**Due to the popularity of Seth’s first post (a tutorial on his patented Taco Sushi), he is back for a second guest post. This time, he’ll be sharing a typical day’s worth of menus, similar to the format of my meal posts. Enjoy!**

Excited? Of course. Prepared for mind numbing recipes? Doubtful. Get yourself a bib and a bowl to catch the salivation sensation of the week as I walk you through my daily meal routine. There is, however, a disclaimer: these meals are not intended for those who have, how we say, a refined palate. I am a graduate student who goes from the gym to work to home, day in, day out. So these are simple “healthy” meals that I have adopted into my daily routine (give or take when I go to Kroger). Each meal takes less than 15 minutes to make, and hits you with most of the things the old food-pyramid told us to eat back in the day. Shall we?

BREAKFAST!

I go to bed every night dreaming of the French toast that I will be eating in the morning. The piles of drool on my pillow will corroborate my story. Get yourself some egg whites and plop them in a bowl. I use the standby carton and do a “5-count” while pouring.

In the bowl, add two heaping spoonfuls of real maple syrup (it doesn’t work with the cheap, yet delicious, fake stuff).

Soak two slices of your favorite bread in the bowl until they are just about to fall apart, and toss them on a piping hot (post Pam sprayed) non-stick pan. Whilst the mush turns to magic (with constant flipping), throw 4 frozen strawberries in the microwave for 90 seconds and mush when finished. To rehydrate after such work, I pour myself some OJ. After about 2 min or prep work, and 3 min. of cooking, boom:

I did not mention that all of this is done AFTER I have prepared my coffee. Come on people, priorities.

Go ahead, throw caution to the wind and let that toast go for a dive in your pool of strawberry goodness. If you are daring, you will let two or three pieces drown in it until you are finished. The last bites are always the best.

On days when I feel the need for some extra sour in my morning, I substitute the OJ for half a grapefruit (or a handful of skittles? No).

LUNCH!

During the weekdays, I will admit, I do not pack a lunch for work. It is a combination of two things: laziness and the mere fact that whatever I make will sit in the Wilson gym locker room for 90 min. before getting to the refrigerator in my office. So, I hit up the Alpine Atrium in the Duke Bryan Center for the one and only ‘Burrito #3′:

Rosemary chicken, spinach, red peppers, onions, cheese, and quality service since they have it ready for me when I get there in the morning. A routine is a routine. And delicious is frickin’ delicious.

Now on the days when I am at home for lunch, which is usually Saturday and Sunday, I like to make my “Giant-Salad”. Think you can handle it? Probably.

In my usual fashion, I use the following ingredients (give or take a few depending on the state of my veggie drawers / canned goods): Fresh chopped lettuce, fresh diced tomato, diced canned potatoes, almonds, dried cranberries, a large heap of diced deli turkey meat, and a “man-sized” sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

(I would have added my usual canned beats, but I accidentally bought the pickled kind which make my tongue cry). As for the dressing, I use what is on hand, and today was Balsamic vinegar:

Too simple? Probably. But the faster I make lunch, the faster I can get to Hulu to watch some nonsense.

DINNER!

This one is a ‘doozy’. If you are pregnant, have inner ear issues, or actually know how to cook, please skip this meal. I call it: “Seth’s tuna-pasta stomach-filler”. Lets begin.

Get the pasta going first to minimize time in the kitchen.

For protein I like to use a can of tuna.

Start here with the most important steps to this meal: Drain the tuna juice into a small bowl.

Show the bowl of tuna juice to the nearest cat.

Wait for the cat to get hilariously excited (tongue dancing).

Feast!

Next, get some red wine or port. I use the port left by my previous roommate (Shout out to Shwin!) because it has mucho flavor and I can sip while cooking. Toss the tuna and some port in a pan. Let that delight simmer.

Now, get an assortment of some vegetables: onions, mushrooms and canned tomatoes. Go nuts:

Add the mushrooms and onions to the mix. Once mushy, add the tomatoes. The order of this process is really up to you. How liberating.

While simmering, add some Parmesan cheese, salt, and a handful of frozen broccoli. Why? Because they taste good.

Just about done. If you are like me, you are usually quite hungry and eat extremely fast. From years of experience I have learned that hot food will burn the crap out of my mouth if eaten right off of the stove. So, I put it aside and do the kitchen cleanup while it cools to safe temperatures.

Next, find the most feminine strainer in the house. I often will run cold water over my pasta to quickly cool the temperature within safe range.

And finally, no dinner is complete without a massive side of watermelon. If you object to any part of this masterpiece, you clearly aren’t fully appreciating “Seth’s tuna-pasta stomach-filler.”

After that exhausting 10 min. of cooking and the energy exerted from eating so much goodness, one would think that we should just go to bed.

But Seth, you are missing an important ingredient in your diet. How will your bones grow? According to my daily nutritionist, namely Ms. Yoder, I don’t get enough dairy / calcium. She is right, and that is why I end the day with a pile of vanilla yogurt, almonds:

I file my calcium intake with the Broccoli Hut-ress herself. Then I await my coveted “Good Boy” approval.

Fin.

Filed under: Feature Post