Random pics
My recent favorite breakfast (that I even had today too) is Nature’s Path organic flax waffles (2 of them) smothered with almond butter and manuka honey and then layered with slices of yummy ripe bananas. This breakfast makes me feel on top of the world!! It doesn’t get much better than this. 
This was an interesting breakfast creation. So I really wanted CCV’s Banana Bread Blender Cereal, but I didn’t have any frozen bananas. Therefore I had to improvise. I used frozen strawberries instead. I was really wanting the cold, creamy cereal that I usually get when I make this. The strawberries gave me that, but it wasn’t as yummy. I think strawberries are more water based, so my cereal ended up tasting a bit bland and watery. The banana usually makes it creamy and rich tasting too. It was ok though. It wasn’t bad enough for me to throw away and make something else, but I don’t think I’ll make it again.
Roly Poly ultimate veggie sandwich that I got to-go. Once home I added some grilled tofu and liberal amounts of yellow mustard and vegan mayo. This is our usual Saturday lunch. Yum!!
Eric came to school for lunch, and instead of him bringing lunch to me, I packed us a picnic. We had sandwiches made with the cranberry and stuffing Tofurkey slices. This is the first time we’ve tried it. I thought they were great!! Like the package recommends, I put cream cheese, cranberry sauce, and lettuce on the bread with it. It tasted like the holidays!
This was a very hearty lunch that kept me satisfied all the way to dinner. I put a serving of brown rice in the bowl and then poured the soup on top. The avocado piece on top was a lovely complement. A favorite lunch dessert of mine is endangered species chocolate.
Sammies
I don’t know if it’s the change to cooler weather or what, but I have been craving sandwiches allllll week!!! This was a special holiday sandwich…homemade whole wheat bagel lightly toasted, apple slices, pan-grilled tofu, and cranberry sauce. Sweet and delish!
Another craving I’ve been having is soup and sandwiches together! The perfect fall and winter combination. I especially enjoy dipping the corner of my sandwich in the hot soup and then taking a bite. Here I had some veggie soup (this was actually a gift…a packaged soup from Williams and Sonoma that I just added my own vegan broth to). Sandwich is made on yummy Whole Foods sourdough. One slice is spread with mayo, the other with fresh avocado. After a sprinkling of pepper, I sliced up a yellow heirloom tomato, some red onion, and layered on some Lightlife fakin tempeh strips. I love this sandwich!! This lunch rocked.
More soup one night….with slices of sourdough and earth balance.
Eric wanted soup and a sandwich. I made him a sourdough one with tempeh strips, apple slices, and cranberry sauce. He seriously woofed it down, so it must have been great!
Although this guy isn’t a traditional sandwich, I thought it still fits into this category of my craving bread with junk inside. This was a lunch I made last week made with an Ezekiel whole grain pita, Whole Foods hummus, green leaf lettuce, garam masala potatoes I had left over, and white wave baked tofu. LOVED THIS!! Carrots, hot tea, and a couple of squares of dark chocolate round out the meal.
Labor Day Post (Isn’t that a lovely title?!)
Sunday night we went to Salad Creations because a nice, big yummy salad just sounded good. Boy did it hit the spot! The dressing was the best part. It was called Asian Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette. We had them get out the allergens table to make sure it contained no dairy. I love chickpeas in a salad too! Now I just have to convince Salad Creations to stock tofu. 
Monday was Labor Day. I woke up and had this lovely bowl of health. This was a new cereal I just got from Central Market. It’s VERY tasty and is loaded with fiber and has 12 grams of soy protein which is perfect for us vegans.
I just HAVE to tell you a little bit about my yoga experience on Monday. After my lovely breakfast and vegging around the house for a bit, I headed to a free yoga class. It was the 2nd annual free day of yoga in Dallas where a lot of the area studios offer free classes for the day. I forced myself to try a different studio out called Yoga Sport. It was an AMAZING workout, similar to Bikram in that it was pretty warm in the room. It’s a power yoga flow vinyasa class. I really adored it. If you’re interested in yoga at all, you should check out the website. I don’t know much about Yoga Sport yet, but I think they have similar Baptiste studios around the U.S. and world. No worries though, I’m not quitting Bikram all together. I’m going to mix it up and practice at both. After the Yoga Sport class, I headed to Whole Foods to stock up on some groceries for the week. I decided to take pictures this week of our stash! Notice all the fresh ingredients! I ALWAYS make sure I have more fresh things than canned/packaged foods. They’re so much better for you!
Fresh from the grocery store, I made us some sandwiches as we were both starving. On the sandwich was Lightlife’s smoky tempeh strips (fakin bacon) pan grilled, an heirloom tomato (which oh my goodness was the most amazing tomato I have ever had), butter leaf lettuce, Nasoya sandwich spread (vegan mayo), yellow mustard, red onion, and fresh black pepper. The chips are Terra’s sweets and beets (sweet potato and beet chips)…the best! Thanks to my darling co-worker Clorinda for the heirloom tomato recommendation. I had never even heard of them before, and when I ran in to her at Whole Foods, she convinced me to buy one. They aren’t cheap, like $6 something a pound, but I got one, and I will definitely go back for more. They are worth it!!!
Dinner was a quinoa recipe given to me by another lovely lady I teach with named Pam. She cut it out of the Kansas City Star paper. I was going to type the recipe in, but I know many quinoa recipes are out there. This one was pretty good, but I don’t know I would make it again. I think there are better ones out there. (So hopefully that explains me not posting the recipe.) We ate it on top of butter lettuce and with corn on the cob.
That was our Labor Day eating. I hope everyone had a nice, long, relaxing weekend!!
Lunch Time
This week I started back to work. The kids start back to school on Monday, but this past week was just for the teachers. My lunch times were a bit hectic because I was either working in my classroom during them, or I was out to eat with teachers. I did manage to get a couple of photos of what I ate.
Leftover Creamy Spinach Pasta (p. 161 in The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook), salad with balsamic, and 1/2 of my carrot cake cupcake from Spiral Diner.
Leftover bean falafel patties (recipe from New Leaf newsletter I’ve posted about) turned in to an open face sandwich with bread and lots of mustard. Big yummy salad with balsamic.
This is a side salad from Cafe Express . It came with mixed greens and tomatoes. Then I just loaded up things from their awesome side bar (chickpeas, pickle, sundried tomatoes, pickled carrots, and olives). I drizzled it with balsamic vinegar.
This is a grilled tofu sandwich I made on Saturday afternoon. I love tofu like this! I love tofu anyway really though.
Mom invades Spiral Dallas
Breakfast was quick and small this morning as I woke up only an hour before Bikram yoga. I have to eat something, but there’s a fine line. If I eat too much, I regret it BIG time in class. I ended up eating all of the apple slices and almond butter, but just a bit of the cereal I had poured. I was worried about crossing the line!
Lunch today was very similar to the sandwich I made on Monday: Ezekial sprouted grain hamburger bun, grilled tofu slices, avocado, Nasoya sandwich spread, Dijon mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and cucumbers. Raspberry-Lime Tartlets for dessert.
For an afternoon snack I had a protein shake with Vitasoy. Thanks to Broccoli Hut for the recommendation of this amazing Living Harvest product. I’m in love. I found it at my neighborhood Whole Foods too, which was great because Amazon.com was sold out when I tried to order it. I also regularly snack on fresh fruit throughout the day, especially now in Texas during the summer. It’s so refreshing to have a juicy peach.
Mom treated us to a yummy vegan dinner at Spiral Diner.
Eric had the Jamaican Jerk BBQ Sandwich, Mom had Sketti & Meatballs, and I had Spaghetti Tropica (just like the Sketti & Meatballs, but with pineapple and black olives). We had chips and salsa for an appetizer. Dessert, which I’m so bummed I forgot to take pictures of, was a slice of vanilla cake for me, carob cookie for Mom, and chocolate ice cream for Eric. Of course we all shared. The vanilla cake was a hit! It was so moist and the icing was perfectly sweet. We talked to Sara, the owner of Spiral Dallas, on our way out and raved about the cake.
Blog virgin
It was after eating half of this tofu sandwich today that I decided FOR REAL I was starting a blog. So here I am! The yummy sandwich was on an Ezekiel sprouted grain hamburger bun and consisted of tofu slices, grilled on George Foreman, avocado, red onion, yellow mustard, Nasoya sandwich spread, and fresh pepper.
I have a VERY sweet tooth, and almost always have a wee dessert after lunch and/or dinner. More often lunch AND dinner. Today’s lunchtime dessert was a vegan blueberry cookie that I had just picked up during a Whole Foods grocery trip and vanilla ice cream. I actually ate half of mine somewhere between when I picked it out of the case at WF and lunchtime. The whole cookie pictured, therefore, is the one I got for Eric.
Working backwards now, my pre-Bikram yoga breakfast was cereal, soymilk, and blackberries. Cereal sweetened with some Stevia, my most favorite natural sweetner.
Dinner was Dreena’s Garlicky Broccoli, Corn & Bean Burritos, p. 127 from ED&BV. Oh so tasty and garlicky! I couldn’t get over how yummy the sauteed veggies were. I used a can of Amy’s low sodium refried pinto beans instead of making my own. Topped off with slices of avocado and tofutti sour cream. Served on the side are lime wedges, along with a basic salad of romaine, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar. Bon appetit!
