Vegan Mostly

  SATURDAY WITH MY PARENTS! Pokey went fishing and I went grocery shopping. I love to hang out with my family. I love them with my entire heart. I called my mom and asked her if she wanted to join me while I picked up a few things from the store. Of course, she said yes. When I get to my parents she says my dad wants tacos from Cristobal. I'm down because they really have great tacos. I got beans and nopales (cactus) Look how cute my parents are. 43 years in February.  I love that they show love to each other.  We ended up going to HEB and I didn't grab much but I got some acorn squash and some okra.  It was a cold Saturday and I know him being on the water plus the wind I know he would appreciate a warm meal when he came home. My mom in law bought us a Ninja Foodi and I have been intimidated by it for almost a year. This is probably the 4th time I have used it. I had one of those meal cheaters, it was beef stew one where you add meat and some veggies.  I added ...

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?  It's been a while. I just went back and looked...2017. Long time. I've been thinking about this a lot for the past few days. I feel I gave up on posting because I didn't want to hold myself accountable for my eating habits. I slipped. I haven't been vegan mostly in a LONG time. I went plant-based because it was healthier for me. For me, I thought it was important to document and hold myself accountable. I believe that is why I stopped posting, I wanted to be relaxed and not think about what I was eating.  Well, it's 2021 and I'm 42 years old. I'm not getting any younger. Covid happened and I'm thankful I survived and wasn't sick how some people became. My intention for this year is to be mindful of myself and my body. I only have one body and I need to take care of it.  Current picture of Pokey and I.  Y'all, I love this man so much. We have been through it! I'm glad to have him by my side. I love him the moon and back, ...

I haven't been eating "dinner" it's more like smoothies. I'm lazy and tired at the moment and the easiest thing for me to do is make a smoothie. No judging.  His and Hers Smoothie: blackberry, strawberry, blueberry and chia seeds w almond milk. All the berries were frozen. I didn't measure. I just eyeballed it. I made enough for 2 16oz glass jars. 

I'm not a fan of salad. Actually I'm not a fan of lettuce. I love veggies just not in a salad form. He wanted salad. Marriage is about compromise right?

Sometimes you just want crunch in your wraps. I added cucumbers to my spicy chikn wrap. Apples on the side. Yum.

Ask anyone and they will tell you I love sandwiches. Growing up my mom would put all the fixings on the table and we would make our own sandwiches. A la cart style. For lunch I using oven roasted tofurky w humus as a spread w spinach. I have vegan cheese as well. I don't remember the brand. :( simple and delish. Pokey photobombing. He laughs every time I take a picture of my food. Haters gonna Hate ;)

So....I love mac and cheese. Trying to eat vegan makes it a little hard ;)  I was making dinner tonight and I thought of our friend Rudy. He bought the same noodles as us but he was hesitant to make them because they are in water and on the package it says my have odor. It's true they smell but not that bad. The are healthy and guilt free. It's like 3 carbs preserving. So good. That's a whole other post....rinse the noodles under cold water then boil the noodles at least for 3 to 4 minutes.  I usually boil them until I'm ready for them.     I've bought nutritional yeast because reading about it people talk about how it has a nutty savory flavor. I first tried it w popcorn and it was good. This is the recipe I followed: 1/4 cup nutritional yeast 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup  flour 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/8 teaspoon dried yellow mustard powder 1 cup water 1 1/2 tablespoons butter (I know not vegan but it's all I had)...

I'm surprised it took me tho long to talk about eggplant. I can literally eat it everyday. It's so good!  Cut eggplant into wedges or what ever style you like. Season. I used olive oil in a bag (so my hands don't get dirty) and Sicilian herb from HEB. My favorite. Bake at 350 for 30 min. Turn half way thru baking so the eggplant roast on both sides.  nom noms Pokey wanted meatless chicken patties (he really wanted steak but whatevs) so I made him a chicken sandwich and for me I didn't want bread so I just sliced avocado on top. 

This morning I was running late to work so I grabbed some apples for breakfast. At work we make lemon and cucumber water. I made me some too. Simple. I love it. I sliced my apples and squeezed lemon on them. Helps with them not turning brown and I love lemon. Makes everything better.

In the mornings I try to do a juice or smoothie. When I have frozen fruit I put them in the blender over night. The next day I add almond milk and blend. It makes 32oz. He get 16oz I get 16oz

I love sweet potatoes. That and eggplant. Today it's sweet potatoes :) Boil some sweet potatoes and add cinnamon and all spice w some honey.   Mash w fork. How simple is that. You can add sugar if you like but I'm trying to stay away.     Brown sugar would be great in this. Last night that's what we did but for dinner tonight I didn't. It's a great side.  

I love left overs. I really do. Some people don't but I like to use what I made the night before and recreate. Smoke a polano over an open flame on the stove. Burn the skin then scrape it off. Toss the patties with the poblano and a chopped bell pepper in a pan and saute.  Stuff the bell pepper with mixture and put in a baking dish. Add veggie broth or water half way up the bell pepper.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. 

I started this journey juicing. I prefer juicing because to me I feel like I'm "watering" my body. Crazy? Maybe. For lunch today I wanted to make a smoothie. Simple and easy to make. This made more than the blender could hold. I had some pears that were ripe and wanted to use them.   2 bunches of spinach 1 whole pineapple 4 pears thumbsize piece of ginger 1 lemon goji berries and chia to taste 1 cup of almond milk   Blend everything together. I Poured some out so I can still add the pineapple. Made a lot. It's cool :) I added chia last. Penn isnt a fan.  Penn had two glasses. I love that she loves green juice/smoothies. Once I juiced spinach, kale, apple and celery. She loved it. I dont really care for celery but she loves it. The left over smoothie I saved for Pokey (16oz) great afternoon snack. Cheers!

This morning my sister Angie and I went for a quick walk. I made a wrap for breakfast and had some cucumber salad from last night's Easter dinner. So good. Saute potato, bell pepper, cilantro and onion in a pan.   Once your potatoes start to brown add some veggie broth and put a lid on them to steam.    Nom Noms!!! Wrap in a tortilla and enjoy. Cucumber salad so so refreshing and delish. Great for spring. Pokey made this for me. He loves me :) 4 cucumbers sliced 1 small red onion 1 red bell pepper 1/2c white vinegar 1/2c red wine vinegar 1/2c white sugar dill to taste Combine together and put in the fridge to chill for at least an hour. You want the cucumbers to soak up all that goodness.

I've just become a fan of brussel sprouts. Chop the ends off and cut in half. Toss them in a bag w some seasoning and olive oil. I used a tuscan seasoning from HEB  Saute them or have your amazing sister do it for you. Rachel the Muscles from Brussels ;) We added garlic last minute because who doesnt love garlic? Enjoy

This was my first time making these burgers. Honestly they kinda intimidated me. I've read a bunch of recipes and I kinda came up with this one. Once I made them I realized I can use any ingredients and still make this awesome. This made 12 patties.   I put 2 cups of quinoa w 2 cups vegetable broth and 2 cups water in the rice cooker. I had a can of chickpeas in the pantry so I rinsed those and put in a pot to boil. The spices are dried thyme, cumin, dried cilantro, and minced garlic. The flour is for later. I chopped parsley, carrots, celery and bell pepper. saute the veggies and spices Once the quinoa and chickpeas are done put 1c of quinoa and 1/2 of the chickpeas on the side. Put the rest in a food processor with the veggie mixture along with the flour (2tbs). Pulse it but not too much. You dont want mush.  Mash the quinoa and chick peas together then add to mixture    Add some soy sauce. This little fish is about ta...