Veganuary 2021 // Meal Ideas

On By VictoriaIn Low Spoon Recipes, What I Ate TodayLeave a comment

It’s a New Year! If your resolution is to try veganism, then continue reading. Here are some easy recipes to make if you are using this new year to jumpstart your vegan journey:

Tofu Scramble Burritos

I could eat tofu scramble every single day for every meal.

For those that have not had tofu scramble before, you can scramble tofu to replace scrambled eggs. I have made many posts regarding tofu scramble since it’s become such a staple in my diet. Here are a few:

I used So Delicious’ cheddar shreds to make cheesy burritos. I also topped them with the best hot sauce for breakfast burritos, Texas Pete.

This is easily one of my favorite things to make for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Green Smoothie

I had more fruits and veggies in this drink than the last few weeks combined..

This is what I used:

  • 1 cup plant-based milk (lately we’ve been buying Ripple Unsweetened Vanilla milk)
  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 cup frozen spinach
  • 3/4 cup frozen strawberries
  • cinnamon

First, blend together the spinach and milk so that the spinach blends thoroughly. Once that is blended add in all the other ingredients, blend again, and that’s it!

Black Bean Burger

I have made a lot of these over the past few days. This is super easy to make but is so delicious. You only need 3 ingredients.

  • 1/2 cup black beans
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp salsa (we had Pace salsa in the house)

First, I drained and mashed the black beans. Don’t mash it until it’s a paste, but leave it a little bit chunky. Then I added the other ingredients and mixed until it was all combined. Next, I sprayed a pan with coconut oil and grilled each side over medium high heat.

Top it with your favorite burger toppings! I used pickles, ketchup, and mustard. Vegenaise (or any other vegan mayo) and grilled onions would also be delicious.

Pizza Muffins

For dinner I made one of my favorite meals, pizza muffins. Dave’s Killer Bread makes vegan English muffins, so we used those and So Delicious’ mozzarella shreds.

First, I mixed the cheese with dried basil, oregano, and garlic powder. Next, I cut an english muffin in half and added marinara sauce and the cheese to eah half. I baked it in the oven at 350° for about 10 minutes, just enough to toast the english muffin and melt the cheese. Once it was out of the oven I topped it with crushed red pepper.

This is what a day of easy vegan meals looks like. Are you participating in veganuary? Let me know if you try out any of these recipes in the comments! I hope everyone has a wonderful year. 2020 set the bar pretty low, but here’s to 2021!

3 Vegan Meal Ideas | What I’ve Been Eating Lately

On By VictoriaIn Low Spoon Recipes, Recipes, TofuLeave a comment

For awhile I was really unmotivated to cook. All I wanted was something quick to heat up in the microwave, or to order something from Doordash. Anything quick and easy that took no effort.

I think a lot of my lack of motivation was due to constantly being home and not leaving the house for the last 6 months. I lost a lot of interest in my own hobbies, too. 10lbs later, now I’m trying to eat healthier and get back in shape (while still rarely leaving the house). Here’s what I’ve been eating lately.

Fruit Salad

I know this doesn’t sound exciting, but I’ve been eating this for breakfast or lunch every day lately. This is one apple and one banana with a peanut butter “dressing”. I like to add granola and cinnamon on top too. Here’s how I make it:

  • 1 apple
  • 1 banana
  • 1 tbsp peanut butter
  • granola
  • cinnamon

This is the granola we’ve been using. We found it at Target:

First, I dice up the banana and apple, and add it to a bowl. Then, I mix together the tablespoon of peanut butter and a splash of water to thin it out. I also add some cinnamon to the “dressing”. Then I just mix that in with the fruit, top it with the granola or whatever else you would like to add, and add some more cinnamon on top! This has been such a treat to have, especially for breakfast before work.

Air Fried Tofu Wraps

I air fry a lot of tofu when I’m trying to eat healthier. For lunch a few days ago I had some leftover tofu that I wrapped in tortillas with spinach, carrots, and dried cranberries. For a sauce I mixed together 2 tbsp of Sabra’s classic hummus and a packet of Taco Bell’s Diablo hot sauce (very fancy, I know).

To cook the tofu, cut it into cubes and mix it with cumin, paprika, black pepper, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and onion powder. Make sure the tofu is evenly coated with the spices. I cook it in the air fryer at 400° for 20 minutes, flipping it halfway through.

And… more air fried tofu

I just really like air frying tofu…

This is 1/4 of a block of tofu, cubed and air fried like in the last meal. I had it with spinach, white rice, and sriracha. For the spinach, we had frozen spinach that I sautéed in a pan with garlic and crushed red pepper. Really simple, but healthy, filling, and easy to make.

What have you been eating lately? Have your eating habits changed at all lately due to quarantine? Let me know in the comments!

catching up

On By VictoriaIn LifestyleLeave a comment

Hello everyone, it’s been awhile since I last posted here! It’s been crazy and hectic and I lost a lot of motivation to do anything at the start of the new year. Being in quarantine definitely hasn’t helped. It’s hard to believe I have barely left the house the last 6 months, but I’m grateful that I am able to stay home.

Here are some updates from the past few months.

We adopted a puppy!

I have spent way too much time playing Animal Crossing New Horizons.

My birthday was in June and we celebrated with amazing food. Here are the jalapeño poppers and stromboli we had (all vegan and homemade):

And that’s about it! New recipes and blog posts coming soon. ♡

wow I ate a lot of tofu today // Veganuary Meal Ideas + what I ate today

On By VictoriaIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I started my vegan journey in January of 2017. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to make healthy (but hella easy) vegan meals. Here’s a look at the easy vegan meals I ate today.

breakfast

A tofu scramble burrito in a spinach tortilla and bac’n.

We made the bac’n by slicing Beyond Meat Sausage into thin strips and cooking it with just salt, pepper, and a little bit of oil until it was crispy.

I made the tofu scramble by adding garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, and nutritional yeast to crumbled tofu. I cook it in a pan on medium high heat until most of the water is cooked out, then I changed the temperature to medium and let it cook through for about 10 minutes. I added some Sabra’s Pine Nut Hummus once it was cooked to make it “cheesy”.

lunch

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I made tofu fries to go with the Kite Hill ranch dip we bought yesterday. To make the fries I cut 1/4 of a block of tofu into strips and coated them with a lot of nutritional yeast, black pepper, and paprika. I put them in the air fryer for 20 minutes at 400° and flipped them after 10 minutes. The Kite Hill dip is really good, and has a similar taste to sour cream and onion dip.

dinner

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This was rice noodles, spinach, hummus, tofu, and red pepper flakes.

I cubed 1/4 of a block of tofu and coated it with the same spices I coated the tofu fries with, boiled some rice noodles, added spinach and the hummus sauce, and topped it with red pepper flakes.

For the sauce I mixed 2tbsp of the pine nut hummus with water, nutritional yeast, black pepper, and paprika.

That’s everything I ate today to keep my meals simple but delicious. If you want more Veganuary inspiration be sure to check out my Instagram @healthy_ghost.

Back From a Hiatus

On By VictoriaIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Hi everyone! It’s been awhile since I’ve logged onto my blog.

I’m back today with a short post catching you all up on where I’ve been.

We traveled to San Antonio and found vegan food at a cafe we didn’t expect to find vegan food at:

And also got laughed at and hung up on when trying to ask about vegan options at another restaurant.

I’ve been taking bass lessons and spending a lot of free time with that.

We had a 3 Vegan Thanksgivings! We are so thankful to our family that made us amazing vegan food.

We ate Impossible Whoppers way too many times.

Spiral Diner had vegan chick’n wings (with a fake bone!) with vegan ranch and bleu cheese.

We also had their blue plate special, the Monte Cristo, and had to try their new breakfast tacos with some bac’n and a hot chocolate.

For Christmas dinner we had whole wheat pasta with breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, spinach, Daiya’s mozzarella shreds, and sun dried tomatoes.

This was a staple meal in our household when I was growing up, so it was nice having a vegan version!

That’s what we have been up to lately. Expect more posts soon!

What I Eat on a Sick Day

On By VictoriaIn What I Ate TodayLeave a comment

It’s that time of year again! Time for oversized sweaters, pumpkin spiced everything, and getting sick.

Here’s what I ate today while I was stuck at home in bed.

breakfast: tofu scramble loaded with vegetables and a piece of sourdough toast

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I scrambled some tofu and mixed in broccoli, red peppers, green peppers, and onions. I served it with a dollop of hummus and a toasted piece of sourdough bread.

For spices for the tofu I used turmeric, black pepper, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.

The little dollop of hummus makes the tofu scramble “cheesy” and creamy.

snack: mango nice cream

I tried to get in as much fruit and veg as possible today, so I made a bowl of nice cream. I used 1 cup of Silk’s vanilla soy milk, 1 cup of frozen mango, and 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries. Not only did it turn a pretty pink color, but it was sweet and delicious.

lunch: leftover rice noodles with hummus and spinach

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We picked up sushi the night before (I had my usual avocado rolls), and I picked up a side of rice noodles to have for leftovers. I spiced up the plain noodles by adding spinach and making a sauce out of pine nut hummus. I also added some red chili flakes on top. It wasn’t the prettiest meal, but it was really good.

dinner: butternut squash soup with tofu and spinach

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For dinner I really wanted soup, so I made a really quick and easy one. For this I used:

  • 32 oz. butternut squash soup (the brand we used was Pacific Foods)
  • 2-3 cups water
  • 1/2 yellow onion
  • chopped frozen spinach
  • 1 block or firm or extra firm tofu
  • For the tofu: garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cumin, and paprika

I completely forgot to add garlic cloves / garlic powder. It turned out good without, but it would probably be better with 1 or 2 cloves or at least some garlic powder.

First, I sautéed the diced onion with a little water at first, but then I started to brown them with a splash of the butternut squash soup. Once they were softened I added the broth, water, and spinach. I heated it up over medium high heat, and while that was cooking I air fried the tofu.

I coated the tofu with the spices above, then air fried it for about 15 minutes at 400°.

Then I just combined everything and voila! A pretty healthy and hearty soup.

It sucks getting sick, but I try to make the most of it by using the extra time I have to load up on fruits and veggies.

Vegan Snacks We’ve Been Enjoying

On By VictoriaIn Vegan ProductsLeave a comment

I wanted to share some of the tasty vegan treats we’ve been enjoying lately.

Harvest Snaps – Tomato Basil Red Lentil Snack Crisps

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The tomato basil flavor is our favorite, but the original ones are really good too. I like these when I want something crispy, but I want something a little bit better than potato chips. At least it feels like I’m eating something healthier…

Not all of the flavors are vegan, so watch out for any milk ingredients if you try these.

Hippeas – vegan white cheddar

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These are basically vegan cheetos. What else do I need to say? We bought a bunch of bags at Kroger when they were on sale and I’ve been having them as snacks during the work day.

Hey Boo Coconut Sea Salt Caramels

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I haven’t had caramels in such a long time, and they used to be one of my favorite kinds of candy. We found these at Viridescent Kitchen and they are a great treat.

Also, if you’re in the Dallas/Plano area you have to check out Viridescent Kitchen. They serve vegan food and sell a lot of vegan snacks. Check out their website here.

Louisville Vegan Jerky Co. – Vegan Jerky

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We also picked up this vegan jerky from Viridescent Kitchen. There are a ton of different flavors on their website, but we loved the Buffalo Dill flavor.

Trader Joe’s Cashew Fiesta Dip – dairy free cheese dip

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This cheese dip from Trader Joe’s tastes amazing. It’s like a flavorful velveeta cheesy queso. We highly recommend picking this up and having it with your favorite tortilla chips.

♡

What I ate today // easy vegan meals

On By VictoriaIn Uncategorized, What I Ate Today1 Comment

Here’s what I ate today for some easy vegan meal ideas.

breakfast:

For breakfast we made tofu scramble breakfast burritos, my usual go-to for breakfast when I’m home. We air fried some frozen hashbrowns in our air fryer and scrambled a block of tofu over medium high heat. For spices for the tofu we used black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, and turmeric.

Our favorite hot sauce to use for breakfast burritos is Texas Pete’s hot sauce and we put it on almost everything.

lunch:

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DJ made yellow curry for dinner a few nights ago, so for lunch I had some of the leftovers with fettuccine noodles. For a big pot that lasted us the week he used:

  • 2 boxes (32 fluid oz. each) of Sam’s Choice Vegan Protein Broth we found at Walmart
  • 1 yellow onion
  • curry powder, cumin, salt, and a little splash of maple syrup, all to taste
  • 3 russet potatoes
  • 2 blocks of tofu
    • spices to coat the tofu with: black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper

First, he sautéed the onions in a little bit of oil until they were clear and chopped the potatoes into large cubes. Once they were cooked he added everything (besides the tofu) into a pot and let it cook for twenty minutes over medium heat. While it was cooking he cubed the tofu, coated it with the spices, then air fried it for 20 minutes at 375º.  Lastly, he added the air fried tofu to the soup and served it with white rice.

It’s such an easy, cheap, and delicious meal that makes for great lunches throughout the week.

dinner:

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For dinner I made a simple bowl of white rice and vegetables, with a little more of the leftover curry broth for flavor. For veggies I microwaved a stir fry mix with broccoli, snap peas, onions, red pepper, and carrots and topped it with crushed red pepper.

Our Trip to Fossil Rim

On By VictoriaIn Travel LogLeave a comment

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This past Sunday we visited Fossil Rim, a conservation center located in Glen Rose, Texas that works towards researching and conserving endangered species. They currently house over 1,000 animals over 50 species, and the majority are threatened. This is their mission and philosophy, taken directly from their website: Fossil Rim Conservation

“Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is dedicated to the conservation of species in peril, conducting scientific research, training of professionals, responsible management of natural resources and public education. Through these activities, we provide a diversity of compelling learning experiences that inspire positive change in the way people think, feel and act towards nature.”

“Fossil Rim was founded on the conviction that all creatures have a right to exist; that the natural world has intrinsic value apart from human perceptions and needs; and that this right and this value deserve our deep respect. Modern culture, with its emphasis on economic and technological values, tends to threaten the quality and integrity of nature. Fossil Rim strives to provide a model and stimulus for alternative ways of experiencing and relating to animals and nature as a whole.”

You can find more information on their conservation efforts here: Fossil Rim Animal Conservation.

We had a lot of fun touring the park. There is a lot to see and learn, plus the habitats for the animals are large and they can roam freely. I don’t like going to zoos anymore, especially since becoming more aware of how the animals are kept and mistreated in most zoos. Fossil Rim seems to be taking care of all the animals well, and I admire their conservation efforts.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

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We also stopped by J&J’s Pizza in Denton on our way home to enjoy some vegan pizza!

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That was our day at Fossil Rim. We had a great day learning about endangered species and exploring the wildlife center.