What I Ate Wednesday

Time for another What I Ate Wednesday ♥

Since I tend to get a lot of questions with these posts, I have to share a little info first: As you probably know, I eat a plant based whole foods vegan diet and have been for over 2 years now. It makes me feel my best and works for me. Living vegan is a choice you have to make every single day. The hardest part is the learning process; the food tastes absolutely amazing! It’s getting acclimated to the lifestyle that takes months, just like anything else

I avoid processed foods as much as possible and minimize oils (at least when cooking at home) while being mindful about my fat intake; I don’t keep track of specifics and definitely don’t count calories…but count colors instead, keeping it simple, and incorporating variety each day. No one day is the same, but is always super yummy. 

Rather than stress about specific numbers, I prefer to listen to my body. This intuitive way of eating works best for me but you may prefer to monitor your food intake a different way – that’s okay – there’s no right or wrong way to do it, we’re all trying to find our own path, right? 🙂 the less restrictive and less stressful, the better, in my opinion. Not saying it’s acceptable to eat vegan cupcakes all day long (I wish!!) but this is supposed to be a sustainable lifestyle for the long-term.

I’ll promote plant based eating all day long, but if you want to incorporate more plant foods into your life without going 100% vegan – I think that’s amazing too.

Focus on lots of greens, lots of fresh veggies, lots of fruit and whole food carbs (brown rice, oats, sweet potatoes, beans, quinoa etc). The carbs in a banana are completely different than the carbs in french fries.

Any kind of effort like choosing non-dairy milk over cow’s milk and occasionally choosing a veggie burger over a beef burger is amazing and makes a difference. Just wanted to throw that out there!

So here’s what I ate:

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BREAKFAST:

First thing, before eating anything, I always make sure to drink 24 ounces (3 cups) of filtered water with 1/2 lemon (after oil pulling, of course!). I use this mason jar all day every single day. Water helps to rehydrate the body after a long night’s rest when we get dehydrated. It starts the day off on a healthy note, and SO great for skin too.

Then I made a cup of coffee with my favorite dairy-free creamer – the Silk Almond Vanilla Flavored Creamer (check out my superfood coffee elixir recipe too!). I savored that while getting ready to go out for smoothies from Jamba Juice. On the way there, I savored this ‘Calm’ fruit squeeze thingy! So yummy, and makes me feel like I’m 5 years old ha.

Going out for smoothies is a treat for me (!) but I was hosting a Jamba Juice gift card giveaway on my instagram (closed now) and they sent me a gift card as well, so I picked up 3 of their almond-milk smoothies (yes 3, because why not?!) and shared a few sips with Terry. 

• Orange color : Pumpkin Delight Smoothie
• Green color: Green King Matcha
• Purple color: Coconut Berry Bliss 

All 3 were amazing, but both of us decided that Pumpkin Delight was our fave!

SNACK:

I’m all about dates when a craving for something sweet comes around. This pic is taken right out of my instagram stories 🙂 I picked up these coconut date rolls at Mariano’s and they’re the PERFECT alternative to candy. I had two, maybe three…

LUNCH:

For lunch, I’ve been loving simple tacos lately with a couple ripped romaine leaves, lentils, avocado and salsa or pico de gallo. It’s super quick and easy to throw together (like less than 5 minutes), and so yummy too. I also made a secret magic green sauce that I will be sharing shortly that I drizzled on after. YUMMM.

 

DINNER:

A bowl of my Spicy Veggie Bean Chili with quinoa and avocado, of course! This chili is a recipe I alwaysss come back to. That and Healthy Pumpkin Chili too 🙂

Terry picked up thai food for his dinner, so I asked him to order me an appetizer of Vietnamese spring rolls with tofu. My fave! They come with peanut sauce and are so light/refreshing with mint leaves and vermicelli noodles. How do they wrap the spring rolls so good?! I need to learn their ways. Make your own spring rolls at home using my spring roll recipe!