Fun Friday: Year In Review and Health Goals of 2019

Hey you guys! It's the end of the year and call me a predictable basic bitch but I thought it would be fun to run through some of my favorite meals that I enjoyed this year as well as talk about some of my health goals for the new year. It'll probably be easy to guess what my health goals are for the year but I always find that writing things out helps me to internalize it more and it helps to keep me accountable. I thought I'd start off with some of my favorite meals/products of the year and then I'd finish up by talking about some goals!

I could never do a yearly food favorites post without including my beloved Bubble Tea! It has been a while since I've had one since it has been cold but it is my favorite way to treat myself in warmer weather!

This doctored up ramen bowl was incredible. You'll see this year has been heavy in soups and salads and I was so happy with this soup!

The Tacodillas!!!! I haven't made these in a long time and I feel like that has to change because they were so so good.

I am going to toot my own horn here and say my grilled cheese game is strong. This one was made with Follow Your Heart "cheese" slices, sun dried tomato and fresh basil and it was freaking awesome.

Discovery of the century was a pumpernickel onion bagel with Tofutti Cream Cheese from the bagel store! YEEEESSSSSS!!!!

I ate A LOT of zucchini noodles and A LOT of salad this year. Both are awesome and these are not bad staple meals to have.

I discovered my love of (Vegan) corn dogs this year! I NEVER liked hot dogs or corn dogs but I tried the Field Roast mini hot dogs and I loved them!

One of my favorite restaurant meals! This was a delicious spicy stir fry from a Thai restaurant. It was so good.

My summer staple was definitely my Ranch Chick'n Pasta salad! This meal was incredible and it was so easy to make big batches to have for the week.

Vegan Chick'n Caesar salads were also big for me this year! So delicious and such a quick meal.

This beautiful soup was a quick meal thrown together with 4 Trader Joe's ingredients (Miso Ginger broth, Veggie Gyoza, bok choy and green onion). Delicious and comforting.

Probably the dish I'm most proud of is my Vegan No Chicken Noodle Soup! It is not a difficult recipe and it felt ridiculous to share it as a recipe but it tastes so authentic (to me at least) that I felt like I had to share it.

I had to include this AMAZING vegan burrito that I enjoyed on my birthday! I definitely want to get back to this restaurant because it was so so delicious.

So now that we've gone through some of my delicious highlights of the year I thought I could talk about my health goals for the New Year. As you know, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and I have been trying to figure out the best lifestyle changes to implement that will help me to be as healthy as possible while living with a chronic illness as well as help manage the symptoms all while being mindful about not triggering eating disorder thoughts or behaviors. It's a delicate balance of moving toward healthier habits but not getting obsessive about the food that I put in my mouth.

I've learned that while Fibromyalgia is mostly characterized as widespread pain and fatigue but I would add that it should also be characterized by sensitivity to… well mostly everything. I am sensitive to light and sound, I am sensitive to temperature, and as I've discussed before I have significant environmental allergies and I also am sensitive to chemicals and medications. So as I live with these sensitivities I have to question if the chemical laden processed food that I put in my body is contributing to my daily pain and fatigue. So, I've decided that the ONLY thing that I'm going to consciously make and effort to reduce/eliminate from my diet is chemical laden processed foods. It feels ridiculous to me to continue to put it in my body when I know that it doesn't do me any favors. At the same time, I am realistic and I know that there will be times where I will eat some processed food because it's freaking delicious, but I figure that limiting it to 5-10% of the time will help me make huge improvements. I will eat mostly fresh, whole foods (including grains and limited oil) and see how it works for me.

In addition I have set a goal to find workout routines that I can complete within my pain limits. I know that yoga will likely become a significant part of my routine as well as no impact cardio and I would like to see if I can tolerate some strength training as well. It's so difficult to feel like I'm starting over with the whole workout thing and with these limitations but everyone that I've ever spoken to about Fibromyalgia says that working out with help your symptoms improve so I definitely want to work on making new workout habits as well. 

I will be bringing you along for this journey, of course. I hope that it is something that you will be interested in. I know that the food will look a little different but I hope that you'll all still like it! And who knows, I may have a little something up my sleeve if this all works out for me and my changes actually do help me feel better 😉 Through the end of the year you'll still see some processed stuff as I finish out the stuff that I already have stocked and then you'll see the transition over the New Year.

I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and for those of you that celebrate I hope that you have a magical Christmas Eve! I'll be back here on Christmas day with another post for you! 💜 

Grocery Haul, Meal Prep and Meals... Oh My!

Hey everyone! I hope that you are all doing well, had a great weekend and are staying cool. I really enjoyed this weekend as I was able to see one of my best friends for the first time since December. We've been friends for almost 20 years and she is one of my favorite people on earth and I miss her all the time. We were also joined by her husband who is also wonderful and we had a great time. I'll share a little more on this later.

Today's post has a lot going on! Of course I have my (small) Trader Joe's grocery haul to share. I also got some meal prep done as well as some meals I ate over the past week to share with you. I also have the delicious meal I enjoyed with my friends to share as well.

Let's get into it!

First is the produce portion of my grocery haul. I got two bags of butter lettuce, some shredded carrots, asparagus, portabella mushroom caps, grape tomatoes, an avocado and an onion.

My grocery portion of the haul was quite small and contained two delicious treats: Crunchy Curls and Soy Creamy mini ice cream sandwiches.

Next up we have some minimal meal prep:

The timing could not have been more perfect to make these banana muffins. I have been craving banana muffins for a while and I happened to have some very ripe bananas that needed to be used so I got to work using my very favorite recipe: Chocolate Covered Katie's Fat Free Banana Bread recipe. Instead of strawberries I used walnuts and chocolate chips and I made them into muffins. Of course it can't be a Sarah muffin making experience without some sort of issue (seriously, why can't I just make a batch of muffins without incident?). This one was minor but I completely forgot that since these are fat free they would stick to the paper... seriously that's amateur hour on my part. Luckily it's not too bad and I was able to rescue my muffin from the paper (in a few pieces) but next time I'll just make the loaf like I normally would.

Of course I made a batch of my favorite pasta salad for the week. I usually get 3-4 servings from the batch (I usually use a half of a bag of pasta at a time and add tons of veggies) so lunches are pretty well set for the week.

And here is some stuff I ate:

Of course you know I have to have my watermelon!

This was a lazy yet delicious meal of mini Field Roast corn dogs with some roasted potatoes and obviously a lot of ketchup... because I love ketchup on everything.

A quick lunch of rice and beans and broccoli. Very delicious.

This was the amazing meal I enjoyed when I went out for lunch with my friends on Sunday! We had Thai food and I enjoyed this dish of spicy eggplant, tofu, broccoli, onion and green beans with a spring roll and some rice. So so delicious and the leftovers were devoured the next day.

We also went for some bubble tea and I had my usual Peach Pulp tea with boba. I thought I'd take a picture of the top before I punctured it with my straw because I thought it was so cute! You know I love my skulls so combine them with bubble tea and I'm a happy girl.

So there you have it! A little bit of everything to start off the week :) I hope that you all have a great week and I'll be back here on Friday with another post to welcome the weekend (well for you guys, not for me since I still work Saturdays). I hope that you are all enjoying your summer! What fun summer things have you been up to? 

Fun Friday: Self Care

Hey everyone! I hope that you are all doing well! Today's post will be a little different because it's not vegan centered per se but it is a topic that I do think is really important. As I've mentioned before, I deal with mental illness and have discovered how truly important self care is. I'm very guilty of not engaging in self care very often and as my plate becomes even more full I realize how important it is to take the time to relax and recharge and to do something for myself. I thought it would be good to discuss the idea of self care, some of my favorite forms of self care and I would love to hear what you do for self care!

As I've mentioned above, my plate has become pretty full. I have a full time job, run two blogs, and I'm currently in the process of starting a business (have I mentioned that here?). When I come home from work I go back to work. There are rare moments where I take time for myself but I don't do it nearly enough. It is currently something I'm working on and I'm trying to fit in more time to rest, relax and just take a moment away from the grind.

So, here are some of my favorite forms of self care!

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Quite possibly my single favorite form of self care is to completely unplug for a little bit. Even if it is just an hour I enjoy every second of that quiet time. This means no phone, no texts, no social media, no e-mail, NOTHING. It is my favorite form of quiet to be honest. As much as I love being connected to everyone I think we all need a break every now and then. In addition, I tend to pull random inspiration from random things so being connected means I'm constantly brainstorming and working. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but these sources of inspiration will still be there an hour or two later. So, if I can recommend one thing to you it would be to unplug for a little bit, enjoy the quiet and engage in your passions completely uninterrupted.

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Another one of my favorite things to do to take some time to myself is to just go for a drive. I definitely have to be in the mood for this since driving can cause a lot of anxiety for me but it is one of my favorite things to do when I just need to get out and away for a minute. I'm incredibly lucky to live so close to the North Shore of Long Island which boasts some of the most incredible scenery, history and property that I have ever seen. There is one spot that I have been going to since I was a teenager and it remains my number one place to go when I need some time to myself. It will turn my mood around without fail and driving also goes hand in hand with unplugging. I do not believe in talking on my phone (hands free or not) or texting (duh) while driving so being unplugged is a given. I highly recommend taking a ride when you feel like you need some time to yourself and to clear your head.

I mean we can't go through a self care post without mentioning that you should treat yo self to a great meal and/or dessert. It's not a matter of health or having a "cheat meal," it's a matter of sitting down to a favorite meal or treat and enjoying it. Healthy food is delicious and unhealthy food is delicious and your favorite meal or sweet can be healthy or unhealthy. The important thing is that it is your favorite thing and you should be able to enjoy your absolute favorite dish every once in a while. Some examples that I have shared above are a Rocky Road bar from the Sweet To Lick Bakery and the bottom is a mixed veggie Thai dish that I enjoyed with my friends around the holidays. Sometimes you just need to shed the "rules" and enjoy something because you want to enjoy it. I try to do this once a week. I also include my bubble tea in this section. I try to go every week in the summer and when I feel like it otherwise.

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Have a movie night! I specifically chose a movie night because it is the best way to truly lose yourself for a few hours and allow yourself to be part of another world. This is something that I'm actually planning to start and I'm hoping to do it once a week. I'm a Netflix kind of girl so I'll be staying home in my movie night and I think that the comfort of being home in PJs watching a movie is the perfect way to take a moment to yourself and a break from everything going on.

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When I was younger I was an avid reader. I would stay awake all night to finish a book and I would read book after book. I fell out of the habit as I got older but I've recently been putting my library card to work and I've gotten back into the hair of reading. The idea is similar to the movie night idea and you are able to escape and go to a different place for a while. It can also challenge you, provide comfort and take you on adventures you never could have imagined. I would highly recommend taking the unplugging advice as well and allowing yourself some uninterrupted reading time so you can really get into the story.

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Another form of self care that I love is to take a relaxing bath. Candles are great for enhancing the experience as well as scented bath products. Aromatherapy can be so helpful and so relaxing so to include that in your bath experience is really amazing. I think you definitely have to be a "bath person" to enjoy this but it can be one of the most relaxing experiences. I don't get to indulge in baths as often as I would like but I always love them when I do.

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The final form of self care the I practice all the time is journaling. I can say that journaling has been so helpful to me particularly in my mental health journey but also just in general. I feel better all around when I am consistent with my journaling and if I fall off course there is a major difference in how I feel. It is a really great way to get everything out and to let it go and move on and you are also taking the time to explore your thoughts and feelings in a way that you won't be able to when you are distracted. 

I hope that you enjoyed this post about self care. It was relevant because I am planning a self care night tonight because I really just need a few hours to recharge. I am planning on sharing what I did in my post on Tuesday!

Until then, please comment below what you love to do for self care! I would love to get a ton of ideas for people to be able to reference for their own self care.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 💜

Long Time No See

Hey everyone! I hope that you are well and that you enjoyed your holiday. I always love reading about the traditions that families have for the holidays and I've really been enjoying reading the posts that have popped up so far. We didn't really celebrate Hanukkah this year which was kind of disappointing but I've made it a mission to celebrate next year. My brother, sister in law and niece actually had a flight to catch Christmas night so we ended up just doing brunch with them at their house and I love watching Delilah open her gifts.

I know it has been a while since I've posted and I've just been pretty focused on my health right now. The medication I was given for my acid reflux has been amazing and I feel like a new person now. I can eat acidic foods and it doesn't really affect me (unless I forget the medication - more on this later). I'm really glad that I wasn't stubborn and decided to start the medication.

I don't have a lot of food to share at all but I'll show you what I do have!

I stopped by the Sweet To Lick (all vegan) Market a few weeks ago and forgot to share my haul with you. I haven't tried the gyros yet but I'm so excited to! The Follow Your Heart Shreds are definitely good but I'm not as in love with them as other people seem to be. I definitely plan on splurging on some Miyoko's Creamery products at some point but I'm very happy with everything I've tried so far from this haul.

The Saturday before Christmas I met up with my friend and her husband and we went out for Thai food for dinner and then went to see Pitch Perfect 3 (cute but not as good as the first two in my opinion). 

You guys. This was so freaking good. It was a thai eggplant dish and I subbed in some broccoli instead of bell peppers. It had tofu and string beans as well and the sauce was spicier than I anticipated. I had major reflux after this because I forgot to take my medication that night but honestly it was kind of worth it haha. It was delicious.

Because I don't have more food to share I thought it would be fun to share my Hanukkah and Christmas Eve planner layouts with you! I liked my smaller personal planner but missed the big vertical planner so I decided to switch back to the vertical style planner for the new year. I went with the Recollections planner which I got on major discount from Michael's and honestly it looks exactly like the Erin Condren when it's all laid out. Except I paid like $15 instead of the $70-$80 the Erin Condren would cost.

This is my super cute Hanukkah layout! The colors are so pretty but as you can see it is pretty squished.

The pictures do not do this layout justice. It is a foiled Christmas sticker kit and it is stunning in real life. This is the way I plan on laying out my stickers for the foreseeable future until I get annoyed by it, ha!

I just love how it is a planner and scrapbook at the same time.

If you like the stickers you see let me know and I'll be happy to tell you where I got them! The two kits are from Creating & Co. and the others are from a variety of Etsy shops.

I'm house/pet sitting this week so I'll do the best I can to get some fur baby pictures for you. I definitely plan on taking a nice bath on Sunday to relax after the week. I'm going to try to post again this week but the post I want to do requires some things from home… Maybe I'll just use internet pictures but we'll see.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! If I don't post before, please have a very happy New Year and stay safe that night! Thank you all so much for your continued love and support 💜

Long (Hopefully Exciting!) Post

Hey everyone! I hope that you all enjoyed your weekend! As always it seemed to have gone a bit too quickly but I have to say I enjoyed it fully. I actually went out and did stuff which is always exciting and I'll be talking about it more below. I also enjoyed some pretty great meals which I will also show you below.

Before I get to those I have some exciting news! I've decided that since I've been doing well with my consistent posting I really want to add a third post each week starting next week! I'm thinking my new posting schedule will be Tuesday, Friday and Sunday and I will be resurrecting my Fun Friday posts! I'll continue doing my Tuesday and (now Sunday) posts as usual but my Friday posts will consist of fun things like recipes, photography, Long Island fun, my favorite things, etc. I think it'll be a fun way of infusing a little more lifestyle into this blog. I'm excited! I hope you guys will love the Fun Friday posts too. Let me know if there is anything in particular you want to see. Any recipes? Anything I should go check out? Let me know in the comments!

Now, let's take a look at some delicious meals I've enjoyed over the past few days.

You guys. Seriously, you guys. This may be my new favorite meal at the moment. It was inspired by MommyTang's Rice Ball recipe. It sounded delicious but I made a few tweaks and made it into a rice bowl! This is basically Jasmine Rice that I seasoned with soy sauce and a little agave, some seasoned seaweed, green onion, sesame seeds and baked tofu (seasoned with Trader Joe's Onion Salt… omg so good!!). It was simple but so delicious. This was turned into two meals and enjoyed with some white (non-spicy) kimchi that I forgot to photograph.

Toast is always a good decision. I couldn't decide between avocado toast and hummus toast so I had a piece of each. Both have Everything But The Bagel Seasoning from Trader Joe's sprinkled on them as well. Super delicious

Yesterday I went out to lunch and bubble tea with a good friend of mine. We had some Thai food and you guys. It was SO GOOD. 

I got a light veggie soup in a veggie broth. It had tons of veggies and there were glass noodles hidden under them. There was crispy garlic on top and it was so flavorful and delicious. I also had spring rolls and they were amazing. You could see all of the black pepper in them and they were delicious.

After lunch we walked to get some bubble tea. I got my old standby, peach bubble tea. It was delicious as always. I always get 70% sweetness but I think I may try 50% next time. It's still quite sweet (not horrible) but I'm curious about how 50% would be.

I mentioned last week that I was going to make a conscious effort of making sure I get in some me-time this week. I had a plan and as long as the weather cooperated I was good to go. Luckily it was a beautiful day so I was able to make it happen!

If you have been reading here for a while you'll know that I really love the ocean and water in general. I never go to the beach because the crowds ruin the moment for me. I just can't find that peace and comfort with so much going on around me. After watching Moana I knew that I really need to grab my moment and get to the ocean. I decided that I would wake up early on Sunday morning and get my alone time at the beach. I woke up at 5:30 AM, was in my car by 5:45 and at the beach by 6:20. I spent an hour there and it felt so good to finally have that sand between my toes and the water washing over my feet and legs. It was exactly what I wanted… me, the surfers and the ocean.

I took some pictures to share with you from my trip.

The sun was rising and I thought the reflection off the water was beautiful.

It was so peaceful and calm. I really was in my happy place.

I can't remember if I've discussed this here but I've really loved the idea of surfing since I was fairly young. I've never tried it but it's definitely a bucket list item. Part of the reason I wanted to go so early was because I knew I could get some quality surfer watching time.

This dude was awesome.

Double surfers!!

I am so glad that I got up early and did this. It was exactly what I needed and I think choosing to go at that time was perfect. Oh and if you are curious this is Long Beach on Long Island.

That's all I have for you today! I hope you all have a great weekend! I'll be back on Saturday and then the new schedule will start next week! <3