Vegan Day 2 and Some Lovin'

Why being a vegan (at least for a week) is not too difficult (so far):

1) You can still eat chocolate 

(just make sure it is semi-sweet or dark - nearly all of these are dairy free)

2) You can still eat ice-cream ... 

(the stuff made with coconut milk takes just like regular ice-cream, and it is soy free)  

(So Delicious makes many different flavours, including ice-cream sandwiches and other treats)

3) Eggs can be replaced in baking

(1 T of chia seeds with 3 T water)

4) Ezekial bread is vegan ... and it rocks!  

(This was my favourite bread even before this challenge)

5) I didn't drink milk anyway

(I use Almond Breeze in my smoothies) 

Breakfast this morning was 2 slices of cinnamon raisin toast (Ezekial bread) with Earth Balance (vegan "butter"), and a smoothie made with Almond Breeze, peaches, strawberries and pineapple.

Lunch was leftover soup (see yesterdays post) and strawberries.

Later in the afternoon I ate a Lara Bar.

The hubby made dinner this evening while I was at a basketball game with my team.  

He made a butternut squash curry with jasmine rice.

My snack was an apple with melted Cocoa Bliss (vegan chocolate coconut spread).

 I am Loving

I am loving how the days are getting longer, the sun is shining, and puddles are forming.  Spring is on it's way, and I feel totally rejuvenated. It is so nice to drive to work in the daylight, and come home again in daylight. 

I am loving how I am having an easy semester.  

I only took one class, and it is a nice break from the workload I usually take on.

I am loving my hubby, the beautiful flowers he got me yesterday, and the gift certificate for the best chocolates in the world that he gave me for after vegan week is over.

I am loving Eminem's Recovery album.  

Don't judge.

What are you loving these days?

Vegan Day 1

 

appy Valentine's Day!

My vegan-for-a-week challenge is off to a great start.

 

Breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal made with: 1/2 cup quick oats, 1/2 cup chocolate Almond Breeze, 1/2 cup vanilla Almond Breeze, 5 strawberries, 1 tsp natural PB, 1 tsp semi-sweet chocolate chips.

This kept me full until lunch, when I enjoyed Angela's Holiday Soup for the Soul, and an orange.

The soup is full of veggies, quinoa, black beans, spices and veggie broth.

For dinner I made this:

 

It was SO good!

Brown Rice with Tofu and Mushrooms

1 1/2 cups brown rice (I used long grain organic)

2 3/4 cups water

1.5 cups crimini mushrooms (sauteed)

1 T minced fresh ginger

4 cloves minced garlic

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 package extra firm tofu - diced

1 cup chopped fresh spinach

5 green onions (chopped)

2.5 T soy sauce

1.5 T rice vinegar

1.5 tsp sesame oil

Mix the first 6 ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove to a second burner, cover, and simmer on low for approx. 45 minutes (until rice is basically done).

When rice is almost done, toss in tofu and spinach.  Stir and cover for about 5 minutes off of heat.

Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, and oil, and stir into rice.  Serve immediately, garnishing with green onion.

I snacked on an apple with cinnamon, and 5 Mary's Crackers while watching The Bachelor.

What would be the hardest thing for you to give up if you went vegan for a week (or for any length of time)?  If you already eat a vegan diet, was it difficult for you to give up any food in particular?

Prepping for "V" week ...

Vegan, not valentines.

Most of you have heard by now that Oprah and her staff did a vegan challenge, where they ate a vegan diet for one week.  The hubby and I have decided to try this out for fun!  I figured it would give us a chance to be more creative in the kitchen and try out some new recipes.

We eat vegetarian meals quite often so giving up meat for the week will be no problem.  The hard part will be avoiding non-vegan treats when we are away from home.

This is self-imposed, and mostly for fun ... so we will do our best.

I can't guarantee we will be perfect vegans, but we are going to try!

We stocked up on Almond Breeze, loads of produce and legumes.  

We are going to avoid imitation meat products, because the point is to be creative.  

Last night we ended up staying in and going to bed early again.  

I snacked on strawberries with a melted chocolate truffle to dip them in:

 

This morning we went out for brunch to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday.  

We then spent the day running errands, visiting the hubby's grandma, and baking some yummy treats for the week.

I made Averie's Vegan Cinnamon Raisin Banana Oatmeal Muffins and Evan's Vegan Brownies (just in case we get a brownie craving this week)!

 

I also used up some buttermilk and eggs in the fridge by making 2 loaves of bread to freeze for some time after this week.

This evenings dinner was at the in-laws.  We had perogies, potatoes, and sausage.

How was your weekend?  Do you have plans for v-day tomorrow?

Off to watch the Grammy Awards!  G'night.

Relaxing

his weekend has been very relaxing so far, and I am enjoying every minute of it.

Last night we went out for a Korean dinner with some friends.  I got the Bee Bim Bop and a side of Kim Chi, that I proceeded to dump into my dinner.  I could live on Kim Chi.

After dinner we went to a script reading at a small venue in the city, and then came home and fell asleep around 10 p.m. :-)

Today I spent the day running wedding related errands with my sister.
I fueled up with eggs and toast in the morning, and then we went out for a Thai lunch.
 

 

 

We shared some lettuce wraps, and then the green chicken curry, and some delicious rice.  There was enough for my sister and I to both have lunch, and then for the hubby and I to have the leftovers for dinner.

We have no plans yet for this evening ...

It feels kinda nice.

What are you up to this weekend?
What is your favourite Thai dish? 

Rare Food Purchases

n all of 2010 I had two bowls of cereal.  I am just not a cereal person ... 

But I was craving it yesterday:

I picked up a box of organic maple pecan cereal the other day because it sounded good, and I wanted something easy for busy mornings.  It hit the spot yesterday on a ugly Wednesday morning.

My lunch for the past two days has included leftover cauliflower soup, and an orange.

The hubby made chicken for dinner yesterday (topped with tomato sauce and mozza) and I whipped up tabbouleh salad to go with it.  It was so good!

After my night class I was starving, so I prepared a healthy snack:

I also had a fruit filled snack on Tuesday night:

 

And some more fruit this morning on my oatmeal:

 

There is a lot of sickness going around my group of friends, co-workers, family, etc. and I am determined not to get it.  Bring on the vitamins!

We had a wonderful dinner this evening.  The hubby made an Indian spiced spaghetti squash with lentils, and I whipped up some braised red cabbage with apples, onions and spices.  We served them side-by-side, and they paired so well that I ended up stirring it all together.

My snack tonight was half of a cucumber.

Do you eat cabbage?  What do you do with it?  Do you use red or green, or both?
Do you have any rare food purchases - things that you eat only once or twice a year?

This was probably only the second time I bought cabbage in the past 6.5 years.  My parents used to buy it when I was was growing up, but I cannot remember what they made with it (besides fried cabbage, which is SO good).  I also remember that I loved the green stuff raw - it had a "hot" taste to that is hard to describe.

Veggie Monster

 

eggies are my friends.  I have yet to find a vegetable that I don't like.  I try to squeeze them in to my meals and snacks any way I can, in an attempt to get my 5-10 per day.  It is really difficult to get enough, especially since I despise making salads.  

Does anyone want to be my personal salad chef?  

If so, please drop a salad off each day at 4:30 - thanks.  

I always have Michael Pollan's wise words in the back of my mind ...

"Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants."

Words to live by, although often easier said than done
(well the last part anyway)!

I squeezed some plants in this morning with 3 giant handfuls of organic spinach in my smoothie, along with a scoop of Amazing Grass, 1/2 a banana, and some almond milk.

My dinners for the last two days have been loaded with plants.

On Monday I made grilled chili lime tofu, with portobello mushrooms and asparagus:

I topped the tofu with a mixture of cilantro hot sauce, salsa, and this stuff I just found in the grocery store:

This evening we had Pioneer Woman's Cauliflower Soup.  It was AWESOME!  There are many steps involved in this recipe, but they are all really easy and definitely worth the time.

I substituted the whole milk for 2%, and omitted the sour cream (we didn't have these things), and it still turned out creamy, flavourful, and delicious.

And when I need a carb fix (like last night, after my tofu/veggie dinner wore off), I love Averie's little vegan banana oat cakes that take 2 minutes to make:

Before microwaving

After microwaving

- Mash 1/2  banana

- Stir in 3 T quick oats, 1 T brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 scoop chia seeds (optional)

Spray a microwave safe dish, and dump the mixture in.  Microwave for 90 seconds.
Let rest 2 minutes, then dump out and eat.

Do you like cauliflower soup?  Have you ever made it? 

Pantry Makeover

ave you ever wondered what $300 worth of Tupperware would get you?

It will take your pantry from something like this:

To something more like this:

That is how I spent my morning.

In the process, my counter looked like this:

I live a wild life.

As an aside, have you ever seen one of these brown-sugar savers? It is intended to keep the brown sugar soft and clump free, and it actually works!  As I cleaned and organized, I made sure to toss this in to my new brown sugar container.

(*Note* - I received no compensation from Tupperware or the brown-sugar saver people).

This afternoon we celebrated by nephews 4th birthday.  

After the party my dad took us all out for supper, where my nephew ordered what any other normal 4 year old would order ...

Mussels.

And he ate them all. What a kid :-)

How messy is your pantry?  
Have you ever spent money on ridiculously, overpriced Tupperware?
 Do you have a brown-sugar saver?