Epic New Years Stuff I Ate Post!

Happy New Year!! Tomorrow, I begin my 3-week Reset and Restore challenge — a whole foods-based eating plan with workout videos and guided meditations from Lacy Davis and Jessica Wilkins. I need this so bad right now, and I cannot wait. I'll be blogging daily about what I'm eating throughout the reset.

But here is my last random meal round-up for 2016! I'll start with New Years Eve and work backward. I went to Nashville for New Years Eve, and Paul and I did a little bar-hopping in the West End — first to Kung Fu Saloon, but it was too crowded, and we ended up at Blue Bar.

Two Boots Pizza is right across the street from both bars, so we grabbed a slice before we got started. Two Boots has vegan pizza by the slice, which is kind of the greatest thing ever. I had the V Is for Vegan Slice with Daiya and red pepper pesto.

Earlier in the day, I stopped by Vegan Vee, a gluten-free vegan bakery in Nashville. I picked up this Vanilla Cream-filled Cupcake with Chocolate Ganache. Very good! Their gluten-free stuff is the best I've had anywhere.

On Saturdays, Vegan Vee usually has savory baked goods too, and those are my fave. I grabbed this Rosemary Roll, which was flecked with Daiya, for a pre-NYE snack. Soooooo good.

Paul had to work most of the day on Saturday, so I got some reset planning and grocery shopping done. I spent about an hour at Ugly Mugs Coffee & Tea, sipping on this Ginger Pear Soy Latte and making my grocery list for the week.

And I popped into Graze — an awesome, totally vegan restaurant in East Nashville — for brunch on Saturday. I got the Breakfast Burrito with seitan chorizo, tofu scramble, cashew cheese, spinach, quinoa, and roasted potatoes. Salad with pico and garlic aioli (because they were out of guac) on the side.

Today, Paul and I had our traditional Black-eyed Peas & Cabbage for good luck and good fortune in the New Year! Served over brown rice.

And we also went out for a Vietnamese dinner. Traditionally, I always eat a banh xeo crepe on New Years Day. It's a tradition my friend Greg and I started about five years ago, so I googled and found a place in Nashville that serves them. It's called Peace, Love, and Pho. Well, we went there, and guess what? They were OUT OF BANH XEO! Oh no! But they did have Vegan Pho, which is something I can't get in Memphis (at least as far as I know). So I switched it up and got that. My server told me that, perhaps, it was time for change, and the pho was the change that I needed. I think he was right. It was delicious and loaded with all kinds fun plant meats!

Here's my bowl after dressing it up with hoisin, sprouts, lime, jalapenos, and Thai basil.

And my order of Tofu Spring Rolls on the side.

I ordered Isa's new Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook as a Christmas gift to myself! It arrived on Thursday, and I wanted to make something from the New Years chapter. So I made these Ginger Banana Chocolate Muffins to snack on throughout my Nashville trip. These were so yummy! Like banana bread with a sparkle of fresh ginger. Very festive. I'm hoping to make something from every chapter in this book throughout the year. Stay tuned.

On Friday morning, I had one of these with a Vegan Egg Tofu Omelet (made with Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg), red pepper, and Heidi Ho Smoky Chia Cheese.

My parents came to Memphis on Thursday, and we went to Genghis Grill. My dad has been wanting to try it because he loves build-your-own stir-fry places. I went with udon noodles, lots of veggies, tofu, curry powder, and Thai peanut sauce. Excellent!

I've wanted to splurge on a jar of Nuttzo nut butter for so long, but it's REALLY expensive. Like $13 a jar! Thankfully, I found some on Manager's Special at Kroger for $6. This has peanuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, flax seeds, hazelnuts, and sunflower seeds. It's crunchy and amazing! Enjoyed on Ozery Bakery sandwich thins.

Susan made a Chickpea Loaf for Christmas, and she gifted me a few slices of her leftovers. Her recipe called for lentils, but she subbed chickpeas with delicious results. Eaten here with Steamed Broccoli & Heidi Ho Smoky Chia Cheeze and Steamed Kale with Chili Sauce.

Speaking of Susan, after our IKEA trip last Monday, we stopped into Mr. Chang's Bubble Tea for boba! I got a Kiwi Strawberry Bubble Tea. I LOVE bubble tea, and Mr. Chang's has vegan versions.

A breakfast last week — Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Blueberry Waffles with Maple Syrup and Vegan Sausage. Trying to eat up all the brown food before my reset.

Speaking of brown food, VegNews sent me a lovely and super-sweet holiday gift since I was a contributor in the December issue! I was blown away with gratitude when I received this awesome Nicobella Organics package in the mail.

So far, I've broken into the Dark Chocolate Truffles and tried the Pumpkin Chai. Amazing. Can't wait to eat the Walnut Flaxseed Crunch, Sunflower Banana Butter, Blueberry Almond, Ginger Green Tea, and Pure Cocoa Bliss.

My fave so far are the Peanut Butter Squares. Because peanut butter! These are like very sophisticated little PB cups.

Okay, well that's it!! I'll be back tomorrow with my first meal recap on Lacy and Jessica's Reset and Restore program!