Thermos 3-Tier Bento #38

Some Gardein beefless tips and mushrooms in onion gravy (Bisto mix, from my British friends), a green bean/wax bean/carrot mix I had in my freezer, and noodles (Light & Fluffy macaroni dumplings, still my all-time most satisfying vegan find).

Bisto is a kind of gravy mix where you add hot water, stir for a bit, and magically, you have gravy! The flavor might need a bit of help but I can't complain about it for ease of use.

ECO Lunchbox Three-in-One #80

A grain and vegetable salad leftover from a work event, something I intended as a dip for my apples that really turned out to be more of a pudding, chocolate chips, and slices of Granny Smith apple.

I don't know if it's because I haven't had a Granny Smith apple in a really long time, or if this one was especially tart, but this apple was sour. I was fine eating it on its own but it definitely did not want my chocolate peanut butter dip. So I ended up dumping my chocolate chips into the dip, stirring it up, and eating it like a very rich pudding. Sometimes you do what you have to.

The salad was disappointing. I wasn't at the meeting where it was served but my co-workers gave what they had leftover to me because it was vegan. I appreciate that, but I really didn't care for it. Oh, well.

Skater Lunch Box #60

Orange slices and a successful experiment: peanut rice with tofu and vegetables. This was essentially just peanut noodles but with rice instead because I didn't feel like having noodles. I added a black sesame seed garnish and it was delightful.

Happy Jackson Snack Boxes #66

A simple salad (lettuce, red pepper, grape tomatoes, and maybe a cucumber slice somewhere) leftover from a work event, some Italian dressing, cracked wheat crackers, a double chocolate almond energy ball, a cranberry white chocolate pistachio energy ball, some of my sunflower seed spread, orange slices, and pineapple chunks.

I'm getting more into energy balls lately, in part because of a new medical development. After a lot of conversations with a lot of different doctors (I have so many to visit anyway I didn't add in anybody new, so I have that going for me, but this has been a come-and-go issue with me for a few years now and is getting worse), it was my dentist who told me I have another weird, rare, incurable disorder: Geographic Tongue. When I'm having a bad flare, anything hot, acidic, spicy, or salty makes eating really painful. That leaves cold (or just not hot) and bland or sweet things, mostly, though I'm still experimenting. Oranges and pineapple are really too acidic, and were probably a mistake on a day I was flaring; I was too optimistic.

I loved both of these energy balls and will be making them again, and you'll begin to see a lot more of them in my future, tongue issues or not, because they're easy to make and can cover a lot of my nutritional bases without me having to actually cook things. This is good for when I am weak, as well as when my tongue is oddly angry. Some of them are also good for difficult swallowing days, though these chunky ones aren't especially good for that. Here's hoping my mini food processor holds up! When I have especially good experiments I'll give you recipes.

A mini rant: Geographic tongue is not life-threatening and doesn't really do much other than make my tongue lose some of its taste buds temporarily, turn red, and hurt a lot. It is also a malady that much more commonly afflicts women than men. It may be related to autoimmune disorders. Doctors seem unconcerned about it, nobody knows what causes it, and there is no treatment for it. I have to believe that if it were mostly men who were having this happen, just as I believe if it were mostly young men and not young women who get the bizarre intermittent weakness and paralysis that comes with myathenia gravis, it would have been studied more and we'd have better answers and better treatment. Weak women who can't eat aren't considered a problem; both things conform to gender stereotype in different ways.

The good news is that my flares are rarely severe for very long, and I'm learning how to take care of myself even if the doctors aren't interested. Why is this the story of my life?

Thermos 3-Tier Bento #37

Dried cranberries, broccoli, a sort of cheeseburger-type noodle casserole, and carrots.

This was a nice casserole. I'm not sure why I decided to make something like this. But I had a bit of Daiya cheddar (the kind in block form) and some vegan crumbles on hand, and I was in the mood for something sort of Hamburger Helper-like. (This seems to be happening to me a lot lately, but hey.) I also had some raw cashews (they were on sale at last and I stocked up) so I could make a cashew cream sauce, too. It was satisfying.

Thermos 3-Tier Bento #36

Half an avocado, an improvisational rice and beans dish, and a tortilla.

It was hard for me to decide whether this rice dish was more Tex Mex or more Indian in inspiration. It had basmati rice, pinto beans, bell pepper, onion, turmeric, and cumin. It didn't really matter what it was, though, because it was tasty!

You won't see lunch tomorrow because I'll be eating what will be provided at work, but I'll have something for you on Friday.

Skater Lunch Box #59

Homemade vegan kielbasa (recipe from Catskill Animal Sanctuary), sauteed cabbage and onions, pierogies filled with potatoes, and non-dairy sour cream.

This isn't that colorful--cabbage loses most of its green color when cooked, and it's not very green to begin with--but it really hit the spot. Pierogies were on sale! A few brands sold here don't use eggs in the pierogi pasta. This particular one is from a small company and is sold fresh, not frozen. It has several vegan varieties but the only one being sold at my store was the one with plain potatoes. Maybe sometime soon I can find some of the others. I'm dying to try the spinach and potato and the mushroom and potato ones.

The kielbasa, though not really much like I remember kielbasa being, went really well with this meal, and will have other applications. You can freeze it, so I'll be using more of this stuff in the weeks ahead.