Weekend List w/ New Tofu & Protein

It’s been a relaxing weekend so far here, lots of lounging around and Leela burying herself in blankets.

And great eats this week. I have been focusing on adding more beans to my diet lately and mainly in salads and soups thanks to inspiration from Dr. Greger. And canned organic beans are cheaper than tofu, tempeh, and vegan meat alternatives at usually $1 per can even at Whole Foods. I added black beans to this kale salad with lemon hummus dressing for a simple and filling meal.

Friday we stepped out for great local vegan sushi loaded with lots of fresh veggies.

I also tried another new protein powder in smoothies this week – Growing Naturals Organic Vanilla Rice Protein powder.

I like the smooth and fine texture of the powder, it does not seem gritty or earthy compared to hemp protein. It is a little heavier than some powders, but actually seems more satisfying because I didn’t get as hungry for lunch on mornings I used this powder which was interesting. It has a nice vanilla flavor that works with just about any combo of fruits and veggies, but is not very sweet.

We ran around yesterday checking stuff off our to do list to the gym, appointments, and shopping ending up at Whole Foods with a basket full of goodies.

I haven’t been to Whole Foods in awhile, so it was fun but tough to walk out spending less that $40!

I picked up a cheap game to play with hubby and new salad servers. I’ve been obsessed with bamboo lately as I de-plastic my life gradually and when my cheap, hand-me-down Ikea plastic salad servers broke on a hearty salad – it was time to replace them with something more classy. I went with these Totally Bamboo Salad Hands and have been very happy for the price. They even have little hangers on the back to stick on the sides of the salad bowl and are easy to wash.

Hubby is a fan of meatballs in just about any form and grabbed Beyond Meat’s Swedish Meatballs from Whole Foods to try with vegan gravy and mashed potatoes. He liked them and would buy again, the texture is hearty and similar to Ikea meatballs.

I splurged on a new tofu flavor from local company Tofu Yu to try, Garlic Pepper. I kept it simple in an oil free leek and potato stir fry seasoned with more garlic, pepper, apple cider vinegar, and nutritional yeast.

The kicky and strong garlic flavor is perfect in this tofu and the pepper and seasonings give it a nice texture compared to plain firm tofu.

And Miko and I had a toy throwing play session until he got tuckered out and crashed in my lap.

I’m planning a run, long dog walk, and venturing out to a health fair today to get in some fresh air before going back to the grind tomorrow. Work has been tough lately as you can probably tell from my faster posts, I’ve been more mentally drained at the end of the days. We’re short short staffed and losing two more people this month from our group, things are getting a little tense as we’re trying to maintain workloads with less help and plan out large, upcoming IT projects. My focus during these tougher times will most likely be simple, whole food meals and maintaining health and fitness while life is a little crazy. I’m really hoping things settle down before serious marathon training starts later this year. Until then I’ll be getting creative to keeps things healthy and balanced and finding inspiration for the weekend list.

Dr. Greger has been on a roll with great info this week with posts like fiber consumption and weight loss. And a chicken virus possibly fueling human obesity. How eating too much seafood is bad for the brain. But this post on juicing versus smoothies may have finally convinced me to get rid of my neglected juicer.

LifeHacker has a helpful article for refocusing your attention for happiness which I need lately.

I’m still struggling to get into foam rolling, but this article breaks it down with easy moves.

Sarah’s plant-based journey is inspirational after dealing with years of struggle.

This guide explains the types of tempo runs and why every runner should be doing them.

19 signs you’ve caught the running bug.

Mmmm, vegan cookie dough recipes.