What’s on the Menu: Week 3
This week I revisited a few things I’ve really liked so far and added some new ones. In the last few weeks – and especially since I posted my progress pics – I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how I meal prep. There are tons of videos and resources out there but some of them on skimpy on the actual details so I recorded myself this past week putting my meals together piece by piece. Hope this helps! Here’s what I made in the video: Porkless Bites w/ Lentils & Asparagus (Lunch) Calories: 488 Carbs: 73.5g Fat: 6g Protein: 38g Meatless Meatballs w/ Broccoli & Roasted Tomatoes…
Macro Machine | Update: 1
‘Non-scale Victory’ is not just a buzzword term to get clicks – it’s an actual, real-life phenomenon that I can attest to because I’m basically a walking, talking example. In the last 2 weeks of vegan meal prepping, dessert avoidance, and strenuous workouts I’ve lost exactly – wait for it – ZERO pounds. However, it was a total success! I know, I know. WTF. But just look at the pics: Two weeks ago I wrote my initial Macro Machine post announcing my foray into macro counting and the start of my Conscious Muscle training plan. Check out these posts to see what I’ve been eating: What’s on the Menu Week…
What’s On the Menu: Week 2
It’s been a week….so how do I feel about meal prep? PROS Nothing like wandering to the fridge at any given time and knowing exactly what you are going to eat. Goodbye, guesswork! I know that I’m eating something healthy that will further my fitness goals. It’s a lot easier to avoid surprise dark chocolate covered cashew binges when my prepared alternative is staring me in the face. Huge timesaver during the week. If you worked late there’s no additional prep time for dinner – just pop the top and get to munching. Fewer dishes – most of the time. Because you prepared your food personally, you know how it was made and…
What’s On the Menu: Week 1
Once I got my Conscious Muscle meal plan I immediately started dreaming up ways to put my own spin on it. The way the plan is structured, you choose an item from 1-5 columns for each meal ( or ‘feedings’ as I’ve dubbed them 😅), and those foods combined, in the specified amounts, will meet your caloric and macro goals for the meal. BUT, having the macro and caloric targets meant I could also use My FitnessPal to plan meals in advance and combine them to see where I’d be at the end of the day. Personally, I think of calories and now macros as a budget. I have to spend them…
Macro Machine
I knew eventually I’d have to face the realization that just because something was vegan, it didn’t mean I could eat as much as I liked with no consequences. Sure, that rule may apply to things like dark, leafy greens and zucchini, but it’s not so flexible with Ben & Jerry’s vegan ice cream flavors or gigantic, multi-layer burritos. And that time, Ladies and Gentlemen, is now. Almost a year into my transition (anniversary is in May) I’ve tried, tasted and fallen in love with literally hundreds of new, vegan foods. Now that the immediate rush of discovery is over, I needed a reset to help implement a more disciplined way…
Vegan Southwestern Crab Cake Salad
This quick and easy salad is packed with flavor, has great texture, and hits all the comfort food hot spots.
Power Breakfast: Very Berry Chia Seed Pudding
Fresh, fast and fruity with none of the Denny's guilt! This vegan chia seed pudding is a 'set-it-and-forget-it' make ahead power breakfast packed with vitamins and nutrients.
Easy Vegan Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
This recipe was inspired by Ashley of Blissful Basil. See her original recipe here. I have a bit of a sweet tooth. Sometimes, it is dormant or easily controlled and other times it is a raging dumpster fire of need. I’ve actively subbed dessert for ‘real food’ for dinner as an adult because I figure ‘why ingest the extra calories when all I really want is ice cream??’ Sounds legit, right? Fitness DVD coming soon. This recipe was born in the spirit of quelling sweet treat cravings everywhere. It’s easy, it’s quick and it’s vegan. It’ll also give you another thing to wedge mini chocolate chips into if you bought…
Easy Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins
First off – shout out to Cherryvale Farms for making vegan baking so easy. Their mixes are plant-based and non-GMO. You just add fruit, oil and water then bake and enjoy. Now that that’s out of the way… I love baking. I mean, it helps that it usually results in something delicious, but I also find it fundamentally satisfying. When I first started thinking about veganism it was the desserts that I expected to suffer the most. How do you get creamy, fluffy, or moist out of plants?! In an effort to convince myself that dry, crumbly, naked baked goods were not my future I started experimenting with vegan baking…
A Word on Spices
Transitioning to veganism will DEFINITELY teach you the importance of herbs and spices. Getting the mix right can make the difference between a great meal and a culinary disaster. While you’re learning (there are literally billions of spice combinations out there), it can be nice to have a little help. Sometimes, I like to grab a spice blend like these two from @urbanaccentsspices. They have little spice kits – this one is called ‘Perfect Pair’ – that come packaged together with a recipe on each label. Each blend is non-gmo verified and crafted in small batches with all-natural ingredients. I’ve tasted a bit of both this week on their own and they’re…
