Bianca Phillips's Blog, page 91
October 21, 2018
Health Made Simple, Days 18-20
I'm well into the third week of the No Meat Athlete Health Made Simple plan, and I'm feeling better than I ever have on a meal plan. I always feel good when I'm doing a reset and eating whole, plant-focused meals. But this plan has a very specific emphasis on your "most of the time" (or MOTT, as HMS nutritionist Sid Garza Hillman calls it). That means, I don't need to feel guilty when I skip a meal plan meal and have a dinner out with friends or a cocktail at a bar or a slice of vegan cake. As long as I'm eating well most of the day, those things are totally fine.
Anyway, here's what I've been eating on the plan (and off the plan!). On Thursday (Day 18), I started with another Blueberry Peach Smoothie (following an hour-long gym session with spinning, elliptical, and weight machines). My morning snack was another fruit bowl (I eat these every day on the plan!). And lunch was leftover BBQ Tempeh Tacos with pineapple, cilantro, scallion, and jalapeno.
Afternoon snack was Baked Corn Chips and Salsa. They recommended Garden of Eatin' baked corn chips, which I know I've bought before at Whole Foods. But they apparently don't carry them anymore. So I just baked my own chips in the air fryer using corn tortillas. I brushed with a little oil and seasoned with salt, garlic, and onion powder. Way better than storebought anyway!
Dinner was Red Lentils & Red Rice and a salad with cashew ranch. The recipe called for brown rice, but I was out, so I used red instead! This was a fun, quick Indian-style meal.
Breakfast on Friday was another Strawberry Raspberry Smoothie (after my early morning spinning class). I'm also doing some new foods for pre- and post-workout (before the smoothie), but I'll save that for another post. My morning snack was cut veggies (carrot, celery, bell pepper) with cashew ranch. And lunch was leftovers of the above red lentils and rice. I enjoyed my daily fruit bowl in the car while driving to Jonesboro to visit my parents.
My birthday was last Tuesday, but I'd yet to celebrate with my parents. So we did birthday dinner on Friday night. My mom made Spaghetti with Vegan Beef, Mushrooms, and Vegan Parm with Garlic Bread. And we had Side Salads. I requested whole wheat pasta, so this was actually pretty healthy. And having the vegan beef and parm felt like a real treat, which is how I'd prefer to enjoy those things going forward. We also enjoyed a treat of my dad's homemade peach wine!
On Saturday morning, I woke up early and made my meal plan breakfast of Tofu Scramble with Sprouted Grain Toast. Yum! I spread my toast with coconut oil instead of my usual Earth Balance.
After breakfast, I went to yoga and then had my morning snack of a Blueberry Peach Smoothie.
Since I'd eaten at my parents' house the night before, I didn't have my leftovers for lunch. Sid and Matt recommend having a Giant Salad when you don't have leftovers for lunch, so I did just that — with Sid's amazing cashew ranch! This had kidney beans, romaine, kalamata olives, carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, radishes, scallions, toasted pine nuts, and pumpkin seeds.
Afternoon snack was another fruit bowl. Dinner was especially delicious — Rice Bowl with Sauteed Kale, Mushrooms, Onions, and Chickpeas with Goddess Dressing, Pickled Onions, & Toasted Sesame Seeds. I always feel good about myself when I have a bean/grain/green bowl! The tahini-heavy goddess dressing is another oil-free dressing on the meal plan that I'll have to keep in my regular rotation, post-reset. It has scallions and parsley mixed with tahini, lemon, ACV, and garlic. So good!
Later that night, my friend Autumn was having her 40th birthday party at Atomic Tiki, a tiki bar down the street from my house. I am definitely still enjoying the occasional drink on this meal plan, because it's not my MOTT but instead my "some of the time." I had two delicious craft beers there. And I was just about to leave (because it was almost midnight!), when my vegan baker bud Stephanie brought out these Vegan Peanut Butter Bomb Cupcakes!
These are my personal fave of hers, and she hasn't made them in a couple years. It's a chocolate cupcake with peanut buttercream that's dipped in a creamy chocolate ganache. I knew eating a cupcake at midnight was crazy, but it's certainly not something I'll do every day. So I enjoyed one — down to the very last bite.
Anyway, here's what I've been eating on the plan (and off the plan!). On Thursday (Day 18), I started with another Blueberry Peach Smoothie (following an hour-long gym session with spinning, elliptical, and weight machines). My morning snack was another fruit bowl (I eat these every day on the plan!). And lunch was leftover BBQ Tempeh Tacos with pineapple, cilantro, scallion, and jalapeno.
Afternoon snack was Baked Corn Chips and Salsa. They recommended Garden of Eatin' baked corn chips, which I know I've bought before at Whole Foods. But they apparently don't carry them anymore. So I just baked my own chips in the air fryer using corn tortillas. I brushed with a little oil and seasoned with salt, garlic, and onion powder. Way better than storebought anyway!
Dinner was Red Lentils & Red Rice and a salad with cashew ranch. The recipe called for brown rice, but I was out, so I used red instead! This was a fun, quick Indian-style meal.
Breakfast on Friday was another Strawberry Raspberry Smoothie (after my early morning spinning class). I'm also doing some new foods for pre- and post-workout (before the smoothie), but I'll save that for another post. My morning snack was cut veggies (carrot, celery, bell pepper) with cashew ranch. And lunch was leftovers of the above red lentils and rice. I enjoyed my daily fruit bowl in the car while driving to Jonesboro to visit my parents.
My birthday was last Tuesday, but I'd yet to celebrate with my parents. So we did birthday dinner on Friday night. My mom made Spaghetti with Vegan Beef, Mushrooms, and Vegan Parm with Garlic Bread. And we had Side Salads. I requested whole wheat pasta, so this was actually pretty healthy. And having the vegan beef and parm felt like a real treat, which is how I'd prefer to enjoy those things going forward. We also enjoyed a treat of my dad's homemade peach wine!
On Saturday morning, I woke up early and made my meal plan breakfast of Tofu Scramble with Sprouted Grain Toast. Yum! I spread my toast with coconut oil instead of my usual Earth Balance.
After breakfast, I went to yoga and then had my morning snack of a Blueberry Peach Smoothie.
Since I'd eaten at my parents' house the night before, I didn't have my leftovers for lunch. Sid and Matt recommend having a Giant Salad when you don't have leftovers for lunch, so I did just that — with Sid's amazing cashew ranch! This had kidney beans, romaine, kalamata olives, carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, radishes, scallions, toasted pine nuts, and pumpkin seeds.
Afternoon snack was another fruit bowl. Dinner was especially delicious — Rice Bowl with Sauteed Kale, Mushrooms, Onions, and Chickpeas with Goddess Dressing, Pickled Onions, & Toasted Sesame Seeds. I always feel good about myself when I have a bean/grain/green bowl! The tahini-heavy goddess dressing is another oil-free dressing on the meal plan that I'll have to keep in my regular rotation, post-reset. It has scallions and parsley mixed with tahini, lemon, ACV, and garlic. So good!
Later that night, my friend Autumn was having her 40th birthday party at Atomic Tiki, a tiki bar down the street from my house. I am definitely still enjoying the occasional drink on this meal plan, because it's not my MOTT but instead my "some of the time." I had two delicious craft beers there. And I was just about to leave (because it was almost midnight!), when my vegan baker bud Stephanie brought out these Vegan Peanut Butter Bomb Cupcakes!
These are my personal fave of hers, and she hasn't made them in a couple years. It's a chocolate cupcake with peanut buttercream that's dipped in a creamy chocolate ganache. I knew eating a cupcake at midnight was crazy, but it's certainly not something I'll do every day. So I enjoyed one — down to the very last bite.
October 18, 2018
Health Made Simple, Day 17
Yesterday on Health Made Simple was pretty great! The day began with a Strawberry Raspberry Smoothie (with spinach, banana, and walnuts) — the same smoothie I had on Monday morning.
My morning snack was a Fruit Bowl with strawberries, grapes, and a nectarine. Really thriving on this fruit/nuts only thing til noon! I could totally do this high-carb, low fat vegan thing.
Lunch was the last of my Hearty Chickpea Pasta Soup with whole wheat elbow mac and kale. Eaten at my desk while I caught up on the work I missed from taking off Tuesday for my birthday.
I had yoga right after work, so I snacked on Whole Wheat Crackers and Celery with Raw Almond Butter.
And then dinner was a super-delicious meal of BBQ Tempeh Tacos! The tempeh is fried (no oil) with some BBQ sauce and soy sauce. Served atop corn tortillas with pineapple, cilantro, scallion, and jalapeno. The recipe on Health Made Simple suggested a low-sugar BBQ sauce, but I just used what I had on-hand. Also had a side salad (as prescribed with every dinner on HMS).
I'll check back in after the weekend! I do have one fun, non-HMS meal planned for a family birthday dinner.
My morning snack was a Fruit Bowl with strawberries, grapes, and a nectarine. Really thriving on this fruit/nuts only thing til noon! I could totally do this high-carb, low fat vegan thing.
Lunch was the last of my Hearty Chickpea Pasta Soup with whole wheat elbow mac and kale. Eaten at my desk while I caught up on the work I missed from taking off Tuesday for my birthday.
I had yoga right after work, so I snacked on Whole Wheat Crackers and Celery with Raw Almond Butter.
And then dinner was a super-delicious meal of BBQ Tempeh Tacos! The tempeh is fried (no oil) with some BBQ sauce and soy sauce. Served atop corn tortillas with pineapple, cilantro, scallion, and jalapeno. The recipe on Health Made Simple suggested a low-sugar BBQ sauce, but I just used what I had on-hand. Also had a side salad (as prescribed with every dinner on HMS).
I'll check back in after the weekend! I do have one fun, non-HMS meal planned for a family birthday dinner.
October 17, 2018
38th Birthday Eats!
I celebrated 38 years around the sun on Tuesday! Since I'm doing Health Made Simple (and it was only the second day of the full mean plan), I tried to stay within its parameters for the first half of the day. The HMS meal planner website allows you move meals around and delete meals you're not eating. I was scheduled to have a blueberry peach smoothie, but who wants a smoothie on their birthday? Instead, I moved last weekend's Whole Grain Pancakes recipe (which I wasn't able to eat since I went out to brunch with friends) to Tuesday. I took the day off work because I don't believe in working on birthdays, so this was a fun treat on a week day.
These were gluten-free and made with almond, oat, and chickpea flour. They were also oil-free and low sugar (with just a teaspoon of maple in the batter). I mixed frozen blueberries into the batter and topped with a peanut butter-maple sauce, fresh strawberries, and banana. Enjoyed while catching up on Game of Thrones!
After breakfast, I went to a lunchtime yoga class at my gym downtown. It's a class I used to always go to when I worked at my old job downtown. But I haven't been able to go since starting at Crosstown Arts since it's too far away for a lunch break class. After yoga, I went home and heated up my leftovers of Hearty Chickpea Pasta Soup. Every day on HMS, the lunch is leftovers of the previous night's dinner.
I deleted my two snacks for the day because I had a late breakfast and knew I'd be snacking on birthday cake later! So about that cake ...
This gorgeous slice of Birthday Cake Oreo Cake was gifted to me at Imagine Vegan Cafe by owner Kristie on Sunday. I knew I wanted to save it for my actual birthday, so I wrapped it and froze it until Tuesday afternoon! It thawed beautifully. I tried to eat the whole thing, but this was essentially two slices, and I just couldn't finish it. I got close though!
At 6 pm, I had plans to meet my friends at Today & Always, the plant-based restaurant at Crosstown Arts (where I work). Even though I took off work that day, I still wanted to hang out there! Ha! I just can't stay away.
I ordered my very favorite menu item — Chicken Fried Tofu. Two thick slabs of tofu are breaded and fried and served atop spicy grits and greens. I'd say half the table ordered this same thing. It's too good not to eat!
After dinner, the group migrated to Art Bar (the bar at Crosstown Arts, which is located across the lobby from Today & Always). There, I had two Old Fashioneds (pictured, my new drink of choice) and a cocktail called Caught in a Maize of Silk & Paradise (gin with homemade cornsilk liqueur).
And here are a couple fun group shots. I LOVE the space in Art Bar so much.
These were gluten-free and made with almond, oat, and chickpea flour. They were also oil-free and low sugar (with just a teaspoon of maple in the batter). I mixed frozen blueberries into the batter and topped with a peanut butter-maple sauce, fresh strawberries, and banana. Enjoyed while catching up on Game of Thrones!
After breakfast, I went to a lunchtime yoga class at my gym downtown. It's a class I used to always go to when I worked at my old job downtown. But I haven't been able to go since starting at Crosstown Arts since it's too far away for a lunch break class. After yoga, I went home and heated up my leftovers of Hearty Chickpea Pasta Soup. Every day on HMS, the lunch is leftovers of the previous night's dinner.
I deleted my two snacks for the day because I had a late breakfast and knew I'd be snacking on birthday cake later! So about that cake ...
This gorgeous slice of Birthday Cake Oreo Cake was gifted to me at Imagine Vegan Cafe by owner Kristie on Sunday. I knew I wanted to save it for my actual birthday, so I wrapped it and froze it until Tuesday afternoon! It thawed beautifully. I tried to eat the whole thing, but this was essentially two slices, and I just couldn't finish it. I got close though!
At 6 pm, I had plans to meet my friends at Today & Always, the plant-based restaurant at Crosstown Arts (where I work). Even though I took off work that day, I still wanted to hang out there! Ha! I just can't stay away.
I ordered my very favorite menu item — Chicken Fried Tofu. Two thick slabs of tofu are breaded and fried and served atop spicy grits and greens. I'd say half the table ordered this same thing. It's too good not to eat!
After dinner, the group migrated to Art Bar (the bar at Crosstown Arts, which is located across the lobby from Today & Always). There, I had two Old Fashioneds (pictured, my new drink of choice) and a cocktail called Caught in a Maize of Silk & Paradise (gin with homemade cornsilk liqueur).
And here are a couple fun group shots. I LOVE the space in Art Bar so much.
October 16, 2018
Health Made Simple, Day 15!
Yesterday, Day 15 of the 8-week Health Made Simple plan from No Meat Athlete, was the first full day of the meal plan. This whole foods, plant-based plan starts off with a week of only changing your breakfasts (to smoothies) and then there's a week of continued smoothies plus whole foods-based snacks. And on the third week (this one), we go all out with a planned breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks.
This plan goes until right before Thanksgiving and includes a private Facebook community and weekly live Q&A healthcasts with Matt Frazier of No Meat Athlete and Sid Garza-Hillman of Approaching the Natural. I've long been an NMA fangirl, and I didn't want to miss this! Plus, it's probably a good idea for me to adopt some healthy habits before the holidays arrive.
My days typically start with a pre-workout snack, and yesterday, that was a Larabar (one of the approved whole foods-based snacks on the plan). Sometimes, I follow that with a post-workout snack (a carb-heavy snack of banana or white rice) before breakfast, but that depends on my workout. Yesterday, I just went to yoga, so no post-workout needed.
Breakfast on Day 15 was a Strawberry Raspberry Smoothie, a repeat recipe from week one. I LOVE that this meal plan repeats recipes (and utilizes leftovers) so you don't end up spending a ton on groceries. I still had frozen strawberries and raspberries from that first week and needed to use them. This also has banana, spinach, and walnuts.
Morning snack was Bell Pepper Slices with Cashew Ranch. This homemade cashew ranch is Sid's recipe (and very similar to the recipe in the NMA Cookbook). Love, love, love it!
Lunch was a Veggie Wrap with Hummus & Kalamata Olives. I used an Ezekiel sprouted grain tortilla and stuffed with romaine, tomato, carrot, olives, and hummus. Really tasty and perfect for a rushed work lunch on the go. But I probably should have added a healthy side because I was still pretty hungry after I ate this.
A couple hours later, I snacked on a Fruit Bowl (plums, grapes, strawberries) at my desk. Every day, one of the two snacks is a mixed fruit bowl. Between the smoothie and fruit bowl, I'm consuming WAY more fruit than usual, and it's making me feel pretty great! I think I do well on a high-fruit diet. Love those healthy carbs!
I was pretty stoked for dinner because I'd eaten pretty lightly all day. And this big bowl of Hearty Chickpea Pasta soup hit the spot. It has chickpeas, whole wheat pasta, kale, onions, celery, and a tomato stock base. So awesome on an unseasonably cold October night (in the 40s!!!!). Every night on HMS, we're supposed to have a side salad with dinner. This one had romaine, tomato, cucumber, red cabbage, toasted pine nuts, and tahini dressing.
This filled me up, but I stayed up later than usual since I was taking off work the next day (today) for my birthday. So I ended up snacking on some baby carrots and hummus while watching Netflix later in the evening.
Alright, I'm off to celebrate my 38th birthday! Don't worry — I'm going off meal plan (on day two! ha!) for cake and birthday dinner and cocktails. Will post birthday eats tomorrow!
This plan goes until right before Thanksgiving and includes a private Facebook community and weekly live Q&A healthcasts with Matt Frazier of No Meat Athlete and Sid Garza-Hillman of Approaching the Natural. I've long been an NMA fangirl, and I didn't want to miss this! Plus, it's probably a good idea for me to adopt some healthy habits before the holidays arrive.
My days typically start with a pre-workout snack, and yesterday, that was a Larabar (one of the approved whole foods-based snacks on the plan). Sometimes, I follow that with a post-workout snack (a carb-heavy snack of banana or white rice) before breakfast, but that depends on my workout. Yesterday, I just went to yoga, so no post-workout needed.
Breakfast on Day 15 was a Strawberry Raspberry Smoothie, a repeat recipe from week one. I LOVE that this meal plan repeats recipes (and utilizes leftovers) so you don't end up spending a ton on groceries. I still had frozen strawberries and raspberries from that first week and needed to use them. This also has banana, spinach, and walnuts.
Morning snack was Bell Pepper Slices with Cashew Ranch. This homemade cashew ranch is Sid's recipe (and very similar to the recipe in the NMA Cookbook). Love, love, love it!
Lunch was a Veggie Wrap with Hummus & Kalamata Olives. I used an Ezekiel sprouted grain tortilla and stuffed with romaine, tomato, carrot, olives, and hummus. Really tasty and perfect for a rushed work lunch on the go. But I probably should have added a healthy side because I was still pretty hungry after I ate this.
A couple hours later, I snacked on a Fruit Bowl (plums, grapes, strawberries) at my desk. Every day, one of the two snacks is a mixed fruit bowl. Between the smoothie and fruit bowl, I'm consuming WAY more fruit than usual, and it's making me feel pretty great! I think I do well on a high-fruit diet. Love those healthy carbs!
I was pretty stoked for dinner because I'd eaten pretty lightly all day. And this big bowl of Hearty Chickpea Pasta soup hit the spot. It has chickpeas, whole wheat pasta, kale, onions, celery, and a tomato stock base. So awesome on an unseasonably cold October night (in the 40s!!!!). Every night on HMS, we're supposed to have a side salad with dinner. This one had romaine, tomato, cucumber, red cabbage, toasted pine nuts, and tahini dressing.
This filled me up, but I stayed up later than usual since I was taking off work the next day (today) for my birthday. So I ended up snacking on some baby carrots and hummus while watching Netflix later in the evening.
Alright, I'm off to celebrate my 38th birthday! Don't worry — I'm going off meal plan (on day two! ha!) for cake and birthday dinner and cocktails. Will post birthday eats tomorrow!
October 15, 2018
Birthday Weekend Fun!
My birthday is Tuesday! Yay! And since I'm a Libra, I like to spread out the celebrations as far as possible. Birth week started with a fun, food-filled birthday weekend with some of my favorite people!
On Friday, after work, my BFF Sheridan and her partner Drew came to Memphis (from Little Rock), and we went out for dinner at Today & Always (the new name of our restaurant at Crosstown Arts!). They hadn't had a chance to eat since we opened our plant-based cafe at work, and I was all too happy to share a meal there with them (even if that did mean going back to the office an hour after leaving on a Friday!).
I ordered the Steak & Cheese Wrap — a seitan steak philly-style wrap with cashew cheese sauce. Chef Raymond makes his own seitan and slices it very thinly for deli meats that are just phenomenal. On the side, I got the Creole Coleslaw.
We all three split an appetizer of Vegan Pimento Cheese. This spread is SO GOOD.
After dinner, we headed across the lobby to Art Bar, Crosstown Arts' bar concept. Bar manager Bart and crew are whipping up some artful, inventive cocktails, and they're served in a super-cool lounge with vintage furnishings and retro knick-knacks. I started with The Last of the Mississippi Speedballs (yaupon, Jameson, lemongrass, camomile). This tastes like tea and drinks like liquor.
Chef Raymond also creates the bar snacks for Art Bar, so we snacked on his delicious homemade Salt & Vinegar Chips. We were sitting at a table with green lighting, hence the color.
More Art Bar shots! After my cocktail, I switched to Hamm's because it's good, cheap beer.
The next morning, Sher, Drew, and I went back to Crosstown Arts' Today & Always for brunch! They serve chef specials only (no regular menu) at Saturday brunch, and one of Raymond's specials was vegan Grits and Grillades. This featured his homemade seitan, in cutlets, over grits with red wine gravy and coleslaw. OMG so good.
They had to leave shortly after brunch (but we did get in a quick trip to Trader Joe's first!). And then later that night, Paul got into town from Nashville. We joined some friends Saturday night at Dru's Place, our fave gay bar, for drag and pool.
And then on Sunday morning, we met up with Pam and Megan at Imagine Vegan Cafe for the most amazing brunch of my life — Vegan Doughnut Burgers!!!!!! SERIOUSLY!! Beyond burger patty stuffed between two glazed vegan doughnuts with special sauce and a side of sweet potato fries. This was a brunch special a few weeks ago when I was out of town, so I nicely asked Imagine owner Kristie if she'd make it again for my birthday. And she did! Love!!
I really should have eaten a salad for dinner, but Paul's mom sent him with some cash and told him to buy my birthday dinner on Sunday night as a gift from her. So we kinda HAD to eat out again. This time, we decided on takeout from Crazy Noodle, enjoyed while watching a scary movie, Hereditary. I went with my fave Vegetable Ramen (extra tofu).
Whew! That was a lot of delicious food (and drink!). It's a good thing the full No Meat Athlete Health Made Simple plan launched today because I need to get back on track. I'll update y'all on day one of the full meal plan in tomorrow's post.
On Friday, after work, my BFF Sheridan and her partner Drew came to Memphis (from Little Rock), and we went out for dinner at Today & Always (the new name of our restaurant at Crosstown Arts!). They hadn't had a chance to eat since we opened our plant-based cafe at work, and I was all too happy to share a meal there with them (even if that did mean going back to the office an hour after leaving on a Friday!).
I ordered the Steak & Cheese Wrap — a seitan steak philly-style wrap with cashew cheese sauce. Chef Raymond makes his own seitan and slices it very thinly for deli meats that are just phenomenal. On the side, I got the Creole Coleslaw.
We all three split an appetizer of Vegan Pimento Cheese. This spread is SO GOOD.
After dinner, we headed across the lobby to Art Bar, Crosstown Arts' bar concept. Bar manager Bart and crew are whipping up some artful, inventive cocktails, and they're served in a super-cool lounge with vintage furnishings and retro knick-knacks. I started with The Last of the Mississippi Speedballs (yaupon, Jameson, lemongrass, camomile). This tastes like tea and drinks like liquor.
Chef Raymond also creates the bar snacks for Art Bar, so we snacked on his delicious homemade Salt & Vinegar Chips. We were sitting at a table with green lighting, hence the color.
More Art Bar shots! After my cocktail, I switched to Hamm's because it's good, cheap beer.
The next morning, Sher, Drew, and I went back to Crosstown Arts' Today & Always for brunch! They serve chef specials only (no regular menu) at Saturday brunch, and one of Raymond's specials was vegan Grits and Grillades. This featured his homemade seitan, in cutlets, over grits with red wine gravy and coleslaw. OMG so good.
They had to leave shortly after brunch (but we did get in a quick trip to Trader Joe's first!). And then later that night, Paul got into town from Nashville. We joined some friends Saturday night at Dru's Place, our fave gay bar, for drag and pool.
And then on Sunday morning, we met up with Pam and Megan at Imagine Vegan Cafe for the most amazing brunch of my life — Vegan Doughnut Burgers!!!!!! SERIOUSLY!! Beyond burger patty stuffed between two glazed vegan doughnuts with special sauce and a side of sweet potato fries. This was a brunch special a few weeks ago when I was out of town, so I nicely asked Imagine owner Kristie if she'd make it again for my birthday. And she did! Love!!
I really should have eaten a salad for dinner, but Paul's mom sent him with some cash and told him to buy my birthday dinner on Sunday night as a gift from her. So we kinda HAD to eat out again. This time, we decided on takeout from Crazy Noodle, enjoyed while watching a scary movie, Hereditary. I went with my fave Vegetable Ramen (extra tofu).
Whew! That was a lot of delicious food (and drink!). It's a good thing the full No Meat Athlete Health Made Simple plan launched today because I need to get back on track. I'll update y'all on day one of the full meal plan in tomorrow's post.
October 12, 2018
Explore Cuisine: Pumpkin-Sage Pasta with Seitan Sausage
Quick note: This is a sponsored post, thanks to my friends at Explore Cuisine — makers of organic protein-packed pastas made from beans, lentils, rice and peas. I don’t do a lot of sponsored posts, generally opting instead for more objective review posts where I can say whatever I want. But when I do agree to work with a company on a sponsored post, you can trust that it’s a company I REALLY believe and support. #UseYourNoodle
I have a love/hate relationship with fall. I LOVE Halloween. My birthday is in October (Libra power!), and Thanksgiving is my fave holiday. But I can’t get over the fact that fall feels like a prelude to winter. I hate cold weather. I’ll take a 100-degree, humid summer day and mosquitos any time, thank you very much.
But at least we have pumpkin to make fall seem a little more bearable. I love, love, love pumpkin. Typically, we find pumpkin used in sweet applications, like PSLs, pumpkin pie, and Trader Joe’s famous vegan pumpkin rolls. But I also love pumpkin in savory dishes, and not a year goes by that I don’t make pasta with pumpkin sauce at least once. This recipe was inspired by a recipe in Sarah Kramer’s La Dolce Vegan! I’ve made my own adaptations over the years, but the idea for a savory pumpkin pasta sauce came from Sarah.
Explore Cuisine’s Chickpea Fusilli is perfect for this recipe because the spiral noodles soak up that thick, creamy pumpkin sauce. Plus, this gluten-free pasta has 11 grams of protein per serving, so it’s super-filling. I add vegan seitan sausage to really bump up the protein factor.
For this recipe, I used my homemade seitan sausage (recipe is in my cookbook, Cookin’ Crunk). But here’s a very similar version on One Green Planet if you want to make your own. You can also use Tofurky or Field Roast sausages for this recipe.
Pumpkin-Sage Pasta with Seitan Sausage Yields 4 servings
1 box Explore Cuisine Organic Chickpea Fusilli1 onion, chopped2 3.5-oz vegan sausage links, sliced1 can pumpkin puree1/2 cup water, divided1 tsp. salt1 tsp. rubbed sage1/4 black pepper
Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse.
Saute the onion in about 1/4 cup water until soft, about 5-7 minutes. If water begins to dry up, add a few drops more to keep the pan slightly wet and prevent sticking. Add the sausage and saute another 5 minutes or so until sausage is browned and water in evaporated.
Stir in the pumpkin, the other 1/2 cup water (or more to reach desired sauce creaminess) salt, sage, and pepper and cook another 5-7 minutes or until heated through. Stir sauce into pasta and serve. I love to top my bowl with a little vegan cheese!
I have a love/hate relationship with fall. I LOVE Halloween. My birthday is in October (Libra power!), and Thanksgiving is my fave holiday. But I can’t get over the fact that fall feels like a prelude to winter. I hate cold weather. I’ll take a 100-degree, humid summer day and mosquitos any time, thank you very much.
But at least we have pumpkin to make fall seem a little more bearable. I love, love, love pumpkin. Typically, we find pumpkin used in sweet applications, like PSLs, pumpkin pie, and Trader Joe’s famous vegan pumpkin rolls. But I also love pumpkin in savory dishes, and not a year goes by that I don’t make pasta with pumpkin sauce at least once. This recipe was inspired by a recipe in Sarah Kramer’s La Dolce Vegan! I’ve made my own adaptations over the years, but the idea for a savory pumpkin pasta sauce came from Sarah.
Explore Cuisine’s Chickpea Fusilli is perfect for this recipe because the spiral noodles soak up that thick, creamy pumpkin sauce. Plus, this gluten-free pasta has 11 grams of protein per serving, so it’s super-filling. I add vegan seitan sausage to really bump up the protein factor.
For this recipe, I used my homemade seitan sausage (recipe is in my cookbook, Cookin’ Crunk). But here’s a very similar version on One Green Planet if you want to make your own. You can also use Tofurky or Field Roast sausages for this recipe.
Pumpkin-Sage Pasta with Seitan Sausage Yields 4 servings
1 box Explore Cuisine Organic Chickpea Fusilli1 onion, chopped2 3.5-oz vegan sausage links, sliced1 can pumpkin puree1/2 cup water, divided1 tsp. salt1 tsp. rubbed sage1/4 black pepper
Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse.
Saute the onion in about 1/4 cup water until soft, about 5-7 minutes. If water begins to dry up, add a few drops more to keep the pan slightly wet and prevent sticking. Add the sausage and saute another 5 minutes or so until sausage is browned and water in evaporated.
Stir in the pumpkin, the other 1/2 cup water (or more to reach desired sauce creaminess) salt, sage, and pepper and cook another 5-7 minutes or until heated through. Stir sauce into pasta and serve. I love to top my bowl with a little vegan cheese!
October 11, 2018
Explore Cuisine: Red Rice Pad Thai
Quick note: This is a sponsored post, thanks to my friends at Explore Cuisine — makers of organic protein-packed pastas made from beans, lentils, rice and peas. I don’t do a lot of sponsored posts, generally opting instead for more objective review posts where I can say whatever I want. But when I do agree to work with a company on a sponsored post, you can trust that it’s a company I REALLY believe and support. #UseYourNoodle
As many regular readers probably know by now, I am constantly striving to find a balance between healthy eating and treating myself. Part of that process has been trying to limit my oil consumption, saving myself for really special takeout when it’s most deserved (or desired).
So most nights, Thai takeout is out of the question. It’s totally fine for an occasional splurge, but on your average week night, I’d rather stick to something a little lighter. That’s when it’s best to make Thai food at home, when I can control the salt, sugar, and fat in my dish.
When I received review samples of Explore Cuisine’s Organic Red Rice Pad Thai Noodles , I knew healthy Pad Thai was in my future. And lucky me, there was a delicious-sounding recipe for it on the box.
Rather than re-invent the wheel, I opted to try their version, and it was fantastic! Unlike some other Explore Cuisine noodles, these red rice noodles are not quite as high in protein (4 grams per serving). That’s because they have a base of red and white rice, rather than the pulses that give other Explore Cuisine pastas their high protein content. But they’re still gluten-free and have a perfect, chewy texture that I enjoyed much more than traditional rice noodle pasta.
The recipe from the box might not be quite as authentic as what you’d find in a Thai restaurant, but it’s light and cooling (thanks to cucumbers and radishes). Perfect for these warm early fall nights we’re experiencing in the South! It’s the #SmarterWaytoPasta.
The only change I made to their recipe was omitting part of the oil in favor of non-stick cooking spray and adding soy sauce to the tempeh.
Organic Red Rice Pad Thai with Savory Peanut Sauce Courtesy of Explore Cuisine
8 oz. organic red rice pad thai noodles, cooked, rinsed, drained1 cup block tempeh, cubed2 tsp. soy sauceNon-stick cooking spray1 cucumber, seedless, sliced into strips2 radishes, sliced2 scallions, sliced2 chilis, thinly sliced2 Tbsp. chopped peanut2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
Savory Peanut Sauce2 Tbsp. peanut butter2 Tbsp. soy sauce1 Tbsp. rice vinegar1 Tbsp. agave nectar1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil1 garlic clove, minced
Whisk all sauce ingredients together. Stir-fry tempeh in a pan coated with non-stick cooking spray and the soy sauce until browned, then drain on paper towel.
Toss noodles with sauce. Fold in tempeh, cucumber, radish, scallion, and chili. Divide among 4 plates. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro.
October 9, 2018
Health Made Simple Day 9 + Weekend Eats
This morning on the Health Made Simple meal plan started with a Larabar Fruit & Greens bar as my pre-workout snack and a bowl of white rice with soy sauce and sesame seeds just after my workout. Today, that workout was 30 minutes on the elliptical and about 30 minutes on the weight machines (god, I can't wait to run again!).
One of things I'm learning on Health Made Simple is that I don't need nearly as much protein as I was getting before in post-workout. They actually recommend an easy digesting carb-heavy snack, like white rice or a banana, immediately after a workout and something with a bit of protein about an hour later. So I'm following that plan. That hour-later meal was my meal plan breakfast (enjoyed around 8 am) of a Banana Walnut Smoothie. And coffee of course!
Loved this smoothie! It just has 2.5 bananas, 1/8th cup walnuts, and water. That's it! And it tastes just like bananas and walnuts. Simple and delish. Love all the fruit on this plan!
As I mentioned yesterday, it's snack week on HMS, so we're adding in healthy snacks (and still eating whatever we want for lunch or dinner). Today's morning snack was Veggies and Tahini Dressing (a homemade dip made from tahini, herbs, lemon, and soy sauce).
Lunch was leftovers, and my afternoon snack was another fruit bowl (that looked very much like yesterday's bowl).
Dinner was a Seitan Steak & Cheese (using The BE-Hive's Vegan Seitan Deli Slices) on whole wheat with Violife Smoked Provolone, sauteed mushrooms, and sprouts. Side of air-fried sweet potato fries.
And while I'm trying to limit dessert on the plan, I'm certainly not giving it up. My friend Susan left me a lovely Muddy's Bake Shop Peanut Butter Bar on my porch on Sunday. I saved half for tonight. Enjoyed while watching the live Health Made Simple Q&A "healthcast" with Sid Garza-Hillman.
Here are some other things I ate over the weekend that I haven't had a chance to share yet. There's this Seitan Deli Sandwich with smoked Violife provolone, sprouts, tomato, and chipotle mayo on a locally baked Lucy J's Bakery demi-baguette. Trying to get in some white bread before the full meal plan starts next week!
Over the weekend, Crosstown Brewing Co. hosted Crosstoberfest, and I had a few Oktoberfest-style beers, plus this Veggie Dog (only $2 y'all!).
But that veggie dog didn't fill me up. Thought about getting another, but my friend/co-worker Rich was selling $2 BBQ Veggie Tacos at the event too. So I got one of those instead. This had smoked kale, smoked BBQ mushrooms, and vegan slaw. Very messy, but very good. Rich runs Hi-B-Que at the HiTone (a smoked BBQ trailer), and he makes the best smoked veggies!
One of things I'm learning on Health Made Simple is that I don't need nearly as much protein as I was getting before in post-workout. They actually recommend an easy digesting carb-heavy snack, like white rice or a banana, immediately after a workout and something with a bit of protein about an hour later. So I'm following that plan. That hour-later meal was my meal plan breakfast (enjoyed around 8 am) of a Banana Walnut Smoothie. And coffee of course!
Loved this smoothie! It just has 2.5 bananas, 1/8th cup walnuts, and water. That's it! And it tastes just like bananas and walnuts. Simple and delish. Love all the fruit on this plan!
As I mentioned yesterday, it's snack week on HMS, so we're adding in healthy snacks (and still eating whatever we want for lunch or dinner). Today's morning snack was Veggies and Tahini Dressing (a homemade dip made from tahini, herbs, lemon, and soy sauce).
Lunch was leftovers, and my afternoon snack was another fruit bowl (that looked very much like yesterday's bowl).
Dinner was a Seitan Steak & Cheese (using The BE-Hive's Vegan Seitan Deli Slices) on whole wheat with Violife Smoked Provolone, sauteed mushrooms, and sprouts. Side of air-fried sweet potato fries.
And while I'm trying to limit dessert on the plan, I'm certainly not giving it up. My friend Susan left me a lovely Muddy's Bake Shop Peanut Butter Bar on my porch on Sunday. I saved half for tonight. Enjoyed while watching the live Health Made Simple Q&A "healthcast" with Sid Garza-Hillman.
Here are some other things I ate over the weekend that I haven't had a chance to share yet. There's this Seitan Deli Sandwich with smoked Violife provolone, sprouts, tomato, and chipotle mayo on a locally baked Lucy J's Bakery demi-baguette. Trying to get in some white bread before the full meal plan starts next week!
Over the weekend, Crosstown Brewing Co. hosted Crosstoberfest, and I had a few Oktoberfest-style beers, plus this Veggie Dog (only $2 y'all!).
But that veggie dog didn't fill me up. Thought about getting another, but my friend/co-worker Rich was selling $2 BBQ Veggie Tacos at the event too. So I got one of those instead. This had smoked kale, smoked BBQ mushrooms, and vegan slaw. Very messy, but very good. Rich runs Hi-B-Que at the HiTone (a smoked BBQ trailer), and he makes the best smoked veggies!
October 8, 2018
Health Made Simple - Week 2
As I mentioned in a couple posts last week, I'm doing the Health Made Simple challenge from No Meat Athlete. It's an 8-week meal plan focused on whole foods, plant-based meals. The first two weeks are a ramp-up to the full meal plan. Last week, the only diet change was to have green smoothies for breakfast every week day and healthy, heartier breakfasts on the weekend (more on that in a few).
This week, it's all about snacks! I'm still having the green smoothies for breakfast, but I'm now adding two healthy snacks a day from the meal plan. Next week, I'll be on the full meal plan with breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner recipes all planned out for me.
But let's back up to the weekend. I want to show y'all the healthy foods I ate Saturday and Sunday morning. My Saturday breakfast on the plan was Tofu Scramble with baby spinach, onions, garlic, and nooch. I added a slice of sprouted grain toast spread with coconut oil.
My Sunday breakfast on the plan was Avocado Toast — one of my faves! With tomato slices, pink salt, and pepper.
Snack week/Week 2 started out strong with a healthy green smoothie. The Greens Fruit Flax Smoothie had green apple, spinach, banana, and flax seed. I thought I'd be tired of smoothies by now, but I'm not!
Morning snack was more fruit! We were supposed to have a bowl of any Mixed Fruit we wanted. I made mine with banana, grapes, kiwi, and strawberries today. One of the snacks every day is a fruit bowl, so I bought other fruit to mix these up throughout the week. Later in the week, I'll add apples and mangos to my bowl. It felt pretty good to only eat fruit until lunch time!
The fruit kept me satisfied until noon, but I had a meeting that ran through lunch time until 1 pm, and I was famished by then. I should have taken my afternoon snack into the meeting, but I didn't think of that. Oh well. I was very happy to have this Seitan Deli Sandwich with avocado, Violife provolone, tomato and sprouts on sprouted grain. Plus, Baby Carrots and Hummus on the side. I'm trying to use up my vegan meats and cheeses before the lunches and dinners on the plan begin next week! Excuse the terrible lighting. I had to eat my lunch in the art gallery today.
Afternoon snack was Trail Mix with almonds, cashews, dates, coconut, dried pineapple, and pumpkin seeds. Rather than make the mix from scratch like the plan suggests, I used some trail mix I already had in the pantry (it was a cashew, almond, cranberry, blueberry blend), and I added some of the ingredients called for in their recipe (the ones I already had, like dried pineapple, dates, and coconut). I wasn't terribly hungry for a snack since I'd eaten a late lunch. But still fun to eat!
Dinner was another attempt to use up plant meats. I've had a Tofurky in the deep-freezer for months, one I'd found on clearance for $5!! I roasted that and served with a recipe from Rich Roll's book, Finding Ultra. His mashed potatoes are made with olive oil and Vegenaise rather than margarine. And he tops them with steamed broccoli, mushrooms, bell pepper, spinach. So good!
The Crosstown CDC, which I'm on the board for, had its monthly meeting tonight at Midtown Crossing Grill, where pints are $2 on Mondays! Everyone always drinks at our CDC meetings, so of course I had to get a beer. I've decided I will not be giving up alcohol on this plan, so beer will still be a regular thing. Carbs, am I right?
This week, it's all about snacks! I'm still having the green smoothies for breakfast, but I'm now adding two healthy snacks a day from the meal plan. Next week, I'll be on the full meal plan with breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner recipes all planned out for me.
But let's back up to the weekend. I want to show y'all the healthy foods I ate Saturday and Sunday morning. My Saturday breakfast on the plan was Tofu Scramble with baby spinach, onions, garlic, and nooch. I added a slice of sprouted grain toast spread with coconut oil.
My Sunday breakfast on the plan was Avocado Toast — one of my faves! With tomato slices, pink salt, and pepper.
Snack week/Week 2 started out strong with a healthy green smoothie. The Greens Fruit Flax Smoothie had green apple, spinach, banana, and flax seed. I thought I'd be tired of smoothies by now, but I'm not!
Morning snack was more fruit! We were supposed to have a bowl of any Mixed Fruit we wanted. I made mine with banana, grapes, kiwi, and strawberries today. One of the snacks every day is a fruit bowl, so I bought other fruit to mix these up throughout the week. Later in the week, I'll add apples and mangos to my bowl. It felt pretty good to only eat fruit until lunch time!
The fruit kept me satisfied until noon, but I had a meeting that ran through lunch time until 1 pm, and I was famished by then. I should have taken my afternoon snack into the meeting, but I didn't think of that. Oh well. I was very happy to have this Seitan Deli Sandwich with avocado, Violife provolone, tomato and sprouts on sprouted grain. Plus, Baby Carrots and Hummus on the side. I'm trying to use up my vegan meats and cheeses before the lunches and dinners on the plan begin next week! Excuse the terrible lighting. I had to eat my lunch in the art gallery today.
Afternoon snack was Trail Mix with almonds, cashews, dates, coconut, dried pineapple, and pumpkin seeds. Rather than make the mix from scratch like the plan suggests, I used some trail mix I already had in the pantry (it was a cashew, almond, cranberry, blueberry blend), and I added some of the ingredients called for in their recipe (the ones I already had, like dried pineapple, dates, and coconut). I wasn't terribly hungry for a snack since I'd eaten a late lunch. But still fun to eat!
Dinner was another attempt to use up plant meats. I've had a Tofurky in the deep-freezer for months, one I'd found on clearance for $5!! I roasted that and served with a recipe from Rich Roll's book, Finding Ultra. His mashed potatoes are made with olive oil and Vegenaise rather than margarine. And he tops them with steamed broccoli, mushrooms, bell pepper, spinach. So good!
The Crosstown CDC, which I'm on the board for, had its monthly meeting tonight at Midtown Crossing Grill, where pints are $2 on Mondays! Everyone always drinks at our CDC meetings, so of course I had to get a beer. I've decided I will not be giving up alcohol on this plan, so beer will still be a regular thing. Carbs, am I right?
October 7, 2018
Bluff City Vegan Eats: DWJ #2
A few weeks back, my vegan co-worker buddy Madelyn insisted that we get lunch at DWJ #2, the Cooper-Young location of an awesome Korean BBQ spot (they have another location out on Hacks Cross). It's located right next door to my home away from home, Imagine Vegan Cafe, but I'd never been. Mostly because if I'm in the Cooper-Young neighborhood, I'm usually eating at Imagine.
But Madelyn had recently tried DWJ when her vegan son was in town, and she really wanted me to try it. DWJ has several vegan menu items, so we found plenty to eat! Madelyn suggested we start with an appetizer of Goonmandu — fried Korean dumplings stuffed with clear rice noodles, tofu, and veggies. These were amazing! I loved having rice noodles inside a dumpling!
For my entree, I went with Bibimbap, one of my all-time fave Korean dishes. The vegetarian version had tofu, zucchini, carrot, mushroom, lettuce, sesame oil, and sweet chili paste over white rice.
You can get it in a regular bowl, but I recommend ordering dolsot-style. That means it's served in a hot stone bowl that continues to cook the the white rice so it gets all crispy and crunchy on the bottom.
Love this place! Madelyn ordered the Jobchae, a stir fry of clear noodles with tofu, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and carrots. It looked really great too, and I'll have to get that next time.
DWJ #2 is located at 2156 Young Ave (in the original Imagine Vegan Cafe location!). Call 901-207-6204.
But Madelyn had recently tried DWJ when her vegan son was in town, and she really wanted me to try it. DWJ has several vegan menu items, so we found plenty to eat! Madelyn suggested we start with an appetizer of Goonmandu — fried Korean dumplings stuffed with clear rice noodles, tofu, and veggies. These were amazing! I loved having rice noodles inside a dumpling!
For my entree, I went with Bibimbap, one of my all-time fave Korean dishes. The vegetarian version had tofu, zucchini, carrot, mushroom, lettuce, sesame oil, and sweet chili paste over white rice.
You can get it in a regular bowl, but I recommend ordering dolsot-style. That means it's served in a hot stone bowl that continues to cook the the white rice so it gets all crispy and crunchy on the bottom.
Love this place! Madelyn ordered the Jobchae, a stir fry of clear noodles with tofu, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and carrots. It looked really great too, and I'll have to get that next time.
DWJ #2 is located at 2156 Young Ave (in the original Imagine Vegan Cafe location!). Call 901-207-6204.
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