Bianca Phillips's Blog, page 20

Breakfasts and Quinoa (But Not Together!)

I do love breakfast quinoa porridge, but this post isn't about that. Rather, I've got some pics of breakfast, and I've got some pics of quinoa. On Friday, I tried making a Just Egg and veggie omelet, but the "egg" stuck to the pan, so I ended up with a Veggie Just Egg Scramble. This has happened the last few Just Egg omelets, so I think I need a new nonstick skillet. For the veggies, I added carrots, red cabbage, and bell peppers (just what I had laying around the fridge!), and I also mixed in some Sweet Earth bacon. And I had toast with grape jelly and oat butter on the side. Grape jelly really is the best jelly.

Here's another scramble, but this one is a Tofu Scramble. I added some vegan cheddar shreds for extra tastiness, and there's more veggie bacon and sourdough toast on the side. Forgot I had grape jelly!

Today for lunch, I had a Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl from Raw Girls. This has black olives and roasted tomatoes, and it's so good!

On Saturday, I attended the Memphis Rox Yoga Festival, and Loc'd and Vegan was there. They had BBQ Jackfruit Quinoa Bowls with slaw. This fest was outdoors, and it was chilly and rainy all day, so this was a nice warm lunch. That yoga fest was just so magical!!! Even in the rain!

Southern Fried Goodness, Breakfast Pizza, and Vegan Chicken Salad

On Friday, I went to visit my parents' house in Arkansas for our annual Southern fried meal. Every summer, my mom makes one big meal of fried veggies and delicious Southern dishes, and this was it. This time, we had Fried Squash, Beyond Chicken, Buttered Corn, Granny's Rotel Blackeyed Peas and Cornbread, and Fried Potatoes with Chow Chow. So good! I look forward to this every year!

The next morning, my mom made our new favorite brunch dish — Vegan Breakfast Pizza with Just Egg, Vegan Sausage, Vegan Cheddar, Gravy, and Crescent Roll Crust. With a hash brown on the side of course!

Speaking of Southern food, I picked up some Lady Peas from the CY Farmers Market and made this simple and delicious dinner. I added carrots, onions, and veggie broth to make a simple summer soup. I love fresh lady peas!

And finally, here's a tasty Vegan BBQ Chicken Salad from Da Guilty Vegan food truck, which just happened to be Downtown last Thursday on a day I was working in the office! Da Guilty Vegan is most often parked in Cordova, which is quite a drive from my home or work, so it's nice when they're in my area.

Burgers, Air-fried Okra, and the BEST ICE CREAM BAR

I think they say Labor Day weekend is the end of grilling season, but in Memphis, we're solidly in summer weather until mid-October. So we did grill out on Sunday, but it likely won't be the last time this year! I made Beyond Burgers, and as usual, we grilled mushrooms, corn, and asparagus (three veggies Paul will actually eat).

I also recently tried the Gardein Ultimate Black Bean Burgers, and they were good! I love the Ultimate chicken, so I figured I'd give the bean burgers a try. I still prefer a meaty Beyond burger over a bean patty, but I do feel healthier eating these.

My neighbor Dennis gave me some okra from his garden a few weeks back, and I used the last of it as a side for my black bean burger. Per Dennis' recipe, I marinated halved okra pods in Bragg's, nooch, hot sauce, and olive oil, and then I dusted them with cornmeal. He recommended roasting the okra, but I air-fried mine because I'm lazy, and ovens take forever. These were really good!

And finally, y'all, omg. Have y'all tried the Wicked Foods Berry White ice cream bars??? I have been looking all over for them, and my neighborhood Kroger finally had them in stock. These have vanilla ice cream coated in vegan white chocolate with berry bits (and berry filling inside the vanilla ice cream). Best ice cream thing I've ever eaten!! 

Shroom Tacos, Pickle Scones, & Salad!

Last Friday, we celebrated my friend Susan's birthday at Cameo, a cute little cocktail bar with a few vegan items. I opted for the Maitake Tinga Tacos (hold the sour cream), which had maitake mushrooms, pico, and peppers. They were really tasty, though quite small. I wasn't expecting street tacos for the price ($15), and I did have to eat more food when I got home though. In Cameo's defense, it is listed as a snack, so there's that. 

What better to drink with tacos than a margarita? Cameo makes a very solid marg.

On Saturday morning, I picked up this Dill Pickle Scone from the LuLu's booth at the CY Farmers Market. They made their own pickles and then added them to scones. SO GOOD! I could have eaten three or four of these. Are you sensing a theme here? Clearly, I have a healthy appetite.

And finally, here's a Beet, Fennel, and Orange Salad from Raw Girls that I picked up for a work lunch on Monday. This is the one Raw Girls dish I'd never ordered because it's got an arugula base, and I'm not crazy about arugula. And I also didn't think I liked fennel until recently when I had some in a salad and realized I actually love fennel. So that realization led me to be brave enough to try this. And you know what? It was good! I think arugula is easier to eat when you have the right salad dressing, and this did. It was a creamy pecan dressing that was perfect!

Last Fiber Fueled 4-Week Meal Round-up!

Last week was the last one on my Fiber Fueled 4-week meal plan! I started the plan in early August with Paul, in the hopes that he could finally clean up his diet and eat some damn fiber. But Paul fell off in the first week. Unfortunately, healthy eating just isn't his thing. But I stuck with it because I love Dr. Will B's recipes, and even though I don't have an issue getting enough fiber, I was curious to try his plan. 
The plan is built to slowly work in higher-FODMAP foods (like garlic, onions, bananas, etc.) so that in the first week, you have very little FODMAPs. And by then, you're eating a normal, whole food, plant-based diet. I sometimes have gas and bloating, so I wanted to see if that was caused by FODMAPs. And based on this plan, it's not! So that's good. Now I know the issue is something else (and honestly, it seems more exacerbated by raw cruciferous veggies, so I suspect that's my issue). 
Anyway, enough about gas! Here are some things I ate last week on the meal plan. On Sunday, I made the Gluten-Free Pancakes with oat flour and blueberries. A great start to my day!

I made these Sesame Noodle Meal Prep bowls for lunches, and they were so handy! They're made with soba noodles, tofu, carrots, cucumber, edamame, and a tasty tahini sauce. Plus, lots of seeds!

The Sunflower No-Tuna Spread also made great lunches when spread on some homemade sourdough bread (and topped with broccoli sprouts, which I've been growing at home).

Last Saturday (the night before a 5-mile race), I had the Chickpea Meatballs and Spaghetti. These balls were made with chickpeas, walnuts, and Italian herbs. They're very good, and the recipe makes a lot.

And finally, I ended my meal plan with Tofu Saag with spinach, coconut milk, and lots of Indian spices! This was from the Fiber Fueled plan, but starting this week, I'm taking a deep dive in Indian cooking (because I've got a new cookbook to review). So this saag was a great intro into the week! 

Thai Rainbow Bowl, Kimchi Rice, and Gumbo!

I'm in the home stretch with my Fiber Fueled four-week meal plan. Only a few more days! But since I've been really chill about eating things not on the plan, it hasn't felt hard at all. Here are a few things I've eaten lately.

This Thai Rainbow Bowl was beautiful and delicious! It has a base of brown rice and was topped with tofu, raw veggies (cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, and red cabbage) and a tasty peanut sauce that I could drink.

The Kimchi Fried Rice was also a winner. Brown rice is sauteed with tofu, kimchi, bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms. I just love kimchi. All fermented foods really! I'm all about that salty tanginess.

Last night, I made Gumbo from the book, using okra from my neighbor's garden. This wasn't made with a traditional roux, but it did involve stirring flour into the veggies before adding broth so it still had that gumbo-like flavor. In fact, the spices (lots of thyme!) were spot-on for gumbo. I made a bunch of this so I'll be eating it for days. 

Breakfast Tacos, Buffalo Salad, and Sad Wraps

This morning, I made the Spicy Breakfast Tacos from Fiber Fueled, and they were awesome! There's tofu that's been cooked in homemade taco sauce, smashed black beans, cherry tomato salsa, avocado, and I added some cumin-scented kraut that I made (even though the recipe doesn't call for kraut). I wish I had enough left for another day! But I don't. Lots of tacos on this Fiber Fueled plan. Reminds me of the time I did the Taco Cleanse!

Several days last week, I had the Buffalo Chickpea Salad from Fiber Fueled for lunch. This was sooo good! It has chickpeas that are sauteed in homemade buffalo sauce and then served over greens that have been tossed with a sweet pumpkin dressing. Topped with tomato and avocado, plus some bonus peppers from my garden and Kelly's croutons (because they're everything). Sourdough on the side!

And finally, here's a sad meal that I just had to share. On Saturday, I went to board retreat for a nonprofit board that I'm on. Lunch was provided, and while I'm glad there was a vegan option for me (the only vegan on the board), check out these sad Veggie Wraps. The insides were stuffed with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and peppers. The tomatoes and peppers were marinated in some kind of vinaigrette, but it was pretty bland. They served the wraps with non-vegan ranch, so maybe they intended additional flavor to come from that. But you know, dairy. I wish they'd included some kind of protein source; seasoned chickpeas would have been an easy and obvious option. Oh well. Luckily, there were also BBQ chips, and they were full of flavor! 

Breakfast Tacos, Taco Salad, and Sad Wraps

This morning, I made the Spicy Breakfast Tacos from Fiber Fueled, and they were awesome! There's tofu that's been cooked in homemade taco sauce, smashed black beans, cherry tomato salsa, avocado, and I added some cumin-scented kraut that I made (even though the recipe doesn't call for kraut). I wish I had enough left for another day! But I don't. Lots of tacos on this Fiber Fueled plan. Reminds me of the time I did the Taco Cleanse!

Several days last week, I had the Buffalo Chickpea Salad from Fiber Fueled for lunch. This was sooo good! It has chickpeas that are sauteed in homemade buffalo sauce and then served over greens that have been tossed with a sweet pumpkin dressing. Topped with tomato and avocado, plus some bonus peppers from my garden and Kelly's croutons (because they're everything). Sourdough on the side!

And finally, here's a sad meal that I just had to share. On Saturday, I went to board retreat for a nonprofit board that I'm on. Lunch was provided, and while I'm glad there was a vegan option for me (the only vegan on the board), check out these sad Veggie Wraps. The insides were stuffed with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and peppers. The tomatoes and peppers were marinated in some kind of vinaigrette, but it was pretty bland. They served the wraps with non-vegan ranch, so maybe they intended additional flavor to come from that. But you know, dairy. I wish they'd included some kind of protein source; seasoned chickpeas would have been an easy and obvious option. Oh well. Luckily, there were also BBQ chips, and they were full of flavor! 

Stir-fry with Sexy Mushrooms! Plus, Tacos and Chili!

Still doing Fiber Fueled, and I'm loving all the recipes. Last week, I made the Backpocket Stir-fry, which was served over quinoa. I thought that was a fun alternative to rice. 

It called for oyster mushrooms, so I picked some up from the farmers market. Just look at these!! So much prettier than what you can buy in a store.

Here's another taco recipe from the book. I made lentil and walnut tacos early last week, and then on Friday, I made Tempeh Tacos. I used the same cilantro sauce from the lentil tacos on these as well.

And this week, I made some Butternut Squash & Quinoa Chili. This was not your typical bean chili. In fact, it had no beans. Just lots of veggies (including roasted butternut squash) and quinoa as the protein source. 

Fiber Fueled Breakfasts!

Here are a few breakfasts I've been eating on the Fiber Fueled 4-week plan from Dr. Will B.'s first book, Fiber Fueled. I'm in week three now and loving ALL the recipes. The Tofu Scramble Bowl was a fave. It's a traditional scramble served over steamed kale and roasted sweet potatoes. 

He recommends having this with a Citrus Mint Salad on the side. This has grapefruit, orange, lime, maple, and fresh mint from my garden. I really struggle with segmenting citrus. Anyone else? It's so messy, and I never get it right.

Here's a week two breakfast of Simple Overnight Oats topped with blueberries and maple. You can never go wrong with overnight oats. I saw a tweet the other day where someone said "overnight oats are gruel." But they are wrong. Dead wrong.

There's a new scramble this week — Puttanesca Scramble. It's similar to last week's version, but this one has capers and black olives. I'll eat ANYTHING with black olives (so long as it's vegan, obvs). Giant slice of sourdough on the side (made with Dr. B's recipe from his new Fiber Fueled Cookbook).

And here's a breakfast that wasn't on the Fiber Fueled plan. I picked up this Breakfast Pocket from LuLu's at the CY Farmers Market on Saturday. It has smoked tofu and smoked pepitas (and maybe also mushrooms?).