the silk comeback

Oh, SILK soy milk, how I missed you – let me count the ways. 

1. Glass of silk before leaving for work
2. Silky soy latte from Starbucks to kick start my first day back on the unit
3. Soy misto with lunch (from Starbucks, too)

And that’s only noon!

Here’s my sammie, packed the night before. 

It’s smart deli “turkey” with the works.

This baby never disappoints!  I also had a Berries GoMega odwalla bar with my AM coffee and the dried fruit with my PM JUG of apple juice.  Yeah, I really really sugar loaded at work…ummm, hook me up with some insulin STAT?!?

So, you know how you go the whole day with this idea of what you want for dinner?  You think about it all day, you imagine nothing else, and wouldn’t even consider anything else…I had that kind of day.  From the break of dawn, I knew I wanted to load up on Whole Foods’ hot bar/salad bar for dinner.  I had no groceries in the apartment, so it really was a no-brainer.  I practically skipped through the sliding doors…and then skidded to a halt!!!  OMG!  The line was wrapped around the entire store and even backed up down the stairs to the lower level.  Grrr…so, with the biggest sigh and reluctant shoulder slump, I did a total 180.  My mind was literally unable to process what to do. 

Clearly, options at home were nonexistent.  So, I went to Barnes & Noble for a pick-me-up…stay TUNED for that…

I hopped on the subway heading home, and decided to hit up my local health food store to grab at least some basic supplies to get me through the next few days.  Wouldn’t you know it – I took those whole foods’ lemons and made some lemonade!!!

Check out my purchases :)

I can’t believe how stocked up the place was, and I was the only one in the store.  Um, fave shopping trip ever.  Back row (left to right) Amy’s tofu/vegan frozen dinners (that are so rarely in stock), veggie soufflé, 6 o’soy yogurts (finding these is like striking gold in my neighb), egg beaters, apples.  Front row (left to right) vegan sushi, BBQ seitan salad, spinach & texturized protein “turkey” salad, GN veggie burgers, chopped/peeled BN squash. 

And as for my (previously alluded to) BEST PURCHASE of the night…

I finished Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella in Mexico, so I needed a new book.  I’m really really excited to dive into this one :)

Now, let’s get to dinner.

GN veggie burger on an Ezekiel english muffin with Vegan mayo and honey mustard.

I learned something today about Ezekiel english muffins…eat immediately after thawing.  I popped the muffin in the microwave and kinda forgot about it for a few minutes after it beeped…only to discover it was as hard as a rock when I tried to add on the veggie burger and ‘fixins.  Whoops!  I still ate it, though :)

Plus some edamame.

I was still hungry, though – what to do, what to do?

What I really wanted was another Ezekiel english muffin…this time heated perfectly so it was warm and chewy. 

So clearly I had to make something to put on it…so…

I made me some hummus!  Ok, I’m not going to claim this is as good as Sabra, because let’s be real, NOTHING is ever going to come close to touching my obsession with Sabra’s classic hummus :)    But, it was some good hummus.  I blended together chick peas, tahini (sesame seed butter), EVOO, greek yogurt, white wine vinegar, S+P…no measurements, just added each ingred here and there until I got the right consistency.  Love it.  I think next time I’ll add in some roasted eggplant and see how that goes.  Seems like a complimentary flavor, right? 

I lathered each english muffin half with lots of hummus.  I like that it’s a little chunky still.  It reminds me that I made it, and tastes more authentic.

A bit of a sugar kick for dessert.

Now I’m off to curl up in bed with Twilight, don’t plan on hearing from me for a few days, haha!

Mex-Tex

Another travel filled day (Mexico to Texas to New York).  Sadly, I had to leave the warm, beautiful weather in Mexico (the fun had to end sometime).  Even though I’m definitely NOT looking forward to returning to the icy New York climate, I AM ready for the rest of what Manhattan offers (namely the food).  Sure, vacation was great, but 4 days was long enough.  I never thought I’d say this, but I’m so sick of chips and salsa…That’s the thing about Mexico, there’s not much variety when dining.  It’s weird how spoiled you can get living in a city like NYC with endless food options.  Being vegan is practically effortless in Manhattan, whereas in Mexico, vegan means chips (hopefully not made with any animal grease/contaminated oil), salsa, guacamole, rice and beans (provided these are all prepared with safe water and not contaminated with other animal products).  That’s not too many options for multiple days.  Needless to say, I already have my next few days of meals lined up! 

I’m also pretty excited to go back to work.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE vacation.  But I also love my job and I haven’t worked since the 2nd!!!  I guess that’s a good sign, right?  (I’ll probably get home after work tomorrow and write a completely contradictory blog, haha)

Anyways, today was completely uninteresting in terms of food.  I was unable to pack myself anything for the flight from Cabo to Dallas Fort Worth (customs food regulations and all…) which was so early anyways I didn’t really mind.  I totally scored and had an entire row of 3 seats to myself so I managed to curl up on the bench and sleep for most of the flight.  We arrived in Texas early, so I raced through customs and got to the terminal early enough to jump on the flight leaving before mine.  This was a blessing and a curse since I had NO time to get real food.  I had about 20 minutes and only a handful of options (Chili’s, magazine stand snacks, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Grove, and Starbucks) – for such a MASSIVE airport, I kinda got the crap corner food-wise!?  So, I think it’s pretty obvious where I chose.  Clearly I needed caffeine, so I got a tall SOY latte from the bucks, then an apple from Chili’s and $10 (!!!!) worth of dried fruit from the Grove.  

SO much dried fruit!!!!  Melons, pineapples, apples, prunes, papaya, mango, and apricots.

Not balanced in the least, but I was running just to make it before the gate closed, so I’m just lucky I got anything at all.  The soy milk latte held me over for a while at least…but I was definitely ready to chew my arm off upon arrival in NYC.  I’ve never been to the LaGuardia airport before, but I knew there was no public transportation to get me home, so I got into my second INSANELY overpriced cab for the day and home I went.

Here’s a mid-flight pic out the window, it was sunny over Texas, not so much once we got closer to New York.

BRRRR…

I had a headache I was so hungry when I got home.  I hate when hunger strikes and I’m not prepared.  So I literally started making food the second I walked in the door.  What was I craving?  Veggies!! Vegan protein!!! 

Frozen MorningStar “chik’n” strips

Broc slaw piled high

Scrambled egg beaters

Toss in some cherry tomatoes…and ta-da!!!  This plate was massive, but I was SOO hungry!!  I polished it off, no prob.  Still hungry, though, so I popped one of these babies in the microwave.

I really like Healthy Delites’ veggie soufflés, because they are only 120 kcals for the entire thing and the only ingreds are: broccoli, potatoes, egg whites, onions, soy milk, sugar, and salt. 

So simple, you know it can’t be bad.  Mixed veggies is my fave flavor, but this one (broccoli) is great. 

 

Bowl of carrots (raw)…

Followed by another bowl of carrots (cooked)

Oh, it feels so great to get in my veggies :)  Totally full and lovin’ it.