What I Ate Wednesday- Vegan Edition

I'm baaaack! Just in time for another edition of What I Ate Wednesday!!!

Man, it's been a long time, and I have truly missed these posts. I'm excited to bring to you.....drumroll pleaseeee.... my very first VEGAN WIAW :) At least I think everything has technically been vegan, feel free to comment if you think otherwise! Check out my Vegan Virgin post about my decision to make the final leap to veganism.

As always, a big thank you to Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for hosting the party. I am absolutely loving this month's theme, and though my eats aren't too spooky, I do have a few autumnal photos at the end of the post as a preview for tomorrow's post!

Breakfast consisted of a mug of delicious, creamy oats. I used a packet of Three Sisters Plain Grain Organic Hot Cereal, which is a combo of flax, oats, quinoa, rye, and barley. The packets are pretty small, though, and I need a heartier breakfast in the morning, so I added in a few tablespoons of Trader Joe's Organic Rolled Oats and a few tablespoons of Nature's Promise Organic Quick Oats. I also add 1 tablespoon of Chia Seeds to get in some Omega 3-fatty acids and some raisins for a change of texture and antioxidants. To sweeten the oats, I added about 3 tablespoons of my homemade unsweetened apple butter that I made this weekend (the apples were so sweet and tart that they didn't need any added sugar!).

Since I am now dairy-free, I used half soy milk and half water to cook the oats in the microwave. Once the mixture was cooked through, I sprinkled in a bit of cinnamon and truvia for a final touch  :)

I have honestly been having oatmeal all week, JUST so I can use my apple butter. I am lovingggg this right now. Definitely a fall staple.

Along with my oatmeal I had a soy cappuccino of sorts. I used my dad's tassimo machine to brew a few shots of espresso and added a BIG splash of soy milk and a sprinkle of Trader Joe's Sugar, Chocolate, and Coffee Grinder. I love this thing. I have seen it all over the blogosphere, so I had to check it out for myself. I am so glad I did. It adds just the right amount of sweetness without the guilt.

 For lunch, I brought leftovers of the Italian Chickpea dish that I made for dinner Monday night. It consists of canned chickpeas, fresh spinach and fresh orange cherry tomatoes from our local farm, an organic red tomato, a splash of mushroom tomato sauce, olive oil, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. This was my first time eating chickpeas on their own, not in hummus.

 
It was pretty good!! Kinda made me feel a bit weird, but I think it was a mind over matter kind of a thing. Because of all of my food allergies, my mind is conditioned to react a certain way when I eat something that I am allergic to. Sometimes, I may eat something I'm not actually allergic to, but my mind will go on the fritz. I start to think my mouth is itchy, and my throat is swollen, but it's not! It's crazy, I know, and I am working on it!

I had a handful of carrots on the side as well.

My snacks throughout the day were a honey crisp apple and a banana. Both refreshing and yummy!

 For dinner, I heated up this little Amy's bad boy that I purchased at Giant along with other vegan goodies. I ate it alongside Green Mountain Gringo Organic Tortilla Strips and fresh spinach from our local farm.

 These chips are AMAZING. Literally THE best tortilla chips I have had in my entire life. The perfect texture and thickness and saltiness. Just all around tortilla chip goodness.

This was my first time trying the vegan enchilada, and it was decent. I didn't loveeeee it, but for a frozen, cheese-less enchilada it wasn't half bad. It was pretty spicy though, which I wasn't a huge fan of, so I added diced avocado atop my meal to cool down the heat. I also wasn't too sure about how the enchilada contained tofu. I am not really a tofu lover (I am, however, a tempeh lover!!), so I was nervous about how it would effect the taste of the enchilada. It was actually barely noticeable! The only thing that was noticeable was the creaminess the tofu kind of added to the sauce.

As promised, here are a few photos from my trip to Wolf's Farms Market with my mom on Saturday:

Happy Fall everybody, and happy WIAW!!

What type of soy milk do you drink?

What are staples in your vegan/vegetarian diet?

Vegan Virgin

Oh heyy! Longggg time, no blogging. Wish I could say it was because I was off having the time of my life with a new boyfriend, or gallivanting around Europe, or moving in with my best friends, but nope. No, I've just been super busy at work, and then super lazy. Sooo....that's good. Though there have been boys, and there has been gallivanting (around Gettysburg), and there has been fun times with friends, no major life changes yet. Except for one.

I have decided to give veganism a try. Yep, I am a vegan virgin, and I am super excited about it. See...I have been having a lot of stomach issues lately. Well, I've kind of had them for the past year, but it's been especially bad lately. Most of the time I just blame it on stress and anxiety (which sometimes it is), but two days ago I had the realization that it might be all of the dairy I consume! (...I realized this as I was drinking an iced coffee with skim milk and was eating a greek yogurt. ha.) So right then and there, I decided to give up dairy for a week to see how I felt. If I feel better after the week, I will stick with it. If I feel the same, I will go back to being the cheese lover I once was.

At first I didn't even think about becoming a vegan, but then I realized literally the only other thing I would have to cut out would be eggs, and then BAM, I'd be a vegan. It sounds so intense. "Won't that be really hard??!" my friend asked me earlier today...and you’d think so but it's not really… I mean I was already a vegetarian and there’s a replacement for everything these days. So it was just a matter of buying soymilk and coconut ice cream, instead of skim milk and froyo. I don’t like butter anyway, I only used olive oil. Eggs have kind of been weirding me out ever since I became a vegetarian, but because I was allergic to nuts and beans, eggs were one of my only options for a protein source.

Butttt....I can eat black beans now! Yayyy I had them with dinner last night and for lunch today. Omg what I have been missing! Geez, I wish I had the balls earlier to try them. Along with hummus! Up until a few months ago, I wasn't eating hummus either due to my allergies. I have been allergic to all nuts and legumes (including chickpeas, beans, peas, etc.) my entire life, but one day back in July, I had had it with limitations. I was SO sick of salads with quinoa and egg whites, and I was seriously lacking in protein. So I said to myself, SCREW IT. And I took a pita chip and dipped it right into the Sabra Hummus my family was eating, and shoved it in my mouth. And guess what... nothing happened! I didn't die, I wasn't covered in hives, and my throat didn't start to close! GREAT SUCCESS! And last week, I did the same thing with black beans. My mom and I were at UNO's, and there was a delicious looking veggie burger on the menu...with black beans. So again I went through the whole "Screw This" process, ordered the burger, and I was fine!!!!

 VEGGIE BLACK BEAN BURGER

Made with black beans, brown rice, roasted onions, roasted corn, roasted green & red peppers, tomatoes, bulgar wheat, green chilies and jalapeño pepper, topped with house-made guacamole, lettuce, tomato and red onion. Salsa on the side.

So to make a long story, longer... I have slowly been adding beans into my diet. Next stop, kidney beans. I want to make chili when it starts to get chilly ;) I have also accepted the fact that I will need to add more soy into my diet in order to get the protein and nutrition that I need. I am not a huge fan of soy just because there are studies out  there that say it enhances estrogen production and can lead to breast cancer, but I feel that if I eat it in moderation, I will be ok. I’m going to try sunflower seed butter this weekend. Kinda nervous about that but really excited too!

Anddd now as I type this my stomach is starting to hurt because I tried to drink an iced coffee with soy milk. I am trying to drink less coffee too because I think it's the acidity that gets me. Ohhh the joys of allergies.

Basically I am kinda taking the whole YOLO thing a little too seriously, but come on…I’ve been too afraid for too long to try foods I am allergic to. It’s about time. It's also ironic that this change to veganism comes at a time that Vegan MOFO is happening... and I didn't even know this was a thing until yesterday! Click on the picture for more info about it!

I will hopefully STOP being so lazy and actually work on a post a few times each week. Whether it's reviewing a new product that fits into my new vegan diet, or if it's fashion related because of a new trend I learned at work, or if it's just about my romping around this fall, I want to make a conscious effort to devote time to write down my thoughts and opinions. ...plus I've really missed WIAW these past few weeks, and I wanna jump back into that next week. I've still been reading as many blogs as I have time for though. I feel disconnected if I don't know what's going on in your lives... is that weird? Whatever... I find it comforting to know that there are people out there who have similar struggles, dietary restrictions, and lifestyle choices as myself. And beacuse of that, I want to continue to share my life's journey.



How Did You Know?

In the most recent years, I haven't been a very devout Catholic. Yes, I believe in God, and I think that he has a plan for us all (though it may seem twisted and backward most of the time...), but I haven't been to church in ages, and I have only been praying when I need something. That's not right, is it? It's not a one sided relationship. I'm not as gracious for the blessings and gifts in my life as I should be. I'm a brat a lot of the time. Always asking why me? why now? why this? But God always knows when to give me a bit of guidance. A little reminder that He is there, watching over me, making sure that I don't wander too far.

Today I was going through my blogger list, clicking through all of the blogs that I follow and catching up from the long weekend, when I saw this post from Sarah at The Smart Kitchen. In her post, Sarah writes that she hasn't felt like herself on her blog lately, and she feels like she's been blogging just to blog. God....how did you know that I needed to read this today? That I was looking for an outlet yesterday because I was an emotional wreck? This is supposed to be my outlet! That's what I started the blog for in the first place. Yes, I want to document the places I visit, the recipes I create, and the new and exciting foods I try, but I also knew that post-grad life was not going to be glorious and that I would need a place to just let my thoughts flow freely.

Going forward, I vow to write what's on my mind. To be cheerful if I am feeling cheerful, to write about my stressors if I am feeling anxious, and to vent if I am feeling upset or angry (I was about to say "sorry in advance" after that last statement and then I thought to myself....why am I apologizing? I am trying to make a point!) I doubt anyone even reads this blog on the days that are not "What I Ate Wednesday" and that my emotions are just free flowing into the infinite internet universe. It's kind of calming to think about though...

Anyway, thank you for listening...whoever you are. I wrote an emotional and angry poem at like 3am last night to help alleviate some of my pent up thoughts and feelings. I think it's still too personal to post here, though I will share it eventually. Maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day

What I Ate Wednesday: A Week of Eats

Hello helllo! Welcome back to yet another episode of What I Ate Wednesday, featuring the quirky and talented Jenn over at Peas and Crayons, and staring bloggers across the globe!!

Today is the day. The day that food bloggers wait for each week to entertain their curiosity. Curiosity of the daily lives of their fellow bloggers. This curiosity is satisfied by peaking into a day of their eats!! I am obsessed with WIAW, and eagerly anticipate Wednesday mornings when I wake up and see hundreds of posts linked up to Jenn's site and get click through them all!!

Bulmer waits eagerly for WIAW just as eagerly as he waits for a treat :)

I have discovered so many new ways of cooking, baking, and combining foods just because of WIAW. So, thank you to Jenn, and thank you to all of YOU!! Where would I be without WIAW? Bored. I would be bored, and my daily eats would be boring. And on that note.... here is what you are all here to see, some fabulous breakfasts, snacks, lunches, dinners, and desserts from the past week!

Overnight Oats topped with fresh Organic Strawberries. Refreshing and delicious on a hot, humid August morning. God, I just cannot wait until fall. Enough of the heat! I can't wait until my breakfasts are steamy bowls of oats with HOT coffee!

Cereal Mix without cinnamon and with cinnamon. I had it both ways last week. These bowls include Kashi Heart to Heart. Trader Joe's Organic Raisin Bran Clusters, Banana, Truvia, Cinnamon, and Skim Milk.

Lunch of spring mix topped with quinoa, tomato, feta, avocado, and basil hummus.

Similar salad to my lunch the day before, but this spring mix is topped with a greater portion of quinoa, leftover whole wheat rotini, tomato, and basil hummus.

 Saturday brunch of a breakfast quesadilla with toasted cheesy goodness on the outside and then filled with a fried egg and Sargento reduced fat mexican blend cheese. Guac and salsa served on the side!

Ital-eek Bruschetta....I call it that because I used all of the classic ingredients for Italian Bruschetta (tomatoes, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper), but then I add feta cheese into the mix which adds some greek flavor to the dish. This was an absolutely lovely combo. I will be posting a full recipe tomorrow, so stop back by and check it out!!

Snack Attack!! Granola, Raisins, and Dark Chocolate all mixed up for a gorgeous little mid afternoon treat :)

 Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies. I made these bad boys Sunday and have been savoring them all week long. Click here to see the recipe and to read about how I am obsessed with Joy the Baker! Lovely spiced cookie. Probably more appropriate in the Fall/Winter, but delicious nonetheless.

Italian Pasta Dinner. Also made Sunday for my parents anniversary :) You can find my recipe by clicking here! It was yummy and wholesome.

I hope you all have an absolutely fantastic Wednesday!! I leave you with a gorgeous sunset in Philly from last weekend, and a few questions :)

What Fall foods are you most excited for?

Do your lunch time salads start to look the same?

What types of different cuisines have you mixed together? Was it a success?

Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am obsessed with Joy the Baker. I purchased her cookbook back in April, and have read it cover to cover probably 10 times. I recently discovered her blog and podcast and cannot stop listening to it. She. is. a. riot. I love that she is so real and goofy and honest. I want to be her friend. Joy...if you're reading this, I feel like we would really get along :)

After my Julia Child inspiration on Sunday, I decided to search through Joy the Baker Cookbook for something to bake. The first page I opened to was Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Ummm done and done, Ms. Joy. I just happened to have purchased a bag full of sweet potatoes on Thursday, so this was so meant to be.

As Joy instructs, pierce your sweet potatoes with a fork, place them on a baking sheet atop of parchment paper, and then stick them into a preheated 400 degree oven. Those bad boys need to roast for about 40 minutes, until tender enough that they fall off of your fork when you try to poke one and pick it up. After that, I ventured off Joy's cookie path of goodness, and got a little craaazyy with the ingredients. And when I say crazy, I mean not that crazy at all. I really mean whole wheat flour and a spice variation...that's really it.

1 cup of white flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour for some hearty goodness.

Next, round up your baking essentials. 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice (Joy's recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves and 1/4 teaspoon of coriander...I had neither, so allspice it was!).

Pour all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, and mix!

Gather two large eggs (when I just wrote gather, I immediately pictured you all running out to your hen houses to gather eggs...unrealistic, but I still thought the photo was funny and ironic).

1 cup of packed brown sugar.

Measure out 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. Notice my amazing left handed measuring cup. Thank you for the heirloom, Mimi!

Start by whisking together those lovely, brown, organic, cage-free eggs. Everyone has super expensive eggs because they feel guilty about buying anything other than the organic, cage-free variety...right?

Dump in that gorgeous brown sugar.

Continue to whisk until it's thick and combined. It should be a tan color when you're finished. I whisked my mixture for about 2 minutes. Then add in the oil and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Whisk until combined.

After forty minutes has passed, check on that sweet potato that has been roasting away in the oven. If it is tender enough (as described above), pull your pan out of the oven, and let the potato sit for about 5 minutes to cool. Then peel off the skin, and mash with a fork.

Mashed (sweet) potato, mashed (sweet) potato! Look at all the orangey goodness.

Dump the cooled, mashed sweet potato into your egg/sugar/oil/vanilla mixture.

Mix that all up with a spatula, and then dump into the dry flour mixture.

Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture.

....and fold.....

...and fold....

...and fold until you can no longer see any strokes of flour. I decided to opt out of the chocolate chips for my first batch, simply on the grounds that I thought this cookie would be delicious enough without the overpowering flavor of chocolate.

Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Stick the baking sheet into the oven at 350 degrees and bake for about 12 minutes. I found that as soon as the outside of the cookie started to brown, it was done. Because these cookies are more dense and cake like, it is important not to overcook them.

Out of the oven and perfectly browned. Let these rest for two minutes while you prepare the chocolate chip batter.

 I covered the rest of the dough with about 1/4 of Ghirardelli 60% Cocoa Chocolate Chips. End result?

A comforting cookie dripping with chocolatey morsels.

Holy good night. Enjoy with a big glass of milk or covered with vanilla Greek frozen yogurt as I have...the past two nights :)