Vegan Cookies & Pizza

This afternoon I got a craving to bake. Weird, huh? ;) Our cookie jar was empty, which is somewhat rare in my house. To refill it, I baked two different types of vegan cookies. Both recipes were courtesy Dreena Burton. She is one talented lady. 

Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies.

"You Got Peanut Butter in my Chocolate Cookies"

Both cookies are outstanding. The chocolate chip ones are delicious. I had Chris try one without telling him they were vegan. I'm a sneaky girl. But he liked them! And oh the chocolate pb cookies! My mouth is watering just thinking about them. I mean, how can you go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter? My mom loved them and said she would have never thought they were vegan. I nibbled on a few of these cookies throughout the afternoon. 

Dinner was two small slices of veggie pizza and baby carrots. I had chipotle salsa on the side for dipping. 

 

I'm sipping on ginger tea which helps digestion and calms my stomach. My cousin and I have to be up pretty early tomorrow. She needs to get her passport renewed and afterwards we are going to lunch and MOA (again!) before I have to say goodbye and drop her off at the airport. Depending on how rushed I am in the morning, I might not have time to post until the evening. I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. I haven't had any formal exercise since Saturday- my irritableness today is a sign that I need to release my energy. I've also been grazing on food a lot this weekend since I've been home all day long. 

This coming week will be a short one for me. It's already Monday night and I'm flying to Chicago on Friday morning. I have lots to accomplish in 3 days! 

P.S. I'm loving the John & Kate Plus 8 marathon. 

Creamy Banana Goodness

Wow, it's another beautiful day out there. I am loving this string of sunshine. 

I wanted something light for breakfast but we're out of granola, and I didn't feel like making a smoothie. I made a variation of yesterday's honey yogurt oats. Today I used multigrain cereal cooked in water with cinnamon, vanilla, and half a banana. Afterwards I stirred in the other half of the greek honey yogurt container. I felt like eating the whole banana today so I sliced the remaining half on top of the hot cereal and drizzled with agave nectar. 

Breakfast: 351 cals, 4g fat, 10g fiber, 16g protein

I've realized my kitchen countertops reflect too much light in the natural sunshine. My breakfast pictures never look as good as the ones at night. 

Yesterday

I love working out earlier in the day because it makes me feel energized and leaves the rest of the day free. However, I do find that when I workout in the morning, I'm hungrier all day! That's how I felt yesterday. My protein & fiber packed lunch should have left me full for a few hours. But while I studied I was starving. I tried to ignore the hunger by drinking coffee but it persisted. I had an apple in my purse but I was trying to avoid it because it didn't look very appetizing. I finally gave in and ate it. It did nothing for my hunger. I got home around 6:30 and decided to have any early dinner. I heated up some of last night's leftover Cocoa-Coconut Chili and served it on top of a baked sweet potato with a little greek yogurt. 

I think I liked the chili served this way even better. 315 cals, 3g fat, 12g fiber, 12g protein

Confession: A few hours after dinner, I ate one too many cookies and dark chocolate m&ms. Had this been a portioned, thought out indulgence, I would have no problem. But it wasn't. I feel disappointed in myself for eating these treats spontaneously and "out of control". I guess it was just one of those days...

Bean & Corn Tortilla Lasagna with Avocado

Wow, another winning recipe from EDBV. I have yet to try a recipe I did not like from Dreena. She is an amazing cook who knows what people like. This lasagna was no exception.

But before we get to dinner, I tried a new product this afternoon...

After work, I ran a couple of errands with my mom. It took longer than expected and we didn't get home until almost 7. On the way home I was starving. I was torn as to what to do because I knew I would be having dinner soon but I knew I needed something to hold me over. I remembered I had a Cashew Cookie Lara Bar in my purse. This was my first experience with a Lara Bar and I really liked it. Chewy and dense. The ingredients in this particular flavor are just cashews and dates, nothing else. I wanted to eat the whole thing but I didn't want to ruin my appetite so I only ate half.

This bar was great because I didn't get hungry again until dinner was ready. I'll definitely be buying more of these and trying new flavors.

Now, on to dinner!

As soon as I came home I ran into the kitchen and began prepping for the meal. I had been looking forward to this recipe all day to satisfy my craving for Mexican food. A big plus is that this lasagna can be assembled quickly and bakes in about 30 minutes.

The recipe calls for tomato sauce, onions and spices, but I used a jar of roasted tomato salsa from Trader Joe's. I mixed the salsa with chipotle sauce, garlic and black beans. In a shallow glass pan, I alternated layers of the salsa-black bean mixture with corn tortillas, avocado, corn, and lime juice. I finished with the other half of the salsa mixture and sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top. I decided real cheese would be the best to use since my mom and sister would be eating this lasagna. I didn't eat any of the cheese on my piece though. I covered the pan with aluminum foil and put it in a 400* oven. After 20 minutes, I uncovered the lasagna and let the cheese melt for another 7 minutes.

While the lasagna was baking, I had a glass of wine, an Argentinean Malbec. My friend Meghan gave me this HUGE wine glass for Christmas. I love wine, in case you haven't noticed ;)

We made a quick spring mix and tomato salad tossed with homemade Italian dressing.

The lasagna came out of the oven after about 25 minutes.

We cut this lasagna into 6 huge squares. I used a bigger pan than the recipe called for so the slices weren't too thick, yet my serving was really filling. I almost couldn't finish it...but it was delicious so I did. Oh I should mention, I scraped the cheese off my serving so I wouldn't have a stomachache tonight.

I was looking forward to dessert all day but my stomach is really full. My mind wants dessert but tonight I'm listening to my stomach, and it's full so no dessert for this girl. There's always tomorrow.

Tasty Chickpea, Asparagus and Orzo

Dinner last night was heaven.

I made Heidi Swanson's Ten Minute Tasty Asparagus and Brown Rice Recipe.

Heidi is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I'm seriously going to Barnes and Nobles to pick up a copy of Super Natural Cooking.

I followed her recipe exactly except I used whole wheat orzo instead of brown rice. (I didn't have any cooked brown rice, so I chose orzo to make it a quick meal.) I also used a little less oil then called for. Oh and I threw in mushrooms that were about to go bad; and I added pine nuts, rather than almonds. The result? Outstanding.

The chickpeas getting nice and crusty in olive oil and sea salt

With the asparagus, mushrooms and orzo.

With the tahini dressing

This recipe is perfect for a weeknight, as it came together really quickly. It is supposed to make 4-6 servings. Ha. If your family is any thing like mine, it will only make four. It is however, SUPER filling. I was almost too full after I ate my bowl...but it was so good I licked the bowl clean.

FYI, my dad was wary at first. He doesn't like asparagus, (or broccoli/cauliflower/peas) so I carefully served his portion without any. He LOVED it. Mission accomplished :) It makes me feel so good to make these delicious dishes that are super healthy and tasty for my family.

Black Bean Chili topped Sweet Potato

When I'm in the mood for something comforting and filling, this is my go-to meal.

I bake a sweet potato in the microwave, split it open, add a cup of chili and finish it off with a dollop of plain greek yogurt. This meal is not only super satisfying, but full of fiber and protein. This should keep me full through my run in a few hours.

If I don't have homemade chili in my fridge, I use a store bought vegetarian chili. I usually use Trader Joe's but today I tried a new one : Health Valley's Spicy Vegetarian Black Bean Chili. My only complaint is that it's really not spicy! It has a slight kick, but not spicy enough for me.

Morning Snack

This morning I had another one of my favorite comfort foods, a bowl of oatmeal, as a snack. A serving of oats made with water, half of a pear, cinnamon and a few sliced almonds.

What are some of your favorite comfort foods?

Thanks for lunch, Trader Joe's

I have been busy working all morning long meal planning and various things. My breakfast did NOT hold me over very long this morning thanks to a lack of protein from hemp milk. Hm, guess I have to pick some up this afternoon. I ended up eating lunch at 12:30 and now I feel quite satisfied. I had a lot of fiber in this lunch so I need to let it digest before my run.

I heated up the last of my Butternut Squash soup leftover from last week. There was only about half of a cup of soup left but I added the Carrot Ginger soup from Trader Joe's that I used as a base for the soup. I topped it with a dollop of greek yogurt. The yogurt adds a really nice flavor to the soup because it balances the sweetness from the apples and honey in the soup base. With the soup, I had a TexMex veggie burger on a french roll. I picked up Dr. Praeger's Tex Mex Veggie burgers from Trader Joe's a couple of weeks ago. The ingredients are all natural and on the website it says "Where you recognize all the ingredients". The burgers have big chunks of vegetables so they tend to fall apart. Not really a "burger" taste though if that's what you are going for. Overall, I like them as a healthy, filling vegan option.

This isn't the most appealing picture but it tasted good! Oh, and as the title suggests, I am thanking Trader Joe's for this meal because I realized that my entire lunch came from Trader Joe's, including the greek yogurt and french rolls!