"So... What do you EAT?"

I get this question a lot, so I figured I'd just go over what a typical day looks like on the meal wheel...

Alicia Silverstone notes in her book, "The Kind Diet" (a MUST read), that the standard vegan plate should be loosely comprised of 50% vegetables, 25% whole grains and 25% proteins/beans, but that a protein isn't required at every meal. I try to stay close to this, but every day is a little different.

Breakfast examples:
Oatmeal (not instant, but organic whole rolled oats), with either apples, bananas, walnuts, almonds, raisins, cinnamon or any combination of the aforementioned. I might get crazy and throw a little almond milk in!

Whole grain blueberry bagel, topped with earth balance spread, tofutti "cream cheese," natural peanut butter, or bananas.

Whole grain cereal with almond milk and a fruit (bananas, raisins, strawberries, blueberries, whatever is in season).

Lunch examples:
Sandwiches! I love them... I start with a great whole/multi grain bread and then pile on the veggies.
My favorite combination includes; avocado, tomato, red leaf lettuce, cucumber, mushrooms and roasted beets. Add some veganaise (mayo substitute), salt and pepper, and you're good to go... So good!

Leftovers from the night before or earlier in the week. When I cook dinner, I always make enough for leftovers so lunches are easy!

Dinner examples:
Spinach salad to accompany a whole grain pasta dish. The sauce is what's key here. A variation of tomato sauce, but chockful of veggies! Carrots, yellow squash, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, maybe some chick peas and black olives!

Mediterranean Style Quinoa (I'm going to do a whole blog post with picture and recipe the next time I make it because it is SOOO good), It's got quinoa, black olives, sundried tomatoes, chick peas, cucumber and spices in it. Complete meal by itself!

Baked butternut squash, wild or brown rice, black beans, collard greens and maybe cauliflower. Basically a good old fashioned vegetable plate!

Ok... let's discuss pantry staples! (a.k.a. everything I just mentioned)
Rolled oats - I get them at the farmer's market 1lb/$1
Whole grain bagels - Also from the fm... yum
Cereal - My fav is Peace Cereal "Vanilla Almond Crisp"
"Milk" - I used to do soy, but since I've tried almond it has my heart. Silk Pure Almond (original) is my fav!
Bread - Once again, I get a multi grain artisan from the fm that's got all kinds of seeds and grains in it. I've also heard good things about Ezekiel brand, but haven't tried it yet.
Veganaise - I like this brand mayo substitute... I used to love mayo so this is a biggie for me and I can still make macaroni/pasta salads using this!
Earth Balance - This is my pick for a butter substitute, but you can get Smart Balance at Publix, which can be more convenient.

Then just LOTS of different veggies: Leafy greens (collards, turnips, darker lettuces, spinach, etc), Squashes, onions, cucumbers, carrots, eggplant, etc. (Just try and get lots of colors too!)

LOTS of different beans: Black, pinto, chick or garbanzo (same thing), kidney, lentils, adzuki, etc. This includes soy beans, i.e. edemame and tofu!

LOTS of different grains: brown rice, barley, rolled oats, millet, quinoa
And grain products: whole grain pastas, cous cous, polenta

Ok, so in closing many of you may have never heard of QUINOA... I know I hadn't before I got into this whole adventure, so I'm going to give it a little shout out. I LOVE this grain. It's so good... I'll just mixed it with beans and veggies or come up with an exciting recipe for it. So I encourage you to experiment with it. I'm copying a section from it's wikipedia page so you can read about all it's GREATNESS!

"In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), and like oats, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods.^[9] It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.^[9]"