Taco Tuesday

Hey everyone! I hope that you are all doing well and that you enjoyed your weekend! Things have been pretty hectic here but I'm pretty happy that I've been able to keep up with both of my blogs and also keep other side projects going as well. I could do with a few extra hours a day for relaxation but I guess this is the grind for now.

Anyway, I thought it would be really fun to do a Taco Tuesday post today! I don't eat a ton of Mexican food or tacos specifically but lately I've been enjoying them as a quick meal for nights where I just want to throw something together. I've had a few different versions of tacos so I thought it would be really fun to do a full post on the tacos I've been enjoying and what better day than a Tuesday!

This was my first set of tacos that I tried. They are clearly soft tacos and I stuffed them with some fat free refried beans, the tiniest but of vegan cheddar, some vegan sour cream, tomato and lettuce. These were delicious.

These were technically supposed to be quesadillas but ended up looking like tacos so I'm calling them tacodillas and including them in the post 😂 I used soft taco shells and made them with fat free refried beans, spinach and some amazing buttery soft avocado (which I add after crisping it up in the pan). This combination may seem odd but it is by far my favorite. 

I would probably call these a savory breakfast taco? These have refried beans, tofu scramble with spinach and of course some avocado. To be honest I will probably leave out the beans next time and just make a more veggie filled tofu scramble but this was really delicious as is. Maybe I just wasn't feeling the beans this time. Who knows. It was still really great and tofu scramble tacos are definitely something I will make again!

I was going to make a sweet breakfast taco/tacodilla as well but didn't get to in time for this post. If I make it soon I'll post it in my next Stuff I Ate post (which I think should be coming up soon!). I'll be honest, I'm kind of good on tacos for the time being haha. I have probably eaten more tacos in the past week than I have in my entire lifetime and while I enjoyed them I'm definitely ready for a break!

All of my fellow Northeasterners please be safe during this next storm! Stay warm and dry <3 Have a great week everyone!

PinterTest 1: Breakfast Edition

Hey everyone! I hope that you are all doing well! I'm excited to bring you my first PinterTest post! This is where I finally go through some of my pins and test them out. For today's post I decided to try out two breakfast recipes. One was amazing and one was an epic fail and it was probably my fault, haha. Anyway, I'll show you the original picture and link to the pins and I'll show you how mine came out and what I thought of it!

Mexican Avocado Toast

Original Image: Source

The first recipe or meal idea that I wanted to try was the beautiful Mexican Avocado Toast pictured and linked above from Veganosity. It's a beautiful, simple, hearty breakfast and comes together really quickly so it's a great way to get you going before work or school and to sustain you for a while. Let's see how my version came out!

So let's be honest my picture is a little sad. Certainly not as beautiful as theirs but you guys. This toast is fucking good. I left off the hot sauce (that acid reflux ya'll) and the cilantro (because that shit tastes like soap) so my version had the core ingredients of toast, refried beans (I used the Trader Joe's fat free refried beans), some perfectly ripe avocado and some cherry tomatoes cut into quarters. It is seasoned simply with salt and pepper and I am definitely loving this simple but delicious breakfast. I definitely recommend trying it. Two thumbs up for this and I will certainly be making it again in the future.

Sooooooooo now we move on to my epic fail…

Morning Glory Muffins

Original Image: Source

So my second venture was the Morning Glory Muffins from Baker By Nature. Let's be honest, that picture is gorgeous, how could I resist?! The muffins are packed with amazing ingredients like apples, carrots, raisins, walnuts and coconut. It sounded so delicious. And then I made one change that probably ruined the whole batch for me. 

Let's take a look at my images:

So they look fine, right? They actually look freaking delicious. I made only 1 change to the recipe. I used oat flour instead of whole wheat flour. I've done this with many recipes in the past and have never had a problem. I don't know if that is the culprit but these did not come out great. The texture was really strange. They were really dense but also super crumbly at the same time. They weren't dry but still just really crumbly. The other thing that I noticed about the flavor was that it was A LOT of cinnamon. I would definitely recommend cutting back on the cinnamon. I am a huge cinnamon fan but this was still a lot for me. I still love the idea of the recipe but if I were to try it again I would try it using the whole wheat flour and cutting the cinnamon down. I love the combination of flavors and ingredients, I think I just failed on execution. Live and learn!

Oh and side note, I don't know what the hell happened but when I came home from work the carrots on the top of the muffins had turned GREEN. What. The. Fuck?! It was maybe 10 hours after they came out of the oven. I have a feeling it was the way I stored them and maybe not cooling all the way before putting them in the container but it was really weird. Obviously I had to trash them which I HATE doing but I'm not eating green carrots.

So there is my first PinterTest! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! I certainly enjoyed finally getting to test these recipes. I'll have to start perusing my Pins again to pick some out for my next PinterTest!

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Grocery Haul and Stuff I Ate

You didn't think I'd get rid of the grocery hauls altogether did you? 😉😂 Of course not. I have a grocery haul from Trader Joe's to share with you today and also some pictures of food I've been eating that I collected over the past week or two. I'm still getting back into the habit of photographing my meals but I'm getting better, I promise!

Here is my grocery haul:

For grocery items we have Jasmine Rice, the Mango and Sticky Rice Spring Rolls (my friend told me I have to try them!!), fat free refried beans, coconut flakes, polenta, walnuts, raisins and chickpea flour (which I purchased at a different store but just threw it in with the Trader Joe's stuff).

For produce I got some basil, romaine hearts, green onions, 2 bags of baby spinach, grape tomatoes, carrots, chopped onions (because lazy) and an avocado.

And here is some stuff I've been eating over the past week or two!

This is an ugly but delicious stir fry that I made with cabbage, zucchini ribbons, tofu, carrots, green onions and snow peas.

Forager lemon yogurt and some strawberries. The yogurt was ok but I'm still struggling to find a vegan yogurt that I love.

This is probably the best meal I ate all week! I took the MacDougall's Miso Ramen instant cup and doctored it up a little bit. I was craving some veggie gyoza so I added some of those in as well and I topped the whole thing off with some seaweed and green onion. It was so filling and delicious!

THIS. I was craving some eggplant and broccoli with garlic sauce so I had eggplant and broccoli with garlic sauce. There is some rice buried under there too. This lasted for two meals and it was freaking delicious and exactly what I wanted.

I finally splurged on the Kite Hill cream cheese. I wanted the chive but could only find the plain. I figured it was time to give it a try.

I tried it on a pumpernickel bagel. It was good but to be honest, not any better than tofutti in my opinion and twice the price. I don't know why I don't seem to understand the Kite Hill love that is going around. Everything I've tried is good but not life changing and to be honest not worth the price for me. The yogurt is way too sweet. The cream cheese is fine but not worth the almost $7 price tag.

I have been shoveling grapes into my facehole like crazy. I crave fruit all the time but the season is tough. These grapes have been delicious though so I've been enjoying them along with my meals and as a snack.

This was a mediocre pear. I love bosc pears but the ones I get from Trader Joe's never fully ripen. It's a shame. I feel like I want to go to Whole Foods to get some good fruit but it's just so expensive. 

Sometimes you just want some pizza. I felt like having pizza on Sunday since it has been a while so I made a small flatbread pizza. I had just gotten the basil from Trader Joe's that morning so I added some to the pizza and it was delicious. It was exactly what I wanted. I should have added some spinach though. Oh well!

So that is what I have for you today! I'm so excited for the things that I have planned for the next few weeks! I hope you all have a great week and I'll see you here on Friday!

Bookish Type Things

Hi friends! I hope that you are all well and having a great week. Today's post will be a little bit different for me but I'm really excited about it. I don't know if you remember but when I posted my Summer Bucket List last year I talked about wanting to really get back into reading. I have read some books between now and then but not with any sort of regularity. In my quest for better and more meaningful self care and "me time" I've made reading a priority. I have been making a list of books to read and I am ALWAYS looking for suggestions so please if you have any let me know!

source

I figured it would be best to start with the book I just finished reading this week. It is called Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat Pray Love). You guys. This book spoke to me. Like got right to my core. It is about living a creative life, letting go of your fears and insecurities surrounding your creative endeavors and embracing inspiration. It is so beautifully written and inspiring (go figure) and sure there are ideas of magic and mysticism and things like that but the core message makes so much sense. I highly highly recommend this book to anyone that struggles to embrace their creativity. Oh and as she mentions in the book, we are all creative beings and creativity doesn't necessarily have to manifest in the arts. I think it is a matter of embracing it. Just keep in mind that the "magical" aspects of it can be a little far reaching (in my opinion) but the message is so valuable.

source

I have had The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins in my possession for months but I just never got around to reading it. I guess I was concerned because it is a psychological thriller and I need to be careful with that kind of content but I am definitely ready to get into it. I've never seen the movie but I've heard so many great things about the story. I'm really looking forward to getting into it.

source

 My friend recommended The Badass Life: 30 Amazing Days to a Lifetime of Great Habits - Body, Mind, And Spirit by Christmas Abbott. I requested this book from the library so this is the next book I will be reading. I read reviews that it is a pretty standard "self help" type of book but sometimes you just need to read a standard self help book to re-energize and get your motivation back. My friend is a big fan of hers from her time on Big Brother (I don't watch it but he LOVES her) so I'm really looking forward to reading what she has to say. Focusing on self care is a huge goal of mine so I have a feeling this will be motivating and inspirational for me.

I couldn't do a post on books without including a few cookbooks in here! I've been lusting after these and one day they will be mine!

source

YOU GUYS!!!! I NEED!!! I have seriously had my eye on this book for so long (since it was on pre-sale) but just haven't been able to justify getting it yet. This is NYC Vegan by Michael Suchman and Ethan Ciment (from Vegan Mos). I have gone through the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon and you guys… it looks freaking incredible. All of my favorite regional dishes veganized in one spot. It also has a lot of traditional Jewish recipes that I haven't had in a long time as well. I haven't even tried any of these recipes and I'm already in love with this book. 

source

Finally, we have Sweet Potato Soul by Jenne Claiborne. This book was just released recently and my friend brought it to my attention. After I checked it out I knew that I needed to have it. I haven't had a whole lot of Southern cooking in my life (I know, blasphemy!) and that definitely needs to change. The recipes looked really great and I've heard wonderful things about it so I'm definitely hoping to be able to give it a try soon. NYC Vegan is definitely number 1 on my list with this one close behind.

I know that this has been a different kind of post for me and I hope that you enjoyed it. What is on your To Be Read list? Have you read anything good lately? What books should I add to my list?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back on Tuesday with some vegan food to share! <3

PinterTest Preview

Hey everyone! I hope that you are all doing well. I've been thinking a lot about a good posting schedule for me and I think that for now I will be posting on Tuesdays and Fridays. I seriously feel so re-energized and I'm really looking forward to writing different kinds of posts and also pushing my creativity in and out of the kitchen. I will of course continue talking about all things vegan here but I also intend to bring other parts of my life into this blog. I'm looking forward to sharing more of me with you. I'm also looking forward to exploring and trying to find things that will make me happy again. I've been working really hard in therapy and I know that now it is time for me to branch out and find my joy again. I know that this blog can be a source of joy for me again.

I mentioned in my last post that I had thought of a few fun new series' that I wanted to try out here and I'm so excited about them! I thought it would be fun to preview one here for you today. It is going to be called PinterTest and it's going to be where I try Pins that I have found on Pinterest. I love the idea of this because I have about 1,400 Pins and I have only tried a handful of them. They can be recipes or crafts or workouts or anything that looks interesting. I'll give them a try, show you how it comes out and I'll discuss the process, the results and whether or not I'd make it or do it again.

For today's post I'll show you some of the things I've been Pinning lately which may end up being a part of the series. If there are any Pins that you have found that you think I may like please let me know, I'd love to add some more ideas to the list!

source

The first Pin that I definitely want to try are these Make Ahead Breakfast Cookies from She Likes Food. They seem pretty easy to make and like a really great option for a breakfast on the go with a piece of fruit. She has a ton of different flavor options and the recipe seems really adaptable. I have a flavor option in mind that I would like to try as well ;)

source

These Funfetti Waffles from Create N Plate are a must for my next waffle making venture. You all know I'm all about all things sprinkles (and glitter) so throw some sprinkles in waffles and I'm there. I'm pretty sure I would add some chocolate chips because why not. 

source

I think this is such a fun idea for a workout! Of course I think it would be great to get some variety so I'll probably do different words like my birth month, my favorite fruit, and whatever other fun words I can think of! I really do think it is a fun way to get a quick at home workout in (it would be great for hotel rooms too!) so I'm looking forward to putting this to use!

source

A really cute craft idea that I found is this Washi Tape Wall Art from Living Locurto. I have TONS of really pretty washi tape that I've accumulated since I started planning and I don't really use it that much anymore. I think this would be a perfect way to use it. And it's a perfect way to get glitter on my wall without making a mess ;)

source

How gorgeous are these cards?! They are New Business Cards from the Rebekah J. Murray Blog. I don't think I've mentioned it here but I received some beautiful watercolors for the holidays because I thought it would be fun to give it a try. I haven't touched them yet because I am pretty intimidated by it but this is definitely something I think I can do. I have some blank white cards that I purchased a long time ago so I think it would be really nice to make my own Thank You Cards.

source

I'm not a huge fan of BBQ anything really but once in a while when it's done right I'm all in. I like the idea of cutting the flavor with a slaw but my mayo aversion makes that difficult. Enter these BBQ Jackfruit Sliders with Avocado Slaw from the Minimalist Baker. These look and sound so good and let's be honest… these are begging to be made into tacos. Now that Jackfruit is readily available at Trader Joe's I'm so ready to give this a try.

These are just a few of the Pins that I'm really excited to try and review here! Are there any Pins that you are looking forward to trying? Are there any Pins that you think I should check out? If so let me know in the comments below!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a great week! I'll be back on Friday with a new post!

Re-Committing

Hey everyone! I hope that you are doing well! Today's post is going to be short and there are no pictures or fun things just yet. I just wanted to come here and talk a little bit about this blog and its future. I think it's been pretty clear for a while that I've been suffering from a lack of passion in terms of blogging. My posts dipped down to once per week, if that, and they are pretty much all just grocery hauls and a few meals from my week. I think I fell into a cycle of boring content that left me feeling really uninspired.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I wanted to proceed. I knew I wasn't ready to give this up. I just need to re-commit and get back to the content I was creating when I first started blogging over at This Is What I Eat - Vegan. In that time I was inspired, motivated, creative and most importantly, I was happy. Blogging was something I looked forward to. It wasn't a chore that I did because I was afraid of letting people down. But I sacrificed quality and passion for "get it done" and I'm not happy with that. I think that is the biggest reason for the neglect.

I'm happy to say that after a lot of thought I'm ready to re-commit to this blog and work hard to bring fun, exciting content. I am looking forward to trying new things and creating new recipes and getting back to the things that made me happy all of those years ago. And I'm really excited that you guys have all been amazing and supportive and have stuck through this with me. I really appreciate it and you all mean so much to me. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to create new content for you.

I'm hoping to get back to a twice a week schedule (maybe building up to 3 posts per week) and I have thought of a bunch of fun new series to get started on. Hopefully I'll be able to get started next week and I'll let you know my intended posting schedule.

Anyway, thank you all so much for sticking with me. It means so much to me that you are still here. If there is anything specific that you would like to see please leave it in the comments below. Are there any recipes I should try out or that I should work on creating? Any places or products I should try? Let me know <3

Grocery Haul and Stuff I Ate

Hey everyone! I hope that all is well and that you had a nice week last week. Mine was busy but pretty good. I managed to get a few food pics but not enough to justify their own post so I'm going to add them in here with my Trader Joe's haul from Sunday. They definitely had to be shared because they were pretty awesome if you ask me ;)

As I mentioned last week, a lot of processed shit has crept into my diet and I'm feeling pretty crappy because of it. My grocery haul will reflect that as you will see the majority of it was produce. I'm hoping to do a bit of a reboot so I can start feeling better and have more energy to get back to the gym.

First up some salad ingredients. Nothing terribly exciting but yummy nonetheless.

A bunch of yummy stir fry deliciousness as well as some pears.

These are the few grocery items I got. The tater tots were for Superbowl festivities but the rest of it fits in pretty well, haha.

I did not buy these but I am pretty sure they are vegan. My question is, do I want to try them? ;) I go back and forth on it. It sounds delicious but I feel like it could go either way.

I finally tried jjajangmyun (Korean black bean noodles)! These were instant so not quite the same experience as fresh but they were good. I definitely want to try fresh but I know I'll have to make it myself because I think most places cook it with meat. This instant pack happened to be vegan and used wheat gluten instead of meat.

Another Sunday bubble tea! Same as always except I went with a medium this time. I love their little skulls on the cup.

I had to share my Superbowl dinner with you because it was too damn good not to! I made loaded cheesy tots (sans "bacon" because I've never liked bacon in any vegan or non-vegan form) and served it up with Tofutti sour cream. You guys, it was so good! The rest of the tots are snuggled up in the freezer for later use when I've feeling less crappy.

So that is what I have for you for today! Stay tuned for a lot more veggies in the next meals I share. I'm pretty excited for them because I just feel like garbage. If you have any healthy veggie packed recipe suggestions please send them my way!

Hope you all have a great week! I'll see you soon <3