I am Queen of the Food Rut.

Most of the time I strive for wellness and a healthy diet: salads, eggs, fruit, yogurt and popcorn are a few of my staples. Eating vegetables is important, and so is consuming a healthy amount of lean protein, which is the bigger challenge for me. I do okay. I try to keep my sweet tooth under control – give me a cookie and I lose all self-control – with dark chocolate and the occasional treat. But there are times when I just break down and get the dang pizza. Usually the pizza (or a Trader Joes French tart) happens because I’m bored with everything else in my fridge… bored with the same old thing or depressed at the thought of any intensive cooking. When you’re a single woman with a 8-5 job, making a complicated meal can be absurd.

However, one cannot always resort to pizza, no matter how many veggies it contains. Tempting though it is. I just get so miserable when my food is boring.

Last night I was faced with another Rut. I thought about venturing to Whole Foods for something exciting, but I didn’t want to go out in a thunderstorm and risk getting caught in one of our super fun flash floods. I didn’t want another salad. I cautiously opened the fridge to see what I had.

I knew I had a package of those “haricots verts” from Trader Joe’s. They were a week “old” but still edible; they’d have a weird taste so they’d have to be tossed in with something flavorful. Also to be found: a whole package of carrots, untouched for a month. Not a problem in itself as carrots last a long time, and these were fine. There were 2 pasta options – either the rest of the orzo or the rest of the whole wheat rotini. The ray of hope came in the form of a red onion and garlic cloves. I even had a left over chicken breast. Here was dinner.

Carrots are more versatile than we think. I don’t have a problem with the taste of a raw carrot, but I don’t like biting into one. Cooking them takes a while, and if you’re not careful, they turn into mush. I’d long ago come up with a hack to make carrots more palatable on both fronts: peel it, then slice it into ribbons length-wise with the peeler. A mandolin would be a wiser method, but as I don’t have one, I am extra careful when I make my ribbons. When the carrot is reduced to a pile of attractively curling pieces, I sauté them in butter until they’re soft. It doesn’t take more than five or six minutes. Why emphasize carrots? They’re cheap. They’re long-lasting and they’re PACKED with nutritional goodness (that stuff called Vitamin C, for one). Cooked this way, they’ve become one of my favorite veggies.

I’ve also been on a red onion kick. I mix it in with scrambled eggs and roasted potatoes. I put it in pasta. I put it on burgers. Sautéed, it has a nice flavor that goes well with a lot of different things. Alongside minced garlic, it gives dimension to an otherwise bland dish. Just a little goes a long way.

So last night I was able to make myself a unique meal that 1.) wasn’t out of a box, 2.) was economical, 3.) used up food I already had, 4.) was delicious and satisfying, and, 5) a fun and creative project. It was totally worth the pile of pans waiting for me afterwards. Eating healthy and eating well are not necessarily mutually exclusive, scientific, expensive or difficult. I didn’t even use a cookbook. I just did it.

Below is my recreation of the recipe. Feel to switch up or substitute the vegetables to taste. It would pair well with beef or chicken, but is perfectly fine as a vegetarian dish. Sliced almonds, fresh spinach, or black or white beans would be excellent variations.

Carrot Ribbons and Versatile Veggies

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

♦ 2 carrots, sliced into ribbons

♦ 2 TB butter

♦ 1 TB olive oil

♦ 1/3 cup red onion, roughly chopped

♦ 2-3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced

♦ 1 cup green beans

♦ 1/4 cup peas

♦ 1/3 cup orzo or pasta of preference (or whatever you have!)

♦ 1/2 cup (more or less) shredded Parmesan cheese

♦ salt, pepper, other herbs to taste

Instructions:

Cook orzo according to package instructions. Also cook green beans to package instructions, adding in the peas. (Cook the whole package, refrigerate what you don’t use.) Slice carrots into ribbons and set aside.

While orzo and green beans are cooking, chop red onion and garlic. Heat sauté pan or skillet to medium high. Add butter and oil to the pan. When butter is melted add onion and garlic, sauté until soft and onions are translucent and a little brown. (A few minutes, no more than 5.) Add the carrot ribbons. Continue to sauté until carrots are tender. Add salt, pepper and herbs as desired.

When pasta and beans are finished, drain. Add 1 cup of the green beans to the carrots and onions. Sauté for a minute or two.

Put orzo in a bowl. Add the vegetables. Top with parmesan cheese.

Enjoy.

If you’re ever in a culinary or creative rut, your means of salvation might be closer than you think: in the crisper, in the bottom of your craft-paper drawer, jotted on the back of a receipt. 😉