Tag Archives: vegan meals

Weekly Eating – 1/21/19

 

Hey y’all! Welcome to the series Weekly Eating.

Here is where I’ll talk about the week’s meal plan versus reality, what we ate for the week, and how we did budget-wise. I hope it gives readers a behind-the-scenes look into our life through the lens of food, and it’s also a way to keep us on track with meal planning and grocery budgeting.

Feel free to share your wins and lessons in the comments below!

 

The weekend was great, I led a really fun Durham food tour on Saturday. 4 of the visitors were a young man touring colleges and his family, and the others were 2 couples visiting as well (a mom and daughter, and old friends) so none had ever been to Durham before. I entertained them all night with stories and things I’ve learned.

table covered in food at Neomonde Durham

We got a crazy huge spread at Neomonde. I cannot say enough nice things about them! Their food is amazing and super fresh and tasty, it is Mediterranean/Lebanese. Best hummus I’ve had in a long time.

the Little Dipper Durham salted caramel chocolate

And I looooove that we end the tours with the chocolate dippers at The Little Dipper now. I just love their staff and atmosphere, as well as the food of course! We had the Fluffer Nutter (chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallow fluff) and the Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel. Mmmmm… they even gave me a to-go cup of the leftover chocolate! I had joked about it with my group, but they insisted…

carton full of quail and chicken eggs

And I am just so so thankful to finally have farm friends! To be able to visit the chickens and guinea hens, and have my own quail… the magic has definitely not faded, not yet! Every time I go out to the coop and find an egg, it is a tiny miracle.

Monday:

Breakfast – this was a holiday, so we slept in! Black coffee

Lunch – I had some small corn tortillas that needed using, so I brushed them with lime and toasted them in the oven, then loaded them up with refried pinto beans, salsa, red sauerkraut, and avocado for some tasty tostadas

tostadas

Dinner – Refrigerator soup! Basically bits of whatever veggies are about to go south, some beans, dried mushrooms, and veggie broth. With the rest of the toasted corn tortillas crushed on top.

refrigerator soup

Snack – We had a really awesome mixed berry ‘soup’ haha and a cup of turmeric golden milk for a nightcap

bowl of mixed berry nice cream

Tuesday:

Breakfast – pear and raisin oatmeal with flaxseed

pear and raisin oatmeal

Lunch – I forgot I’d ordered a lunch that got cancelled and rescheduled a while ago… so we had Panera today. Conveniently the same day Angela decided we would start tracking trash again… ?

boxed Panera lunch

Snack – local greenhouse strawberries and orange slices

strawberries and oranges

Dinner – mango tempeh and roasted veggies with black rice, and a garlic tahini hot sauce

mango tempeh and roasted veggies

Wednesday:

Breakfast – pear and raisin oatmeal with flaxseed (hey, I had 2 pears)

pear and raisin oatmeal

Lunch –mango tempeh and roasted veggies with black rice

mango tempeh and roasted veggies

Snack – local greenhouse strawberries and orange slices

strawberries and oranges

Dinner – giant salad of mixed greens & arugula, with seasame seeds, dried apricot, and walnuts. Dressing of tahini, lemon juice, garlic.

big salad

Snack – mixed berry smoothie with flaxseed and amla and spinach. I found it amusing, the size difference of our cup and spoon.

blender and coffee cup of smoothie

Thursday:

Breakfast – cinnamon raisin bagel with almond butter

bagel with almond butter

Lunch – I had some black beans left from the weekend batch cook, so I just added some dried onion, cumin, lime juice and salsa and used my immersion blender to make it a soup. Plus a big salad.

salad and black bean soup

Snack – faux Oreo cookies

Dinner –Instant pot baked potatoes smothered in vegan chili with vegan cheddar and fresh guac

chili baked potato

Friday:

Breakfast – big rainbow smoothie: canned beets, my last persimmon, spinach, frozen pineapple, a fresh banana, frozen mixed berries, flax seed, amla powder, coconut water

big rainbow smoothie

Lunch – the rest of the leftover mango tempeh with roasted veg

Snack – homemade garlic hummus and cucumber slices

hummus and cucumbers

Dinner – Went out with a friend for dinner on Friday for some awesome girl talk and Mexican food. This local place called Toreros has really good food and decent margaritas. I got a vegetarian burrito that was so enormous, I literally just started laughing when she put it on the table.

huge vegetarian burrito

The Weekend

This weekend we have no set plans really. Just relaxing at home and taking it easy. Doing some cooking projects, and maybe going out for the end of Triangle restaurant week.

Food Total: $164.99

Oof. Y’all.

I have totaled up January food spending, and it is not pretty.

We need to reign it in. Maybe I will ban myself from grocery shopping for a few months.

Dairy $6.48 Staples $69.77 Fruit/Veg $57.68
greek yogurt 3.99 diced tomatoes 12 6 frozen fruits 3lb x5 39.95
almond milk 2.49 canned beans 4 + 2 6pk 8.38 brussels sprouts 2.5
can pineapple 2.38 bananas 0.99
progresso 0.97 kiwi 6 1
spinach bags 2 5.98
frozen pizza 9.49 avocados 1.79
salad mixes 2 3.98
lemons 1.49

How about you guys? Did you have a learning week or an awesome week of wins?

Weekly Eating – 1/14/19

Hey y’all! Welcome to the series Weekly Eating.

Here is where I’ll talk about the week’s meal plan versus reality, what we ate for the week, and how we did budget-wise. I hope it gives readers a behind-the-scenes look into our life through the lens of food, and it’s also a way to keep us on track with meal planning and grocery budgeting.

Feel free to share your wins and lessons in the comments below!

 

The weekend with the sister in law was super fun. I love having people visit so I can cook for them, and an excuse to go out too. She liked Durham, and I think she wouldn’t be too mad if she ended up moving here. 

quail eggs

The birds are laying pretty well, I’m getting 3 eggs a day on average, sometimes 4. And the soy sauce is starting to get some color to it. I try to keep it by the window with the blinds open so that it gets some sunlight, that is supposed to help it darken.

soy sauce fermenting

Monday:

Breakfast – Peaches & Cream oatmeal. 1/2 cup oats + 1/2 can of peaches, microwave 1 minute, stir. Add 1 tbsp ground flaxseed and a splash of almond milk, microwave 1 more minute. Done.

Peaches and cream oatmeal

Lunch – leftover red beans and rice, with some roasted broccoli and cauliflower. Clementine for dessert.

leftovers

Dinner – Teriyaki tempeh! One of my absolute favorite things to do with tempeh.

tempeh teriyaki

Tuesday:

Breakfast – wasn’t very hungry, so I just had an apple. Clearly, I need to remove my current nail polish…

pink lady apple

Lunch – leftover pierogi: mashed potato and applesauce. With some fresh cherries.

pierogi and cherries

Snack – hummus & cucumbers

hummus and cucumber

Dinner – Polenta and charro beans. The polenta was supposed to set in cans so I could cut them into rounds, but that didn’t work. So I just plopped it in a pan and baked it. And the charro black beans are a friends’ recipe that is super tasty.

polenta and charro beans

Wednesday:

Breakfast – accidentally skipped it…

Lunch – leftover rice and roasted veggies with falafel balls and hummus, big salad on the side

falafel balls and salad

Dinner – Simple: pasta shells with organic mushroom sauce, edamame on the side. And I found Lienenkeugel Berry, so yeah, that’s my favorite light beer and I bought some.

pasta night

Thursday:

Breakfast – Strawberry and peach oatmeal. Handful dried peaches sliced, 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water. Microwave. Add some fresh diced strawberries and chia seeds, microwave again.

strawberry chia oatmeal

Lunch – leftover beans and polenta with avocado

leftovers

Dinner – out to the Carolina Brewery in Chapel Hill. I had the Veggie Burger and fries. It was really good, hearty with black beans and some subtle spice. The slaw was meh. But the honey wheat beer was darn good. 

veggie burger

Friday:

Breakfast – leftover sweet potato waffles with berry sauce. Just microwaved a cup of frozen berries with some maple syrup and blended it with an immersion blender.

sweet potato waffles

Lunch – repeat of yesterday’s leftover lunch, plus salsa

Snack – hummus and veg

hummus with veggies

Dinner – dinner party at a friend’s house. She made an amazing salad with pulled pork and a creamy cilantro sauce. I am totally willing to break veganuary for the sake of hanging out with good friends and catching up since the holidays. Plus it was damn good!

pulled pork salad

The Weekend

This weekend I have a Durham food tour on Saturday, so that should be fun. And we got invited to hang out with our neighbors on Sunday. Looking forward to getting to know them better. Since Monday is a holiday, I think that will be the around-the-house productive day. 

Food Total: $173.08

Yeah… I didn’t want to admit to this but I can’t lie to yall. I went to the store with the intention of buying 3 things, for a total of $12. But then I saw the clearance cart, with some things we use often at a ridiculous deal. When something you need that is usually $43 is marked down to $13, you buy it all!

Then I made the mistake of calling the boy to see if he needed anything while I was at the store. He has recently become hooked on the dried fruits and nuts as a snack too, so we are now basically out, and he requested more. And to balance the $50 of healthy food, we also ended up with $50 worth of beer haha

Staples $49.44 Fruit/Veg $12.11 Extras $111.53
dried apricot 15.99 bananas 1.35 stuff 52.8
dried prunes 11.49 avocado x10 5 cracklin oat bran 4.99
pitted dates 10.99 tomato sauce x4 5.76 leinenkeugel 14.99
dried cranberry 2     blue moon seasonal x2 29.98
raisins 4.49        
dried peaches x2 4.48     tax 8.77

 

Well, next week is another chance to do better.

 

How about you guys? Did you have a learning week or an awesome week of wins?

Weekly Eating – 10/1/18

 

Hey y’all! Welcome to the series Weekly Eating.

Here is where I’ll talk about the week’s meal plan versus reality, what we ate for the week, and how we did budget-wise. I hope it gives readers a behind-the-scenes look into our life through the lens of food, and it’s also a way to keep us on track with meal planning and grocery budgeting.

Feel free to share your wins and lessons in the comments below!

 

As promised, I spent a big part of the weekend planting the fall things and ripping up the summer things. Tomatoes and beans are now composting, and kale/beet/radish/broccoli/cabbage are in the ground. Fingers crossed we get something edible. I’m already planning next spring’s garden.

Monday:

Breakfast – Avocado and egg sandwich, quite filling and tasty

avocado and egg toast

Lunch – Leftover from the weekend roasted vegetables, with a small piece of steak under there (hah, I bet at least one person thought “under where?”)

roasted fall vegetables

Snack  – homemade creamy hummus and raw veggies (I ended up not being hungry enough to eat the peaches I canned)

creamy hummus and raw vegetables and canned peaches

Dinner –

 

Tuesday:

Breakfast – Peach oatmeal

Lunch – out to lunch with a coworker

Dinner – Lentil sloppy joes! My new favorite. With dill pickles and homemade purple sauerkraut

sloppy joe with lentils pickles and sauerkraut

Wednesday:

Breakfast – A friend at work keeps chickens, and she brought me a gift of a dozen free range eggs! I was so thrilled, because happy healthy free range chickens make the best eggs. I had a tasty breakfast burrito with bell peppers and onions and hot sauce and eggs and cheese. Nomnom.

free range egg breakfast burrito

Lunch – Leftover lentil sloppy joes! Not mad about it.

lentil sloppy joes

Dinner –I made a big batch of my crispy oven baked tofu

oven baked tofu

And whipped up a quick teriyaki stir fry to go with it

tofu teriyaki stir fry

Oh and I also have a jar of homemade apple cider vinegar that’s finally getting going! It’s a great way to use apple cores and peels and scraps. Just fill a jar 2/3, cover with water. Add about 1 tbsp sugar per cup of water needed, and cover. That’s it. Let it sit in a dark place for 2 weeks, strain, and let it sit again until tart enough.

bubbling apple cider vinegar

Thursday:

Breakfast – Another breakfast burrito!

breakfast burrito

Lunch – Out again! Shocking, I know, twice in one week. The down side of trying so hard to make friends for 2 years is that now I have them haha but at least our work meal card gets us 10% off so this was just over $4

chinese at work

Dinner – Ya’ll! Remember how when I went home for a wedding shower, I ended up coming home with a pressure cooker my mom didn’t want? I finally used it! My first item: baked potatoes.

potatoes in a pressure cooker

The good news is, it didn’t blow up! The better news is, it steamed perfect soft potatoes in 15 minutes. These things are pretty legit. And WAY less energy used than an oven at 350 for an hour.

loaded baked potatoes

Friday:

Breakfast – At the grocery store, I found an insane sale on smoked rainbow trout (like 75% off). Given my love of smoked salmon, I figured it might be similar. So I got it, because luckily for me someone brought leftover Panera, and I nabbed an everything bagel with cream cheese, the perfect lox canvas. Turns out, definitely not the same as salmon. But pretty good.

smoked rainbow trout bagel

Lunch – Leftover tofu teriyaki stir fry

leftover stir fry

Dinner – My second experience with the pressure cooker. Some tiny acorn squash that came with my Produce Box.

acorn squash in pressure cooker

Took 15 minutes yet again, perfectly fork-tender. They got whipped into a creamy cheese sauce for acorn squash mac n cheese.

acorn squash mac n cheese

Dessert – Wooo what a crazy week, out for lunch twice AND dessert on Friday! I had 2 peaches that desperately needed used up, so I cut them into a bowl with an also-near-death banana and some frozen pineapple. Topped it with some butter/brown sugar (crack) and granola, then I microwaved it for about 8 minutes and bam. Instant sweet tooth satisfaction.

fruit cobbler with ice cream

The Weekend

Saturday is a busy day! My pal Steveonomics is in town, his company is trying to convince him to move here. And so am I.   🙂  Then I have a downtown Food Tour afterwards. So definitely getting my steps in!

Then Sunday is the opposite, no plans whatsoever. Well, just getting down the Halloween decorations from the attic, because you know I’m having a party! Gotta brainstorm a good costume.

Food Total: $98.19

Uhhh… oops. I swear I went to the store with a list in hand… and then there were just a lot of good sales. At least most of the things I got were staples and fruits & veggies. The canned goods will stay for a long time, and we were down to almost nothing on rice. We had like 3 rice based meals this week, and burritos are a main way the boy stays alive, so running out of rice would be a disaster.

Meats $23.57 Staples $40.27 Fruit/Veg $30.32
smoked rainbow trout 4oz 2.97 wheat bread 3 bag spinach 2 4
frozen whiting fillets 2lb 4.97 tomato sauce 1.18 bananas 2.28
frozen cod fillets 2lb 9.97 tortillas 1.48 avocados 4 3.58
Stew meat 1.5 lb 5.66 long grain white rice 10lb 2.99 cucumber 0.69
basmati rice 5lb 8.99 carrots 10lb 5.99
brown rice 3lb 4.49 sweet onion 1.21
cereals x3 5.89 bell peppers 9 8.91
Pasta – various x4 3.96 Limes 0.99
4pk org garbanzos 3.29 Pears 2 1.88
Pasta sauce x3 5 Lemon 1 0.79

Lessons Learned

Ugh guys. I need to admit that I am not doing as great with Zero Waste as I’d hoped. But this blog is supposed to be safe space though right? How do I get better? My biggest issues continue to be cheese (sliced and shredded) and anything frozen. The boy is the main cheese consumer, and he will definitely not shred or slice his own, I’ve tried buying blocks before and they just get moldy. And I’m not that much of a saint to do it for him weekly.

 

 

How about you guys? Did you have a learning week or an awesome week of wins?

 

 

Quinoa & Bean Quesadilla

 

In the pursuit of creating meals which are both vegan and yet so delicious my total carnivore fiancee doesn’t even notice it’s vegan, you win some & you lose some.

IMG_9368

This was a definite win.

The way I see it, it has all the things a quesadilla should: meaty fillings (‘meaty’ like you feel full after eating it, not actual meat; in this case beans & quinoa), gooey stick-together-ness (avocado), and lots of flavor (roasted peppers & spices). Warmed up for a crunchy exterior with soft goodness inside, this will make everyone happy regardless of dietary preference.

This makes 2 servings. And best of all, you sneak in almost a whole cup of veggies per serving! I won’t tell if you won’t.

Ingredients:

  • 4 tortillas
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1/2 cup bell pepper slices
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 cup cooked white beans
  • 1/2 cup spinach
  • Cooking oil
  • Optional: nutritional yeast

IMG_9361

Step 1: Cook your quinoa according to package. Likely you mix 1/2 cup quinoa with 1 cup water, bring to a boil, then cover & let sit 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Set up your station.

IMG_9358

Step 2: If you have the time, caramelize your pepper pieces by heating in a frying pan over medium heat just until they begin to char. This brings out their innate sweetness. If not, raw pepper will work just as well, the finished product may be crunchier.

IMG_9363

Step 3: On one tortilla, cut half the avocado, &  spread it around. This acts like a paste to hold your quesadilla together. Layer on half the spinach, and season as you wish. (Basil, garlic salt, cilantro, lime…)

IMG_9364

Step 4: On the other tortilla, layer the quinoa, beans (cooked according to directions, or from a can), peppers, and if using sprinkle on some nutritional yeast. It is not required, it just gives an extra ‘cheesy’ taste & you guessed it, nutrition. (You can also use dairy cheese if not vegan).

IMG_9366

Step 5: Spray or grease a frying pan. Place the one tortilla on top of the other, carefully, and place in the pan. Fry for 4-5 minutes, until golden brown and crisp, then carefully flip the whole thing. Use two spatulas if you need to. Crisp the other side 4-5 minutes.

IMG_9369

Cut with a knife or pizza roller, and enjoy! This baby is chock-full of good stuff, and creates a great taste & texture combo that really satisfies.

 

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Vegan Tofu-Sauerkraut Lettuce Wraps

 

As I’ve been diving into the world of vegan food options, it has made me more creative with my meals, how they are cooked, what is in them, and what I can mix together.

One meal option I have fallen in love with is lettuce wraps. It is just like a taco, only completely gluten-free (depending on what you put inside), no added carbs, and very healthy. You get a dose of greens de facto because of the lettuce leaves, and skip the extra calories and added who-knows-what in the typical tortilla (refined & bleached white flour, leaveners, softeners, added sugar, GMOs, etc etc).

And, like a regular taco, you can put just about anything inside! Wraps are a great catch-all for veggies you need to use up, leftover half-batches of grains, and anything else you can think of. Here I use some of my homemade sauerkraut (which is so mind-blowingly easy to make, and delicious!), fried tofu, and mushrooms as my umami base, then load on top of it cooked rice & black beans, diced avocado & fresh salsa. Ah-maz-ing.

IMG_7578

And the best part is, you can’t really over-eat these! There is so much veggie goodness and nutrition packed into every wrap, you can have three or four, no problem. This recipe makes enough for 4 large wraps.

Ingredients:

  • 4 large outer leaves of romaine (plus more shredded)
  • 1/2 block firm tofu, drained
  • 4 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 cup sauerkraut or raw cabbage
  • 1/2 cup cooked rice
  • 1/2 cup black beans
  • 1 large avocado
  • 4 tbsp salsa of choice

IMG_7572

Step 1: I made my black beans from dried (much cheaper than canned!) by taking 1 cup of beans per 2 cups water and putting them in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours. This makes the beans nice and tender and ready to eat. Cook the rice according to package directions.

IMG_7570

Step 2: Drain and press the tofu by placing it on a folded paper towel with another on top. Press firmly, or place a heavy object on top, for a few minutes. Then add the tofu, mushrooms, and sauerkraut to a medium-hot frying pan, and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are moist and browned. Add a tbsp of water or vegetable stock if it dries out at any time.

IMG_7574

Step 3: Assemble the lettuce wraps. Take a large leaf of Romaine or other head lettuce and hold it in the palm of one hand. Add a tbsp or two of rice and cooked beans, then a heap of the cooked tofu-mushroom-sauerkraut mixture.

IMG_7576

Step 4: Add optional toppings like the diced avocado and salsa, or try sliced olives, juilenned carrot, zucchini, or radish, or shredded cheese. You could add nutritional yeast, soy sauce, sriracha, refried beans, or any other taco topping your heart desires.

IMG_7579

Above all, make it your own and enjoy!

 

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