homemade coconut butter

I tried my hand at making coconut butter. It was not as great as the package I bought previously, but it will do.

Here I made a breakfast tortilla with coconut butter and strawberries.

Delightful!

summer means veggies!

A gala apple from TJ's with raw almond butter. This is also iced coffee that I was drinking copious amounts of at the  time. 

Lo mein noodles, broccoli, and garden radishes.  

With peanut sauce! 

Summer means more fresh fruit and veggies!! Smoky black beans with some dried cilantro and garlic powder. 

I bought edamame. I haven't had it for awhile and still lovvvve it.

More veggies with hummus and pita chips. I actually dropped the plate which is why the hummus is smeared all over it. I have been incredibly clumsy lately.

I had my Dad plant spinach this year! I sauteed it with garlic and garden onion. And added a side of steamed asparagus. I needed more greens in my life after eating a lot of cake that day.

some belated posting

I've taken to dipping my popcorn into tomato sauce...pretty delicious I must say.

Steamed cauliflower. 

Steamed  cauliflower in a tomato/coconut sauce.

This was an impulse buy which will never happen again. I also purchased the mango flavor. Too sugary and not tasty. 

Cocoa powder, banana, almond milk, caramel extract, and a dash of pear juice. 

Giant salad with cucumbers, spinach, cabbage, and  red wine vinaigrette. 

My first attempt at gluten free baking...these cookies were delicious. I just threw together ingredients. Here they are crumbled and combined with some almond milk.

Another impulse buy...these were reminiscent of Doritos for me. I ate many, many of them just as I used to do with Doritos. I'd probably buy them again.

This is a simple concoction of lo mein noodles, water, soy sauce, and a pre-mixed southwest seasoning. Quick and delicious even if not aesthetically pleasing.

lots and lots

Stuffed peppers. These are from so long ago that I don't really remember what was in them. Rice, corn, and jalepenos for sure. 

I turned it into this...it was delicious.

Basic tofu scramble. I have to say that I just really love tofu. 

Veggies and hummus. I have been eating lotssss of hummus as of late.

Fruit twists. I wanted Twizzlers, but thought this might be a better choice. You don't get very much because eating one at a time is impossible. 

Pretzels with spinach/artichoke hummus. This was okay, I didn't love it though.

More hummus  && veggies. I think I have enjoyed every brand of roasted red pepper hummus that I have ever tried.

I'm sure there was hummus consumed with these as well. If you look closely you will see a part of my thesis in there. And also, thesis guidelines. My life = so fun. 

Oranges 24/7 over here.

First asparagus of the season!!!!!!!!! This is a meager bunch, but more will be coming!

Dried apricots. I consumed double this amount.

the many uses for a corn tortilla

This is just black beans and corn. Also, it is before I began to grill the tortilla which made it a bit crispy on the outside and tastes phenomenal.

A rather large mix of veggies including: roasted red pepper, purple cabbage, broccoli, onion, and black olives.

I needed to use up a hummus mixture with green olives so I sauteed some onion and garlic and combined these with the mixture. It's topped off with some hot sauce.

My brother made me ratatouille for dinner one night last week. It was incredibly delicious!! I used the leftovers as filling!

I probably took about 5 or 6 pictures of this, but most of them were blurry which indicates to me how much I was wanting to devour it!

Same mixture here.

Not so pretty, but this is sauteed cauliflower, onion, and garlic with hot sauce.

And lastly, a breakfast tortilla here with grilled pineapple and a  sprinkle of sugar. I also put some maple syrup over this. I should have used the raw coconut butter that I have. Next time! 

tofu tacos

 I am dedicating an entire post to these suckers because they were delicious. I ate them for lunch and dinner for  two days straight. First, I froze & thawed the tofu (I only like it this way) to get the texture I desired. Next, I sauteed the tofu chunks in a pan with cooking spray & soy sauce. I recommend low sodium soy sauce. You could also use liquid smoke if you want a smoky flavor.

Next, I warmed a corn tortilla and spread roasted red pepper hummus on it. I put some broccoli florets and purple cabbage on top. 

 Lastly, the tofu chunks!

There's more broccoli in the back, you just can't see it. I really piled the ingredients on this little guy.

 A little messy to eat, but definitely worth it!

random

This is some leftover chili chesse/rice dip with some leftover veggies from a nearby Mexican restaurant.  My grad friend Erica and I put a makeshift breakfast together one day. She contributed the guac and veggies while I provided the dip.  She has now been vegan for 5 months! 

The following is my new and improved milkshake! Just incredible: frozen banana, caramel extract, 1/2-1 cup almond milk, some ice, and 2 tsp ground coffee (refraining from coffee hardly lasted a week btw). I slurped this down in a matter of minutes.

This is a falafel sandwich from a local favorite here: Mediteranneo. I would venture to say this is the best falafel sandwich I have ever had. Just perfect in crispiness and spice! 

These pictures are not the best, but I always forget to take pictures until I get home. Their baba ganoush is just wonderful as well!

successful thesis proposal defense

The following are treats that I made for myself following my successful thesis proposal defense about 2 weeks ago. I now have the "go ahead" to continue working on my thesis. While I was hoping to be finished for graduation this Spring, I will be graduating in August. 

This is chili cheese dip--all it is: a can or Hormel vegetarian chili & a tub of Tofutti cream cheese, heated. It was okay, but not spectacular..as you can probably already tell from the ingredients and the photo. 

This is just basic guac with garlic, lime juice, and avocados. Some chopped carrots there. And a sparkling water.

a "break" for spring

This week is "spring break"and the quotes indicate that this really is not what I would call a break. I still am required to do some research and thesis work in order to catch up where I was behind. This is a sliced banana with cinnamon and drizzles of syrup.

 Still, the weather is grand. And so, I am joyous for at least the break to play catch up. Keeping it light the other day, this is TJ's garlic hummus  with carrots & mushrooms. The mushrooms were huge, this was only 2 of them chopped up.

My brother came for lunch one day and brought Chinese take-out for lunch. This is mixed veggies. This is 1/4 of the portion. They provide huge servings. My favorites are the mushroom & broccoli with snap peas coming a close third.