A Haul and Some Meals

Hey you guys! I'm back with another haul and some more meals to show you. I didn't get to go to Trader Joe's on Sunday and I really needed some food so I went before work this morning. I photographed the haul and I also have some meals to show you.

First the haul:

For produce I got some baby spinach, cherries, cherry tomatoes, romaine lettuce, lemons, baby carrots, persian cucumbers and potatoes (oven fries!!).

For grocery products I just picked up a few things. I got the crispy chicken less tenders to have in the freezer for a treat, my favorite store bought hummus which is the Mediterranean Hummus, Just Beets (dehydrated beet chips), raw pine nuts (for caesar dressing!) and brown rice pasta.

And now for some meals:

For today's breakfast I'm munching on a ton of cherries and a banana.

Yesterday I had some steel cut oats with peanut butter powder and cinnamon mixed in topped with banana.

Yesterday's lunch was an old favorite… my Mediterranean plate! Persian cucumber, hummus, stuffed grape leaves and some tomatoes.

Today's lunch is a hummus and veggie sandwich on sprouted grain bread.

I didn't photograph dinner last night but it was steamed veggies and tofu with some rice. Tonight I will be making more oven fries :)

I hope you are all doing well and that your week is going quickly! See you soon!

What I Ate!

Hey you guys! For the first time in a long time I finally managed to photograph all of my meals from today to show you! I don't know why I have such a hard time getting every meal of the day but I usually only end up with 1 or 2 and will forget the others. Today I really made sure to get a picture of everything and I'm excited to share them because today was DEFINITELY a good food day :)

OMG for breakfast I had the most AMAZING smoothie bowl!! It was HUGE and I made it out of banana, mango and strawberry. I love this combination so much, it was so sweet and delicious and had no added sweetener of any kind (I don't know why people add sweeteners to smoothies?). I topped it with a little shredded coconut. It's so hard to tell from this picture but this bowl was huge and overfilled. I put some into a travel cup to bring to work to drink later and finished the bowl. It was so much and so filling but I really enjoyed it.

For lunch I got another amazing burrito from the deli next door. This one was similar to the last and it had rice, beans, lettuce, tomato and avocado.

For dinner I had the best batch of oven fries I've ever made! These are oil free made on parchment paper and I must have cut them thin enough that they cooked perfectly and even puffed up a little. I definitely see this meal happened again many times in the near future :)

So there you go, a full day of meals! I'll try to keep photographing my meals as much as I can. I already packed lunch for tomorrow so I know I have that photographed for you. It's the return of an old favorite. I'll be back to show you that and some more yummy meals in a few days! Hope you are all having a good week.

Vegan Egg Review Part 1: Vegan Egg Fried Rice

Hey you guys! I decided to forego my planned What I Ate Wednesday post to FINALLY post an initial review on the Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg that I finally got my hands on a few weeks ago. I think that the way I decided to do it is that I am going to try it in different ways that we would use eggs to see how it would work in each situation. What I decided to do first want to just cook it up and add it into some of my Unfried Rice. I tried a little bit cooked as is (kind of like an omelettey scramble kind of thing) and then cut it up and added it into the rice mixture.

As you can see it looks amazing! As I mentioned I tried the "egg" part first and it was ok. I cooked it according to the directions and when I mixed it with the very cold water the consistency reminded me exactly of the lower fat egg substitute that you can get in the store (basically yellow egg whites I believe). It takes longer to cook and turns out quite dense. I added a little black salt to give it more of the eggy flavor and tasted a little. Like I said, it was ok. I don't know if I was underwhelmed by the actual flavor and texture or just disappointed that my mind was not blown like I expected it to be from other reviews that I had read. Or perhaps it was because I spent almost $8 on it and it just wasn't as amazing as I wanted it to be. Was it good and edible? Yes. Was it mind-blowing… no. That being said, when I added it to the rice it was definitely a nice addition and I really enjoyed the meal!

That is not to say that it isn't a good product because I definitely believe it is. However, I think that it may be better used in different ways and I have a few ideas of how to maximize its potential. I am hoping to try the next dish next week and I will be sure to update you on how it works out!

I hope you are all doing well! I'll be back in the next few days to share some meals with you! Hope the end of your week is quick and painless :)

Trader Joe's Haul!

Hey you guys! I hope that you are all doing well. I got my ass out of bed early today to get to Trader Joe's when they opened because any other time is pretty unbearable. I got some good looking produce as I'm embarking on my own version of a high carb low fat vegan lifestyle which basically means a lot of produce and starches, no oil and smaller quantities of fats. I guess it is a combination of Raw Til 4 and Starch Solution but I'm not really following the rules of either super closely. Basically I just want to exponentially increase the amount of produce that I eat :)

Check out the haul:

So here I got a large bunch of bananas to ripen and freeze for smoothies and banana ice cream, an avocado, strawberries, Persian cucumbers, mangoes, mini San Marzano tomatoes, green onions and 4 huge Russet Potatoes.

I also got some frozen mango, two cans of fat free refried beans, a can of chiles and organic coconut sugar.

I also wanted to show my planner layout for this week because it is gorgeous and I love it. I chose this Succulents sticker kit because for whatever reason it reminded me of Mother's Day (I guess because people typically give flowers and plants for Mother's Day?). I LOVE it!!

So this is all I've got for today but I do have some pretty great meals planned for the week and definitely plan on photographing them so I'll make sure to share! Hope you are all enjoying your weekend <3

A Fresh Start

Hey you guys! I can't believe that I finally remembered to take some pictures of some stuff I've been eating. You'll notice most of them are work pictures and that is probably why I haven't taken too many but I really tried to make an effort to get some of the meals.

Before I get into that I'm really excited about starting a new journey for health and fitness. Because I've been loving my planner so much and because there are great sales on them now (since it's almost May and all) I decided to get another one on deep discount to start a purely fitness/nutrition/health journal. When I first started blogging I was eating super clean and exercising like crazy and as time has gone on I've been in a vicious cycle of eating crappy processed food, feeling like crap, and not doing the workouts that I want to do. I am tired of feeling like crap, miss feeling healthy and strong and I'm just ready to get back on the right track. I think tracking everything will help… particularly with the laziness! Planning ahead will make a huge difference.

The big motivator for me is the potential to take a bucket list trip next year. My friend and I discussed traveling to Arizona and road tripping to the national parks and doing some pretty amazing hikes. I want to be in amazing shape so I can actually enjoy this (assuming we end up going) and not feel like I'm going to die after a short while. This trip depends on health and finances but I am making it a goal to improve both over the next year!

So, with all of that out of the way lets get into some food!

I tried the Kevita Probiotic Drink and I really like it! It was a bit more fizzy and sharp tasting than I was expecting but I like it! Especially because it isn't chunky like regular kombucha. I only drank half of it because it is strong and because it saves money haha but I am looking forward to trying other flavors.

I had this delicious bowl of Nature's Path Organic Blueberry Cinnamon Flax cereal and it was so good. I used unsweetened almond milk, my milk of choice for pretty much everything!

I also tried the So Delicious Coconut Milk yogurt in the chocolate flavor. It was ok but I think I just don't like vegan yogurt. I didn't even like the Kite Hill kind and everyone is freaking out about it. Anyway, I had that with a giant Pink Lady apple.

Here is the piece de resistance! By far the best meal I've had in a long time. I had the deli next door make me a burrito like wrap and it was AMAZING. There is rice, beans, lettuce, tomato and avocado and it was so good. I don't know why I don't eat burritos more often, they are really good, inexpensive to make and super filling.

So there you have it! This post is packed full of goals, plans and yummy food and drink. I hope you all liked it and I'm really excited to start posting more about my journey back to good health because I miss feeling amazing. I know it'll take time but I'm really looking forward to it.

I hope you all have a great weekend! I'm planning on going to the Asian Market on Monday say I'll try and pop in with a haul if I get anything good.

All The Hauls

Hey everyone! I'm just popping in today with a few hauls to show you. I feel like the title makes it seem like there are tons and tons of hauls when in reality it's just two... but they are two good ones! At least I think so ;) I was able to get my hands on some things I've been looking for and haven't been able to find and I'm quite excited about it. The first haul is from Whole Foods and the second small haul is from Food Fight Grocery!

First up, the Whole Foods haul:

I just got a little bit of produce while I was there. I got some baby bok choy, butter lettuce, a head of kale for juice (because we all know I'm not really into the kale) and some tiny little honeycrisp apples. Normally they are giant but these were quite small.

This is the rest of the Whole Foods Haul. I got a few Luna Bars, two So Delicious Greek Yogurts to try (chocolate and plain), toasted sesame seeds, the So Delicious Cashew Ice Cream in Chocolate Cookies n Cream (!!!!!), Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (for some reason the Whole Foods brand is my favorite), low sodium tamari, Kevita Strawberry Coconut probiotic drink (they barely had any flavors there... boo!! I'm trying this on a recommendation from Vegan Peace and I'm excited!!) and some Slow Roasted Chick'n from Tofurkey because why not.

So the next little haul is from the Food Fight Grocery website!! Food Fight Grocery is an all vegan grocery store in Portland and I would love to visit someday!

On the far left you'll see the Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg!!! I have been trying to get my hands on this forever and it has always been sold out everywhere! After checking the website a few days earlier (and naturally it was sold out) I decided to check back again and saw they were available and I wasted no time! In order to make the shipping cost worth it (the one downside to ordering is that the shipping is quite hefty... it cost me about $12 to ship these three items) I added Upton's Naturals Bar-B-Que Jackfruit (I'm not even a fan of BBQ flavored anything but I've heard so many good reviews about it!) and some Vegan Pecan Toffee because it's Pecan Toffee.

I have not tried any of these products yet but will definitely let you know what I think of everything! I have lots of dishes planned for the vegan egg and I will probably do a full review post on it where I show you the different ways I used it and my overall thoughts on it. It will probably be in a few weeks because I don't particularly want to eat it every day for a week but hopefully it'll be sooner rather than later.

And just because I just planned for next week here is my spread! I am in love with this sticker kit and I saved it for this week because it is my mom's birthday week and I wanted to use a special kit for a special week :)

So just as a little side note I finally watched Blackfish last night...  and I basically cried for an hour and a half. I knew it was going to be upsetting but it was just heartbreaking. It is very difficult to watch but I definitely recommend it. It really pulls the curtains back on how terrible these places are for the animals. I know that Seaworld has definitely gotten some backlash because of it but I don't really understand how people don't connect the dots and see that this is how the animals are treated in zoos, aquariums and circuses as well. I know Seaworld announced that they are going to make some changes and stop breeding the whales and phasing out the shows but I guess I'll just believe it when I see it. Rant over I guess. 

Sorry to end on a bummer but that's all I've got for you today. If I can get my act together I will try very hard to get some food posts up soon. I am definitely looking forward to trying all of the new products too and definitely looking forward to reviewing the vegan egg for you guys! I feel like I'm the last one to try it and review it but it has been so hard to get my hands on it!

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend <3

This & That

Hey you guys. I'm here with a quick post, a little update and some odds and ends. Trust me when I say it was my sincere intention to start posting more regularly but to be totally honest, I've been in a bit of a rut since I've gotten back from Florida. Weeks seem to be longer, the weather has gotten colder again and I'm just feeling blah and lazy. My meals have suffered from laziness which means that I eat crap and feel like crap as a result. I decided to just deal with it and stop being such a lazy ass and just start making the good, healthy meals that I love. I'm hoping that I'll be more conscious of photographing and sharing these meals with you. I make no promises but it is definitely a goal! I have also been making a list of fun summer recipes (summer produce!!!) that will be fun to share if they come out well so hopefully there will be some more of that in upcoming months as well.

I don't have much to show you today but I do have a grocery haul and I thought it would be fun to show you what my planner layout looks like for this week. I LOVE it and I've definitely found my planning style over the past few weeks.

First up, here is the Trader Joe's grocery haul:

A few of these items came from reading a recent post from Vegan Peace at My Cat Loves Daiya! I saw the Chocolate Crisps and tahini sauce in the haul and immediately added them to my list! Also already on my list was tomatoes, cucumber, baby carrots, black bean pasta (I've heard it's amazing!), fresh unpasteurized orange juice, Strawberry Chia smoothie drink and shredded cabbage. I grabbed a Luna bar because I thought it was the Caramel Nut Brownie flavor but it turned out to be the S'mores flavor. I guess it is still vegan judging from the ingredients? I forgot to add the pineapple juice to my list like a dummy but hopefully I'll remember next time!

Here is my spread for this week! I've started tracking my hydration, my spending and my steps on a daily basis. I typically have more white space than this because I feel like no white space can feel cluttered and chaotic but I love how this looks. I also love the color blocking. I've been including inspirational quotes each week to help me feel inspired to climb out of this rut.

So this is what I have for you today. I'm hoping that I'll get back into the swing of things. I do have some nice meals planned for this week but hopefully I won't be too lazy to make them. I will try to take some pictures for you and I'll do a roundup post for you if I can gather enough photos.

I hope you have all been well <3