Vegan a Week #4

Geez, this week has been kinda busy with work and extracurriculars! I had hoped to post sooner. Anyway, it's hump day and also my vegan day of the week! For breakfast I had a quick cup of coffee and an almond poppy seed muffin from a mix I had that happened to contained no dairy - yay!

For lunch I had my typical salad with my typical dressing, which may sound boring, but I love salads! I had some pretzels and fruit on the side.

For dinner I made another Plated dish. I broke down and ordered a second box because I had a $10 off code for the polar vortex induced late delivery of my first box. This was Andrew's and my least favorite dish so far, even though we both liked it and felt like it was healthy. I made Israeli couscous and kale with za'atar seasoned tempeh and tahini dressing. If it weren't for the freshly squeezed lemon juice on top, I really wouldn't have been able to enjoy this, but that made all the difference. We both felt like there just wasn't a lot of flavor, and I'm not one to add salt so I just dealt with it. But it was still good and actually this was the easiest dish to make so far, which counts for something a lot!!

Doesn't it look fancy?

I've had so much fun making vegan dishes so far this year, but this week I'm really feeling strapped for time which makes it difficult. When I have a little extra time I still need to look into make ahead things like soup and snacks. Keep those recipe suggestions coming!

Vegan a Week #3

It's only Thursday and I've already had two vegan days this week! I've already become much more conscious about what food choices I'm making even on the non-vegan days. It is hard though, if I don't bring enough food to work and need a snack, I can't just get any old treat from our cafe, so I need to look into good vegan snacks that I can buy or make ahead of time.

So on Monday and Wednesday I basically had the same thing for lunch. I made a red leaf lettuce salad with veggies and an avocado - since I can't have the creaminess of goat cheese, I love having avocado in my salad! I made a simple vinaigrette dressing - olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, and garlic, shaken. I had blackberries, strawberries, and clementines and mixed nuts on the side. On Monday, I still had leftover French breakfast puffs, so I brought along one of those for dessert. On Wednesday, I brought an apple cinnamon oatmeal.

For dinner on Monday, I had my leftover Frito casserole. Then last night I made one of my favorite dishes, avocado enchiladas. Here's the inspiration: a few years ago, I went to San Francisco with my cousin Andrea. We were in the mood for Mexican one night, and a Google search led us to The Little Chihuahua, where I had their amazing avocado enchiladas. I needed to recreate this dish, so I found an amazing recipe for homemade vegan enchilada sauce from Bonzai Aphrodite, and covered some simple tortillas rolled with guacamole for my own version. (Just bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes). Yum! I normally heat up some black beans for the side.

I cleaned my stove top for you guys!

& I even have leftovers to eat for lunch today! 

So my new year's resolutions have been going really well! My other resolution is taking the stairs instead of the elevator if I'm not in a hurry (mainly at work, I'm not trying to climb 12 flights of stairs just to prove a point), and I haven't taken the elevator since new year's eve! I like to shoot for goals I can actually achieve. A few years ago my resolution was to keep cash in my wallet at all times, and I've been doing that ever since. That might not make sense for everyone, but I've found it really helpful.

Thanks to those of you who have left me vegan recipe ideas! That is so nice of you. Keep them coming!

Vegan a Week #2

Week 2 ended yesterday and I again waited until the last day of the week, but I'm okay with that. With all the crazy weather we've been having, I didn't have a chance to really go shopping until the end of the week, plus my Plated box had arrived late Thursday, with one of the meals being vegan, so Saturday was the day!

I wanted something sweet for breakfast, so I found a recipe for some French breakfast puffs that I hadn't made in a while. Although this isn't the recipe I used, it appears to be exactly the same. I obviously substituted the dairy ingredients with vegan alternatives. I had to run to Meijer for the almond milk before I could make them, so this ended up being more like brunch. Bonus: when I went to Meijer I also picked up grapefruits! Mmm. Along with my coffee and a few blackberries, this was a delicious brunch!

I had a small snack in the afternoon of cinnamon graham crackers topped with Jif natural peanut butter and a clementine on the side.

For dinner, I made my second Plated creation. This one was for tofu, cashew, and pea stir-fry. Although it still took me a little longer than the directions stated, I have made stir-fry many times before, so it was much easier. I loved learning a different way to cook tofu, it turned out beautifully! And the recipe included ginger root, and I LOVE ginger. I was really impressed with the portion size of this meal. Both Andrew and I had a little bit left over for a midnight snack.

Andrew and I then headed out to see the Grand Rapids Symphony perform, and since I'm a member of their young professionals group, we were invited to a post-concert champagne toast. I had to avoid all the fancy chocolates, which was difficult, but I did enjoy a drink or two. I also happened to reconnect with a woman that I met like two years ago at a vegan potluck. She is going to invite me to a monthly vegan get-together she sets up here in Grand Rapids. It really is a great city for vegan options!

Vegan week #2 was a success! I can't wait to see what other meals I create or get to try this year!

Vegan a Week #1

One of my resolutions for 2014 is to eat a vegan diet at least one day per week. I've been wanting to incorporate more vegan meals into my life, but having a tough time actually doing it, so I think this is the perfect way ease into it. Once a week is still a bit challenging for me, but it's just enough to allow me to see how time and wallet consuming being vegan might entail. I began yesterday, so I wouldn't skip the first shortened week of the year.

For breakfast I made coffee and added a bit of coffee-mate (not the purest of choices, but it doesn't contain dairy), had a couple clementines, and cooked up some Ore Ida hash browns with red onions, garlic, and topped with Tabasco sauce. I would normally cover my potatoes with cheese and cook an egg or two for the side, but I skipped it this time. I also considered making a package of muffin mix, but it contained egg. Darn, you really have to pay attention!

Mug from The Mitten State.

For lunch I just made a salad with red leaf lettuce, cucumbers, tomato, and a simple homemade vinaigrette (dijon mustard, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil - shaken). I had Stacy's Pita Chips and spinach hummus on the side.

That didn't quite fill me up, so sure enough, my cinnamon graham crackers contained no animal products, and I covered them in peanut butter for dessert.

I wouldn't say I cheated for dinner, but I wasn't sure I had anything to make at home, so we grabbed Qdoba after running some errands. I got a naked vegetarian burrito, skipping the cheese and sour cream. (Don't you hate it when they don't give you enough guacamole)? 

So that was day/week 1 of 52! I definitely snacked way less than I would have on a normal day, especially with all our Christmas candy still laying around, and I really had to pay attention to those hidden ingredients because a lot of stuff contains a little egg or milk! 

If you have any great (preferably easy/with few ingredients) vegan recipes on your blog or somewhere else on the interwebs, please share! I want this to become so easy that I do this more than one day a week.

Au Revoir, 2012

Oh, twenty twelve. You had many ups and downs. It was the year of Pinterest and of less of an addiction to Facebook. I went on a couple great trips - Florida and Croatia/Venice. I lost touch with some friends but made a lot of great new ones. I turned 24. I finally broke down and bought myself an iPhone. I have been making a lot of progress toward a real job, and hopefully I can secure it this year. I really made an effort to start blogging in the spring. I have lots of goals for Lovely Llorys in 2013, but I'm proud of what I've accomplished in the better part of 2012 with it. I hope you all have enjoyed reading and will let me know what you'd like to see in the coming year.

I haven't really made my resolutions list yet, but I know I want to make this year better than the last. Who doesn't? But really, with the impending apocalypse, I didn't have much time to even consider the possibility of 2013: P Here we are though, so we have to make the best of it! Andrew and I opened our jar of memories this morning and I definitely think we will continue that tradition. I loved every minute of dragging my film camera on the Croatia trip to capture some beautiful memories. I want to take more photos. I need to read more books - maybe one a month? I want to be a better friend and a better person. It can be really tough!

If I make my goals slightly less likely to be attained but all the more fun and rewarding, I would love to: learn French (I forgot most everything I learned in high school), update Lovely Llorys everyday (I'm one for one!), work out at least once a week (I know...), finally get a real job (or die trying?), and eat out less often, like way less. How do you keep your goals in mind? And what are your goals/resolutions? I'd love some inspiration!

So this is the New Year. And I don't feel any much different.

Happy New Year, everyone!