My appetite was a monster the other day. Not a little monster either, a BIG a$$ monster.
I didn’t have work, so I let myself sleep in a bit, but once my alarm went off at 8, my stomach was growling like an overly-protective Rottweiler. That’s not typical for me. My stomach usually needs a few minutes (or an hour) to warm up to the idea of calories. If you know me, you know I’m not a morning person, but my stomach is even less so. Ordinarily I ease it in with coffee…today, though, I needed coffee 0.172 seconds after rolling out of bed. I got a pot a brewing and then did my AM routine (wash, brush, scrub, moisturize, yadda yadda).
I’ve been using agave nectar in my coffee lately instead of stevia because I bought (the above) brand last time at WFs and IT. IS. NAST. Seriously. DisGUSTing. Sweet Leaf? I don’t think so. The one time I used it, it tasted extremely bitter, didn’t mix with my coffee, and as a result, I was left with black coffee – ruined by floating chunks of bitter white powder. Ew. So much for saving $2. I should never have strayed from my wonderful NuNaturals. I just wish it weren’t so pricey…
Anyways, for breakfast I knew I needed something with staying power.
Justin’s cinnamon P.B. on an english muffin.
Yeah, that didn’t last long…I immediately felt empty and required more food. Odd. Sooooo get ready for loads of kcals, because the photos are coming ‘atcha.
Hippo-Pita-mmus (aka pita with hummus).
Whole Foods sells their own brand of sandwich thins and they are really good! I have gone through a few bags of the multi-grain kind, mostly with peanut butter and agave syrup, but this time around I went with an open faced sammie with avocado, roasted red pepper hummus, and two different kinds of veggie burgers. Dr. Praeger’s on the left and Boca vegan burger on the right.
These Dr. Praeger’s are from a century ago…can you tell I’m not a fan?? Yeah, they’ve been hanging around taking up room in the freezer for FAR too long. I didn’t really want to eat them, but in the interest of cleaning out the freezer and making room for food I actually like, I decided to just go for it.
I will say, the fact that there were visible peas and carrots in the burger was kinda cool. I like seeing veggies in a veggie burger. Mock meat isn’t my thang.
Greens + balls
Some of my fave things 😉
The more colors in my salads, the happier my tummy is. It’s science.
Apple. Smoothie – about to meet it’s maker.
Sometimes I feel like I could live off of fruit smoothies.
I made a super huge pot of chili (TVP and every bean under the sun), then tupperwared up the rest for later.
I had a bowl for sampling purposes of course, covered in rice milk mozzarella.
This cheese is so-so. If you recall I tried this same brand earlier (in the block form). Well, it’s not amazing, but it’s way better shredded.
At least it’s gluten free, preservative free, soy free, and (clearly) lactose free.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, kids, but the chocolate flavor Oikos isn’t half the man the caramel flavor is. I shed a tear, and then finished it off.
PB&DP…and in case you aren’t down with the TLAs (three letter abbrevs) I’ll break it down for ya. That’s Peanut Butter and Dried Pears, duh! Isn’t it totally obnoxious when people use abbreviations for things and then write them out after anyways…yeah, I hate that! 🙂
Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to make oatmeal raisin cookie dough without putting any effort into it? Just me? Fine. But just in case you were, I’d say put rolled oats (not instant, not steel cut, big fatty whole oats), water, and coconut milk in a tupperware and let it soak for a while. I also added raisins, cinnamon and agave nectar. The oats soaked up the liquid, then I added in peanut butter, stirred some’mo and let it chill in the fridge. Basically it was like a massive tupp ’o oats. I ate it with a spoon (yes, uncooked) and it was thick and delish. I felt like a stoned college student, stuffing my face with cookie dough (except that I wasn’t worried that I’d get salmonella poisoning from raw eggs because it was vegan).
As far as my February plan (AAAA) is going, I made it to a spin class (success!), but tomorrow is a 4M run and I’m not going. It’s wasted money, which I’m annoyed about, but it’s freezing, and I haven’t been feeling very well. So whatever. I’m not going to dwell on it. It is what it is. Small steps are better than no steps, right?
I also worked a few days after this post, but I’m too lazy to catch up. Just picture salads, bars, hummus, and apples and you’ve pretty much got it.
I Love Justin’s Peanut Butter…We always take it backpacking every trip. I also love their Maple Almond Butter too! Your chili looks yummy. I have never cooked with TVP before.
I haven’t been brave enough to try the dairy free cheeze yet, but when I do I’ll try the grated stuff instead of the weird blocks. The ingredients lists always put me off.
Congrats on your spinning class! I went for a run yesterday for the first time in ages and only lasted 5 mins!!! My chest was hurting big time because it was so cold and windy. Depressing. 5 mins run is pointless. Ah well. x
Weird. SweetLeaf Sweetener works great for me! I love it smoothies and I’ve used it in hot chocolate and even in baking chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, cranberry orange muffins ,and peanut butter banana chocolate chip muffins! I don’t detect any bitterness at all! To each his/her own, I guess!
I tried that brand “dairy- free” chesse however it still contains casein which is a milk product soi figured what’s the point. Figured that I may as well try something that contains no milk whatsoever or just stick with th real thing…The texture of the mozzerella shreds was good though and it melted well.
That looks pretty much like a day-long Yum Fest.
I have not been able to learn to love any of the alternative sweeteners. I’ve given up the artificial sweeteners, but find stevia overpowering. I’m sticking with plain old sugar and honey and maple syrup for now. Just not too much.
SASL but ILYA and rants about them. For those who are abbreviation challenged: Sorry about Sweet Leaf but I love your abbreviations.
Stoned college student? More like stroke of genius. I love it! Anything that is cookie dough-ish, I’m in.
Yummy eats all over the place today 🙂 You do have my craving some chili though! It would be the perfect thing to warm up my belly today.
gaga reference. love it.
that cookie dough sounds weird but i really wanna try it!!! and ur eats are always so delish…i just had a huge bowl of cereal and now after reading i wanna eat sommemoreee hehe
holy shiz, making that cookie dough tonight. ridic!
and the cold is putin a damper on my runs, too, so dont feel bad. the thought of running in the cold is just so unmotivating its not even funny. any trip to the gym is a success in the winter imo. doesnt help i’m in 1.5 ft of snow right now either…
Mmm, peanut butter and dried pear seems like a delicious combination.Sorry about the stevia, have you tried Truvia brand? I think it tastes pretty good and it’s quite cheap, which is always a plus!
I’ve tried Sweet Leaf too, and had the same experience…gross! Dr. Praeger’s california burgers are definitely my fave, though!
I totally agree with you on the Sweetleaf, anddd the Chocolate Oikos! What a disappointment!!! I’m not really a caramel person, so I went with the chocolate flavor, and it was so….lumpy? I was expecting more of a chocolate-y cheesecake-y experience and it did not deliver…anyway, the rest of your food loooks ahhhmazing!!
That oatmeal cookie idea is genius. I think a batch of that would last about 5 seconds in my fridge…
I made the mistake of buying sweetleaf too, and I’m still working through my box. I find it works best if you only want to add a mild sweetness and therefore only use half the pack. Also, it tastes better in yogurt/oats/pancakes than in liquids!
Don’t worry about the run tomorrow – take care of yourself girl!
Not a fan of Praeger either… I’m wondering what kind of doctor he actually is? I’m pretty sure Amy has him beat and doesn’t need a PHD… Vegan oatmeal cookie dough? Write a cookbook. NOW.
I completely agree with you about the veggie products. I’d rather if they made them more veggie-like and less imitation meat. If I wanted my food to look like meat and have the texture of meat, I’d eat meat. 😉
we have the same bowl. the clear glass one…haha
hahahaha hippo pita mus is a classic line. i’m going to be laughing at that for a while now
That stevia is nasty. Gross with a capitol “G”. My co-op (and all the local co-ops) have it out at their tea/coffee bars, and I made the mistake of ruining a waaaaaaaay too expensive cup of coffee with it–I was not pleased. Ewww! I think that junk gives stevia a bad name 🙁
Good call on the run…4 am?!? To run? I don’t think so. Take care of yourself!
Courtney
Oh, and PS–dried pears are my FAVES!!!
Not a huge Dr Praeger fan either, I have some random sweet potato pancakes of his in my freezer that have been there for ages. The burgers always seemed to fall apart on me too. I love tupperwaring chili too…the perfect meal for I’m-home-from-the-hospital-late-and-just-want-to-stuff-my-face-fast days!
I love that you have a cute name for everything! And, I am a BFAYMSO (big fan of abbreviation you need to spell out… Duh!).
Dr. Praeger’s veggie burgers are SO not real veggie burgers. They’re mushy and should be alled potato patties. Because that is what they are…
I’m the same way–the more color I get on my plate, the more satisfied I am:)
Looks like lots of good eats. I love peanut butter and agave nectar. It is sooo good. I’m not a fan of the Dr. P’s either.
WHERE did you find that cinnamon PB squeeze pack?? I’ve been looking everywhere for it, but I can only find the regular and sometimes the honey. (Or is that almond butter? I confuse myself.)
<3 <3
Totally agree on stevia other than nu nat being nasty. There are liquid flavored stevias that are “ok” that i have used by Nu Nat is the best; both powered and liquid. Totally hear ya girl!
oh man such a bummer about the oikos! i LOVE the caramel tho. love all yo eats!
“hippo-pita-mus”… do yourself a favor and coin that term right now before I coin it for you. Genius!
p.s. chocolate oikos sucks 🙁 such a let down.
The more color, the less hunger after eating. They’re so totally inversely proportional.
it’s super easy, give it a shot.
i wish i hadnt thrown it out already, id totally send it to you!
agreed…i am tempted to make a graph 🙂
its peanut butter…and i got it at WFs (UWS) but i know they have it at gary null’s uptown whole foods too (90th and b’wy)
yes!!! they are too mushy. i had to use extreme spatula measures just to get them on my plate in one-ish piece!! sweet potato sounds like an interesting flavor though…these ones were curry something or other
that was my main issue with them…it took a decade just to spatula the “pattie” onto the sandwich. not so great.
all steps are good steps, so wooo on the spin class!
my new favorite jam is oats soaked in yogurt/water with “seasonings”… feels like junk food, but so not.
a) Ugh, vegan chili is my life. I eat it at least 3 times a week at school… it’s sooooo redonk here. kidney beanz, black beanz, chickpeaz, and some other gooda$$ sh!t.
b) SUPER SUPER HOPING TO SEE YOU IN CALIFORNIA THIS SUMMER. AND HOPING AND PRAYZIN’ ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE. I mean, marrying homeboy Kyle is a grand wish that is coming true… but the other one I am thinking of deals with what you told me about homeboy and schoolio. I hope DIIEEEEEEEEEE if you were settling in the city by the bay.
c) love chu forever and ever
Your blog ALWAYS makes me hungry like no other! Must.Make.Lunch.Now.
I also need to get me some of them balls asap. Are they Trader Joe’s?
haha i like the drunk college student analogy!! and some days we are just hunnngry… u fueled yourself wel and all hte food looks great
xoxo
shelley
http://findinghappinessandhealth.wordpress.com
they are Nate’s meatless meatballs. i found them at whole foods.
youll be one of the first to know…you may hear me shouting for joy in vermont…yes, im THAT eager to move back to the west coast!
This is making me want to get boca burgers and avocado…mmm…Don’t avocados remind you of Cali? Love the mozzarella. I won’t succumb yet, I’m still enjoying the real stuff with the lactaid pills…hehe
haha colorful salads=more filling! Total science, I love it 🙂
And I agree about the veggie burgers. If only the legit ones weren’t so expensive.
What a fab day filled with yummy eats!!
Wow that “cookie dough” looks amazing!!! I’d love to make it but I always seem to drown out the oats with too much liquid. How much coconut milk did you add to get that consistency? Thanks Elise:)