Having a Healthy Holiday

Every year around the holidays my grandma gets to work and makes the most amazing food. There is an endless amount of pastas, meatballs, crab, cookies, candies, etc. Her most famous is a savory bread roll (think the size of a small cinnamon roll) stuffed with seasoned ground Italian pork and caramelized onions, baked to golden perfection. My great-grandma made up the name for it (which I won't even attempt to spell) but it is pronounced "bean-yah-notty".  For as long as I can remember, my grandma has made every year for the holidays,  and all of my family, neighbors, friends, and coworkers LOVE them. She makes hundreds and hundreds every year! Since they are nothing short of amazing and a favorite of mine growing up, I had absolutely dreaded the day she was going to start making them this year.  I knew this would be the one thing I would let myself "cheat" on and go to town.
Instead, I decided to veganize her classic recipe so that I could enjoy them without feeling guilty and knowing I made the right decision for myself at this point in my life. Yes, I could have said "Okay, just one" but that would turn into two, three, and so on. I just didn't want to do that to myself. 

SOOO I drove my butt down to Whole Foods yesterday and picked up a pack of Lightlife Smart Ground veggie protein to sub for the pork, and some gluten-free cinnamon roll/hot roll mix. In order to make the hot roll mix vegan, all I had to do was substitute the egg it calls for with an egg replacer.
To be honest, I didn't even care if they were going to come out well because  I was having such a fun time drinking wine and spending these moments with my grandma.
To my great delight, they actually came out pretty well. Obviously not the exact same, BUT it definitely got my fix taken care of. It made me realize that while there are certain limitations with a vegan diet, I'm in no way doing myself a disservice by not eating meat or other animal products.  I can still enjoy things that I once enjoyed and indulged in before, it is just in a different way now.
No matter which way I look at it, I'm becoming healthier with every meal. I'm notorious for having a sweet tooth and I for sure would have gone to town on those cookies and fudges before; I did it even just last year when I was trying to be "healthy".  I didn't want to give up all of the things I love to be 5 pounds lighter.
I see it very differently today. I now understand that I'm not "giving up" anything. I'm replacing things I once considered a treat with healthier substitutes.  I'm most definitely not treating my body to anything when I shovel processed sugars and refined carbohydrates down my throat. There's always the argument of "You only live once, you might as well eat what you want and enjoy it!" But there's no way I'm going to fully enjoy my life while I am still unsatisfied with my health and how I look. So until I'm there, I'm going to suck down my green smoothie and substitute the hell out of all the products that did me dirty for so many years.  Not to say that once I'm there I'm going to revert back to all of my old habits, because clearly that wasn't working for me, but I refuse to think of it as a punishment or an obligation that will end once I reach my goals.
I'm  happy every day with my decision to pursue a vegan diet. I've actually lost about 8 pounds and was FINALLY able to overcome the plateau I've been stuck at for months. So yay for that!

Tell me your thoughts: how do you make your holiday a healthy one?

Easy Vegan Recipes!

Happy Tuesday! I wanted to share a few recipes that I have thoroughly enjoyed making  as well as what an average day looks like for my meals. As someone who is just starting out, this is what is working for me so far.

If you're trying to get healthier and shed some weight, it is important to have 5-6 small meals, spaced out during the day. I try to eat every 3 hours or so. This is what a typical work day for me looks like:

Breakfast: Overnight Oats, or a Van's Gluten Free Waffle with almond butter and an apple
(Check out LaurenLivesHealthy for a few great ideas for overnight oats!)

Morning snack: Coconut milk yogurt/soy yogurt with fresh berries

Lunch:  Spinach salad with chickpeas or kidney beans, tomatoes, red peppers, onion, whatever other vegetables I have on hand, with balsamic vinegar and lemon as dressing

Afternoon snack: Baby carrots and hummus, or sometimes a Lara bar *not all Lara bars are vegan! The ones with chocolate chips may have traces of dairy. Which sucks because the ones with chocolate are obviously the best ones.

Dinner: Roasted Brussels sprouts or asparagus, (some kind of green veggie) with quinoa, and a tofu veggie patty. (this is my go to!) Other times I will make Vegetable Quinoa (recipe below)


Now on to the good stuff:
I fell in love with these recipes the first time I tried them, and can't get enough!

Cinnamon Apple Chia Porridge  

(from Tone It Up)  It is sweet and filling and makes enough to have it a few days in a row.

• ½ cup white or black chia seeds
• 2 cups apple juice
• ½ cup diced apples
• ½ cup raisins
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ cup of agave

Pour chia seeds in a large mixing bowl. Add apple juice and stir until well incorporated. Continue to stir for about 5 minutes off and on to make sure no clumps form. Set aside for 10-15 minutes to let the chia absorb the liquid. You will know it is ready when the consistency is of porridge. Next add remaining ingredients to the chia mixture and stir until powders and sweeteners are well incorporated. Serve immediately. Garnish with additional fruit or your favorite topping.

  

    

Vegetable Quinoa

(Thank you to Veg Kitchen for the initial recipe. I changed a few things for my own preferences)
Gluten free, vegan and super delicious!  It makes a lot so you'll have leftovers for a few days, or bring it to a family gathering to share.
8 Servings

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 heaping cup thinly shredded green cabbage
• 1 cup carrots cut in medium pieces
• 1 medium yellow squash, halved lengthwise and sliced l/4-inch thick
• 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced l/4-inch thick
• 1 1/2 cups canned (drained and rinsed) chickpeas
• 1 1/2 cups diced ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon each: ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and salt

Cook quinoa as directed on package, fluff with a fork when done.
For the vegetable stew, heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot. Add the onions and sauté over moderate heat until translucent. Stir in cabbage and sauté until both it and the onion are lightly golden.
Add remaining stew ingredients. Bring to a simmer, then over and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes. Add water as needed to produce a moist, but not soupy, consistency. The vegetables should be tender, but still firm.

Once done, serve the stew over the quinoa and enjoy!


Dark Chocolate Bites

(Photo cred: @waytogohealthy)
This was absolutely perfect for a post dinner anti-oxidant rich sweet treat! Thank you to @waytogohealthy on Instagram for the idea!

Makes approx. 12 pieces

• 2 cups vegan dark chocolate
• Pomegranate Seeds
• Chopped walnuts

Honestly I didn't even measure the seeds or walnuts, I just sprinkled them on top as I saw fit.

1. Melt dark chocolate in a double boiler (If you have one.  I don't have a double boiler, so I just brought some water to a simmer over the stove in a small pot,  stuck a heat-proof bowl in it and melted the chocolate in the bowl.)
2. Prepare cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper
3. Spoon dollops of the dark chocolate onto the parchment paper
4. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds and walnuts over the dark chocolate
5. Put whole cookie sheet in the freezer to set.
6. Enjoy!

Let me know your thoughts on these recipes! What are your healthy go-to meals?