Woman in Real Life

I gotta say I didn't really pig out over the holidays. I ate lots of amazing food, but I tried to ensure that most of it was nutrient-dense and not just "junk." I kept in mind the things I learned when researching this blog post on 9 holiday superfoods. In other words, you can have healthy food that tastes great too.

Of course, I ate a few cookies over the last couple of weeks. Maybe a few more than a few. If Santa gets cookies (my daughter left him these vegan chocolate chip cookies above), I think moms deserve them too. I didn't eat too many in one sitting though. And I ate far less chocolate than I usually eat during the Christmas holidays. Don't get me wrong, deprivation isn't my thing. Instead, I try to fill up on lovely, healthy whole foods to reduce cravings for sugary foods.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. I have been so busy making Christmas garlands (and a couple of new recipes for vegan sweets - to be posted shortly) that I haven't kept up my What I Ate Wednesday duties. But today's the day! I'm going to play catch-up by showing you a few pics from the last couple of weeks.

In a vegetarian/vegan household, we have come to rely on certain trusty grocery products that we know and love. In busy times (and when is it not busy?) it's great to have healthy, store-bought products at the ready to help you make a quick meal or snack without sacrificing good nutrition. I thought I would share a look at some of these items today. Plus, we have also sampled a couple of new products lately that I want to tell you about. Likely some of our grocery favourites are your favourites too!

I maybe should have called this "Soccer Mom" Vegan Faux Chicken Penne With Tomatoes, Spinach and Avocado. Yep, I'm a soccer mom...and a basketball mom...and a dance mom (without the "crazy" connotations that come with that one I hope). I wasn't active in any kind of sport at all as a teenager (unless you count reading and hanging around downtown) so I'm just thrilled that my kids are more sporty.

Anyway, back to this delicious pasta. I was at my son's soccer game one day and one of the other moms (hey Nadia!) brought along some chicken penne that she was kind enough to share with anybody who was hungry. Seeing as I don't eat chicken, I asked her to list the ingredients for me so I could try the recipe with faux chicken at home. What appeals to me about this pasta is that it is easy to make and also healthy. It's a simple weeknight meal that you and your kids will enjoy. I served this to my two kids and their friends and they all cleared their plates.

Whenever I'm preparing for a road trip, one of the items at the top of my packing list is always snacks. Ever since my daughter was a toddler she has required a constant stream of snacks. And heaven help me if I don't bring snacks in the car! (Not to mention I'm pretty "snacky" myself.)

Before a recent road trip to Kingston for my son's end-of-season basketball tournament, I headed to Shoppers Drug Mart to look for fun yet healthy snacks for the whole family. With the arrival of spring, there are sure to be lots more road trips on our calendar. I find that Shoppers Drug Mart is handy not only for snacks, but for whatever products we need for our trips - like shampoo, sunscreen, medicines - all that good stuff we constantly need to replenish.

We enjoyed one particularly lovely warm day this week and then it was back to snow (eek!) and cold on Tuesday. Needless to say, warming foods are still very much a part of the menu in this house. On Sunday afternoon, I was browsing through magazines when I spotted an easy, 30-minute Chickpea Tikka Masala recipe in Vegetarian Times magazine.

I decided to make it for lunch (above). It was so easy to make and quite tasty. I happened to have fresh cilantro in the fridge to pretty it up a bit. I can't wait for summer when we once again have a pot of herbs growing outside the back door!