Bianca Phillips's Blog, page 131
January 29, 2017
Vegan Meatball Party!!
Last month, my friend Susan and I went to Memphis' brand new IKEA store and dined on their delicious vegan meatballs. We loved them so much that we each bought bags of the frozen veggie balls to take home.
But then, about a week later, we both embarked on January reset plans while our meatballs stayed untouched in our freezers. Susan was also avoiding processed food, sugar, and gluten, and her reset ended on Wednesday. Mine ended last Monday. Throughout the month, Susan would send me random food texts — just words of foods that we were not eating. French fries, candy, Girl Scout cookies, mac and cheese, pie. And somewhere in there, she decided that, as soon as our resets were done, we should have an IKEA meatball party.
And so last night, we did! She said she'd make meatball subs and meatball pizza. I signed up for Swedish meatballs. And then somehow, we just kept adding foods to the dinner list, so we ended up with a totally international meal with Italian, Swedish, Chinese, and American dishes. Here are my Swedish Meatballs with IKEA Lingonberry Sauce. I made the creamy, white, mushroom sauce using this recipe on the Beyond Meat website. The lingonberry jam is from a jar I purchased at IKEA.
Susan made the best Vegan Meatball Sub Sliders with homemade cashew cheese and marinara on toasted baguette.
And she made Meatball Pizza! This had Daiya and arugula on a cracker thin crust. IKEA vegan meatballs are incredibly versatile and work well in all kinds of dishes!
Saturday was the Chinese New Year, and I made a 2017 resolution to cook something from Isa's The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook for every holiday this year. So I made these Cold Sesame Noodle Bundles. The noodles have a peanut-sesame sauce, and they're served in romaine leaves. You're supposed to tie them up with scallions, but the scallions kept breaking so I just chopped them and topped the bundles with them instead.
Susan made the yummiest Buffalo Cauliflower and served with Hampton Creek Just Ranch. These were very spicy and crispy, just the way I like 'em. These would be perfect SuperBowl food!
I wanted to show off my new air fryer, so I brought it over to Susan's house, and we made Air-Fried Tater Tots! Tots do so well in the air fryer! They taste deep-fried! We were going to make onion rings too, but we wised up and realized we had plenty of food.
Susan asked me to make peanut butter chess bars, but I couldn't find a vegan recipe for those on the internet. In fact, I could only find ONE vegan recipe for chess bars at all (not peanut butter ones)! And that recipe seemed a little sketchy. Chess bars have a lot of eggs, and converting a traditional recipe sounded like too much experimentation for a Saturday afternoon. So rather than experiment and have it fail, I asked my friend Stephanie for her recipe. She sells her chess bars at Imagine Vegan Cafe, and they're soooooo good. She told me she'd have to kill me, but she'd share if I PROMISED to never share with anyone else. So I swore on my life! The Chess Bars came out great! I considered adding peanut butter, but I was afraid it might mess up Stephanie's perfect recipe.
By the way, chess bars are totally a Southern thing. If you're not familiar with them, they're basically soft cakey bars topped with a sweet gooey, buttery topping.
Yay for Meatball Party!! We ate so much, and it was such fun!
But then, about a week later, we both embarked on January reset plans while our meatballs stayed untouched in our freezers. Susan was also avoiding processed food, sugar, and gluten, and her reset ended on Wednesday. Mine ended last Monday. Throughout the month, Susan would send me random food texts — just words of foods that we were not eating. French fries, candy, Girl Scout cookies, mac and cheese, pie. And somewhere in there, she decided that, as soon as our resets were done, we should have an IKEA meatball party.
And so last night, we did! She said she'd make meatball subs and meatball pizza. I signed up for Swedish meatballs. And then somehow, we just kept adding foods to the dinner list, so we ended up with a totally international meal with Italian, Swedish, Chinese, and American dishes. Here are my Swedish Meatballs with IKEA Lingonberry Sauce. I made the creamy, white, mushroom sauce using this recipe on the Beyond Meat website. The lingonberry jam is from a jar I purchased at IKEA.
Susan made the best Vegan Meatball Sub Sliders with homemade cashew cheese and marinara on toasted baguette.
And she made Meatball Pizza! This had Daiya and arugula on a cracker thin crust. IKEA vegan meatballs are incredibly versatile and work well in all kinds of dishes!
Saturday was the Chinese New Year, and I made a 2017 resolution to cook something from Isa's The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook for every holiday this year. So I made these Cold Sesame Noodle Bundles. The noodles have a peanut-sesame sauce, and they're served in romaine leaves. You're supposed to tie them up with scallions, but the scallions kept breaking so I just chopped them and topped the bundles with them instead.
Susan made the yummiest Buffalo Cauliflower and served with Hampton Creek Just Ranch. These were very spicy and crispy, just the way I like 'em. These would be perfect SuperBowl food!
I wanted to show off my new air fryer, so I brought it over to Susan's house, and we made Air-Fried Tater Tots! Tots do so well in the air fryer! They taste deep-fried! We were going to make onion rings too, but we wised up and realized we had plenty of food.
Susan asked me to make peanut butter chess bars, but I couldn't find a vegan recipe for those on the internet. In fact, I could only find ONE vegan recipe for chess bars at all (not peanut butter ones)! And that recipe seemed a little sketchy. Chess bars have a lot of eggs, and converting a traditional recipe sounded like too much experimentation for a Saturday afternoon. So rather than experiment and have it fail, I asked my friend Stephanie for her recipe. She sells her chess bars at Imagine Vegan Cafe, and they're soooooo good. She told me she'd have to kill me, but she'd share if I PROMISED to never share with anyone else. So I swore on my life! The Chess Bars came out great! I considered adding peanut butter, but I was afraid it might mess up Stephanie's perfect recipe.
By the way, chess bars are totally a Southern thing. If you're not familiar with them, they're basically soft cakey bars topped with a sweet gooey, buttery topping.
Yay for Meatball Party!! We ate so much, and it was such fun!
January 26, 2017
Wild Garden Review!
Just after Christmas, I posted this review of Wild Garden's pilafs and marinades after the company sent me a sample pack. But I didn't get a chance to try everything they sent before starting my reset eating plan on January 2nd.
So I finally got that chance tonight! Wild Garden makes three marinades (Persian, Shawara, and Turkish) and three prepared, heat-and-serve pilafs (Bulgur, Couscous, and Rice & Lentil). But the Rice & Lentil flavor isn't vegan, so steer clear of that one. Both the marinades and pilafs come in shelf-staple pouches.
The marinades are great for tofu, tempeh, and seitan, so I used the Turkish one last night to marinate some firm tofu. I staked it onto kabob sticks this morning before work and baked for 40 minutes on 350 degrees while I was getting ready for work. Then I stuck it in the fridge so I'd have a quick dinner ready when I got home from work! The marinade combines tomatoes, cumin, and garlic and is loaded with flavor. The resulting Turkish Tofu Kabobs were the right level of spicy, tangy, and salty.
These marinades would be ideal for anyone who just doesn't know what to do with tofu. The tofu takes on so much flavor, and it literally takes two seconds to dump a bag of marinade over the cubes and stick them in the fridge to let them soak up all the flavor. These kabobs would also be excellent on the grill, but baking is an easy way to fix it and forget it (except don't forget to take them out of the oven so they don't burn!).
As a side dish, I used the Bulgar Pilaf to make a Bulgur Salad using one of the recipes Wild Garden included in the care package.
These pilafs are already cooked. All you do is dump them in a bowl and microwave if you want them hot. For this salad, I didn't even need to heat! I just dumped out the contents of the package, fluffed it with a fork, and then added chopped red and green bell pepper (half of each), parsley, the juice of one lemon, and a couple tablespoons of chopped red onion.
The pilaf is already seasoned with sundried tomatoes and Mediterranean herbs, so no additional spice is necessary. The recipe called for 1/4th cup of olive oil, but I left all of the oil out because there is already a little oil in the pilaf, so that seemed excessive to me. Also, I love how the grains are perfectly cooked to retain the right level of tenderness and chewiness.
I served this meal with some Roasted Cauliflower made in my new air fryer, but I'll post more on that in a future air fryer post!
So I finally got that chance tonight! Wild Garden makes three marinades (Persian, Shawara, and Turkish) and three prepared, heat-and-serve pilafs (Bulgur, Couscous, and Rice & Lentil). But the Rice & Lentil flavor isn't vegan, so steer clear of that one. Both the marinades and pilafs come in shelf-staple pouches.
The marinades are great for tofu, tempeh, and seitan, so I used the Turkish one last night to marinate some firm tofu. I staked it onto kabob sticks this morning before work and baked for 40 minutes on 350 degrees while I was getting ready for work. Then I stuck it in the fridge so I'd have a quick dinner ready when I got home from work! The marinade combines tomatoes, cumin, and garlic and is loaded with flavor. The resulting Turkish Tofu Kabobs were the right level of spicy, tangy, and salty.
These marinades would be ideal for anyone who just doesn't know what to do with tofu. The tofu takes on so much flavor, and it literally takes two seconds to dump a bag of marinade over the cubes and stick them in the fridge to let them soak up all the flavor. These kabobs would also be excellent on the grill, but baking is an easy way to fix it and forget it (except don't forget to take them out of the oven so they don't burn!).
As a side dish, I used the Bulgar Pilaf to make a Bulgur Salad using one of the recipes Wild Garden included in the care package.
These pilafs are already cooked. All you do is dump them in a bowl and microwave if you want them hot. For this salad, I didn't even need to heat! I just dumped out the contents of the package, fluffed it with a fork, and then added chopped red and green bell pepper (half of each), parsley, the juice of one lemon, and a couple tablespoons of chopped red onion.
The pilaf is already seasoned with sundried tomatoes and Mediterranean herbs, so no additional spice is necessary. The recipe called for 1/4th cup of olive oil, but I left all of the oil out because there is already a little oil in the pilaf, so that seemed excessive to me. Also, I love how the grains are perfectly cooked to retain the right level of tenderness and chewiness.
I served this meal with some Roasted Cauliflower made in my new air fryer, but I'll post more on that in a future air fryer post!
January 25, 2017
A 2-Day Food Diary
On Monday, I posted a round-up of all the delicious things I ate the day after my 3-week Reset & Restore intuitive eating program ended. But of course, that post was filled with pizza, ice cream and brownies, fried things, and beer. After any sort of January reset, I always like to have a big ole crazy celebration meal.
But I wanted to check in and show y'all what I've been eating over the past couple days because these meals are more reflective of how I plan to eat most days going forward after the reset. My hope is that I'll find some balance between indulgent foods and super-healthy, whole foods. For example, if I know I'm going to have pizza at lunch one day, I'll try and have a very veggie-packed dinner. I'm also trying to eat plenty of nutritious snacks and limit big desserts (like cakes, pies, Oreos) to a couple days a week. On other days, I'll go for a square of dark chocolate or a piece of candy.
On Tuesday morning, I had a six-mile run planned, so I woke up and had a Cookie Doughpness Picky Bar (cinnamon raisin) made with peanut butter, dates, currants, and walnuts. It was early and I failed to take a picture. After my run, I had my new favorite breakfast of Warm Oats Over Banana N'ice Cream. This time I added chocolate protein powder to the banana soft serve and drizzled the whole thing with a sauce made using PB2 peanut butter powder. Mmmmmm.
My morning snack at work was more Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Crackers. I cannot get enough of these!
I had a leftover slice of Imagine's Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Pizza that I needed to eat, so I had it for lunch with a side salad (using hummus in place of dressing). This was a nice way to balance a not-so-nutritious (but very delicious) food with a very healthy one!
I had a little Brew Dr. Clear Mind Kombucha (with herbs designed to help you focus!) at my desk after lunch. I usually don't have much in the way of afternoon snacks because lunch usually keeps me satisfied. But I had a board meeting after work, and I knew I wouldn't get a real dinner until at least 8 p.m.! So I had some Vanilla Roast Almonds and a Tropical Fruit Strip before the meeting. These are snacks that I found in the office. My office always stocks the best snacks!
After work, I had about 40 minutes to run home and feed the pets and freshen up before my 6 p.m. meeting. So while I did those things, I snacked on some Treeline Herb-Garlic Cashew Cheese and Chili Sauce with Smokeouse Nut Thins, Water Crackers, and Melba Toast. My co-worker Tom made the chili sauce and gifted us all jars for Christmas! So good on crackers!
My meeting let out around 8 p.m., and while I was hungry, I wasn't HANGRY. The nuts and crackers and cheese and fruit held me over pretty well. Rather than have a giant meal right before bed, I settled for some Carrots & Celery with Smoked Paprika Hummus & Sundried Tomato Hummus.
And that was it for Tuesday! On Wednesday mornings, I usually go to the gym for Butts & Guts class, but I needed to be at the office early this morning. So I did one of the Reset & Restore workout videos at home. That saved me about 30 minutes! Before that workout, I had a Cascadian Farms Crunchy Peanut Butter Granola Bar. I have to have a small snack before my morning workouts because I always wake up hungry.
After the workout, I had an Ozery Bakery Cranberry-Orange Morning Round with Go Veggie Cream Cheese and an organic Gala Apple with Grape PB2! See that balance here? Gluten-y refined flour thing with fatty topping meets fresh fruit with low-fat peanut butter.
Since I ate my breakfast earlier than usual, I was hungry again by 10 a.m. I raided the office snack stash and found this Baja Blend Fruit & Nut Mix (kettle cooked habanero almonds, sweet 'n' salty peanuts, dried cranberries). I also had a few more Earth Balance crackers.
On the last Wednesday of every month, my office orders lunch for our staff meeting (on the other Wednesdays, we just bring our own lunches to staff meetings). Stacy, the woman who orders lunch, is vegetarian, and we have a number of other vegetarians in the office. And she always makes sure there's a vegan option! Today we had a build-your-own taco bar! I made a giant Taco Salad with black beans, jicama, salsa, guacamole, pico, cilantro vinaigrette, white rice, and a couple crumbled tortilla chips. I stuffed some of that salad into a flour tortilla.
Before the reset, I would have probably filled two tortillas and then made a giant pile of nachos. Instead, I made the salad the focus but treated myself to a tortilla because I love tortillas!
Later in the day, at my desk, I had more Clear Mind Kombucha, a small piece of Chocolate Hollow Hazelnut Truffle Log, and some herbal Rose Tulsi Tea. I go to yoga on Wednesday nights, so I snacked on some more Treeline Cashew Cheese with Smokehouse Nut Thins before class. I don't like to eat a full meal before yoga.
Then it was dinner time! As I mentioned in Monday's post, I'm currently working my way through a ton of homemade hummus from my friend Diane. So I made a Hummus & Veggie Sandwich using smoked paprika hummus, bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, and grated carrot. The bread was a delicious herbed loaf that my mom gave me right before the reset. I froze it since I was going off gluten for three weeks. It thawed beautifully! On the side, I made Kale Chips in my air fryer!
I plan to do a whole post on my air fryer soon, so I'll go into more detail about the chips then. But let me tell ya, these kale chips were so perfect and crispy. Plus, they were a way healthier side than potato chips. I'll still be eating potato chips and tortilla chips sometimes, but since I'd already had crackers and a few chips at lunch, I figured kale was the smarter choice for dinner.
So this is about how I'll be eating going forward. I will be cooking some more complex dishes of course! Just going through a snacky hummus/crackers/cashew cheese phase right now.
But I wanted to check in and show y'all what I've been eating over the past couple days because these meals are more reflective of how I plan to eat most days going forward after the reset. My hope is that I'll find some balance between indulgent foods and super-healthy, whole foods. For example, if I know I'm going to have pizza at lunch one day, I'll try and have a very veggie-packed dinner. I'm also trying to eat plenty of nutritious snacks and limit big desserts (like cakes, pies, Oreos) to a couple days a week. On other days, I'll go for a square of dark chocolate or a piece of candy.
On Tuesday morning, I had a six-mile run planned, so I woke up and had a Cookie Doughpness Picky Bar (cinnamon raisin) made with peanut butter, dates, currants, and walnuts. It was early and I failed to take a picture. After my run, I had my new favorite breakfast of Warm Oats Over Banana N'ice Cream. This time I added chocolate protein powder to the banana soft serve and drizzled the whole thing with a sauce made using PB2 peanut butter powder. Mmmmmm.
My morning snack at work was more Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Crackers. I cannot get enough of these!
I had a leftover slice of Imagine's Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Pizza that I needed to eat, so I had it for lunch with a side salad (using hummus in place of dressing). This was a nice way to balance a not-so-nutritious (but very delicious) food with a very healthy one!
I had a little Brew Dr. Clear Mind Kombucha (with herbs designed to help you focus!) at my desk after lunch. I usually don't have much in the way of afternoon snacks because lunch usually keeps me satisfied. But I had a board meeting after work, and I knew I wouldn't get a real dinner until at least 8 p.m.! So I had some Vanilla Roast Almonds and a Tropical Fruit Strip before the meeting. These are snacks that I found in the office. My office always stocks the best snacks!
After work, I had about 40 minutes to run home and feed the pets and freshen up before my 6 p.m. meeting. So while I did those things, I snacked on some Treeline Herb-Garlic Cashew Cheese and Chili Sauce with Smokeouse Nut Thins, Water Crackers, and Melba Toast. My co-worker Tom made the chili sauce and gifted us all jars for Christmas! So good on crackers!
My meeting let out around 8 p.m., and while I was hungry, I wasn't HANGRY. The nuts and crackers and cheese and fruit held me over pretty well. Rather than have a giant meal right before bed, I settled for some Carrots & Celery with Smoked Paprika Hummus & Sundried Tomato Hummus.
And that was it for Tuesday! On Wednesday mornings, I usually go to the gym for Butts & Guts class, but I needed to be at the office early this morning. So I did one of the Reset & Restore workout videos at home. That saved me about 30 minutes! Before that workout, I had a Cascadian Farms Crunchy Peanut Butter Granola Bar. I have to have a small snack before my morning workouts because I always wake up hungry.
After the workout, I had an Ozery Bakery Cranberry-Orange Morning Round with Go Veggie Cream Cheese and an organic Gala Apple with Grape PB2! See that balance here? Gluten-y refined flour thing with fatty topping meets fresh fruit with low-fat peanut butter.
Since I ate my breakfast earlier than usual, I was hungry again by 10 a.m. I raided the office snack stash and found this Baja Blend Fruit & Nut Mix (kettle cooked habanero almonds, sweet 'n' salty peanuts, dried cranberries). I also had a few more Earth Balance crackers.
On the last Wednesday of every month, my office orders lunch for our staff meeting (on the other Wednesdays, we just bring our own lunches to staff meetings). Stacy, the woman who orders lunch, is vegetarian, and we have a number of other vegetarians in the office. And she always makes sure there's a vegan option! Today we had a build-your-own taco bar! I made a giant Taco Salad with black beans, jicama, salsa, guacamole, pico, cilantro vinaigrette, white rice, and a couple crumbled tortilla chips. I stuffed some of that salad into a flour tortilla.
Before the reset, I would have probably filled two tortillas and then made a giant pile of nachos. Instead, I made the salad the focus but treated myself to a tortilla because I love tortillas!
Later in the day, at my desk, I had more Clear Mind Kombucha, a small piece of Chocolate Hollow Hazelnut Truffle Log, and some herbal Rose Tulsi Tea. I go to yoga on Wednesday nights, so I snacked on some more Treeline Cashew Cheese with Smokehouse Nut Thins before class. I don't like to eat a full meal before yoga.
Then it was dinner time! As I mentioned in Monday's post, I'm currently working my way through a ton of homemade hummus from my friend Diane. So I made a Hummus & Veggie Sandwich using smoked paprika hummus, bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, and grated carrot. The bread was a delicious herbed loaf that my mom gave me right before the reset. I froze it since I was going off gluten for three weeks. It thawed beautifully! On the side, I made Kale Chips in my air fryer!
I plan to do a whole post on my air fryer soon, so I'll go into more detail about the chips then. But let me tell ya, these kale chips were so perfect and crispy. Plus, they were a way healthier side than potato chips. I'll still be eating potato chips and tortilla chips sometimes, but since I'd already had crackers and a few chips at lunch, I figured kale was the smarter choice for dinner.
So this is about how I'll be eating going forward. I will be cooking some more complex dishes of course! Just going through a snacky hummus/crackers/cashew cheese phase right now.
January 24, 2017
January Goddess Provisions Box!
Every month, I dedicate a blog post to unpacking my monthly Goddess Provisions box — a monthly subscription box with crystals, teas, essential oils, vegan snacks, and other magical goodies. It's by the same folks who bring you Vegan Cuts Beauty and Snack Boxes, so you know it's got to be great, right?
This month's box arrived a couple weeks ago, but I was smack in the middle of my Reset & Restore plan, and I was dedicating all of my posts to what I was eating. So without further ado, here are the contents of my January box.
There's a House of Intuition Clarity Bath Bag, buttons by Your Joyologist, a raw fruit & nut bar by Ommie, soapberry shampoo by Tree to Tub, an amethyst/garnet pendulum, a throat chakra oil blend by Awaken Essential Oils, a Charged Up iron-on patch by Black Dress Wild Heart, and a face mask powder by Jacq's Organics.
My very favorite thing is probably the iron-on patch cause it's the best! How cute is this? Sadly, I don't have anything to iron it on yet. But I'm in the market for a jean jacket. By the way, y'all should check out Black Dress Wild Heart's Etsy page. She makes awesome feminist, body positive pins and iron-ons!
The amethyst/garnet pendulum is a beautiful addition to my growing pendulum collection. A friend gave me a Pendulum Magic book for my birthday, so I'll be reading up on that soon.
I somehow failed to take my own pic of the Clarity Bath Bag, so I stole this one from their website. It's an uplifting mix of salts, dried rose, lemongrass, and peppermint, and it comes with a small cloth bag that you fill and float in the tub.
The button set is so cool!!! I love all of these messages and am proudly displaying them on my totes and handbags.
The shampoo has a lovely lavender scent and is made from all-natural soapberries. It also came with a soapberry, which the instructions said could be used to make a lather for a face wash. But I couldn't get the berries to lather! Oh well. The shampoo is awesome.
The Green Smoothie Masque & Scrub is loaded with ground greens and superfoods. You just mix a small amount with water, apply to your face, and let it dry. When you rinse, small particles work to scrub your face like an exfoliant.
I failed to photograph the throat chakra oil by itself, but I swiped a pic of it from Awaken's Facebook page. It's made with oils that support the throat chakra, and it's infused with crystal and flower essences. Since I work in the communication field, throat chakra oils are very helpful!! And it comes with a little mantra.
Finally, I LOVED this Ommie Cherry Chocolate Bar! It was made with dried cherries, chocolate chips, and seeds. Perfect pre-run snack!
Goddess Provisions ships monthly and only costs $33 a month! I've been a subscriber since it launched more than a year ago. If you'd like to subscribe, use this link. I'm an ambassador so I make a couple bucks from sales using my own link!
This month's box arrived a couple weeks ago, but I was smack in the middle of my Reset & Restore plan, and I was dedicating all of my posts to what I was eating. So without further ado, here are the contents of my January box.
There's a House of Intuition Clarity Bath Bag, buttons by Your Joyologist, a raw fruit & nut bar by Ommie, soapberry shampoo by Tree to Tub, an amethyst/garnet pendulum, a throat chakra oil blend by Awaken Essential Oils, a Charged Up iron-on patch by Black Dress Wild Heart, and a face mask powder by Jacq's Organics.
My very favorite thing is probably the iron-on patch cause it's the best! How cute is this? Sadly, I don't have anything to iron it on yet. But I'm in the market for a jean jacket. By the way, y'all should check out Black Dress Wild Heart's Etsy page. She makes awesome feminist, body positive pins and iron-ons!
The amethyst/garnet pendulum is a beautiful addition to my growing pendulum collection. A friend gave me a Pendulum Magic book for my birthday, so I'll be reading up on that soon.
I somehow failed to take my own pic of the Clarity Bath Bag, so I stole this one from their website. It's an uplifting mix of salts, dried rose, lemongrass, and peppermint, and it comes with a small cloth bag that you fill and float in the tub.
The button set is so cool!!! I love all of these messages and am proudly displaying them on my totes and handbags.
The shampoo has a lovely lavender scent and is made from all-natural soapberries. It also came with a soapberry, which the instructions said could be used to make a lather for a face wash. But I couldn't get the berries to lather! Oh well. The shampoo is awesome.
The Green Smoothie Masque & Scrub is loaded with ground greens and superfoods. You just mix a small amount with water, apply to your face, and let it dry. When you rinse, small particles work to scrub your face like an exfoliant.
I failed to photograph the throat chakra oil by itself, but I swiped a pic of it from Awaken's Facebook page. It's made with oils that support the throat chakra, and it's infused with crystal and flower essences. Since I work in the communication field, throat chakra oils are very helpful!! And it comes with a little mantra.
Finally, I LOVED this Ommie Cherry Chocolate Bar! It was made with dried cherries, chocolate chips, and seeds. Perfect pre-run snack!
Goddess Provisions ships monthly and only costs $33 a month! I've been a subscriber since it launched more than a year ago. If you'd like to subscribe, use this link. I'm an ambassador so I make a couple bucks from sales using my own link!
January 23, 2017
Stuff I Ate After the Reset!
Well, my 3-week Reset & Restore program has come to an end! I've done some sort of reset/cleanse/detox/whatever every January for years, and some years, I'm counting down the days until I can have cupcakes and veggie dogs and pizza. Other years, I'm a little sad to see it go. This would be the latter.
I really enjoyed these last three weeks of eating (mostly) only whole foods, very little sugar, no gluten, and limited booze. I've been stuffing my face with wholesome grains and veggies and fruits, and other than a couple days of gassiness (thanks, beans!), I've felt fantastic!
That said, I have missed bread. And dessert. So going forward, I plan to add those things back in, but I'm hoping to strike a nice balance between super-healthy meals and fun, junky processed treats. I'd like to eat the R&R way most days of the week with an occasional meal of plant meat or white bread and an occasional ice cream sundae or slice of pie. I'll add my usual dark chocolate squares back in daily, and most of the time, my breads will be whole grain or sprouted grain. Thankfully, my body handles gluten like a champ.
For my first day back to eating whatever I want, I treated myself to a little (okay, a lot of) sugar and bread and processed delights. But I tried to find some balance with a Lacy/Reset & Restore meal and salad for lunch and fruit for an afternoon snack. My day started with a four-mile run, and rather than have a date (what I would have had during the reset), I treated myself to a Cascadian Farms Peanut Butter Granola Bar. I bought a ton of these on clearance before the reset, but I had to wait and eat them because they're high in refined sugar.
Of course, sugar is actually ideal for pre-run/pre-workout because it quickly converts into energy that you can use!
After my run, I had one of my favorite breakfasts — FitQuick! I didn't have any FitQuick protein waffles or doughnuts during my reset because, even though they're gluten-free, they do contain sugar. But I was glad to have it back in my life. This morning, I made the Vanilla Sprinkle Pronuts and covered them in Vanilla Maple Frosting Fluffbutter and S'mores Fluffbutter. I plan to do a full review of Fluffbutter soon. It's protein-packed, dessert-flavored nut butter!
For my morning snack, I had a few Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Crackers! At work, our gallery director orders amazing snacks to stock in the break room, and she always makes sure some of the snacks are vegan. She ordered these crackers — which have long been my fave — last week, but I couldn't eat any until today! So good.
My lunch was a healthy, wholesome meal. I had leftover Vegan Kale Quiche from Reset & Restore, and a Side Salad with Smoky Hummus (in lieu of dressing). It's all about balance, y'all.
In the afternoon, I had some masala chai with almond milk and stevia and a satsuma. But then at dinner, it was time to let loose! I met up with Stephanie, Pam, and Mike at Imagine Vegan Cafe so I could finally quell those pizza cravings! I ordered a Diamond Beer Oatmeal Stout, my first brew in three weeks. Even though I allowed myself wine on the reset, I really missed beer. Beer is kinda of my thing. And nothing beats a good oatmeal stout.
Imagine has pizza by the slice now, and tonight, they were offering a Philly Cheezesteak Pizza with vegan beefless tips, sauteed peppers and onions, mushrooms, vegan cheddar, and mozzarella. I got two slices (and then owner Kristie gifted me a bonus slice for leftovers just because!).
The special for the night was vegan chimichangas with a side of Jalapeno Poppers. They sounded amazing, but I opted for pizza because I knew my body probably wasn't ready for a giant plate of fried everything. But I was dying to try those poppers, so they brought out a small plate for us to sample. These were like hush puppies but with jalapenos and vegan mozzarella.
And I still had to save room for dessert!! Behold the Bianca Sundae! Yes, it's named after me. And it's awesome. Peanut butter/Oreo brownie topped with vegan soft serve, chocolate syrup, and nuts.
The pre-reset Bianca would have probably hoarded the entire thing for myself. But I knew that after beer and pizza and poppers, I didn't really need an entire dessert on my own. So I shared it with Stephanie. That's what friends are for, right?
Tomorrow, I'm back on a healthier eating wagon (but I do have that leftover pizza now)! I'll do another Stuff I Ate check-in later this week with a more average round-up of meals. Today's indulgence doesn't accurately reflect how I'll be eating all of the time!
I really enjoyed these last three weeks of eating (mostly) only whole foods, very little sugar, no gluten, and limited booze. I've been stuffing my face with wholesome grains and veggies and fruits, and other than a couple days of gassiness (thanks, beans!), I've felt fantastic!
That said, I have missed bread. And dessert. So going forward, I plan to add those things back in, but I'm hoping to strike a nice balance between super-healthy meals and fun, junky processed treats. I'd like to eat the R&R way most days of the week with an occasional meal of plant meat or white bread and an occasional ice cream sundae or slice of pie. I'll add my usual dark chocolate squares back in daily, and most of the time, my breads will be whole grain or sprouted grain. Thankfully, my body handles gluten like a champ.
For my first day back to eating whatever I want, I treated myself to a little (okay, a lot of) sugar and bread and processed delights. But I tried to find some balance with a Lacy/Reset & Restore meal and salad for lunch and fruit for an afternoon snack. My day started with a four-mile run, and rather than have a date (what I would have had during the reset), I treated myself to a Cascadian Farms Peanut Butter Granola Bar. I bought a ton of these on clearance before the reset, but I had to wait and eat them because they're high in refined sugar.
Of course, sugar is actually ideal for pre-run/pre-workout because it quickly converts into energy that you can use!
After my run, I had one of my favorite breakfasts — FitQuick! I didn't have any FitQuick protein waffles or doughnuts during my reset because, even though they're gluten-free, they do contain sugar. But I was glad to have it back in my life. This morning, I made the Vanilla Sprinkle Pronuts and covered them in Vanilla Maple Frosting Fluffbutter and S'mores Fluffbutter. I plan to do a full review of Fluffbutter soon. It's protein-packed, dessert-flavored nut butter!
For my morning snack, I had a few Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Crackers! At work, our gallery director orders amazing snacks to stock in the break room, and she always makes sure some of the snacks are vegan. She ordered these crackers — which have long been my fave — last week, but I couldn't eat any until today! So good.
My lunch was a healthy, wholesome meal. I had leftover Vegan Kale Quiche from Reset & Restore, and a Side Salad with Smoky Hummus (in lieu of dressing). It's all about balance, y'all.
In the afternoon, I had some masala chai with almond milk and stevia and a satsuma. But then at dinner, it was time to let loose! I met up with Stephanie, Pam, and Mike at Imagine Vegan Cafe so I could finally quell those pizza cravings! I ordered a Diamond Beer Oatmeal Stout, my first brew in three weeks. Even though I allowed myself wine on the reset, I really missed beer. Beer is kinda of my thing. And nothing beats a good oatmeal stout.
Imagine has pizza by the slice now, and tonight, they were offering a Philly Cheezesteak Pizza with vegan beefless tips, sauteed peppers and onions, mushrooms, vegan cheddar, and mozzarella. I got two slices (and then owner Kristie gifted me a bonus slice for leftovers just because!).
The special for the night was vegan chimichangas with a side of Jalapeno Poppers. They sounded amazing, but I opted for pizza because I knew my body probably wasn't ready for a giant plate of fried everything. But I was dying to try those poppers, so they brought out a small plate for us to sample. These were like hush puppies but with jalapenos and vegan mozzarella.
And I still had to save room for dessert!! Behold the Bianca Sundae! Yes, it's named after me. And it's awesome. Peanut butter/Oreo brownie topped with vegan soft serve, chocolate syrup, and nuts.
The pre-reset Bianca would have probably hoarded the entire thing for myself. But I knew that after beer and pizza and poppers, I didn't really need an entire dessert on my own. So I shared it with Stephanie. That's what friends are for, right?
Tomorrow, I'm back on a healthier eating wagon (but I do have that leftover pizza now)! I'll do another Stuff I Ate check-in later this week with a more average round-up of meals. Today's indulgence doesn't accurately reflect how I'll be eating all of the time!
January 22, 2017
Reset & Restore, Days 19-21
And I'm done! This weekend ended my 21-day Reset & Restore intuitive eating program with recipes and workouts by Lacy Davis and Jessica Wilkins. I want to tell y'all all about how awesome the program was and what healthy habits I plan to adopt going forward. But this is already going to be a long weekend photo recap. So I'll save the analysis for Monday's post. Tonight, I'll share what I ate all weekend!
Friday morning started with my usual bootcamp class at the gym, so I ate a Kuali amaranth snack bar (made with popped amaranth, dried cranberries, & agave) spread with a little STEEM caffeinated peanut butter. I wish I'd taken a picture, but it was 5 a.m. so I forgot. But it was damn tasty. After the gym, I came home to have this beautiful plate of Lacy's Savory Chickpea Pancake topped with avocado, tomatoes, nooch, and sriracha. This is the best (and easiest) pudla recipe I've ever made!
Real talk — Friday was hard. I had to go on a bit of a media blackout so I wouldn't lose my mind over the dire situation our country is in. I opted to engage in as much self-care as possible for a work day (thankfully, I work in a supportive environment of like-minded people). I brought this Green Juice to work (apple, cucumber, kale, spinach, romaine, ginger, lemon) for my morning snack.
Food always makes me feel better when I'm sad/mad/anxious/whatever. So I was super stoked to be eating leftover Gluten-Free Vegan Kale Quiche and Broccoli with Peanut Sauce for lunch. Comfort food at its finest.
I treated myself to some Blue Lotus Golden Masala Chai with almond milk and agave and a raw Coffee Bean Snakaroon in the afternoon.
And dinner was leftover Hearty Veggie Chili with Cashew Sour Cream. But I've shown you that twice now so I'll spare you another picture that looks exactly the same.
On Saturday morning, Memphis was having its own version of the Women's March, and I wouldn't miss it for the world. But I had a 13-mile training run planned that I couldn't afford to skip. So what did I do? I woke up, had this bowl of Pumpkin Pie Oats with Almond Butter and ran to the march. It was only a couple miles from my house, so I ran around downtown to log a few more miles before the event started.
Since I was running and not driving there, I couldn't carry a sign. But my awesome co-worker Stacy offered to make me a sign and drive it to the march. I met up with her when I arrived. She made it double-sided with my favorite lady power symbol on one side (I'm getting a tattoo of this soon!).
And "The Future is Female" on the other side. Here's my friend Pam, who I met up with at the march, displaying it! I also met up with my friend Susan, but she doesn't do pictures.
The crowd was AMAZING!! Thousands of people showed up to march against the new president (I don't like to speak or even type his name). This march left me sooooo energized! We don't have let a sexist, racist bigot rule us, and we sure as hell won't let him take away our rights. We have to fight back, and marches like these all over the country served to mobilize and energize. Here are a few of my favorite signs and scenes from the day (including a pic of my awesome Crosstown Arts co-workers — the ones on the left).
I'd gotten in about five miles before march began, and I knew I'd need a hearty snack to carry me through the march and the rest of my run. I picked up a few of the vegan flavors of Picky Bars at Breakaway Running (some flavors have honey, but there are five vegan ones!). I LOVE these bars so much! They're made with a base of dates, and they have nuts and agave and other natural ingredients. This one did have a little chocolate chips (read: refined sugar) but whatever. It was delicious!
After the march, I walked Pam back to her car and took off running home. I'd planned to get in 13 miles, but I ended up only doing 10 total because I hadn't packed water, and I was hot and thirsty! I refueled after my run with this ugly (but tasty) Chocolate Strawberry Green Smoothie — frozen strawberries and banana, Yuve Chia Seed & Cocoa protein powder, flax milk, spinach, and greens powder.
I cleaned my house Saturday afternoon, and while I scrubbed, dusted, and mopped, I munched on some Treeline Herb-Garlic Cashew Cheese and gluten-free Blue Diamond Smokehouse Nut Thins. As vegan cheeses go, Treeline is about as healthy as it gets. It's just cashews, lemon juice, spices, and probiotics. I got some on clearance for $2 because it expires in a week.
My dinner on Saturday night was Lacy's Mexican Bowl, which was on the meal plan for the first Sunday of Reset & Restore. But since I started Monday instead, I hadn't gotten to try it. This had brown rice (seasoned with chili powder, garlic, and onion for a Spanish rice flavor), black beans, sauteed peppers and onions, homemade guac, black olives, salsa, and cashew sour cream. So good and wholesome!
On Saturday night, I went to my friend Diane's birthday party. I had a couple glasses of red wine, and she'd sat out four types of homemade hummus with crudites! So I snacked a A LOT of hummus and veggies.
Sunday morning started with a bowl of PB&J Oats — rolled oats, peanut butter, mashed fresh strawberries, and Bee-Free Honee. I enjoyed this in my PJs while catching up on season two of Empire.
The oats held me over for a couple of hours, by 11:30, I was hungry again, so I heated up some leftover Vegan Gluten-free Kale Quiche. I've shown this pic several times, so I won't share it again. But it was good.
Diane sent me home with a bunch of her hummus Saturday night, so later in the afternoon, I snacked on her Smoked Artichoke Hummus with Mini Sweet Peppers.
I had plans to visit my parents in Jonesboro in the afternoon, so I packed more cashew cheese and crackers for the drive. My parents had purchased an air fryer for me, so I was going to pick it up. Of course, when I arrived, my dad insisted that we try it out on some tater tots and onion rings. So even though those weren't really reset-friendly foods, I had a few bites anyway. Quality control, right?
But for our real dinner, we went out to The Truck Patch grocery store to grab some big ole salads from their amazing salad bar! The Truck Patch — a small indie health food shop — has the BEST salad bar I've ever seen, and I love to eat there when I'm in Jonesboro. This salad had tofu, chickpeas, quinoa, mixed greens, sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, corn, green peas, bell pepper, roasted red pepper, carrots, red onion, cherry tomatoes, pickled beets, dried cranberries, kalamata olives, and goddess dressing.
This was my last meal on Reset & Restore, and how fitting that it was a nutrition-packed salad! I'm back home now and about to retire for the night. When I wake up, I can eat whatever I want! I definitely have some splurges planned, but I'm not planning to go too crazy. I'll be sure and check in tomorrow evening with some R&R lessons learned and going-forward plans.
Friday morning started with my usual bootcamp class at the gym, so I ate a Kuali amaranth snack bar (made with popped amaranth, dried cranberries, & agave) spread with a little STEEM caffeinated peanut butter. I wish I'd taken a picture, but it was 5 a.m. so I forgot. But it was damn tasty. After the gym, I came home to have this beautiful plate of Lacy's Savory Chickpea Pancake topped with avocado, tomatoes, nooch, and sriracha. This is the best (and easiest) pudla recipe I've ever made!
Real talk — Friday was hard. I had to go on a bit of a media blackout so I wouldn't lose my mind over the dire situation our country is in. I opted to engage in as much self-care as possible for a work day (thankfully, I work in a supportive environment of like-minded people). I brought this Green Juice to work (apple, cucumber, kale, spinach, romaine, ginger, lemon) for my morning snack.
Food always makes me feel better when I'm sad/mad/anxious/whatever. So I was super stoked to be eating leftover Gluten-Free Vegan Kale Quiche and Broccoli with Peanut Sauce for lunch. Comfort food at its finest.
I treated myself to some Blue Lotus Golden Masala Chai with almond milk and agave and a raw Coffee Bean Snakaroon in the afternoon.
And dinner was leftover Hearty Veggie Chili with Cashew Sour Cream. But I've shown you that twice now so I'll spare you another picture that looks exactly the same.
On Saturday morning, Memphis was having its own version of the Women's March, and I wouldn't miss it for the world. But I had a 13-mile training run planned that I couldn't afford to skip. So what did I do? I woke up, had this bowl of Pumpkin Pie Oats with Almond Butter and ran to the march. It was only a couple miles from my house, so I ran around downtown to log a few more miles before the event started.
Since I was running and not driving there, I couldn't carry a sign. But my awesome co-worker Stacy offered to make me a sign and drive it to the march. I met up with her when I arrived. She made it double-sided with my favorite lady power symbol on one side (I'm getting a tattoo of this soon!).
And "The Future is Female" on the other side. Here's my friend Pam, who I met up with at the march, displaying it! I also met up with my friend Susan, but she doesn't do pictures.
The crowd was AMAZING!! Thousands of people showed up to march against the new president (I don't like to speak or even type his name). This march left me sooooo energized! We don't have let a sexist, racist bigot rule us, and we sure as hell won't let him take away our rights. We have to fight back, and marches like these all over the country served to mobilize and energize. Here are a few of my favorite signs and scenes from the day (including a pic of my awesome Crosstown Arts co-workers — the ones on the left).
I'd gotten in about five miles before march began, and I knew I'd need a hearty snack to carry me through the march and the rest of my run. I picked up a few of the vegan flavors of Picky Bars at Breakaway Running (some flavors have honey, but there are five vegan ones!). I LOVE these bars so much! They're made with a base of dates, and they have nuts and agave and other natural ingredients. This one did have a little chocolate chips (read: refined sugar) but whatever. It was delicious!
After the march, I walked Pam back to her car and took off running home. I'd planned to get in 13 miles, but I ended up only doing 10 total because I hadn't packed water, and I was hot and thirsty! I refueled after my run with this ugly (but tasty) Chocolate Strawberry Green Smoothie — frozen strawberries and banana, Yuve Chia Seed & Cocoa protein powder, flax milk, spinach, and greens powder.
I cleaned my house Saturday afternoon, and while I scrubbed, dusted, and mopped, I munched on some Treeline Herb-Garlic Cashew Cheese and gluten-free Blue Diamond Smokehouse Nut Thins. As vegan cheeses go, Treeline is about as healthy as it gets. It's just cashews, lemon juice, spices, and probiotics. I got some on clearance for $2 because it expires in a week.
My dinner on Saturday night was Lacy's Mexican Bowl, which was on the meal plan for the first Sunday of Reset & Restore. But since I started Monday instead, I hadn't gotten to try it. This had brown rice (seasoned with chili powder, garlic, and onion for a Spanish rice flavor), black beans, sauteed peppers and onions, homemade guac, black olives, salsa, and cashew sour cream. So good and wholesome!
On Saturday night, I went to my friend Diane's birthday party. I had a couple glasses of red wine, and she'd sat out four types of homemade hummus with crudites! So I snacked a A LOT of hummus and veggies.
Sunday morning started with a bowl of PB&J Oats — rolled oats, peanut butter, mashed fresh strawberries, and Bee-Free Honee. I enjoyed this in my PJs while catching up on season two of Empire.
The oats held me over for a couple of hours, by 11:30, I was hungry again, so I heated up some leftover Vegan Gluten-free Kale Quiche. I've shown this pic several times, so I won't share it again. But it was good.
Diane sent me home with a bunch of her hummus Saturday night, so later in the afternoon, I snacked on her Smoked Artichoke Hummus with Mini Sweet Peppers.
I had plans to visit my parents in Jonesboro in the afternoon, so I packed more cashew cheese and crackers for the drive. My parents had purchased an air fryer for me, so I was going to pick it up. Of course, when I arrived, my dad insisted that we try it out on some tater tots and onion rings. So even though those weren't really reset-friendly foods, I had a few bites anyway. Quality control, right?
But for our real dinner, we went out to The Truck Patch grocery store to grab some big ole salads from their amazing salad bar! The Truck Patch — a small indie health food shop — has the BEST salad bar I've ever seen, and I love to eat there when I'm in Jonesboro. This salad had tofu, chickpeas, quinoa, mixed greens, sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, corn, green peas, bell pepper, roasted red pepper, carrots, red onion, cherry tomatoes, pickled beets, dried cranberries, kalamata olives, and goddess dressing.
This was my last meal on Reset & Restore, and how fitting that it was a nutrition-packed salad! I'm back home now and about to retire for the night. When I wake up, I can eat whatever I want! I definitely have some splurges planned, but I'm not planning to go too crazy. I'll be sure and check in tomorrow evening with some R&R lessons learned and going-forward plans.
January 19, 2017
Reset & Restore, Day 18
I’m in the home stretch, y’all. Only three more full days left (after today) in the 21-day Reset & Restore program! I’m here for a quick post tonight, and then on Sunday, I’ll check back in with a weekend recap and some summary on my eating plans going forward!
This morning started with another rainy run. Why does it keep raining on my run days? It was coming down pretty hard when my alarm went off at 5 a.m., so I checked the radar and saw it was moving out soon. I hit snooze and slept for 30 more minutes. When I got up again, the rain had slowed significantly, so I snacked on an almond date roll and got dressed for my run. Interestingly, my quote-a-day run calendar today said “No Matter the Weather, Get Your Run In.” Ha!
After my run, I had what has become my new favorite breakfast on the reset — Warm Oats with Banana N’ice Cream. This is hot maple-cinnamon oatmeal served atop ice-cold banana soft serve (with a little Nutiva vanilla protein powder) and drizzled with tahini. Like heaven in a bowl! I'll be eating this all the time, post-reset.
My morning snack was more Mary’s Gone Crackers Gluten-Free Kale Crackers with Spinach Hummus.
And my lunch was leftover Hearty Veggie Chili with nooch and cashew sour cream. I’m glad I made lots of this and have some left for tomorrow’s lunch!
Besides Lacy’s recipes, the Reset & Restore program also includes twice-weekly workout videos by Jessica Wilkins of Mighty Steady Coaching. I’d planned to do her fifth video at home right after work, so I knew I’d need an afternoon snack to power me through that. These Thrive bars (by GoMacro!) are totally within the confines of the rules I’ve set for myself for this reset. They’re made with whole foods (dried fruit, nuts, and seeds) and are sweetened with brown rice syrup rather than refined sugar. This was Almond Apricot!
I did the workout video! And as always, it was a challenging and satisfying workout. But I was pretty hungry by the time it was over. Thankfully, I’d made dinner the night before, so all I had to do was heat up a hearty slice of this Vegan Gluten-Free Kale Quiche and make a quick side salad.
This tofu-based, eggless quiche was AMAZING! Totally as good as it looks. It was loaded with veggies — lots of kale and red bell pepper. And it had an almond flour crust that was super tasty.
After dinner, I ran some errands and realized I wanted to snack on something sweet. So I grabbed some pre-cut Mixed Fruit from Kroger. Then I came home, put on my PJs, and chilled out to some Netflix and snacked on fruit.
That’s it for tonight. See y’all again on Sunday.p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}
This morning started with another rainy run. Why does it keep raining on my run days? It was coming down pretty hard when my alarm went off at 5 a.m., so I checked the radar and saw it was moving out soon. I hit snooze and slept for 30 more minutes. When I got up again, the rain had slowed significantly, so I snacked on an almond date roll and got dressed for my run. Interestingly, my quote-a-day run calendar today said “No Matter the Weather, Get Your Run In.” Ha!
After my run, I had what has become my new favorite breakfast on the reset — Warm Oats with Banana N’ice Cream. This is hot maple-cinnamon oatmeal served atop ice-cold banana soft serve (with a little Nutiva vanilla protein powder) and drizzled with tahini. Like heaven in a bowl! I'll be eating this all the time, post-reset.
My morning snack was more Mary’s Gone Crackers Gluten-Free Kale Crackers with Spinach Hummus.
And my lunch was leftover Hearty Veggie Chili with nooch and cashew sour cream. I’m glad I made lots of this and have some left for tomorrow’s lunch!
Besides Lacy’s recipes, the Reset & Restore program also includes twice-weekly workout videos by Jessica Wilkins of Mighty Steady Coaching. I’d planned to do her fifth video at home right after work, so I knew I’d need an afternoon snack to power me through that. These Thrive bars (by GoMacro!) are totally within the confines of the rules I’ve set for myself for this reset. They’re made with whole foods (dried fruit, nuts, and seeds) and are sweetened with brown rice syrup rather than refined sugar. This was Almond Apricot!
I did the workout video! And as always, it was a challenging and satisfying workout. But I was pretty hungry by the time it was over. Thankfully, I’d made dinner the night before, so all I had to do was heat up a hearty slice of this Vegan Gluten-Free Kale Quiche and make a quick side salad.
This tofu-based, eggless quiche was AMAZING! Totally as good as it looks. It was loaded with veggies — lots of kale and red bell pepper. And it had an almond flour crust that was super tasty.
After dinner, I ran some errands and realized I wanted to snack on something sweet. So I grabbed some pre-cut Mixed Fruit from Kroger. Then I came home, put on my PJs, and chilled out to some Netflix and snacked on fruit.
That’s it for tonight. See y’all again on Sunday.p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}
January 18, 2017
Reset & Restore, Day 17
It's Day 17 of my 21-day Reset & Restore intuitive eating program! I'm trying to do whole foods, low-processed stuff, no gluten, low refined sugar, and limited booze. But I'll be honest — I had some gluten today. And some booze. But that's okay. The purpose of my reset is to try and fill myself with nourishing foods as often as possible, but I'm not going to deny myself the occasional treat. More on that in a few.
The day started out on-track though! I had a half a Cherry Pie Larabar and hit the gym for my regular Wednesday morning Butts & Guts class (a circuit training class with squats, abs, free weights, lunges, all that good stuff). After class, I went home and had this for breakfast — Loaded Sweet Potato! This was another of Lacy's recipes — a baked sweet potato with pinto beans, corn, green onion, and homemade cashew sour cream. Fantastic!
I thought that might keep me full until noon, but my tummy was rumbling by 10:45ish. I tend to get hungry every morning around that time no matter what I eat for breakfast. Luckily, I brought an Apple with Nuttzo Peanut Pro (peanuts, cashews, almonds, Brazil nuts, and sunflower seeds).
We typically have staff meetings over the lunch hour on Wednesdays, so I brought my lunch —Roasted Veggie, Chickpea, & Walnut Salad — in a jar! I had this last night as well and packed an extra salad for today. This had herbed, roasted beets, fennel, carrots, and chickpeas with a balsamic vinaigrette, quinoa, green onion, and walnuts. So yummy!
Well, I ate that and then the gluten fest began! Little did I know, some co-workers had planned a surprise tea party for a couple of other co-workers' birthdays! And Courtney wanted to make sure I had a vegan option. How sweet! She made these little Tomato, Basil & Garlic Vinaigrette Tea Sandwiches on Rudi's Bakery bread. Of course I had to eat one with my cup of Darjeeling tea.
And I thought that was it for the gluten today. But then a friend popped by the office with some Homemade Sourdough Bread and Cashew Cream Cheese! WHAT?! Yea, you know I had to eat some of that. I don't pass up homemade sourdough and cashew cheese for nothin'. It was very, very good. After my bread treats, I had some KeVita Ginger Kombucha.
And I was totally back on track for dinner though! I made Lacy's Hearty Veggie Chili last night to heat up for a quick meal tonight. This veggie-loaded stew really hit the spot on this chilly night. I tried out a new six-chili powder (made with six kinds of chiles), and it had such a wonderful flavor. I topped it with a little nooch (as suggested by the recipe) and some of Lacy's homemade cashew sour cream (which I'd made for breakfast).
After dinner, Cassi and I went to the Memphis Flyer's 20>30 party to celebrate the release of their new issue, which features 20 young Memphians doing cool things. As you may know, I worked at the Flyer for 14 years before moving over to Crosstown Arts, so I like to pop into all their events. Plus, there was free booze, and it was at the new Old Dominick Distillery (a bourbon distillery). I hadn't had a chance to check it out yet, and I was eager to see it and try the bourbon! I'm not even a bourbon drinker, but I can't resist locally made booze. Unfortunately, the bourbon wasn't ready yet, but I had a couple glasses of wine instead.
I kept it light though — just two glasses. Then I went home to prep food for tomorrow! My vegan quiche — tomorrow's dinner — is in the oven! I'll see y'all then.
The day started out on-track though! I had a half a Cherry Pie Larabar and hit the gym for my regular Wednesday morning Butts & Guts class (a circuit training class with squats, abs, free weights, lunges, all that good stuff). After class, I went home and had this for breakfast — Loaded Sweet Potato! This was another of Lacy's recipes — a baked sweet potato with pinto beans, corn, green onion, and homemade cashew sour cream. Fantastic!
I thought that might keep me full until noon, but my tummy was rumbling by 10:45ish. I tend to get hungry every morning around that time no matter what I eat for breakfast. Luckily, I brought an Apple with Nuttzo Peanut Pro (peanuts, cashews, almonds, Brazil nuts, and sunflower seeds).
We typically have staff meetings over the lunch hour on Wednesdays, so I brought my lunch —Roasted Veggie, Chickpea, & Walnut Salad — in a jar! I had this last night as well and packed an extra salad for today. This had herbed, roasted beets, fennel, carrots, and chickpeas with a balsamic vinaigrette, quinoa, green onion, and walnuts. So yummy!
Well, I ate that and then the gluten fest began! Little did I know, some co-workers had planned a surprise tea party for a couple of other co-workers' birthdays! And Courtney wanted to make sure I had a vegan option. How sweet! She made these little Tomato, Basil & Garlic Vinaigrette Tea Sandwiches on Rudi's Bakery bread. Of course I had to eat one with my cup of Darjeeling tea.
And I thought that was it for the gluten today. But then a friend popped by the office with some Homemade Sourdough Bread and Cashew Cream Cheese! WHAT?! Yea, you know I had to eat some of that. I don't pass up homemade sourdough and cashew cheese for nothin'. It was very, very good. After my bread treats, I had some KeVita Ginger Kombucha.
And I was totally back on track for dinner though! I made Lacy's Hearty Veggie Chili last night to heat up for a quick meal tonight. This veggie-loaded stew really hit the spot on this chilly night. I tried out a new six-chili powder (made with six kinds of chiles), and it had such a wonderful flavor. I topped it with a little nooch (as suggested by the recipe) and some of Lacy's homemade cashew sour cream (which I'd made for breakfast).
After dinner, Cassi and I went to the Memphis Flyer's 20>30 party to celebrate the release of their new issue, which features 20 young Memphians doing cool things. As you may know, I worked at the Flyer for 14 years before moving over to Crosstown Arts, so I like to pop into all their events. Plus, there was free booze, and it was at the new Old Dominick Distillery (a bourbon distillery). I hadn't had a chance to check it out yet, and I was eager to see it and try the bourbon! I'm not even a bourbon drinker, but I can't resist locally made booze. Unfortunately, the bourbon wasn't ready yet, but I had a couple glasses of wine instead.
I kept it light though — just two glasses. Then I went home to prep food for tomorrow! My vegan quiche — tomorrow's dinner — is in the oven! I'll see y'all then.
January 17, 2017
Reset & Restore, Day 16
And here I am on Day 16 of Reset & Restore — a 3-week whole foods-based, intuitive eating program by Lacy Davis and Jessica Wilkins! Are y'all tired of me explaining what this is every time? Sorry! I want to be clear with each post just in case someone new comes along and wonders what the heck I'm talking about.
I woke up this morning around 5 a.m. to sound of rain coming down outside my window. But I had a six-mile run scheduled, and I live by the postal service creed — "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." I ate a quick Ommie Cherry Chocolate Raw Fruit & Seed Energy Bar (a treat from my last Goddess Provisions box — more on this bar in a future Goddess box unpacking post!). Then I put on my Mizuno running rain jacket and old shoes that I don't mind getting muddy and headed out the door.
Fortunately, it was a warm rain, and it stopped shortly after I got started. After my run, I had Lacy's Hot Chocolate Smoothie.
This was a heated smoothie made with fresh (not frozen) banana, raw cacao, and greens. I added a scoop of Nutiva chocolate protein as well. I got the bright idea to not only use hot water (as the recipe suggested) but to also blend it on my Vitamix's Hot Soup setting. This resulted in a piping hot smoothie that was like thick hot cocoa, which was awesome EXCEPT I stupidly thought it'd be a good idea to drink the hot liquid through a straw. OUCH! I burned my mouth all over. It's still raw and feels weird hours later. I ended up cooling the smoothie off a little with some cold almond milk and then sipped the rest (without a straw) like I should have done from the start.
My morning snack was Gluten-Free Kale Crackers with Spinach Hummus. So good!
Lunch was my leftover Mexican-Style Savory Baked Oatmeal, which I mentioned last night was one of my favorite recipes on this reset thus far. Great with homemade guac, shredded lettuce, tomato, and salsa verde.
In the afternoon, I had a Pure Doctor Live Kombucha — it's kombucha that tastes like Dr. Pepper! I love this stuff. I took a picture — or thought I did — in the office, but it isn't showing up on my phone. I guess I didn't hit the shutter button all the way. Here's one I stole from the internet! I highly recommend this stuff.
Dinner was Lacy's Roasted Veggie, Chickpea, & Walnut Salad. The base of this salad is roasted chickpeas, carrots, beets, and fennel served over a bed of romaine with some raw grated carrot, walnuts, and green onions. To be honest, I didn't think I liked fennel (because I hate licorice), but I want to like it. So I opted to give it another chance.
And you know what? I really love it! At least, I love it when roasted. The fennel got all caramelized and sweet, the perfect complement to the earthy beets and carrots. The dressing is just a simple balsamic with a touch of Dijon. I added quinoa for some extra carbs and protein. Yum!
After dinner, I snacked on some Addictive Wellness raw chocolate with a glass of almond-cashew milk. Then I found a little time to do the third guided meditation on the reset. Each week, Lacy sends out an email with a new guided meditation, and this week's meditation focuses on positive body image. I don't meditate nearly often enough, but it always feels so nice to set a few minutes aside to just chill.
I woke up this morning around 5 a.m. to sound of rain coming down outside my window. But I had a six-mile run scheduled, and I live by the postal service creed — "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." I ate a quick Ommie Cherry Chocolate Raw Fruit & Seed Energy Bar (a treat from my last Goddess Provisions box — more on this bar in a future Goddess box unpacking post!). Then I put on my Mizuno running rain jacket and old shoes that I don't mind getting muddy and headed out the door.
Fortunately, it was a warm rain, and it stopped shortly after I got started. After my run, I had Lacy's Hot Chocolate Smoothie.
This was a heated smoothie made with fresh (not frozen) banana, raw cacao, and greens. I added a scoop of Nutiva chocolate protein as well. I got the bright idea to not only use hot water (as the recipe suggested) but to also blend it on my Vitamix's Hot Soup setting. This resulted in a piping hot smoothie that was like thick hot cocoa, which was awesome EXCEPT I stupidly thought it'd be a good idea to drink the hot liquid through a straw. OUCH! I burned my mouth all over. It's still raw and feels weird hours later. I ended up cooling the smoothie off a little with some cold almond milk and then sipped the rest (without a straw) like I should have done from the start.
My morning snack was Gluten-Free Kale Crackers with Spinach Hummus. So good!
Lunch was my leftover Mexican-Style Savory Baked Oatmeal, which I mentioned last night was one of my favorite recipes on this reset thus far. Great with homemade guac, shredded lettuce, tomato, and salsa verde.
In the afternoon, I had a Pure Doctor Live Kombucha — it's kombucha that tastes like Dr. Pepper! I love this stuff. I took a picture — or thought I did — in the office, but it isn't showing up on my phone. I guess I didn't hit the shutter button all the way. Here's one I stole from the internet! I highly recommend this stuff.
Dinner was Lacy's Roasted Veggie, Chickpea, & Walnut Salad. The base of this salad is roasted chickpeas, carrots, beets, and fennel served over a bed of romaine with some raw grated carrot, walnuts, and green onions. To be honest, I didn't think I liked fennel (because I hate licorice), but I want to like it. So I opted to give it another chance.
And you know what? I really love it! At least, I love it when roasted. The fennel got all caramelized and sweet, the perfect complement to the earthy beets and carrots. The dressing is just a simple balsamic with a touch of Dijon. I added quinoa for some extra carbs and protein. Yum!
After dinner, I snacked on some Addictive Wellness raw chocolate with a glass of almond-cashew milk. Then I found a little time to do the third guided meditation on the reset. Each week, Lacy sends out an email with a new guided meditation, and this week's meditation focuses on positive body image. I don't meditate nearly often enough, but it always feels so nice to set a few minutes aside to just chill.
January 16, 2017
Reset & Restore, Day 15
It's MLK Day! And it's day 15 of my 21-day Reset & Restore whole foods-based, intuitive eating program. My office was closed for the holiday, so I slept in until 8ish and then headed out for a lovely four-mile run in the warm nearly 70-degree weather. Aside from a handful of very cold, snowy days, this winter has been super-mild so far and just perfect for running!
After my run, I had another R&R recipe — Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Pudding! This was a chia-based pudding with Nutiva chocolate protein powder and peanut butter. Topped with salted peanuts and cacao nibs. Such a creamy morning treat!
Since I had the day off, I figured I ought to at least make good use of my time and tackle the long put-off task of painting my kitchen trash closet. I painted my kitchen about three years ago and fully intended to paint the closet (the one where the trash can goes) shortly after. But I procrastinated — FOR YEARS. So I finally did it today! The walls were really nasty, and now they look quite nice! While I painted, I snacked on some Mary's Gone Crackers Kale Crackers (they're gluten-free) with homemade Cashew Cheese. I am trying to mostly avoid processed food (except for protein powders and plant milks!) on this reset, but I've really missed crunchy snacks. And I've been too busy (lazy?) to make my own crackers, but as crackers go, these are pretty healthy!
I put off lunch until I'd finished my paint job, so it was after 2 p.m. by the time I heated up this plate of last night's leftovers — Hasselback Japanese Yam, Lentils, & Steamed Broccoli with Tahini & Nooch.
That was such a hearty lunch that it held me over for hours and hours! I wasn't hungry for dinner until nearly 8. And that's when I had Lacy's Mexican Baked Oatmeal — a savory spin on oats with pinto beans, black olives, salsa, and Mexican spices. Topped with a little mashed homemade guac, salsa, lettuce, and tomato.
Y'ALL!!! THIS WAS EVERYTHING! I've made savory oats on the stovetop for breakfast, but I'd never baked oats. Baking results in this creamy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-edges texture that I absolutely loved. And the flavors here were just incredible. This and the socca pizza from earlier in the week have been my favorite dinner recipes so far! I'd love to experiment with other savory baked oat recipes!
Well, that's it for tonight! Hard to believe next Monday I'll be done with the reset. I'm already planning out my first post-reset dinner! Even though I fully intend to retain the principles of this way of eating 80 percent of the time, I'm also planning to bring gluten (daily) and desserts (occasionally) back into my life.
After my run, I had another R&R recipe — Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Pudding! This was a chia-based pudding with Nutiva chocolate protein powder and peanut butter. Topped with salted peanuts and cacao nibs. Such a creamy morning treat!
Since I had the day off, I figured I ought to at least make good use of my time and tackle the long put-off task of painting my kitchen trash closet. I painted my kitchen about three years ago and fully intended to paint the closet (the one where the trash can goes) shortly after. But I procrastinated — FOR YEARS. So I finally did it today! The walls were really nasty, and now they look quite nice! While I painted, I snacked on some Mary's Gone Crackers Kale Crackers (they're gluten-free) with homemade Cashew Cheese. I am trying to mostly avoid processed food (except for protein powders and plant milks!) on this reset, but I've really missed crunchy snacks. And I've been too busy (lazy?) to make my own crackers, but as crackers go, these are pretty healthy!
I put off lunch until I'd finished my paint job, so it was after 2 p.m. by the time I heated up this plate of last night's leftovers — Hasselback Japanese Yam, Lentils, & Steamed Broccoli with Tahini & Nooch.
That was such a hearty lunch that it held me over for hours and hours! I wasn't hungry for dinner until nearly 8. And that's when I had Lacy's Mexican Baked Oatmeal — a savory spin on oats with pinto beans, black olives, salsa, and Mexican spices. Topped with a little mashed homemade guac, salsa, lettuce, and tomato.
Y'ALL!!! THIS WAS EVERYTHING! I've made savory oats on the stovetop for breakfast, but I'd never baked oats. Baking results in this creamy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-edges texture that I absolutely loved. And the flavors here were just incredible. This and the socca pizza from earlier in the week have been my favorite dinner recipes so far! I'd love to experiment with other savory baked oat recipes!
Well, that's it for tonight! Hard to believe next Monday I'll be done with the reset. I'm already planning out my first post-reset dinner! Even though I fully intend to retain the principles of this way of eating 80 percent of the time, I'm also planning to bring gluten (daily) and desserts (occasionally) back into my life.
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