WIAW #32 OR Weekend Eats

   Hi Friends!

   It's Wednesday and you know what that means! I'm linking up again with Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for more WIAW shenanigans. Oh, and if it's all right with you I'm going to keep this post light and breezy after Monday's slightly heavier post.

Let's get to it!

Breakfast...

Tofu scramble with steamed kale, leftover tomato and cucumber salad, and sprouts by yours truly. I'm obsessed with sprouting and always have some in the fridge plus some seeds in a jar sprouting away on the counter.

Lunch...

Since breakfast was kind of huge, I went with a strawberry mango smoothie for lunch. It may not sound like much but this baby was jam-packed with fruit and then thinned out with some coconut water and a splash of lemon juice. De-lish!

Snack...

One super delicious organic apple with dijon mustard for dipping. Wait, you don't eat apples dipped in mustard? Ha! Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. The children at my work are obsessed with apples and mustard thanks to my influence. You'll love it too, I promise!

Dinner...

Homemade Black Bean Burgers with Boston lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, sprouts, peppers and homemade polenta fries. I've made this burger plate like three days in a row. I love open-faced burgers with no bun. It's so much more fun!

Bevies...

Water! I drink water all day long and I absolutely love to infuse my water with lemons, limes, cucumbers, etc. But my absolute obsession is mixing coconut water with filtered water and adding a ton of lemon wedges plus lemon juice to it. It's so hydrating, refreshing and tasty.

I told you I was obsessed with coconut water. I can't get enough of this stuff!

And of course, there's always time for a glass of wine at the end of the day. I never really understood how people unwind without a glass or two... Or maybe that's just me?
And obviously I drink a lot of coffee... it just doesn't always last long enough for me to actually remember to take a photo!

And last but not least...

I think it should be a kind of tradition, finishing off a WIAW post with a photo of Patchie. Here she is sitting pretty and looking like the princess she is! FYI she never sits in those chairs unless I was sitting there first. Go figure, she always has to take my spot!

Happy Hump Day, everyone!

Love,

Ves xx

WIAW #31 and An Obsessed Cat

   Hi Friends!

   I'm so excited to be linking up with Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for another WIAW post. I'd say, "it's been a long time" but you can just scroll down through past posts and see that for yourselves. Ha! Anyway, funny story: as I was uploading the pictures for this post I couldn't help but chuckle- my meals never seem to change! I'm a creature of habit and if you follow me on Instagram you'll see that there is a certain theme to all of my food. What can I say? I know what I like.

**Warning: awful cell phone pics below.**

Breakfast...

Green Smoothie!

   Like I said, some things never change, and my smoothie-for-breakfast habit is one of them. If it's not a smoothie, it's a juice, but either way I seem to love to drink my breakfast. That bad boy up there has coconut water, spinach, mango, frozen banana, lemon, spirulina, and a sprinkling of cinnamon. After I took that photo, and tried to take a sip, I scooped it into a bowl and ate it with a spoon. I may have made it a tad too thick! That's okay, I like eating my smoothies with a spoon.

Lunch...

Salad!

   What else? Salad! I love my salads and sometimes I like them to be uncomplicated. Especially when we have days where it feels like it's 100 degrees outside and I have zero appetite. This salad was exactly what I was craving: crisp, fresh and light! I mixed together some spinach and arugula, added chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions and 1/2 an avocado, and dressed it with some fresh squeezed lemon juice and nutritional yeast. Simple and delicious.

Dinner...

Tacos!

   Mmm... Tacos! I.Love.Tacos. I can throw just about anything into a corn tortilla and call it a taco. I'm obsessed. These particular corn tortillas are layered with greens, salsa, tomatoes, avocado slices, sriracha, and for the "meat" I used TVP. I'm sure you've heard of TVP before and may have even tried it, but if you haven't, I'll tell you a little bit about it. TVP (textured vegetable protein OR textured soy protein) is made from soy flour after the soy bean oil has been extracted. It's dry and flavorless in the package but once it's been reconstituted and spices have been added it's super yummy and has the same texture as other soy crumbles. That being said, it's still a highly processed food so I would definitely not eat it all the time. For this meal, I mixed cumin, chili powder, spanish paprika, and garlic powder in a bowl with the dried TVP and then added some boiling water to it. After stirring, I let it sit for about 5 minutes or so. Once all of the liquid was absorbed, the crumbles were ready to party with the rest of the taco toppings. Yum!

I didn't remember to take pictures of my beverages or snacks... oops. I'll do better next time, I promise! Instead, I leave you with this (slightly blurry) photo:

Give me paw...

   What's Patchie doing, you ask? Well, she's begging me for some coconut oil, of course. She is absolutely obsessed with it and knows exactly when I'm about to use it. She follows me into the bathroom first thing in the morning and again at night and demands that I give her some after I've used it. Who am I to say no? After all, it's good for her for the same reasons it's good for me. I don't mind sharing! Side note: I have no idea why Patchie always looks so angry in photos? I swear, she's actually a very sweet cat!

Happy middle-of-the-work-week day!

Love,
Ves xx

Oh, How Spicy! - Vegan MoFo #22

   Hi Friends!

   Here's another delicious soup recipe to keep you warm during this stormy gray weather.  By the way, Hamilton survived "the worst" of the storm overnight and I hope that other areas were just as lucky.  It looks like our East Coast friends in the States haven't been as lucky and I hope they've seen the worst of it as well.
On with the recipe...

Spicy Tortilla Soup
6-8 Servings

Ingredients
1 pablano pepper
1 15-ounce can tomatoes, preferably no salt added
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons coconut oil, divided
1 medium white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3 cups vegetable broth
3 cups water
1 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu
1 cup fresh corn kernels
1 cup white hominy
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chilli powder
sea salt, to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 ripe large avocado, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese (I used Daiya)
1/2 - 1 lime, juiced (optional)

Directions

1. Holding the poblano pepper with metal tongs, quickly toast it by turning it an inch or two above an open flame for a few seconds, or place it under the broiler (turning every minute or two) until the skin is slightly charred.
2. When cool enough to handle, peel, stem and seed the poblano pepper, break it into pieces and put it in a blender along with the tomatoes and their juice.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, 6 to 9 minutes. Transfer the onion and garlic to the blender with the tomato mixture. Process until smooth.
4. Return the pot to medium heat. When quite hot, add the puree and stir almost constantly until thickened to the consistency of tomato paste, about 6 minutes.  Add broth, water, cumin and chilli powder.  Bring to a boil, then adjust heat to maintain a simmer.
5. Drain tofu, rinse and pat dry; cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu and cook in a single layer, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes total. Add the tofu to the soup and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. In the last few minutes, stir in the corn and hominy.  When heated through, stir in cilantro leaves and lime juice and serve.  Garnish with some avocado and tortilla strips.

 Love,
Ves xx

Ps: This was inspired by my mom's Chicken Tortilla Soup.  I used to love that soup and one day I will figure out all of the flavors that went into making that soup so delicious (minus the chicken, of course). ;)

Creamy Dreamy Avocados!

   I've been a bit obsessed with avocados recently - okay fine, I'm always obsessed with avocados! (It must be a California thing?)  Lately I find myself buying them in bulk and having one (or more) a day.  I usually put them in my salads and wraps, as is, but I also love to make guacamole and other dips with them as well.
   I came up with this recipe in a pinch when my sis-in-law was coming over.  I had cut up a bunch of veggies and realized that I had nothing to offer as a dip.  Not everyone enjoys dipping their veggies in mustard or salsa the way that I do!  Anyway, I've been making this dip a lot lately and I'm not even close to being sick of it yet!  
Read on for my super yummy (and easy!) recipe...

Creamy Dreamy Avocado Dip

Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients:

2 Organic zucchinis, chopped

1 - 2 avocados (depending on the size)

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 - 2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Tbs. raw tahini

3 Tbs. nutritional yeast

pinch cayenne pepper

salt to taste
1/4 cup of water (optional to thin it out, if needed)

Directions:

Cut the avocado in half, peel it and chop the flesh into pieces and put it into a blender.  Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.  This is not a thick dip which makes it perfect as a dressing in salads and wraps as well.

Perfect for dipping veggies and crackers!

So yum!

Sweet potato fries?  Yes, dip them!

So good in Romaine Wraps!

Enjoy!

Love,

Ves xx