What I Ate Wednesday

I had a review post of Terrapin Ridge sauces and salad dressings planned for tonight. But then I wrecked my car today, and I didn't get a chance to snap one last pic for the review. So that will have to wait until next week. But yea, I wrecked my car. I was headed home from the office when a lady pulled out in front of me as she was trying to turn left. She was really nice, and everyone was okay. Our cars were both towed though.

And to top that off, I think I may have re-fractured my foot. It's been bothering me for a few days now, but I finally came to terms with the pain today. I've been trying to ignore it because that's what I do. But if I ever want to run that half-marathon, I have to learn to rest when my body tells me to. I'm back in the fracture shoe (and occasionally the boot) for a bit until it feels better. Anyway, it's been a crappy today.

Thankfully, food makes everything better. I've been saving up "what I ate" pics for awhile now, so I have quite a few. And I didn't actually eat all this stuff today! A few weeks ago, I made a quick Spaghetti with Vodka Sauce and Sausage using Victoria Vegan Vodka Sauce, Upton's Naturals Italian Seitan, and gluten-free spaghetti.

There's this great little pop-up beer garden across from my office at the Tennessee Brewery building. It's called Untapped, and it runs every Thursday-Sunday until June 1st. They have food trucks and local beer, and since I work across the street, I've been popping in for food truck fare at lunch. They usually have vegan options. A couple weeks back, I grabbed these Black Bean & Mushroom Tacos and Cucumber-Chili Kool-Aid.

There was even a totally vegan food truck at Untapped one day! But I'm saving those food pics for a solo post about the truck. I want to try a couple more menu items there first.

Imagine Vegan Cafe celebrated their three-year anniversary two weeks ago! When they first opened, I worried that Memphis couldn't support a vegan restaurant. But they're doing very well! Yay! Anyway, I went by on their anniversary for Sangria and Birthday Cake (made by my pal Stephanie of Swell Baked Goods).

And I ordered the same thing I ordered on opening day three years ago — the French Dip Sub! Back then, I think I ordered a side of mac & cheese, but this time, I went with Collard Greens.

I went to the Beale Street Music Festival a couple weekends ago. It's an annual three-day Memphis music fest by the Mississippi River, and this year's line-up featured Snoop Dogg (aka Snoop Lion), the Dropkick Murphys, Joan Jett, Beats Antique, Pretty Lights, 311, and lots more. Some years, there's no vegan festival food. But this year, I fared pretty well. On the second day, I found Vegan Pinto Bean Tamales!

And on the last day, I found a totally vegan food truck called the Juice Caboose. They came down from New Hampshire for the fest. Here was their menu.

And here's what I ordered — the Guacamole Salad Wrap. Lots of guac, lettuce, pickled veggies. Very good and a nice balance to all the festie beer we were drinking.

Speaking of wraps, I made Robin Robertson's Sriracha Eggless Salad with Avocado from More Quick Fix Vegan recently. It's a tofu and chickpea "egg" salad with mashed avocado and lots of sriracha! It stuffed it into black rice tortillas.

 

I've been on a quesadilla kick lately. I ordered the "Steak" Quesadilla from Imagine Vegan Cafe last week. It has vegan cheese, Gardein beefless tips, and veggies inside. And I always order sides of vegan sour cream and guac.

And today, at lunch (before I wrecked my car), I ordered the Vegan Quesadilla at Deja Vu Creole and Vegetarian Restaurant. It has vegan cheese, spinach, and mushrooms. So good! I love that I can get vegan quesadillas at two places in Memphis!

 

Finally, tonight (after the car wreck), I treated myself to dessert! I figured after my bad day I deserved something sweet. So I borrowed Paul's car and went to Imagine for Vegan Strawberry Bread Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream! This was also baked by my friend Stephanie, and it really hit the spot.

Afro-Vegan!

I have a vegan dinner party fantasy. All my favorite cookbook authors would get together, plan a menu, and then cook it together. And I'd be the honored guest. So no work for me. Just good eatin' and good company. Bryant Terry would definitely be at the top of that chef guest list.

Although he lives in Oakland these days, Bryant hails from Memphis. And he grew up on that good Southern soul food. His cookbooks — Grub, Vegan Soul Kitchen, and now Afro-Vegan —are filled with dishes that taste like home to me. His latest book, Afro-Vegan, came out in April, and it may be his best work yet. The book is dedicated to farm-fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern flavors.

The book isn't organized in the typical chapters of appetizers, breakfast, soups, entrees, and desserts. Instead Bryant separates the chapters by ingredients and flavor profiles and course. For example, there's a chapter on "Spices, Sauces, Heat" and one on "Okra, Black-Eyed Peas, Watermelon" and another on "Street Food, Snacks, Small Bites."

It's a full-color book, and there are gorgeous photos alongside many of the recipes. Plus, the book is peppered with photos of his adorable family. As is Bryant's tradition, a soundtrack is included with each recipe. Most are obscure tracks that only diehard music fans would recognize, but thanks to google, it's easy to look any of them up and listen along as you cook.

It was hard to narrow down which recipes to try first, but I finally settled on a couple that seemed to go together. I made the Slow-Braised Mustard Greens.

These are slow-simmered like granny would do (and damn are they good when cooked down for 45 minutes or so!), and then they're topped with caramelized onions that have been cooked down with tomato paste. The tomato sauce mixes in with the pot likker and makes a broth worthy of any soup.

And you can't sop up pot likker without cornbread! So I made Bryant's Skillet Cornbread with Pecan Dukkah.

Dukkah is an Egyptian mixture of nuts, seeds, and spices that, according to Bryant, is commonly used to dip bread in after dipping it in oil. But he decided to throw the mix (made with pecans, sesame seeds, cumin, and coriander) into the cornbread batter. I love biting into the pecans! And the cornbread is also flecked with orange zest, which gives it a unique flavor. I plopped a whole slice into my greens and ate it with a spoon. That's how you're supposed to eat cornbread.

Anyway, there are so many more recipes I want to try from Afro-Vegan — Smashed Potatoes with Peas, Corn, and Chili-Garlic Oil; Lil' Tofu Po'Boys with Creamy Red Bell Pepper Sauce; Sweet Plantain and Fresh Corn Cakes; Pumpkin-Peanut Fritters; Jamaican Patties Stuffed with Maque Choux; Ambrosia Ice Pops.

Maybe one day, when Bryant comes over for that dinner party, he'll cook me some of that stuff.

Emily's Natural Beauty

I'm sure I spend a fortune on vegan, all-natural lotions, hair products, soaps, face wash, etc. But a girl needs to look good, and she needs cruelty-free beauty and hygiene products to get her there. I could make my own, but let's be honest, I'm way too busy cooking and eating to worry with mixing up potions and creams.

Enter Emily's Natural Beauty. A few weeks ago, Emily Alves, a college student at Washington University in St. Louis, emailed me to ask if I'd like to sample some of her homemade vegan beauty products. She makes all sorts things — body butters, toothpaste, sunscreen, deodorant, even lip gloss and Crayola lipstick — and sells them for VERY reasonable prices in her online Etsy shop! She let me pick out a few to sample, and here's what I chose.

That's Peppermint Toothpaste, Latte Sugar Scrub, Mango Butter Body Butter, Dark Chocolate Lotion Bar, and two Crayola Lipsticks (in red and pink!). Each product is packed in adorable, reusable four-ounce jars (but she sells eight-ounce jars for some products).

The package arrived while I was at work, and since I had to brush my teeth that night, the Peppermint Toothpaste was the first thing I tried. It's made with organic coconut oil, baking soda, and essential oils.

I'd never tried homemade toothpaste, and I gotta say, it was quite lovely. The baking soda really shines though, and it leaves your mouth feeling all fresh and clean and minty. I like it better than the Jason or Kiss My Face creamy toothpaste that I usually buy. And let me tell ya, four ounces is a LOT of toothpaste! And this jar retails for only $5. I'm certain it will last for months.

I tried the Latte Sugar Scrub in the shower the next morning. It's made with coffee grounds, olive oil, sugar, and vanilla.

One sniff of this and there's no need to drink a cup of coffee in the morning! It smells like Starbucks, and it's great for exfoliating my stupid dry skin. Okay, confession: I did still need coffee after my shower. But the java scent definitely helped wake me up. This also retails for only $5! Emily also sells a Chai Sugar Scrub if you're more of a tea drinker.

When I got out of the shower, I lotioned up with the Dark Chocolate Lotion Bar, which is made with cocoa butter.

As I mentioned earlier, I have super dry skin, and I need extra-strength moisturizers. And this did the trick! It kept my skin soft for hours after my shower. And the scent was heavenly. A few years back, Memphis was lucky enough to have its own Lush store, and I always kept their Nutts lotion bar in stock in my bathroom. It was also made with cocoa butter, and it smelled JUST LIKE THIS! God, how I've missed that bar. This will be my new replacement. And it's even cheaper than Lush at $8.

The following morning, I tried out the Mango Butter Body Butter. It's made with coconut oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, mango butter, and essential oils.

I loved the whipped texture of this, and like the lotion bar, it worked to keep my skin soft for hours. Shea butter is a miracle dry skin cure, so it's no wonder this stuff works! The scent of mango is faint but natural. No artificial mango added. A four-ounce jar retails for $15, but you can get eight ounces for $20!

Finally, I tried the Crayola Lipstick! It's made with coconut oil, pigment, olive oil, and vegan wax.

The colors of red and bright pink look very bright. But they actually go on naturally. On separate occasions, I applied each color and then topped them with shiny lip gloss. Perfect. The red went on as a light, natural red. And the pink applied as a fun light pink. And the best part? They're only $3! And Emily will customize whatever color you ask for. That's a bargain. Most vegan lipstick I buy runs anywhere from $15 to $25. I think I'll be switching to Crayola Lipstick from now on.

Check out Emily's Etsy shop. And if you live in the St. Louis area (and sometimes Miami, her hometown), she'll deliver! For the rest of us, shipping costs are very reasonable. Also, here's her Facebook page.

Mama's Family

I have the coolest mama ever. She's the most generous, selfless person I've ever met. She'll do anything to help out a family member or friend. And she knows how to have fun! Mama loves country music (not my fave, but hey, she rocks it), anything that sparkles, and margaritas. Oh, and she rides on the back of my dad's Harley cause she's badass like that. You'd never catch me on a scary motorcycle!

Today, I got to celebrate my mama and her mama (Me-Maw) and my daddy's mama (Granny)! The four of us went to lunch at Lazzari Italian Oven in my hometown of Jonesboro.

I called ahead because many Italian restaurants use fresh egg pasta. But the hostess told me Lazzari's uses dry pasta. And that means it's vegan. Score!

Like so many Italian places though, the meal starts with Fresh Bread and Olive Oil with Cracked Pepper. I could really make a meal off that bread alone, but I had to restrain myself to save room for pasta. I had a couple slices though. 

And then there's salad. The house salad is called the Mista Salad, and it comes already dressed with an Italian vinaigrette. I asked the server to leave the shredded cheese off my salad, but I didn't even think that the dressing would have cheese in it. But sure enough, that Italian dressing was flecked with parm. Luckily, the server was totally cool about sending it back and bringing me a fresh undressed salad, which I tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar at the table. Much better!

And for my entree, I went with the basic Linguine with Marinara Sauce. I loved this sauce! It was sweet and tangy just like a good marinara should be. I always add a little sugar to my sauce at home and it seems as if they do too.

The meal was lovely, and it was fun hanging out with my mom and grandmas. Hope y'all had a happy Mother's Day!

Life in the Fasting Lane

Last month, I previewed Robin Westen's 2-Day Superfood Cleanse book, which details her vegan weekly detox program. The premise is simple — eat what you want five days of the week, eat only 600 calories from a list of approved "superfoods" on the other two. It's based on the popular 5:2 diet idea, only this program is based on healthy plant-based whole foods. You're basically fasting two days a week and eating whatever you want on the others.

By the way, Westen's "superfoods" aren't crazy exotic things like camu camu but rather nuts, seeds, veggies, and fruits. Real superfoods.

I had a co-worker who tried a non-vegan version of the 5:2 diet last year, and when she told me she was only eating 600 calories on two days of the week, I told her she was crazy! On normal days, I average between 1,600 and 2,200 calories, depending on my workouts. And on weekends, well, let's just say I tend to binge. It's not uncommon for me to hit the 3,000 calorie mark (or higher!) on weekends.

I use a Fitbit and count every calorie, and I've been doing that for years. Fitbit sends me weekly progress reports, and here lately, I'm often around 1,000 to 2,000 calories over for my weekly totals. So I knew it was time to do something. I don't need to lose weight, but I don't want to gain any either. This 5:2 Superfood Cleanse seemed like an excellent way to get my weekly calorie counts under control, so I won't have to feel guilty about those weekend binges anymore. I'm not willing to give those up.

And so, this week, I tried the 2-Day Superfood Cleanse for the first time. I used only Robin's recipes from the book. On Wednesday, I started the day with a Carrot & Flax Fantastico Juice, made with carrots, garlic, and flax oil.

This made a very teensy juice, more like a shot. Yet it was 126 calories! So that was breakfast, folks. Delicious. Loved the flax-carrot-garlic combo. But yes, my belly was still grumbling after I drank this.

Based on my co-worker Hannah's experience last year, I knew little meals were the way to go. No way 600 calories stretched out over three meals would fly. So I planned six little meals instead. I couldn't take the tummy rumbles anymore at 10 a.m. Wednesday, so I broke out the Hot Almonds from Robin's book — 1/8 cup raw almonds, toasted in a skillet with bee-free honee, chili powder, and a pinch of salt. 75 calories.

Though I was never truly satisfied, I made it until lunch when I treated myself to a plate of Roasted Sweet Potatoes with rosemary and a smidge of olive oil. This was, perhaps, the most satisfying meal of the day since it kept me full until at least 3-ish.

My afternoon snack was Robin's Awesome Applesauce — one organic apple cooked down with cinnamon.

And for dinner, I made her Bean & Buckwheat Soup — pinto beans, buckwheat, carrots, garlic, and arugula. The recipe called for watercress, but I couldn't find any in Midtown grocery stores, and I wasn't about to drive all the way to Whole Foods with a rumbly tummy. I usually hate arugula, but it has a similar flavor profile to watercress, so I took a chance. It worked well here. Loved this soup, but I was only allowed 1 1/2 cups. I normally would have eaten twice that with bread on the side.

Throughout the day, as I got hungry, I'd sip on tea and water to try and stave off hunger. It only half-ass worked, but I survived day one. And at the end of the day, I was quite proud of myself. There's something beautiful about successfully mastering your self-control. It's empowering.

I decided to do my cleanses on non-consecutive days because that's totally allowed. So on Wednesday, I treated myself to a 3.5-mile run, a Vega protein smoothie, an eggless salad wrap, potato chips, a vegan cheese & "steak" quesadilla, a cookie, and a martini. I deserved those things!

But it was back to cleansing on Thursday. I was less gung-ho because it wasn't a new thing, and having experienced such hunger on day one, I knew what to expect today. But alas, I'm not a quitter. So I started the morning with a Tangy Tomato Juice (two tomatoes, juice from half a lemon). Delicious, but not very filling.

By 10:30 a.m., I was soooo ready for this Buckwheat Nooch Bowl — just buckwheat mixed with nutritional yeast (nooch is not included in Westen's book, but it's important for my sanity), salt, and pepper.

By cleanse standards, that was quite a hearty snack. Yet I was still famished by 12:15 p.m., so I had this Romaine Salad with Robin's Flaxseed Salad Dressing. It's a homemade garlicky dressing made with lemon and flax oil. Just one 50-calorie tablespoon was all I needed to coat these greens in deliciousness.

I had a busy afternoon at work, so I didn't even have a chance to snack until 3:15ish. By then, I was FAMISHED. About 1/4 cup of this Black Currant & Walnut Trail Mix did the trick, at least for a little while.

I had a hair appointment after work, so I knew I couldn't rush straight home for dinner. And I tried to ignore the hunger pangs as the stylist trimmed my hair. But when I finally was able to sit down to leftovers of the above-mentioned Bean & Buckwheat Soup, it was the greatest meal ever! If only it had lasted longer.

As I type this, it's 9:26 p.m. I'm about to go to bed, but my I am still so hungry. I'm proud of myself for making it two days, and I plan to try again next week. Despite the constant hunger, I also had some moments of clarity and even a bit of a natural high this afternoon. Fasting enlightenment, perhaps? But, honestly, I couldn't be more ready to wake up in the morning to my Vega smoothie, followed by a hearty taco lunch and beer in the afternoon.

Envy On My Lips

Sometimes I like to stray away from food posts to share vegan beauty product reviews. I love to eat more than just about anything else. But I want to look good while I'm eating! And I want my beauty products to be natural and cruelty-free.

EnvyDerm, maker of vegan high performance cosmetics, sent me a sample of their Lip Volumnizing and Conditioning Plumper in Jolie (a peachy pink).

It's not only free of animal products, but it's also free of parabens, synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, sulfates, phthalates, GMOs, triclosan, and mineral oils. Sounds great, right?

According to EnvyDerm's claims, the plumper not only moisturizes lips and adds a splash of gloss and color, it also enhances lip volume within 28 days. But they say you'll even see a bit of an instant plump as soon as you apply it.

Since I never wear the same color everyday, I can't say that I'll ever be able to prove the 28-day claim. I like to mix things up, so I tend to alternate glosses, lipsticks, lip stains, and such. But I did notice an instant improvement when I applied the EnvyDerm plumper.

My lips looked fuller than they do sans product. And this stuff has a tingly mint thing going on that leaves your lips feeling so fresh and clean. I love that it combines a high gloss with color since I often end up layering clear gloss over other brands of lipstick to get the same effect.

I'd definitely buy this. A 5ml bottle runs about $23 on their website, which is pretty comparable to other quality vegan lip products. And they also make a line of vegan eye products, including a volumnizing mascara and a black liquid liner. If I were stranded on a deserted island and could only have one makeup item, it'd definitely be a toss-up between mascara and liquid liner. I'll have to try out EnvyDerm's.

Nutribody Protein Powder

My internet is back!! It's been out for about a week, and if you saw this morning's post, I included a note about my frustration with Comcast. And while I still have plenty of complaints about their customer service hotline, I was quite pleased with the little tech guy who came to my house today. He tried for two hours to get my internet to work last night with no luck. But he came back today, and now the modem is online. Horray!

Now that I'm back to regularly scheduled posting, I want to share another protein powder review. I've been doing a lot of these lately, mostly because vegan protein powder companies have been reaching out to me and offering samples. And since I drink protein smoothies after my runs a few days a week, I have plenty of opportunity to try the various brands. The latest brand I've tried is Nutribody Protein in Natural Vanilla.

It's a vegan bio-digestible powder made with brown rice and pea protein. It's free of the usual bad guys — antibiotics and GMOs. And if you're the type who worries about soy or gluten (not me!), it's also free of soy estrogens and gluten. Here's a shot of the inside. The container is a little big for how much is inside, but still yet, it contains a whopping 27 scoops. This stuff will last awhile.

Its makers also tout Nutribody as having high bio-availability. I didn't know what that meant, so I googled it. And Merriam-Webster defines it as "the degree and rate at which a substance (as a drug) is absorbed into a living system or is made available at the site of physiological activity." Supposedly, whey protein (which is NOT VEGAN) has a high bio-availability, and Nutribody makes that claim as well. Soy and plain rice proteins supposedly don't have as high of a bio-availability rate. 

Oh, and it has a whopping 25 grams of protein, about 10 more per serving than Vega One French Vanilla powder (my usual go-to vanilla powder) and equal to the protein in Vega Sport Performance Protein (what I use after longer runs).

My only complaint with the nutrition stuff is same complaint I have for most protein vegan powders — the lack of calcium. Vega One powder contains 50% of your RDA for calcium, and I like not having to worry so much about getting that from other places. But like most other vegan powders, Nutribody doesn't contain calcium.

That aside, it's easy to add calcium by mixing Nutribody with plant milk and plant yogurt, which is exactly what I did when I tried a scoop of it in this Mango Lassi Smoothie.

Frozen mango, almond milk, vanilla soy yogurt, cardamom, and a scoop of vanilla Nutribody Protein. It's a smoothie I make often with Vega, and I have to say, taste-wise, it's pretty equal when made with Nutribody. There's no chalky taste, and since it's sweetened with natural stevia, it adds a lovely sweetness to the smoothie.

But perhaps my favorite thing about this powder was the thickness of the smoothies it creates! Look at that mango chunk just sitting atop my smoothie! It didn't even try to sink. In fact, this was so thick and creamy that I could have eaten with a spoon. Love that!