What I Ate Wednesday #63

 

So quickly another week has passed.  I’ve been enjoying so many great gluten free vegan meals.  I even found a way to enjoy gluten free pizza while watching Mya and Andy devour the homemade cast iron cooked pizza.  The weather is finally changing around here and I am really excited for summer to come. You can remind me of that in two months when I am complaining about the heat.

 

Breakfast:

In order to not bore you with another shake or tofu egg, I thought I would change it up a little with some oatmeal.  Not my favorite breakfast, I am more of a spicy veggie and tofu girl in the morning, but once in awhile oatmeal will make it’s way into my rotation. I love oats, but more for a cold winters day afternoon snack than for breakfast.  I was quite surprised how full it kept me until lunch.  Usually I am hungry an hour after oats. I think it might have been the protein powder that helped with that.

This breakfast bowl consisted of 1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant), 1 scoop vanilla protein, 1 tbsp. raisins, cinnamon, 1 tbsp. hemp seeds, 1 tbsp. raw walnuts, 1 tbsp. dehydrated unsweetened coconut, and always topped with a splash of coconut milk! Tastes like an oatmeal raisin cookie!

Lunch:

I made a batch of veggie soup on Sunday that was chock full of veggies and beans.  I consider it like a detox soup. Lots of carrots, leeks, peas, corn, sweet potatoes, cabbage, and tomatoes.  Herbs and spices made this soup both healthy and delicious.  I thought it would be a great side to my tofu salad for lunch.

The tofu salad lent some extra protein to lunch, and I used a savory flavored baked tofu to make it fast and simple.

Baked Tofu Salad: 1 package baked tofu, I used savory flavor, 1 minced carrot, 1 minced small onion, 2 stalks celery minced, and 4 tablespoons reduced fat Vegenaise (vegan mayo).  Mix all ingredients together and serve on tortillas, bread, or crackers.  

Dinner:

Dinner was another bowl of soup, with a side of roasted cauliflower. I tossed the cauliflower with some olive oil and seasoned it with salt, pepper, nutritional yeast and Mrs. Dash Garlic seasoning.  I roasted the cauliflower at 450 for 15 minutes, turning it a few times. It came out tasting like popcorn cauliflower.  We ate the whole head!

Raw:

Seasoned:

Roasted:

Dinner was early and light, so we had a berry shake to finish the night.  Extra protein and fiber made the day’s meals complete. 

Bonus…

What I Ate Saturday: Smile, Sparkle, Shine!

Saturday Night was Mya’s annual school variety show. It is a variety of hip hop dance performed by students in every grade who volunteer to be in the show. After five months of practice, show night was finally here, the show name was Smile, Sparkle, Shine! Before the show, it was pizza night.

I brought home some pizza dough from the bakery for Mya and Andy and I had a brown rice tortilla ready for my crust.  I cooked up some veggies for toppings and used Teese mozzarella for our cheese. 

My brown rice tortilla was the perfect choice for a super thin crispy crust.  

I baked the real pizza dough in a cast iron pan that created the perfect crust.  This is by far Mya and Andy’s favorite way to have pizza.

 

Almost show time…

 

Mya did a great job and had so much fun with her friends.  She is so disappointed that it is over until next year. That about wraps up this WIAW.  I will be sending out my next post tomorrow, my blog got nominated for a Liebster Award!  I’m honored and excited to share the details with you in my next post.  Until then…

Have a great Wednesday!

What I Ate Wednesday #62

 

Will spring ever arrive?  That is the question I keep asking myself as I desperately wish for my fresh garden vegetables.  I live in the North East and by now it is usually so nice every day all you want to do is be outside.  Not this year, even my morning heat keeps kicking on.  I have happily decided to declare spring myself, before summer comes in a month.  So bring on the berries and asparagus, I can’t wait any longer.

Updates:

It has been about 5 full weeks that I have been both gluten free and calorie and nutrient tracking and I can say although slow at first, I can finally see and feel the results.  I am four pounds down, three more to go and all of my exercise is paying off as well. I feel tighter and much better in jeans.  Feeling good keeps me motivated and makes me want to keep striving for that goal. 

The other update is that I am really making progress on my book.  I am spending hours a day organizing my thoughts and researching the best way to publish. My brain has been spinning with all the ideas and writing. I tease Andy that I need a desk in the shower, it seems my best ideas come to me in there, must be that there is no distractions! I will keep you all posted and get a sample chapter posted once I am further along.

Onto the meals…

Once again, I am boring, I either have been eating one slice gluten free bread slathered with fresh ripe creamy avocado then topped with some tofu egg, or a super nutrient shake. Today I had both. A mini shake and my tofu egg on toast. I am getting used to the flavor and texture of the Raw Meal, now I am really liking it and it is a nutritional powerhouse. Even the gluten free brown rice bread has grown on me.  I have not craved any breads.

Shake today was 1/2 scoop vanilla Raw Meal, 1/2 banana, ice,  1/4 cup unsweetened soy yogurt and cinnamon. This was thick, frothy and creamy.

The brown rice toast is so small, a little bigger than half a slice of regular bread, but really dense. I keep it in the freezer and then toast it twice to get the right color for me.  It is not really nutritious but it is filling with my tofu egg, so I limit it to a few times a week. Smothered in avocado and topped with tofu egg and a few shavings of Daiya cheddar, it is super egg like!

I only used about an ounce of tofu on this because I planned on having some tofu with lunch, I try not to eat more than four ounces a day.

I served Mya and Andy’s on wheat bread. Mya’s was shaped like a flower to encourage spring to come!

Lunch:

I have been craving  quiche lately. Since I had some leftover grilled veggies, I thought I should make a crust-less quiche and salad for lunch.  Before I share the recipe, which, yes, for once I recorded while I made it, I have to say it was so delicious.  I really should make this once a week and cut up slices for a ready made lunch.  With quiche, the filling possibilities are endless.  Gluten free, vegan, protein packed, with lots of veggies, perfect beside a salad.

Crust-less Vegan Quiche with Grilled Vegetable

• One 19oz pack soft tofu
• 4 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp. arrow root
• 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. Himalayan BLACK Salt
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 3 tbsp. chickpea flour
• 2 tbsp. non dairy milk
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. tamari
• 1 tbsp. white miso paste
• 2 ounces Daiya block cheese shredded (I used jalapeno)
• 2 cups cooked veggies of your choice
• 12 cooked asparagus spears for top

Preheat oven to 375. Spray one deep dish pie pan with non stick cooking spray.

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except vegetables and cheese. Blend until smooth, scrape down sides as needed. Transfer to a bowl. Fold in chopped grilled veggies. Mine were one cup left over peppers, onions, zucchini, and 1 cup Tuscan kale cooked slightly with coconut oil. Stir in shredded cheese. Transfer to deep dish pie plate. Smooth mixture on top then garnish with asparagus spears. Bake at 375 for forty minutes until top is golden and beginning to pull away from sides. Allow to cool 20-30 minutes before serving. This keeps it warm, but allows it to set so it can be sliced. The black salt gives this an amazing egg flavor. I was so happy with this dish, I wished I made two!

 

Sliced in 8 pieces, this quiche is on 160 calories and boasts 10 grams of protein!

Paired with a colorful salad and a cup of coffee for a 350 calorie nutrient packed lunch.  I look forward to the leftovers.

Dinner:

I had one slice of quiche with a few pieces of grilled eggplant. I topped the eggplant with bruschetta and a few shavings of Teese mozzarella.  I had a light dinner because, I wanted a shake later to finish off the day.

Mya and Andy had leftover meatless meatballs on Italian Kaisers with reduced guilt chips on the side. 

I wanted to share one more meal.  All week I looked forward to Saturday night, when, my best friend since second grade, Kate, who is really more like my sister, came over with her family.  Our girls are both almost the same age and play just as we did as kids.  It makes me so happy! Her husband Mike is a chef and generously made us a huge batch of his infamous grilled vegetables. He brought a platter piled high with grilled eggplant, zucchini, onions, bells peppers, asparagus and garlic.  That is why I had such great veggies to add to my quiche.

Saturday promised to be super busy. It stared with two Lacrosse games in the freezing cold with chilling wind that did not stop.  Mya did not mind as much. I was so cold, I spent most of the second game in the car.

The girls got to play at a local college on the turf field and then were invited back two hours later to escort the college players onto the field then attend the game.  Mya was thrilled.  Andy took her back for that while I prepared for our dinner guests. 

Saturday Night’s Menu

Appetizer of Bruschetta with bread from the bakery

Quinoa Bean Chips and Salsa

A large salad

Brown Rice Pasta with Meatless Meatballs.

I forgot to take a pic—this was from last time!

Michael’s Grilled Veggies

Dessert: Amy’s Gluten Free Vegan Cake dressed up with Amaretto Glaze

The rest of the meal was lots of Moscato Wine garnished with plenty of lemons and limes!

Well, that concludes all the meals and this super long post.  Thanks for checking in. I hope you had some great meals as well. 

Have a great Wednesday! I know I am going to enjoy the predicted sunny 72 degree day!

XOXO,