Does anyone else have a hard time coming up with ideas of what to eat for lunch? I am always on the lookout for new ideas, so if you have one please share! The last couple months my new favorite lunch has been hummus, Arabic bread, cucumbers and tomatoes. Or some days carrots and/or bell pepper slices. I love that don't have to make 2 different lunches (and I'm not eating ramen noodles or mac 'n cheese) because Emily loves it too! In fact she has become quite the hummus eater--she even refers to her meals as breakfast, hummus and dinner. :-)
You can see my recipe HERE. Each week I make a double batch (2 cans of chickpeas) and Emily and I enjoy it until it's gone (usually 4 or 5 days). I've been trying some different toppings on the hummus, and in this picture you can see sumac. I wasn't familiar with this spice until recently, but it's cheap over here (a 200 gram bag was 4 SAR--which is about a $1). Sumac has a mild citrus flavor and over here is a common addition to hummus, salads and meat.
Ben sent me this picture of his lunch one day. They have a cafeteria at work where he gets a buffet lunch with fresh, healthy food options for 10 SAR--or less than $3. (Yes, I'm totally jealous.) The salad you see in this picture is a popular one called fattoush (notice it also has sumac).
Cucumbers are very cheap and can be bought individually or in bags or boxes--kind of like you can buy apples or clementines in the States. Emily makes sure that we save 2 cucumbers everyday. . . so that she can relax after lunch and before her nap. This has become an almost-daily ritual. :-)
We used to love a great Middle Eastern Salad before we went gluten free. It's a mix of flat leaf parsley, cucumber, and tomato with a dressing of pomegranate juice and oil. light salt and pepper and before you serve it, mix in toasted pita. It's easy and really good. I love reading about your adventures!
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