Vegan Restaurant Dining and 25th Birthday

For those of you who know me personally, your probably new to hearing the fact that I (along with my boyfriend) am vegan. I was a vegetarian for a while, way back when, then went back to meat, then went back to being a vegetarian. What started out as going vegan for health reasons turned into also doing it for ethical and sustainability reasons. 

I don't normally like to spout off that I am vegan due to the reaction I have gotten already. It is either, "Where do you get your protein?" or "Don't you miss _____ (insert food here)?" or "I bet you just wanna eat this burger!" Another major reason I don't usually tell people what I eat, is because some people think I can't understand them or can't counsel them or that I think differently about them since I choose not to eat animal products. The fact is, I can counsel (yes, even though you eat differently than I do), I can understand, and no I don't think differently about you. I know there are some people that may act differently as a vegan, but I am not one of them. I'm planning on writing a post later on how I switched to vegetarian then a vegan diet, health benefits, my own personal benefits, and my responses to the ridiculous questions I get. Just getting that out of the way :) 

So, moving on... Yesterday was my 25th birthday. Happy Birthday to me! Adam (my boyfriend) and I went out to eat to Blue Sage Vegetarian Grille in Southampton, PA. I would highly, highly recommend it! The food was amazing, staff was really nice, and the portion sizes were huge! They have all the vegan items on the menu starred (*), which makes it easy. There are also vegetarian dishes that can be made vegan. They do have a non-vegan, non-vegetarian dishes as well. I would suggest trying some of the other stuff though, you would be pleasantly surprised! 

We got a ton of food, mainly because we wanted to try it all! We got the Taco Verduras and Luna Buns for appetizers. The Taco Verduras was blue corn griddle cakes with pumpkin seed crusted tofu, piquillo pepper remoulade, mashed avocado, and pickled red onions. They were absolutely delicious. The combo worked so well together. I really want to make tofu this way! 

The Luna Buns were steamed mini Chinese buns with roasted cremini bacon in a sweet-spicy hoisin glaze with pickled cabbage, cucumber, and pea leaves. Adam really liked those. I though they were a little sweet and I also wasn't a fan of the bun texture. I also got the Ginger Scallion Miso Bowl made with leeks, pumpkin, cauliflower, and white miso. Amazing! 

My main course was the Fresco: a salad with polenta croutons, roasted red peppers, hummus, pistachios, and oven dried cherry tomatoes. I went the no cheese route and got the maple mustard vinaigrette on the side. Again, awesome. I barely ate any of it because I was already full from everything else. That will be my lunch for work tomorrow :)

Adam got the Pan Bagna, which was a baguette with chickpea fritters, tomatoes, shallots, and pea leaves and a sherry vinegar oil. It also came with a side salad (really big!). Adam wasn't crazy about the chickpea texture. I thought it was good, but a little too mushy for my likings. 

 

Of course, there is always room for dessert on your birthday :) We shared a hazelnut torte (vegan) with a chocolate cream and brûléed bananas. Super rich and creamy. I don't think I would have been able to eat it on my own! 

Have you ever tried a vegan/vegetarian restaurant? What did you think??

Dietitian Eats: Dinner Edition

So, today was a bit crazy at work. Let me tell you how absolutely grateful I am to have an intern (and a pretty awesome one at that)! Not only do I have an extra set of hands for events; but, I can also bounce ideas off of her. I also really like teaching someone things I learned. It is pretty cool to be on the opposite side after being an intern myself :)

Instead of giving you a rundown of my eats for the day, I decided to focus on dinner. Mainly because I made something pretty awesome from leftovers and also because I forgot to take pictures of all my other meals...Whoops :)

I didn't get in until late tonight, so I was debating on a quick shake or actually making something. I decided I wanted something hot. Let me preface this with earlier in the week, I had cooked off a bunch of brown rice and leftover faro. Made it easy to throw in my lunches. So, I started off with 2 veggie burgers. I get these ones from Aldi's. I like these for the limited number of ingredients and the fact that I know what all of them are. Each patty has 3g of fiber and 5g of protein. Made with carrots, peas, oats, zucchini, edamame, corn, and string beans mainly.

So, I sautéed my veggie burgers in some olive oil, garlic, minced onion, and oregano. I threw in some hemp seeds for a little more fiber and protein. One the veggie burgers were pretty much cooked, I broke them apart and added my rice. I also splashed on some Bragg's Liquid Aminos (soy sauce alternative). Bragg's is a vegetable protein made from certified non-GMO soybeans. No preservatives, no alcohol, and gluten-free. I've been in a mood for artichokes lately, so I added a few canned artichokes (marinated in just olive oil and spices). Lastly, I threw in some fresh leftover spinach I had. I left that all cook together for about 5 minutes...and presto dinner!

I'm a huge fan of one dish meals; less clean-up plus I like mixing everything together for the best flavors anyways. I tend to do similar types of cooking for dinner. This only took maybe 10-15 minutes? It could have been shorter, but I was doing homework and forgot to put a lid on to trap the steam. If you do something similar, you can always throw in your favorite veggie (instead of the spinach) or use some shredded potatoes instead of the rice.

What did you make for dinner tonight?

Dietitian Eats: WIAW (10/14/15)

It's that time again! Time for what you say? To see what I eat in a day! I know you are super excited (I am). Anyways, today, was all over the place! Between counseling appointments, my walking group, and running between 2 stores I think I am tapped out for the day. Not to mention, getting my private practice insurance essentials all squared away is a headache in itself! That being said, my day wasn't all that exciting nutrition-wise. So, let's have at it!


This morning, I started with my typical shake: frozen raspberries and mango, vegan protein powder, unsweetened almond milk, chia seeds, ginger, and cinnamon. I got a new plant-based protein powder that they started selling at my store. I like it because it is very fine powder, so it blends well. Plus, I don't find an aftertaste.

I packed a delicious baked apples snack today, but never got to eat it :( Lunch was leftovers from the night before: stir-fried tofu (super firm) + steamed broccoli + steamed potatoes. I started off sautéing the potatoes, but they were taking forever. I ended up throwing them in my steamer instead. I honestly didn't even eat my whole lunch today. Very unusual for me; however, I wiped out (literally) on my way back into work, so I was a wee bit flustered.

I lead a walking group on Wednesday nights, so I had a small bowl of gluten-free granola with chia and flax seeds in it before I went. Pre-shower, I made another shake, similar to the one at breakfast. Did I mention I love my Nutri-bullet for days like this?

Post-shower, I roasted some brussels sprouts. I love, love, love roasted brussels sprouts. I just sliced them in half, sprinkled some olive oil, juiced 1/2 a lemon, and added a no-salt seasoning blend (garlic, oregano, parsley, etc). I baked them for about 15 minutes on 375 degrees F. I barely waited until I sat at the table before eating them. A powerhouse of antioxidants and all that good stuff! I probably would have eaten more had I made more.

I snacked on a Fig Bar in between my meals. Love these for the no artificial crap kind of deal. I'm probably going to sneak in another snack at some point tonight. I really didn't get to eat much (especially veggies) with all the back and forth I did today. I think I am leaning more towards my pumpkin tortilla chips with pine nut hummus. Staying with the fall flavors :) Today is the kind of day I should have packed more on-the-go snacks instead of heat and serve type items. I'm thinking I need to restock my emergency car supply of food!

How was your day today? Have you ever tried roasted brussels sprouts?