NOLA.

I went to New Orleans 3 weeks ago (and am just now posting a re-cap...I know). I was very excited to try the food (obviously) as I'd never really tried Cajun food before. Unfortunately, what I realized is that there aren't a lot of vegetarian options since the options were predominantly seafood-based cuisine. Fortunately, the vegetarian food that was available was not only different from what I'm used to but quite tasty too!

Here's a quick review of some of the food I tried whilst in New Orleans:

Grilled cheese vegetable sandwich with a side of eggplant fries from The Red Fish Grill. All I have to say is that one cannot go wrong with breaded and fried eggplant. (Not a health food whatsoever, but delicious nonetheless).

Veggie po' boy from Frank's. This was basically a regular sub with a sort of olive mixture inside. I really liked it because it added a flavor different from the usual veggie sandwich. The downside of this sandwich was the massive pool of oil I found when I lifted the sandwich off the plate.

Beignets. These are French doughnuts, and I highly recommend trying them. Beignets are not as dense as regular doughnuts are, and are a lot smaller. They also come with a nice mountain of powdered sugar. The amount of sugar involved is definitely not humanly possible to consume.

A veggie omelette with a side of grits (and butter) at a cafe. This is a standard breakfast, but I found it interesting to have an omelette served with grits. This was my first time trying grits, and I liked it, minus the butter that it was cooked in. I don't understand how or why anyone would feel the need to include that extra butter packet?!

Bread pudding. I found this on every menu and wanted to try it to at least say that I did. For some reason, the image I had of bread pudding was not at all what it was in reality. In fact, the real version was more delicious than I ever would have imagined! It was actually very light, and only slightly sweet. And quite buttery.

Obviously, I felt the need to restart my metabolism after returning from this trip! But I like exploring and trying new cuisines, and this was a good opportunity to do so. Plus, I was inspired to make my own version of some of the dishes I tried...starting with beignets!

Goodbye quinoa.

So...I'm alive.

I don't even know where to begin with the updates. And I have a million pictures to share. This just means there are a lot of blog updates coming your way. (And this time I mean it).

Hooray!

Okay. So about 3 weeks ago, I made this delicious meal that I ate for dinner everyday. And I'm finally getting around to sharing it with you. Make it. You will not regret it.

BBQ Lentil Lettuce Wraps


Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked lentils
• 2-3 tablespoons BBQ sauce
• 1-2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• salt
• ~1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (I used 1 small can)
• veggies of choice (carrots, bell pepper, cucumber, etc)
• romaine lettuce
• optional: green chilies

Cook the lentils.

Stir in mushrooms, BBQ sauce, salt, smoked paprika, and green chilies.

Scoop onto a lettuce leaf and top with veggies of choice. I used shredded carrots and yellow bell pepper.

Not the most photogenic of meals, but actually quite satisfying! And complete in 3 easy steps.

So what have I been doing lately? One weekend I went to New Orleans (food pictures to follow in the next post!) and one week I had surgery on my mouth and was (and still am) unable to eat most food items. It is quite the sad situation. Luckily, my juicer has come in handy! Unluckily, I am not allowed to eat quinoa, chia seeds, carrots, or nuts for the next 3 months. 

Breakfast ideas are welcome...I've been eating overnight oatmeal with chia seeds for over a year now!

Late to the party.

So...I was late to the smart phone party. And hence was late to the instagram party. And hence I am now obsessed with instagram even though it's been in existence for...well, I don't really know.

(Just you wait. You will soon be seeing the results of the obsession).

Let's back up to last week. This is what I ate for lunch every day and it most definitely did not get old:

Sandwich with swiss cheese, sun-dried tomato & basil hummus, cucumbers, spinach, avocado and olives. Another bonus about this sandwich was that it kept me full for more than 1 hour!

This weekend, my goal was to get my life in order. Luckily that is exactly what I did! Starting with making breakfast at 7AM on Saturday morning.

A crisped up tortilla topped with refried beans, cheese, avocado, egg, and salsa. 

My productive weekend also included working out both days, planning both lunches and dinners for this coming week, grocery shopping, and cooking for said meals. Remember how one of my April goals was to somehow incorporate yoga into my workout schedule? I finally did that this weekend, and I think I am now designating Saturday as my yoga day. I hadn't gone to a yoga class in 4-5 months prior to yesterday, and boy am I feeling the effects today. I used to be so strong and flexible! I don't know what happened.

Post-yoga, I wanted to eat something really hearty. Disclaimer: I don't usually do these things but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Chipotle burrito bowl. Who am I? (Really, I asked myself this question after I got it). But I skipped on the rice and sour cream, and added a very minimal amount of cheese to make it a bit healthier. 

(Can you tell I'm really into avocado these days?).

I planned some very elaborate meals for this week. While I did enjoy my sandwiches everyday last week, waking up 10 minutes earlier to assemble it was not ideal. I decided that this week, my lunch would include something that I could pack up the night before and not have to worry about in the morning.

Also, I have a mint plant which is growing out of control and I decided some mint had to be used. And hence the following recipe was born.

Coconut Mint Curry

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
• 1 bag of frozen cauliflower (~4 cups chopped)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 15-20 mint leaves (~3-4 tablespoons chopped)
• 4-5 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt
• green chilies (optional)
• roasted cashews (optional)

Cook the sweet potatoes in the microwave until soft, and then chop into cubes.

In a large pot, heat the oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, half of the chopped garlic, and green chilies if using.

Chop the mint,

and add it to a food processor or blender along with half of the chopped cilantro, lemon juice, and the other half of the garlic. I also added 5 or so spoonfuls of the coconut milk to facilitate the blending. 

Set this mixture aside.

Defrost the frozen cauliflower and peas, and add them to the large pot along with the sweet potato. 

Then add the coconut milk, about 1/2 can of water, the mint mixture, curry powder, and salt.

Cook on low-medium until the veggies are soft and then add the cashews. Garnish with the rest of the cilantro.

Serve with rice, quinoa, or grain of choice. 

A fancy meal that does not take much time at all. I guarantee it! (The time, not the fanciness).

Hello there, obliques.

Remember the time I used to think Zumba was not a good enough workout?

I don't know what I was thinking. Yesterday, I went to a tough Zumba class. It was 1 1/2 hours long, taught by an international presenter! After the marathon of Zumba my feet were seriously unable to move. And this morning I woke up with my sides in pain. Definitely a sign of a good ab workout!

Also remember the time I used to post legitimate recipes? Today is the day I am bringing the recipes back. The past few weeks have been such a fail in the meal planning department, and all it really takes is a little bit of organization. Today, I sat down with one of my Vegetarian Times magazines and looked for some recipe inspiration. And inspired I was!

[cheesy]

Glass Noodle Stir Fry

Ingredients:

• 2/3 package glass noodles*
• 1 large eggplant
• 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli**
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 eggs
• pinch salt
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
• 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

*Glass noodles can be found in any Asian store or a store that has an Asian food aisle. They are made of mung bean flour, so check the ingredients for this if the package does not indicate what type of noodles they are.

**I used about 1/2 a bag of frozen chopped broccoli.

Boil water in a large pot and cook the noodles.

While the noodles are cooking, prepare the eggplant, broccoli, garlic, and mushrooms in a skillet with the vegetable oil, a pinch of salt, and about 1/4 cup of water. Cook until the eggplant is soft.

Season with hoisin sauce and sesame oil. Then, once the noodles are ready, put the skillet of veggies into the large pot with the noodles.

In the now empty skillet, scramble 3 eggs and then add the scrambled eggs to the noodle and veggie mixture.

Season with desired amount of soy sauce.

Optional: serve with chili paste. (Not optional for me!).

Note: this recipes makes a lot. I planned it out so that I can eat this every night this week for dinner, and from the looks of it, I might even have extras! Being back on the organization train feels oh so good!

Remember the time...

I will never, ever take for granted the ability to eat ever again.

Remember the time I had strep? Well, once I began recovering, I came down with something else. Or it could have been a continuation. Who knows. Either way, the second time around, I was unable to swallow anything that was not frozen and pureed to a complete smoothness.

That eliminates a lot of my favorite foods.

And I couldn't even eat soup. (Strange, I know).

And then my mom came up with the ingenious idea of trying to eat baby food. Can I just give some credit to the makers of baby food? The stuff is not only delicious, but is 100% made of natural ingredients. Huge fan! And not ashamed of it, obviously. Oh, and I was able to eat it with no problems whatsoever. The only issue I had was that the jars are way too small for a normal-sized human being. Details.

Because I have been consuming these types of foods, no pictures have been taken all week. I could have taken pictures of the jars and jars of baby food I consumed but...who likes to see that? Not I.

Last week, I had prepared my lunches and dinners and was oh so proud of it as usual. Unfortunately, very little of it was able to be eaten, so the lunches were frozen and the dinners, well...the produce went bad. I had planned to eat quinoa salad for dinner last week.

The salad includes cooked quinoa, spinach, thawed frozen corn and frozen peas, cucumber, cilantro, and avocado. I used lemon juice and salt as a simple dressing.

Luckily quinoa does not go bad for awhile (or so I think?) and I easily replenished the veggies I had planned to go alongside it. So lunches and dinners for this week = ready! And hopefully I can remain illness-free for more than 1 day this week. Wish me luck!

Hyped

Can I just say that the Biscoff spread hype is completely TRUE?

I started by spreading this on toast and decided...what's the point of the toast when I can just eat this deliciousness straight off of a spoon? If you haven't heard of it, Biscoff spread is basically ground up gingerbread cookies which results in a nut butter-like spread.

(Disclaimer: Biscoff spread is not a health product whatsoever. But I like trying new things! And I wanted to know what the hype was about).

I was at Whole Foods yesterday (which is walking distance for me, YES!) and was about to pick up some kombucha when I came across this:

It was quite good, but I think I prefer kombucha, as it's a little bit less sweet.

In other news, I was using my waffle maker liberally...

(With all kinds of toppings including thawed frozen mango).

Until this week, when I decided to use some thick bread to make a grilled cheese sandwich in the waffle maker.

The grilled cheese was pretty amazing, if I say so myself. Too bad the waffle maker handle broke off in the process.

Sigh. The waffle maker had a good run.

Confession time: I would have more pictures to show you but this week, I had strep and ate either canned soup or macaroni and cheese out of a box. TFG at her finest! This week I am back on the health track and I made not one, but two recipes for this week to share with you.

Now that it's spring and today is the start of a new month, I've decided to make a few new goals. Goal #1: Incorporate yoga into my weekly workout schedule again. Easy enough, right?

Right! Wrong. There are not enough days in the week to do all the workouts I want to do. What a ridiculous problem to have. Does anyone else feel the same way?

Lately

I've been buying way too much produce to finish in a timely manner.

(Luckily, the above picture is mine and my roommate's produce combined. It's still a lot).

I bought 12 beets for a grand total of $2. What does one do with such a volume of vegetables!? Juice them. Of course.

Needless to say, I've been consuming lots of juice lately.

Let's talk about how I come up with ideas that I think are pretty ingenious, and then I go and Google them only to find out the entire world has already been there, done that.

One such instance was this weekend when I wanted to french toast a tortilla.

I still was quite proud of myself for coming up with the idea. I soaked my tortillas in a combination of egg, milk, and cinnamon.

My topping of choice was honey. Usually my topping of choice for any breakfast item (french toast, waffles, pancakes, etc) is almond butter + maple syrup. Fun fact!

This weekend, my goal was to make these BBQ cheddar chickpea burgers. And that I did.

I made just enough for my lunches this week!

Why is it that I never knew how delicious BBQ sauce is? Who knew that one could use BBQ sauce for things other than BBQ? Never mind the fact that the first ingredient in the BBQ sauce is high fructose corn syrup. I'm planning on using it sparingly. (But seriously, it is quite delicious).

If you're looking for reasons to juice, check out this article.