September 30, 2005

IMBB #19: I Can’t Believe I Ate Vegan for a Whole Day!

Filed under: Recipes, Food Blog Events, Food — Beth @ 8:52 am

[Check in this weekend for my round-up of my favorite food blogging of the week.]


One of these things is not like the others!

Yesterday I ate vegan and the only thing I really missed was cheese!

Throughout college and for years afterwards, I ate totally vegetarian. A bite of chicken didn’t enter my mouth for years. And while I’m not a huge meat-eater nowadays, I love fish and dairy, especially cheese. Also, I’m not really used to micro-managing what I eat, so scanning labels for even a hint of dairy wasn’t a natural fit for me. My main food concern, on a normal day, is to eat organic ingredients as much as possible and to avoid artificial ingredients, such as colorings and preservatives. I mainly shop at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.

Yesterday, the day I decided to eat vegan, I was on the run all day, driving to work and appointments with hardly any time in between. Here’s what I put together for my day for vegan sustenance:

Breakfast – Red Bull and Kashi’s Autumn Wheat in a plastic baggie – I know it’s not good to eat on the go, but it was either this or starvation and with a long day ahead of me, I had to go the dry cereal route. I love Autumn Wheat, though, because it’s shredded wheat sweetened just a tad - crunchy and filling.

whole foods salad bar vegan event food blogs san diego zen foodism

Lunch – Whole Foods Salad Bar – I love eating at Whole Foods. It’s the one of the few places where you can grab a quick and healthy meal to go. I wish they had a drive-thru! Yesterday, my first inclination was to grab some of their arugula salad with pine nuts and parmesan. But, no cheese for me on Vegan Day. So instead, I created a little bed of spinach and red leaf lettuce on which I put some Multigrain Tabouli (Japonica rice, brown rice, wheatberries, cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, and spices) and Golden Beet Couscous (Shallots, Beets, Israeli Couscous, and Spinach). It’s healthy, chewy, and delicious. I grabbed a bottled water and a vegan bar of dark chocolate that really scared me but turned out to be pretty tasty. My sister-in-law Lydia informed me that all dark chocolate is vegan. I never though about that…! Is that true?

vegan event food blog whole foods water chocolate
I ate my lunch in the car while listening to Dr. Laura! I actually kind of like that solitary time. Is that weird?

When I got home a few hours later, I only had a moment to grab a quick snack of cranberry juice and brown rice cakes sweetened with buttery caramel. It was actually pretty delicious and satisfying. In fact, I might go have some now!

Dinner - A couple more hours of work and then my friend Amanda came over to watch our favorite show – America’s Next Top Model. I cobbled together a vegan salad culled from two Cooking Light recipes – Fruited Israeli Couscous and Citrus Couscous Salad. Basically, I liked the idea of the flavors in the Citrus salad, but I wanted to make it with Israeli Couscous, which I’d never cooked with before. The salad turned out fruity and satisfying, but the next day I didn’t like the way the Israeli couscous looked – more clumpy and solidified. I would definitely make this salad again some day, but I would stick with the traditional couscous, due to the consistency factor for leftovers.

citrus couscous salad cooking light vegan food event imbb zen foodist san diego beth

Here’s the vegan recipe for Citrus Couscous Salad:

2 cups fresh orange juice
½ cup water
1 t salt
1 (10-ounce) package whole-wheat couscous (about 1 2/3 cups)
½ cup dried apricots, sliced
½ cup dried currants
2 T red wine vinegar
1 cup chopped seeded cucumber
¾ cup chopped green onions
½ cup coarsely chopped pistachios
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 T extra virgin olive oil

1. Bring 1.5 cups orange juice, water, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Place couscous in a large bowl.
2. Combine ½ cup orange juice, apricots, currants, and vinegar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes. Drain and discard cooking liquid.
3. Add apricot mixture, cucumber, and remaining ingredients to couscous, tossing to combine.

Makes 8 1-cup servings
Source: Cooking Light Magazine

So to sum up my day of living veganly, I actually enjoyed it and I felt rather healthy and satisfied. I’ve been wanting to take it easy on the cheese and crackers lately and I very rarely eat meat at home, so I guess I’m already more than halfway there.

Thanks, Amanda, for coming over and watching Top Model with me!

Tagged with: +

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