out all the pots and pans, and half empty my fridge to make squash with chicken and raisins, or rissoto, green curry and other thai dishes, but they'd always take 2 -4 hours by the recipies were found, ingredients measured, cooking cooked, food eaten, dishes washed, leftovers and other not used ingredient portions put away, extra portions for lunches packed and frozen... and then it'd be nearly time for bed... and I'd spend another two weeks vowing not repeat the long cooking experience again any time soon.

Part of it is again, the lonliness of solo living and eating. You spend 40 minutes+ creating something that while it may taste great... something about not having someone to share it with takes away from the flavour. Company and conversation... two magical ingredients that make or break any meal.

So .. while I loved my simple and quick eats, as you may have well guessed.. I've certainly paid for it.. or rather my body has. I am quite overweight.. and finally.. finally angry enough to do something about it. I'll thank my little sisters upcoming wedding in Jamaica, and memories of my loathsome disgusting body in the dress I had to wear for my older sisters wedding in Panama.. for that final, glorious, golden straw. And the elephant. More about that later.

Anyhow. Somewhere in me, there really is a foodie that loves to cook and bake and make all sorts of restaurant worthy delicacies... when I have ample time and someone to share them with. But the main purpose of this blog is to share with others out there like myself, who are interested in maximizing healthy cooked food, while absolutely minimizing kitchen time. I'll also throw in neat tips that I discover and I'm sure wander over many other topics pertaining to weight loss.

Shall we.... dig in??