What I Ate Wednesday + Nature

I am finally back and settled from a crazy June where I spent as many days out of town as at home!I have to admit that during my travels I didn't always make the best food choices due to both time/locale constraints and an inclination toward indulgence. I stayed pretty dedicated to my fitness and have been able to mix in some fun things like hiking and snorkeling. My second trip in June was for a work conference in Las Vegas so I didn't take too many food pictures, but I did sneak a few. Here are some food/travel highlights from the past few weeks.

Scenes from Vegas: Bellagio fountains, 2 of 3 Elvises, conference pool party, Dr. Evil on the Strip & my new favorite shirt

The first night of the trip the girls I was staying with and I made dinner in our suite. Kale salad with chickpeas to start things off healthy!

Staying fit at the gym, strawberry gelato, spicy noodles, vegan hot dog on the Strip & baked potato with BBQ sauce that I found in the conference center.

Our last afternoon some of us took a trip to the Mt. Charleston area about an hour outside Vegas for a 3 mile hike to Mary Jane Falls. Nothing like pizza and beer after a good hike!

Comfort food

Tofu and veg in a sweet & sour broth plus a veggie roll at Izziban. 

Comfort food #2.

OMG Vegan potluck! Orlando has a great veg group called VegCF that hosts a monthly potluck. I was able to go for the first time and I will go back every single time that I'm able. It was a wonderful meal with great conversation and a community spirit that was very moving. Please come if you're in Orlando on the first Monday of the month!

On the 4th of July I took a road trip with a new friend to Devil's Den for some underground snorkeling. It was such a cool place, literally, the water was about 70 degrees! 

WIAW - New York Edition

Hiatus temporarily broken - I have to share the great food I had on my amazing trip to New York last week. I'm off to Vegas for work on Friday so will likely take another break from the blog. As always, follow me on Instagram if you want to keep up with food and other adventures.

Some of the breakfasts I enjoyed on my trip. I was able to make smoothies once I was at my parent's house!

My vegan plate at the wedding.

Me and my gorgeous cousins, congrats to Kirsten & Matt on their amazing ceremony!

An assortment of vegan eats/drinks: wheatgrass shot at the Newark airport, kale & sweet potato wrap at Blossom du Jour, stir fry veg at a random Japanese place, kale & radicchio salad at Etcetera Etcetera, summer roll from Trader Joes, hummus at a random place, mango boba from the Japanese place.

Decided to be spontaneous and get a tattoo! Had the design picked out for years. If you're in NYC check out Studio 28 Tattoos! 

Another amazing assortment: hand roll and roll of the month at Beyond Sushi, vegan s'mores pudding at Blossom du Jour, Tallarines a la Huancaina at Rockin Raw, and lentil pastries at Meskerem. 

Me housing the pudding. 

CINNAMON SNAIL. Wish I could have gone for lunch but I had to settle for these phenomenal choices: lentil puffed pastry and a pistachio cardamom donut

The BEST THING I'VE EATEN since I went plant based. The portabella and hemp seed burger at Pure Food & Wine. It had this ridiculous smoked cheese and sauerkraut and was so so so good.

PSA: Take the Staten Island Ferry at sunset, even if you don't live/stay there.

A mashup lunch while waiting for my train at Penn Station. A raw salad from Raw Organics topped with baked falafel from a little shop in the station.

Had to eat a big ass salad and home cooked meal at my parents!

Family dinner, NY style. Amazing white veg pizza topped with marinara.

Took myself on a hike to Hadley Mountain.

PSA 2: Hike the Adirondacks!

What I Ate Wednesday

Taking food photos and posting them every week has become ingrained. I enjoy the habit because I love photography and food, but it also helps me identify patterns in my taste/preferences. I am currently on an South Indian kick - I am craving dosas! I'm also learning how to cook for one person and figure out which foods I won't get sick of eating repeatedly. Here's this week's bounty.

New meal for me and it came out great! It's sauteed peppers, onions, peas and shredded kale/cabbage/brussels sprouts mix with Asian flavors. Topped with fresh bean sprouts. Making it again this week!

Blurry proof of my first run back. It went well at the time, but my foot protested a little too much. I am hoping to try again tomorrow. 

Gluten free mega veggie pizza with tempeh from Mellow Mushroom. It was excellent, but a little pricey. 

DOSA! I love these things. If you've never seen/had one, it's basically a lentil flour based crepe with a small pile of spicy potatoes in the middle. You tear off the pieces from the side and scoop  up the filling. Amazing! This one was from Bombay Cafe. 

My roommate's birthday was this week and he wanted to go to Kings Bowl for his celebration. They had some surprisingly good food - hummus duo with veg, mango salsa & guacamole, and a strawberry salad with no cheese/dressing. All fresh and delicious!

Random collection of favorites: oil free braised chard, roasted brussels sprouts, kale chips, and sweet potato topped with almond butter.

I saw a deal on Facebook to try this Graze box for $1. Best dollar I've ever spent! You set up your preferences on their site and they mail you four snacks. I got a seed blend, chili lime pistachios, a tropical dried fruit blend, and an edamame snack mix. 

I think this is my favorite meal ever. Rawsta with hummus and chickpeas. 

I think life works better when I have half a bottle of kombucha a day! When I get back from my crazy month of traveling I'm going to attempt to start making my own. 

 

Took myself to the beach this weekend. There's nothing better than spending time in nature!

What I Ate Wednesday

I'm surprised at how many photos I have this week. I've had some good eats, both at home and out. Hope you enjoy!

A meal in three stages: salad before the cooked food, with the cooked food, and the perfect bite of leftovers.

Indian dinner with a friend. Not worth mentioning where - it was mediocre. Top is medu vada, left is Mulligatawny soup, right is my mixed veg. 

Friday night we had a game night and pasta bar at our house. Mine is spaghetti squash topped with roasted veg, artichokes, tomato sauce and vegan parm. 

Almond milk froyo from TCBY!

Soba noodle and edamame salad. 

The making of strawberry vanilla granola. I need to post my recipe but I don't really measure so it's tough!

I think I need to eat cauliflower at least once a week. 

This is why I look forward to the weekend! Smoothie bowl topped with the homemade granola and kiwi. 

Random meal that came out delicious! Sauteed peppers, onions, mushrooms, and kale mix mixed with soba noodles, tomato sauce and chopped veggie burger.

The making of pinto bean hominy chili. 

The finished product! 

What I Ate Wednesday + Relationships

I am on a mission to start building and fostering relationships locally. I have amazing family and friends in my life, but the majority of them live more than 8 hours drive away. This is probably a topic for an entire post, but this is my way of saying that I'll probably be eating out more and taking less photos of my food than in the past. I've had a couple good meals this week that didn't get captured digitally, and I'm okay with that. Onto the food.

Fajita salad

Saw my first double rainbow this week!!!

Got to spend a night with my sweet beagle <3

Couldn't pass up the local corn! Served with roasted sweet potatoes, lentils, and a salad. 

Garlic broccoli at Lac Viet. 

Box of gluten free, vegan goodies from Raphsodic Bakery.

Sunday night I went to a potluck with a bunch of my librarian co-workers, and they all made vegan food even though none of them are vegan! So freaking awesome. I made a wild rice edamame salad. I also had lentils, baked polenta with veg, two chickpea salads, roasted veggies, fresh fruit and of course several samples of the desserts pictured above!

Spaghetti squash topped with a tomato sauce with onions, artichokes and peas. Nooch and olives for garnish. 

My Southern homage: grits, black eyed peas and collard greens.