All the Food 2016 (Pic Dump)

I thought posting a bunch of random meals would give an idea of how I am eating in 2016. Not 100% vegan, no. Too prohibitive when I am dining out frequently with a husband, parents, and children who are all meat-eaters. They do not want to eat all their meals at vegan restaurants, and I am not just going to eat a plain baked potato at their restaurant choice when I can eat something healthier and/or more satisfying which may also contain some cheese. I am still cooking all vegan at home. So that's what is working for all of us! Also I have started using the MyFitnessPal app back in December to just be more conscious of portion size and calorie intake/output, and as a result I feel I am making healthier choices overall.

Anyway, here's some food I have been putting in my face!

Homemade pad Thai.

Garlic broccoli with rice and spring roll, Bo Asian Bistro lunch w/my parents.

Spaghetti squash and baked tofu, topped with chimichurri (from Vegan Eats World, the best chimichurri recipe ever!)

Medjool date with almond butter, such a great snack when I have sugar cravings because it actually satisfies me instead of just making me crave more sugar!

Some kind of stir fry with cauliflower, broccoli, chickpeas, tomatoes, peas? I'm sure it was good.

Golden Corral...well, what can I say, this was Jackson and Olivia's choice of where to eat lunch on their very last day of winter break.  We usually eat there with Grandma when we go to Oklahoma at Christmas. We didn't go up there this Christmas due to a number of reasons, so I think this was their way of keeping the tradition alive. So much "brown" food in that place, but I tried to keep my plate as "green" as possible.

Pesto margarita from Roots Bistro in Round Rock. I really wish we had a place like this in our hood! Coffeehouse/cafe by day, bar at night, the perfect anytime hangout.

Simple, whole foods: roasted butternut squash, baked tofu, and gingered collard greens (from The 30-Minute Vegan, it's my favorite recipe for collards.)

A sample kid meal. Tater tots, baked tofu, edamame, blueberries.

Butternut fennel soup. Roast 1 butternut squash and 1 bulb of fennel. Puree with vegetable broth. Eat.

Garden burger patty with kale salad (I just toss the kale with flax oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper) and oven fries.

Tortilla soup, from Happy Herbivore's first cookbook.

More pizza! Buffalo cauliflower pizza from Counter Culture, with vegan ricotta, pesto, and red onions. So amazing. And SPICY!

Best banana muffins (from Plant-Powered Families.)

Overnight oats, soaked with chia seeds, soy milk, and chopped dates.

Ezekial bread with avocado and cherry tomatoes.

Ice skating at Chaparral Ice over the winter break. So cold! But so fun!

Back on the Boat

When I asked Jackson what he wanted to do this summer, the first thing he said was take a glass bottom boat tour. We did this a couple years ago and I guess the memory really stayed with him.

I love how he loves nature. Olivia does too, in spite of the serious side-eye she's giving in this pic.

Observing.

See the turtle?

Bubbling springs.

Vegetation. 

Scuba diving class.

The water was so blue.

It was a nice boat ride. For dinner I made some veggie sandwiches. I saw a daily special on Easy Tiger's Facebook page that looked good, but I knew we would not make it down there to sample it. So I decided to create my own version. Ciabatta bread with avocado, radishes, mixed greens, and chimichurri sauce. Anything is good with chimichurri. Hit the spot.

Autumn Drinks

Now that we have turned the heater on, the air in my home gets very dry, and I find myself drinking more liquids to keep myself hydrated.

I had to pick up another Suja Elements Wassail, also known as cinnamon roll in a bottle!  I love it so much. I also tried their Chun Mee Tropical tea. 

Speaking of tea, I could not pass up these flavors. Celestial Seasonings Caramel Apple Dream, for a sweet treat, and Yogi Honey Lavender Stress Relief for sleepytime.

I also bought a pouch of Dandy Blend, an herbal coffee substitute. Now, I don't have any problem with coffee. I drink decaf iced coffees all summer long. But I have enjoyed other herbal coffees so I wanted to try this one out, too. 

Chocolate Pharmacy is an Austin business specializing in raw cacao with added healing spices. I love their raw truffles and when I saw their brand-new line of chocolate potions, I had to place an order. That's when I learned that Jyl, the owner, will personally deliver to your door if you live in Austin. That's service!

The bottle contains raw, unsweetened spiced cacao powder. So you measure out about a tablespoon and mix with warmed milk. I also add a little stevia to mine. The taste is pure, rich chocolate, plus a hint of spiciness that I can't quite put a finger on. It is such a lovely treat in the evenings when I am relaxing in front of the fireplace!

I've also used it to make a "tonic" by blending up with almond milk, spirulina, acai, turmeric, vanilla and stevia. 

It's hard for me to get excited about smoothies when it's cold out, but I try. Here is one with spinach, coconut water, cherries, acai, spirulina, and RAW vanilla protein powder.

I have also been juicing. I think I am in the minority here, but I prefer my juices to have a very "green" flavor, so I will leave out the apple juice or pineapple juice. This one I made today had celery, cucumber, carrots (which add a bit of sweetness on their own), kale, cilantro, and lemon.

Finally, Olivia and I made pecan milk. I don't have a nut milk bag or anything fancy. We just blended up 1/2 cup pecans, 2 cups water, 1/2 tsp. vanilla and a pinch of salt. Then I pushed it through a fine mesh strainer to get out the solids. You have to give it a good shake each time before using as it does separate, but it's great.

On to some solid foods. Dinner was the Chimichurri Pumpkin Bowl from Isa Does It. You know how I love my chimichurri sauce. This was lovely. The only thing is, baking pumpkins have disappeared from my supermarket, so I used butternut squash. I roasted it skin-on, which has become my new preference since it adds more flavor. Oh, and I also subbed chickpeas for the black beans, as usual.

Olivia enjoyed a deconstructed version. Little kids and their opposition to mixing foods! It's so funny. At least she ate the same food as the rest of us in some form.

Cooking Twice in One Day

Today Olivia, looking fierce in her boots and new romper, was my shopping buddy after we dropped Jackson off at school.

We just had to pick up a few staples, and also re-stock our incense drawer. We had run completely out. Noooo!  We got our usual Nag Champa and Triloka, and I also tried some "Tara Healing Incense" that is supposed to relieve stress and anxiety. But I actually got stressed out trying to light them because they were so crumbly! Ha! Won't be buying that brand again.

I tend towards snacky lunches during the week, but Tony said he wanted to come home for lunch and eat something healthy, so I made chimichurri tofu from Viva Vegan!, served over roasted butternut squash.

Then for dinner, I made the bahn mi sandwiches with savory dipping sauce from Veganomicon. I don't usually cook two actual meals in one day but it was worth it for these sandwiches. Love them so much.

To drink, I made a pitcher of Arnold Palmers - half lemonade, half tea, but in this case I used green mint tea. I am obsessed with mint tea lately! So refreshing.

A Girl and Her Dire Wolf

It is August in Texas, which means I will be hibernating for the next six weeks or so, while the worst heat of the year bakes the land.  Indoor activities are a must. Today we visited the Texas Natural Science center. 

The coolest discovery for me was learning that direwolves actually existed. Oh man...does that mean white walkers are also real?

If you ever had any doubts about evolution, I think this picture will convince you.

Dinner was the amazing Tofu Chimichurri from Viva Vegan.  It had been too long since I made this delicious chimichurri sauce. I served the tofu over rice and steamed spinach, with lots of extra sauce spooned on top.

Yeah, Science!

We recently headed downtown to the Austin Children's Museum to see a physics exhibit on loan from the San Francisco Exploratorium.

 

One display was meant to show how tornados work. Jackson and Olivia were entranced by the steam seeping up through holes in the floor. 

 

It was fun to roll objects across the turntable and see in which direction they spun out.

 

Jackson rode the momentum machine around and around until he got a little dizzy.

 

 

We also visited other favorite areas in the museum. We took care of the cows...

 

 

...built pirate ships...

 

and made pigs fly.

 

After expanding our brains, we expanded our tummies. I had some Gardein chicken tenders, which I served on baguettes slathered with mango guacamole. On the side, some pan-fried plantain slices dipped in chimichurri sauce.