Tag Archives: vegan

Keep on Truckin’

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Another morning, another run in with a truck, or at least that’s what it felt like!  Even though I have a huge test tomorrow, and a meeting scheduled with my department head, the snooze button was definitely pressed!  Adam caught my cold and was too sick to go to his first class so thankfully(?!) he was able to drive me to campus for my meeting later.

I’m not sure what my mega-exhaustion is about, but since I’ve got a slew of important tests between now and next Friday I’m not going to push it.  Returning to the gym would be nice, but after more than a month off, another week really doesn’t make a difference.  Instead I’ve decided to make this week all about strength and stretch moves.  A decision that led me to meet with my department head dressed like this –

I’ve always got the time/energy for at least 10minutes total a day!  Here’s what I accomplished throughout this afternoon (reps) –

After coffee, of course.

Yesterday I grabbed a cup of (unsweetened) butter toffee flavored coffee from the gas station, and this morning I mixed it with Silk Vanilla Almond Milk and maple syrup over ice.

After my housekeeping trip to campus – my schedule next semester looks crazy!  I register on Thursday so please keep your fingers crossed for me – I baked up a plate of green bean fries.

Baked green beans are where it’s at!

You’ll never believe me if you don’t try for yourself, but they’re better than french fries.

I also had a yogurt bowl.

The base was Target brand Archer Farms Fat Free Honey Almond Yogurt.

The Thick and Creamy line is just like Greek, but I wish I’d tasted before I went ahead and bought two, fake-sugar taste city.

Thankfully my toppings made up for it.

A sliced banana, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and some honey roasted peanuts.

Honey roasted peanuts are basically addictive.

I had several handfuls straight from the bag.

Those handfuls didn’t stop my ever-growing hunger though.  Usually we don’t eat dinner before 8pm, but tonight I was ready at 5!  We started with salads –

Studies show that eating a salad before dinner can help you to eat less overall.

This salad was dressed delectably, in a mix of the last of the Stubbs BBQ sauce shaken with a splash of buttermilk.

Other toppings – on a baby arugula base – included dried cranberries and buttermilk blue cheese crumbles.

I think a bbq sauce salad will have to be a repeat in this week’s meal plan.

The main meal was a pretty fantastic idea as well.

Making pressed sandwiches on our George Foreman grill has been our “thing” this year, and this one included roasted asparagus!

Also 1000 island dressing, 99% lean sliced turkey, and 2oz of 50% reduced extra-sharp cheddar.

On cranberry poppy seed bread from a loaf my grandma bought us at The Bakehouse last week.

It was a pretty fantastic sandwich.

But it still didn’t quite squelch my hunger.  Enter 1/2 an Arnold’s Sandwich Thin, topped with pb, marshmallow topping, and chocolate chips for dessert.

Squelched!

And, um, I should probably be sleeping instead of blogging, so – see ya!

What is your favorite type of peanut?  (honey roasted, candied, red skin…)

You and Me Baby Ain’t Nothing But Mammals

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We head to Ohio tomorrow, and my mom comes to visit on Wednesday, so we woke up early to deal with our squalor.  Actually, Adam woke up early to clean the house.  I woke up at 9 to Adam’s amazement that I could sleep through the vacuum cleaner!

Once I did welcome morning, I started my morning with some fantabuous iced coffee.

Yesterday afternoon I bought a cup of caramel flavored coffee from a gas station, and brought it home to the fridge.  This morning I mixed it with 1tsp maple syrup, Silk Vanilla Almond Milk, and ice.

Delicious!  The almond milk has the best texture for iced coffee, it makes it so thick!  When I’m back to retainers in a few weeks I won’t be able to have coffee ever, so I’m trying to enjoy it was much as I can.

The food part of breakfast was pretty fun too –

A Pink Lady apple dipped in the last of the marshmallow icing.

Holy yum this was a good idea!

Our next idea wasn’t necessarily good, but it was necessary… a trip to the zoo!

I bought a Groupon months ago (thinking that by April it’d be, ya know, Spring) that was set to expire so we bundled up and headed out.  There wasn’t a lot to see because of the weather, but I did spend 20minutes or so mooning at the polar bears.

Awwww!  My nickname for Adam is ice bear (German for polar bear).

On the way out we spotted a neat crepe place – we’re coming back next week with my mom! – and Mustachios.

Apparently Adam has been excited about taking me to Mustachios?!?  We ended up coming home with two slices of cheese pizza.

We also hit up the hot bar to get in some veggies.

I got steamed broccoli, glazed mushrooms and carrots, sesame kale, white beans and escarole, and scooped a bunch of veggies and cashews from the cashew chicken.

It was a random but good lunch.

After my month of illness (I’m still coughing by the way), any meal with veggies is a good one.

Later in the afternoon I snacked on matzah with melted extra sharp cheddar.

I also did a bunch of nibbling, raw pasta, marshmallow topping, butter toffee almonds…  No photographs, just informing you guys that my appetite is back 🙂

Dinner was quick and tasty.

I boiled up the last of the spinach and three cheese ravioli, adding a few big handfuls of arugula to the pot at the last minute.  I topped my bowl with buttermilk blue cheese crumbles and a drizzle of honey.

Then we had single-serve ice cream for dessert.

We each at half and then switched flavors halfway through.  Those single-serves are the best idea ever, the texture is so creamy!

I’ve still got to shower, pack, and do some school work… better hop to it!

What’s your favorite zoo animal?  The cutest thing we saw today was the Egyptian Dabb Lizard.  I pretty much love any creature with a big belly; Seth Rogan crush anyone?!

Sick of Being Sick

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I’m sick of being sick!  (I’m also tired of being tired, but that’s another – barking dog heavy – story.)  Yesterday was a particularly bad day so I didn’t post, but I will recap.

I didn’t go to school again yesterday, which means I’ve basically missed a full week of classes!  <– not happy  I did make myself 1.5 servings of Special K Red Berries with almond milk for breakfast.

And when Adam got home he made me his favorite snack  – matzoh with melted cheddar (50% reduced fat, extra sharp).

I had a rough evening and when it came time for a late dinner I begged the husband to get me a milkshake.

The chicken nuggets with hot mustard he randomly came home with sounded good too, thankfully.

Adam has been joking that I must be dying because of how little I’ve been talking (I have a lot to say normally, can you tell?) but he knew I was sick when I scarfed down dinner; I hate McDonalds!

Even though I’m too sick for class, I did have to go to campus today.  I had labwork to turn in and I had to make up the Nutrition test I missed yesterday.  I probably could have done really well on the test (and I was really excited about the material) but since the only time I was able to study was the 2hours beforehand I guess I’m just glad that I think I passed!

The walk home was difficult, but I did stop halfway to purchase a huge soda.

Half diet, half not; the combination seemed to work.

I even managed some people food for a late lunch –

leftover roasted green beans,

and a Cara Cara orange.

Dinner was a Three Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni Lean Cuisine.

This wasn’t the tastiest thing ever, but it felt good to eat some veggies.

I bulked it up with 1.5servings of Popcorners.

I had two online assignments due today, and that with my trip out of the house kind of did me in.

When I went to the clinic they said the virus I probably had lasts 1-2weeks.  I’m a week into being sick, and I’m keeping my fingers (and all my toes) crossed that I’m back to normal by Monday.

What’s the longest you’ve ever been sick?

Vegan Challenge Thoughts, and Lunch

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We’ve completed another Vegan Month!  The husband and I both successfully eschewed all animal products (mostly; there were a few packaged food slip-ups) for all of February.  First off – No, we didn’t pick February because it’s the shortest month.  But yes, we are glad we didn’t have to go another three days!

For the most part, the challenge was a success.  Adam completed the entire month with me and I am so proud of him!  Our main goal was to push ourselves back to the kitchen and that definitely happened.  Other than the last week or so (which with 4+ tests would have been crazy even if we had a personal chef!) we pulled back from our take-out habit and got back to basics.  I made a few old favorites, and discovered some great new vegan recipes.  It was wonderful to get to flex my creative muscles in the kitchen again.

The part that wasn’t so successful was our attitude.  We started strong, but towards the end we just couldn’t wait for the challenge to be over.  I’m actually not sure I deem this longing a failure though.  It wasn’t a “I want pizza and nachos and buffalo wings, oh my!” craving, all though those things did sound good.  Instead I found myself desperate for scrambled eggs and lean meat.  All I really wanted towards the end was a turkey sandwich.  Unfortunately, since I couldn’t eat the sandwich I ate a lot of french fries instead.

Now that the challenge is over, we are going to return to our normal diet, with improvements.  Adam is going to cut back on his milk consumption and mix it up with almond milk half the time.  I’m going to continue to question whether or not every dish really needs cheese.  We are going to continue to try to ratchet up our produce consumption.  We’re going to continue to enjoy a lot of meatless meals, but we are also going to feel good about eating lean, humanely-sourced meats.  We’re excited about it.

Now on to today’s lunch.

I finally got that turkey sandwich.

Chicken actually, this was a Sandwich Thin with horseradish mustard, 2% swiss, and Applegate Farms Organic Roasted Chicken Breast (more on that in a sec).

I usually tend towards turkey because I’m afraid chicken will be slimy, but this was anything but.  I taste-tested while I assembled my sandwich last night and was very impressed.  The roasting gave a great smokey flavor and one serving has just 60 calories.

Plus another juicy pear.

Ok, secs up:  At the start of vegan month I received a rather ironic product sample –

a variety of meats from Applegate Farms.  While I don’t have a moral issue with the consumption of animals, I do think it’s imperative that those animals be treated with respect.  Applegate Farms makes products that mesh with my values.

When I opened the package to squirrel cold cuts into the freezer, I discovered they also sent a cute book, children’s illustrations alongside their food philosophy.  I think this page sums up my response to the vegan challenge pretty well –

[Eat less meat, enjoy it more!]

Do you eat (any kind of) meat?  Why or why not?  What’s your food philosophy?

Vegan Challenge Recap

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Right now I’m walking to Wegman’s to study and enjoy a (non-vegan) lunch with the husband.  I just finished my first big interview for the program my fingers and toes are crossed that I get accepted to.  I’m going to post a recap with all of my thoughts on the Vegan Challenge tomorrow, but for now I wanted to share some of the highlights and things I learned.

Cheese is good, but quesadillas can be even better without cheese.

The healthy-living blog community is a great source of fantastic vegan recipes.

Vegan food can be fun to dip, especially in Stubbs BBQ Sauce.

Veggie sushi will rock your socks.

When cookie dough is vegan, you can eat it with a spoon.

This tastes just like apple crisp.

You can make a burger out of eggplant.

I love chia seeds. 

I’m obsessed with cocoa. 

You can totally make a banging casserole without cheese.

I think my peanut butter noodles I good enough to enter in a contest.

You don’t need cheese on your pizza either; at least some times!

Banana Foster really is my favorite dessert in any form.

Finally, I learned that vegan meals can be fun, but I like diet wiggle room better.

Flurry

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It feels like I’ve lost my blogging mojo lately; I’ve just been so wiped out with tiredness that I’ve got a case of writer’s block.  I get my worst sleep when I’m tired (thus compounding the problem) and so the last week has been a little blurry.  Last night was supposed to be my salvation but the downstairs neighbor’s dog barked long into the night.  <– I hate them.

Part of my blogger’s block is related to the fact that we are over Vegan Month.  O-V-E-R.  It’s not a “I want nachos and pizza” kind of thing, more a “I would feel healthier eating a turkey sandwich and scrambled eggs right now.”  It feels like lately we’ve been eating junk, or nothing.  I’m going to do a full recap at the month’s end but we consider the challenge both a success and a fail.

Today’s vegan eats, even though I didn’t actually have the energy to eat until after 3pm, were a success.

From the Co-op hot bar I had sweet tofu and grape leaves,

sesame rice with raisins and corn and kidney bean salad,

and red curry tofu and seitan hash.

I also had a Lemon Steaz,

and some potato chips.

Dinner came amid a flurry of cooking.

Tempeh Hashbrown Casserole from Eat, Drink, and Be, Vegan; subbed red onions for green onions and added tons of extra paprika –

Vegetarian Country Captain from “Cooking Light;” subbed raisins for currants, skipped the almonds, skip the rice, hold the cream –

The two dishes came together nicely, yin and yang of sorts.

I loved the sweet and savory mix, and pairing the veggies with potatoes instead of rice was great, because I hate rice.

Final note – I love the word flurry, don’t you?  Similarly, whenever my BioChem teacher uses the word slurry – a thick suspension solids in a liquid – it makes me hungry.

What are some random words that you like just because?  Mine are whimsical, twitter (before it was Twitter), bubble, and temperance.

Fingers Uncrossed

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I went to bed dreaming of a workout, but apparently everyone else was crossing their fingers for snow.

Instead of gyming it I had breakfast with the husband, who’s going to drive me to and from school for BioChem, thank god.

At least breakfast was good.

Last night I took a near empty peanut butter jar and added 1/4 cup raw oats, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, and a lot of plain soy milk; I was going for the soupy but gummy texture.

Didn’t it ended up looking kind of like the inside of a dragon fruit?

This morning I added a drizzle of maple syrup and dug in.

Overnight Oats in a Jar for the win!

Have you ever eaten a dragon fruit?  I’ve actually only seen pictures.

Stimulating Conversation

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We are mere hours away from Friday!  Thursdays I have my morning lab and (sometimes) an evening Nutrition class, which is why I was on-campus, and not blogging, all day.

Adam and I both tossed and turned all last night, making Starbucks at absolute necessity this morning.

I got a grande soy latte with cinnamon dolce syrup.

For lunch I brought my corn and black bean pizza leftovers,

and a temple orange.

I stayed on campus for my 4+hour break to get work done, but I definitely also chatted with a friend for a long time.  Since we talked about memoirs, bipolar disorder, and bezoars, among other things, I’m going to count that time as educational 🙂

Adam couldn’t pick me up until after 7:30 and then we had to go to Wegman’s to do something about our empty larder situation.  We ended up grabbing hot bar and having a cafe booth date.  Random assortment of (Asian style) green veggies and tofu,

with a brown rice veggie sushi roll.

The husband and I talked about micronutrient absorption on our “date,” so I’d say I’ve covered my intelligent conversation quotient for the week!

We got groceries (good), drove all the way home before we drove all the way back to get the almond milk we forgot (bad), came inside and chipped my tooth removing my retainers (worse), and made this dessert (great).

Stonyfield Vanilla Soy Yogurt topped with peanuts and marshmallow topping.  Marshmallow topping is vegan; I’m not sure how I’d classify that new fact.

On the agenda for tomorrow is a 2-week late trip to the gym, please keep your fingers crossed for me that we don’t get the 10inches they’re predicting?

What’s your town’s weekend weather prediction?