Lunch Hacks: Cauliflower, Kalamata Dip & A Quick Pulled Salmon Salad / August 23, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Lunch Hacks: Cauliflower, Kalamata Dip & A Quick Pulled Salmon Salad | dolly and oatmeal

i'm going to be super honest here. i'm not the greatest when it comes to preparing lunch. for some reason, even before anesy was in the picture, i couldn't be bothered to put much thought into it. please tell me i'm not the only one!?

a few days out of the work i basically eat 2 eggs, 1/2 avocado, maybe in a salad, but mostly on a piece of toasty bread. the weekdays are pretty scheduled, so i roughly know how much time i have between amesy's naps to get work done, and eat lunch. so preparing a lunch that requires more brain power than boiling eggs, toasting bread, and mashing an avocado can simply be too overwhelming. but since moving to LA, the amount of wholesome, prepared food that's available is kind of crazy. so, my lunch hack has been to pick up some prepared items a couple times a week to give myself a break. so i'll pick up a few pieces of wild salmon for amesy and i (he loves it mashed in avocado 👍🏼). i usually throw mine over greens, with some other veg, and whatever hummus or dip i have in my fridge, and always serve it with some crackers (because crunch is key!).

another thing that's key is dip! i've talked all about my fondness of it before, but it's really the thing that makes lunch feel fun for me. and since i have such a lack of love for lunch, it's the one thing i look forward to eating midday. i'm a little meticulous (or maybe just crazy) when it comes to actually eating this salad/dip, and have somewhat of a sequence in eating it. i usually add half of it to the salad to mix around with the salmon and veg, and the other half i save until the end just to enjoy with my crackers. i was loving simple mills sprouted crackers even before i started limiting the amount of grains i eat, but now that i am, they've been coming in clutch! their ingredients are as simple and straightforward as ingredients lists come, made with a sprouted seed mix, with some tapioca, and cassava flour, as well as a few other basic components. you can learn more about how simple mills is making our back-to-school/back-to-work lives easier here ;)

do you have any lunch hacks? i'm considering starting a monthly, lunch series to help push myself out of this lunch rut, anyone with me!? ;) let me know if you're into it in the comments, or shoot me an email. i'm all ears!

big hugs! xo

this post was created in partnership with simple mills. all thoughts and opinions, as always, are my own. thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that help keep dolly and oatmeal running!

cauliflower, kalamata dip

you can mix your lunch items around depending on your diet. i usually aim to have a good portion of protein and healthy fats, some leafy greens, and always something a little crunchy, like crackers :)

| makes a little over 1 cup and about 5 servings |

1 cup cauliflower florets
1 15 ounce can cannellini beans (preferably non-bpa), drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for topping
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
herbs, for garnish

pulled salmon salad

1/4 cup cauli white bean dip
5-10 Simple Mills Sprouted Seed Everything crackers
bibb lettuce
1 piece prepared wild salmon
thinly sliced radish
cucumber spears
microgreens
juice from half of a small lemon
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & fresh ground pepper

method

bring a lidded pot with about 2 inches of water to a boil. place the florets into a steamer basket, and place into the pot. cover and turn heat to medium. steam for until the cauliflower is tender, about 10-12 minutes. remove it from the heat and let cool.
add the cauliflower, beans, olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, and garlic to a food processor fitted with a metal "s" blade, and blend until smooth. add the olives and pulse until the olives are broken down into small flecks. season with salt and pepper. place the dip in a lidded container and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
to prepare your lunch, tear the lettuce with your hands and place in a large bowl. pull the salmon from the skin into bite-size pieces an place in the bowl as well. to your salad add sliced radish, cucumber, and microgreens. finish it off with a generous squeeze of lemon juice, and a drizzle of olive oil. season with salt and pepper. give it all a toss and serve it with your dip and crackers.

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Summer Squash Vegan Mac 'N' Cheese w/ Herb Pesto / August 17, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Summer Squash Vegan Mac 'N' Cheese w/ Herb Pesto | dolly and oatmeal

we're coming off of a pretty hectic week. frank just returned from a trip upstate (do you californians call northern california upstate?), and i've been trying to keep it together working and taking care of amesy. admittedly, when time gets tight, and there aren't enough hours in the day, my diet suffers. no matter how many veggies are in my fridge, preparing myself high-vibe meals always falls short at the end of the day. i like having options, or go-to's, so that isn't the case all the time. because if i think about it enough, every day feels a bit chaotic in one way or another. stocking my fridge or pantry with easy-to-put-together ingredients and halfway prepared meals is just where i'm at in life, and i'm kind of just going with it at the moment. whether that's buying a pre-made protein and adding a salad to it, buying prepared vegetables and cooking up something on the side, or buying a box of mac 'n' cheese to have on hand.

there aren't many store-bought mac 'n' cheese brands that cater to my gluten-dairy-free diet, while also having good, wholesome ingredients. i'm so grateful to companies like Annie's that have options that appreciate different diets, and lifestyles, and that they're so readily available to all families at stores like Target. i've been eating their mac 'n' cheese since i was young, and it's nice to come back to an old favorite when they came out with their vegan and gluten free variation. it's a brand that has always been transparent, and i can trust it to feed my family in the right way.

it usually depends on how i'm feeling, or what the weather is like, but most times i prepare a big salad on the side, or add veggies to the the pasta itself. this time i blended up some herbs i had leftover in my fridge to make a quick pesto, and sliced a couple of summer squash to sauté with garlic. alone the mac 'n' cheese is tasty and super delicious, the cream sauce is made with pumpkin and sweet potato mixture that's ready to go when added to your plant-based milk of choice. it all makes for a quick, fresh, meal that basically feels homemade ;)

big hugs, all! xoxo

Summer Squash Vegan Mac 'N' Cheese w/ Herb Pesto | gf

| serves 4 as a main, 6 as a side |

herb pesto

1 packed cup mixed herbs (i used a combination of parsley, sage, thyme, and oregano)
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove
2-3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

summer squash mac 'n' cheese

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large summer squash, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thin
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
fine sea salt & freshly ground pepper
2 boxes Annie's Organic Gluten Free Vegan Elbows & Creamy Sauce

method

for the pesto. combine the herbs, oil, garlic, and lemon juice in food processor or blender. season with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until you are ready to use it, or 1 week. alternatively, the pesto can be made 1 week before using it.
for the squash and mac 'n' cheese. heat a skillet over medium heat. once it's hot, add the olive oil and garlic, stir and cook for about 45 seconds. then add the squash and let it cook for about 4 minutes without disturbing it, letting it get a little brown. turn them over and let the squash cook for another 4 minutes, until lightly browned and tender. remove the squash from the heat.
make the mac 'n' cheese according to the instructions on the box.
in a large serving bowl toss the mac 'n' cheese together with the summer squash. dollop the top with pesto blobs, and give it all a stir. serve with more pesto on the side.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Target & Annie's. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Shelly's Chilled Peanut Noodles / July 13, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Shelly's Chilled Peanut Noodles | dolly and oatmeal

it's hard to believe that july is at its mid point already. it seems like forever ago that frank and i were thinking about a little summer getaway, and here we are! later on this week we're driving to palm springs for a long weekend with my brother, sis-in-law, and their (almost 1-year old!) son, nico. the last "vacation" we took was when we were living in NYC, amesy was 3 months old, and we thought it was a good idea to fly to california. big mistake. if you remember a few of my posts from then, you'll remember that that trip was an epic disaster in many respects. that preeeetty much scared the crap out of us, so the idea of driving or flying anywhere for an extended period of time was definitely out of the question this time around. and while we are more beach-y kind of people, the idea of staying contained in a house, and having a pool right outside our door seemed very much our speed at this moment in life.

i'm not sure about you, but the abundance of beautiful cookbooks coming out this summer is everything i need to get me out of my creative rut and get cooking. i'm sure you know shelly from the blog, vegetarian ventures. her debut cookbook, vegetarian heartland came out last month and plain and simple, it's a beauty. it's centered around something i know little about: the midwest. at first glance the book is vibrant and inviting; shelly's photography is totally stunning. but the book is more than beautiful photography. it's divided by seasons of the year and in that, things like: campfire recipes (and a how-to on building one!), cozy snow day recipes, and picnic recipes. i have so many recipes dogeared for times in the future when we feel more ready to take weekend jaunts camping or have a proper picnic. the book is vegetarian, there are some gluten free recipes, and some vegan ones, but i can imagine that you could adapt many of them as well :)

wishing you all sweet summer adventures! xo

chilled peanut noodles

recipe from Vegetarian Heartland, by Shelly Westerhausen

i used 100% buckwheat soba noodles here. they tend to stick to each other a bit more after the chilling period, but they taste just as good ;) i also subbed green beans for snap peas, and added roughly 3/4 teaspoon salt to the peanut sauce since the recipe doesn't have any.

| serves 4 |

8oz (230g) soba noodles or whole wheat spaghetti
1 cup (100g) snap peas
1/2 cup (130g) peanut butter
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons hot chile sauce (such as sriracha)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/3 cup (80ml) water
1 green bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and thinly sliced
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cup (140g) peanuts, chopped, for garnish
fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

method

bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. add the soba and cook until almost al dente, 7 to 10 minutes. add the snap peas and let boil for 1 minute more. drain the soba and snap peas and transfer to a large bowl.
in a high-speed blender, combine the peanut butter, sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, honey, chile sauce, lime juice, and water and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. pour over the soba, add the bell pepper and carrots, and toss until everything is completely coated in peanut sauce. transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator or a small portable cooler for up to 4 hours. just before serving, garnish with peanuts and cilantro.