Shopping & Using Up The Fridge
Filed under: Vegan and Gluten Free 7 day Challenge
My breakfast really held me over this morning. I didn’t have a snack while we were out and just sat down to have lunch 5 hours after breakfast – woohoo! Banana Nut oats are awesome. We spent the morning running errands and doing some shopping. I picked up the latest Eating Well Magazine and a “secret” book that I will be reviewing in a month or so. More on both later.
The highlight of our purchase however was buying a new printer that does it all from printing amazing pictures, scanning, copying and can be used as part of our network or wireless – no cords required. It is an HP7280 and they had it on sale with a manufacturing rebate at Costco – score! I can’t wait to play with it but it might have to wait until later so I do not get distracted from my todo list.
Lunch was a combination of things to clean out the fridge and get ready for a new week of stuff. We actually did pretty good at eating up alot of the stuff I bought last week. What a difference it makes eating your meals at home.
I started with leftover salad topped with Maple Grove Fat Free Balsamic:
Then moved on to a slice of last night’s Vegan & Glute Free Pizza! This stuff is so good the next day but I do recommend reheating it in the oven versus the microwave so it gets crispy again.
And dessert was all a combination of fruits we needed to use up in the fridge.
Ok – I am off to check more things off my list, maybe make another VG/GF cookie or muffin recipe and figure out dinner.
Banana Nut Oatmeal
Filed under: Vegan and Gluten Free 7 day Challenge
We ended up watching Way of War with Cuba Gooding Jr. last night. It was probably one of our least favorite movies. I hate it when movies jump all around and flash back/forward between different scenes both past/present. I actually had to get up about 1/2 way into the movie to read the cover since I still couldn’t figure out the plot. Not one we’d recommend.
This morning I woke up thinking about how fabulous those waffles were yesterday. I decided to see if I could make my oatmeal taste like them by making Banana Nut Oatmeal. This was seriously an awesome bowl of oats and it was just as good as the waffles. I did save the rest of the waffles in the freezer for another day.
Today’s mix included:
1/2 cup Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
1 c Water
1 T ground flax seed
2 T wheat berries
1/2 banana
1/2 oz “toasted” chopped walnuts
1 tsp unsweetened organic coconut
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup warmed for 10 seconds and drizzled. It goes so much further when it’s warmed up so you use less.
All together with a nice BIG cup of Toasted Coconut coffee.
Day 6 Recap ~ Wow, it’s almost been a full week and I haven’t spent a single day counting down for when the challenge should be over. I did indulge a bit more today than I needed to ~ as in I usually do not drink my calories (POM Spritzer) and I had 2 slices of pizza, but, it was ALL worth it. I still burned enough calories to be in a deficit but will work on being more aware of my eating today. I need to eat only when truly hungry, not because it tastes THAT good or because the food is there.
Calories burned: 3,235, Steps Taken: 15,820
Calories consumed: 2,011
10% Protein, 61% Carbs, 29% fat
Today I am working on my todo list to see if I can make it go down. Enjoy your Saturday, I know we will for sure!
Vegan/Gluten Free Pizza Rocks!!!!
Filed under: Recipes, Vegan and Gluten Free 7 day Challenge
I have been waiting ALL week to make a fun Friday night dinner for The Husband and I. The key was to get him to buy off on having a veggie only pizza (he didn’t need to know the VG/GF part). He was actually all for it and helped put everything together, including going to the store to pick up a few last minute things. I had 1/2 a banana bread Lara Bar for my afternoon snack while we were out (not pictured).
While cooking dinner, I made myself a juice spritzer using some Calistoga Lime Fizzy Water and Pom – Blueberry/Pomegranate Juice – Yum! This made me feel so healthy drinking it and The Husband kept stealing my drink.
The Husband made us cute salads – I LOVE how he chops vegetables – it always makes me smile. Arn’t they guy like?
Now onto the Pizza!
We started off using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Pizza Crust. I added a little garlic salt and italian seasoning to the mix to flavor the dough. I substituted ground 2 Tbsp ground flax seed and 6 Tbsp water for the eggs. I sprinkled a little garlic powder on the dough before pre-baking it at 425 degrees for 9 minutes.
While the dough was rising, The Husband chopped away getting the pizza toppings ready. We cooked all the vegetables on the stove for about 5-7 minutes to get the water out. This is so important so that they do not make the pizza soggy. My favorite pizza sauce is made by Roni and the recipe is here. This sauce is so amazing, even just on pasta or bread. I freeze it in 1/2 cup servings and just take it out of the fridge as needed. I ended up buying some store bought sauce because I couldn’t remember if the sauce I made was vegan or not – I am so glad to know it is after checking the recipe.
The vegetable mix included:
1 summer squash, quartered
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 green & 1 orange bell pepper thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
2 cloves minced garlic
small handful chopped basil
1 teaspoon dried italian seasoning
1 pinch crushed red pepper
dash of sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp EVOO
After adding the pizza sauce and and veggie mix, we topped it with Veggie Shreds Mozzarella and olives. This cheese is so good you can’t tell it’s Soy.
After baking it for 15 minutes, we topped it off with some halved organic grape tomatoes and freshly chopped organic basil.
Here are my 2 gigantic pieces that I “almost” couldn’t finish. This pizza was seriously so amazing, you couldn’t tell it was Vegan. When I ate the crust by itself I could sorta taste the gluten free part and I didn’t finish my crust since I was full at that point.
I am more than satisfied and off to watch a movie with The Husband. I am sad that I think I will be too full for that Chocolate Soy Ice Cream, but, I’ll be sure to let you know if that changes. 
Night all!
Some things are just better the next day…
Today is truly such a beautiful day outside ~ the sun is shining, it’s warm and there is a nice little breeze that cools you down as you run. We went another 4.42 miles before lunch and I just have to say it was another highlight to my Fabulous Friday!
Lunch was a combination of leftovers and crunch. I had 1 serving of Snobby Joes on a slice of GF Rice Pecan Bread ~ this stuff gets even better the next day! Seriously, I thought it was good last night but today it was seriously awesome.
Then for some crunch some veggie tray veggies and Lundberg Sea Salt Rice Chips. Ok, I dipped back into the bag for another serving about the same amount.
I made sure to fill up the rest of my plate with more vegetables ~ leftover Trader Joe’s colorful Chard – Love it!
I was wanting a little something sweet to finish off my meal. I usually get tea when I want something but then I remembered I had brought my Vegan Chocolate Chips with me as I was thinking of possibly adding them to the waffles this AM. They didn’t make an appearance for breakfast but somehow they jumped out of the bag and onto my desk for lunchtime dessert 
This morning I didn’t manage to drink more than maybe ¼ of my Soy Latte. I think it was just too sweet for my liking and it got cold before I could finish it. I did switch to regular black decaf though ~ Yum. I also snacked on some sweet pineapple:
And had a couple of these spicy peanuts ~ maybe about 10.
We have a super fun and delicious dinner planned for tonight and I might even think about “testing” the chocolate soy ice cream I bought ~ Yum, can’t wait!
Today’s Adventure: VG/GF Banana Nut Waffles & Soy Latte
While cooking dinner last night I was pondering what I was going to make for breakfast. I really wanted something different. So I opened up the Veganomicon Cookbook once again and came across Banana Nut Waffles. Yup, my mind was pretty much made up at just reading the title. I am not sure if I can post the recipe so for now I will wait. So I prepped the waffles last night using a mix of Gluten Free All Purpose Flour and Oat Flour to make the GF as well. They smelled amazing cooking, it was hard not to dig in right then.
But, I resisted and this morning I heated up one of the beautiful Banana Nut Waffle Circles.
Toppings included:
1 teaspoon of Earth Balance Vegan Butter Spread
½ sliced banana
A few cut up strawberries & blueberries (Thanks Rachel – loved the color they added)
A sprinkle of unsweetened shredded organic coconut (maybe 1 tsp)
1 Tbsp toasted chopped walnuts*
Drizzle of Real Maple Syrup (about 1-2 Tbsp)
* Quick tip for toasting your nuts in the microwave. Simple put them in a little bowl and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute – tadah! They are so good this way and no oven or stove is required.
I also decided to put this whole VG/GF thing to the test today with Starbuck’s. I ordered a Tall Decaf Soy Latte and was pleasantly surprised when I saw they used Vanilla Soy Milk. I like how frothy it was when I got it and it sort of reminds me a bit of a vanilla marshmallow – not sweet, but, just a hint of that. I am not sure I am sold on having a latte this way, but, I will savor all morning and let you know if I make it through
Here is Breakfast all together:
Day 5 recap:
5 days down, 2 to go! Wow, it’s hard to believe I have been doing the whole Vegan & Gluten Free thing for 5 days now. I have honestly enjoyed this and now realize it isn’t as hard as I thought to do both. I think I am realizing my personal preference towards being Vegan, but, not so much towards being Gluten Free. My next step is deciding what to do when Sunday rolls around ~ Do I continue? Do I add back one thing at a time? I love the way I am feeling and I am curious to see the impact this has on the scale. I feel like I am able to balance healthy eating with a few treats. Ok, yes, the cupcakes are gone or will be today when The Husband eats the last two I enjoyed my eats yesterday and am looking forward to today’s just as much. That is really a great feeling
Calories burned: 3,290, Steps taken: 16,329
Calories consumed: 1,736
Protein: 12%, Carbs: 57%, Fat: 31%
Happy Friday All! Today is going to be awesome ~ the sun is shining bright in California and the weekend is just around the corner.
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