Thursday, January 29, 2015

What I Eat as a Plant-Based Eater, Full-Time Working, Nursing Mama

Hey hey hey!

I titled this post with all those descriptions because all of them greatly influence my eats.  I stick to whole foods and I don't eat meat or dairy generally (except for the occasional slip up with dairy).  I work full-time so it requires some planning ahead to make sure I have the proper foods (and enough food!) for when I'm at work.  Lastly, I'm still nursing (pumping while at work) for my 5 1/2 month old baby boy, so that makes me a hungry beast.  

I'm sharing typical workdays as weekend food varies more.  Also, I do not count calories.  I believe in the quality of the food (organic as much as possible) and eat when I'm hungry, even if that means every two hours.  That all being said, here's what I eat...or ate ;)

Breakfasts:
  
I have a shake everyday.  Well, every workday.  On the weekend when I have more time, I tend to have pancakes bright and early, and then sometimes a shake mid morning. 



My favorite shake lately is a Peanut Butter Shake (that I share half with my husband):  2 cups vanilla almond milk + banana + 2 tbsp. PB + 2 scoops of Vegan Smart Protein Powder (vanilla flavored) + ice (sometimes I add 2 tbsp. of chia seeds)

Shakes are perfect because (1) there are so many different ingredient combinations and (2) the blender does all the work.  I do a combination of either vanilla soy or almond milk, always a banana and nut butter (PB, almond, or cashew), sometimes protein powder, and other add-ins include:  cocoa powder, chia seeds, ground flax, shredded coconut, frozen fruit, spinach, kale, etc.


And these are the killer Flax, Chia & Oatmeal Pancakes from last weekend.  I make all sorts of pancake recipes from banana pancakes to whole wheat chocolate chip, but these are a new favorite (recipe here!).

Lunches: 

I try to get greens in my lunch everyday.  This salad was from the Vegan Cafe by my work and it had kale, roasted beets, roasted sweet potatoes, green apple, and an agave mustard dressing.  I enjoyed it, but I could do without the beets.  

On this day I also had a whole wheat pita with garlic hummus about an hour earlier.


Another lunch making a big appearance this week is a salad made up of chard, spinach, kale and carrots with a miso ginger dressing and, again, a large dollop of garlic hummus with whole wheat pita bread.  It is just so simple and tasty.

 
And a third lunch from this week was a whole wheat pita stuffed with lots of avocado and tomato.  For me, sometimes the more basic the lunch, the better.  

 
And don't forget about dessert!  I never do.  Chocolate mint milkshake to get me through the afternoon.  In the dead of winter, I brave the cold for a vegan milkshake.  Totally worth it.



 Dinner:

My sister-in-law made a Curry Squash and Tofu dish for my birthday celebration last weekend and then left me with all the leftovers.  Hurray!  It's a glorious curry sauce made with lots of coconut milk and spices.  I dump a heaping pile of the squash, tofu and sauce over basmati rice.  
Other recent dinners include veggie chili, tempeh BLTs, cheddary broccoli soup, romaine salad with avocado and faux chicken strips, earth balance mac & cheese with kale, garlic tofu with mixed veggies (takeout), Chipotle...



Snacks:

I first tried these Fig Bars in my Vegan Cuts Box I order each month, but then I discovered them at my grocery store, Wegmans, and I'm hooked!  I have them every morning when I get to work.  I also like the plain fig bar flavor and my husband likes the blueberry.  They pair perfectly with a soy decaf latte that I get on the way to work when I have an extra few minutes.


I also eat several snacks during the day depending what I have on hand - nuts, chips, Larabar, Kind Bar, decaf soy latte (if I walk to Starbucks on lunch), oatmeal, granola... And I drink decaf tea all day long to keep warm and because I don't love just drinking plain water.

Sometimes a few hours after dinner I am hungry again so I have a banana with nut butter or a bowl of cereal.

Life is just better with delicious & nutritious food.

Agreed?

5 comments:

  1. I always love seeing what other people are eating -- get some great ideas that way. A banana with nut butter has been my favorite after dinner snack lately, too.

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  2. I love seeing how other people eat! I'm trying to drink shakes on the daily as well. They're such an easy way to get a ton of nutrients.

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  3. I agree that eating a nutritious balanced diet requires some extra work but it's definitely worth it! I love to see what other people eat. I ate a vegetarian diet for a while but I have so many allergies (gluten and soy being the biggest) that I wasn't getting a balanced diet at all so I've added meat back into my daily eats. Avocado/tomato on toast is one of my favorite combos!

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  4. It's cool to see what other plant-based, full time working, mama's eat! I'm not 100% plant-based yet, but I'm trying. I do love it and feel so much better. I just have my occasional, ahh I'm too tired to care moments!!

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  5. AGREED...give me all the fruits and veggies!!! You should totally look into vegan shakeology - love to send you some for a review if you're interested...and one of my recent faves is lots of veggies (for me some organic beef from local farmer) mixed with nutritional yeast...oh the cheesy like goodness - yummo!

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