Woman in Real Life

 
Is there ever a bad time for pancakes? I don't think so. I crave them on the regular. As I said in this previous WIAW post, I have been digging Bob's Red Mill Organic High Fiber Whole Grain Pancake & Waffle Mix of late. It's a quick solution when you don't have time (or the inclination) to make pancakes from scratch. All you need to do is add non-dairy milk and a flax "egg." Plus, blueberries. Loads o' blueberries!

In celebration of Veganuary, a couple of blogger friends and I are giving a little love to our favourite vegan cookbooks. Seeing as the start of the new year is an optimum time to nurture better eating habits, I know that many people will think about switching to a vegan or vegetarian diet. And, even if that's not a consideration, we all want to eat more healthy, plant-based foods that are kind to our bodies and offer us the nutrients we need for our busy lifestyles.

Every Monday in January, Lisa of Viet Vegan, Trish of In Fine Balance and I will each share a look at one of our favourite vegan cookbooks. Believe me, this is not an exhaustive list - we are all vegan cookbook addicts and there are a wealth of amazing books to choose from. We are also hosting giveaways of a whole big bunch of incredible cookbooks, including the book I'm discussing today - How It All Vegan! Be sure to enter the giveaways below if you are in need of some recipe inspiration for this promising new year.

You know when you're sick and you can't eat much? That was me last week. In the midst of a flu (or whatever that wicked, wicked virus was), I (shamefully) recall looking down at my belly and thinking, "my stomach looks pretty flat." When I finally hobbled woefully downstairs after a few days in bed, my mom said, "You look skinnier already." And I said, "I know" with a distinctive hint of joy in my voice. It's sad, but true. That is the one up-side to being sick - pride in your flatter tummy.

In this case it's easy go, easy come, though, because I don't really see a big difference now. To be honest, food turns me off a bit still. But I didn't mind swallowing a bunch of pasta and pizza when my husband made it this past Sunday. He made rapini pizza (my favourite) for me and pasta with Yves vegan meatballs. Pictured is the lunch portion I had the next day. I stirred some leftover chickpea salad into the pasta for extra nutrition.

I am holding off on turning on the furnace for as long as I can. I find it so drying to my skin. We are making ample use of the fireplace in the meantime, but I confess it's sometimes a wee bit chilly around here.

Making soup, stew, chili and fresh warm baked goods helps. I predict that Isa Does It is going to help me get through the winter. There are so many great recipes for cozy-looking vegan comfort foods. Like this Down-Home Curry With Tofu & Broccoli, above. As Isa says in the intro to the recipe, it's "a homey, filling, stick-to-your-ribs meal that's easy enough to throw together anytime the feeling strikes you." I could go for some of those savoury tofu chunks right about now.

As I look back on a week of meals, I see that we haven't experimented with any new recipes (or even used recipes at all for that matter). Part of the week we were visiting my parents. That's where I put together some smores, using graham wafers, roasted vegan marshmallows and chunks of a Go Max Go vegan Snap! chocolate bar. To be honest, I think I'd rather just eat the chocolate.

On the last What I Ate Wednesday, I forgot to share a picture of the vegan tofu lasagna I made using a recipe from Chloe's Kitchen. Since I complained about the lengthy lasagna-making process on Instagram, I thought I'd share some photos this week.

I received a mouthwatering package of chocolate goodies from Enjoy Life this week. With Valentine's Day on the horizon, I went to work right away to create a tantalizing dessert using Enjoy Life's new 69% Cacao Dark Chocolate Morsels.

Before I go over this week's meal plan, I want to share highlights from last week's meals. The plan went well...meaning I stuck to it even when it was challenging.

Which brings me to Monday. The plan called for minestrone soup in the slow cooker. When I was planning my menu, I forgot that Monday was the "Family Day" holiday. We had to be at my son's first soccer game by 8 a.m. (Who plans games for 8 a.m. on a holiday, by the way?) Nevertheless I stuck to the plan and quickly threw everything into the slow cooker before we headed out. No easy feat, because it takes us 20 minutes just to get the kids out the front door.

Can you believe it's Wednesday already? That means What I Ate Wednesday...to me anyway. I'm into stuff like that.

We had an unseasonably warm day a couple of days ago. Well, in the morning anyway. In the afternoon, it turned cold and rainy. All of that is to say that normally, from September to...oh, about May, we have good soup weather around here.

As the day goes on, my enthusiasm for cooking generally wanes. That's why I love the slow cooker. Throw a simple soup together when my energy is high in the morning, add bread and a salad in the evening, and dinner's on the table! On this particular night, pictured above, I paired the soup with a corn muffin, made from a recipe in How it All Vegan. This black bean sweet potato slow cooker soup is based on a recipe in Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, a book I highly recommend. I have mixed black beans and kidney beans and added some sweet potato. I also reduced the amount of thyme, because I don't like a strong flavour of thyme. The recipe follows. If endorsements might convince you to try making this, you should know that my kids actually said this soup was good. That kind of high praise doesn't often come from those two...when it comes to healthy meals anyway.

This What I Ate Wednesday, I am looking at all of the food I consumed on Tuesday.

Let's start with breakfast. I just went grocery shopping on Monday, which means there was still fresh fruit in the house. I enjoyed some Nature's Path pumpkin flax granola with peach slices, raspberries and soy milk. I also had water with Emergen-C in it. I have had a crackle in my throat for a few days, so I am trying to ward off any illness. I added a clementine for good measure.

After a very busy week of dance recitals, a family birthday and a school family fun night, the kids certainly welcomed the PA Day today.  Actually, my son always welcomes a break from school, whatever the reason.

For this week’s WIAW, I am once again showing a few examples of what I ate over the past week.

This way, I get to pick some of the more interesting food items. If I showed you a day of eating, some of the stuff would be downright embarrassing!

Yesterday, I modified and veganized another beautiful Edna Staebler recipe.

The result was the absolutely delicious, scrumptious, delectable Upside Down Butterscotch Biscuit pictured above. Enough adjectives for you? Sorry, they are just really tasty. More about those later.

Oddly enough, you can be a vegetarian and eat no vegetables at all. While that isn’t the case for me, I sometimes get lazy (especially at lunch) and don’t eat as many fruits and veggies as I should.

So, today I am participating in the Peas & Crayons What I Ate Wednesday party. This month, Jenn is focusing on serving an extra cup of vegetables every day. That’s a plan I can get behind.

Today, I am sharing a look at just a few of the foods I ate this past weekend. It’s not all veggies. You know I like a sweet treat!

On Saturday, I decided to use up the red chard we got in one of our organic produce deliveries. I often let leafy greens rot without using them, just because I don’t feel like washing them. I was glad I made the effort, because they were actually quite tasty, cooked with a little bit of minced garlic and olive oil.

I also made a veggie chili, from a recipe in How it All Vegan, one of my favourite cookbooks. We served it on some basmati rice.


On Sunday, I finally made some cookies that I had wanted to make for a long time. They are chef Michael Smith’s peanut butter and jelly cookies.

I am glad I got around to making them, because they are quite delicious. I love jam in a cookie or muffin.


My son prefers chocolate over jam, so I put some Nutella in a few for him. I still think jam is a better option, though.


My husband bought a new barbecue on the weekend, and we were anxious to try it out. So, on Sunday, he braved the cold weather to produce a nice, barbecued meal of sweet potatoes, asparagus, potatoes, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini and tofu. I’m glad I didn’t have to stand on the deck in the cold! I sure enjoyed the end result though.

What are you eating this week? Could your diet use an infusion of veggies?

My husband and I enjoyed seeing the whole gang, and, of course, eating Nonna’s food. We only told her we were coming a few hours before dinner time, so we offered to pick up some take-out. But, she would have none of that. I don’t know how she does it, but she had a whole big meal waiting for us. You can see in the pictures the ravioli and spaghetti that the others so enjoyed, the kamut penne that I had, and a dinner plate of: breaded and fried tofu, salad, cauliflower, asparagus and roasted potatoes. Nonna finished with a lovely fruit platter. We later had espresso or tea and a platter of chocolate chip bars that I made from a recipe in How it all Vegan.


On Tuesday, we had fun watching my son and his friends participate in a dribble, jump and shoot competition.


I also made Hannah’s delicious Coconut Vodka Sauce and served it on penne with sides of baked tofu and broccoli with garlic, olive oil and salt.


You know I had to have some sweets too! Besides making my favourite banana bread and some yummy berry oat bars, I also made these berry muffins from a recipe in Vegan Brunch.

When all of this eating occasionally upsets my tummy, I turn to my tea drawer. (It was once a tea chest, but the increased varieties necessitated a tea drawer.) For real tummy emergencies, my go-to brand is this Traditional Medicinals Eater’s Digest tea. It just works somehow.

Have a great weekend!

Linking up to:

The weeks seem to fly by. Here’s another look at my family’s cell phone pictures from the past week.

The best weeks are full of little indulgences that make us feel good, aren’t they? A little food, a nice cup of tea, a fun project completed.

Speaking of making us feel good, we actually had a couple of days of sunshine this week. Quite a pick-me-up. Still, I’m not giving up the Vitamin D drops yet.