Vehemently Vegan

Next Level: Salad & Greens

2012-02-27T06:18:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since I last blogged. Mainly because I wanted to observe my eating habits, my cravings and my tendencies without the influence or the pressure of posting each meal. Anyway, I've learned a lot this past week. I'll share these observations as we go along.

It's time for the first installment of the Next Level Series. And, it's all about greens!

I consider myself health conscious and although my diet is far from the Standard American Diet (SAD), I am nowhere (NOWHERE!) near perfect. One of the biggest steps I/we can take towards a healthier life is getting in the greens!

There is no question that green leafy vegetables are the most-nutrient dense class of veggies out there. They are packed with micro-nutrients that protect our bodies against cancer and a variety of different illnesses. Green vegetables are high in calcium and this calcium is more readily absorbed in our bodies than the calcium found in dairy.* And, since greens are packed with fiber, they fill you up and keep you "clean."

So, what greens am I talking about? Here are a few examples:
- Lettuce (romaine, red leaf, butter, arugula, endive, etc.)
- Kale
- Collard greens
- Swiss chard
- Spinach

Remember how I said that the Next Level Series is about living my dreams? Well, one of my dreams is to be a salad fiend. I want to be able to base my meals around salad and be satisfied. I realize that this won't happen overnight, but if you don't try you'll never succeed, right? I do drink a green smoothie most days, but salads are pretty rare around these parts. So, the goal this week is to eat a green salad at least twice a day. Yes, twice a day! Go big, or go home.

Do you have any tips or tricks to share? Want to make a greens/salad goal for yourself? I would love to hear from you!

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* Weaver, C.M. Choices for achieving adequate dietary calcium with a vegetarian diet. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1999;70S:S543-48

picture source 1, source 2

Strategic Planning & Next Level Series

2012-02-20T06:18:00.000-06:00

Word heavy post ahead. You've been warned!

Over the weekend, my parents and I had a discussion about my brother. Being 8 years older, and 10 years older education-wise, I am a strong part of the parenting team. In all honesty, they don't "consult" me because I am wise or anything, they do it because in the end, Rishab will listen to me. Anyway, when we were talking I said that we need to come up with a strategic plan for Rishab. I explained to them how an organization would do it and how many of the same principles can be applied to us and our lives.

While thinking about it later on, I realized that I don't have a strategic plan. And, I realized how much I could benefit from going through the process. Of course, my strategic plan has a lot of different elements but one I want to share with you is my health & wellness plan.

Back in July 2011, I decided to take on healthy eating. This to me meant increasing the volume of vegetables consumed, cutting out overly processed foods and watching everything from salt and sugar to caffeine and oil. (I was already a vegan but just ate a lot of processed vegan foods.) Initially, I went a little too hardcore and wasn't able to cope with the stress of it. I've eased up a bit since then. Overall, I've come a long way but, in the words of Robert Frost, I've got miles to go before I sleep.

I have visions of having a love affair with kale and being an avid juicer. I have dreams of running races and glowing from the inside out. I want those things. I want to move beyond the status quo. But, Rome wasn't built in a day.

I want to actively chase my dreams. So, I've decided to start a series on the blog: The Next Level Series. It's all about taking my life to the next level (duh). Basically, every Monday I am going to pick a health/wellness goal for myself. Some of these goals might be things I've tried but need to be more consistent with and others might be completely new to me. Either way, it will help me work towards optimum well-being. I'm also going to do a little research on the benefits of my various goals and share them with you. It will give me a chance to break down my goal into small attainable chunks. And, being able to share it with you guys will keep me accountable.

I'm really excited to start this up! This week, I am going to do an assessment of my strengths and weaknesses and gear up for the journey ahead.

Hope you'll stick around and check it out!

Homemade Peanut Butter- 3 Ways

2012-02-19T12:06:00.003-06:00

The other day, I decided it would be a brilliant to make my own nut butter. I have a Vitamix and access to the WF bulk bins...what is a girl to do? So, I picked up some peanuts.

And threw them in the Vitamix. (You could also use a food processor.) Within 3 mins, I had wonderful, creamy peanut butter.

No preservatives, no added sugar, no oil or salt!

I split the batch into three small mason jars and flavored them with NuNaturals stevia.

And promptly did a taste test on a banana.

YUM.

This was a ridiculously easy (and delicious) experiment but probably not the most cost effective. Next time, I'll be purchasing nuts from Costco. But, the important thing is that there will be a next time.

FaceTime

2012-02-18T13:41:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was "Session 8" for work. It was all about finance and reimbursements. Really technical stuff, but I think we succeeded in getting the concepts across to the physicians.

I started the morning off with a banana and some Starbucks.

I think Starbucks on Fridays might become a thing. I was looking forward to this cup all of Thursday and it was definitely a great incentive to get my booty up at the crack of dawn.

Anyway, breakfast continued with some fresh fruit.

plus another plate with a few slices of honeydew.

After a couple hours of lectures, we took a break for lunch.

Mini Caprese sandwiches (without the cheese for me) and the house salad. I had another plateful of salad as well. This was a standard salad except for the addition of capers. The capers were such a nice, salty touch.

The afternoon we covered hospital and physician reimbursement and did a quick case study. By the time it wrapped up and I came home, I was ready for a nap and a snack. So, I grabbed some leftover mock chicken salad and some bread.

I wanted to take a nap before movie night plans with friends, but then my dad called. He just got his 4S and wanted to gloat. I was super excited because I got to use FaceTime!

We are so mature.

Anyway, post FaceTime-ing, a few friends came over and we watched Ides of March. Gosling and Clooney on the same screen?? Count me in! The story wasn't as well developed as it could have been. And, compared to West Wing, it doesn't stand a chance of being called a good political drama. But, it had some major eye-candy.

Post-movie watching, I called my BFF (wow, that was really high school of me) to catch up on her eventful evening. I also made some homemade peanut butter which I sampled with a banana.

Oops, I Did It Again!

2012-02-17T06:18:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was such a long, eventful, stressful, jam-packed and great day. From the moment I woke up I was up to my ears in worries and wonders.

I started the day off with an Odwalla smoothie.

When I planned out my day the night before, this smoothie was supposed to be homemade and be "breakfast part 1" of the day. Neither of these things happened. I drank this smoothie while doing emails and returning a phone call.

After doing a couple more things, I got WAY excited/stressed and skipped lunch and powered on until class at 5pm. After about an hour in class, I was finally calm enough to start feeling some hunger pangs. During the break, I went downstairs and grabbed a few snacks from the student social which included some orange slices and a dinner roll. (Sorry, no picture. I ate this standing up while having a bitch session with some classmates.)

Anyway, I got out of class at 7pm (45 mins early!) and went back to my office to take care of some things for "Session 8" tomorrow. I walked home at almost 9pm. I was exhausted and completely running on empty.

The thought of having to do anything other than chew seemed impossible. I got in the car and drove to Whole Foods just praying they would have something good to eat. (Who am I kidding, they always have something good to eat!) I picked up a hodgepodge of things and caught a second wind doing it. Somehow, WF always finds a way to energize me!

I came home and made a mock chicken salad sandwich on toasted sprouted wheat bread.

I normally shy away from the mock meat. I can't stomach it. I grew up vegetarian and just the thought of eating meat/meat flavored things kinda grosses me out. I don't think I'm alone in this. But, if I am, I will definitely explain in further detail sometime. Basically, it's just outside my comfort zone. But, anyway, somehow the lady at WF convinced me to try it and it was insanely delicious. I loved it. Like every single bite.

Anyway, that was dinner. I was ready for bed soon after and passed out.

I've gotten better with eating properly throughout the day and establishing a feeding schedule. I used to be much, much worse. It used to be an almost daily occurrence. I'm not overly concerned that it's happened twice this week already. It'll work itself out. No worries.

Sweets and Hearts

2012-02-16T12:11:00.008-06:00

A little late, but let's recap Valentine's Day (Tuesday).

The day started off with a quinoa bowl. Quinoa, bananas, strawberries, and coconut milk.

I normally use almond milk, but bought coconut milk for a recipe and am just using the rest of it up. I'm not sure I like coconut milk plain like this. It's really thick/creamy and it's also really white, which is oddly a turn-off for me. I know, I'm weird.

And then, things got really, really, really busy. Things were productive and good, but I was way too busy to eat. I was also constantly around people or in meetings, so eating wasn't gonna happen.

By the time class rolled around at 5pm, my stomach was super unhappy with me. In class, people passed around cookies, chocolate and candy. The only vegan treat were these Smarties.

I ate about 5 pieces before it made me feel sick. And, I knew I had to step out of class to eat a proper meal. So, I ran upstairs to my office and dug around my lunchbag for the easiest thing to eat.

Idlies with onion chutney (from over the weekend). I scarfed this down in my office before returning to class. I didn't even chew in the beginning which made me sick and I had to slow down and chew and swallow and you know, be normal.

Anyway, I returned to class with an Odwalla smoothie.

Mmm.

Post-class, I came home and put together a really small dinner of quinoa and cauliflower & coconut milk curry.

I wasn't super hungry since I ate "lunch" at about 6pm. This was perfect.

I also came home to a fun package from NuNaturals.

NuNaturals sent over a handful of vegan stevia products and a package of recipes for me test out. I am so excited to try it out and review the product. I am particularly excited about these guys.

So, friggin cool!

Since it was V-day and I am a blogger, I felt obligated to do something special.

So, I got a manicure...

And, baked! (With the new NuNaturals products, of course!)

Rishab is the Winner

2012-02-14T17:00:00.001-06:00

Remember when I mentioned I was campaigning for the heart of this little one?

I really wanted to be her favorite cousin. I was ready to do anything to win her over. And, I tried. I gave a good fight. But, in the end I lost to Rishab.

When Rishab visited her this past weekend, D fell for him within seconds. Maybe it's because he is so tall.

Or maybe, it's his mad elephant skills.

He also doesn't object to rolling around on the floor. Even if he does take up the entire living room.

Rishab thinks it's because he made sacrifices. Like letting her put lipstick on him.

Either way, they are now best friends and there is nothing I can do about it.

Except visit her everyday until she accepts that I am better than him. But, I think people call that torture.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T06:18:00.000-06:00

If you care about that sort of thing, I hope you have a fun day with your loved one!

Yesterday was a fun filled day-- group meeting, work and class. Doesn't sound fun but...
- my group meeting for class was with a bunch of really fun and funny people.
- I cruised through a monstrous to-do list for work and got in some "extras"
- and, I LOVE my Innovation class. It's so interesting! It's so nice to get your creative juices flowing. It's a good time.

Breakfast was eaten pretty late because my group meeting went for 3 (THREE!!) hours.

Crumbled dark chocolate quinoa bars with a sliced banana and almond milk. Not the best picture, but you get the idea.

Because breakfast got pushed back pretty late, so did lunch.

Leftover guacamole and Mary's Gone Crackers

And a ginormous salad.

This was definitely one of the better salads I have created. It was filled with spinach, kale, sliced radish, carrots, cauliflower and pomegranate arils. I think it was the pomegranate arils that took it to the next level. It was the first time I've used fruit in a salad and I loved it.

After class, I got home close to 8pm and was exhausted. I reheated the second half of the butternut squash ravioli & peas from the weekend for dinner.

I chowed down and miraculously got a second wind. I didn't do a good job prepping for the week on Sunday night, so I finished the job. I made some curry, cut up some veggies, steamed some green beans, and made a batch of quinoa. After cleaning up, I made myself a little "dessert."

Hmm, look familiar? It's because I had the same combination for breakfast. But, it was so good that I kept thinking about it so I went for it. I went to bed happy.

Have a great Valentine's day or a great February 14th, 2012! (It only comes around once, so why not celebrate?)

Dark Chocolate Quinoa Bars

2012-02-13T17:00:00.002-06:00

When I came across a recipe for quinoa bars, I had to veganize and healthify them immediately. The result was simply marvelous.

These bars are sweet and perfect for breakfast or a healthy snack. If you are looking for more of a dessert option, I would recommend more stevia or possibly some raw agave.

I know I'll be making these all the time. It's a great, no-fuss way to use up leftover quinoa.

Vegan Dark Chocolate Quinoa Bars
Adapted from fANNEtastic food

1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup chickpea flour
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp stevia
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 bananas, smashed
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips or carob chips

Additional:
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, cut into small chunks
2 tbsp espresso or brewed coffee

Preheat oven to 350. Combine the quinoa, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and add in vanilla, stevia and almond milk. Add this mixture to the quinoa and flour mixture and stir to combine. Fold in your add-ins. Pour into a baking pan and bake for 25-30 mins or until it passes the toothpick test.

Oh yes.

Sunday No-Fun-Day

2012-02-13T06:18:00.000-06:00

Sundays are never fun for me. (I've mentioned this before.) Sundays are catch-up and prep days. I catch up on readings for school that I've neglected over the past week and then get started on assignments for the coming week. And, then after all that, I still have to run errands and prep food for the week. It's a HUGE BUMMER! But, I smile on.

Anyway, I grumbled as I got out of bed this morning. Not because of the long day ahead but because it was insanely cold. We had one of the coldest nights of the winter here...a whopping 37 degrees!

I had some cereal with almond milk and a mug of tea while writing out my to-do list for the day.

I got to work immediately and took a break to make lunch. I was starving by the time I thought about lunch so, it had to come together quickly.

Butternut squash ravioli & peas with a sage and brown butter sauce.

It was mouthwatering. I really wish that this ravioli was more widely available. Although, if it were, I would end up eating it everyday. So, it's probably a good thing that I can rarely find it.

I finished lunch off with a crumbled dark chocolate quinoa bar topped with a little agave.

After working a couple more hours, I was ready for a snack.

Mary's Gone Crackers and an mini Odwalla. Both were Costco purchases from earlier this week.

I finished up my to-do list shortly after and did a round of errands. When I returned, I put together my dinner.

Sloppy G! Remember these? Well, this guac wasn't really guac. It was more of avocado mixed with odds and ends of random veggies with the juice of one lemon.

I prepped some food for the week and cleaned the kitchen before sitting down to an episode of Downton Abbey and passing out.

Lots of Family Time

2012-02-12T23:46:00.003-06:00

Saturday was a day full of family time! Rishab and I slept in 'til about 11am. When we awoke, my parents were already out of the apartment. We didn't bother calling them and just decided to go about our day.

Brunch

Love Crunch granola and almond milk. Costco now sells Love Crunch! I love this granola but it is WAY too expensive ($5 for a small box) but now that Costco is selling it in bulk, I might indulge a little more. This totally makes up for the fact that they have terrible bananas.

When my parents got back around 3pm, they fed us again.

Idlis and onion chutney. Idlis are a sort of steamed dumpling that are a staple for South Indians. I am SUPER finicky about them and can only eat them if my mom "checks" them. I'm still a 2 year old on the inside.

After that, we all went to play with D. More on that later.

As always, we went to W'Kana for dinner. My parents only visit me if I promise them W'kana.

Clockwise starting from the top left corner: moille subz (mixed veggies in a coconut milk broth), baingan bartha (eggplant curry), romali roti (Indian tortillas) and mushroom & apricot briyani (Indian fried rice). It was, as always, amazing.

You want to know what D ate for dinner? Chutney...

...by the spoonful.

Costco Bananas

2012-02-11T14:30:00.001-06:00

I was thoroughly annoyed yesterday with Costco's bananas. I needed to replenish my frozen banana stash, so I grabbed some from Costco on my way out. I thought I found a good bunch, but out of 9 bananas only these survived....

That's barely 3 bananas put together. And, not a single banana was un-bruised. Ugh, never again.

Anyway, yesterday I put together a brunch of avo toast and a few clementines.

I got a little work done and cleaned up the apartment. I also put together some dark chocolate quinoa bars. After a photo shoot, I ate some scraps as a snack.

Recipe is coming your way on Monday!

After a couple errands and a quick workout and shower, I made myself some dinner.

Vegan Cauliflower Soup

And some sliced strawberries.

I decided to go play with D for a little while last night. I am clearly campaigning to be her favorite cousin. My brother and I have straight up fights over who she likes more. I think we've both lost to her doll.

P.s. That red bib is the baby's blanket.

Anyway, I came home and watched an episode of Downton Abbey. If you haven't seen this show, you must give it a shot! It's really well done and insanely good. Don't let the PBS label deter you. It makes me want to live in England in the 1920's.

Anyway, somewhere in there, I made myself some raw ice cream with chocolate sauce.

Delicious.

My parents and brother came in at about 11pm last night. We stayed up late talking and watching Charlie's Angels. Well, actually, we made fun of Charlie's Angels. It's kind of a ridiculous movie. While watching, we got the munchies. My parents were very curious about this avocado on toast business, so I made them a couple slices. We also ate crackers and some granola. My parents headed to bed at about 1:30am and Rishab and I stayed up for another hour ~~gossiping~~ chatting about everything. The boy is growing up too fast!

Vegan Cauliflower Soup

2012-02-10T18:00:00.000-06:00

Five reasons why I love this soup (and why you will, too!):

1) It came together in about 20 mins.

2) You will slurp up about 1/2 a head of cauliflower and not even notice.

3) It's light, warming, and creamy with just a hint of heat.

4) Toasted, curried seeds are hard to say no to.

5)

I hope I convinced you.

Vegan Cauliflower Soup
Adapted from WF Market Recipes

Soup:
3 cups cauliflower florets
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
salt and pepper to taste

For the crunchy seed topping:
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1/4 tsp olive oil
pinch of curry powder

Steam the cauliflower florets in a steamer basket until tender. This takes about 8-10 mins. While the cauliflower steams, cook the onions in a little water with the garlic and the curry powders. Once translucent, turn the heat off. In a separate pan, combine the oil, seeds and curry powder. Toast until slightly brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool. Once the cauliflower is done, transfer to a blender along with the onions and almond milk. Blend until you reach your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with crunchy seed topping and serve.

If you are using a Vitamix and want a little texture, blend the onions, almond milk and three-fourths of the cauliflower on high for 20-30 seconds. Turn it off, add in the remaining cauliflower and blend on variable speed 1 or 2 for 20-30 seconds. This gives the soup a little more texture than blending everything on high.

You grab the spoon, and I'll grab the wine. Deal?

Avocado on Toast- The New Comfort Food

2012-02-10T06:18:00.001-06:00

Yesterday started off slow. I woke up to phone calls and texts. Who needs an alarm when you have a nosy mother?

I stayed in bed reading for a while and enjoyed a WF vegan muffin.

While I went through my ~~morning~~ afternoon routine, I whipped up some curry roasted chickpeas for later.

But, I couldn't keep my hands off of them. I finished off the small batch before they even cooled. They were SO delicious. I dried the chickpeas between sheets of paper towels, coated them in a little olive oil and shook on some salt and curry powder. After about 30 mins in the oven, they were crispy little nuggets of flavor. Love.

After class, I came home and put together dinner in under 20 mins thanks to a little prep work earlier in the week.

Creamy curried cauliflower soup. I modified a recipe I got off of the Whole Foods Recipes app and it was fabulous. It was light and creamy. And the roasted pumpkin seeds on top added a nice crunch.

I was on the ravenous side, and this wasn't filling enough. So, I made a green monster.

And this was quite the little monster. It made A LOT.

Spinach, kale, frozen grapes, hemp protein powder and coconut water.

After an impromptu Costco trip, I blew a few hours watching TV and reading blogs. Eventually, I settled in for a movie and midway through, I was ready for a midnight snack.

Enter, my new favorite comfort food-- avocado on toast.

It's simple. Toast up some bread, smash some avocado on it, sprinkle with salt and pepper and enjoy. It's scrumdiddlyumptious.

Vegan Chocolate Sauce

2012-02-09T17:18:00.000-06:00

I LOVE this sauce. Like really, really love it. I want to stick a straw in it and slurp it up. I love it so much that I don't want to eat anything that isn't drenched in it. It's just so decadent and chocolaty. I can't get enough.

The fun thing with this sauce is that you can play with the thickness. I've made it thin and chocolate milk-y.

But, I've also made it really thick and custard-like.

You'll find your groove.

Vegan Chocolate Sauce

1/4 cup Justin's chocolate hazelnut butter
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp agave nectar
almond milk to thin (about 1/3 cup)

Heat almond milk over medium heat. Add in the chocolate hazelnut butter and melt. Whisk in the cocoa powder and agave nectar. Let it cool for 10 mins. Serve it over raw ice cream, fruit or pancakes. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

You'll <3 it too!

Mid Week Day Off

2012-02-09T06:18:00.000-06:00

Some weeks I get Wednesdays "off" and it is such a blessing! It also makes me work harder on Tuesdays. Anyway, yesterday, I got the day off. I slept in like a mo-fo and then headed to visit D and the family.

She is so darn cute! Wait...one more...

Ok, I promise to not be *that* girl...but it's SO DARN HARD!

Anyway, I had a south Indian lunch at my aunt's house-- rice, rasam, sambhar, veggies. I would take pics of this, but it always looks super awkward. I've tried to document it multiple times but it always looks kinda gross/weird/blobbish. One day, I will break down a traditional south Indian meal on the blog. And, I will try to make it look pretty.

Anyway, I played for about 2 hours post lunch. I think I sang the Barney song 276 times before I left. Oh and let's not forget the ABC's. That one's a toughie.

I got home and watched Smash-- the new NBC show that premiered on Monday. It's the musical one with American Idol runner-up Katherine McPhee? Ringing any bells? Anyway, I kinda liked it. I wasn't thrilled that the musical revolves around Marilyn Monroe, but I'll watch it.

Anyway, dinner was simple.

Roasted veggies...

...thrown together with seitan and quinoa (it's in there, I promise!) and topped with Mmm sauce post-photo shoot.

'Twas okay. I think the seitan was undercooked or something. It didn't taste quite right. But, the veggies were perfect. And, you can never go wrong with quinoa.

Anyway, hope your day is off to a great start!

Back on the Regular

2012-02-08T21:34:00.004-06:00

I've been on a roller coaster the last couple weeks. I thought the end was near, but things just keep shuffling around. It's driving me mad. But, I decided to stop chasing it and just let it happen. Good things happen to good people, right? I just hope that I am good people.

(Yes, that was all very cryptic...maybe I'll shed light on it someday.)

Anyway, starting tomorrow, we will be back to regularly scheduled ~~programming~~ blogging.

In the meantime, I will leave you with this precious pic.

This little lady is growing up way too fast!

Thanks for stickin' around!

SuperBowl Sunday

2012-02-06T22:16:00.000-06:00

Sunday started off with brunch plans with friends. I looked up the menu beforehand and it looked very vegan-unfriendly. So, I decided to eat a small breakfast beforehand.

Sprouted wheat english muffin with almond butter and chai tea.

For starters, we shared a plate of curried hummus and tabbouleh with whole wheat pita.

This was extraordinarily good. It was kinda sweet, kinda spicy and all around delicious. I kinda wanted to eat it all myself!

I ended up ordering a fruit plate for lunch. (I told you this place was very vegan-unfriendly. The only two things that were vegan were ordered and devoured!)

I also got a half of a baby avocado and toast on the side. Yummy.

Post-brunch date, I came home and got to work. I wanted to get through as much reading as possible before the game started and people came over. Somewhere in there, I put together a snack plate.

Sprouted wheat pita, carrots, hummus and more tea.

Around 5ish, a couple friends came over and we snacked it out.

Chips, salsa, guac and sweet potato PopChips! Delicious!

I only kinda sorta watched the game. I was reading, catching up on email and finishing up an assignment. I did enjoy a few commercials and enjoyed rooting for the Pats until the very end.

My Weekend In Pictures

2012-02-05T23:30:00.002-06:00

Good friends, good food, good fun!

Tofurkey Pizza

2012-02-02T17:00:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, I picked up a new-to-me vegan pizza. Every once in a while, I'll get a craving for pizza. And naturally, I try to satisfy my craving with the vegan versions. I've actually only tried Amy's Soy Cheese Pizza but Whole Foods was out when I went. So, I picked up what I thought was the next best thing.

It did a pretty good job of advertising itself.

I really wish it had lived up to these claims. It was just so wrong in so many ways. I know that vegan cheese isn't gonna taste like the real stuff, but I was hoping that it wouldn't taste plastic-y and straight up fake. And the crust and sauce were off too. Just plain awful.

I stuck it in the oven and after about 25 mins I still couldn't tell if it was done.

It looked exactly the same frozen and fully cooked. No melting, no brown-ing, no nothing.

Ok, wait..

does that count as melting? Oh, guess I lied.

Dream Worthy

2012-02-02T06:18:00.000-06:00

My last several meals have basically been apple crisp with a handful of spinach on the side. I wish I were kidding.

Anyway, yesterday's eats were straight up dream worthy. I couldn't stop thinking about them post consumption and canNOT wait to make them again.

Let's jump right in, shall we?

I started the day off with a smoothie.

Spinach, kale, banana, hemp & flax seeds and a green protein powder. Always a ~~drool~~ dream worthy combination.

I skipped a real breakfast and went for lunch a few hours later.

Rising Moon's Garlic & Basil Gnocchi with an entire zucchini, two handfuls of spinach, and a buttload of marinara sauce. Holy crap. This was uh-maze-ing. I've never had Rising Moon's products before, but I am a fan. They seem to have some pretty high quality stuff, too!

Finished lunch off with "Amrikan" apple crisp. This stuff is So. Damn. Good.

I was in the mood for comfort food last night. I didn't quite know what I wanted, but I knew bread had to be involved. (Hello, addiction.) So, I put together a hummus and "cheese" panini.

That might seem like a weird combination, but if you get the proportions right, it's fantastic. Like really, really fantastic.

Sandwich + clementines= well rounded meal, right?

"Amrikan" Apple Crisp

2012-01-31T21:00:00.000-06:00

I moved to America when I was 5 years old. I grew up in an Indian family where it took us 3 years to figure out that our new friends weren't "Amrikan," they were "American." I didn't have a typical American childhood, because I wasn't ~~Amrikan~~ American and I sure as hell wasn't "typical". (Think greasy hair and Harry Potter glasses. Not kidding.)

Apple pie never brought on fond memories of July 4th picnics. To us, July 4th was the day after July 3rd. And, apple crisp wasn't something my grandma made when we visited her on the weekends. For one thing, my grandma lives about 8,000 miles away and for another, she doesn't have an oven. And, she makes us payasam thankyouverymuch.

I'm still not sure whether I'm Indian or American. But, if being an American means apple ~~pie~~ crisp at least once a year, sign me up!

This apple crisp is divine. The apples are buttery and sweet. The topping is crisp and toasty. And together, it'll make you feel like a real American.

This recipe is the perfect dessert to make for non-vegans. They won't have a clue. They probably won't realize it has whole grains or that it is free of butter. You probably won't either.

"Amrikan" Apple Crisp
Adapted from What Would Cathy Eat?

For the apples:
5 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
5 tbsp turbinado sugar
2 tsp whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch all spice
2 tsp lemon juice

For the topping:
2/3 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
2 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 350. Combine your chopped apples with the sugar, flour, spices and lemon juice. Mix to coat evenly. Combine the dry ingredients of the topping in a separate bowl. Add in the coconut oil and water and combine until crumbly. Place the apples in a baking dish and top with the topping mixture. Bake for 40 mins or until the topping is golden brown and the apples are tender.

I think I'll teach my grandma how to make this so she can have it ready for me when I get off the 36 hour flight. Waddya say, grams?

Mmm Sauce

2012-01-30T22:16:00.000-06:00

The name speaks for itself.

This sauce is oh-so-delicious. I used it to top potatoes, salads and even seitan. I bet it would be good on pasta and on sandwiches too. It's pretty mild but has a wonderful creamy texture. It'll surely make you say "mmm".

Mmm Sauce
Adapted from Peas and Thank You

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup almonds
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Throw all the ingredients into a Vitamix or food processor and mix until smooth. This will last in the fridge for up to a week, that is if you don't eat it first.

MMMM.

Pressing Restart

2012-01-30T08:06:00.004-06:00

source

Coming off a bad weekend? Haven't been working out the way you wanted? Forgot what veggies look like? Want to take it all to the next level? Great.

source

Happy Monday!

Teriyaki Tofu

2012-01-28T20:50:00.004-06:00

Last week, I had a package of tofu that desperately needed to be used. I generally only use tofu to make tofu ricotta and rarely use it for much else. But, I came across a blogger who marinated her tofu in teriyaki sauce and baked it. I thought that had my name written all over it.

'Cept for the fact that I don't know what teriyaki sauce is.

Well, I consulted with my friend Google, and figured out it was basically soy sauce, sugar and some seasonings. Simple enough.

And, teriyaki tofu was born.

Teriyaki Tofu

1 package tofu
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Bragg's amino acids or soy sauce
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried sage
pinch of cayenne pepper

Press tofu using paper towels and a heavy book, or with a tofu press. Mix together all the ingredients in a container. Let the tofu marinate in mixture for 8-12 hours. Preheat oven to 375. Cut tofu into slabs and place onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle remaining marinade onto the tofu. Bake for 20 mins or until golden brown and slightly crispy.

Good Things Come in Short Meetings

2012-01-27T15:01:00.005-06:00

On Thursday, I woke up on the late side. I made a quick phone call to figure out where my short, off-site meeting was. When I realized it was about an hour away, I rushed to shower and get ready.

I grabbed an apple and a Clif bar on the way out.

The meeting was short and sweet. I finished up and headed back to campus. I picked up MC to grab a quick lunch at Fadi's.

This place is such a bargain! You get two SOLID meals out of it for $10. And they have tons of vegan options! I tasted everything but basically ate the hummus and babaganoush for lunch and packed the rest for later.

After returning back to campus, I had about 2 hours to knock out some work before class. I did the best I could.

Chocolate was consumed somewhere in there.

And then I headed to class at 5pm. Class was semi-miserable. The discussion got way outta hand and wasn't well managed by the prof. It's a class on healthcare quality, so people seem to want to share all their "horror" stories and personal experiences with healthcare. Although it's entertaining, it's kinda useless.

There was a student social going on in the lobby, so during the break I grabbed a plateful of hummus and crackers.

Dinner was leftover Thai food from the day before.

I stayed up kinda late to "celebrate" but couldn't settle on what to do. I ended up watching about 20 mins of 3 different movies and then going to bed.

Hemp Seed Bagels Review

2012-01-26T17:00:00.000-06:00

I purchased these hemp seed bagels from Whole Foods a few weeks ago and thought I would do a quick review.

This is a new-to-me brand. French Meadow Bakery makes various organic, vegan, yeast-free and gluten free products. They have a pretty good selection of breads, bagels, tortillas and even desserts.

The clean ingredient list got my attention right away.

And, they were on sale, so I definitely couldn't say no.

They are fantastic! They have a very hearty, earthy taste compared to their sprouted wheat brothers. But, that's almost the exact reason why I like them. Chewy with a distinctive flavor, I like these best toasted with a smear of nut butter.

In case you are curious, here are the nutrition stats.

19 grams of protein! Yup, it's a winner.

Bad Weather Day

2012-01-26T06:18:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning I woke up to rain. Lots and lots of rain. I love listening to the rain, so I pulled my covers up and grabbed my book.

This read is gettin' good!

The weather was pretty bad all day. It continued to rain on and off,...

and at one point, we had a tornado warning!

Luckily, yesterday was my day off so, I didn't really have to deal with it.

I fell straight into lunch yesterday.

Quinoa pilaf, teriyaki tofu and purple potatoes with secret sauce. We need to talk about this tofu! I'll post a recipe soon.

After my unproductive morning, I decided to switch gears and get some homework and house work done. Somewhere in there, I took a break and made some raw ice cream.

Which quickly became friends with a scoop of peanut butter and some whole wheat brownies.

In case you are wondering, the peanut butter was a bad idea. I ate around it. I never thought peanut butter could be a bad idea.

I returned to some work and a little Netflix browsing. I also cleaned by bathroom (YAY!) and did laundry.

When dinner time rolled around, nothing in my fridge seemed appealing. I was craving something else. That something was Thai food!

Yellow curry and white rice. Yummm.

All that rice made me nice and sleepy. I promptly cleaned up and got in bed!

Glass Half Full

2012-01-25T06:18:00.000-06:00

I had such a great day yesterday. Lots of small successes added up and I walked home at the end of the day with a goofy grin on my face.

Let's run through the day's eats, shall we?

The day started off with a later than usual alarm and a cup of coffee. I packed up breakfast, lunch and a substantial snack and headed off to work/school. I planned on eating breakfast once I got there, but my inbox had other plans. I got caught up with work and putting out a few fires and didn't get around to eating until close to lunch time.

Vegan banana flax seed muffin from Whole Foods. I picked this up on a whim the night before and it did not disappoint. It was nutty, perfectly sweet and all around delicious. The only issue I had with it was that the flax seeds were left whole, which made for a great presentation but didn't work out nutritionally. (Flax seeds have to be ground to release their nutritional power.)

I eventually had my planned lunch at 4pm.

Veggie lasagna with extra tomato sauce and a hunk of WF bread. Yes, I still have this in my fridge. In fact, I have one more portion left. It didn't smell bad or have anything growing on it so, I figured it was good to eat.

Of course, I needed a little sweet treat after.

Dark chocolate. P.S. Whole Foods brand dark chocolate is amazing. And, it's not super crazy expensive either. Win.

I headed to class at 5pm. This Tuesday class is slowly going to chip away at my will to live. It's dreadfully boring. Luckily, I have a good team for all the group work. They are pretty funny and entertaining.

After class I started walking home in the rain until a friend saw me and insisted on giving me a ride. It was a much appreciated ride because it was coming down pretty hard.

Once home, I ate the breakfast I had packed but didn't eat. (The muffin was supposed to be my substantial snack for before class.)

Steal cut oats with soy creamer and a chopped pear. I made the steel cut oats in a slow cooker last night. They came out super creamy. I loved every bite until I had to do the dishes. So much of the stuff was stuck on the slow cooker pot. (I don't have a dishwasher, so this is a big deal.) Regardless, I think I would make it this way again.

And of course, I couldn't say no to vegan chunky monkey ice cream.

I indulged while watching the State of the Union. Can't wait to read all the responses and analyses tomorrow morning!

After that, I decided to get in bed early and read!

Back to dessert.

My heart just skipped a beat.

30 Day Fitness Challenge

2012-01-24T17:00:00.000-06:00

On Sunday night, my mom roped me into a challenge. She decided she was going to work out everyday for the next 30 days and wanted me to ~~suffer along with her~~ join her.

Of course, I obliged. And now, I want you to join too!

It's simple, really. Just do some kind of physical activity everyday. You can set your own parameters. But, it's the perfect jump start to that already forgotten New Year's Resolution.

End date: February 22, 2012

Do it for your heart. Do it for the challenge. Do it for you!

Blame It On the Lack of Sleep

2012-01-24T06:18:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning I woke up at 5:30am after a little under 5 hours of sleep. I was exhausted. The weekend was in no way rejuvenating. And I just started my week with a sleep deficit which irks me.

I got dressed and headed to boot camp. (No excuses, remember?)

Once home, I threw together a green monster.

Base (coconut water, hemp seeds, flax seeds), spinach, frozen banana and protein powder.

This bright green smoothie definitely helped my mood a little.

I was at school a little before 8:30am and started my day off with inbox cleaning. Eventually, I broke into my jar of pumpkin oats.

I think the pumpkin went bad because these were not tasty. I either messed up proportions or the pumpkin was way past its expiration date. I still ate about half of it.

MC and I met up for lunch at 12:30pm. I had leftovers from W'kana and a (unpictured) pear.

Over the course of the afternoon, I snacked on some roasted chickpeas...

...a Clif Crunch bar...

...and some iced tea with stevia.

Overall, my workday wasn't very productive. I was beyond exhausted and couldn't focus on much. I was just itching to get home and go to bed. Unproductive days are the worst. It's just such a waste of time. Grr.

Anyway, after class, I came home and decided on a quick Whole Foods run. I needed spinach, kale and a few other things. I came home with this.

I guess they bake their bread at night because this was fresh, soft, warm bread. I couldn't say no! I have issues. You best believe I enjoyed every chewy bite. Nothing like bread and (vegan) butter.

I then baked some vegan whole wheat brownies.

These came out pretty well. But, they were never meant to be eaten alone. I had other plans for this bad boy.

Homemade vegan chunky monkey ice cream. Banana soft serve + brownie! Delicious!

I'm not even gonna pretend my dinner was healthy. Bread and brownies are not nutritious but they sure are delicious!

Shake & Bake Roasted Chickpeas

2012-01-23T17:00:00.000-06:00

I've heard a lot about roasted chickpeas. And, I've been curious. Crispy chickpeas? That sounds really...weird. But, also mindblowingly good.

I had cooked up some chickpeas last week and ended up not using them in anything, so I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to try out this roasted chickpea business.

I looked up a recipe or two but decided to wing it. It's really the method that counts. The seasonings can vary.

I was thoroughly impressed. It was mindblowingly good. Roasting them is genius. They are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. And, roasting them makes these little guys a perfect snack!

So, grab your chickpeas and let's get started!

Throw your chickpeas into a lidded container.

Add a few hefty shakes of your favorite seasonings or seasoning mix. I used a combo of garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper.

Add in a tablespoon or two of lemon juice. And shake it up! Let the chickpeas marinate for 30 mins or so.

Bake them in a foil-lined and cooking sprayed pan at 375 for 20-30 mins, until golden brown and crispy.

Eat up!

Sunday Funday?

2012-01-23T06:18:00.000-06:00

I don't know who came up with that whole "Sunday Funday" business, but they were way off base. Nothing is fun about Sundays. It's the day before Monday and the start of the work week, which translates into frantically trying to finish off your weekend to-do list. In my case, that to-do list includes a lot of homework.

Anyway, I was out pretty late Saturday night and didn't get in bed until 3am. Needless to say, I only woke up at 10:30am Sunday morning. First order of business? Coffee.

While I sipped on my coffee, I decided to skip breakfast and head straight for lunch. So, I preheated the oven and warmed up some lasagna.

After brunch, I started work for the day. It was so beautiful outside that I couldn't resist taking some reading outdoors.

Eventually, it got too windy and I went back indoors to finish up. While completing my Sunday homework marathon, I snacked...a lot.

Roasted Chickpeas

Some sesame sticks

And, a Clif Crunch bar.

Eventually, I ate a real meal.

Spinach, mushrooms, onions, carrots and seitan. Not the best of salads, but it'll do.

I did more homework along with some food and recipe prep. After finally finishing up my assignments, I put together my dinner.

I had a bowl of granola and almond milk while I contemplated my meal.

I found some cute little purple potatoes in my fridge and decided to make a potato salad of sorts.

(The potatoes matched my nails! Made me smile.)

The only problem was that I kinda forgot about them and they overcooked.

So, they became mashed potatoes with some secret sauce.

This sauce is amazing! It's made with chickpeas, almonds, nutritional yeast and a few different spices. I'll be posting a recipe soon. You'll definitely want to make it for yourself. Just trust me on this one, OK?

Double Dose of W'Kana

2012-01-22T21:08:00.005-06:00

My dad was in town this Saturday. So, I woke up early to knock out some homework while he slept.

I had breakfast around 8am.

A small bowl of cooked oatmeal with Mixed Berry & Thyme Jam and a cup of coffee. That jam is the cat's pajamas.

By the time my dad woke up at 10am, I was well into the day and finished up with a good portion of work. We got ready and headed out to visit D and get lunch.

Lunch was at Great W'Kana Cafe. We ordered way too much food and it was all delicious. Needless to say, we definitely overate.

We got home around 3pm at which point my dad headed back to Austin. I proceeded to waste the rest of the day trying to nap and painting my nails.

Saturday night was a going away party for our friend, JC. He is moving to Honduras at the end of the week. We decided to take him to his favorite restaurant-- Great W'Kana. Done and done.

I didn't bother taking pictures at the restaurant. At first we were super cranky and hungry and later, after eating, we were too "in the moment" for a photo shoot break. I'm down with that.

We headed back to my place for some bubbly.

It was actually a diversion so that others could set up the bar for the surprise party! A small group gathered and ample booze was consumed. A memorable night, indeed.

Cheers!

Lapses in Documentation

2012-01-22T12:18:00.005-06:00

Even though I've been blogging for quite some time, I still sometimes forget to take pictures of meals or of certain events. It's part forgetful-ness, part shyness and part laziness.

This Friday was a major lapse in documentation. But, I'll try to catch you up.
-----------

Friday was "Session 6" for work! I was up at 6:15am and out the door by 6:55am. I managed a cup of coffee in between. I also packed a breakfast of oatmeal (big surprise, right?) but never got around to eating it.

I did snack on some fruit for breakfast.

I had the grilled veggie plate for lunch. I have ordered this twice before and it does not disappoint.

insert picture of the grilled veggie plate I forgot to photograph

Over the course of the afternoon, I snacked on this handful of potato chips.

I limited myself to this handful. I don't like potato chips all that much. But, I wanted something to nibble on during the long day.

I also, had a few sips of Diet Coke. (Gasp!) I haven't had soda since freshman year of college, but for some reason the Diet Coke was calling out to me on Friday. So, I poured myself a half glass during one of the breaks. I took about 3 sips before dumping it. I was surprised by how much I didn't like it! I can't handle the bubbles.

Friday night I went to visit my cousin, D!

She just got back from India and now speaks Tamil! It's the cutest thing ever. (I'm not partial or anything.)

After an hour or so, I went home to get started on some homework. It wasn't long before my dad got into town and the system kinda broke down. Once he got here, the homework doing stopped. I eventually gave up and just hung out before getting in bed early.

I don't remember what I had for dinner. Sorry.

PB & Chocolate Overnight Oats

2012-01-21T17:00:00.000-06:00

Mmmm. Peanut butter and chocolate. Probably my number one favorite food combination.

When I figured out a way to incorporate it into my breakfast, I skipped about and sung happy songs of love (all in my head, don't worry).

Just smear the inside of your mason jar with a little peanut butter.

Add in oats and a few vegan chocolate chips.

Fill with almond milk (I used half almond milk and half water) and stir in some chia seeds for some gelling action.

It's like an inside out Reese's but without the high fructose corn syrup and with a lot more fiber.

Can't go wrong with that, right?

Book Review: 2 States

2012-01-20T17:00:00.000-06:00

When I asked my grandfather to track down this book, he immediately recognized the author's name and assured me it was worthwhile. The author, Chetan Bhagat, is a well known Indian novelist that writes about nationalism from the modern Indian perspective. His books have also been made into movies.

This story is loosely based on the author's own love story and subsequent marriage. He was from Punjab and the love of his life, from Tamil Nadu. If you know anything about Indians, you know that this is a recipe for trouble.

Bhagat does a hilarious job of highlighting the differences and pokes fun at both the Tamilians and Punjabis. He also makes the point that these regional differences should not matter and that Indian is Indian. (I agree!)

My dad read this book on the flight back from India and also loved it. It's a quick read (see previous sentence) and is, at times, laugh out loud funny. I highly recommend this book-- especially if you are familiar with Indian culture.

No Excuses!

2012-01-20T06:18:00.000-06:00

As I rolled over this morning to hit the snooze button, I winced in pain. My body was sore! This was enough to warrant an extra hour in bed. I woke up and thought about possibly skipping my workout, but decided to take the "no excuses" approach. I dragged my overly sore muscles to the gym and knocked out a quick 25 min run/walk workout on the treadmill.

I also ran a few errands this morning and stopped by Whole Foods on my way home. I had a few coupons burning a hole in my wallet.

I picked up some juice too!

Carrots, apple, cucumber and parsely. I liked it.

I came home and started contemplating breakfast. I had lunch plans in about an hour so I decided to just sample some of my new almond butter.

This was delicious. I can't wait to put it on oatmeal!

I finally got to have my lasagna from yesterday!

Whole wheat pasta, onions, eggplant, kale, mushrooms, tomatoes and tofu ricotta.

There were a lot of veggies in here! An entire eggplant, a whole bunch of kale, 10 mushrooms and 2 tomatoes. I left the kale and the tomatoes raw and quickly tossed the other veggies in a little coconut oil. They finished cooking in the oven.

This was delicious. You really can't go wrong with lasagna. Just throw a bunch of things in between sheets of pasta and tofu ricotta and then dump some good quality pasta sauce on top. Simple and nutritious.

After lunch, I headed to the blood drive on campus. I snagged two snacks on the way out.

There was actually another bag of mini Oreos but I got to them before the camera did. I decided to save these for a rainy day. But, free food makes me happy, so I thought I would share.

Anyway, I had to go back to work after class ended at 7:30pm so, I had the emergency snack that I packed.

Bread (I couldn't resist. WF's bread is my weakness.) and tomato basil hummus. Not really nutritious but it worked.

I got home around 8:15pm and was already sleepy. I cranked out this blog post, made a few phone calls, drank tea and got ready for bed. Early bedtimes make me happy.

Pongal 2012

2012-01-19T17:00:00.001-06:00

This past weekend, I was in Austin to celebrate Pongal with my family. Pongal is the South Indian version of Thanksgiving. It's actually more of a Harvest Festival. It's a four day celebration where we give thanks to God, the Sun, our cows and our friends for a good harvest.

On the first day of Pongal, my true love gave to me...just kidding. The first day is kind of a psuedo-day. It's a time for cleaning the house and scrubbing it from top to bottom. This is called Boghi Pongal. We hired a maid service to take care of this. (Our middle name is "lazy".)

The second day, Perum Pongal, is when the festivities really start. We start early in the morning boiling milk and watching it run over as we think of God and our loved ones.

We then make traditional dishes out of our 5 staple crops-- plantains, yams, potatoes, white pumpkin and snow peas.

We offer jaggery sweetened rice pudding, rice and our "harvested" (dug up fresh from the bins at the grocery store, y'all) veggies. We thank God for a good harvest.

And then, we head out to the deck to do the same thing for the Sun.

And finally, after 4 hours of cooking, 2 hours of (watching the maids) clean, and an hour of pujas...WE EAT! The highlight of this year's spread was vegan pongal!

This is the first year my mom experimented with vegan pongal and it was amazing. I was a little bummed leading up to Pongal that I wouldn't be able to have any of the good stuff, so the vegan version made my day.

The other days of Pongal, we give thanks to our families, our elders and our cows. We did the family and elders stuff over the phone. And, well, the closest thing we have to a cow is this...

Sugar Me Up!

2012-01-19T06:18:00.001-06:00

My day started off well enough-- up at 5:30am, boot camp, shower, breakfast.

(p.s. remind me to tell you about that oatmeal!)

I even had a big old (unpictured) salad for lunch with spinach, carrots, mushrooms, and seitan. I was feeling it.

But, then the sugar cravings started. And smack dab in the middle of the day, I wanted to run home and grab as much chocolate as I could eat. I tried really hard to not think about it.

I tried to eat some oranges to see if I could calm the beast.

I tried to take my mind off of it by organizing my school stuff.

I even tried the "hair of the dog" technique.

Nothing worked! I eventually dug into my emergency snack stash and found some sugar.

Finally, I calmed down and cranked out a couple more hours of work.

I left work around 6:30pm and thought up my to-do list for the night. One of the things on that list was to make a lasagna!

I cannot wait to dig into this tomorrow!

I used up some of the leftover ingredients to make dinner.

Yum.

In other news, I got a haircut and now look like Justin Bieber.

It Felt Like a Monday

2012-01-18T21:19:00.006-06:00

The holiday weekend had me in a funk. I spent all day correcting my internal clock and setting it for Tuesday.

I started the day off bright and early at 6am with a workout. It got my juices flowing but not enough for me to say no to coffee.

I got to work at about 8:30am and immediately dug into a jar of pumpkin oats while I checked emails.

Can't. Get. Enough.

I packed a lunch that I hurriedly scarfed around 12:30pm.

Veggie burger with spinach and mustard on sprouted wheat bread. A little dry, but it did the trick.

Tuesdays are rough. My boss is around, my to-do list explodes and I'm stuck in meetings all day. Luckily, I remembered that this morning and packed a little chocolate.

I definitely needed this.

After another hour or two of work, MC met me in my office and we chatted and snacked until class started at 5pm. I packed a substantial snack of a hemp seed bagel with peanut butter. I ate half of this during our gab-fest and the other half during class.

Since the bagel did a good job of keeping me full, I didn't eat any dinner. I simply did the dishes and went straight to bed. I finished up a novel and fell asleep by 10pm. I'm getting old.

Mixed Berry and Thyme Jam

2012-01-17T06:18:00.000-06:00

I was in Austin this past weekend for Pongal (recap coming soon). On Friday afternoon, my mom and I came across an easy jam recipe while watching Giada at Home on Food Network. There is an expiration date with recipes from the Food Network. You have to make it within the day or you will never ever make it. Knowing this to be true, we immediately purchased the berries and made a batch before the sun set.

The worst part is that the cooking and cooling time feel like eternity. I was **this** close to sampling boiling jam and risking tongue burns and my dignity. I resisted...barely.

This jam has quickly become my favorite. I've come up with some pretty creative ways to consume it-- oatmeal topper, ice cream topper, spoon topper. All good.

Mixed Berry and Thyme Jam
from Giada DeLaurentiis

4 cups sliced strawberries (about 1 lb.)
2 cups blueberries (8 oz box)
1 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp orange juice (1/2 orange)
2 tbsp lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
2 tbsp dried thyme

Get everything into a pot over medium heat. Smash the fruit a little. Let 'er rip for 50-55 mins until thick. Cool for an hour or so. Store in the fridge for up to a month.

Make. This. Now.

A Big Realization

2012-01-12T21:40:00.003-06:00

I woke up this morning and put together a quick breakfast.

Uncle Sam's with sliced banana and almond milk.

I showered and puttered around the apartment for a while before heading to work. I shuffled some papers, played with the computer and stood by the water cooler. All in all, a good day.

Lunch: Leftover Amy's Roasted Veggie Pizza, baby carrots and a honeycrisp apple.

I headed to my quality management class at 5pm. We have a good mix in the class-- lot's of doctors and a couple lawyers. I wish there were one or two healthcare execs but that's okay. Overall, it's shaping up to be a good semester.

I came home a little past 8pm and put together a quick dinner. I wanted something quick and something that would require minimal dishes. So, a veggie burger came to be.

I also had a piece of dark chocolate for dessert.

We had a high school Skype date tonight! We are trying to plan out a spring break trip this year and were talking about possibly postponing the trip to the summer. During this conversation, I had a huge realization. I only have my life planned out as far as May 4th. I have no idea what's going to happen after that. As I was joking about this with my friends, a wave of panic hit me. I don't think my life has ever been this uncertain. It's exciting, terrifying and exhilarating. More terrifying than the other things right now, but you know, it's all good.

130 is 100 Too Many

2012-01-11T16:27:00.003-06:00

Yesterday morning, I made a big ole veggie smoothie.

Ingredients include:
- the base (coconut water, hemp seeds, flax seeds)
- carrots
- green apple
- spinach
- frozen raspberries

Kind of an odd combo but super nutritious. I will say the flavor wasn't amazing but it was manageable. And this baby kept me full for a little over 3 hours.

I broke into a mason jar of pumpkin oatmeal for a late lunch.

Y'all, this has quickly become my favorite thing ever. It's tasty, healthy, portable and filling. Perfect!

I headed to class at 5pm. The auditorium was filled with 130 (one hundred and thirty!) people. (insert rant here)That's just too large for a graduate school class. It's taught by a team of professors and they are a mess right now. I went to a large state school for undergrad where 80-90% of my classes were in auditoriums filled with over 100 people. But somehow, my undergraduate institution managed. The profs designed the class to make it all work. It was so frustrating to sit in this class and see them waste time and fumble around for the proper way to handle things.

Anyway, at the end of it all I was wiped. I was hungry, irritated and had started a mental countdown to the end of this semester.

I came home and decided to get Chipotle for dinner.

Chipotle is surprisingly vegan friendly. Just avoid the meats and cheeses (duh) and their pinto beans (which are cooked with bacon) and you are good to go.

Anyway, I ate dinner, did a little work and then watched some late night talk shows. My sweet tooth kicked in and so I had a banana and peanut butter.

Yup, lots and lots of peanut butter. The jar is in the fridge and not very "spreadable" so I ended up with lots of it. Yum.

Today is my day off. I slept in, worked out and caught up on my to-do list. A mid-week day off of work is nice. It won't happen every week but it's nice to have when it happens.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

2012-01-10T08:16:00.000-06:00

It rained yesterday. And rained and rained and rained. To the point of flooding. In fact, there were several road closures and horror stories throughout the day. And the university sent out severe weather warning emails every. single. hour. I got it-- it's raining. Thanks.

Anyway, I got to campus a little damp. Nothing major thanks to a huge golf cart sized umbrella and rain boots. I worked for about an hour and a half then whipped out some oatmeal.

This was stellar. Pumpkin puree, almond milk, maple syrup along with the usual fixin's.

I cleaned up the office, finished up a conference call and eventually it was time for class. Yesterday was the last first day of grad school. I am ecstatic! In 5 short months, I'll have a master's. Woot!

My first class of the last day of grad school? Innovative Thinking. I was a little skeptical because um, how do you teach someone how to think?? But, the prof (who is our dean) emphasized that it can be taught. In fact, she made a TED talk about it. I'm pumped for this class. I really hope I learn something.

Anyway, by the time class ended I was pretty hungry. I ate a banana to tide me over until I could make dinner.

(There really is no good way of photographing this thing, huh?)

I came home to put together some quick fried rice. I cooked brown rice last night. So, I just heated up a veggie burger and tossed it with the rice and some crumbled seitan. I added a little Bragg's to it as well.

Delicious and filling!

Of course, my sweet tooth kicked in soon after so I made myself rice pudding. I used some leftover brown rice, almond milk, chia seeds and a little maple syrup. I let the chia seeds gel for about 40 mins and dessert was ready!

This was phenomenal. It's honestly just like chia pudding but the brown rice adds a nice texture. I'm in love.

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

2012-01-09T10:38:00.001-06:00

MD Anderson had the final demolition of one of their buildings scheduled for 7:30am yesterday. A group of 7 of us decided to get together and watch. I woke up bright and early at 6:45am, made coffee and made a few wake up calls.

We all gathered at about 7:10am at a friend's apartment complex. From their balcony we had a clear shot of the 20-story building. But at 7:10am, it looked like this...

Yup, no building in sight. We had crazy thick fog and 97% humidity yesterday morning. Insane. We kept updated with the local news, twitter and their live feed. MD Anderson kept delaying the demolition every hour until finally the fog rolled away and they set it for 11:15am.

We got way pumped, got our cameras ready and pondered how we would know when the implosion would start. At precisely 11:15am...

IT WAS AWESOME!

It gave us all the craziest adrenaline rush. And we talked about it and watched the video on repeat for like 15 mins. *nerd alert!*

I drove by the site a couple hours later to see the damage.

That small-ish heap used to be a 20-story building. When it was built in the 1950's it was the tallest building in the Texas Medical Center. And now, it's rubble. Kinda sad. Kinda awesome.

Here is a better video along with a short article from the Culture Map.

Eats for the day:

Whole wheat bagel, peanut butter and banana slices

Veggie burger on sprouted wheat bread, carrots and a honeycrisp

Back to Nature Creme Sandwich cookies (x2)

I ended up not eating dinner because of a random wave of nausea that hit around 6pm. I sipped water and got in bed early. Luckily, the late lunch kept me super full and I didn't have to attempt sleep on an empty stomach. Yay for complex carbs!

Sleepy Saturday

2012-01-08T21:37:00.005-06:00

Saturday was a sleepy day. I woke up pretty late and wolfed down a bowl and a half of cereal with almond milk for brunch.

I then got a little work done, did a quick workout and took a nap before heading out to a double birthday dinner at Xuco Xicana.

MC and I were the first to get there and got to dominate the chips and salsa.

Their salsa was uh-maze-ing. It was completely different than any other salsa I have ever had. It was smokey and spicy and addictive.

They didn't have many vegetarian options let alone vegan ones, but I did find a salad that seemed interesting.

Cucumber, jicama and watermelon radish tossed in a cilantro, lime and chili dressing. It was pretty good. Different from anything I have ever had. I ate about half and took the rest home.

By the time I got home from the festivities, I was tired and suffering a headache. And so, you guessed it...I went to sleep.

Like the title says it was a sleepy Saturday.

The Other New Year's Resolution

2012-01-07T13:49:00.007-06:00

There is one more thing that I want to work on for 2012. It's to blog more. More specifically, blog my daily eats. I was doing this successfully back in July and then fell off the wagon for a variety of reasons.

Blogging my daily eats (honestly) helps me tremendously. It helps me stay healthy and on track. When you look back at all the pictures from the day you get a sense of how much junk you are (or are not) eating. And you can self-adjust along the way. This works so much better than waiting for the scale to creep up or your pants to get tighter before you do something.

I am going to commit to blogging my daily eats 5 times a week for now. If I do more, then that's fantastic. Hopefully, this will also help get me back on the healthy eating wagon after the holidays.

Anyway, I have a few random meal pics that I thought I would share with you. These are from over the holidays and there is a lot of beige in them (the color of processed foods!). However, I did chose some good brands to keep it healthy-ish.

Fooooddd!

Leftover Amy's soy cheese pizza, babaganoush and cucumber slices.

Dosas with sides. (Looking at this picture makes me miss home!)

Amy's bean and veggie burrito, pita chips and cucumber with babaganoush.

Cheese-less veggie pizza at CPK.

My dinner date at CPK-- Rohan. We have known each other since the age of 10! After getting past the you-stink-no-you-stink phase we have had a super candid relationship.

The woman that kept it all together?

His mom/my old Kumon teacher. :)

And what's life without dessert?

Nada Moo's Java Crunch

HEB's Strawberry Fruit Creation

Does anyone else crave cold things in the winter time? Just me? Ok...

The Vegan Yacht

2012-01-03T16:05:00.000-06:00

I've been dreaming of a sandwich. What has my life come to?

A few days ago, I met up with my old college friend, Anju. Anju and I met sophomore year and we haven't stopped our shenanigans since.

Last year, we both moved away from Austin for the first time-- she to Dallas, me to Houston. When we are back on breaks, we both immediately want to meet up and do something "Austin-y". What screams Austin better than a food truck?

Enter: The Vegan Yacht

That sandwich I have been dreaming about?

The TLT. Tempeh slices, lettuce, tomato and vegenaise on grilled hemp sourdough. It was so unbelievably good. I want to go back immediately. Like right now. Meet me there?

Let's Talk Chocolate

2012-01-03T07:33:00.002-06:00

For our annual New Year's Eve party this year, I went crazy on chocolate. Since I was putting together treats for ~40 people, I decided to buy "normal" (non-vegan) chocolate. As romantic as being a chocolatier sounds, it's messy and frustrating work. I was elbow deep in melted chocolate and sprinkles for two days. And after this experience (that effectively eliminated being Juliette Binoche from Chocolat as a possible career) I can confidently say that I would be perfectly happy if I never had to dip things in melted chocolate again. Anyway, I'm done talking. Let's look at pretty pictures of chocolate.

Also, shout out to Rishab and Yazeed for being the best clean-up crew a girl could ask for.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T16:00:00.000-06:00

I hope you have welcomed the new year with open arms and open hearts. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

New Year's Resolutions

2011-12-31T16:43:00.000-06:00

I'm on the fence about New Year's Resolutions. I love setting goals, but I think making big, exaggerated statements about life change is unrealistic. I believe in incremental and continuous self-improvement-- hence my monthly goal posts.

That being said, I do have two realistic and attainable goals for 2012.

1. Floss! I suck at flossing. I do it very inconsistently and that needs to change. And that whole thing about flossing and heart disease being linked? Yikes. It's time to build this habit before it's too late.

2. Don't waste food. I'll be the first to admit that I don't like leftovers. This usually means I end up cooking almost everyday. I'm OK with that but every once in a while, I make too much or buy too much and end up throwing food away. (Cue: Gasp) So this year, I want to menu plan and buy accordingly. I also want to stick to the plan since most of my food wastage is a result of impromptu dinner dates.

As always I'll keep you posted on how I do with these.

Are you setting resolutions? Share them with me!

December Goals: In Review

2011-12-30T13:24:00.001-06:00

Hmm, remember those December goals I made? Seems like forever ago, huh?

Let's see how I did.

1. Stay balanced. I would say I stayed balanced the first half of this month but I definitely caved in closer to the holidays. Lots of midnight snacks and staying up way too late. I also didn't get in a single day of exercise since I've been in Austin. Total bummer. I'm not beating myself up because I knew this month would be rough.

2. Photo project. Hah! This did not happen. I think we scanned in all of one photo and that to only to check if the scanner was set up properly. But, we did get a healthy dose of nostalgia with some old home videos.

We went through a shoebox full of random videos and found some real gems. An afternoon well spent.

3. Read. I wanted to read three books this break and I've almost read four. I read the whole Hunger Games series about 2 weeks ago and am now finishing up Two States by Chetan Bhagat.

Overall, I'm not terribly proud and I'm not terribly disappointed either. It was a really fun month. This is most likely the last Winter Break (I enter the "real world" in May) so I wanted to soak up every ounce of holiday laziness possible. It was a success. So, no regrets.

The Best of 2011

2011-12-29T17:00:00.000-06:00

Over the last week, I have started to reflect on all that happened in 2011. It felt like just yesterday we rang in the new year. It has truly flown by. I can't wait for 2012 but for now, let's look back, shall we? Here are my 2012 superlatives.

The biggest change: Starting my part-time job.
I became a part-timer back in February. I've learned a lot and have met some pretty amazing people. However, having people depend on me in a professional capacity is new...and scary. I have gotten the hang of it now but I definitely had a stressful few months.

The most significant: India trip.
My mom, brother and I went to India in June to watch my cousin get married. This was the first wedding that I've seen from start to finish and the first that I participated in. It was so beautiful and fun!

Also while in India, Rishab and I had our "religious coming of age" ceremony. (I have no better way of explaining this but it's similar to the Catholic First Communion and the Hindu Poonal Ceremony.) Anyway, it was a private little ceremony done in a small Jain temple on the countryside. This temple, being able to do it with my brother and having my grandparents there made the whole thing really memorable.

The most fun: Visiting friends in California & Chicago.
I went out to San Francisco in May and Chicago earlier this month. I met up with friends and just goofed around. I'm so grateful that I am still in close contact with my high school friends.

A first: Becoming an aunt!
I became an aunt earlier this month! All the babies in my life are my cousins, this little rugrat has made me an aunt.

The most stressful: Becoming a gift giver.
Ok, I'm sure that gift giving was not the most stressful thing this year, but it is the most recent stressful thing. Most Christmases we either don't do presents or my parents will just get us a little something. This year, I became Santa.

It was actually more fun giving gifts than getting gifts. I put a lot of thought and time into the gifts and I definitely came out on top. My mom just walked in 10 mins ago, four days after Christmas, saying how much she loved using her Christmas swag. Warms my heart!

Crack Attack: Pinterest.
Beautiful, creative, inspiring and oh so addicting.

The best: This blog.
I started blogging more regularly back in July and love it. I have a few changes and upgrades for 2012 and am excited to see where it all takes me. Thanks for reading!

Dinner with the Danes

2011-12-28T14:56:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we went to our friend's house for lunch. These are the same folks that we had Thanksgiving lunch with. They recently moved to Austin from Denmark and are slowly adjusting to life in the States. Our lunch/dinner dates usually last hours and hours while we talk about everything under the sun.

We got to their house around 1:30pm and were immediately seated next to a table full of munchies.

Along with the cookies and peanut candies, they also served up an elderflower drink from Norway which was fantastic.

While the women set up lunch, the men brought on the sake and the laughs.

Lunch was a noodle feast all done up Malaysian style.

I helped myself to some mee siam, two types of noodles and a spring roll.

This was super authentic Malaysian/Singaporean cuisine and it was amazing. I'm ready to move.

We sat around for a while sipping green tea and talking and digesting so we could make some room for dessert.

Green tea sweet rice cake and pomegranate chip vegan ice cream (which reminded me of those chocolate covered candied cherries you get around the holidays).

My favorite was this Danish chocolate.

It's a bitter dark chocolate wrapped around some sweet, soft marzipan and I was in love from the very first bite.

Lunch was so fun and so filling that I actually didn't eat anything the rest of the day. The conversation was fun, interesting and at times pretty deep. We ended up heading home only at about 8pm. Fun day!

Kids in the Kitchen

2011-12-27T21:03:00.008-06:00

My brother decided that during the winter break he was going to learn how to cook from me. And by "cook" I mean learning how to turn on the stove and use a knife.

But, really, how much more do you need to learn?

A few nights ago, we decided to cook dinner for our parents. While they went shopping, Rishab and I put together a vegan lasagna and apple pie. Let's start with the apple pie, shall we?

Rishab peeled 3 granny smith apples and tossed them with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. I also added about a tablespoon of cornstarch and some flour to help it set once out of the oven.

I didn't follow a recipe. We just dumped things in a bowl and made them look pretty.

After 30 mins in the oven, it came out looking pretty delicious.

While the pie cooled, we put together the main course-- lasagna. We Rishab layered whole wheat lasagna sheets with store bought pasta sauce, sauteed spinach and mushrooms and homemade tofu ricotta. We threw it in the oven for about 20 mins to heat it all the way through.

We warmed up some bread, set the table and waited patiently for our parents.

(Rishab is a creeper.)

The lasagna was alright. This baby had no oil except for the spray we used on the baking pan. We cooked the veggies without any oil and didn't stream in EVOO for the tofu ricotta. Well, all I'll say is that it definitely tasted fat free. Heh.

It was still good enough to go in for seconds, though.

We then served up our apple pie and it was a hit. Sweet, light and a perfect ending to our meal.

As you can see, it definitely didn't set and ended up being more like a tart than a pie. But, it was delicious so no complaints.

Anyway, this was not the first time Rishab and I have spent time in the kitchen. In fact we found some home videos last week of Rishab conducting a cooking show with me as his assistant. He was about 6 years old and stood on a stool and made a mess and got bored in the middle and left. However, this was the first time that we have cooked real food and the first time that Rishab did about 70% of the work.

He has definitely come a far way from pretending to be on a cooking show, making explosion sounds as he stirs and calling baking cookies a "mad science experiment."

Ok, maybe not that far.

Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-12-19T21:25:00.000-06:00

I rarely make peanut butter cookies. But, Yam and I were feeling it one night. So, we got to work. We turned on the Disney Pandora station, belted out some classics and put together some of the best vegan peanut butter cookies.

And since these only took like 20 mins and we weren't quite done with our rendition of "I'll Make a Man Out of You" we also put together another batch of herb biscuits and vegan chocolate chip cookie bars.

Anyway, back to these cookies.

These cookies are chewy and not too sweet. They are perfectly peanut buttery and just begging for a dunk in some (almond) milk. You won't regret making these. They come together quickly, bake in about 10 mins and travel well.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes 2 dozen small cookies

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup peanut butter (We used chunky)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup + 3 tbsp almond milk
3 tbsp olive oil

Place peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds until soft. Stir in the sugars, vanilla, almond milk and olive oil until smooth. Sift together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine. Chill the dough for 30 mins. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Shape the dough into small balls and place on a baking sheet. Use a fork to press down the dough and create a crossed design. Bake for 10 mins and cool for 5.

Way better than going after the peanut butter jar with a spoon.

All of the Lights

2011-12-15T12:53:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday, I made my way up all 103 floors of the ~~Sears~~ Willis Tower.

My original plan was to get up there by 4pm so that I could get a view of the city in the daytime and then stick around for 30-45 mins and get a good view in the night as well. That didn't quite work out.

By the time I made it through the exhibits and the short documentary, the daylight escaped.

One of the newer additions to the Skydeck is The Ledge. They have three glass ledges that extend out a little over 4 feet from the edge of the building.

I walked past these ledges three times before I took a step into one. And you can see I didn't get very far (the heels of my feet are still attached to the edge of Willis tower) but I still enjoyed the experience-- after my heart stopped pounding out of my chest.

But, boy, the city sure is beautiful from up there!

Dharma Garden

2011-12-14T17:00:00.011-06:00

On Monday night, Yam and I went to dinner at Dharma Garden in Irving Park of Chicago.

Google told me that this place was vegan and vegetarian friendly so I had really high hopes for this place. And it delivered.

The menu was neatly marked with "V"s for their vegan and vegetarian options and the waitress was super knowledgeable about the dishes and what went in them. She accommodated our diets flawlessly.

We started out with Thai tea with coconut milk.

Shortly after, they brought out complimentary veggie spring rolls with a tamarind sauce.

These spring rolls were so different. To begin with, the presentation was more like sushi than spring rolls. The texture were also quite different. The rice paper wrapping was a lot thicker and tougher. The tamarind sauce was great but a little strong for my taste.

We had also ordered some dumplings.

I really wish we had gotten these steamed. They were really great but would have been better steamed. Also, check out that carved carrot.

The food came out quickly. We barely got in a conversation between all the food. This was perfect because we were starving!

Next up, my personal favorite-- yellow curry.

This curry was fantastic. Spicy and creamy and filled with bell peppers, peas, sweet potato and tofu. It was perfect for the chilly weather.

We also ordered a noodle dish called Life Long Noodle-- white rice noodles with carrots, celery, bell peppers, mushrooms and ginger.

This was overly spicy for me. It was so spicy that I couldn't taste much of anything else. I ate a small helping and then quickly went back to the curry.

We chatted for a while before ordering dessert-- pearls in coconut milk.

This is a completely new-to-me Thai dessert. The pearls are like tapioca but a little softer/gummier. The milk is lightly sweetened and there are chunks of real coconut floating around too. The dessert was served warm which is where I lost interest. If this was cold, I would have been all over it. But warm coconut milk just doesn't do it for me.

Overall, Yam and I had a fantastic dinner.

The food and service were both great. The food was fresh and authentic (although, I think we may have ordered poorly). The staff was attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend this place!

Chicago, Day 2

2011-12-13T12:47:00.000-06:00

We woke up around 9:30am ready to tackle our small agenda of 2 museums. We made breakfast using a WF find from the first day.

Vegan Eggnog! Yam is a strict vegetarian and doesn't do eggs. She has never had eggnog so I was SO excited to share this with her!

We made eggnog oatmeal topped with cinnamon and chopped nuts.

While we ate, we chatted about high school, family, college, siblings, EVERYTHING. Before we knew it, it was 3:45pm. WHAAA?? And the only reason we had stopped was because we got hungry! We made a plate of leftovers, scrapped our museum plans and made some baking and reading plans.

We made cookies (WF has a place and bake vegan kind) and rosemary biscuits from scratch.

These were incredible. Soft and chewy on the inside, crisp on the outside. And the best part is that they warmed up the house with the most incredible aroma.

We ate our dinner of rosemary biscuits on the couch with our Kindles.

We are so classy.

We then stopped talking and started reading. I started the Hunger Games on the plane and couldn't stop thinking about it. I convinced Yam to read it and we both finished it last night. It was AWESOME! I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. Amazing! It's a fun and quick read. I definitely would recommend it. And, it's on Amazon Prime so if you have a Kindle (and Amazon Prime) you can borrow it for free!

Chicago, Day 1

2011-12-12T12:10:00.008-06:00

I booked tickets to Chicago last week to meet up with my high school friend, Yam. I had nothing to do for the holidays and spending a week up here seemed perfect. I've been to Chicago before, so this was a completely casual trip.

I left Houston bright and early on Saturday morning. I had a pretty restless night of sleep but I was so excited to head out to the Windy City. I got in around noon and immediately found Yam.

We headed home and made me some coconut rice for lunch. We ate quickly before heading out for the day.

Wrigley, Cloud Gate, Millennium Park, Michigan Ave.

It was insanely cold once the sun went down. I was definitely ready to head somewhere warm to thaw out. We hopped in the car and headed for dinner on Devon St. Yam took me to an all vegetarian Indian restaurant and we feasted on samosa chaat and baingan bharta (eggplant curry).

We walked around Devon St., picked up some groceries and snacks and headed back to the apartment. On the way, we stopped by Whole Foods for some vegan staples. And by staples, I mean chocolate.

We also found some of the cutest holiday cakes ever!

How adorable is that snowman??

We headed home in time to share a packet of Justin's pb cups and watch an episode of Big Bang Theory before bed.

We had a pretty productive first day. The city is filled with a lot of holiday magic (i.e. twinkle lights) and it makes me smile under the 17 layers of clothing I wear to stay semi-warm.

p.s. Cross your fingers that it snows!

Leaving on a Jetplane

2011-12-10T06:18:00.000-06:00

Guess where I'm headed right now?

CHICAGO!

If you have any suggestions for what to do or where to go, send them my way!

Apple Bran Muffins

2011-12-08T17:00:00.001-06:00

There is a fine line between a muffin and a cupcake. Some muffins definitely toe that line. Sometimes, I love it and feel like I'm getting away with something. Dessert for breakfast? Sign me up!

But, too much sugar in the morning kinda ruins the day. (The kid inside me is protesting right now. Gimme Cocoa Pebbles or gimme death!) Really though, you eat a sugar heavy breakfast and you will find yourself craving more sugar and refined carbs for the rest of the day.

This muffin is for champions. Complex carbs, real fruit and just enough sweetener to make the kid in you smile.

Apple Bran Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

2 1/2 cups oat bran
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbs maple syrup
1/3 cup orange juice
3/4 cup water
1 apple, cored and chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (oat bran, baking powder, baking soda and spices). In a smaller bowl, mix together the mashed banana, maple syrup, vanilla, orange juice and water. Add the wet and dry ingredients together and combine. Mix in the chopped apples and walnuts.

Prepare a muffin tin with liner or oil. Fill each cup to the top and bake for 40-45 mins until golden on top.

Ready to face the day? Me too!

Hotter than the Sun

2011-12-08T06:18:00.003-06:00

Over the summer, my landlord took away my heater. At the time, I said good riddance and gladly took the space heaters which are plenty for the wimpy "winters" we have down here in Texas.

Well, what he failed to mention was that these space heaters have one setting: blistering hot. I pretty much go to bed in an oven. (And wake up perfectly crisp and golden.)

At about 3am last night, I woke up and went to find some relief in the form of cold water. And that's when it happened. The side door that holds orange juice, kombucha and a few other favorites broke and my condiments found a new home on the floor.

As I threw towels on the floor, I mourned over the three bottles of kombucha that exploded. I was really looking forward to those bottles. Oh well, no point in crying over spilled ~~milk~~ kombucha, literally. (Yeah, I've been waiting to say that for a while.)

Anyway, yesterday I took my second final of the semester. Two down, one to go.

I started the day with the new usual.

Uncle Sam's, blueberries and almond milk.

I took the final in the morning and was able to get in the kitchen by 11:30am. I put together a quick a delicious lunch-- mean green pasta salad.

I went into work post lunch and knocked out about 3 hours of randomness. I am officially off for the next month.

I snacked on an apple bran muffin. I canNOT wait to tell you about this one!

Dinner came together around freshly made hummus,

and a sad tomato.

Oh yes, I ate that tomato raw! I was crazy proud that I didn't gag.

Post-dinner I went to MC's to chat and say our final goodbyes for the year. I won't see that girl until mid-January!

I came home and ate another delicious muffin. I can't get my mind off of them!

P.S. I'm a White Collar addict. The show is amazing-- smart, funny and with good-looking men. Yup, that's my criteria.

Mean Green Pasta Salad

2011-12-07T22:51:00.001-06:00

I'm not sure I would call this a recipe. But, I can't get enough of this pasta salad. Maybe it's because it is covered in walnut pesto? Or maybe it's because I've finally found a way to eat broccoli that doesn't make me cringe? Or equally, a way to eat kale that doesn't require me to roast the hell out of it.

Either way, I want you to know about it.

This pasta salad is the perfect lunch or light dinner. It's packed with veggies and flavor and is sure to satisfy vegans and non-vegans alike.

Mean Green Pasta Salad
Makes ~3 servings

1 1/2 cups quinoa pasta (or other whole grain pasta)
2 giant stems kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
2 cups broccoli florets
4 tbsp walnut pesto
salt (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in the broccoli florets for 3-5 minutes until bright green. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of cold water (or run it under some cold water). Next, drop in the kale leaves and blanch for 2-3 minutes. Again, remove with a slotted spoon and run under cold water. Third, in the same pot of boiling water, add some salt and a pour of oil. Cook the quinoa pasta according to package directions. This usually takes 8-12 minutes. Once the pasta is done, drain and add to the bowl with the blanched kale and broccoli. Add in the pesto and toss to coat. The salad might need a touch more salt. Add it if necessary and toss to combine.

Dig in!

Defining Balance

2011-12-05T17:00:00.000-06:00

I got an email after I posted about my December goals about balance. The question was simple: What is balance?

Good question, readers!

Balance is actually something that I am still working on. I hear it's a great way to live life. And, I wish I could confirm that. I honestly struggle with this concept everyday.

Here's the deal. I've realized over time that it is impossible to be perfect. And it is impractical to expect perfection. So, in my mind, balance is planning for and allowing certain slip ups and managing these "slip ups" while working toward your goal. It doesn't come with a reward or punishment. It just comes with a sense of control and foresight.

Balance means different things to different people. And to me, it's an attitude. It's a sense of control. It's knowing that all is not lost if one thing goes wrong. It's about perseverance and determination. But, it's also about being kind to yourself.

Like I said, I'm still struggling with this concept. To some folks, it comes naturally, and to others (ME!) it's a struggle.

Let's take this theory out for a spin, shall we?

Double Chocolate Cookies

2011-12-05T06:18:00.000-06:00

Sometimes you need chocolate. In the form of a cookie. With a glass of almond milk. And a side of chick flick.

This is for you.

It's funny how a cookie can soothe your soul. (They used to think it was chicken soup, but that's because they haven't tried the cookie method.) These cookies are more than a dessert. They are comfort and bliss. They even have medicinal properties. (Ok, not really, but chocolate is kinda magical.)

These cookies are filled with some of the good stuff (whole wheat, flax seeds) and some of the really good stuff (sugar and chocolate). They are chewy, chocolaty and just all around delicious.

Double Chocolate Cookies
Makes 2 dozen

1 tablespoon + 2 tsp ground flax seeds
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I used 1/2 dark chocolate and 1/2 vegan carob)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl mix together the flax seeds and almond milk. Set aside for 10-15 mins. While this gels, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Next, cream together oil, sugar and vanilla. Add in the flax seed and almond milk mixture and stir. Add the dry ingredients in small batches and combine until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop out dough balls onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. They might not seem done, but trust me they are done.

The dough freezes beautifully. Just portion them out and freeze them on a tray lined with wax paper. After two hours, you can transfer them to a ziplock bag.

I suggest you throw in 27 Dresses and grab a cozy blanket.

Friday, Friday, Friday!

2011-12-03T06:18:00.001-06:00

I canNOT believe "Session 5" is over! I wish I could tell you what that actually means, but I can't. But, I will tell you that this class is AWESOME. I have never been more frustrated or more enlightened in my entire life. Yesterday's session included lectures on dealing with disruptive physicians and market analysis. 'Twas awesome.

I got to the conference room at about 7:15am. I loaded up on some fruit and a glass of orange juice for breakfast.

I dealt with a couple fires and then we got the show on the road! Lunch rolled around and I got the grilled veggie plate.

Tons of veggies! I think there is an entire squash, an entire zucchini, a portabello mushroom and maybe half of an eggplant on this plate (along with broccolini, asparagus and some other stuff).

During a break, I munched on half of an unpictured apple. The day wrapped up on the early side. I loaded up the car and was back on campus by 4pm. I spent a few minutes at the office doing some follow-up stuff before heading home.

When I got home I was ravenous. I threw together a smoothie since it was the first nutritious thing that popped into my head. (I say nutritious because the first thing that actually popped into my head were cookies.)

I filled 'er up with spinach, kale, blueberries, half a banana, hemp seeds, flax seeds, flax oil, whole foods optimizer blend and some coconut water.

And then I quickly baked a cookie because I realized that my entire day has been just fruits and vegetables. Can't let that happen.

Vegan French Toast

2011-12-02T21:00:00.000-06:00

Eggs were the one non-vegetarian thing in our fridge growing up. My mom rarely purchased them, but every once in a while my dad would crave an omelet and grab a carton. After using the 2 eggs he needed, the eggs would just sit in the fridge, cold and alone.

I tried to incubate an egg once. I carried it around in my palm with the sweater sleeve pulled over. My parents refused to buy me a pet, so I figured I would just, uh, grow one. I think at this point I knew the difference between store eggs and real eggs. I just wanted to double check that my teachers knew what they were talking about. Well, I'm sure you know how that turned out.

I walked home with yolk running down the inside of my sweater. I was pretty bummed out. I invested a solid 2 hours incubating that egg. That's 2 hours I'll never get back.

The eggs that my dad didn't use in his once-a-month omelet and that weren't used for my "science" experiments became french toast. Sometimes, they became a cake. But usually, they worked magic on our day old sandwich bread.

This vegan version doesn't disappoint. It has just the right amount of sweetness and gives you that custard-like middle that is hands-down the best part.

Vegan French Toast
Enough for 3 slices

1 ripe banana, smashed
1/2 cup almond milk (or any non-dairy milk)
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon (a couple shakes/pinches)
3 slices bread (I used Ezekiel 4:9)
cooking spray or coconut oil (optional)

Whip together the banana, almond milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a blender and pour into a shallow bowl.

Heat a pan over a medium-low flame. Use a small amount of cooking spray or coconut oil to coat the center of the pan (optional).

Coat bread in mixture (count to 45 if you are using Ezekiel 4:9 bread). Place in heated and oiled pan and cook for roughly 2 minutes on each side.

Serve with fresh fruit, maple syrup and/or powdered sugar.

Holiday Decorations

2011-12-02T17:00:00.002-06:00

It's December, which means I can finally get my holiday decorations up! I know the majority of the world thinks it's okay to start getting ready for ~~Christmas~~ the holidays the day after Thanksgiving. I disagree. I think December 1st is appropriate.

So, I waited until Wednesday night to peruse the selections at Target.

Some things were pretty traditional.

Others weren't even close.

Everything was so expensive! I've never shopped for holiday decorations. Correction: I've never shopped for holiday decorations before December 25th. I went in thinking about a wreath, some twinkle lights and one of those small ornament tree things for the coffee table. After seeing some of the prices, I decided against it. I may have felt differently if I were to stay in Houston for the entire month, but I'm only going to be here for another 10 days. $65 for 10 days of holiday cheer was just not worth it.

So, I got creative. I found some large felt snowflake ornaments for $2 and grabbed a few. I then saw some glittered package tie on's in snowflake shapes and grabbed two packs for $1 each. (Sidebar: Who the heck uses package tie on's?! You're lucky if I wrap your gift instead of shoving it in a bag with some tissue paper.) I came out with a bill for a little over $15. I'll share pictures but only if you promise not to judge too harshly. It's little scant but it's enough to get me in the spirit.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

December Goals

2011-12-01T17:00:00.002-06:00

Can you believe it's already December?? Where has this year gone? I feel like it just started and it's already ending.

December is one of my favorite months. The first part of the month has never been fun (FINALS!) but the majority of it is filled with family, friends, laughter and joy. Celebrating the holidays and being with the ones you love is really what this month is about.

source

Since I will be spending the majority of my time at home with the family this month, my goal is just to stay productive. I tend to get super lazy when I go home, and although this is okay for the occasional weekend visits, it does not fly when it's for nearly a month.

So, my goals:

1. Stay balanced. This month, I will be constantly surrounded by sweet treats and junk food. And although I think it's unrealistic to say that I won't indulge in anything, I want to maintain a balance.

2. Photo project. I am determined to work through a few boxes of old photos over the break. We need to get them scanned and organized. I'm actually really looking forward to this. I LOVE looking at old pictures. I'm super sentimental and nostalgic (just like my dad). Talking about old times and sharing memories is just so fun. Can't wait!

3. Read! 1 month, 3 books.

Cooking Marathon

2011-12-01T06:18:00.000-06:00

Wednesday was my day off! I spent the day cooking. No joke. I have mentioned before my dislike for DST (daylight savings time). One of the (many) reasons is that you only get good light for like 3.7 seconds everyday. This sucks when you are trying to take decent photos. And, I need all the help I can get.

So, I woke up early and made myself a bowl of cereal while I figured out my cooking/recipe to-do list.

I had french toast for lunch. Completely unusual but it was because I was dying to take some decent pictures of it so I could share the recipe.

I actually had three slices (the last one tore in the pan) and about a handful more blueberries on that plate. It was delicious.

Post- lunch, I completed one more recipe and taste tested it for a snack.

So, so good.

I somehow managed to convince myself to workout and did a quick Jillian Michaels routine before stopping by Target for some decorations in the afternoon.

Dinner was the last of the leftovers from Maggiano's. I reheated it with a little marinara and a handful of spinach.

I had it with a sprouted wheat pita, some hummus and a spoonful of walnut pesto.

I've been eating that hummus like it's my job the last two days. It's because it expires on Friday. Those sneaky people at Whole Foods put it on sale and I thought I struck gold. I should have known better.

I may or may not have snuck another cookie after dinner. Ok, I definitely did.

Walnut Pesto

2011-11-30T16:09:00.000-06:00

I really love a good pesto. I could eat it by the spoonful. I wish I were kidding, but really, nothing beats a good pesto.

On Thanksgiving, my aunt brought me a gift.

A bagful of basil from her garden! She knows the way to my heart.

I set out to make some real pesto. None of the student's budget spinach pesto. This is the good stuff.

I looked at a few different recipes and in the end decided to keep it simple. This was fresh, organic basil from my aunt's garden. Why ruin that?

Now, you might think that pesto needs a good handful of parmesan but here's the deal, it doesn't. Grinding the warm walnuts creates a walnut butter of sorts so you get a similar creaminess. And, if you add a pinch more salt, you'll get the salty bite parmesan normally lends a pesto. Trust me, you won't miss the parmesan.

Walnut Pesto
Makes 1 cup

1/2 cup raw walnuts
2 cups packed basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
salt
pepper

Heat a pan over low heat and toast walnuts for a few minutes. Use your nose to figure out when they are done. Wash and dry your basil leaves and place in a food processor with oil and garlic. Once the walnuts are toasty and warm, add them into the food processor as well. Grind until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix to combine.

Go ahead, grab a spoon. I won't judge.

Pantry Makeover

2011-11-30T09:25:00.005-06:00

I couldn't fall asleep on Monday night. I was restless and at about 1am, decided to get out of bed and do something. The first thing that popped into my head was to reorganize and clean my pantry. So, my generally clean kitchen became this...

After about an hour, everything was put away and I vacuumed the apartment. I didn't end up falling asleep until past 4:30am. I woke up after about 2.5 hours of sleep and shuffled around getting ready for my long Tuesday.

Tea helped.

I ate my breakfast during class.

Uncle Sam cereal, sliced banana and almond milk (not homemade).

After class, I headed straight to my office and got to work. I was determined to get a few things off of my to-do list before I headed to a meeting at 1pm. Somewhere in there, I had lunch.

Whole wheat penne sauteed with garlic and a whole bunch of veggies (spinach, broccolini, mushrooms, onions) topped with marinara and torn basil. This was actually a portion of my leftovers from a family dinner at Maggiano's on Sunday night.

I finished off lunch with a sweet treat.

I love these things. I got a box of them from Costco. Apricot is my least favorite flavor which means that I try to get through them first. Is that weird or totally normal? I know that there are a few of y'all that do this!

Anyway, I came home around 4pm and fixed up a snack plate.

Sprouted wheat pita bread, spinach artichoke hummus and a fiji apple.

And then I went back for two more pita things and another scoop of hummus and my snack plate soon became my dinner plate.

I hit up boot camp at 6:30pm. Since it is dark outside, we now work out in a slightly different area of the park. This puts us closer to a hill which has become our best (and worst) friend. Our trainer had us running up and down that hill all night. It was brutal. I always like it when I feel like I might throw up, pass out or you know, die, during a workout. It's the best, right? (Ok, to be honest, I actually do love tough workouts. I like when my legs feel like jello. It's kinda fun!)

Anyway, I came home, showered and went straight to bed. No dinner or anything. I was exhausted and could barely move. Dinner could wait.

Let's Get Real

2011-11-27T23:42:00.007-06:00

It's time for a confession.

I have been struggling.

If you have noticed, I haven't been posting my daily eats in a while. This has been the result of a few issues, the biggest one being that I wasn't eating clean and I felt embarrassed.

Changing the way you eat is HARD. Our palates really love the fat and salt heavy foods. It's natural. But, it's not healthy. Sometimes, I feel like I should give myself a break and practice a little self-love. Other times, I feel like I'm not even trying.

I need to be honest with myself.

It's time to get back on track. I haven't really been paying attention for the last six weeks or so. I have skipped breakfast, had entire days without a veggie and have managed to eat processed carbs with reckless abandon (damn you, Costco and your delicious rosemary olive oil bread). Not only has my diet been messy, my life has too. I haven't been working out consistently, I have missed my alarm on more than one occasion and have spent most of my free days in bed. Not cool and definitely not me.

I've lost my mojo, folks and I am out to get it back!

Easy Vegan Pumpkin Pie

2011-11-25T14:00:00.000-06:00

Let's talk pie.

I'm a little late in the game getting this up. But, blame it on the fact that I don't like pumpkin. (Gasp!) My aversion to pumpkin has kept me from tinkering with pumpkin pie recipes for several years. However, this year we did up a very vegan Thanksgiving feast and I hear that you can't have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.

Easy Pumpkin Pie
From Healthy, Happy, Life

1 1/4 cup raw cashews
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 can pumpkin puree
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 whole wheat vegan pie crust

1. Soak cashews in filtered water overnight or in boiling water for about an hour. Drain water and rinse.

2. In a blender, preferably a Vitamix, mix together cashews, maple syrup, pumpkin puree and spices until smooth and creamy.

3. Pour into pie crust and bake at 400 degrees for 15 mins and then 350 degrees for 30 mins.

4. Cool at room temperature for 30 mins. Then place in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

This quickly became a birthday pumpkin pie to celebrate my mom's birthday.

This pie was amazing. Creamy with just the right amount of sweetness. It was absolutely incredible. I am actually thinking of making it again before the weekend is out.

Thanksgiving Round 2 (and 3)

2011-11-24T22:51:00.005-06:00

Round 1 of Thanksgiving was at our house yesterday. We did this because today we had two houses to hit up for Thanksgiving festivities.

Let's start with lunch. A friend of ours invited us over and made an entirely vegan feast. They were so sweet and took extra measures to make sure that none of the dishes, whether homemade or store bought, had animal products.

I am eternally grateful because this lunch was incredible.

It was a hodgepodge of southeast Asian dishes including green curry, peanut satay and veggie dumplings.

The gang.

After a few hours of chatting, trampoline jumping and vegan ice cream/tofu cheesecake eating we headed home. I took a quick one hour nap and then we headed to Thanksgiving dinner at another family friend's house.

They did it up traditional style.

Turkey, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, broccoli and cheese and cornbread stuffing. I tried out the cornbread stuffing and the sweet potato casserole. Both were delicious. Thankfully, I was still stuffed from lunch so, I made do with these two vegan dishes as my dinner.

All in all, a wonderful Thanksgiving!

P.s. Thanksgiving isn't really Thanksgiving without some Texas football. We had the game going on throughout dinner. Hook 'em!

A Very Vegan Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T12:00:00.005-06:00

Happy Turkey Day, folks!

Last night we hosted our Thanksgiving dinner. And of course, I offered to cook. My mom and I planned out the menu on my drive in from Houston on Tuesday morning. The rest of Tuesday was spent planning, arguing and grocery shopping.

I wish I could say that I slaved and slaved over this meal. But, in reality I got an unexpected work project dumped on me Wednesday morning, so it came together in between work and a few phone calls.

Let's talk food.

The spread.

Herb pasta with peas and corn, brussel sprouts, seitan and mushroom gravy.

My mom made the herb pasta using a herb mix I purchased on a trip to Italy. It's an unbelievable mix that my mom "lost" in her pantry for the last year. When I found it, I felt like I found a hidden treasure.

The brussel sprouts were simply oven roasted with salt and pepper. Simple and thanksgiving-y. And the sliced seitan served as our "turkey" for the night.

The mushroom gravy was incredibly good too. It was really flavorful and really easy to make. In fact, I made it after the guests arrived at our house. (Here is the recipe.)

These dishes were outsourced to my two aunts. The mashed potatoes were vegan made with russet potatoes, green chile and cilantro. And the green bean casserole was a classic. Both of these platters were licked clean by the end of the night.

Autumn quinoa, mac & cheese and bread.

The autumn quinoa was a dish made with a variety of veggies and flavored with cinnamon and cumin and garnished with some roasted cashews. The mac and cheese was a vegan version made using a Whole Foods recipe. It was a little heavy for my taste but the kids liked it. (Also, random side note: This dish helped us figure out that my brother is allergic to cashews. You should see the poor guy's face right now. It's a mess.)

We also served some bread because you can't have too many carbs, right?

THE BEST PART...

It was my mom's birthday yesterday. She had these grand plans to keep mum about the whole thing but Facebook had different plans. The kids all knew it was her birthday so, we celebrated the Thanksgiving birthday the only way we knew how...

With a pumpkin pie, of course!

Here's a birthday shout out to you, mama! You are the best mom and the best friend a girl could ask for.

Happy Birthday!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Sandwiches

2011-11-20T17:12:00.000-06:00

The last two days, I have really been in the mood for sandwiches. They are easy to make (less than 15 mins), easy to clean up (minimal dishes in the sink) and easy to eat (it's like a party in your mouth!).

My top two sandwiches:

Veggie burger with all the fix-ins.

Seitan-wich. Miso-glazed seitan with onions and honey mustard.

Both are delicious, nutritious and quick. <3

Oven Workout

2011-11-19T10:38:00.000-06:00

Last night, I stayed in and decided to give my oven a workout. I made seitan, banana bread and roasted butternut squash. Let's start with the seitan.

Seitan is a Japanese dish of cooked vital wheat gluten. It is used as a meat substitute in a lot of vegan/vegetarian diets. I've only ever had it at restaurants and until now, haven't really experimented with it at home. However, the high protein content (and low fat content) made it appealing. I considered buying some, but the pricetag made me think twice. Instead, I made it myself.

Sure, it doesn't look all that appealing, but the flavor was awesome.

The procedure was fairly simple too. It took all of 5 mins from bowl to oven.

Next up, I decided to use up some ripe bananas to make banana bread.

Enough said.

I also roasted some butternut squash. But, we don't need to talk about that.

All in all, it was a pretty awesome Friday night.

Creamy Mushroom Sauce

2011-11-15T23:08:00.004-06:00

Tonight, I wanted pasta. I made that decision at 10am this morning. So, while I was staring at the professor with dead eyes, I came up with my dinner recipe. A creamy mushroom sauce over a bed of brown rice pasta.

Creamy Mushroom Sauce

1/3 cup cashew pieces
3-4 pieces of sundried tomatoes
1 tsp dried thyme
6 cremini mushrooms
1 portabello mushroom
1 tsp (or less) coconut oil
salt
pepper

Start out by soaking 1/3 cup of cashews, the sundried tomatoes and 1/2 tsp of dried thyme in 1/2 cup boiling water.

While these soak, clean and slice your mushrooms. Heat a pan over a medium flame and melt a small amount of coconut oil. Add in your sliced mushrooms and 1/2 tsp of thyme and saute until browned.

Place the soaked ingredients in a blender and whiz away until smooth. Pour the sauce over the mushrooms and add another 1/2 cup of water. Lower the heat and let it warm through.

Serve over pasta, quinoa, millet or any other grain.

Recommitted

2011-11-14T13:08:00.006-06:00

Remember when I told you I was adding a little yogurt to my diet? I didn't particularly like this decision of mine and told myself to do a little more research. Well, this weekend, I had a chance to do some research and am now off the yogurt. This makes me SO happy for two reasons: (1) I hate yogurt and (2) I hate yogurt. (Yes, it bears repeating.)

I spent some time this weekend thinking about life and such things and I'm embarking on a new path. This might be reflected on the blog, but the changes are for the better. I think healthiness stems from happiness. So, now I am trying to focus on the happiness part and let the healthiness part work out by itself. Anyway, I am back on the vegan bandwagon.

Re~~united~~committed, and it feels so good!

************************************

I woke up REALLY late this morning, so late in fact that it was bordering on afternoon. Somehow, I missed my alarm. Thankfully, I didn't have anything to do until a meeting at 3pm.

Anyway, I put together a smoothie for breakfast.

Spinach, kale, three peeled oranges and a 1/2 cup or so of coconut water.

I drank it up while checking emails and getting ready. I packed up a light lunch/afternoon snack of carrots and hummus.

I also packed some grapes. I ate about half of my lunch before my 5pm class and ate the rest for dinner along with a few slices of cucumber.

Pretty light eating day but only because I was asleep for a good part of it. :)

Off to read and go to bed. I have my 8am class tomorrow and a whole day of meetings. Lame.

Eleven Eleven Eleven

2011-11-12T20:08:00.006-06:00

Hmm, I wonder how many weddings happened on Friday.

My Friday was a long work day with lectures about performance management and executive coaching. It was interesting, but I was exhausted by the end of it all.

I was up at 5am and went about getting ready. I made a green juice...

...and packed up a lunch and breakfast.

Once on site, I prepped some stuff and then ate breakfast.

This was the best breakfast I have had in a while! I made it the night before with some leftover quinoa, chopped dried mango, shaved coconut, walnuts and a mixture of seeds. My original plan was to drown the thing in some thinned out almond milk and a little maple syrup but I discovered that the last of the almond milk developed a funky smell. So, I used some skim milk I had on hand (that was to become yogurt when I felt up for it). I also used about a tablespoon or so of maple syrup. SO SO good. I ended up making the same thing for brunch this morning.

I brought a packed lunch of leftover roasted veggies over spinach but ended up ordering off the menu at the last minute.

Grilled veggies-- cauliflower, bell pepper, asparagus, broccolini, onions, squash, zucchini, corn, tomatoes and mushrooms. This was so unbelievably good. I think it was sprinkled with crack or something. I mean, honestly, grilled vegetables should not taste that good. I actually asked the waiter what was going on and he said that it was just grilled with olive oil and no additional salt or seasoning. I don't believe him.

Anyway, I drank my carrot juice in the mid-afternoon between lectures. We eventually wrapped up at 5pm and I was home by 5:30pm. I ate part of the packed salad and fell asleep at about 7:30pm. I'm a party animal!

I spent most of today in bed and finished up The Solitude of Prime Numbers. It was an unbelievable read. I would highly recommend this book. The author, Paolo Giordano, is a really beautiful writer. He actually has his PhD in particle physics and cranked out this book for fun. It has gotten some really great press and is now a movie (in Italian though). The dude's easy on the eyes too.

(source)

Anyway, I am hunting for my next read. I am trying to choose between the following two books.

Oprah recommended this one back in August and it's been on my to-read list since then. It was also recommended to me by Amazon.

I feel like I should conform and give this a read.

Thoughts?

Crock Pot Magic

2011-11-10T21:31:00.005-06:00

This morning I woke up at 8:15am and dragged myself into the kitchen. It was cold, I was tired and the bed was really sad to see me leave. I pulled together an effortless breakfast.

I thought I could handle the no-fruit thing. Wrong! I popped a grape with every bite.

I also had a green juice this morning!

I then went to pick up MC to make a Costco run. I came home with spinach, raspberries, butternut squash and a handful of other stuff. I <3 Costco. I could spend hours there. Sometimes I go there just to roam the aisles. Yeah, I'm weird.

Anyway, after our late morning Costco trip, I reheated some leftovers and headed to campus for work and a 5pm class.

I munched on a few almonds while I listened to a lawyer talk about defined benefit plans and 401(k)s. He was actually pretty interesting and shared quite a few war stories. 'Twas as fun as law lectures can be.

I came home to some magic! Crock pot magic that is. Before I headed to class, I threw a handful of things into the slow cooker to make channa masala.

I came home, made some brown rice and dinner was served.

It was really delicious and super simple. The best part was definitely coming home to an apartment that smelled of masala!

Post- dinner, I had a carrot juice. Yay for juicing! Aren't you proud?

I tried really hard to keep my hands off the sugar post-dinner. But after about an hour, I couldn't help but satisfy my sweet tooth in the form of pancakes.

These pancakes were AWFUL! I ran out of sprouted wheat flour so I decided to use almond flour. They had the funkiest texture. But, the chocolate/strawberry mixture hit the spot.

Alright, time for an episode of Friends and a mug of tea before bed. Session 4 is tomorrow and I am super duper excited. We are covering some really fascinating topics and have stellar guest lecturers from around the country coming in. CanNOT wait.

Peeled Grapes

2011-11-09T21:17:00.006-06:00

I woke up a little late this morning and jumped straight into work. By the time I prepped my morning oats it was about 10:30am.

They were delicious nonetheless. I enjoyed them with a side of green juice.

I did some more work but spent most of the afternoon outside with a mug of tea and a book.

I cannot put this book down. It is so unbelievably good!

I put together linner (lunch/dinner) at about 4pm. I roasted up onions, some squash, zucchini and butternut squash. I also threw in a red potato and a sweet potato for good measure.

While the veggies roasted, I made a quick tomato sauce with canned no-salt-added tomatoes, a couple cloves of garlic and a handful of dried herbs.

It came together with some brown rice pasta and nutritional yeast. Delicious.

Dessert turned out to be a small bowl of grapes.

When I snack on grapes, I tend to peel them with my teeth before eating them.

Am I totally weird? Can you please still be my friend?

Post-linner, I headed to Whole Foods because I was bored. Hah, just kidding. Although, I wouldn't put it past me. It was for my mid-week grocery run (which I have decided to make peace with. It works much better than trying to stuff a week's worth of veggies in my fridge.) I came home and chugged a carrot apple juice and watched an episode of Friends.

Now? It's time to get in bed. Not because I am tired or have an early morning, it's because I have an amazing book waiting for me on my bedside table.

Good night!

Naps Suck

2011-11-08T14:21:00.006-06:00

This morning I woke up at 6:15am and jumped straight into food prep for the day. Before my 8am class, I managed to cook quinoa, prep lunch, prep breakfast, juice and shower.

Breakfast was a sloppy bowl of soaked oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and a tbsp or so of chia seeds with some yogurt and flax oil mixed in. There were strawberries involved too. I actually was not a fan of this breakfast. I forgot to add in some vanilla and cinnamon, so the yogurt flavor was a little strong.

I packed up a lunch by throwing some leftovers on a bed of spinach.

I added some quinoa before I packed it up.

I also juiced this morning. ~~Green~~ Red juice for now, carrot juice for later.

All packed up!

I came home in the early afternoon to avoid some stormy weather on my walk. The rain definitely brought on thoughts of a nap. The only thing is that I am a terrible napper. MC can power nap with the best of them. She takes at least one nap a day if not more. However, my "power naps" turn into just sleeping for 4 hours. I pretty much avoid naps because of this.

I gave in this afternoon at about 3:30pm. I woke up this evening at 8pm. FML.

I woke up, silently berated myself for taking a "nap" and got on with it.

Dinner was some leftovers from lunch along with pancakes. Just 'cuz.

I friggin' love this pancake recipe. Can't get enough.

Happy Birthday, Rishab!

2011-11-07T21:15:00.005-06:00

My brother, Rishab, is 14 today!

He was born 14 years ago, but it feels like it was just yesterday.

He has grown up fast,

Continues to charm us with those dimples,

And still gets away with everything!

Rishab and I have quite the age gap but are actually very close. He is my everything-- best friend, confidant, fellow trouble maker.

I love you, kid. Happy Birthday!

Hello November!

2011-11-01T08:50:00.001-05:00

October is over?!? That was quick.

October wasn't my best month. I definitely slacked on my goals. Let's take a look at the October goals.

1. Juice more. I tried to juice everyday this month. That didn't quite happen. I juiced about 3-4 times a week. It's not bad but, I really need to kick it up a notch and get back into juicing everyday.

2. 10-day yoga challenge. 10 consecutive days of Bikram yoga. I definitely underestimated this challenge. I got through day 3 before work/school got in the way.

Considering my October goals weren't accomplished, I am going to recycle them for November...kind of.

My November goals:

1. Juice, juice, juice! I need to get juicing back into my daily morning routine. As boring as seeing juice pictures are, I'm going to start posting them just to keep me accountable.

2. 10 days of yoga. Instead of trying to get in 10 consecutive days of yoga (which is nearly impossible), I am going to go for 10 days of yoga over the course of this month. This is a much more achievable goal.

As always, I invite you to share your November goals with me! Happy November!

The Monday Blues

2011-10-31T17:10:00.005-05:00

I've been under the weather most of the day. Not sure what's going on, but hoping a solid night of sleep will do the trick.

I started out the day with oatmeal with apples and a spoonful of yogurt (mixed with cinnamon & vanilla).

This kept me full and focused through emails and errands. By early afternoon, I needed a nap and some tea. I had both and then put together a simple lunch/afternoon snack of a few spoonfuls of yogurt, a dollop of pumpkin puree and some granola.

I made both the pumpkin puree and the granola yesterday. The granola is fantastic. I'll share pictures and a recipe soon!

I spent most of the late afternoon being a bum. When dinner time rolled around, I really didn't have the energy to do anything very creative. I had an avocado and half a tomato and cucumber in my fridge so naturally, I put together a sloppy G.

Sidebar: Cucumber and avocado are the perfect couple. Who knew?

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Weekend

2011-10-30T12:45:00.011-05:00

Let me quickly catch you up on Friday. Friday was session 3 for work. By now, you know these Friday sessions are brutal. Although, we provide food (and fancy food at that), it's hardly ever the kind of food I am looking for. So, I pack an entire days worth of food and while everyone eats their sandwiches and chips, I quietly pull out my packed lunch.

Anyway, I was up at 5:30am on Friday and out the door by 6:30am. I was on campus for a last minute errand and then off to the conference center. After setting up, I checked email/news while eating my packed breakfast.

Yogurt, crumbled slice of maple apple spice cake and a few raspberries.

We started up our usual brain dump by 8am. And took a break for lunch at about noon when I quickly pulled out my tupperware and started eating.

Spinach, peppers, onions, mung bean sprouts, cucumber and tomato. Lime & cilantro dressing was also used. (LOVE this dressing!)

I rounded out lunch with a gala apple and some raw pecan butter for dipping.

After class, I headed to MC's house to hang out and chat. We eventually (after about 3 hours of gossiping) got our butts out of bed and got ready to go out.

We headed out to Montrose and met up with a large group of party people.

I got home around 1am and headed straight to bed. Most of my Saturday was also spent in bed. I read and napped most of the day away. Eventually Halloween prep was under way.

I was mega lazy on Saturday so I didn't really eat anything. I did eat an apple around 6pm though.

I had a few people over for a small pre-party. They brought their own beer and I sipped on a kombucha.

Remember the lion costume? With the help of some internet tutorials, it came together.

We headed first to Valhalla, a graduate student bar on Rice University's campus, and then out to Montrose for the annual pub crawl. We only ended up doing one bar before people got too tired/drunk.

Driving around like a lion was my favorite part. :)

I got home a little past 2am and went directly to bed. It was a fun Halloween weekend. Overall, I'm glad MC and I decided to partake in the festivities this year.

Alright, off to tackle my granola project.

Raspberry Chocolate Almond Pancakes

2011-10-30T12:27:00.003-05:00

MMM. Pancakes.

I had these for breakfast, lunch and dinner over the past couple of days. They are addicting to say the least.

Raspberry Chocolate Almond Pancakes
Serves 2

Pancakes:
1/2 cup sprouted wheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1 tsp sodium free baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup water
coconut oil

Maple Pecan Syrup:
raw pecan butter
pure maple syrup

Toppings:
vegan chocolate chips or carob chips
fresh raspberries
chopped almonds

1. Stir together the dry pancake ingredients (flours, baking powder and cinnamon) then add vanilla extract and the water. Stir to combine and set aside.

2. Mix roughly equal parts of raw pecan butter and maple syrup. Adjust ratios until desired consistency is reached.

3. Heat a pan over medium heat. Coat the bottom of the pan with a small amount of coconut oil. Pour in about 1/4 cup of pancake batter into the pan. Let cook for roughly a minute and flip. Cook the other side for about a minute. Remove from heat and plate.

4. Top pancakes with chocolate/ carob chips, raspberries, chopped almonds and maple pecan syrup. Enjoy!

Of course, you can play with toppings and presentation. If you are really into the raspberry flavor, you can also find raspberry extract to add to the batter. Or try almond extract.

Vegan carob or chocolate chips are pretty easy to find at Whole Foods. They have a few different options. My favorite is the Enjoy Life brand mini chocolate chips. They are dairy, nut and soy free AND they taste great. Perfect, right?

Dessert for Dinner

2011-10-27T21:52:00.005-05:00

Today wasn't the healthiest day. I pretty much had dessert for two out of my three meals. Yikes.

This morning I had a serving of bread pudding with yogurt and raspberries. The thought of this breakfast kinda bummed me out. I wasn't a fan of the bread pudding from yesterday and I don't like yogurt.

But somehow, the bread pudding and the yogurt together works well. I actually semi enjoyed it.

Also, I think I figured out three reasons that the bread pudding didn't come out well.
1) I used allspice which can be finnicky. Sometimes its perfect and sometimes its spicy.
2) I didn't thin out the homemade almond cream enough.
3) I used 1/3 of the sugar that the recipe called for. Just 'cuz. But, I should have made up for it with some chopped dates and other dried fruit or something.

Anyway, no biggie.

I spent the day working and frantically studying for my test. Even though I packed a lunch, I ended up not eating it. I'm still (not surprisingly) struggling with this issue!

I came home after the test and downed a huge bowl of Sunday Soup.

I went to Whole Foods to grab some ingredients for a granola project I'm working on. I probably won't be making the granola until Saturday but I decided to pick it up because I was in the mood for a drive.

While I was there, I put together a dessert idea in my head and decided to pick up some stuff for that too. I came home and got to work.

OH. MY. WORD.

And now, time to watch Bridesmaids. I have been dying to watch this movie since it came out. It's finally at Redbox so I snagged a copy for a post-midterms celebration! Just me, myself and a bottle of kombucha.

Sloppy G's

2011-10-26T21:41:00.009-05:00

This morning I woke up and headed straight into errands. I picked up my friend and headed to Target to put together our Halloween costumes. I kinda ~~hate~~ dislike Halloween. Last year, I was so excited that my new grad school friends kinda disliked it too. We ignored Halloween and I got off easy.

This year is a different story. So, I put in the absolute bare minimum and purchased a costume for all of $5.

I'm hoping it comes of cute/innocent instead of lame.

After a few other things, including a trip to the temple and the doctor's office, I came home for a Mexican fiesta. In lunch form, of course.

Black bean soup, half a guac sandwich (which I have affectionately termed "sloppy G") and some salad tossed with a lime and cilantro dressing.

This dressing is crack. It's simply the juice of two limes, a tablespoon each of flax seed oil and olive oil, a large clove of garlic, a handful of cilantro and two tsps of maple syrup. So. Good.

Lunch was followed by one final errand before ~~hitting the books~~ watching a movie. (What is wrong with me?? I have a test tomorrow!)

Anyway, when I finally did hit the books, I downed a kombucha.

For dinner, I just wanted more guacamole.

Sloppy G, take two.

I cleaned up and went back into my world of misery known as healthcare law. About 30 mins later, I had a really weird craving. I wanted bread pudding. Um, yeah. Don't know where that came from. Especially because I have only had bread pudding twice-- at Madrigal Dinner and on a cruise.

But, I looked up a few recipes and realized I had the ingredients, so you know, why not?

It was really simple. Just almond milk (I thinned out my homemade "almond cream"), sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, almonds and day old bread (I used a few slices of sprouted wheat bread).

Looks can be deceiving.

It wasn't that it was bad...it just wasn't good. Some recipes are just not meant to be "healthified."

Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

**Also, to all my Indian readers-- HAPPY DIWALI!**

Process of Elimination

2011-10-25T20:47:00.006-05:00

I've been studying law all evening and have decided I don't want to be a lawyer. I think I will eventually find my passion via process of elimination. Good plan, right?

This morning, I woke up late! I have class at 8am and woke up at 7:30am. Yikes. I had my lunch packed but breakfast needed more time, so I just grabbed an apple and ran out.

Lunch was a colorful salad.

Spinach, sprouted mung beans, onions, cucumber and mini peppers.

I finished up work at 4pm and headed home for dinner part one.

Yumm.

Dinner part two was a bowl of Sunday Soup.

And now, I am enjoying my next to last piece of Maple Apple Spice Cake with a side of more studying.

My life is such a party.