Dinner guests
Well they’re not really guests per say because they’re family, but last night I made dinner for my father-in-law, sister-in-law, Eric, and me. On the menu:
- Scrambled Tofu from Vegan with a Vengeance (made with squash and broccoli in place of the mushrooms)
- Lightlife smoky tempeh fakin bacon strips
- Freshly made guacamole from Whole Foods
- all stuffed in tortillas (My sis-in-law and me had it in Ezekial sprouted grain tortillas, and I heated up flour tortillas for the boys.)
I’ve served this scrambled tofu loads of times. It’s always a hit! It’s just so yummy with the spices, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast. Eric LOVES it in a tortilla, so I’ve started to make that a habit now. It’s really delicious! I, of course, had to have it for lunch today as well. 
Eric hearts pumpkin bread!
The first thing I did Sunday morning was munch on my leftover Fadi’s from the night before. YUMmy!!! Sometimes I just love a good hearty, atypical breakfast! One of my co-workers, Pam, actually told me how she eats leftovers for breakfast all of the time. It IS the most important meal of the day!
After I scarffed done that, I decided to go to town making pumpkin bread. Eric LOVES pumpkin bread, and I’m searching for the perfect, vegan recipe. I’ve found a couple of great recipes for pumpkin muffins (in Vegan with a Vengeance) and pumpkin cupcakes (in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World). I sitll want a GREAT pumpkin bread though. I decided to give the Pumpkin Spice Bread recipe a try in The Joy of Vegan Baking. It is a pretty healthy version…100% fat free…no oil, instead using applesauce. It does call for unbleached white flour though. The results were pretty good. Eric really seemed to like it. I was someone disappointed. I don’t know why, but I don’t think I’ll make it again. It was kind of gummy. I mean I know it’s fat free, but maybe a little bit of oil would go a long way. I LOVE being healthy, trust me, but I’m not willing to give up quality. Know what I mean? That being said…it’s not bad. We enjoyed it hot out of the oven! I ate half of my piece with butter on top and the other half with almond butter. Along with a steaming cup of hot “coffee”, it was a lovely treat!
Happy Saturday!!!
My lovely morning started with this wonderful bowl of breakfast blender cereal (thanks CCV, again) and a hot cup of lemon ginger yogi tea. I put two kids of cereal in the blender to make a cup of it (Uncle Sam’s wheat flakes and Barbara’s Ultima high fiber cereal), a cup of almond vanilla milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and a half of a frozen banana. I left out the walnuts this time and instead had a spoonful of almond butter right out of the jar. 
After musing through the newspaper and various blogs, I got on my yoga clothes and did a few chores. Then it was off to my wonderful Saturday morning yoga class. I love doing yoga on weekend mornings, a time I don’t get to practice at during the weekday. After yoga I was quite hungry. I had already thought ahead about what I would prepare for lunch. On a toasted Ezekial seasame bun, I spread mustard and vegan mayo, layered red onions, lettuce, and sprouts, and topped it all off with 3 slices of pan-grilled tofu sprayed with a bit of Bragg’s. YUM!!! On the side I had a wee bit of Garden of Eatin’ Multi-grain everything tortilla chips and some salsa verde.
It just wouldn’t be right to not have a wee bit of dessert too!!! I couldn’t decide between dairy-free ice cream or vegan pudding, so I put both right in the bowl with a couple of Mi-Del vanilla snaps. My belly is so happy right about now! I hope you have yourself a VERY lovely Saturday!!!
Saturday night we got dinner out at Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill. It is an awesome place to eat for vegans, vegetarians, and the others. heehee They offer a buffet of hummus dips, an array of salads and vegetables, as well as freshly made pita breads. You can also get made-to-order falafel with tahini sauce. Yum! I LOVE the portion sizes, which insure I always have enough to take home for leftovers. In fact, I actually ate my leftovers this time for breakfast on Sunday morning. It was fabulous! The first plate on the left (the massive one) is mine. Then is a picture of falafel that Eric order, and that he so sweetly shared with me. Lastly, Eric’s plate. I definitely recommend Fadi’s if you are in Dallas or Houston (I don’t think they are in any other cities).
The rest of the week…
I mainly ate the same cereal for breakfast every day this week that I previously blogged about. Except for Thursday morning, when I decided to indulge on almond butter, banana waffles. The best!!!!
For lunch on Thursday also, Eric brought me Quizno’s. I got a small veggie sub with no cheese, no dressing, add mustard, and on wheat bread. I also brought a couple of grilled slices of tofu from home to throw on it too (I know I’m a BIG dork). It occurred to me that morning that my Quizno’s sandwich could be extra delicious with some tofu. And boy was it!! Man…tofu, guacamole, pickles, and banana peppers…I was in heaven.
‘I was feeling a little lazy Wednesday night. After a meeting after school, a long private tutoring session, an hour long run/walk, I was ready for an easy and quick meal. Amy’s vegan pot pie to the rescue! I haven’t bought or had one of these in forever. I was really grateful I bought it on my last rendezvous at Whole Foods though. With a little broc and carrot on the side, it was enough to make my belly full and my mood smiley.
Thursday night was stir-fry night. You know…when you throw everything into the pan in your kitchen/refrigerator that even could possibly work in a stir-fry. I had tofu, carrots, broccoli, red onions, and a wee bit of okra. I cooked it with water, Bragg’s, and added in a bit of nutritional yeast at the end….YUM! The grain is whole wheat couscous. When I sat down to eat, I had a few bites. Although it was pretty tasty, I remembered I had some leftover refried beans in the fridge that would go great with everything on my plate. I quickly hopped up, nuked the beans, and added those to my dinner plate. Dinner made even better!!
Dessert was a wee slice of strudel (heated up) with some vegan ice cream.
I LOVE being vegan!!!
Introducing my new two cereals, that are packing some serious fiber and protein (17 grams of soy protein to be exact). The Nutlettes has 17 grams of soy protein in a 1/3 cup serving (130 calories). I mixed that with a serving of the Ultima to make one hearty and healthy bowl of cereal. Combined with a big scoop of frozen blueberries that I had thawed in the fridge, I was one happy girl all morning long. Now, I have to tell you….Eric was SOOOO not pleased with me this morning. I poured him his glass of Superfood Odwalla that he drinks on the way to work. This is a BIG step for someone who never eats breakfast. I thought it would be a good idea this morning to stir in a serving of the Nutlettes seeing that it has all that protein. I thought it would be great for him, being a runner and all. The protein would do him good! Oh he was so not happy…he said it was disgusting. haha I guess juice and cereal don’t go together for him. Sorry love…I won’t taint your morning juice ever again.
Lunch was leftovers from last night, but this time on top of a flour tortilla. Scrumptious!
Isn’t this so adorable?! Don’t make fun of my wee midday dessert. Two Mi-Del vanilla snap cookies around a wee scoop of fruit sweetened It’s SO Delicious vanilla non-dairy ice cream. After this, one may think…it’s so great to be alive!!
Today was a great day of food. I just love being vegan and making such yummy meals. Foods that make you ew and ah, and that afterward eating you still have wonderful thoughts and feelings about. About the taste and how you’ve just given your body great fuel. Foods that you know are great for you and the environment, and that you haven’t harmed anything in the process. It just feels wonderful!
Dinner tonight was spruced up spaghetti!! (Sorry for the weird angle. This was the best picture I got. I’m working on my photography. ) It was angel hair and shells pasta topped with tomato sauce that I seasoned with Italian seasonings, onions, and garlic. Then I put on a dollop of jarred basil pesto, a few roasted pine nuts, pineapple chunks, frozen vegan meatballs, and vegan Parmesan cheese. I mirrored this dish after the Spaghetti Tropica plate at Spiral Diner. Side salad was with iceberg lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, red and green onion, sprouts, fresh black pepper, and vegan caesar dressing. YUM! I’m taking this for lunch tomorrow for sure!!
For dessert tonight I had a wee cup of Joe (my fake coffee I blogged about) and a couple of squares of my Endangered Species dark chocolate and expresso bean bar. Wow….good eats today! I can’t wait to eat more vegan food tomorrow!!!
Wahoo…look at me…posting in the middle of the week!
Mmmm….a Bakemmm Whole Wheat bagel from the freezer, zapped for 30 seconds and then toasted to perfection until it tastes freshly homemade. Made even better by spreading with raw almond butter and Manuka honey. If you’ve never heard of Manuka honey before, that was me just a little while ago. When we were living in Scotland, I was battling through a cold or mild flu, and someone recommended I buy Manuka honey and eat a teaspoon. It was their home remedy for making me feel better. I listened and bought the New Zealand product that is made from manuka flowers. It was quite expensive I remembered. Just last week, I was in a health food store in Dallas, and I found Manuka honey! It’s definitely not cheap, $15.00 for the size in the picture. It has a lovely sweet taste though and is excellent paired with nut butters. Besides, you’re getting some health benefits while eating it too..it’s keeping you healthy! Go on…support vegan honey.
Quick, vegan lunch. I’m definitely not one for packaged lunches, preferring leftover dinner from the night before. Packaged foods always seem to be laden with copious amounts of sodium and many many foreign ingredients. However, one of the recently turned vegan teachers at my school has turned me on to these Thai noodle boxes. I bought a few for Eric, and after he overwhelmingly approved of them (he was my guinea pig), so I finally had one. This one was Thai peanut. It was VERY tasty! Despite not having a lot of fiber or protein, it did keep me full for a long time and held me until dinner. I would definitely recommend these. Note that some are not vegan though and contain fish products. The ones that are vegan are specifically marked.
I bought these crispy corn taco shells at the health food store last week too. It sparked my interest because I ate a lot of crispy tacos as a kid, and I realized I haven’t made crispy tacos in FOREVER. I stuffed them with Amy’s low sodium refried beans, guacamole, heirloom tomato, green onions, sprouts, and Follow Your Heart vegan sour cream. This is the first time I’ve bought this brand since it has come out. I always got the Tofutti before. It tastes great though. Okra and onions are the veg on the side.
A wee bowl of bars I picked up on my latest trip to Whole Foods. Lots of chocolate ones in there!! Thanks to CCV for the Cliff Nectar bar recommendations. I’ve only tried the lemon, vanilla, and cashew one so far, but it is fabulous! Yum!
Apple Strudel
I come from a Czech family (on my mom’s side), and so apple strudel is a very traditional Czech dish. My dear grandmother has made it my whole life (many many times throughout the year). Whenever any company came in town, like a distant aunt or uncle, my grandmother always had strudel on hand. I haven’t looked at her recipe to try and veganize it (besides…I bet her recipe is in her head, not on a piece of paper). When I got The Joy of Vegan Baking a couple of months ago, I knew I would have to make the apple strudel. Not only do the pictures of it in the cookbook look amazing, but Colleen Patrick-Goudereau’s recipes do not disappoint. Sunday afternoon, I decided what a perfect time for an apple strudel. Oh my grandma would be so proud!! Here are pictures of the strudel in the process. Doesn’t the bowl of apple slices look yummy?! They are all rolled up in sheets of phyllo pastry. (I used whole wheat phyllo pastry because that’s what I had on hand.)
Golden brown Apple Strudel right out of the oven! Cinnamon, sugar, and roasted almonds are sprinkled generously all over the top. Our house spelled of yummy apples and cinnamon…definitely a fall smell. Once cooled, we dug in and split a piece before a late afternoon Sunday walk. We would indulge in more later!
Sunday night Cowboys game dinner consisted of a veggie burger (on the yummy Ezekiel sesame buns), a veggie mix, and a pickle. Our cat, Scotch, obviously like the smell of this dinner! She jumped in my lap when I was trying to photograph. I caught the back of her head in the picture!
Out and about in D-town
We met some friends at Urban Taco this weekend. I got two homemade corn tortilla tacos with veggies and spices, a side of refried black beans, and a wee plate with lettuce, tomatoes, and guacamole on it. Perfect Friday night dinner, after a long work week!
This was my stir-fry I created at Genghis Grill. Nothing really exciting. Sorry for the blurred picture. I LOVE the chili garlic sauce they have there though to toss your veggies with. My concoction was mainly made up of broccoli, carrots, and tofu.
REALLY Yummy and REALLY Quick Dinners this week!!!
This was my last single dinner before Eric got back home. I just threw together a salad with vegan thousand island dressing, and a pasta dish consisting of whole wheat fusilli, Amy’s marinara, okra, a few frozen vegan meatballs, and sprinkled with vegan Parmesan cheese. It was great and hit the spot! I love how simple, quick, and easy (yet satisfying and healthy) pasta can be.
This would be Baked Beans and Dogs (from The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook, p. 116). I essentially got the baked bean recipe from the cookbook, and then you top it with whatever vegan dogs you like. I bought the Light Life breakfast sausages and grilled then in a pan. Paired with a generous portion of crisp green beans, you’ve got a delicious and complete weeknight (or anytime) meal! Eric LOVED this! I can tell this is going in to the make it again and again file. Kids would love this!
Pesto Pasta Night!! When we lived in Scotland (and were non-vegan), we used to always make pesto pasta. It was really popular there. Since then, I haven’t been able to find vegan pesto in a jar. I’ve made it several times from scratch, which isn’t hard, but there’s something nice and convenient and delicious about the jarred pesto…call me crazy. At Whole Foods last week, I found vegan jarred pesto!! So here it is… I mixed the pesto with whole wheat angel hair pasta and added in fresh asparagus and onions that I had sauteed in a pan. On the side we had a simple, fresh salad with the new vegan caesar salad dressing I purchased.
If you cant tell I’m loving The McDougall Quick & Easy Cokbook, well I am!!! It’s true to the title, everything in it is so quick, easy, and not only that….I love how fresh and healthy all the recipes are. They have minimal ingredients too. On another school night when I didn’t have a ton of time to make dinner, I whipped up some Moo-Shu Wraps on p. 188. These were delish!! I bought raw, homemade white tortillas for this where you just cook them by heating them on both sides in a pan over medium heat. They taste totally homemade! I usually stray away from white flour, preferring the taste and health benefits of whole wheat and other grains, but I thought these would be great for the moo-shu wraps and would be a bit of a change from what we usually have. Variety is a good thing! Inside is cabbage, mushrooms, orange bell pepper, green onions, carrots, garlic, soy sauce, and tofu. I had some teriyaki sauce I bought to serve over the top. (The recipe suggests plum sauce, but I couldn’t find any at the store.) Eric put the teriyaki on his tacos, but it was plenty flavorful for me without the additional sauce. Very tasty!
Are you sick of seeing pictures of my Sunshine burgers yet?! heehee I know…I LOVE them!!! I can’t help it. This was a perfect Saturday afternoon salad toped off with a southwest Sunshine patty and drizzled with vegan caesar dressing.
I’m trying to get more into the smoothie making business. This was a simple blueberry, banana, Silk light vanilla soymilk, and ice smoothie. It was awesome though! I’ve been introduced to the world of frozen fruit.
Teacher Appreciation Luncheon
I’m definitely lucky to work at such an amazing elementary school with wonderful parents. I never knew they could be this awesome though! This past Wednesday was the first of our monthly luncheons this year. Being vegan usually meant I never really ate at the luncheons. All of last year, I never ate at one of them, besides a couple of salads. I just bring my lunch, like usual, on those days. This time would be different though! Two parents from my classroom were in charge of this luncheon. They emailed me earlier in the week to let me know that nothing was vegan on the menu and asking where they could get me lunch. I, of course, wrote them back saying how sweet and thoughtful they were being, and they absolutely did not need to go get anything special for me. They insisted though, so on Wednesday I enjoyed the most lovely little luncheon ever! Now I know why the teachers are always so excited on luncheon days!!!
I didn’t whip out my camera at the luncheon. I already felt a little singled out with my specialized little lunch. In a good way though!!! Therefore, you get to see what was leftover. They got me gazpacho soup, vegetable paella rice, and the yummiest wrap ever which was in a spinach tortilla stuffed with hummus and bulgur. They got everything at Whole Foods, and they commented on how helpful everyone was there to help them get together a vegan lunch.
Now this is what my lunch was in. Isn’t it adorable!?!? One of my mom’s heading the luncheon made it out of a paper bag. I am still so speechless at the thoughtfulness of these moms. This definitely made my week and month!! So if you’re doubting that people will ever come around in supporting you and veganism, think again!
