for breakfast I had this great oatmeal ~
ingredients:
- oats (any kind, but I generally use rolled or instant)
- almond milk or any kind of plant milk
- water
- cacao powder
- banana
- peanut butter

for one part oats, add one part milk and one part water. (so for example 1 cup oats, 1 cup water and 1 cup milk would create a good consistency, at least for me)
you can make it more milky or more watery, if you want.

I like to heat up the milk and or water first, and when it's warm I add in the oats. After about 1 minute, I add in the cacao, banana and peanut butter (though these are optional). Pour oatmeal into a bowl when oatmeal is soft. For me, that's normally after around 3 ~ 5 minutes of cooking.

to decorate, add any other fruits you like.

will post photos when I make it!

That sounds really good. I keep meaning to try this recipe from Aarti Sequeira to jazz up my morning oats:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...al-recipe.html

But I'm always lazy or late in the a.m. About all I'm up to is stirring in some cocoa powder or cinnamon.

B: Cornmeal, pumpkin, banana milk
S: apple
L: mixed greens, carrots, dried cranberries, pecans, hummus
Dinner will be: roasted fingerling potatoes and asparagus, homemade spicy pinto beans, sweet potato and spinach "burger"
loose leaf tea

Homemade hummus (with lots of garlic & sesame oil) and Simple Truth Organic Exotic Vegetable Chips.

B: Farina with tumeric and black pepper and a little soy creamer

L: Romaine lettuce, quinoa, pepper, peas, walnuts and a garlic vinegar/olive oil dressing

D: leftover spaghetti with onions, peppers, and Tofurky italian sasage

Lots of black tea, and lemon water

hunting for something sweet...

Mince Pie used to be one of my favorites until I learned (after going vegetarian) that some of them actually do have meat (beef) in them. I have no idea why- I could never taste it, with all the dried fruit, sugar, and spices, and I thought it was just a figure of speech. I also didn't know the prepackaged dough my family used was made with lard (Pie crust made with melted piggie! THAT'S good eatin'! *retch*). But now I read the label. Some mince pies are vegan.

Pear cider?! I'll have to track that down! It'll have to be sweet though- I've tasted apple cider that went "hard" and although some like the kick, I thought it was ruined, taste-wise.

Anyway: over the course of the day I had baked homegrown butternut squash, my own pinto bean and blackeyed pea chili (blackeyed peas also homegrown), my own whole-wheat salt-free bread, fruit, water...

B: smoothie (frozen banana, collard greens, almond milk, cocoa powder, chia seeds, water)

L: larabar; grapes; sandwich with sliced avocado, tomato, Ezekiel bread and Annie's Light Goddess dressing

D: homemade baked beans; coleslaw mix with cabbage, raisins, carrot, onion from garden, sunflower seeds, and homemade cashew/coconut milk mayonnaise; almond milk

Would you mind sharing the recipe?


L: stirfried noodles with cabbage, onions, and soy sauce

D: sweet potato black bean quinoa chili with tofutti sour cream, sliced cucumber, a banana, and 1/3 of a pomegranate

Before I share the recipe, I should warn that I have a high speed blender (Blendtec) so I don't know how this would work in a regular blender. If you soak your cashews in water for several hours it might work.

I blended:
1 cup cashew nuts (whole, unsalted and unroasted)
2/3 cup or more of a full fat can of coconut milk (I have used lite coconut milk and it works but is not as creamy)
2 tablespoons of oil (I used olive as that's what I had on hand) (most recipes call for 1/4 cup oil but I don't find it needs that much)
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar (be conservative at first and add more as needed)
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
dollup of dijon mustard (optional but I like it with coleslaw)
sweetener to taste (I used a tablespoon of maple syrup but found it was slightly too sweet so will use less next time)
spices like turmeric, marjorum (some recipes call for onion powder or garlic powder but I used these instead)
pinch of salt/pepper (optional)

Blend until creamy. If you find you need more liquid, you can add a little water, and if you find it is too thin, you can add a little cornstarch or a few more nuts to help thicken it again.

It's a rich mayonnaise and a little goes a long way, but it is so good! I have made lighter mayos using silken tofu instead of nuts and no oil and it still tastes good (and would work in a regular blender I am sure), and I have used blanched almonds in place of cashews also. I think once I even used avocado but that was a slightly different recipe.

I don't tend to stick with exact measurements and like to play around so I add a little at a time, blend, test taste, and add more.

B: smoothie (banana, mango, almond milk, protein/greens powder, coconut sugar, cinnamon)

L: couscous salad with curried broccoli, chickpeas, spinach, red onion, cucumber & balsamic mustard dressing

s: popcorn

D: sweet potato/black bean quesadillas, roasted chickpeas, butternut squash soup

Thanks for the recipe! I have a less powerful blender. I usually strain sauces/purées with a sifter, but you can also use a cheesecloth. The leftover pulp can be added into a smoothie for sweeter recipes.

You are welcome!

I forgot about using a food processor too. I don't have one but I have heard this works for pureeing nuts too.

I have a nutmilk bag for straining pulp out of homemade milk. I love it because I can use it over and over and it's easy to clean and is a very fine mesh. I bought it at a healthfood store for less than $6 and have used it probably 40 times by now. I used to use cheesecloth before that but love my nutmilk bag!

Almost forgot lol

B: smoothie with frozen banana, vega protein powder, pure cocoa powder, romaine lettuce, almond milk and water

L: sandwich with sliced tomato, avocado, black pepper, Annie's Light Goddess dressing; handful of grapes (I like red ones); later had a larabar (apple pie one) as I worked late...I was the last one to leave the office yesterday lol.

D: quickie meal: chickpea flour omelet with frozen steamed mixed veggies tucked inside and a packet of Hain's vegan brown gravy over it all; almond milk

I'll admit that my calories for the day were more sparse than usual (I also worked out at the gym for 1.5 hours in the morning and worked 7:30 to 5:30pm, usual shift is 8-4:30), but Thanksgiving is coming and my anxiety about eating too much. :/ In fact I am anxious about a LOT of things which makes it hard to eat. I really need to calm down and enjoy my vacation day today....as I think of the work piling up in my absence lol.

I would definitely need to soak them. Thank you for the recipe! I haven't tried commercial vegan mayonnaise, but I'm fairly sure I won't care for it, given how finicky I was about regular mayonnaise. I don't like anything too sweet on my sandwich.
.

tea with soya milk

2 Complete Cookies (white chocolate macadamia)

a tropical fruit cup

apple and carrot salad with lime juice

soya cafe latte

falafel pocket with greens

a rice cake with peanut butter. keeping it low calorie until our feast later. and then the listing of foods begins....

I just had a celery rib with peanut butter for the same reason lol. Cooking all kinds of foods for a feast!

Stuffed Butternut squash with an apple, carrot, mushroom, and sweet potato stuffing. Also red curry and brown rice! Best Thanksgiving ever! (Though only my second one as a vegan)

oatmeal and blackberries for breakfast

Thanksgiving (rest of day) (entire meal was gluten free vegan for my family):

Beyond Meat "chik*n" strips, zucchini, green pepper, stewed tomatoes over brown rice
Sister's rice dish with roasted bell pepper, snap peas, scallions, olive oil
buttercup squash with spices
mashed red potatoes with skin on
gluten free vegan homemade from scratch apple pie (getting the top half of the rolled out gluten free crust over the pie was a huge challenge and it crumbled slightly so no photo as it didn't look too impressive but it was delicious!)
SoDelicious cocowhip to go over the apple pie
flaxseed milk

B: I finally made Aarti's pumpkin oatmeal with raisins. I was inspired by mayayoung's oats. It was so delicious and creamy. I also had a banana.

L: hummus wrap with romaine on whole wheat tortilla, baby carrots

D: tofurky with its stuffing, garlic mashed yukon gold potatoes (skin on), cranberry orange sauce, roasted onions. I decided I'd cooked enough for today and I skipped the gravy. I'll probably make that tomorrow for the leftovers.

Unexpected joy of Thanksgiving for one: I used my own timetable and had no stress and nobody else to please. Plus I talked to my family who are all out of town and was able to really settle in and enjoy rhe conversations since my food was practically cooking itself. (I did the tofurky in the crockpot since I've read they can be dry, and it worked really really well.)

had to save the gluttony for later..which i did....ugh.

I made up another oatmeal recipe:
This one is chocolate orange, because it's getting colder (unless you live in australia/other parts of the world where it's hot).

It's identical to the other banana chocolate recipe, except with this I add 2 slices of peeled, chopped orange. (a lot of juice will come out when you cut it up, so I like to pour that into the oatmeal as well!) You can always use orange juice, but I like mine with fresh oranges instead. If you do use fresh orange, be sure to mush the oranges a bit with your spoon/spatula after you've added it to your oats, so you release the juice.


for those of you who haven't read the other recipe, this a simplified version of it:
1) heat up any kind of plant milk and/or water, for 1 part oats use approximately 1 part water & 1 part milk.
2) when it gets warm, add in the oats
3) allow that to cook until it starts to thicken up a bit (maybe after 1 minute), then add in the banana/orange and cacao powder (for one serving/bowl, I like to add 2 teaspoons of cacao)
4) cook until it reaches the desired consistency, and then pour it into a bowl and dig in!

tea with soya milk

strawberry and chocolate scone

sandwich with carrots, onion, peppers, and greens on granary bread

half a Complete Cookie

vegetarian chilli with white rice

vegetarian sausages, potato wedges, and carrots

How do you like the blendtec? I am trying to decide between a blendtec and the vitamix. I like the fact that the vitamix can do so much.

B: leftover pumpkin oatmeal with raisins and maple syrup
L: sweet potato black bean quinoa chili, leftover mashed yukon gold potatoes
D: (planned) tofurky/cranberry sauce/mushroom wrap with romaine lettuce and whole wheat tortillas, 1/3 of a pomegranate

B: Oatmeal with chia seeds, topped with chopped walnuts and almonds, almond and coconut milk, dribble of molasses
L: brown rice with mushrooms, kale and made creamy with tahini
D: grilled eggplant layered with tofu/cashew ricotta and marinara sauce, green salad

Especially yummy food day!

Dates with coconut tea
Mashed potatoes, green beans, and carmelized onions
Falafel with rice and beans

Four slices of whole-grain sourdough baguette, each topped with homemade hummus and a slice of Roma tomato.... and a small handful of unsalted Brazil nuts.

(my main meal doesn't happen until after midnight, so just a nosh for now)

B: flaxseed-banana french toast with maple syrup (delicious, but I think I'll make the french toast mixture in the blender next time so it will be smoother)
S: french fries
L: african peanut stew with brown rice, lime, and cilantro, spinach, apple
D: (planned) leftover tofurky with cranberry orange sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, string beans

Update: For next year I need to remember that Tofurky needs to be reheated GENTLY. Four and a half minutes in the microwave turned it from moist loveliness into shoe leather. Ah well, live and learn.

B - Toast with yeast extract, peanut butter and jam
L/S - Vegetable crisps, raspberry liquorice (no food for vegans where we were performing :P )
S - Toasted pitta with homemade cashew cheese spread
D - Spiced potato wedges, baked beans and a vegan sausage.

I have since made it out to the shop and bought fruit/veg! Craving greens