New Daily Meal Themes for Fall/Winter!

If you were following my blog over the summer, you might have noticed that I'd adopted some daily meal themes to plan my dinners around. I got the idea from the No Meat Athlete podcast, and I had been doing Macaroni Monday, Taco Tuesday, Wok Wednesday, Takeout Thursday, Freestyle Friday, Sizzle Saturday (grilled food), and Slice Sunday (pizza!). But as it's gotten colder out, I've been wanting to work in some soups and other warming dishes, like Indian food or hearty sandwiches that stick to your ribs.

So I came up with new themes! Here's a rundown. Mondays are now Monk Bowl Mondays, otherwise known as Buddha bowls. But Buddha doesn't alliterate with anything! Basically, I can have any kind of grain, green, bean bowl on Mondays. I recently made this amazing and beautiful Rainbow Pad Thai Bowl from Eat Feel Fresh on a Monk Bowl Monday. The recipe called for kelp noodles, but the Whole Foods is far from my house, so I subbed shirataki noodles that I found at the Vietnamese market. It also has zucchini, carrot, and beet noodles (sauteed, not raw), edamame, bean sprouts, and a cashew-ginger sauce. It was as good as it looks.

Tuesdays are still Taco Tuesdays because tacos are forever. This past Taco Tuesday, I had a Black Bean Tostada with canned refried black beans, Chao cheese, and sauteed veggies (onion, cabbage, corn, and spinach). Topped with guacamole salsa and red salsa. And lots of hot sauce!

Wednesdays have become World Cuisine Wednesdays, which opens things up to a world (get it?!) of possibilities. Last Wednesday, I went Middle Eastern and whipped up some oil-free Baked Falafel from a No Meat Athlete recipe. I served it in whole wheat pita with tomato, avocado, kalamatas, Trader Joe's tabbouleh hummus (the best!) and Simple Truth plant-based cauliflower tzatziki. 

Thursdays are still Takeout Thursdays because I like to support local restaurants at least once a week. And since I don't run on Friday mornings (rest day), Thursdays nights are the best nights to go wild. Last Thursday, I got Imagine Vegan Cafe takeout and ordered their new Chicken Philly with fries. You can't see it, but under all that cheesy sauce, there are vegan chicken strips and sauteed peppers and onions.

Fridays are still Freestyle Fridays (anything goes!), but I try to focus on whole foods on Friday nights since my long runs are on Saturday mornings. Last week, I made this Roasted Potato Bowl with air-fried roasted red potatoes (from my CSA), black beans, noochy sauce, coleslaw, and avocado. Unfortunately, the avocado turned brown almost immediately. BOOOOO! Still tasted good though.

Saturdays are now Sandwich Saturdays, so that can mean a traditional sandwich or a burger, hot dog, or really anything stuck inside some bread. On a recent Saturday, I made the Mushroom & Spinach Panini from the original Engine 2 book (the one that's all about the diet, not the cookbook). This simple sandwich has sauteed wild mushrooms (from my CSA), baby spinach, and hummus. That's it! It was nice and simple.

Sundays are Soup Sundays! Typically, that would be a warm soup or stew, but last Sunday, I made the raw Heart Chakra Soup from Eat Feel Fresh because I'm working on balancing all of my chakras, and I'm currently focused on the heart. This blended cold soup has avocado, zucchini, cucumber, spinach, garlic, and almonds, and it was really good. Fortunately, it was a warm November day here, so I didn't mind a cold soup.

Recipe: Fluffy, Oil-Free Blueberry Protein Prancakes

Now that it's getting cooler out, I'm trading my post-run protein smoothies for warmer protein-packed treats. Protein oats, protein muffins ... heck, this morning I even had protein mashed sweet potatoes (more on that in a future post). I like to add a PR to the beginning of all foods that contain protein powder, so that would be proats, pruffins, and protatoes!

All of these warm breakfast treats are spiked with Complement Protein, my favorite vegan protein powder. It's made by the same folks who run No Meat Athlete (of which I am a superfan), and it's unflavored, unsweetened, and free of that weird chalky taste that most people associate with protein powders. It's also free of heavy metals, which is a rarity in the protein powder world.

Last Sunday, after my run, I came home to a pile of protein pancakes! Or should I say, PRANCAKES?! I converted my favorite white flour pancake recipe to healthier one with added protein powder. My white flour pancakes the fluffiest, and I worried the fluffy trick (lots of baking powder and ACV) wouldn't work without white flour, but it did! These were so fluffy! Like little pancake clouds!

This recipe could easily be made gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats. I did not, so I didn't want to label it as such because not all oats are gluten-free. You can buy oat flour, but I just make my own by grinding rolled oats in a coffee grinder. You could also make this without protein powder, but if you do, I'd just sub out six tablespoons of additional chickpea flour (or you could go wild and use almond flour instead of protein powder).

If you're interested in learning more about Complement, check it out here. That's my affiliate link since I'm a Complement Ambassador (again, SUPERFAN). You can save 10% on your order with the code VEGANCRUNK. Okay, here's the recipe.

Fluffy Blueberry Protein Pancakes 

oil-free, can be gluten-free if made with gluten-free oats

Yields 2 servings (about 6 pancakes)

1 cup plant milk

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 cup oat flour (you can make this by grinding oats in a coffee grinder)

1/2 cup chickpea flour

6 Tbsp. Complement Protein

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup blueberries (or any berry you like!), plus more for topping

In a medium bowl, combine the plant milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, and maple, and set aside for a few minutes while you mix the dry ingredients. 

In a large bowl, stir together oat flour, chickpea flour, Complement protein, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add in the wet ingredients and stir until well-combined. Allow the mixture to sit for about five minutes. This will allow the vinegar and baking powder to do some science magic that will result in fluffier pancakes.

While the batter sits, heat a non-stick skillet on medium heat. After five minutes, fold in the blueberries. For oil-free pancakes, don't use any spray oil, but if you feel like the pancakes may stick, you can use a little spray cooking oil. Scoop about 1/3rd cup portions into the skillet (you'll have to do this in batches), and allow to cook until bubble form on the exposed side. Carefully flip the pancakes, and allow to cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side.

Serve with maple syrup and extra berries!

Cookbook Review: The Plant Protein Revolution Cookbook

Has any vegan cookbook author written as many books as Robin Robertson? This woman is prolific! I have many of Robin's books, and they're all fantastic. And her latest book, The Plant Protein Revolution Cookbook, is no exception. 

This book is all about my second-favorite macronutrient — protein!! In case you're wondering, carbs will always be #1 in my heart. But protein is super-important, especially for vegan athletes, and while I do rely on protein powder in my post-run breakfast, I like to get to the rest of my daily protein needs from whole plant foods. And that's what this book is all about. All of the protein-rich recipes rely on beans/legumes, whole (or very lightly processed) soyfoods, grains, nuts, and seeds. That's it! No fancy plant meats here!

There are protein-packed appetizers, like Faux Gras (a mushroom/lentil/walnut pate) and Baked Tofu with Peanut Sauce. The salad chapter includes a Chickpea "Tuna" Salad and a Caesar with chickpeas, baked tofu, and a homemade bean/seitan ham. 

I picked two recipes from the Super Sandwiches chapter, including this Tempeh Avocado Reuben. This simple sandwich has braised tempeh, kraut, avocado, mayo, and toasted bread. That's it! She includes a recipe for cashew mayo to boost the protein, but I used a storebought vegan mayo because it was easier.

I also made the Tempeh Tacos with Sriracha Lime Slaw (yes, tacos are in the sandwich chapter! I'm not sure why!). These tacos are stuffed with baked tofu, avocado, and a creamy, spicy slaw. The baked tofu recipe may become my new to-go. It was so flavorful with lots of soy sauce, garlic, maple, and nooch.

There's a chapter on stovetop meals, like Tofu Ramen Bowls, Edamame Fried Rice & Quinoa, and Indonesian Noodles with Tempeh. And there's a chapter on oven meals, like the Easy Peasy Mac & Cheesy made with silken tofu and cashew sauce. There's even a protein-packed dessert chapter! Chocolate-Kissed Peanut Butter Pie (with protein from silken tofu and peanut butter) anyone?

The best chapter, however, may be the last one — Plant Protein Basics. Here, Robin covers everything from how to cook beans from scratch to making seitan, baking tofu, and creating your own cashew creams.

Love this book! In true Robin style, most all of the recipes have few ingredients, are based on whole foods, and come together in a jiffy.

Pizza, Porridge, & Sandwiches!

A couple Fridays ago, we filmed some promotional videos for work, highlighting some of our Crosstown Concourse businesses and the fact that our multi-use building has one million square feet of space for people to safely socially distance while enjoying local food and fun. I was in one of the videos at Pizzeria Trasimeno, the new pizza place, so I enjoyed this Pizza del Giardino (their vegan vegetable pizza) and an Aperol Spritz. Crosstown Concourse, where I work in communications, is a giant multi-use space with nonprofit orgs, restaurants, retail, arts space, and all kinds of fun things to do, and most businesses inside are still open during COVID. Masks are required of course!

Speaking of Crosstown Concourse, here's a Watkins Sandwich that I picked up a couple weekends ago at Curb Market in Concourse. Curb is our building's grocery store, and they have a deli that serves this vegan smoked tofu sandwich. It's usually topped with onion straws, BBQ sauce, and vegan slaw, but they were out of slaw. So the deli man added some pickled veggies instead. I really liked this version!

And one more thing about Curb Market! They've started carrying VGAN chocolate bars, and they're the best vegan chocolate bars I've ever had. I got this one and a white chocolate bar, and I can't stop eating them. 

Here are a few meals from home. I made the Lentil Porridge from Eat Feel Fresh last week for breakfasts. This has red lentils, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin spice. It's a nice alternative to oats. Who knew lentils would be good sweet?! They are!

And here's a recent GGB (grain, green, bean) bowl. It looks weird, but it was good. Just thrown together stuff — brown rice, white beans, kale, pumpkin seeds, kraut, and chow chow. 

Impossible Everything! And a Chili-Cheese Burrito!

I've been trying to find all kinds of fun new ways to use my chipotle chickpea chili that I made on Chef AJ's show a couple weeks ago. Chili is great on its own in a bowl, but it's even more fun as a topping for, say, a Chili Cheese Burrito! This has Simple Truth Plant-Based Queso (the best!) and the chili on top, and the inside is stopped with sauteed tofu, spinach, black beans, and rice.

I finally found Impossible burger in stores! Our Trader Joe's carries it, so I picked some up a couple weeks ago. I used some to make Impossible Spaghetti. For this, I just browned some Impossible burger with mushrooms and added a jarred marinara sauce.

And then last Saturday, Paul and I grilled up some quick Impossible Burgers with Chao Cheese after we watched Joe Biden's speech. Wasn't it just amazing??? Awwwww. What a great day Saturday was! Not only did we win the election that day, but it was 70-something degrees in Memphis and sunny all day. A perfect day for grilling. Sorry for the crappy pic, but it was late by then, and I was HANGRY.

Last Thursday, I had to get groceries after work, so I stopped by City Silo, which is out by our Sprouts, for takeout. I got the BBQ Squash Bowl, which has spaghetti squash, kale, BBQ sauce, croutons, corn, rice, quinoa, and cashew ranch. It was sooo good. Their patio is open, and I would have liked to have eaten there, but it was chilly that night. So I ate this in my car. 

And finally, here's some delicious and hearty Corn Chowder that I made for dinner on Sunday. It's from Terry Walters' Clean Food cookbook — one I haven't used in quite awhile. I'm attempting to make a recipe from every one of my cookbooks over the next few years (it'll take a few years!). This simple recipe has corn, potatoes, carrots, celery, and unsweetened soymilk, and it's so delicious. 

Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day!

I don't know about y'all, but I've never quite understand the breakfast skippers. I usually have about three meals before lunch! There's first breakfast (aka pre-run snack), real breakfast (the bigger meal), and morning snack (usually hummus and crackers or a Larabar). Those morning meals power me through my day and give me the energy I need to be focused at work. 

First breakfast is usually something small, like toast with jam or a banana with nut butter. Just something to tide me over during my run. 

On warm days when I run, I often have a protein smoothie for post-run breakfast, but now that it's getting chilly, I've switched to Proats (protein oats). I stir some Complement Protein into my rolled oats, add a splash of almond milk to thin it out, stir in some maple and nut butter, and top with nuts, seeds, and berries. Without protein powder, oats tend to keep me full for about an hour, but with added protein powder, I'm good til at least 11 am (morning snack time). 

I'm a Complement Ambassador, so I have to tell you how awesome this clean, heavy metal-free, unsweetened protein powder is. You can stir it into anything, and while it does thicken the texture some, there's no weird chalky flavor. Wanna learn more? Go here!

I also love me some tofu scramble. I usually have it with toast, but some days, I make Breakfast Bowls like this. It has air-fried potatoes and lots of guacamole salsa.

If I'm feeling wild, I'll have Breakfast Tacos. Same ingredients as in the bowl but better because tacos. I also added Simple Truth Plant-Based Queso to these.

If I'm having tofu scramble for dinner, I may have Breakfast Burrito, which I enjoyed on a recent Taco Tuesday. I love how much scramble I can squeeze into a giant tortilla.

On Fridays, my breakfasts come from LuLu's. I love making the morning drive downtown to grab a breakfast sammy and coffee from their space at Puck Food Hall. Last Friday, I got the Blackeyed Pea Saysage Biscuit with Apple Butter and a Campfire Latte with oat milk on the side.

Lemongrass Tofu: Three Ways

On the Friday that our sweet Gelfling (our 15-year-old kitty) died, the only thing I wanted to eat was comfort food — something greasy and fried that would temporarily fill the kitty-sized hole in my heart. So we grabbed some Pho Binh to go. I ordered the Lemongrass Tofu (my very fave), and Paul got us an order of Veggie Fried Rice and Tofu Spring Rolls to share. Very few veggies, mostly brown. I can say that this meal (and a few glasses of wine) certainly helped for a little bit.

The thing is, when you order Pho Binh, you have leftovers for days. So I had to find new ways to use my leftover lemongrass tofu. The next day, I made a stir-fry with broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts, leftover white rice, and lemongrass tofu.

By Monday, I was still eating lemongrass tofu, but I wanted to be a tad healthier at the start of my week. So I made a Buddha bowl with lemongrass tofu, steamed broccoli, steamed carrots, and brown rice. 

Paul had ordered the Tofu Pho that Friday when we placed a big order, and he had some leftovers that he didn't want. So I finished those off too. I added broccoli for some extra nutrition. Pho Binh's Tofu Pho is the best! I'm actually kind of looking forward to colder days so I justify ordering this more often.

And here's a non-Pho Binh meal. Have y'all tried these Soon ramen cups? They're vegan and really good! Best instant ramen cups I've had. The kimchi flavor is awesome.