Makeshifting my lunch

Everyday I try to bring lunch with me, that way I save some money (it definitely costs more to get pizza or a premade sandwich) and eat a little healthier.
On some days I make myself salad and on others I try fun variations of sandwiches.

Last week I brought a colorful and tasty salad with me. It had cherry tomatoes, some pesto chicken, lettuce, raddichio and roasted red peppers in it. The flavors were a good blend with a lot of different textures. I also made a little balsamic, olive oil and oregano mixture to drizzle over it. I went very very light though since the peppers and chicken already had a lot of flavor.

This week was a week of sandwiches for some reason. I made a couple of different varieties though so it was a lot of fun.

Pancetta, turkey, cheese, and cherry jam

I came to work on Monday with no lunch so I took a quick spin to the grocery store and found a
long baguette for €0.59 so I knew sandwiches for the week were going to happen. I found pancetta which is similar to bacon, except sliced super finely so it can be eaten raw. I also found turkey and a sliced cheese (similar to American cheese except white and more creamy). I decided to put it all together with a bit of cherry jam. It added moisture and a great flavor contrast to the salty pancetta.

Delicious lunch #2

Tuesday's lunch was vaguely similar with another pancetta and turkey sandwich. Except I used
fresh tomatoes for moisture instead of cherry jam and served it with pasta in my homemade tomato sauce. I had leftover sauce that I wanted to use before it went to waste. It had started out with eggplants but I ate them all, so this was just a spicy sauce to go with my pasta and grated cheese. It was absolutely delicious.
I had another similar sandwich yesterday but I didn't take a picture of it because it looked very much the same, but I ate it with a helping of chick peas which were nice and light.

Mozzarella, prosiutto and honey

Today I went back to the store and had to refresh my supply of bread and cold cuts. I got ciabatta which is a wider bread that's not as long. I also got prosciutto crudo and mozzarella.  Then I added a little drizzle of honey for a nice touch of sweetness.
I know, I'm a little strange, but I really enjoy the combination of salty and sweet. It doesn't work for everyone, so I recommend experimenting a bit with flavors until you find the right combinations for you.

So far this week, I've had some really good sandwiches and we'll just have to see what I cook up for tomorrow!

Shopping at the Open Air Market

I seriously love going to the open air market in Acilia by work. It really does have the most fantastic collection of fresh fruits and vegetables at the best prices.
I got all of that fruit and vegetables for €4.00! It's crazy.
I bought 5 tomatoes on a vine, 5 plums, 2 bananas, 1 gigantic eggplant and a very large bushel of chicory (which I still need to write a separate post about).
For lunch, I had some of the tomatoes and they were really delicious. I cooked the eggplant in a red sauce and it was filled with flavor as well. I also prepared some of the chicory last night and that was delicious too.
Nothing is bland here!
Now, as I run to my next lesson, I'm going to eat one of the bananas and I'm sure it's going to be delicious as well!!

Such beautiful colors!!