Getting creative while clock watching

I should probably be heading to bed now. Typically at this hour I tend to be engrossed in reading, whether I'm enjoying the book or not.

Obviously, I'm not reading right now though. (I'm not quite talented enough to read and type at the same time).

Instead, I'm watching the clock watching to see if my bunny-Behr gets better or if he needs another dose of tummy medicine. And I have to cross my fingers that bunny-Zayne doesn't get an upset tummy from pigging out on all of the pellets that Behr didn't eat. It's like the rabbits only get sick at my bedtime.

Anyway, because I may be up for another 1-4 hours I opted to have a second evening snack. I am trying really hard this week to stay under my daily goal of 20 grams of added sugar, + vegetarian cuisine + dairy-free + adequate protein.

With only one gram of sugar left for the day, I had to try something different (for me). So, I:

• cut up an apple
• added a teeny bit of peanut butter
• added a tablespoon of rolled oats
• added a 1/4 serving of trail mix
• and microwaved the mixture

It was filling and mostly yummy. I would have preferred some chocolate in there too but that works against the sugar goal. Boo.

Morning update: Behr is feeling much better this morning. And I will be having an afternoon nap. Maybe.

Put down the cookie and all things yummy

I was recently challenged to consume 20 grams of added sugar or less per day over the course of a week. I haven't been entirely successful but I have learned a lot and am working to eat more natural and less processed food. I'm averaging around 20 grams every other day. (The other days may have been filled with much missed Oreos and other 'illegal' foods).

Technically, today is the last day of the challenge. However, it is something I would like to continue working at and would like to get an entire week completed successfully. We will see how that goes!

(Some) Stuff I Ate:

Naan pizza and cucumbers

Grilled veggies and chickpeas

Quinoa & couscous salad

Fruit

Stuff I want to Eat

• This week's loose plan includes chili, eggplant parmesan, and eggplant/tofu souvlaki
• I may have peach/raspberry crisp headed my way. Someone made it as a treat for me but is threatening to revoke the privileges because I was mean or something. Pft. If that's the case, this person may not get to have my planned apple turnover thingies or coconut fudge. Ha. I win.
• Lots of low sugar stuff. I didn't buy Oreos this week. I may not make it.

 In the Rest of my Life

• I finished The One and Only Ivan (man did I cry!), Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons (it lost it's steam halfway through), and Man's Search for Meaning (good).
• I'm now reading The Best of Me and My Secret Sister. Neither are drawing me in as much as I would like.
• The vet did not bankrupt me but I did not enjoy paying $250. Did you know the difference between a consultation fee and an illness examination? Other than $30? I do not. The bunnies are doing better now but we cannot turn back time. It seems I have another elderly bunny. Boo.
• I was not killed by watermelon or mushrooms (as predicted last week).
• I applied to volunteer somewhere. Might as well do something useful, right?
• On my radar: the Fitbit One....and that's it.
• Coming up: review of the Vegan Mug Brownie, Coconut Fudge, and apple turnover thingies. 

Watermelon Gazpacho

You know what happens when you have an entire watermelon to consume by yourself? You get creative. I can't count how many bowls of watermelon I've eaten in these past couple of days and when that got boring, I mixed things up. I added it to my smoothies and my salad. I gave some away. And I still had 7/8 of a watermelon left. So, I froze some and was down to 1/2 a watermelon.

I searched for recipes. I found a lot of drinks but not much else. So I sucked it up and made watermelon gazpacho. And then I froze the rest of the watermelon....until I realized that it had been breeding in my fridge and somehow I still have watermelon left.

But onto the gazpacho...I found the recipe on allrecipes.com. I doubted that I would like it but I figured if I put it into a recipe I could give more away. And it worked, I was able to pawn some off on the same family member. I was also right about not really liking it but my sampler said it was ok so maybe normal people like it? (well, as normal as someone can be if they like gazpacho to begin with).

Now I just have to freeze the remaining watermelon and I will have enough for a lifetime of smoothies.

Heads up....

I'm tweaking a few things on the blog so if it gets wonky it will be fixed.

The Leek Soup that changed everything

I'm not really a soup fan. If you were to catch me eating soup it would be because I had no choice and was offered by some well-intentioned family member, or I was actively trying to lose weight. And I definitely never ate any "cream of" concoctions. Uh, hello, broccoli isn't supposed to be eaten ever, *especially* not in soup.

And then I was in St. Lucia and cream of leek soup was served as an appetizer. I dreaded having the bowl placed in front of me because I knew I wouldn't like it. It fell into the "cream of" category and it was leek. Who eats leek??

It turns out, I am on the cream of leek bandwagon. It was one of the best things I have ever eaten. So, naturally I came home and tried to recreate the dish. The recipe I found did not yield as much flavour, and it was a lot of work for what seems to be three servings, but it was still really good. So, here you go: Cream of Leek Soup from the Vegan Chronicle.

Wrapping up

I have been really lazy with the pictures lately, so I don't have a lot to share. I have been working really hard (uh, since Saturday) to get back on board with being dairy-free. And I have rocked most days. I'm also working on the exercise side of things with slightly less success. But any exercise is more than I was doing, so I'm not getting too down on myself about it.

I am happy to report that I navigated a couple of days with the in-laws and offered some vegan choices that they claim they enjoyed (although I was not asked for a recipe). I served up BBQ portabella mushrooms with my BBQ sauce concoction, bean salad, veganized Big Mac Sauce (I used Tofutti and Veganaise), the no-bake bars, and the chocolate mousse (which I altered slightly to make it less dense).

(Some) Stuff I Ate

Toasted Tomato Sandwich & Bean Salad

Grilled veggies on spaghetti squash
(a new favourite)

Stuff I want to Eat

• Likely more tomato sandwiches. Our garden tomatoes are doing very well.
• Watermelon. I had a craving last week and couldn't find any. But then I did....except I had to buy a whole watermelon and I will need to eat it all myself because my husband doesn't like them. I may die from excess watermelon consumption.
• Something with mushrooms. I wanted 1-2 mushrooms. I had to buy a package of 5. If I don't die from excess watermelon consumption, the mushrooms may get me.
• I may try to recreate some really yummy Southwestern baked potatoes we had on the weekend. Although it might be too soon.

In the Rest of My Life

• I'm still reading The One and Only Ivan, Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons, and Man's Search for Meaning. I've made a pretty good dent in all three.
• I will likely go bankrupt following a trip to the vet today. I'm taking all of the bunnies in.
• And I can't believe it's September....other than the fact that my feet are freezing and I'm too lazy to get my slippers. Stupid September.
• On my radar: Coconut Fudge, Stain Solutions (not to eat!!), Vegan Mug Brownie, Double Chocolate Truffles, Simple Vegan Brownies, and a basic recipe for Coconut Ice Cream. Based on these links, you are likely thinking that I am a super messy person with a sweet tooth, or I was PMSing while browsing Pinterest. You are not wrong.
• Coming up: I have no clue.

World's Best No Bake Bars

A few weeks ago I saw the World's Best No Ba1ke Bars floating around on Facebook. I don't really get people posting recipes to Facebook because it would be a pain to find later (and that's what Pinterest is for). I make exceptions to people sharing recipes with others in mind but I still don't really get it.

As usual, I made alterations to the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (the original recipe called for honey)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup dry oats
• 1 cup Rice Krispies*
• 1 1/4 cups of chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Melt the peanut butter, maple syrup, and coconut oil on the stove. Remove from heat.
2. Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir.
4. Pour into a pan and cool in the fridge.
5. Enjoy!

* the original recipe called for 2 cups of oats and no Rice Krispies. I like the crunch that my alteration provided.