Weekend Warrior

The title of this post has many meanings...I can't really consider myself a "weekend" warrior since I tend to work many weekends (working tonight actually).  My weekends usually occur during the week. 

Also, if you know me IRL (in real life) you know that I'm in the process of joining the Navy Reserves...and they are frequently called weekend warriors...but that's another post for another day.

This weekend however I felt like a weekend warrior...super busy, over planned, lots of tasks...

But I got it all done!!

My weekend started on Friday morning after I got off work.  My friend Alli and I headed over to Bonita Cove down in Mission Bay...what a beautiful morning it was!

We were really excited to get in the water!

After a swim/run combo we headed out to breakfast...only problem?  I forgot alternate footwear and ended up sporting my work shoes (love my Danskos!) to the cafe.

Oh well, no harm, no foul...though I may have gotten a small parking ticket...parking signs are much harder to read when you are sleep deprived!

Saturday was spent cleaning, chauffering, circuit training...

See...working out is fun!  Wheelbarreling reminds me of being a kid, but it's harder then I remembered!

Picnicing...(with my monstrous vegan, gluten free portabella mushroom sandwich and cilantro pesto tofu from Whole Paycheck Foods)...

And bbq'ing/playing around with our circus friends (Shanne's got this 2 high down!).

This morning though was when the real warrior'ing began (Angel was really, really trying to help).

Daddy took on a project (he likes to take things apart, what can I say?)...

Addy wanted to "reorganize" her room...

And of course, I cooked!

First on the menu was a chia jam recipe by Powercakes...

Then I thought to continue her recipe an easier way for a busy mom and stuffed the jam in Bob's Red Mill gluten free cornbread mix muffins.  I veganized the muffins by using vegan "butter", almond milk, and applesauce instead of eggs...they turned out WAY better then I planned!  Though I do plan on making her full recipe as I'm pretty sure they will be AMAZING pre-race (ANY race)!

Next up was my favorite chocolate pudding.  I adapted it from this recipe...and it worked so well! 

You could sweeten it up with more stevia if you want, or maybe some agave, but I prefer it not too sweet with more richness...hint, it's better once it sits in the fridge for a bit to really blend the flavors...just saying.

Now it's nap time for me and a few nights of work...seriously busy week ahead...I'll post on that later...lots of good things coming!  Night y'all!

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

by Jaclyn Trosper adapted from the Rawtarian

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: N/A

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 4 ripe avocados peeled and cored
• 6 figs (ends cut off)
• 4 T organic cocoa powder (unsweetened and plain)
• 16 drops liquid stevia (you could use agave or honey if you want, or even a flavored stevia would be amazing!)
• 2 tbsp almond milk to help blend

Instructions

Place all ingredients in blender or food processor. Mix well. I have a Vitamix so the consistency is super creamy...results may differ in other machines, but the idea is all the same. You can sweeten it up more if you want! Place in the fridge to set and let the flavors meld...what a treat!

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No longer a carnivore...week one in pictures

AHHHHmazing GFV Ice Cream Sandwich

It's been almost one week since I started this vegan quest with my best friend Bex in order to take control of my health and huge risk factors related to cancer and high cholesterol. I'll admit I was skeptical and a bit nervous about the huge change to my diet and to my lifestyle. I'm already gluten free (for over 2 years now) so taking away another huge component of my diet was a daunting task. But armed with knowledge, recipes, and a healthy dose of motivation I embarked upon the week with a sense of adventure and a desire to cook up some good gluten free vegan (GFV) grub. Monday was the weekly bed date and Bex had the fabulous idea of "tuna" melts...so I scoured for recipes and finally settled upon this fabulous recipe from Happy Herbivore. I had also picked up some GFV chocolate chip cookie dough and Bex again came up with the idea to make them into ice cream sandwiches (with coconut milk chocolate ice cream). As you can see from the picture above, they turned out amazing. As did the tuna melts...we were off to a great start.

Although I can't map out every meal of the week, I can show you some pics of the goodness that ensued.

Pesto stuffed portabella mushrooms...I made the pesto in the Cuisinart. Lots of basil, olive oil, garlic, almonds, nutritional yeast...all pureed and mixed with vegan Daiya mozzarella cheese and stuffed into a cleaned out portabella mushroom and baked. Served them over quinoa cooked in No Chik'n Bouillon. Amazing meal!

I then used the Cuisinart again (it may be my favorite GFV appliance) to make vegan chocolate pudding. I then made almost a game out of it at work by making nearly every nurse taste it and try to guess what it was made out of (avocado). Only one nurse got it (go Jenny!). It was so, so yummy...really took care of any chocolate craving I could have possibly had...but small doses, because it's rich!

The above skillet concoction is a fair representation of how most of my meals for the week looked. Basically I just threw veggies and tofu into the skillet with whatever spices I fancied and possibly of soyrizo...and then plated it over rice, quinoa, or potatoes. Or maybe I was feeling adventurous and wrapped it in a corn tortilla (rice and beans are a fav...or my own GFV chili).

GFV french toast. Gluten free bread soaked in coconut milk egg nog and mashed banana, then pan "fried". Seriously amazing...didn't even require syrup!

Cashew "sour cream" served over my GFV chili or portabella mushroom fajitas was a total hit! So much so that you can see the finger tracks through the bowl!

Not everything I made this week was from scratch. This banana bread was so simple. Just add some Ener G egg replacer, warm water, and 2 mashed bananas...and voila! Amazing, moist, fresh GFV banana bread straight from the oven. It's really, really good!

So that about wraps up my first week as a non carnivore. Here's hoping the rest of the weeks ahead are as flavorful and fun!