Where am I? And what's the date?

Oh my goodness, friends. Snow days have got me dreadfully messed up. I've taken several very lovely pictures of my lunches, but alas, I have no idea when, because it's been days since I've been in school. I'll get back to the blogosphere in no time, but you guys will have to give me a couple of days to catch up on life. Bye for now!

January 14, 2011

Yummy! Today I got to bring my General Tso's to school, as well as the amazing spinach hummus mentioned here that I finally decided to go crazy and splurge on. Trust me, it's worth it!

Clockwise, from left: Baby carrots, organic Fuji apple, General Tso's vegan chicken, spinach hummus, 100% whole wheat pretzels.

January 13, 2011

You guys will never believe the crazy snow days we had all last week! We only went for two days, thus explaining my shortage of lunches. My mom and I met some friends at Whole Foods cafe the other day for a quick bite to eat, and stumbled upon two amazing mock-meat delicacies. We tried both the General Tso's Vegan Chicken and Barbecue Chickun. Oh my God, you wouldn't believe how incredibly amazing and suspiciously meaty they both were. We simply had to bring some of each home, and obviously it had to come with me in my lunch.

Clockwise, from left: Barbecue Chickun from Whole Foods, Kashi cereal, organic cauliflower, an organic carrot (I ran out of baby carrots), an organic Fuji apple, and vegan praline pecans.

January 6, 2010

Quesadilla with FYH vegan cheese--super yum! I also found these Guiltless Gourmet Spicy Black Bean tortilla chips, which are amazing and shockingly protein-packed!

Clockwise, from left: Trader Joe's Salsa, Guiltless Gourmet Tortilla Chips, organic Fuji apple, baby carrots, soynuts, green bell pepper, quesadilla with FYH vegan cheese on a whole wheat tortilla. 

January 5, 2010

Healthy, healthy. My friends always jokingly laugh at my healthy lunches, but oh well. They make me feel good!

Clockwise, from left: Sesame dressing, vegan butternut squash soup, salad with organic romaine, red bell peppas and soynuts, unsweetened applesauce, cocoa roast almonds, hummus for my crackers, and Wasa 110% whole grain crackers.  

And finally, some obscene cuteness provided by my furry brother Hefner. My baby is super photogenic. Oooh and awww. He doesn't mind. 

January 4, 2010

I was keepin' it old school with this lunch. Good old PB&J, applesauce and carrots. Does it get better? Sad story, though. I forgot my lunch at home this morning. I had terrible images of eating a bag of Sun Chips and an apple for lunch (I kid you not, our cafeteria does not have a single solitary veggie on its menu). Luckily, my heroic mom delivered it to me during drama. What would I do without that lady?

Clockwise, from left: Vegan butternut squash soup (sorry it's a little shadowy), PB&J on whole wheat, unsweetened applesauce, Crispy Wheats, organic baby carrots.

A Shopping List of Sorts...

So you're reating this gorgeomous blog, and you think to yourself...jeez, I wanna eat like this girl. Kudos to you! You have great taste (haha). But where to start? Here, I've provided a list of my personal staples that I always have on hand that make me epically happy and I have a hunch will make you feel the same way. Any recommendations?

DAIRY (OR NOT):
Almond milk (unsweetened vanilla)
Soy cheddar cheese
Soy yogurt

GRAINS: (my favorite)
100% whole wheat bread (or sprouted grain)
Boil in Bag brown rice (am I lazy or what?)
100% whole wheat pretzels
Yummy cereal (ie vegan Lucky Charms...)
100% whole wheat bagels
100% whole wheat burger buns
Whole wheat pasta
Instant oatmeal
Whole wheat flour

VEG:
Baby carrots
Celery
Broccoli/cauliflower
Snap peas
Lettuce
Shredded cabbage mix
Bell peppers
'Maters
Garlic

FRUITS:
Apples
Grapes
Melon
(A lot of people would say bananas, but they are a bit gross, in my humble opinion.)
Dried fruit of some description

PROTEIN:
Extra firm tofu
Cocoa dusted almonds (the only kind of nuts I enjoy)
Peanut butter
Almond butter

FATS:
Earth Balance butter substitute
Canola oil
Olive oil
Sesame oil

CONDIMENTS:
Ketchup
Mustard
Vegenaise
BBQ sauce
Good salad dressing
Turbinado sugar
Stevia
Marinara sauce
Hummus

THE SNACKY STUFF:
Nature's Own granola bars
Luna Bars
Clif Bars
Individual soy milks (great for on the go)

EVIL PREPARED FOODS:
Amy's Non-Dairy Mac and Cheeze
Organic vegetable soup of some description
Gardein 7-Grain Tenders
LingLing veggie spring rolls
Meatless meatballs (I adore Nate's)
Rising Moon Organics vegan ravioli
Amy's Non-Dairy Pot Pie
Black Bean Gardenburgers
Boca crumbles

Melt Eclectic Deli

While also in Cincy, we paid a visit to the 1/2 veg, 1/2 meat Melt Eclectic Deli. Almost everything veg can be easily veganized with their house-made vegan cheese and tofu or seitan. This was clearly the perfect place for my family, since we all have different dietary preferences.

Upon walking into Melt, we knew we had made the right choice. Fun interior, quirky neighborhood, and  foremost awesome smell wafting from the kitchen. I ordered the custom burger, which had beef-inspired seitan, vegan cheese, lettuce, pickles, and mustard on a whole wheat bun. My mom went with the ratatouille melt with provolone, which also sounded tres bon (if it were vegan)! The wait was a little long for a deli, but well worth it. It is safe to say that this is by far the best vegan food I have had in a long time. My mom's sandwich sounded awesome too, so I may have to try that some time with vegan cheese. The seitan was perfect, as was the vegan cheese. If it were a blind taste test, I probably would have freaked out, thinking it was real meat and dairy cheese. Yum! Five stars for Melt!!!

LOVING HUT!

I have been dying forever to go to a Loving Hut. I've heard all about them from friends who live in real cities, and since becoming vegetarian it has been my ambition to find one. So one day, my mom and I were on our way to Trader Joe's and took a different route than usual, and THERE IT WAS. Loving Hut! I forced my mom to eat there with me. We weren't disappointed.

The restaurant itself was sort of odd. Complete silence and pictures of famous vegetarians all over the walls. The TVs were all set to "Supreme Master TV," which I assume is linked to Supreme Master Ching Hai, who started Loving Hut. My mom commented that it was slightly like brainwashing.Oh well. We were undeterred. We stepped up to the counter. We both decided to order veggie sloppy Joes, served with corn chips and cole slaw. The girl behind the counter was incredibly sweet and gave us each two free spring rolls, which were phenomenal. 

Our food was magnificent. I was too hungry to take pictures, but take my word for it, the sandwich looked, smelled, and even tasted exactly like a real sloppy Joe. Even my hardcore omni mom concurred. The cole slaw was also phenomenal. I would certainly return to the Hut in a heartbeat, odd environment and all. 

January 3, 2011

Welcome back to real life, friends! My holidays were lovely, yours? I enjoyed lots of fantastic veggie cuisine, even trekking to Cincinnati for some distinctive vegan food (but that's another post!) and preparing my own veg fare to compete with the meatier feast that my parents enjoyed. I received some lovely gifts, even a leather purse. Uh-oh. I didn't have the guts to tell the giver that I didn't do leather, but that's OK. It's the thought that counts. But alas, today was the dreaded back to school. I greeted the return to normalcy with a delicious, nutritious (vegan) lunch.

Clockwise, from left: Organic gala apple, multi seed rice crackers, organic romaine lettuce, vegan chili with tofu and beans, Balsamic vinaigrette for the salad, an organic lollipop, cocoa roasted almonds