June and July Highlights

 I haven't been keeping up with blogging for the last while. The reason is very exciting though. My husband and I went to Europe this summer! I didn't realize how much planning is involved and I only did half of it, phew. A food related and exciting part (for me) of the planning was how we were going to manage eating plant strong while travelling. Luckily, there are many others that have shared this information. I was looking for tips on eating vegan, plant based, healthy and budget friendly. After a lot of research and bookmarking a few restaurants via Happy Cow, our main staples ended up being: oatmeal, bread, fresh local fruit and veg, more bread, hummus, canned beans, pasta, quick brown rice and rye crackers. A few websites that gave me these tips are: Vegan Backpacker, Healthy Vegan Recipes and Happy Herbivore.

In retrospect, it was much easier to stay vegan than (whole foods) plant based since we visited so many cities and had a lot of travel days. I ended up eating more processed foods than I had planned and found it a little difficult to avoid added oils. That said, this trip is probably the only one of its kind we'll do. We were gone over 6 weeks and visited almost 20 cities! As incredible as it was, I do miss my whole foods plant strong lifestyle and am excited to get back at it.

Here are a few food highlights from June and July before we left for our trip. 

Potato chickpea curry. I used the base of Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's Cauliflower Curry Soup and replaced the cauliflower and sweet potato with Yukon Gold potatoes. I do this with recipes when I don't feel like making a special shopping trip for the specific ingredients. This especially works with soups, use a base you like and see if the ingredients make a good fit. Sometimes, you can create something that's even better than what you started with! Or sometimes you end up with a bust, but that is how you find out what doesn't work, which is equally as important in my opinion.

Donut Peach from Kin's Farm Market on top of spinach. 

Kale from my parent's garden. I didn't realize that fresh really is better, until I tasted it ;) 

When my parent's were away in June I pulled out my mom's Chipster and made some sweet potato chips. 

And they turned out pretty good! A little uneven in some spots, but tasty. I microwaved them a little longer than the instructions for regular potatoes adding 30 secs at a time until there were no soft spots left. They were crispy, sweet and oil free! 

I went to a race by myself, it was my first time going alone and I'm glad I pushed myself to go. It was the Canada Day Rock in White Rock. A very hot day, so I'm glad we had an early start. 

I ate the other half before the photo - so hungry! 

Since the post race snacks were pancakes, brownies and birthday cake...I decided to look for an option that would keep me feeling good. There was a small restaurant across from the start/finish line called Karmel cafe. I ordered a vegetable wrap with no sauce and was happy to see some extra veg on the side. Great snack after running on a hot summer day. 

Now that we are back, I plan to write a little about our travels including packing, food and restaurants. 

Sunday Running Happened So Fast

I rarely cook onions as I like them caramelized and they don't go with lazy cooking. But I found a way around this! I roast root vegetables all the time, so why can't I roast onions? So while my potatoes were roasting on the top rack I put the chopped onions on the bottom rack. I chopped two medium onions, added 1/3 cup water (for steaming and so the onions won't stick), a tsp of brown sugar, 4-5 drops of liquid smoke and a dash of Mr. Dash seasoning (tee hee). Baked covered at 375° for 50 minutes and I had delicious caramelized onions. 

Caramelized onions on top of roasted potatoes with a green bean and baby carrot medley. 

I made Happy Herbivore's blueberry muffins last week and they shrunk! Just kidding...they are mini muffins. They are so cute! 

This is a dish I have been getting at Langley Vietnamese Restaurant. I have to order off menu, which I do often. I ask for plain vermicelli noodles, topped with salad and steamed vegetables. It is filling, fresh and inexpensive. 

We participated in the Run For Water race on Sunday in Abbostford. It rained fairly hard at times and we were soaked, but it was worth it. We both enjoyed the extra oxygen in the air, the atmosphere and the volunteers cheering everyone on. My favorite sign a young volunteer was holding said "Rain is temporary, internet results are forever!" Gave me a chuckle and encouragement as I kept on. As mentioned before, my plant strong diet has really fueled the extra energy I have for activities such as this. I was able to shave 2 1/2 minutes off my previous race time and placed first in my age group with a time of 25:03! 

After the race, we were super hungry and cold. We pulled in to a shopping center off the Mt. Lehman exit, almost deciding on Wendy's across the street (for their baked potatoes). But there was a Vietnamese Restaurant straight ahead! Even tho we had it the another night, we wanted to try it in a new location. I am so glad we did! It was so delicious, the vegetables were so fresh and cooked perfectly. They also had vegetarian/vegan options and we didn't have to order off menu :) Above, we shared an order of the vegetable salad rolls which included fresh mint, mmm. 

Vermicelli with steamed vegetables (I asked for steamed instead of fried). The vegetable mixture had onions, broccoli, carrots, and baby corn. The dish was topped off with a pickled carrot. So good, probably one of my favorite meals out to date! 

Back in The Kitchen

Now that work isn't so busy I have been able to put a little more effort in to the creativity of my meals. I love throwing together rolled oats, apple sauce, almond milk, triple berry mix and cinnamon. I bake it in my toaster oven till bubbly and slightly brown. I like it better than a crisp since the fruit is still in tact and there is no added sugar.  

I played around with a roasted tomato hummus on the weekend. It was quite good but I want to experiment with it again before I post a recipe. Surprisingly it had the most flavor when paired with a snap pea. 

Spring rolls from Happy Herbivore Abroad with a few adjustments. I didn't want a heavy sauce so squeezed a bit of lime juice in between bites. Refreshing dinner on a hot day. 

Sometimes you can create something so tasty out of left overs. My parents had lentils and peas in their fridge, so I reheated them, placed them on a bed of spinach, crumbled a few Guiltless Gourmet Chips, and drizzled on some left over pasta sauce. After the photo I tossed on nutritional yeast which took it to another level. 

Since my mom wasn't around for Mothers Day...I decided to celebrate without her anyway, with waffles! I used PC Blue Menu Whole Wheat Pancake Mix. Since the recipe calls for eggs, milk and oil, three things this girl don't eat, I substituted soaked chia seeds, almond milk and apple sauce. They turned out great! 

Chips, Pizza and Sorbet

Busy busy at work last week, luckily we had beautiful fruit plates to keep us going. I admired my co-workers display. 

"What u doing? Taking a bad photo?" 

 I have been wanting to try other kinds of whole grain rice besides Basmati and found California Brown Rice at our local Superstore. This short grain cooked up less starchy compared to a long grain and was a bit chewy. Nice for a change. My husband said it reminds him of rice you would get in a restaurant, ha. 

Baby romaine greens, left over iceberg head lettuce, black beans, cherry tomatoes, nutritional yeast and a squeeze of lemon juice. Quick and refreshing salad.  

I have been looking for these chips ALL OVER! I gave up a while back after searching many stores only to find they have discontinued carrying them. You'll never guess where I accidentally found them. Winners, yes, WINNERS. LOL I bought four bags in my excitement. I may go back for more, but I don't like to have too much processed food in the house at once. 

That is why I only bought one box of these. I like the name because that is exactly what they are, rolls of crunchy rice. A little expensive, around $4 a box, but a fun low fat vegan treat.  

I had the baked (not fried!) Guiltless Gourmet chips with cherry tomatoes dusted with nutritional yeast. Be sure to check the ingredients if you are vegan or dairy intolerant as the spicy black bean flavor has cheese. 

Very excited to find out there was a Vegan Pizza House only a half hour drive from us AND right by the beach! 

We ordered half Garden without Daiya Cheese for me and Greek for him. It looked so pretty I couldn't wait to dig in. Unfortunately we are quite picky regarding pizza crust and found it a bit greasy and soggy. Sometimes there is something to be said for making a chain restaurant work for you or making pizza at home. 

It was such a beautiful night we walked almost the entire strip and down the pier. 

And look what I found on the way! Cheeky me, I have been here before and couldn't wait to spot it during our walk. I snapped a photo so quickly, not wanting to seem like a creeper, so there is some glare in the Raspberry Gelato. Among the gelatos are dairy free sorbets. There was green apple, lime, mango, and strawberry. My husband mentioned there was pineapple, I think I will need to go back again to confirm. 

I was a little hungry since I didn't each much of our pizza, so I got two scoops of sorbet. Last time I tried the green apple and lime, this time I opted for mango and strawberry. It was perfect on a hot sunny night.  

Whistler and Dessert for Dinner

We headed up to Whistler Mountain last weekend, it turned out to a beautiful day. It was a little grey at first, but I can assure you it was bright and sunny most of the day! Beautiful. 

Since we didn't have time to head back down for lunch, we were hoping to find a snack to tide us over until dinner. Luckily for us, Whistler has vegan options! At the roundhouse there was vegan soup and various rice bowls. We both chose the African Peanut and Yam soup. Shaky ski legs and cafeteria trays make for a messy bowl photo. 

I don't normally get anything from tea shops when we are out. Yes I'm thrifty, but, downtown for a show we had some time to kill. I discovered an awesome Vanilla Rooibos tea at Starbucks. Even better with a splash of soy milk. 

My parents bought a new toaster made by Krups. They are really liking it so I thought I'd share. The knobs are sturdy, it doesn't take up much space and thick buns fit easily.    

Before I went for a run, I threw some yams rounds in the oven and dusted them with cinnamon. 40 minutes at 375° degrees, perfect. 

Spinach and Jonagold apple salad before dinner. 

Yam rounds with left over apple (from the salad) and a side of apple sauce, dusted with cinnamon. The apples provided nice texture contrast to the buttery roasted yams and creamy apple sauce. I love a dessert dinner!

The Market and Engine 2 Lasagna

Langley Farm Market always has gorgeous apples, like the above Ambrosia's. Another favorite we watch out for are Gala's. This market usually brings in apples from the Okanagan, reminding me of summers driving to the interior to visit relatives.  

I usually wash the apples in baking soda and water before putting them in the fridge. We can just grab and eat. 

Loaded up on sweet potatoes, yams and yukon gold potatoes. I've already used quite a few of the sweet potatoes and yams, roasting them my favorite way. 

We got ambitious the other night and decided to make a lasagna. I've been wanting to try the Engine 2 Raise the Roof Sweet Potato Lasagna for quite some time. I love a lasagna packed full of veggies, so I was sure this recipe fit the bill.  And fit the bill it did. Note: his side we topped with ground cashews, mine with tomatoes and nutritional yeast.

The veggie mix prior to assembling the lasagna, such pretty colors. 

This lasagna was awesome, so hearty with sweetness from the corn, potatoes and tomato sauce. We will definitely be making it again and we'll pick up a bit more pasta sauce next time. We were a bit short, but it still turned out quite moist. Thanks for the delicious recipe Engine 2! 

A Birthday and Food On The Go

This meal is called....Wehadno foodleft. Yep. 

Much prettier, cupcakes for my Dad's bday. I took my favorites parts of two cupcake recipes and made a new recipe. They turned out delicious! Light, fluffy and chocolaty. I topped them with a tofu icing that turned out quite runny, so I thickened it with Chia Seeds. It worked quite well in a pinch.  

Quick dinner before serving the cupcakes, roasted mini potatoes on a bed of spinach. I topped the potatoes with Mrs. Dash (herb and garlic) seasoning before going in the oven. I love simple dinners. 

My husband and I took his sister to the airport on the weekend. I'm going to miss her, but I made a new friend pretty quick! 

Plain oatmeal with bananas and cinnamon, a great breakfast before a Sunday run. Unfortunately, around the 4.5 km mark, I fell down. Another scraped knee, what am I, five?! Embarrassing...but worth it. 

Since you can't cook with a scraped knee ;) we decided to head to Mucho Burrito for dinner. I usually get the small burrito, but my husband said two mediums, it is HUGE! I couldn't finish it and had to give the last 1/4 to him. 

I love that they have vegan options! We order the veggie burrito with fresh veggies, since the grilled ones are fairly oil saturated. We also get rice, pinto and or black beans, fresh salsa, cilantro and jalapenos. Quite satisfying. 

Not cooking dinner allowed me time to make rice for lunches, using my favorite method mentioned in this post. I also was able to fill up the oat jars. I love having an open shelf in the kitchen displaying grains, beans, pasta, nuts and seeds. They are easy to grab and allow for roomier functional cupboards. Once I stock up on some more product, I will take some pictures of the grain shelves.