FOOD
The week is still young, but great eats so far!
Sunday started with a smoothie (shocker, I know).
Snack was gluten free crackers and hummus while I wrote and poured over my APA manual.
For lunch I made a maple tahini dressing from a new ebook that I could seriously eat with a spoon. Put it on a salad and that was amazing.
Dinner was a tofu taco bowl over lettuce, cabbage, and a bit of brown rice and hot sauce.
Monday was another smoothie with vanilla protein powder (from Garden of Life this time. It’s good enough, but I do like Vega better).
Lunch was the last of the chili leftovers with cauliflower rice.
For dinner I made the oil-free marinara from the same book as the tahini dressing, and put in Boca meatless crumbles and zoodles. Thing was – wasn’t hungry enough to eat it, so I actually packed it up to take to work for Tuesday.
Alas – I forgot my lunch AND my smoothie this morning. Just a brain fart moment – wasn’t rushing or anything.
Thankfully I keep some Vega protein drinks in my office for emergencies.
Lunch was tofu curry (another shocker I know).
And dinner was the one I made last night!
FITNESS
On Sunday I did kickboxing. I was feeling both feisty and a wee stressed, so this is always a go to option for that.
Monday the weather broke and it was a high of 81 – so it was a run after work. And it felt glorious.
Today was yard work and kickboxing again. Something cathartic about imagining you’re punching and kicking the crap out of something/one.
LIFE
All told, a good couple of days.
Saturday afternoon was very chill, and included some popcorn and reading out by the pool
Sunday’s focus was school, meal planning, grocery shopping, and housework.
Monday and Today were work day, obviously. Evenings spent making dinner, working out, and school work mainly.
At work today one of my very fav execs gifted me with a book. I’m looking forward to reading it….when my term ends. He knows that it will be a couple weeks, but that’s okay.
Other miscellaneous pics since my last post!
Also went out to lunch (before snowmageddon hit) for a yummy vegan ramen too!
I decided to try a different method for making my soy yogurt. For years I’ve used the Euro Cuisine yogurt maker. And it still works great. But it makes 7 small jars. Which is fine, but I use it in cooking so much, that it’s sort of a pain to measure out. Yes…first world problem. But see, I have an Instant Pot – have had it for a bit now – and it has this lovely yogurt function. Was high time to try it out. And it did NOT disappoint! 
Oh…and I also discovered this yumminess called Noatmeal! It’s a grain-free oatmeal dish made with hemp seeds, chia seeds, and coconut. I added a ton of cinnamon. Yum! Works as an ONO (overnight oat) dish too.
I made several batches of my tofu eggless salad. My fav way of eating it is on a big bed of greens. This was my lunch most days.
Also whipped up a few tofu curry dishes. My fav one was a red coconut curry with tofu, cabbage, onions, and riced cauliflower.
For snacks – kale chips! One of the things I love for my air fryer. I used to dehydrate them (LOVE my dehydrator), but I tend to like instant gratification, so 5 min in the air fryer for crispy chips is the bomb.
And of course we did a big comfort food night. BBQ tofu, sweet cornbread, mashers, and soy/garlic mushrooms. 
All told, a week of most excellent eats!
I got my hair done about a week or so ago too. I get a lot of blonde in my hair in the summer, but my normal color is auburn. So my hair was really looking two-toned and making me nuts. So, enter my stylist (who I love), and we decided just to make me a redhead! It’s kind of fun, though is taking some getting used to.
I have literally been in the house since Wednesday afternoon of LAST week. That’s right. I managed to be at work (in the office) ONE DAY since the holidays ended. Why? Snow. I mean, I grew up in Wisconsin, so I find this slightly embarrassing, that a foot of snow in SE Virginia shuts us down for a solid week! And honestly, if the temps stay at 20-something, we just may be stranded indefinitely. Fortunately, it’ll be 70 by Friday and Mother Nature will thaw us out. But seriously. It’s ridiculous. Schools are canceled, and pretty much everyone works from home if they can (thankfully I can). And even when you shovel your own drive, the city doesn’t plow anything but main arteries, so I can’t even get out of my neighborhood. You thought I was going bonkers in my last post. It’s been the better part of 2+ weeks now! ARGH. And on top of it, I just bought a new car and I really wanna drive it ;)So, I’ve spent a lot of time chilling by the fireplace. Often with the Kuma bear. 
On a fun note, my doctoral program started! Technically today was the first day, but all the materials were released on Friday – so I got a TON done over the weekend. Guess being snowed in = forced study time. It’s all good though. I do love learning. I have my desk set up with multiple devices so I can easily read and take notes and do research seamlessly. I also finally set up the Echo Dot I won back in October at a meeting in Tampa. It’s pretty groovy. She plays classical while I study, and Depeche Mode radio while I cook. She tells me dumb jokes and is overall pretty entertaining.
So that’s about it. The black bean and sweet potato enchiladas are about to come out of the oven, then it’ll be grub time and then back to studying!Hope everyone else out there isn’t held captive in their home (even though it’s warm, clean, with plenty of food). A girl needs to get out once in awhile!
One of many smoothies I had this week. Of course, I usually have one per day. Nothing better than starting your day with pretty much your entire fruit and veggie needs!
I’m a big fan of meals that start with a baked potato. This one – with a yummy mushroom gravy and a side of sriracha tofu.
Lunch today was actually quite the disappointment. The cocktail was awesome though, so that’s redeemable. The salad had to be made twice (yeah, vegan means hold the feta!), the Gardein was super chewy and kinda icky, and the waiter lied about the first dressing he brought. Long story – the dressing that salad came with had honey – so I asked for the other dressing (a Dijon balsamic). He brought the wrong one – I sent it back – he came back with the right one, claiming it was the first one (HELLO, it was a different color and flavor!). I can handle mistakes – not everyone really understands the difference between vegetarian and vegan – but to lie about it? Ugh. 
And finally, dinner tonight! Remember about being a fan of baked potatoes as a base for a meal? Seriously – totally under appreciated.The two kids who are home (one is at a conference) had the top version. Baked spud – but in the air fryer! Hello – life freaking changing – topped with refried beans, vegan cheddar cheese shreds, and sautéed mushrooms (in broth with liquid smoke, maple syrup, and soy sauce).The one on the bottom – mine – had the refried beans and vegan cheese, but no ‘shrooms – instead I had lettuce and a spicy coconut yogurt topping.But back to this air fried baked potato. Not going to tell you how to do it – because I learned it in JL Field’s book today! If you have or want an air fryer – you legit need this. The 
