A Glimpse at My Food!

Today I thought I would participate in "What I ate Wednesday" where bloggers post what they ate throughout the day (or the preceding day). I got this idea when I read a post this morning by Carrie at Carrie on Vegan. So here we go!

This morning I started out with some Teeccino and a mango berry smoothie!

This is the Mocha variety, apparently when you brew the regular, barley containing variety of Teeccino, it is actually gluten-free. Awesome!

Here in Seattle, our Septembers are normally when we have the hottest weather and this September is no exception! Today temperatures reached over 90 degrees (I believe 93) and so when the heat drove me out of my third floor apartment, I enjoyed lunch outside! 

For my impromptu picnic today I enjoyed a baked potato and a nice salad! Delicious!

A baked potato with organic ketchup, Dijon mustard, green onions, and Himalayan pink salt.

Today my salad featured romaine, spinach, green cabbage, broccoli slaw, cucumber slices, and white beans topped with flax oil and a tahini-nutritional yeast dressing. 

Before having lunch I also visited my University's bookstore and lo and behold found that they carry bags and wallets by Big Buddha! Earlier this week I just got my first Big Buddha bag and so I thought I would get a wallet to match! I'm just so pleased!

Adorable!!!

I had a great afternoon hanging out outside with my picnic and new Big Budda bag and wallet and also had a chance to debut my new Our Hen House tote bag!

Onto dinner! I currently have the Forks Over Knives Cookbook out from the library so today I tried the recipe for Penne with Tomato "Alfredo" Sauce and it was pretty good! I added some kale for a little leafy green kick and had a great dinner! 

I love me some pasta!

I may also enjoy some form of dessert later this evening, perhaps some tea and fruit, but I wanted to get this published before it got way too late!

Well, with that I have a pile of dishes to do! I enjoyed documenting my food and think I may continue participating in "What I ate Wednesday!"

Happy Wednesday!

Peach Kale Salad with Cheezy Dijon Dressing

When watching JL Fields' video for Vegan MoFo today I learned that is the first ever International Day of Kale! So...happy kale day! I love kale, love it, and so I thought I would honor the day by making a new massaged kale salad! To learn more about massaging kale, check out my first post on this, which you can find here!

Today, I made a kale salad massaged with a cheezy dijon dressing and topped with peach slices, red onion, and almonds! More below!

Peach Kale Salad with Cheezy Dijon Dressing

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 3 cups de-stemmed and washed kale, chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1 peach, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp almonds, chopped or slivered
• Cheezy Dijon dressing (recipe below)
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Massage kale with dressing.
2. Slice peaches, dice red onions, and prepare almonds. Place on salad.
3. Season with salt as desired and enjoy!

Post massage, it's so little!

Cheezy Dijon Dressing

Makes 1/4 cup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar (I'm sure that regular balsamic would work as well)
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Directions:

1. Mix until smooth, pour over kale and massage!

All mixed up, so good!!

Monday Love List Number Eight!

Happy Monday my friends!

I had a very busy week last week so unfortunately I have less to share with you, but there's always something to love right?!

1. Yum Universe test drive

If you may remember, a few weeks ago I mentioned I had purchased a bundle of ebooks. This was one of those ebooks and I loved trying it out! It included a shopping list with five days of meal plans.

I actually had tried out a different meal plan the week before, which was not my favorite, but this one I really enjoyed!

This may not be something I would recommend to everyone, as it is a bit complex, but for someone who has been cooking and preparing vegan, plant-based foods for over a year it was enjoyable and had me trying some things I've never done before. Most notably was the soaking and sprouting that I tried. This included soaking grains and beans and sprouting lentils. I always love sprouts on salads and now I know how to make my own at home! Hooray!

As I had a busy week, taking photos was not on the forefront on my mind, but I did get some pictures of a couple dishes I made this week!

Taco salad before dressing with salsa verde

Post mixing and after eating a few bites, I couldn't resit

Kale and creamy millet salad

I had never made millet before and it was pretty awesome! It was overall a very tasty week. I will definitely be making many of these recipes again! Both of these recipes are available online, here and here. 

2. Feeling like a real adult

This week Morgan and I replaced our old (and broken) bed frame and got a new one with a headboard! We also got new, amazing, sheets in the mail so we have been living in luxury, and like real adults, this week! Having a headboard has been especially nice since previously not having one before always resulted in our pillows falling into the window behind our bed, no fun! 

All and all a very adult and comfortable development!

3. Over halfway done with summer quarter

I am really drawing on blanks this week my friends, I think because my week was so filled with school work. So, along those lines, I am very excited to be on week six of eight of summer quarter, almost there! It's been a lot of work, but it has also added an element of accomplishment to my summer that most in the past have been lacking. Again, making me feel like a real adult! Nothing wrong with that right?!

Alright, not much going on here, so how about a clip of surprised kitty? I always love watching that! 

I hope you all have had a wonderful Monday and I hope to have more time to do cool things and take some cool pictures this week!

Massaged Kale Salad

Hi all!

I have yet to post any recipes or specifically food posts, so I thought where better to start than with a kale salad!

Kale can be kind of a scary vegetable. I know I didn't know what to do with it when I first encountered it. However, I have learned to love this leafy green for all its glory!

Behold the beauty of kale!

One of the most important things to do when eating kale, especially raw, is to massage it. What? you say, MASSAGE it? Like a day at the spa? Well almost.

Essentially, all you do is add some sort of dressing on your washed and de-stemmed kale and work it around in your hands for a minute or so, making sure to squeeze the kale and really work the dressing in. Here's a longer post about how to do this and why. 

You can do this with any dressing that you are planning on using on your salad or simply oil, vinegar, or lemon juice. I have also made wonderful massaged kale just by using avocado or hummus. By massaging the kale it takes the bitterness away and makes it much less chewy and dense. It also absorbs the dressing or whatever else you use really nicely, adding a burst of flavor. 

Once you've massaged your kale you are ready to go! Add anything you are in the mood for to make a wonderful salad. Not sure what to add? Try my very meticulous and careful method...

...pull everything out of the fridge and work from there! 

For my salad I added cucumber, onion, mushrooms, kalamata olives, arugula, and parsley. For my dressing as well as what I used to massage my kale I used tahini sauce mixed with some vinegar (I used the vinegar from the olives) to make it a bit more liquidy. 

I ended up with this beautiful salad!

Massaged kale is also great as a side to any entree you are having (steamed kale would be tasty too) and I love adding grains like quinoa to it to make a bulkier salad. Eating salads like this during the summer is awesome. They are quick and easy and don't require any cooking. Since you can make them however you want they are also great when you have a bunch of produce you need to use in your fridge.

There are many many kale salad recipes out there as well as lots of different ways to prepare this awesome vegetable, so if you are looking for inspiration check some of them out! 

Do you have any favorite kale recipes?

Monday Love List Number Two!

Hey all! A much later posting than I had intended but hey, it's still Monday!

Here's my love list for the week.

1. Being done with Spring quarter

Yayayayay! I'm so glad finals are done with! Along those lines I've had time to reset my sleep schedule, get back into my workout routine, spend a lot of time with family, and read some stuff just to read it. All pretty awesome if you ask me.

2. So many people graduating! 

Congrats to Morgan, and my sister, and everyone else who graduated this week (or earlier in the month/year). Congratulations!

3. Visiting with family 

Along with all the graduating going on I had the pleasure of seeing many family members for my sister's graduation party. Something I enjoy doing and I must say is much less stressful when you are not the center of attention at the party!

4. This BEAUTIFUL summer salad that I have been loving the past couple of weeks! 

Cucumber Salad with Roasted Chickpeas

Check out the recipe here!

5. Delicious chocolate hazelnut butter

YUMMMMM

It's essentially nutella but wonderfully vegan, gluten-free, and corn-free! I picked up a couple of these packets today and had one with an apple as a post-yoga snack!

6. YOGA!!!

I finally had a chance to do some yoga followed by a meditation (and then brief nap) this afternoon. UUUHHHH-mazing!!!

Alright, that's it for now. Anyone have something awesome they are loving right now?

Later this week I should have some time to post some more interesting things, so stay tuned!

Happy Monday!