New shades & raw food

Just a typical morning bowl of oatmeal.

The weird part about this breakfast was how I picked around the nuts.  I don’t know why, but I wasn’t in to them this morning. 

The cinnamon and maple syrup were all the topping I needed.

 

After breakfast I set to work on mega errands.  Our laundry needed to be done immediately (our clothes reeked of smoke from our weekend away).  On top of that we had dirty dishes, an empty fridge, a thirsty tomato plant, and much much more.  To do list, game on. 

Eventually, I earned a lunch break.

The cajun rubbed tofu steak is from the Davis co-op.  The rest were scraps from the fridge – brown rice, sweet potato, & carrots.  Very orange.  I didn’t really need much int he way of seasoning since the cajun spices had such a kick to them, but I did add some nutritional yeast to the plate.

 

After lunch I went shopping for essentials (like tofu) and then went for a run.

 

It was HOT out.  I actually took a cold shower afterwards.

 

Blow drying my hair was not happening.  See those sunglasses?  They are new.

 

I got them from firmoo.  They are the most popular online eyeglasses store and a couple of weeks ago they contacted me about trying a pair of glasses out for free.  I’ve had the same pair of shades since my senior year of college (when Kyle gave me an unclaimed pair from the lost and found at our work place).  So romantic.  But seriously, I’ve had this same pair (and no others) since 2004.  Upgrade necessary.  So yes, I jumped at firmoo’s offer. 

 

I went online, searched the options (prescription vs. non-prescription, sunglasses vs. regular glasses).  There were so many options…and you could see how they looked on your face by uploading your picture.  High tech. 

 

I chose this pair [in black].  Which makes me feel like Jackie O.  Can you see the resemblance?  😉

 

Anyway, they took no time at all to ship and arrived in perfect condition (bubble wrapped).  They even came with a cute case, extra screws, a tiny screw driver, and a lens wiper cloth.  I’m 100% satisfied.  Love the sunglasses.  Love the company.  Love the simplicity. 

This offer isn’t exclusively for me though, you guys can get in on the action, too. Firmoo has a program offering free eyewear for first-time buyers.  You just need to pay the shipping!  Good deal right?  They have great quality products at super affordable prices.  So if you’re like me, rocking the same pair for well over a decade, this is your chance to get something new.

  

I had a dark chocolate Sun Cup as an afternoon treat, then continued tackling my to-do list.

Afternoon snack number two.  Juice of kale, beets, carrots, apples.

While waiting for Ethel to come over, I made a lasagna (with the tofu I ran out to get earlier).

• double batch of tofu ricotta
• 2 cups frozen spinach
• 2 jars 365 marinara
• 1 box 365 no-bake lasagna noodles

Layered.  Baked for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.

Voila!

Ethel arrived about the same time Kyle got home from work, so we all headed out to dinner together.

I was supposed to go to Planet Raw a while ago, but plans fell through and ever since it’s been on my mind.  Luckily, Ethel’s adventurous and into trying new cuisine.  Kyle wasn’t that excited to go, but we didn’t let him stay home.

We each ordered two things.

Ethel got the Lexi Sliders and the Macaroni & Cheeze.

 

These are the Lexi Sliders with “luscious pumpkin tortellini, sundried heirloom tomato, avocado & onion on flax with a balsamic vinaigrette drizzle.”

Not bad, but not her favorite.  I don’t think it’s fair that this is considered an entree, it’s very small and it cost way more than it should have.

This is the macaroni and cheeze with kelp noodles and lots of garnish.  She loved this dish, especially the sauce, and had set her mind to recreating it at home.

For my dinner I got the Dinosaur Salad and the Cheezy Kelp Pasta.

This is the dinosaur salad which is their famous kale salad with their garlic ranch dressing, wild seaweed, marine minerals, hemp oil, cayenne & nutritional flakes.

Yum times a lot.

Due to the massive size of the bowl and the sunlight, my photos don’t do it justice, but trust me it was gorgeous.  The combo of the ranch dressing, avocado and kale was a huge win for my taste buds. 

And the cayenne dusted on top gave it some serious heat.  I was gulping water down.

This may have actually topped One Lucky Duck’s S&M salad.  Mayyyybe. 

This is the Cheezy Kelp Pasta (Sicilian style) with garlic, olive oil, parsley & kale mixed into cheeze coated kelp noodles.  And garnish similar to Ethel’s.  Actually, the whole dish was similar to Ethel’s, it just had kale mixed into the pasta. 

Love me some kale.  The cheeze sauce was honestly the best stuff ever.  I wanted four times this portion.  And for the price tag of the dish I felt I deserved it.  No offense Planet Raw, but you need to get your prices in check.  Even NYC’s fancy raw vegan restaurants aren’t this ridiculous.

Kyle got the Bacon Western Double Cheezeburger and the Deep Dish Chicago Pizza (after his first dish came out and he realized it wasn’t at all what he wanted).

 

This is the Bacon Western Double Cheezeburger with a flaxy bread and some sort of nut-meat patty.  It also had side dishes, including a spinach soufflé and a macadamia potato mash & gravy.  It’s much smaller than it appears in this photo. 

Much to Kyle’s dismay, the burger had pickles in it, which meant he didn’t want to touch it (he’d actually specifically requested no pickles even though they weren’t mentioned on the menu).  He made do with the rest of the plate until his second order arrived.  He did enjoy the spinach and macadamia sides. 

Honestly, though, this “burger” was smaller than his palm.  In my mind, that’s totally ridiculous.  Whether I was ordering it or he was, the waitress should have mentioned it’s teeny tiny. 

This is the deep dish pizza.  There’s no description of the dish, but it was basically a bowl of pizza-ish toppings.  I’m not even sure what makes it a pizza?  He liked it, but I’m pretty sure it’s the last raw food meal I’ll be able to drag Kyle to.

 

He doesn’t like how unpredictable ordering is and I totally understand his point.  How do you know what a pizza will look like?  Or pasta?  Or a burger?  You can’t.  And it’s often different than what he’s envisioning.  Maybe if there were photos of the food?  That’s not very gourmet, but it’s helpful for those who aren’t Planet Raw (or whatever other raw restaurant) regulars.  On top of that, portion sizes are usually on the smaller side.  None of these things contribute to a enjoyable, fulfilling meal for Kyle. 

Back home, I got my nails did, cut Kyle’s hair, and packed food for work the next day.