Recent dinners…
I’ve enjoyed making dinner, as I usually do, but it’s been extra fun with the changing of the seasons. I like the fall foods….it means cooking with pumpkin and squash and making more hearty, heavy, hot meals. 
Baked Beans and Dogs (The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook, p. 116). We had this with sausage cut up on top (grilled on George Foreman) and green beans.
Vegan Sweet Potato and Pecan Tamales with Amy’s Chili. I bought the tamales from Whole Foods in the refrigeration section (by the breads). The chili comes from the can (low sodium). Big salad on the side drizzled in balsamic vinegar.
Roasted Red Kuri Squash with Gnocchi (from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan, p. 141). This sauce is just amazing over the store bought vegan gnocchi I got. I could eat it by itself, and I did that too! I also ate it later in the week with other things, as you will see. Here I had a small salad and broccoli.
Tofu and Okra Stir-fry with Teriyaki and Hot Sauce. Throwing together a stir-fry is one of the most fun and delicious dinners to make and eat. It can be so satisfying and healthy too! This one was made up of tofu, okra, lima beans, carrots, tomatoes, and onions. With a side of hearty long-grain brown rice, this was awesome! I was feeling in a chopstick kind of mood (since that’s what I usually use when I get a stir-fry at Genghis). I managed to use the chopsticks until the last little bit. Then I switched to a fork so I could eat every little last bit. 
Leftovers Night. Have these at your house? I love leftovers!! I know it’s a personal thing. Eric doesn’t like leftovers at all. So when he’s not going to be around for dinner, I indulge in all the extra stuff left in our fridge. I had the Red Kuri Squash Sauce, baked beans, green beans, and broccoli. The squash and bean combo was awesome. I ate those two together. Yum!
I heart Sunshine burgers!!
I know I’ve mentioned this a ton of times, but Sunshine Burgers are the coolest thing on the face of the earth. They are so delicious and healthy. I just adore them. If you haven’t ever had one, oh my goodness…rush to the store RIGHT this minute. They are great by themselves, crumbled on top of a salad or soup, or plopped on top of a salad like I did here. I like all of the flavors, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the southwest.
The best way to eat one though, in my opinion, is the old-fashion way, veggie-burger style. Loaded up with mustard, ketchup, vegan mayo, red onions, avocado, heirloom tomato, and fresh black pepper, it doesn’t get any better than this. Unless you include a yummy, big, dill pickle on the side! Also, this burger was extra delicious this time because I bought some new Ezekial seasame burger buns. I’ve always purchased the sprouted whole grain ones, but I noticed the seasame ones this time. They are AMAZING!! So delicious. Like the package says, the bun inself could be it’s own meal (because they’re so hearty and nutrition-filled). This first picture was my bun all ready to go. It’s just waiting for the burger. (By the way, my favorite way to heat up the Sunshine burgers is for 1 minute on high in the microwave. How easy is that?!)
Veggie burger finds a home.
I can’t eat it like that though. I must put it together. Wow…that is one honkin sandwich. Yum…I wanna eat, I wanna eat!
Here we go….all cut and ready to eat. Man this is going to be good.
And it was…the best veggie burger I’ve ever had or made. It was a combination of the seasame bun, the awesome veggie patty, paired with the freshest and ripest avocado and heirloom tomato….I’m gonna have to make this again REAL soon.
Last days of summer (for me)
This was my quick, small breakfast before Bikram. A tiny bowl of cereal and a wee teaspoon of peanut butter was enough fuel to get me through class.
After a trip to Whole Foods, I made lunch. Sometimes a simple meal of soup and salad really hits the spot. Amy’s makes some terrific canned soups. I usually buy the low sodium varieties since canned foods tend to have so much salt. It was split pea today with a salad of crisp iceberg, crunchy carrots, red onions, tomatoes, and fresh black pepper. Salad dressings on the side are balsamic vinegar and Annie’s Goddess Dressing. Dessert was a slice of the banana cake I made on Friday (the last of it) with a tiny scoop of what was left of my So Delicious vanilla ice cream.
This is one of my favorite snacks, pretzels and nut butter…raw almond butter today.
Dinner felt like we were at a BBQ, in fact, we did have this exact meal on the 4th of July. The baked bean recipe comes from Mary McDougall. She is the author of several cookbooks, along with her husband, the famous, Dr. John McDougall. I got this recipe when I attended the McDougall’s celebrity chef weekend that they hosted in Santa Rosa, California at the end of July. I tasted them when Mary made them at her demonstration and absolutely loved the sweetness and familiarity of the baked beans I used to have as a child. Among other things, you put molasses, vegan Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and ketchup. We adore these beans! Accompanying them is a Sunshine veggie burger (my favorite frozen burgers to buy) with lettuce, red onion, mustard, nasoya sandwich spread, and ketchup.
Here’s a picture of the vitamins I am currently taking. The multi I take daily and the B-12 about every other day. I buy the multivitamins on veganessentials.com. Check out the lovely watermelon behind them. I got it today at Whole Foods. It’s organic and unlike any other watermelon I’ve ever seen before. Look for more pictures of the melon coming soon!
