Hi everyone!!! I hope those of you who celebrate Christmas
had an amazing, wonderful, restful, and joyous holiday. I feel like I have been
running all over the place and haven’t written in so long. But have no fear, I
am back in action!!!
If you think a vegan can’t enjoy a wonderful holiday meal.
This post is to prove you wrong.
My family had our main big meal on Christmas Eve this year. I
called our efforts “semi-homemade”. Between me, my mom, dad, brother, and
sister-in- law, we have three different diets (regular for the boys, vegetarian
for my sister-in-law, and vegan for me and mom). So, clearly, along with gift
preparations and church plans, we couldn’t make every option for everyone from
scratch. All the mains were homemade, turkey, salmon, etc. My brother and
sister-in- law picked up some of their favorite sides at a restaurant. We got
my dad some of his favorite sides from Stop and Shop (which surprisingly has a
quality a la carte section), made rolls, prepared some vegan desserts, and
bought some regular sweets as well. It was a little complicated but all worked
out! I must admit, Thanksgiving was much more of a plant-based takeover.
However, with more people come more personal preferences, and during the
holidays sometimes the “eat healthy talk” is just not worth the effort. Anyway,
here’s what those of us who are more health conscious enjoyed: (Excuse the
picture, I forgot to take it until I was half way through my meal!)
Happy Herbivore Hippy
Loaf! – A delicious blend of black beans quinoa, mushrooms, and vegetables.
This is a great go-to option for a plant-based entrée. Nice and low cal so you
can enjoy lots of sides with it as well! http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/hippie-loaf-gluten-free/
Sautéed Broccoli-
A kind of figure it out as you go dish. For this we simply:
-
Added olive oil to a sauté pan over medium/medium
high heat
-
Added a bunch of freshly chopped garlic
(depending on the amount of broccoli you are using). Let the garlic sauté for a
bit, getting to a golden brown.
-
Then we added the broccoli
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Add in some dry white wine ¼ cup at a time as
needed.
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Mix all together, and sauté until the broccoli is
bright green and cooked to the tenderness you desire.
-
Salt and Pepper to taste!
Low fat Vegan Pumpkin
Pie- A repeat from Thanksgiving, this
pie is to die for. Amazingly delicious. Made simply with pumpkin, maple syrup,
silken tofu, and spices with no eggs, or condensed milk! When looking at recipes
try and find ones with the most whole, recognizable ingredients and with the
least amount of refined sugars/flours etc. I find that often times the outer
edges bake more quickly than the inside, so it helps to take strips of foil and
cover the outer edges to protect them while the middle continues to bake, when there is about a half hour remaining in cooking time.
Vegan Chocolate Cream
Pie- This was my first time trying this out! I had no idea what to expect,
and it was absolutely incredible. The combination of unsweetened cocoa powder,
maple syrup, soy vanilla creamer, silken tofu, and coconut oil created the
richest chocolate filling. (Both this and the Pumpkin Pie are taste approved by
my very non-vegan father. He loves them!) This recipe calls for agar agar,
which is a gelatin thickening agent. I couldn’t find this last minute, so my
pie ended up a little soupy. Delicious, but not as firm. Research I’ve done
says you can use other vegan gelatin or pectin in its place. I will definitely
make this again using one of those and let you know what happens! Also, it
calls for pink sea salt. I used regular, all was not lost. http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2011/09/chocolate-cream-pie-vegan.html
On Christmas day, we went to visit my Grandma at her house
and had a fun Christmas picnic in her living room. The star of the show for
everyone was Mom’s festive hummus
rollups. These are super simple to make and can be customized in any way
you like. I definitely will be making more of this easy snack in college. The
hummus gives a great protein kick! Here’s a quick tutorial.
-
Take a tortilla of your choice, spinach,
sundried tomato, whole wheat… (we did red and green for Christmas)
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Spread on a layer of hummus…you could use any
type of hummus you would like for your flavor profile
-
Add some spinach, shredded carrots, and roasted
red peppers
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Roll them up!
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Roll up in saran wrap and put in the fridge for
a bit so they can set.
- Cut roll up in to slices for nice little pinwheels!
Needless to say it was a delicious holiday for all. I won’t
lie. I’m feeling the effects of feasting over the past few days a little this
morning. But, like I said in a previous post, all there is to do is reset, get
a great workout in, and eat a clean mean diet. I decided to start Chalene
Johnson’s Turbo Fire back up today after my small Bikram Hiatus (more on that
to come). I know that woman will whip me back into shape!
One last thing to wrap up my Holiday Recap, presents! I was
so blessed to receive some awesome gifts this holiday Season. My family knows
me all too well, showering me with vegan cookbooks, gift cards to Whole Foods
and Barnes and Noble, and presenting me with my first Veggie Spiralizer! Zucchini
Noodles anyone?? With all of these new
things there are definitely many more health inspired adventures to come!
Be Well.
Love, Julie
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