My life as a train commuter: Food

My office moved from Upper Saddle River [an average of a hour and 15 minutes drive north from my house on a good a good day] to Hoboken [60 minute train ride plus 10 minute car ride to the train station] this February and my life as train commuter began.

I tried my hand at train commuting to Upper Saddle River when the gas prices were high but that took over 2 hours a day [don't know why it so hard to commute within the state when it is so easy to commute NYC]. I gave that up when the weather started getting bad out.

Matcha Smoothie for my breakfast

I have to say food is playing a big part of this new commute. I pack my breakfast, lunch and snack for the day and a lot of planning goes into that--how to pack it up, will it travel well, do it fall into my dietary restrictions and does it taste good. Sundays is all about what is on the menu for lunch that week.

Breakfast for me for the longest time has been oatmeal with greek yogurt, some kind of fruit and a spoonful of my jam. But a bit bulky to transport [on top of my lunch] and I've been look for something new. 

That's where my matcha smoothie comes in. I've been a little matcha crazy since my valentine's day dessert. I was looking for something else to make with matcha. I found a smoothie recipe with oatmeal and my insulated travel mug that locks [I can shove into side water bottle holder in my backpack], so everything looks good from here.

I'm sure this smoothie can be fiddle with whatever you have at home but this is what I have now and it has been keeping me full way past usually lunch time. And I'm hoping I don't have to drink as much coffee now that my smoothie has matcha in it. Let's see how that goes. 

1.25c some kind of milk 
1/2 of banana, frozen better
handful of another fruit [frozen berries are always in my freezer]
1/2c old fashion oatmeal
1/2t matcha
1t sweetener [whatever you like honey, agave, brown rice syrup]

If your fruits are not frozen, I'd add some ice to thicken it up a bit. Blend until smooth. May need to adjust sweetener. 

My attempt of being frugal and a foodie

This weekend I decided to bring my breakfast and lunch to work to save some money. I also have some time to test out some recipes that have been burning up my to testing list. 


First up Breakfast
Greek yogurt, banana, homemade granola and local honey. Been wanting to try Alton Brown's granola recipe for a while and had the time this weekend. Adjusted it a litte, switch out pecans for almonds [what I had in my freezer] and added a 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon plus I added some craisins. 




At first, I had my doubts. Didn't smell as I thought it would, I nibbled on a litte kind at the beginning, kind of bland. I was hoping I didn't have to toss out the whole thing. That would be such a waste. But an hour and fifteen minutes later [stirring every 15 minutes], it turned out great. Makes a lot, I think enough for 2 weeks of breakfasts. Not too sweet and not bland, just perfect with my yogurt and banana. Nice and filling.


My Lunch
I'm writing it as I'm eating it: Roast Beef [from the restaurant], spring and vidalia onion marmalade [onion from my produce bag from work] on a hard roll with a broccoli parmesan fritter. Broccoli has become my new favorite veggies and I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen. I actually at the whole recipe by myself this weekend. I loved it with sweet chili sauce. I'm eating the last one with my sandwich. Wish I had more.





Another Recipe Test
I had some very sweet strawberries from Costco this week and wanted to try out this strawberry pie recipe from Sauver. Wanted to make a fruit pie with what was in season. I'm still not sure about it. Very juicy but tasted good. I think the crust need some work. Last time I made this crust it was great. It's probably me. I guess I need to work on my pies. Maybe I'll try a pie a week.