EAT : RICE NOODLES IN PEANUT SAUCE (VEGAN)

RICE NOODLES IN PEANUT SAUCE (VEGAN) //

The noodles

1/4 package of dried rice sticks or vermicelli

Soak the noodle in warm water for 15 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the noodles. Stir and cook about 1-2 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water, fluffing the noodles to separate the strands.

The tofu

Extra firm tofu

Vegetable oil

Sriracha

Cut tofu into pieces and press between clean towels to rid of excess water. Cover every piece with olive oil and Sriracha. Heat the oven to 350 C and bake for 20 minutes flipping them over half way.

The vegetables

1 carrot

1 cup cauliflower

1 cup edemame

1/2 green onions

Steam or fry veggies until tender.

The sauce

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teapoons honey or agave

1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 teapoon sesame oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

In a small heated pot, whisk together ingredients for sauce until peanut butter is melted.

It's time

Divide the noodles between two bowls. Top it with the tofu and veggies. 

Just before eating, drizzle with warm peanut sauce. Eat up!

I'M BECOMING A BROCCOLI

I haven't talked a whole lot about food on this blog although I do post recipes from time to time, I don't really talk about how or what I eat. Why would I want to talk about what I eat you ask? Because food is always on my mind sort of like art or cats. Nothing can get me more excited than food... If I plan something there is always food involved. So let's talk about it.

Last year I decided that I would stop eating meat. I did and still do. I am not a picky eater so it wasn't hard to find fun and tasty meals to eat. After about six months I started to realize that I had developped a bad habit. I was replacing meat with bread and cheese and lots of other carbs; tofu burger, pasta with lots of cheese, sandwiches, etc. I had bread and cheese with everything because it made me feel full sort of like meat does. Once I came to that conclusion I decided I wanted to eat more of a plant-based diet; less dairy, more veggies and I did and still do. It feels great.

What do I eat? A typical day sort of looks like this - Breakfast : toast with peanut butter + a fruit/veggie/seed smoothie | Lunch : kale salad with veggies (tomato, broccoli, green onion, cucumber, edemame, zucchini) and balsamic vinaigrette | Snack : soy seeds, dried fruit | Diner : rice with tofu and veggies (eggplant, green pepper, mushroom, cauliflower, broccoli, kale) | Dessert : homemade muffin or cookie. I would lie if I told you every day looks like this. I do eat pizza and fries sometimes. Whoever would choose to eat broccoli over pizza please come forward.

Do I eat enough protein? I think this is the question I've been asked the most in my entire life. I say yes everytime. Protein isn't only based in meat or eggs, you can find it everywhere, for example in: tofu (soy), green veggies, quinoa, beans, yeast, nuts, etc... I eat all of the above, daily.

Why am I doing this? I didn't wake up one morning and decided I wouldn't eat meat ever again. I made two attempts to go vegetarian. The first failed after 2 weeks. The second time I had a reason I truly believed in; live cruelty-free. Although I don't live a 100% cruelty-free life, it's a work in progress.

You can read more about my adventures towards a cruelty-free life here.

*This isn't my way of convincing you that vegetarianism is for everyone. I just wanted to share this part of my life on the blog. Oh and for the record, I am not a nutritionist.