Hauls and Meal Prep

Hey everyone. I hope that you are all doing well. I know this post is going up a little later than usual but things have just been so crazy here. Today's post will be quick. I'll just be sharing a few hauls and some meal prep that I did for the week.

First is a small haul from the Sweet To Lick Market. I went in to get the feta because I've been craving Greek salad and Violife is the best feta! I got some other goodies because why not. I saw this individual sized bag of Beanfields cheddar and sour cream chips and had to try them. I have never seen that flavor and thought they sounded delicious and omg they are! I would love to find a big bag of them for sure! I had to get my jerky of course and then some chocolate too.

You can't go to the market without going to the bakery! I grabbed a Halloween funfetti whoopee cookie and a rocky road bar, yum!

I went to Trader Joe's this weekend and grabbed some stuff from there as well. I got baby zucchini, grape tomatoes, inner peas, mixed greens, butter lettuce, baby spinach, tots, white beans, mini marshmallows, falafel, a potato, cornbread crisps, nutty bites with chocolate, pears, bananas and cauliflower rice.

After Trader Joe's I did some pretty awesome meal prep.

I made another delicious soup with all of the delicious veggies and white beans that I got. This is my new favorite soup and will definitely be a winter staple!

I made a baked oatmeal and used raisins instead of chocolate chips. This has bananas, almonds and raisins which are my favorite toppings for oatmeal. This is so freaking delicious and so easy to throw together.

That's what I have for you today! I'm so sorry I haven't been around much, things have been crazy but I'm really trying to find my balance. I hope you are all doing well and I promise I'll catch up on your posts soon! 💚

Stuff I Ate

Hey everyone! I hope that you are all doing well. I'm exhausted but looking forward to the weekend!I'm especially excited because I actually have plans! I am going to go to a psychic fair that is being held on Sunday and I'm really looking forward to it. I've never been to one so I'm not entirely sure what it entails but it sounded like something that would be interesting to check out. I've been a lot more spiritual over the past year or so and I think that this would be really cool. I will definitely let you know how it goes!

Other than that I plan on working on some art for the event I will be selling at in a few weeks and RELAXING. I've been so drained since I started this new job but I'm really trying to get back into the swing of things. For today, I have some stuff I ate to share with you. I apologize in advance for the horrendous lighting. I am not home during daylight all that often anymore.

As you know, I'm not really a pasta person. One pasta dish I did love was fettuccini alfredo. I really wanted to try making it and I wanted it in its proper, unhealthy form. I found a super easy recipe online and gave it a try. The texture of the sauce was great but I used the wrong creamer. It was supposed to be unsweetened but had a hint of sweetness so it was a little odd. I think I need to try and find Ripple or something completely unsweetened and give this a try again. Oh, and because I don't eat pasta I had to use udon noodles for this dish 😂

You guys know that I'm a grilled cheese master and this one was no exception. It was perfect on sourdough bread and so so gooey. This was exactly the comfort meal I needed!

I've been enjoying avocado toast for breakfast. Always delicious.

Delicious honeycrisp apples in horrible lighting. So sorry.

Random snacky type lunch plate. This is the ranch dip from Trader Joe's. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It has a nice flavor but you really get hit with that coconut flavor. I'm wondering how it would be with something more savory. For now, I'm not sure I'd repurchase.

Veggie filled plate with potatoes, broccoli and delicious asparagus. This was a great meal and I had it several times this week.

I hope that you all had a great week and that you enjoy your weekend! 💚

Trader Joe's Haul and Some Meal Prep

Hey everyone. I hope you are well. Today's post is going to be quick. Things aren't great here. I have a family member in the hospital with a serious condition since Saturday so I've been pretty preoccupied and busy. I have a Trader Joe's haul and some meal prep to share but that's about it. I'm sorry I won't have time to catch up on your posts, I just need to focus on this family member when I'm not at work. I'm incredibly stressed out so I'm just going to do the best I can.

For produce I got some bananas, pears, nectarines, a tomato, and avocado, strawberries, butter lettuce, shredded cabbage, the Sesame Crunch chopped salad kit, and broccoli slaw.

For random stuff I got some tots, the chick'n tenders, soy creamer and almond milk.

For randomness I got some sourdough bread, veggie chips, inner peas, sunbutter cups and an espresso chocolate baton. I can't wait to try that.

For meal prep I made The Healthy Maven's Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal. The only changes I made was swapping out the walnuts for sliced almonds because that is what I had and adding chocolate chips.

I can assure you it tastes as good as it looks.

Trader Joe's had these adorable succulent skulls for $10. I didn't get one but I really wish I had. Oh well.

So that's all I have for you today. I'm probably not going to have a post on Friday because I just don't have the space in my head for it right now. I'll be back as soon as I can and hopefully all will be well. It seems like she is improving but they need to keep her there.

Anyway, thanks for stopping in and I'll be back as soon as I can. 💚

Stuff I Ate: My First Week At My New Job!

Hello my friends! I hope that you are all doing well! Today is the last day of my first week at my new job! It has been exhausting and stressful. There is a lot to learn and a lot to do all the time. It's great because time flies but it's been really difficult for me when I feel lost and need help. I came from a place where I've been there for 11 years and just knew what to do. Now it feels like I'm trying to keep my head above water. I'm glad today is Friday and that the weekend is coming up. I have been sleeping so much more this week (which is great because I typically don't sleep well) and I'm looking forward to resting over the weekend. I'll have to figure out some meal prep as well and I'm sure that'll find its way onto this blog 😉 I am still working on getting used to this schedule and daily routine (I went from a 10:00-6:00 schedule 7 minutes away to an 8:30-5:00 schedule 40 minutes away) and I will catch up on all of your blogs this weekend! I promise!

I wanted to keep things easy for myself this week so I decided to just photograph the meals I've been eating and wanted to share those with you today. I'm going to try to get something fun up for you next week but for today, let's check out some stuff I've been eating this week as I get settled into my new routine!

I have been eating a lot of Asian Chopped salad kits. This one was one that I got from a regular grocery store and I also had one from Trader Joe's. I love these. They are so quick and easy. I think that I'm going to try and make my own next week by just getting my own veggies and chopping and dressing them myself. I can get more bang for my buck and it is a great, easy meal to have on hand.

This beige delight is some of the Morningstar Farms Popcorn Chicken and some Tater Tots from Trader Joe's. Not healthy at all but so delicious and a comfort meal for sure.

I've been making sandwiches to bring to work with me on some days (other days I've brought salad). It is a very basic sandwich because I don't have much at home. It is made on sourdough bread with tofurky slices, butter lettuce and some hummus. Definitely basic but so delicious and easy to make ahead of time (the bread doesn't get soggy despite the lettuce and hummus!).

This is the Sesame Crunch Chopped Salad (or whatever it is called) from Trader Joe's. You guys. The toppings that you mix in make this salad the best. It has nori, sesame sticks and cashews. So freaking good. I made a few pieces of the cauliflower tempura from Trader Joe's to enjoy with the salad. This meal was perfect. I brought the rest of the salad for lunch the next day.

Finally, I've been snacking on Skinny Pop White Cheddar Popcorn since finding out it was vegan. It's so damn good. I've missed popcorn in general (I don't know why I stopped eating it!) and white cheddar flavor is definitely a treat when you are vegan! My current favorite snack for sure.

So that is what I have for you today. It has been a crazy week and I'm looking forward to relaxing and catching up on your blogs and my comments. I hope you've all had a wonderful week and I'll see you back here next week! 💚

Trader Joe's Haul

Hey friends! I hope you are all well! Thank you all so much for all of your kind words and nice feedback about my MoFo posts. I'm really glad I accepted that challenge and really did have a great time posting all month. Today is my first day of work and I'm really excited about this new chapter in my life. It is still surreal knowing that I am not going back to the same place I had gone every workday for 11 years but the new beginning is very exciting. I'm looking forward to sharing how it went with you!

For today's post I have something I haven't done in a little while! I haven't been to Trader Joe's in a while and after receiving a gift card I figured it was time to pay a visit. I got some fun stuff and thought I'd do a Trader Joe's haul post, just like the good ol' days 😉

From the freezer section I got some Tater Tots, Veggie Spring Rolls, Cauliflower Tempura, Corn and some Shredded Hash Browns (I have something in mind, ha!).

For produce I got some butter lettuce, the Sesame Crunch Chopped Salad Kit, some peaches and a head of cauliflower.

Then I got the fun stuff 😉A loaf of Sourdough bread, Inner Peas, Dolmas, Chocolate Hummus (!), Mediterranean hummus, some marshmallows because they are seasonal and will likely disappear soon and then some Sunbutter Cups (these can be hard to find too so I loaded up). 

So that was my fun haul! I have a little bit of produce left to fill in as well as some things in the freezer. I will likely share some stuff I've been eating on Friday as I get my bearings this week and then hopefully I'll be able to share some more fun stuff next week 💚

Stuff I Ate

Hey everyone, I hope all is well and that you had a Happy 4th of July. Mine was quiet and I was quite emotional because I know I would have been spending the day with him. These milestone days like holidays and anniversaries and birthdays are going to be difficult but I'm doing the best I can to get through them. I decided to work on some art which was a pretty decent distraction for a bit but I definitely was emotional before and after that time.

As I mentioned on Tuesday, that night was the first memorial for Doug. It was really nice and a lot of people showed up to honor him and celebrate his life. There was time for mingling and meeting new people and there were speakers there to honor him. Midway through the speakers I was approached and asked if I would like to say anything and I instantly started panicking. All of these speakers had time to prepare and I was on the spot and I am NOT a public speaker. I instantly had anxiety but I knew that if I didn't speak I would never forgive myself to I agreed. I got up on that stage in front of at least 100 people and I spoke off the cuff and from the heart. I was terrified and it was not polished (I lost my words at one point) but it was honest and raw and vulnerable and I'm really glad I pushed through my own fears and discomfort to honor what we had. I know he was proud of me and I'm really proud of myself.

It was pretty late after the event but a group of us decided to go out for some vegan food in honor of Doug. We went to a restaurant that he really loved called PS Kitchen. One of the really nice things about this restaurant is that they donate part of what they make to charity and I know that he really loved that. It was a little sad because we arrived there essentially at the exact time of the accident exactly one month prior. We toasted Doug and enjoyed some great vegan food and company for him. It was really late (they were serving their late night menu) and although I didn't have dinner I went with a caesar salad because anything else would have been quite heavy. The caesar salad was DELICIOUS, the dressing was so yummy and it was a really great choice.

Overall the event was really nice and I met a lot of really amazing, supportive people. I have had people reach out since to make sure that I'm ok and that night I had a lot of people approach me with their condolences. Doug loved connecting people together and I truly believe his last act of service to his loved ones was to bring us all together.

I did have some pretty great meals through the rest of the week as well.

I made a pizza on the Trader Joe's crust and I added a cut up chick'n patty from Aldi to make it like a "chicken parm pizza" and it was SO DELICIOUS. I will definitely do this again.

I tried to be festive for the 4th of July and I had one of the Aldi soy protein burgers (it was very good, not the best I've had but definitely something I'd eat again) with some chips and corn. Also a great meal.

I tried the brownie dessert hummus from Aldi as well and OMG it's SO GOOD. I love it, it's a great way to satisfy a chocolate craving without getting too heavy or decadent. I had it with graham crackers and they were a perfect pairing.

I have been having avocado toast on the sourdough bread from Aldi for breakfast. I have missed eating avocado toast and this avocado was perfect so it was definitely really delicious.

As I mentioned previously, I tried to distract myself from the emotions and the loneliness yesterday by creating some art. I really like the way this one turned out and it was definitely a good distraction for a little while at least.

I really love the sponge painting effect that I've been achieving on my pieces. It's definitely becoming a signature style and I really like it.

I love these colors and quotes as well. I'm very happy with how this piece came out.

So that is all I have for you today. I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend so I can relax and maybe do something fun. I'm not sure what I'll do yet but I know that I have to get out and do something because sitting at home will drive me nuts. I do want to work on some more art as well if I'm feeling the least bit creative. Every day is still a struggle but I'm going to continue to take it one day at a time.

Thank you all so much again for your continued kindness and support. It really means so much to me and I'm so grateful for this community. 💚

Stuff I Ate

Hey everyone. I hope you are well and that you had a good week. Things are about the same here, still cycling through emotions and still crying every day. It comes in waves and I am certainly able to fondly remember the memories we do have but that typically is followed by the intense grief over the memories we never got to make. I have been making more of an effort to eat better and take care of myself. I feel a little lost but I know he will help guide me forward and I've still be working really hard to continue on the path that he had inspired me to take.

I've been eating a lot more fresh food this week and it definitely feels better. We should definitely be going to Aldi this weekend so we'll see what kinds of stuff I pick up. I will definitely be sure to share that with you on Tuesday.

I love fresh fruit during the summer so this container of cantaloupe and strawberries was delicious and refreshing.

I brought this for lunch one day. My standard dolma, roasted veg, fresh veg and hummus with a peach on the side.

I made a pizza for dinner using the pizza crust from Trader Joe's that you saw in my last haul. It was really good and came together so quickly. 

I had my weekly pumpernickel bagel with entirely too much tofu spread 😂 I always save the extra and use it later, it works out pretty well.

Another container of fruit, this time grapes and strawberries. Also delicious.

This dinner was super delicious and a little random. I had some dolmas, roasted veggies and hummus with some tots on the side. So good.

I wish I could give you a source credit for this but a friend of mine posted it on FB with no source. It really resonated with me right now so I just wanted to share it.

I've learned this week that sunglasses are your best friend with your eyes are perpetually puffy from random bouts of crying. You can't tell that I'm actually a mess under there 😂

That's all I have for you today. I'll be back Tuesday with an Aldi haul. I hope you all enjoy your weekend and do all kinds of fun summer things. I have no idea what I'll do this weekend but I do think some self care is going to have to be on the agenda.

Trader Joe's Haul, Stuff I Ate and Some Art

Hey everyone. I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was ok, as ok as it can be right now I suppose. My mom pushed back our Aldi trip to next weekend so I just went to trader Joe's to pick up a few things so I could eat some fresh food this week. I have that haul along with some delicious meals I've been eating. As a quick update, I'm still struggling. I miss him every second of every day. It's very difficult to go from having someone that became such a huge part of my life (we literally were in communication from the minute we woke up (often before 5am) until the minute we went to sleep (while we were both available of course… but it added up to hours every day) to never hearing from them again. I'm still working on living in his honor so I submitted an application to volunteer for my local chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) as mental health/illness is my platform that I am most passionate about (another thing that we had in common). I am hoping to hear back from them so I can get involved in any way that I can. My next goal is to get in some more self care time by myself. Before he came along I was alone all of the time and it became my comfort zone. Now I fear being alone but I know that I need some time to myself to do something that brings me comfort and joy.

All that said, I have a lot of images to show you today. I have my Trader Joe's haul, a little meal prep, some stuff I ate and a piece of art I created.

For produce I got some strawberries (finally!), an onion, eggplant, zucchini, baby carrots, grape tomatoes and sliced mushrooms.

For groceries I got two cans of dolmas, Mediterranean hummus, tots, the pizza crust I've heard a lot about, sliced almonds for oatmeal, inner peas, sunbutter cups and marshmallows.

I got the veggies to roast and eat with hummus. I roasted up the mushrooms, onion and eggplant with some black pepper and garlic powder and I love this mix with hummus and some fresh veggies and dolmas. I was supposed to add the zucchini but when I was cutting it I didn't like how slimy it felt so I just didn't feel comfortable using it. I actually really like this combination without it so it all worked out.

I made myself a little flatbread sandwich of roasted veggies and hummus with a side of some tots. This was such a simple but delicious meal.

I also made a little lunch plate of roasted and fresh veggies, dolmas and hummus. So tasty.

My dad kindly got me some watermelon and grapes so I had this to snack on throughout the day as well.

Another simple meal of Morningstar Nuggets and some corn.

This is the lunch I prepared for myself today. I made a bento box with my Monbento box with some roasted veggies, dolmas, hummus, carrots, tomato and grapes. It's going to be delicious.

The last piece of art I created I made the night Doug passed away. I was lucky enough that I shared it with him after I made it, so he saw it before the accident. Needless to say, I haven't felt very inspired to create since. Over the weekend I felt that creating a piece for him may be cathartic for me so I made a mini (4x4) canvas for him. I wanted to make a bigger piece but I didn't know how it would go or how I would feel so I stuck with a small one.

I thought this sentiment was perfect for how I felt about him. We waited for each other. We were not in each other's life for long but the impact that we made on each other was huge and we both knew that we had a beautiful future ahead of us. I wanted to include the butterfly because he was the catalyst of my metamorphosis. I'm a completely different person than I was before I met him. I will carry that with me forever but the pain that I have knowing that he won't be here with me to see the transformation still hurts me to my core.

I'm sorry to end this on a depressing note but I am sure it will be difficult for a while. As I continue to grieve and process I will also be moving forward with my life and working toward achieving my goals as I know he would want me to. I will continue to miss him and honor him as best as I can. And part of that is eating awesome vegan food because I know that we would be doing a lot of that together. I can't wait to share that with you.

I hope you all have a great week and I will see you on Friday. 💚