Forbidden fare

I saw this rice once on a another blog that I follow. It's called forbidden rice or "black rice". It's native to Asia and is considered an heirloom grain. It is packed full of nutritional value, about as much fiber as her brown rice cousin but she advances ahead because she carries 18, yes, 18 amino acids-the building blocks of a complete protein! Also iron, manganese, carotene and more! Cooks just like brown rice, with about the same texture and actually smells like black beans while it's cooking in the rice cooker but turns to an earthy deep purple once 'aldente' ;)

 

 

It's a wrap!

 Here is a snap-shot of my yummy lunch! Simply dubbed the "plant-wrap" filled with grilled portabella, hummus, pico de gallo, spinach, and sesame seeds all cozied up in a wheat tortilla!

 

Success! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sale away :)

So I came across these interesting vegan items on sale at my local natural food store. The lady assured me that they weren't on sale because they were going bad, but rather, that they were discontinuing them. So, I went for 'em! Some items I've never tried before, so I was sort of excited. Of course I went for the sweet stuff first, you know me! lol. I already had some non-gmo/organic tofu at home so I was ready for the pudding and it was so good! I could not believe it! It says to only add about 2-3 tbsp. of water but I think I must have used about half a cup of almond milk and it came out perfect! I hope I can find this stuff again because it was amazing. I added the pudding pic below! :) the veggie krunch was o-kay. I think it was a little stale but who knows. Not sure if I really liked it. I munched on it by itself to try first then thought it would go great in my salad. But it didn't have much of a "wow" factor for me. Maybe it was just the flavor? Have not tried the tofu scramble yet but may try it in the morning tomorrow, so stay tuned!! Xo 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the dark image but it was delish!!! ***VEGAN VANILLA PUDDING*** 

Lunch!

Love me some Oasis Café!! They have the best food! This was my veggie burrito. I think it had elephantitus! lol stuffed to the brim with black beans, avocado, brown rice, lettuce, tomato salsa and vegan cream, oooh yeah!!! I even took my "meat-eater" friend here the other day and she loved it!!! Of course she did! They also have the best vegan tiramisu!!

 

 

Dessert first!

I found this to be a great pre-run treat! Nothing wrong with a little dessert first if you ask me! Just a banana, chopped dates, cashew cream and granola. Full of potassium from the banana and protein from the cashew cream including those fiber-rich dates! Plus added goodness from the granola-iron, fiber and more protein! It's the perfect pick-me-up fuel before a Run. Mmm!

 

Thai dine :)

Once again, too hot to heat the house up for dinner.  So instant thai Rice noodle soup to my rescue! Not as bad as a pack of top ramen so this is a decent alternative. The sodium is still high but not as bad so don't eat these too often :) And of course I had to dress it up a little more by adding some fresh kale, tofu, red pepper flakes, scallions and just a light drizzle of some basil oil...so good!

 

Aloha!

Say hello to my super-yummy, crunchy-sexy-cool veggie sandwich on rye... courtesy of Aloha Grill! Not a vegan restaurant (by any stretch of the word) but they do offer this fresh alternative :) this place is known for their fish tacos and mahi mahi dishes... but, that's all in the past now, for me, at least! lol Oh, and raspberry sorbet for dessert! 

 

Mi Tortilla!

Lunch is served and it was so nice to eat at home today thanks to my four day weekend! Avocado will be on the menu pretty much every day for the next couple days because I bought too many big ones by mistake. I know it sounds crazy but it's a long story! Lol But on the upside, I've got all these ripe avocados I get to eat which is always a good thing! So today was perfect for an avocado wrap. A chia seed tortilla, filed with my Santa fe mix (organic fresh roasted corn, organic black beans & onions), vegan cheese, a little bit of Trader Joe's sweet pepper jelly, a dollop of tofu cream and garnished with cilantro! I'm full! And now I'm off to Dockweiler beach to celebrate the birth of our great nation aka my favorite holiday! Happy birthday, America! ♡

 

Tonight

Tonight's dinner was brought to you by.... nothing but the best! Just a baked potato, topped with fresh roasted corn from the cob, black beans, onions, and half an avocado! and I even sexied it up a bit more with some of Trader Joe's sweet pepper jelly. ..NOMS!! Then just a small side of sauteed kale and I'm all (vegan) gouda! :)

Beets by me

I've been in such a beet mood that I just couldn't resist turning the oven on...even in this heat! Luckily it wasn't real bad. But the results were nothing short of amazing! Beets are so magical and delicious...I Just feel so bad for people who don't like them! They've really got a bad rap but they are what I call nature's ruby's. Rich and hearty and rustic and sweet. If you treat them right, they'll return the favor---ten-fold. Just give 'em a good wash, wrap in foil and bake for about 45 minutes at around 400 degrees (give or take) and bam! You can season them in the foil or not. It's up to you. Just make them how you like them- so you'll eat them! :)

 

Happy hemp day!

It's Wednesday! And we all know what the middle of the week means! Hemp day! No, I'm not talking about blunts and joints lol..... I'm speaking more on the lines of hemp hearts.... turned into hemp milk! The only thing smoking in my kitchen was the blender lol! Hemp hearts have a very distinctive flavor as well as....*cough* aroma ;) so it can be a little tricky getting the taste right.  But it was a cinch. Half a cup of hemp hearts with two cups filtered water....some vanilla, and a sweetener. You could use brown rice syrup or maple syrup or agave and dates. Whatev! Just make it yummy! It will be a great addition to my smoothies and oatmeal or, straight from the jug! Hey, don't jug me, lol :)

 

Happy Friday!

It's my Friday! and it's also my lunch hour that's why there's no alcohol in my photo! LOL
Anyway, I guess I enjoyed my "lunch" at Starbucks (if you wanna call it that!). I liked my green tea frapp* and plain, PLAIN bagel (which I had to drizzle with a little agave to give it a little life). They were out of multi grain bagels and all they had was butter or sour cream. NO jam, NO jelly or anything! C'mon Starbucks, C'mon!!!!! Plus, No whip makes for a boring looking drink but that's not a "vegan" thing, its a Starbucks is lame thing! But it was actually really good so it's nice to know that if you're itching for their drinks, you can get something. So, only $5.00 later and that completes my overrated trip to Starbucks!

Oh yeah....here is a list of things I have missed since going vegan aka eating a PLANT BASED DIET;


1. Nothing
2. Can't remember
3. Don't care either way
4. It was bad for me, anyhow
5. That wasn't food, that was filth!
6. It gave me gas
7. uuhhhhh.....
................................................................get the picture? LOL! I haven't really missed anything because I've been sooooo freaken satisfied with what I'm eating lately that I can't even remember what I used to eat! and it's also because I'm not deprived in anyway. To the contrary, if I were to compile a list of things I've enjoyed since cutting out meat and dairy, that'd be a whole nother post! I'll post it later, heehee :)


*Starbucks' green tea frapp's are vegan only if you specify all soy, no whip.

Date me, please!

This was my breakfast as I was driving into work today! No, I did not have two of them (although, don't put it past me! lol)! I just like the look of two yummy smoothies in one photo! Just my standard, go-to mix (frozen strawberries, frozen pineapple, vanilla almond milk, flax meal) but this time I switched it up and used pitted dates! VERY PLEASED!!!!! I found that I was getting a little too liberal with the sweeteners; agave, maple syrup, brown rice syrup. All of which I always keep on hand but it's too much for every day use. Not to mention the cup of coffee and/or tea I usually have, too! Ugh! I just can't have it all...waaaaahhh!!!!

So, dates to the rescue! They're naturally very sweet and full of fiber and not processed, of course. I just soaked a handful of pitted dates (about half a cup or so) in filtered water for a couple of hours or the night before. I noticed that after just a couple of hours in the water, they were getting soggy rather quickly, so overnight is not always needed. Then I drained them and put them in a container in the fridge until morning. The soaking helps to soften the dates and makes it easier on your blender. Nice n chewy on their own, yes, but just not too blender-blade friendly, either. They worked beautifully. They add a nice "meatiness" to the smoothie, nice n thick, not too runny....just right. And puurrfectly sweetened. A container of pitted dates at Sprouts costs about $3.44 compared to, say, Grade B Maple Syrup at $6.99, and that's for their smallest jar!!!!

UPDATE** I now keep dates in my fridge, in water, ready for my use. They last beautifully and stay super sweet and begin to create their own syrup in the water over time so don't throw that water out! :)

Goddess plate :)

Here's a snapshot of my dinner last night---aka, my "Goddess Plate"! Well, doesn't it look a little ridiculous? LOL, it looks like something out of the garden of Eden! Usually when I go to a restaurant and order a big salad, my friends always make fun of my plate by calling it "bush gardens" lololol. Jerks! But laugh all you want, this baby is for serious folks only! It really looks like a lot but it's really not. Just half a plate of salad (romaine, cilantro, red bell pepper, black beans, corn salsa, chives, cucumber, carrots, red onion and a little vegan cheese) drizzled with my house-made vinaigrette (balsamic, spicy brown mustard, EVOO*, & agave) accompanied by two small baked potatoes topped with half of a small avocado. I drizzled a little balsamic vin on that, too! A little salt n pepper to taste and that's all she wrote! It was very satisfying but it wasn't too filling as I was still able to go for my run right after! Its just a simple salad with a potato! Virtually no fat, unless you count the fat from the avocado and dressing (but it's good fat!). But that's all.  No butter, no sour cream, no bacon bits. None of that junk. Really, all you have to do is just throw together whatever you have in the fridge. Ever heard of "dump cake"? Well, it's the same concept. Just dump in it whatever you got on hand! But try to refrain from calling it dump salad cus then no one's gonna want to try it! hehe ;)


*EVOO= extra virgin olive oil
 

Happy Oasis

Burger King who?!?! Whomever says that a non-dairy, meat-less, plant-based diet is nutritionally insufficient is outta their ever-lovin', meat-headed mind!!! This vegan "burger" on sprouted whole grain bun, with avocado, tofu cream, and veggies is packed full of goodness (good fat, protein, grains, calcium, iron, to name a few!). Know what it's not packed full of? Cholesterol laden, saturated fat filled, hormone infested animal flesh! Not to mention the big kicker, cruelty-free! This sandwich was so big I couldn't get my mouth open wide enough to take the first bite, but of course, that didn't last long lol! ;) It was pretty big but surprisingly I feel like I haven't eaten a thing and it's been nearly an hour already. How is that possible? I feel like I could go for a run! and I actually will later! Ever heard anyone say that after eating a quarter-pounder with cheese from Carl's Jr? Allow me to answer that for you....no you haven't! On top of this delicious burger, I washed it down with an icy cold tall can of coconut water and vegan salt n pepper bean chips....soo good!! Next adventure...dinner! XoXo Basil Breath

Frooty-licious :)

Another great way to keep cool during this horrid heat wave is to fill up on organic apricots and plums! Why? Because they're in season! And when things are in season, they kinda tend to be more at their nutritionally-beneficially-potentially best----jam packed with all their vitamins, enzymes, minerals and the like!-- unlike out-of-season, non-organic produce. An they taste even better! Not to mention juicy strawberries and blackberries! If you're someone like me who doesn't go through fruit that fast but loves to keep it on hand, just freeze everything and throw them in your breakfast smoothies, or while they're frozen drop them in your tea, lemonade, wine or water! They add great flavor plus frozen fruit won't water your drinks down like ice does while keeping it nice and cool! So stock up! I sure did! :)

Hot hot hot!

Today was such a hot day. ..almost impossible to cool down no matter what you do! Iced tea, a breezy stroll to the lake, a cold shower, nope! Still want to die from this heat! At my absolute lowest point, I even considered turning the oven on to make dinner! lol! Good thing I came to my senses and settled for a yummy alternative that didn't involve turning my house into a hot box! So....Kale and lentils to the rescue! Sauteed with garlic and purple onion over a bed of hearty lentils. Simple yet delicious! Although there's no meat on my plate, it was still packed full of protein, nearly 18 grams from the lentils and lots of calcium and iron from the kale. And let's not forget the fresh garlic which does wonders for your blood pressure! A great meal that's not too hot on a day like this :)