What I Ate Wednesday
It has been a minute since I have done one these, without further adieu here is yet another WIAW. Thank you, Jenn for hosting this food porn party. If you want to join in this madness stop by Jenn’s blog Peas & Crayons.
Meal Uno:
Ezekiel toast w/ sunflower butter, banana, hemp seeds & honey. Followed by coffee w/ unsweetened soymilk
Meal Duex:
kale, spinach, apple, ginger & almond butter smoothie from Canteen with Abby from Eat Drink and Be Aware.
Meal 2.5
upon arriving home, I munched a few of Trader Joe’s Honey Sesame Almonds.
Meal Three
My beloved
Meal Four
My other beloved. A glass of vino while making din-din
Meal Five
This dinner was so dang good. In this bowl of goodness is steamed broccoli & spinach, roasted delicata squash, quinoa, chickpeas, & avocado topped with a spicy cashew sauce that was heavily adapted from this recipe over at Carrie On Vegan. I basically took this recipe and added 2 dates, a little more nutritional yeast & cumin and a little less cayenne. I also used unsweetened almond milk instead of unsweetened soy milk. I have made this sauce before, but this batch was extra splendid.
Meal Six
I sncked on a few of these while trying to create Averie’s Raw Vegan Cookie Dough Balls.
Her balls:
My Balls:
Far less pretty, but holy mother of Pete are these tasty. I followed her recipe, but added 2T of canned pumpkin & 1T of ground flaxseed. These balls were a little sticky. That is weird sentence to type. This is awkward. Moving on…
I basically ended up eating meal seven straight from the Vitamix. #SorryIamnotsorry.
And that concludes this week’s WIAW!
Happy Wednesday!
3 songs, 2 books, & 1 obesssion
First and foremost, pardon my blog hiatus. I generally aim to post 3 times per week, but last week got a way from moi and sir blog suffered the consequences. However, in the midst of my blogging hiatus I fell in love with some new booty movin’ tunes, two really good reads, and one helluva salad dressing. It was a good week.
Three really good tunes for burning all of the indulgent day of Thanks calories.
According to my ears, anything Calvin Harris does causes my toe to tap.
Two really delightful reads:
I just started reading Wild: From Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed. I believe I am late to the party with this read given its popularity over the years, but now I know what all of the fuss is about. I am about a 1/3rd of the way through it and if duties of life didn’t present themselves, I would do nothing but read this book. It is just that good.
I have also been reading and listening to Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein. Good read/ listen. Life changing read/ listen. I think I am a little late to the party with this one too, but better late than never with this gem. I am only 1/3rd of the way through this delight as well, it is rather intense, so I want to make sure I can devote my attention to every morsel of this creation because it is just that important. If you want to live your life with less fear and more love this book might want to be a part of your life as well.
One Helluva Salad dressing
the salad dressing that recently came into my life…
Ingredients:
I have heard rumor of the dressing in the past. I believe he is referred to as “crack sauce.” The dressing is created by Whole Foods, can be found in the refrigerated/ prepared food section, and is a little difficult to get your mitts on. Apparently he is sold at only a few select Whole Foods and they run out often. If you are lucky to find this creation at your local Whole Foods I suggest you scoop it up immediately. Holy yum. I have tried to make my own version of this at home and I cannot touch the magic that is in this bottle. I honestly don’t get it, but I am not going to fight it anymore. I will make a special trip to the very particular Whole Foods every week until I have had a enough. I will do whatever it takes to ensure his presence in my life because he made last night’s din din dyn-o-mite.
Kale, broccoli slaw, avocado, chickpeas, quinoa and golden raisins covered in crack sauce
Best/ Easiest. Dinner. Ever.
And with that, I am off. Happy Tuesday!
A few of my weekend eats.
I am a little late on this post. My Monday was little cray cray, so pardon the delay.
I have to admit, I am not very good about snapping photos of my eats over the weekend. However, I did manage to capture Friday & Sunday’s dinners as well as Saturday’s breakfast.
I have turned into quite the salad afficiando. This was Friday night’s din-din. In this beast: spinach, artichoke hearts, zucchini, candied hazelnuts, a sprinkling of parmesan and dressed with curry powder, nutritional yeast, and spicy cashew sauce. A tuna filet also landed on top of this guy, but he did not get his kodak moment.
Sunday’s salad explosion= spinach, shredded cabbage, quinoa, seaweed (stay with me), avocado and dressed with nutritional yeast, siracha, and peanut butter sauce (see recipe below). A cod filet also landed on this creation, but he, too, missed his moment in the spotlight.
Healthified Peanut butter sauce:
- 6T PB2 powdered peanut butter (or peanut flour)
- 2T low sodium Tamari
- 1T toasted sesame oil
- 1/2T raw honey
- a few drops of liquid stevia
- 3T water
- 2T brown rice vinegar
- Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl and whisk until smooth.
The Goods:
- 1/2 med sweet potato (cooked)
- 1 egg
- 2 egg whites
- 1T chia seeds
- 1T ground flaxseeds
- 1/4 c unsweetened almond milk
- 5-10 drops of liquid stevia
- dash of vanilla & cinnamon
- 1T natural peanut butter
- 1/2T dark chocolate chips
- crack eggs in small bowl and whisk
- in a a small sauce pan on low heat mash sweet potato
- add in all ingredients except for the eggs and stir
- add the eggs, turn heat to medium and whisk until they all gel together (approximately 3-5 min). This process always seems like it takes forever. Be patient- they always come together
- remove from heat and top with peanut butter & chocolate chips or whatever your little heart desires.
DIY Vegan Bowl
One of my favorite dinners in the city is the infamous Vegan Bowl from Bridgeport Brewery. I am fairly certain it was the very first meal I had at a restaurant upon moving here. Is it weird that I would recall such things? Maybe it is. Anyway, I have always threatened to try and recreate the masterpiece at home. On Wednesday night, I finally made good on my threat. While it is not exactly like Bridgeport’s, it is close and (dare I say it) just as tasty. Now you can experience this goodness for yourself.
DIY Vegan Bowl:
The bowl goods
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1c black beans
- 1/2c (uncooked) quinoa- tru roots sprouted quinoa is my fave
- 1c vegetable broth (optional- for cooking the quinoa)
- 2 small heads of broccoli (chopped)
- 7 oz sprouted tofu ( I like Wild wood sprouted tofu brand of easier digestibility)
- 1c mixed green or spinach
- 1t olive oil (for roasting sweet potatoes)
- dash of garlic salt (for roasting sweet potatoes)
- tamari
- hot sauce
- maple syrup
- 2/3c raw, unsalted cashews
- approx 3t fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/8t cayenne pepper
- 1/2t nutritional yeast
- 1/2t cumin
- 1T maple syrup
- 1t sea salt
- 1/2c unsweetened almond milk
- Drain and Cube tofu
- Marinate tofu for 20 minutes
- Pre-heat oven to 375
- Peel and Cube sweet potato
- Place sweet potato on parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with 1t olive oil and a dash of garlic salt. Move sweet potatoes around to ensure they are coated evenly.
- Place sweet potatoes in the oven for 5 minutes. In the meantime chop broccoli, and open & rinse can of beans or use beans that have already been cooked.
- Take sweet potatoes out and add the marinated tofu. Cook both for 10 minutes, then pull out and move around with a fork to ensure equal cook time. Repeat this for 30-35 minute then remove from oven
- While potatoes and tofu are baking begin cooking quinoa and make cashew cream sauce
- When potatoes are and tofu are just about done begin steaming broccoli
40 minute backyard workout
I had a short window of time to squeeze in a workout yesterday, so a 15 minute drive to the gym wasn’t an option. I ran 3 miles outside the day before and I didn’t want to run again. What’s a girl to do? Make up a workout in your backyard. This workout took me 40 minutes total and it got me good and sweaty.
proof:
That is a face.
on with workout. here’s what you will need:
10 lb weights (or whatever weight you feel fairly challenged by)
a bench
Stairs. These are not necessary, but if you have a set near you, more power to you.
How to:
4 min jog around the block
First set:
5 laps of running sidewalk & stairs(we have a longer sidewalk that leads to the stairs this can be omitted for running in place or jumping rope for 3 minutes )
20 walking lunges w/ 10 lb bicep curls
20 step ups (on a low step) per leg
15 tricep dips
25 jumping jacks
25 standing mountain climbers
25 mummy kicks
20 squats
12 step ups (on bench) per leg
Repeat 3x
Second set:
15 push-ups
15 (per leg) squats with side leg kick
10 burpees
Repeat 3x
5 min of vinyasa yoga to stretch
On another note. My PB2 powdered peanut butter arrived.
I was kind of against this stuff, because they remove the oil and add sugar and the peanuts are not organic. This is not a winning combo. However, the sugar is really low (2g) and the calories are also low (45) for 2T. I can’t really justify the non organic part, but you can’t win ‘em all.
obviously, I am over it because I had it for lunch in my smoothie
1c water + 2scoops metagenics ultra clear protein powder+ 3C spinach+ 5 frozen strawberries+ 2T PB2 = damn good
I had it for dinner on top of my broccoli & hard boiled egg
peanut sauce = 2.5T peanut flour, 2T water, 1T tamari (or soy sauce), 1T brown rice vinegar, 1/2t maple syrup, 1/2t toasted sesame oil
I also had it for breakfast this AM
peanut butter & jelly oats
1/4c oats + 1/2c water+1/2c berries+dash of vanilla & cinnamon+ 1scoop vanilla protein powder+2T PB2+ 2T vanilla hempmilk= damn good
And with that I am off.
Happy Friday!!
bringing back some old friends
This week I welcomed some old friends back with open arms:
Organic pumpkin pie mix to add to my greek yogurt and my favorite protein powder of all time: Metagenic’s Ultra Clear.
This protein powder is dairy free, soy free, and gluten free. More importantly, it tastes good and it gives me oodles of energy. This protein powder is a great option for anybody struggling with digestive issues as it it helps to repair the digestive tract and is extremely low in allergens. If you still aren’t sold, there are numerous anti-oxidants (free-radical killers) in this stellar feller.
Greek yogurt + 1T ground flaxseed + 2T canned pumpkin pie mix + a few drops of hazelnut flavored liquid stevia+ 1small handful of Nature’s Path heritage O’s cereal = pumpkin cheese cake for breakfast
2 scoops Metagenics Ultra Clear + 1/4 frozen banana + 1C coconut water + 4-6 pieces of frozen rhubarb + 3C spinach+ 3-5 ice cubes = insta energy.
Moving onto to my other obsession: peanut sauce. I finally made one.
My version looked a little like this:
- 2.5T natural peanut butter
- 1T tamari (or soy sauce)
- 3T water
- 1T rice vinegar
- 1t sucant
combine all of these delights in a spice grinder or food processor or whisk by hand
serves: 3-4 people
I enjoyed this gem on top a bed of kale, 1/2 sweet potato, grilled tempt & dash of nutritional yeast.
On another note, I am leaving for Vegas today to celebrate my soon to be sister-in-law’s last days as a single lady. I honor of such things, I got my nails did.
I am not sure how I feel about this green color. I am fairly certain I had this same color when I was 16. I am now 32. Something doesn’t add up.
I am tickled with my toe color. I will never be a foot model.
And with that, I am off to walk the pug, run and get my fanny on a plane to Vegas. Woot!
Have a great weekend!!
