What I Ate Today (Breakfast & Lunch), MidWeek Munchies on Friday, and Inspiring Woman of the Day

The 2nd post of the day!  YAY!  Keep scrolling!  In this point I will share What I Ate Today - at least for Breakfast and Lunch, some more finds that I will LINK UP to with MidWeek Munchies, and an Inspiring Woman of the Day!

I will start with that.  Amy Schumer.  She hosted SNL this past weekend and I thought she did a great job.  I know Christine over at The Raw Project has seen her LIVE and I wish I could at some point.  I really like her because she's not a girlie-girl, she speaks her mind, has things she feels very strong about, and seem like a girl you could go have a beer with!  Her most favorite person in the world is her sister which I LOVE hearing that!  I also love that she goes against the grain when it comes to how Hollywood (or the world) says women should look.  She's her own person and encourages everyone to be their own self, too.  One of her latest adventures is in the fashion industry and dressing for your body type.  Check out this article and video!

Next up...what I ate today for Breakfast & Lunch:

Breakfast:

Strawberry Camu Camu Smoothie, 3 Pumpkin Spice Snakaroons, Mango Ice Cream Black Tea

Morning Snacks:

Handful of Galactic Garlic Onion Pistachios, Lemon Grass & Pandan Herbal Tea

Lunch:

Yet to be determined flavor of McDougall's Soup and a side salad of mixed greens

Now...here are 3 items I ordered over at The Raw Food World!  I've blogged about Awesome Foods products before and I can't wait to try some more!  Starting with Kale Krackers!!!!  Yes...just about all of us have had or at least seen Kale Chips but what about Kale Krackers?  I remember making something like this out of Spinach but I am looking forward to trying these, too!

And speaking of Kale Chips...I thought I would try these from Awesome Foods!  They have other flavors, too, and I am sure that I will try all of them at some point but these jumped out at me this time around!

Then I got more Raw Organic Sunflower Seeds to add to my stash.  I have been using various nuts in a lot of dips, spreads, sauces, etc but silly me I should be using Sunflower and/or Pumpkin Seeds MORE because they are even more powerful and nutritious than nuts AND they are CHEAPER!

Remember to LINK UP for MidWeek Munchies before the end of TUESDAY!!!

More Food Backlogging

I ended up finding more photos I never posted on my blog with foods I have eaten over the last several weeks!  Oopsy! 

I remember making this Kale Red Quinoa and Peanut dish and I think I over did it with the Flavored Nutritional Yeast Seasoning.  I used the Garlicky Green flavor.  It was ok but a bit salty.  I really like the idea of this dish but will have to tweak it down the road.  I thought the photo was neat so I thought I would at least share that now but the recipe does need a bit of work in the meantime.

WEEKS ago I dehydrated some Brussels Sprouts.  But not before I coated them in an intensely flavored sauce.  I originally got the idea from Tarah over at 40 Below Fruity's YouTube Channel.  I ended up using a different recipe, however, because I didn't have any Zuke's!  I should have stayed with HER recipe!  Oye!  BUT...they weren't too bad.  I do prefer by Brussels Sprouts cooked.  These were RAW and dried.  I really like the idea of this recipe and will do it again but HER way!  I have followed many raw foodists on YouTube for years and I have enjoyed Tarah's channel this past year, too, but I think I will be lurking around her site and channel more frequently moving forward because our climates are similar.

Something that definitely ISN'T raw...this vegan pretzel!  But it was a comfort food I consumed about a month ago and forgot to post here.  I did, however, post all of these on InstaGram, tho! 

I found a generic or discounted brand that didn't have any animal ingredients in it and grabbed 2 boxes.  My husband LOVES them too and you BAKE these instead of 'nuking' them.  I made a Agave Mustard dipping sauce for it, too!  YUMM!

I'm trying to finish all of my Holiday prep but work is really exhausting me!  Might have to shoot for smoothies every morning in the near future to kick my days off right!

RAW WEEK - Wednesday!

Check this bad boy salad out from yesterday!

This Salad was a bit of a Mish Mash of things and it turned out pretty tasty!

The Lettuce you see here is Petite Oak.  I used a whole head of it for this LARGE Salad.  I read up on this lettuce and noticed that it averages over a gram of protein per serving.

I also added 2 good sized carrots, 1/4 of a pickle, and about 10 raw Almonds.  This was my Dinner in addition to leftover Chia Seed Crackers and Raw Vegan Cheese Dip.

I made another dressing last night for this LARGE Salad.  I think I will call it Tomato Tahini but it's much more than that.  Here's what's in this Raw Vegan Salad Dressing...

4 Roma Tomatoes
1/3 C Tahini
2 T Braggs Liquid Aminos
2 Lemon Juice
2 Mini Sweet Red Bell Peppers
Cayenne to taste

And once I mixed in the Salad Dressing this is what it looked like!

It was YUMMY!  I'm looking forward to a different Salad and Salad Dressing tonight, too!

This morning I didn't make a Green Smoothie and I must say I missed it!

Last night I didn't get enough sleep due to major Thunderstorms in our area.  The thunder was cracking from 12:30am to after 9am.  I probably only got about a half hour of sleep.  Considering that - I'm actually not feeling too bad today!

Today I have consumed 4 Mandarin Oranges, 1 Pink Alice Apple, and over a cup of small kale leaves from our container garden.  I massaged the Kale Leaves in (fresh squeezed) Tomato Juice and Spices.  It was just what I was hungry for!

I found a Pink Alice Apple at one of my local stores the other day and tried it today for the first!  I must say I am a fan!  It sort of smells like WINE when you first cut it...very pleasant.  Here's a little bit more info about this kind of apple!

• Description: This new and distinct apple variety possesses several unique and desirable characteristics such as having a distinct pink stripe over a creamy-yellow background, which distinguishes it from other known varieties. The background color deepens to an orange-yellow after harvest. Lady Alice possesses a distinctive taste and its dense flesh is sweet with a hint of tartness. The shape of the Lady Alice is round and somewhat broad with a shallow, slightly open calyx.
• Parentage: The Lady Alice apple was discovered as a chance seedling in Washington State and is therefore a *Washington Original*.
• Availability: Available February through May or while supplies last.
• Usage: It is slow to brown after cutting which makes it excellent for eating fresh, cutting into salads or served on fruit trays. Additionally, the dense flesh holds its texture when baking. Lady Alice is an excellent all-purpose apple.

What I Ate Wednesday Participant

Marinated Cucumber Tomato Hemp Seed Salad, Butternut Squash Lentil Walnut Kale Curry, Today's Lunch!

TGIF!  What am I eating today!?  Well, here's a peak!

From top left - Butternut Squash, Lentil, and Kale Curry (Recipe Below), on the side - Cucumber, Tomato, and Hemp Seed/Hemp Heart Marinated Salad (Recipe Below), at bottom - store brought dried crisp "snapeas"...I found at a random store that aren't too bad but I will be dehydrating some of my own in the near future.

I used a Cucumber and a half and a Large Tomato for this.  After I cut them...I added the following...

3 T Red Wine Vinegar
2 T (or less) of Wholesome Sweeteners' Organic Sugar
1 to 2 T Hemp Seeds/Hemp Hearts (Manitoba Harvest)

I marinated it overnight in the frig.  It's very flavorful and yummy!  Since I haven't gotten cut with the decor in the Bento Boxes I'm hoping the colors of Red & Green will qualify for this week's Christmas Theme?

For the Butternut Squash, Lentil, Walnut, Kale Curry
I did the following...

1-pound of Butternut Squash
1 C Kale
1 Shallot
Splash of Grapeseed Oil (Wildtree Basil Pesto Flavor)
2 tea Curry Powder
1/2 C Walnuts
2 T Cilantro
Lime Juice to Taste

Participating in: Pin Me #64, Bento For Kidlet's Meatless Monday, Freedom Fridays, Bento Blog Network #116, Leftovers On Fridays, 

Coconut Kale & Chickpea

Last night I made a HUGE batch of this for lunches for the rest of the week and it turned out pretty good.  It's not all that spicy like more of the curry-like things I have made but the flavor is tasty, regardless.

In this dish I have the following:

1 Can of Coconut Milk

4 C Chickpeas

3 C Diced Tomatoes

1 Small Onion

4 T Minced Garlic

2 tea Ginger Powder

1/2 Bunch of Baby Kale

 2 T Coconut Secret Coconut Nectar

1/2 tea Turmeric

1 tea Cinnamon

I'm going to be trying various sauces in the near future - some curry, some sweet, some maybe even sweet and sour.  Another project I have for Christmas Eve is vegan dips for all to enjoy!  And of course I will have many more Dehydrator Posts planned for this week, too!  Stay Tuned!

Fake Meats, Vegan Casseroles, Awesome Vegan Buffalo Sauce, Smoothies, Apple Adventures

As many of you know...I'm NOT generally a fan of "Fake Meats".  Mostly because I was never a fan of "Real Meats" to begin with.  For me...the transition to Vegetarian was the EASIEST thing I have EVER done.  Many people don't believe me when I say that I never liked "meat" from the start.  But that is another story for a different day.  Another reason I don't usually like meat alternatives is because they are usually too salty for my taste.  I tend to 'eventually' try products from time to time more-so to be social or convenient - for example - while camping.  But I saw this Soyrizo which is Melissa's Brand and it was on sale for a really good price and I had not seen it anywhere else so I thought I would grab it.  I ended up making a few things with it.  

 

First...I made this in my skillet on the stove top.  I combined The Soyrizo (cooked) with some Frozen Kale, Canned Diced Tomatoes, and Onion and Garlic.  

Because I made up all of the Soyrizo at once this made a HUGE amount of this.  So...I used this as my base, really.  I started out eating this as a "side" as-is.  Then I THOUGHT to use it as a 'stuffing' for Acorn/Butternut Squash and I should have (instead I used it in a FAILED attempt in Squash/Apple Soup!)

But THEN...I took what I had left and added just a little bit of Spiral/Elbow Pasta (about a cup) and cooked that up and added it to the mix.  I then baked it in the oven but not before I was done adding a few more things to the top of this Casserole!  I topped it with Vegan Bread Crumbs AND just a very little bit of Daiya Shredded Cheddar.

I have to say...this turned out REALLY REALLY GOOD!  I was quite surprised!  It had a Mexican or Spanish type flavor to it already and then with the additions it made a very hardy meal as well as a nice comfort food!

Speaking of my Soup FAIL here is a photo of it.  It looks harmless enough, doesn't it?  Either Soups with Apple in them are NOT my forte and/or I am just NOT a fan of sweet/fruity soups!  Either or Both could certainly be the case!

This had Onion, Garlic, 1 Apple, 2 Small Butternut Squash(s), a bit of Thyme, Nutmeg, Almond Milk, Black Pepper, etc in it.  I won't bore you with the actual recipe because it won't be something I will do again nor is it something I would suggest! LOL

Because I had to do QUICK foods last week and didn't want to buy a lot of additional produced - not only because I wanted to finish up what I had on hand - but also because we were 'here, there, and every where' - I didn't want it to go to waste if we were not going to be around.

Because I have been making White Rice and Jasmine Rice so much for Hubby I decided to eat it, too!

I found some Sun Dried Tomatoes with Garlic in a glass Jar at one of our discount stores and thought I would give them a whirl.  The flavor is WONDERFUL and so I thought I would try a tablespoon or two mixed in with the white rice.  It complemented it NICELY!

 

 I know, I know...TWO Fake Meats in the same posts!    Well I actually had these a while back.  They are Wegman's Brand and are VEGAN Chicken Nuggets of sorts.  I've now tried them baked as well as in Grapeseed Oil in a skillet (fried).  I think I prefer baked but both ways are fairly good!  They're made of soy protein, spices, wheat gluten, grains, various veggie fibers, wheat flour and rice flour.  It does have canola oil in it but not as bad as some alternative meat products.  They are high is protein and fiber and fairly low in sodium considering the packaged/fake meat thought behind it.

My FAVORITE part of making these was the sauce I made.  And the reason I am posting about them on my blog!  It's my Vegan Version of Buffalo Sauce and I am totally LOVING IT and think it will be my go-to Buffalo Sauce Recipe from now on!

2/3 C Frank's Hot Sauce

2 T Earth Balance

1/4 tea Vegan Worcestershire Sauce (I used Wizards)

1/4 tea Cayenne 

1/4 tea Garlic Powder

Dab of Balsamic (not very much at all maybe 1/4 to 1/2 tea)

AND...FINALLY...a Smoothie Recipe for you!

This is the SWEETEST Smoothie I have EVER tasted.  I prefer them toned down a bit but enjoyed the attempt.  I will know for next time NOT to go as hardcore with everything, I guess!  

I used...

1 C Strawberry Banana Soymilk

1 Scoop Garden of Life's Perfect Food RAW - Apple

2 T Apple Sauce

Ice to taste/consistency 

 

Again...this is SUPER Sweet!  I ended up finishing it and my mind was STILL focused on the dreaded BANANA that was in the Soymilk!  HA!  The Apple was nice but next time I will do it GREENER.  I was thinking about using the Apple Flavor from GoL with some Apple Sauce and Cinnamon and doing some sort of "cookie" in my Dehydrator!  So many thoughts...so little time!

 

Kale Chips

I haven't used my dehydrator in far too long...I decided to bust it out...give it a good washing, today, and make some Kale Chips!

I took a few handfuls/stalks of kale and broke them apart into smaller pieces

I added:
1 T Wildtree European Dipping Oil - Garlic
1/4 C of Nutritional Yeast *
1/3 C of Water

and used my hands to mix well - absorbing all of the liquid - the coating was paste-like or almost like a dressing of sorts.

I'm waiting for them to do-their-thing in the dehydrator...about 4 to 6 hours at 115.

* I realize Nutritional Yeast isn't raw in itself but have seen it used in raw recipes. If you do not eat nutritional yeast you can omit it. I saw other recipes where cashews were used in a similar way in a blender with the oil and water and used in the mix, too.