This morning there was not enough coffee in the world. Sometimes late nights do that…
Imagine this mug times 100. Ok, 3.
For breakfast, I practiced my vampire bite with various pieces of fruit. Clearly I’m going through True Blood withdrawal…
I also had some Smart Balance-i-fied toast. Had to finish up the Alvarado Street loaf to make way for my new Nature’s Pride loaves.
(Fangs marks not included)
As usual, on my day off I worked on re-stocking the kitchen/fridge for my work days. This included making: quinoa, chickpeas, black beans, steamed veggies in bulk (broccoli, cauliflower, etc.), and chopping veggies for easy salad construction.
As a result, by the time lunch rolled around, my creative juices were dried up and my inner chef just wanted a break. Sometimes laziness can result in greatness…
WF vegan “chicken” salad + a fistful of spinach = YUM
The best part about this was the extra creamy mayonnaise-y sauce in the chicken salad coated the lettuce so I didn’t need any dressing. Full flavor maximized while each bite was saturated with yummy flavor flaaaaave!!
Lunch dessert? Obvi.
I had been wanting to eat cantaloupe with something in the middle for SO long (I just think it looks fun and pretty), and at long last I finally remembered! It was everything I hoped it would be and more – haha. I’m such a dork. I washed it all down with a massive mug of Tazo chai tea (and the latest Rachel Zoe Project episode).
After triple checking that the oven, stove and errrthang else was turned off, I hit the road for the gym. It was a bit later than I usually go, and to be honest, my energy level was dragging a bit. I pushed through 6 miles thanks to The Who’s best album ever, and then called it a day. Sure, I stretched and did some ab work too, but it was pretty weak, so I don’t think it counts.
I showered and munched on 365 stoned wheat crackers while pondering what to make for dinner.
Pasta and broccoli with (vegan) Alfredo sauce. Obviously, REAL Alfredo sauce has dairy, so I made a few changes to my white UN-cheese sauce and drizzled it all up in this motha!
Ok, the main change was I used more plain soymilk, WAY more nutritional yeast, and a bit less tofu. We’ll call it AlfreDON’T.
For dessert, I made fake ice cream using frozen fruit (strawbeezies and nanners), ice, more ice, soymilk, and half a scoop of Jay Robb protein powder. Don’t mind that freezer burn, just means you use less ice 😉
I tossed it all into the magic bullet and blend blend blend…voila!!
Are you drooling yet? I had twice the amount shown, which left me feeling delightfully full, so I packed my lunch and got ready for work tomorrow.
FYI, this month’s Fitness mag has a sh!t ton of great soup recipes in it (all are easily veganized), so check it out. What are some of your fave cooking or exercise magazines?
I try not to spend my $$ on too many magazines, but I do get a few (one was a NYRR race registration subscription gift and the others were holiday gifts).
Hahaha–I love that you spend all morning cooking/prepping delicious, wonderful, healthy food for quick and easy meals, and then eat Whole Foods prepared salad for lunch 🙂 Perfect! I have never tried their chicken salad…is the “chicken” seitan? Or tofu? Can you tell?
I am loving the cantaloupe bowl! That would make me very happy indeedy. And freezer burn on fruit? No prob! It is all going to get mixed and blended together anyway, right?! At least that is what I tell myself as I attempt to cleaver off huge chunks of ice clinging to my mixed berries all clumped together…
Courtney
Spending a day cooking sounds great to me! So long as I don’t have to share the kitchen with another cook, that is; that gets very annoying very fast!
Love the vamp nails, BTW. 🙂
I get way too many magazines. My mom gets even more than I do. This means I am always frantically trying to plow through a pile of them… which ones they are sort of gets lost in the shuffle!
<3 <3
Love Love Tazo organic Chai- It is my fav Tazo flavor! And also so happy to know you are a Rachel Zoe fan, I had a study group session with some friends monday night but told them i could only work till 10 cuz I had “somewhere to be”! Rachel Zoe Project is the best guilty pleasure!
Your spinach chicken salad looks amazing! I love when pre-made (or homemade) deli salads serve as dressing in ensaladas!
I just had an unlimited refill coffee morning so I FEEL you. Thinking of switching to ze Chai tea soon… Have a great day!
Sarah
Look at how thick and delicious that smoothie creation is! If I wasn’t freezing my hiney off, I’d dig into a big bowl of that!
Rachel Zoe Project = LOVES. However, Taylor is a bit annoying, yes? I just want to fix her hair and tell her to quit her bitchin’.
My Vegetarian Times subscription was a gift but I like it. I also like the new Cooking Light. Have a WONDERFUL Wednesday 🙂
That’s great that you do so much prep work in advance! Smart idea.
O M G! I did the exact same thing last night when i whipped out my magic bullet for thefirst time. I made a really thick Un-cheese and topped some pasta/veggies with it. The only thing was tha i reduced it in a saucepan with a bit of veggie stock. Didnt mind it since i forgot to salt the pasta water and it was a little bland.. but I wanted to say a BIGGG thank you to you cause i not only made un-cheese, but also made some tofummus (chipotle pepper version!) and some chocolate hummus (do not knock it till you try it.)
mmm i love tazo chai tea. and that vegan chicken salad looks incredible, i dont think our WF carries that. your faux ice cream looks decadent! my fave exercise mag is oxygen. happy wednesday!
I dig the green nail polish. ROCK ON girlfriend!
Fitness mags? What are those? I read 20 bazallion blogs everyday, and growing, and sadly, my mag reading has taken a back burner. But am tryin’ to get around to em. I have never read it but everyone says Clean Eating is really good. I dunno. I like Yoga Journal but I know you’re not into yoga as much. I also like Oxygen a few times a year but those really beefcakey weightlifter girls and me have diff fitness goals. They drink like a dozen egg whites before breakfast and I dont. But I still do like lookin at their buff bods. 🙂
That faux ice cream looks freaking fantastic! I love Shape & self magazine and there is this funky italian cooking magazine that I looove! It has so many good recipes but a ton of them have proscuitto (ham) in them, bleh!
AlfreDON’T! Haha! I love it E! Anywho, my mama got me a subscription to Real Simple last year and after realizing that I don’t make even close to a quarter of the recipes I oogle at and sticky note, I told her to not renew…sigh
if you like spending the day in the kitch so much I’m sure you would loveeeeeeeeee heading over to CT and spending the entire day in my kitchen cooking for me, right? no? what if I pay you in tea bags? now we’re talking.
Your broccoli and pasta recipe look AMAZING! The ice cream sounds so good too!
I try not to buy cooking magazines, since I can look up recipes online. Sometimes I can’t help it though…I love bon appetit!
Um you’re a cooking genius today. I want that ice cream and yet it’s so cold out. I also want that uncheese sauce. And yet I have none of the ingreeds.
in other words… I DIE I DIE. (rz anyone?)
Straw-nana concoctions=love.
Sweet! I have the Fitness mag waiting for me at home. Can’t wait to check it out.
I am friggin obsessed with Clean Eating magazine, but I am also a long-time SELF reader.
I hear you with that True Blood withdrawal. Sigh. Eric, Jason, I miss you!
Your food always look SO delicious. That vegan chicken salad – YUM! And that quick fruit ice cream looks like just what I want to snack on right now.
Yay vegan chicken salad! 3 more days and I get my power-fu… I realised last night that beyond eating tofu ‘chicken’ salad and the blogger dinner, I really haven’t thought about my trip much at all. I get lost in food fantasies! Ha!
Fitness magazine always has great recipes! I’m not a soup person, but their recipes never fail to impress. I also like Shape, Clean Eating, Veg News, and Woman’s Health. None of which are sold here… Boo hoo.
i think its seitan. its definitely not tofu. its good whatever it is. ill check out the ingreds next time…
i hate the piles all my mags create, but im such a packrat i hate throwing them out! such a dilemma!
hahaha, thats SO something i would have said. glad we have our priorities!!
hoorayyyyyy yay yay yay. glad you enjoyed it all!!
wow ive never heard of oxygen, but now im gonna look into it.
thanks to the above (and your) comment, i just looked up oxygen…beefcakes indeed!! whoaaaaa
hmmm…i may have to look into that one
im IN!
yes! my mom got that one soi always swooped em when i went home!
this is the prob with cold weather…such a conflict for my body. cold food vs. shivering indoors…hmmm
eric is hotty mchotstuff, id let him suck my blood every day o the week
i think you need to stock up while you are here!!!
Um, YUM… vegan chik’n salad in bulk? Yes please!
Thanks for the Fitness mag tips. I’m a proud new owner of a food processor, so I’ll be getting on that soup train ASAP!