What I Ate Today | Rainy Day Comfort Food

It’s always the hardest to get out of bed when it’s pouring out… but those days when you don’t, that’s heaven.

It’s finally spring here in New England, but with spring comes a lot of rain. And rainy days =  comfort food cravings, for me at least.

MORNING ROUTINE + SUPPLEMENTS.

I always start my mornings with a big glass of water. I usually fill up a 32 oz. mason jar and try to drink as much of that as possible before I leave for work. If it’s not a work day, like today, then I just continue to drink and fill up throughout the day. Today I had plain water, but sometimes I will squeeze in a lime or lemon for added flavor and benefit.

Next, I usually make myself a tea. I’ve been really into the Green Tea Matcha by Traditional Medicinals lately.

In the same cabinet that I keep my tea and mugs, I keep my daily supplements and powders. This seems to be easier for me, that way I see the supplements each morning as I make my tea and I am less likely to forget. Andy and I take a daily B12 supplement and are trying to get better with Vitamin D supplementation too. It’s recommended to take Vitamin D after a meal, which hinders my morning routine since I don’t eat breakfast right away.

Vitamin D is recommended to all people that are not getting at least 20 minutes of sun exposure a day. And it is believed that the majority of people are actually deficient in Vitamin B12, regardless of their current diet. Vitamin B12 assists in protecting the nervous system, DNA synthesis, promotion of normal growth in infants and children, and more. Supplementation of both are recommended (links to the brands I use above).

In addition to the vitamins, we try to consume barley grass juice powder (BGJP) and spirulina regularly. It’s extremely easy to add these powders to our smoothies daily, but when the weather is cold and we aren’t having smoothies regularly, we definitely don’t consume these greens as often as I’d like.

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BREAKFAST.

For breakfast I had a smoothie and 2 pieces of avocado toast. I tend to sip my smoothies over a long period of time, so the 32 ounces lasted me through lunchtime.

Smoothie (yields ~ 2x 32 oz. servings) 
2-3 bananas
1 cup frozen mango
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup wild blueberries
~1 tbsp of both BGJP and 1/2 tbsp Spirulina
Blend with water

Similar smoothie just minus the strawberries and blueberries. I didn’t take picture of the one I drank this morning…

These measurements are all guesstimates, so I may be off here! Just add whatever fruit you want into the blender and you can’t really go wrong  Just add enough water so that the fruit blends, some blenders are more powerful than others and require more liquid to properly blend. The smoothie was made by Andy the night before- we prep ours at night so they are ready to go in the morning.

Avocado Toast 
2 pieces of toast, my current favorite is When Pigs Fly Sourdough
1 Avocado
A dash of Himalayan pink salt
Sprinkle of Cashew parmesan cheese

Avocado toast was something I was drifting away from a bit, because I didn’t like the way I felt after having bread. I am so so satisfied with When Pigs Fly Sourdough though. My digestion feels much better consuming a freshly baked bread with minimal ingredients, and it really makes this meal so much more delicious and satisfying. There is a bakery near my work, but if I don’t get it there it is sold locally at Hannafords and Market Basket. I grab a few loafs at a time and put it in the freezer.

AFTERNOON

I had another tea around noon time, less because I needed the caffeine but more because I just wanted something warm to drink. I’ve made so much progress reducing caffeine in my routine that I’m not super focused at ridding of it completely. I think where I am at currently is perfect for my body and my health.

I finished my smoothie around 1-2ish I believe, so I really wasn’t very hungry for lunch. As a snack I cut up an entire cucumber over lettuce with hummus as a dip/dressing. I usually always feel better when I have a good amount of raw food and greens in my diet, so I try to prioritize it as best I can. Not all days look like this though, trust me.

DINNER

Both Andy and I have been getting a little tired of our dinner rotation lately, so it was time to mix it up.

For dinner I made a vegan Potato and Corn Chowder (recipe is in the One Part Plant Cookbook or can be found here). I opted for onions instead of leeks and omitted the oil. This soup is the perfect comfort food for those rainy, windy nights. It’s creamy, delicious and healthy.

My intent in sharing ‘What I Eat’ posts is to show the variety that can be experienced in a whole foods, plant-based diet. Most weeks I eat predominantly whole foods, but there will be days or weeks that I eat more processed foods or vegan junk foods than I know I should. I try to listen to my body and remember how much my health has improved during this journey. Aka, a lot.

What I Ate Today | Vegan + GF

This is a first for me! I’m sharing all the deets about what I ate this particularly snowy Monday.

When I first started transitioning to a whole foods, plant-based diet, I had no idea how many options there were or how delicious plant foods could be (really delicious!). All I saw was restriction. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Sure, I had to learn to cook more and I had to spend a bit more time chopping veggies, but my relationship with food started changing. 

I was able to eat all of the foods I loved in abundance… aka carbs <3

But it really wasn’t until my honeymoon in Sri Lanka that I realized a plant-centered diet might actually be sustainable and beneficial.

Sri Lanka was the second time that I ate vegetarian for an extended period of time. By the end of the week my stomach was 100x better than upon arrival and the following week, my period arrived without a peep. At this point in time, my period was barely even showing up, so this was a huge win.

So I decided to give a plant-based diet a much deserved try.

But with most big changes, it was a slow transition. And the more predominantly plant-based I became, the less I wanted to go back to any other way of living.

So here I am  I hope that sharing what I ate today gives you an idea of how simple and effortless eating more plants can be. 

A.M. ROUTINE.

I started my morning with a cup of green tea and lemon. I have recently started weaning myself off of caffeine, and coffee in particular, and wrote a blog post detailing why and how here. 

I also take a B12 supplement daily. These are the two brands that I use: VeganSafe and Vimergy. 

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BREAKFAST.

For breakfast I had oatmeal made with

gluten free rolled oats
almond milk
wild blueberries
banana
raisins
drizzle of maple syrup
dash of cinnamon

This is a super filling meal for me. In the winter I tend to gravitate towards more warming breakfasts like oatmeal, as opposed to smoothies. I cooked a 1/2 cup of rolled oats, which fills my 18 oz. hydroflask for breakfast on-the-go.

LUNCH.

For lunch I had a big salad. 

Salads are my typical go-to for weekday meals. This particular occasion was a clean-out-the-fridge meal slash “I need to go grocery shopping”, so I must admit that there is usually more substance to my salads. Todays salad included, 

Romaine lettuce
Red pepper
Red onion
Carrot 
Sea veggie dulse
Avocado
Hemp seeds

*Usually there are also tomatoes, cucumbers and pumpkin seeds.

The salad dressing was made with maple syrup, dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar.

Salads don’t have to be boring or skimpy. With an abundance of veggies, salads can be filling and provide a wide variety of nutrients. I aim to eat a large, popcorn bowl salad for lunch each day, as I tend to feel my best when I have some raw foods incorporated into my daily diet. Since raw foods are typically lower in calories than cooked, in order to be calorically satisfied, I eat larger portion sizes. 

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DINNER.

For dinner we had rice and bean tacos with and a side of baked gold + sweet potatoes. The taco recipe was from Ellen Fishers e-book, my absolute favorite. 

For the oil-free potatoes:

– Chop the gold potatoes like fries and sprinkle with garlic powder and pepper. 
– For the sweet potatoes, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, pepper and smoked paprika.
– Cook at 375F until golden.

NIGHTTIME ROUTINE.

Lately I have been ending the rush of the day with herbal tea and lemon. Raspberry leaf + nettle leaf is my drink of choice. Both of these herbal teas work wonders for the hormonal and endocrine system.

They support reproductive health, provide relief to menstrual cramps and heavy bleeding, and also work in preventing chronic headaches.