When Life Hands You Lemons

by

It’s been a packed (but great) day and I have to leave the house in exactly 15minutes to pick up the husband from a hospital shift so I’ll make this speedy.

Our last night of family time was a lot of fun.  We watched “Zombieland” which was actually pretty fantastic.  I did some pretty serious damage on these chips and salsa (2-2.5servings) before I told the husband to take them away from me.

Then I switched to a much more munchable baby carrots.

For breakfast the boys hit up McDonalds, I want to call their food greasy but it’s hard to judge when you ask for a diet coke before 10am.

I was starving so I made up 2packets of oats.

Mmmn!

We streeeeeeetched out our goodbyes but finally got on the road around 11, our trip was an easy 4hours.  When it was my turn to drive I ate a medium french fry from Wendys.

Really quick – the point of the vegan challenge is sooo not to eat french fries but my only options were fast food that I could eat while driving and I was starving.

I can’t even tell you how proud I am of the dinner I pulled together with our empty fridge.

It was so healthy and tasty, rocked my socks!

Quick quick – while the husband cooked some balsmatti rice I marinated 1/2 a package of chopped tempeh in apple cider vinegar and tamari.  Then I sautéed an onion on the stove, and added in a can of collard greens.  Finally I poured the tempeh and marinade into the skillet, added a pinch of cornstarch and cooked.  The bowls were rice, greens, tempeh, + your choice of seasonings.  I did a big dollop of chilli garlic paste.

Perfection!

I had to drop off the husband at his shift and then I did some restocking at the grocery store.  On my drive home I grabbed a  Simply Lemonade.

For $1.50 I was pretty darn impressed with this.

And it was the perfect match with the baking I did when I got home!

Lemon Poppyseed Cookies from Eat Drink and Be Vegan.

I had two and was, as usual, blown away by the awesomeness of the recipes in that book.  Sweet and tangy and yummy.

Now I’ve got to split, I hope y’all had a great weekend!!!

Packed Snacks Save the Day

by

It’s been a great day of family fun.  Bowling was great; especially because we had the bumpers up so I scored more than a 40 for a change!

While at the alley I snacked on a Buddy Fruit pouch.

Mushed fruit pouches are kind of my favorite thing but I never buy them because of the packaging waste.  However, the road trip seemed like a good excuse and it was a nice treat.

I tried to eat this Chocolate Green Superfood bar.

Eeeeeeyuck!  I had a bite, and I regretted it, the flavor tasted way off to me.

Unfortunately the superfood bar had been my main plan for the evening and I was starving by the time we made it to dinner.  I had a slice of bread (x2).

I’m not 100% that this was vegan but I was starting to feel faint by the time we sat down.

For my meal I ordered a plain veggie wrap.

Another failure; the wrap was chunks of cold lettuce with cooked peppers, which I hate.  I demolished the fries but couldn’t even choke down half of the sandwich.

Thankfully I had a better back up plan for dinner.  I’ve been eyeing these Allergaroo packages for months and I was glad to have an excuse to buy one.

The nutritional stats were pretty impressive and the meal was super tasty and ready in under a minute.  It would be super easy to stir in some veggies to this too.

All total this was probably my hardest day of the vegan challenge.  I am still pretty hungry (starving actually) and will definitely do some snacking this evening.  We are heading home tomorrow so I’ve got to soak in some family time but I’ll do a snack recap in the morning.  Good night!

What “for kids” foods are you a fan of?  I kind of love them all 😉

Deers Eat Oats, and Does Eat Oats, But Little Lambs Eat Ivy

by

The boys stayed up past 4am last night playing video games and for some reason I thought it’d be a great idea to sit up with them.  Nooooooooooo.

Somehow I managed to drag myself out of bed for breakfast around 10.  I packed a packed of Apple and Cinnamon quick oats from home.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this (Adam got the packet in a med school care package).  I wouldn’t go with added sugars and finer cut oats on a daily basis, but as a convenience item it was pretty tasty.

I also had a tropical fruit cup I found at the store last night.

There wasn’t a lot of fresh fruit available, we went at closing time, but the nutritional stats on this were pretty good.

Lunch was another marriage of home food and in-law food.  The banana and almond butter packet from home,

on a hamburger bun.

Yums.  I think this is a snack I will be repeating at home!

It’s nap time around the house now, but this afternoon we are going bowling!  I had hoped to get in a run while we were here but my left leg hurts so bad I can barely walk, what the hell is the deal?!?  Post-bowling we are going out to dinner, and I think the family consensus is Mexican, so we’ll have to see how many vegan choices I have.  See you in a while, crocodiles!

How do you make your oatmeal?  Microwave, stove top, quick oats, packets, overnight???  I do Old Fashioned Oats, but in the microwave or soaked overnight.

Hello from Ohio

by

Howdy folks, happy Friday!  Sorry for such a late post, our internet has been going in and out intermittently and this morning it was finally just off.  We picked a great weekend to be at someone else’s house computerwise, right now I’m using my brother-in-law’s internet 🙂

It’s been kind of long crazy day.  I did manage to make it to the gym though.  Since dinner last night looked like this –

I ate a pack of Luna Sport Moons on the walk to the gym.

I then I did a quick 2miles (we were already running late) on the treadmill.  All total with warm up/cool down my stats were 2.3miles and 25minutes.  I was so happy to have gone but now my left leg hurts so badly.  I’m going to do a post soon talking about the running situation.

After a quick shower, and an even quicker packing session, we were on the road.  We got into Ohio right at dinner time so we met the family at a local restaurant.  I was so hungry I ate my fruit bowl before I even remembered to snap a picture.

Even though we were at an “American” style dinner (the rest of the family had bacon cheese potato skins and french onion soup) I managed to find a good vegan meal.

Roasted veggies with terriyaki sauce on garlic rice.  I demolished it.

My sil and niece actually had a small party to go to after dinner but my bil took Adam and I to pick up some movies and games.  We stopped at the grocery store for snacks and booze and I managed to pick up some produce as well.  I have a bag of snacks from homw though so I’m not too worried about the food situation.

As I write this I’m nibbling the other half of my vegan chocolate peanut butter rice krispie.

I might have a few snacks while we all hang out but I’ll do a recap in the morning.  I hope everyone’s week ended well!

What is your favorite diner order?  I order blintzes whenever I can, or a good tuna melt.  I’m also a big fan of handspun black and white milkshakes.

Jump Up and Catch A Kungry

by

*If you can tell me where the title of my post comes from you will have forever earned my deepest respect.

It’s been a strange day; I slept terribly last night and I’ve been out of sorts all day.  Plus I’ve been soooooooo fricking hungry!  Boo.  My hunger couldn’t distract me out of another awesome layered outfit though.

I know breakfast is a strange time for dessert, but I picked this up at the Co-op yesterday and I just couldn’t wait anymore!

I had half of the Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie (on the adorable little plate from my secret valentine).

Even that was too intense though, I ended up bagging up half (so I ate a 1/4) to bring to the husband.

For lunch I had fries and chips.

The healthy kinds!  Kale crisps,

and oven baked sweet potato slices with garlic powder.

How gorgeous are these guys?!?

I should have eaten more calories though because by the time I made it through my first class I was so hungry I wanted to gnaw off my own arm!  The vegan choices at school were less that stellar, I need to always pack a healthy snack.  I had a single serving package of peanuts.

And I split this candy and chips (the unhealthy kind) with the husband.

By the time I got through with my second class my hunger had turned into a dull ache.  Or maybe that was just the aftershock from my terrible test grades.  I knew my sickness (and, ahem, lack of preparation) were going to kill me.  I got an 86% in Anthro (class average was a C-) and an 80% in Chemistry (class average was a 59).  At least they posted semester grade averages with Chem and I still have a solid A.

Now that we are home I’m so hungry that I’m not even hungry any more.  Does this ever happen to anyone else?  I’m so uncomfortable that I probably won’t even eat dinner, I wasn’t the hugest fan of the lentil soup anyways.  The recipe was a total success – Adam was in love with it – it’s just not my thing.  I might make another batch of cocoa though…the husband hasn’t had a chance to taste it warm yet! 😉

Be the Change You Wish to See in the World

by

Good evening everyone!  I feel exhausted and gross (still?!?!) so I’m keeping this quick in the hopes that I get to bed soon.  I always say that, it never happens, and still I keep on hoping.  It’d be like not clapping for fairies to admit I’m an “early to bed early to rise” loser.

Our grocery trip went well.  The communal coin jar was full and Coin-Starring it paid for our groceries 🙂

This afternoon Adam and did all sorts of healthy stuff like take a long nap and split this Jokerz bar (i.e. a vegan Snickers).

It was good but not great, I’m not sure why they went with mockolate instead of just dark chocolate, I had about 1/3.

For dinner I made Tomato, Dill, Lentil Soup from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan.  It had a 60minute simmer time though so I had a small bowl of cereal while I waited.

1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch with plain, reduced fat soymilk.  Two notes here – 1. I know Kashi has honey in it; honey and gelatine are still on the menu here, even during the vegan challenge.  2. Always measure your cereal.  You guys know I am not any sort of dieter, but I always measure my cereal.  Many (healthy) varieties are still calorie dense and it is such an easy item to overeat.

Followed by a small serving (1/2cup) of the aforementioned soup.

I’m not gonna lie, I was saving myself for dessert.

Thank You Angela!  To Die For Cocoa, from Oh She Glows

·         Ingredients:

  •  
    • 3/4 cup coconut milk (full strength, not light!)
    • 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or any milk)  I used plain, fat free soy
    • 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
    • Pinch of sea salt to bring out the sweetness
    • 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
    • marshmallows and cacao nibs/chocolate chips to garnish (optional)

Directions: Throw all ingredients into a pot and whisk like crazy. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for several minutes while whisking to remove clumps.

I poured it in one big mug but I’ll probably drink 1/2 – 3/4 and then put it in the fridge for the husband.  A perfect (super) sweet note to end the day! 

What do you do with your lose change?

Best Lunch Ever

by

I’m on cloud-9 here in excitement over how tasty my lunch was!  It was delicious x 10 and healthy, healthy, healthy!

I had a gorgeous Neon Eggplant to use so that was the inspiration for lunch.

I chopped up 2/3 of the eggplant alongside some okra and a handful of kale.

Then I poured some evoo into a pan on medium heat.  I cooked the eggplant and kale for a couple minutes, seasoned with salt and pepper, before adding a big pour of vegetable stock and allowing it to reduce.  Then I added a few huge glugs of Worchestire sauce.  After a few minutes I turned the heat up to medium high and added a bit more evoo and the okra and cooked another couple minutes.

That amazingness was bowled, drizzled with an einsy bit of agave syrup, and then I crumbled a small last serving of casserole over the top, and some paprika.

Holy Yum!

Some of my favorite flavors were in this lunch and they all came together perfectly!  It was an amazing mix of flavors and textures.

As satisfied as I am, my craving for this seems to finally have gotten the best of me and I think I’m heading to Wegman’s soon so I can pick up some ingredients.  We are driving to OH for an in-law visit this weekend and the husband’s family is most definitely NOT vegan so I need to pick up some supplies any way.

I have a big warm pot planned for dinner, a gym date I’ll hate myself if I don’t keep, and a bit of light homework on the agenda.  See you later alligators!

What was the last simple meal that blew YOU away?  If you can’t think of one please do yourself a favor and remake my lunch!

At Least the Walls Are Still Standing

by

Sorry for the very late dinner post!  We randomly had no internet last night.  At the same time the power to the fridge was being funky again and 2 of the knobs pulled off the stove.  It was a fun night!

Plus I burnt not 1 but 2 batches of kale crisps.  Fortunately there was enough from the 2nd batch that were salvageable for dinner.

Plus a serving of Tempeh Hashbrown Casserole leftovers.

With ketchup for dipping.

Yum, yum, and yum; is there condiment better than ketchup???? (I actually prefer 1000island but you know what I mean!)

There was some worry that class would be canceled due to last night’s excitement (everyone is fine by the way) but no such luck.  And all our apartment troubles kept us up late so my breakfast smoothie plans fell through.  Thankfully I had this Naked Green Machine Juice I got with my volunteering voucher.

And I also brought another new flavor of Prana Bars.

After lab I went to the post office to mail some supplemental forms.  As soon as I get my UB transcripts sent tomorrow I will be officially applied!  That is why I’m just now going to go make lunch.  Peace.

Do you keep your cool when the internet has hiccups?  I totally lose it.  As much as I hate our dependence on electronics I am beyond frustrated when things don’t work for no discernible reason.  I need to learn how to chill.