Run Plant Based

Formerly The Raw Project - Running on a Healthy Vegan Diet

Wrapping up 2020 for the List

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I hope you had a wonderful holiday! We did here with lots of great eats, family, and fun. We did have a small, socially distanced, outdoor family gathering on Christmas Eve that went well even though it was cold! And a relaxing day at home on Christmas Day staying in from the cold rain and eating lots of treats. I have discovered Pizza Oggi Frozen Plant Based pizza crusts and have been having fun making customized pizzas. This Mediterranean themed pizza with artichoke hearts, olives, smoked vegan cheese, spinach, and lots of fresh minced garlic came out great.

There was also a large batch of spicy beans and rice made by Ron and a delicious salad using Violife Just Like Feta which is more like thick cream cheese, but still delicious in salad.

Miko has been loving snuggling at home in his plentiful amount of blankets. And we have lots of potatoes in our garden starting to poke out. I got a large batch of potatoes in our farm box awhile back that started sprouting before I got to them. So I chopped them up and planted in the garden and they are growing like crazy even in the winter cold.

More custom pizzas, this time with vegan pepperoni and Miyoko’s Vegan Mozz – yum!

And it’s been cold and foggy here, pretty typical for the winter, but beautiful. Christmas Eve in my sister’s backyard was cold, but we had a fire pit and blankets which Miko appreciated.

So much good food this week! We had multiple vegan roasts, the Tofurky on Christmas Eve and Field Roast on Christmas Day. Lots of great side dishes including vegan pesto pasta and grilled Brussels sprouts.

Miko loved sharing our chilly Christmas Eve meal outside. And Christmas morning was relaxing and warm.

Miko got a new toy that he loved opening and playing with. I got a great coloring book and Nintendo pocket blanket which Miko has claimed as well.

A new Kindle since the crazy pile of books on my nightstand was getting unruly, haha. And a Vitamix FoodCycler for our garden.

We are almost ready to run the FoodCycler for the first time, so I will be reporting more on it. Basically it has a nice compost bucket you can keep in your kitchen to fill, then place in the FoodCycler and process it when full and add to your garden when complete. The FoodCycler itself is a little big, but can be kept in another room, such as a garage or laundry room since it does not need to be in the kitchen.

Then there was Christmas morning breakfast where Ron tried Lightlife Plant-Based Breakfast Patties with Just Egg and hash browns and I made huge vegan waffles.

For dinner, the Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast with veggies and vegan stuffing. Then a lunch salad yesterday with the roast and leftovers chopped up into it.

And Miko and I saw patches of snow in the neighborhood while walking yesterday. It did not snow here, but we are so close to snow in the Tahoe foothills that some load up their trucks with it and shovel it into peoples yards for a fun surprise. It ended up being a wonderful and relaxing holiday with lots of treats and fun which we are very thankful for. And very thankful for the many wonderful plant-based holiday food options.

2020 is almost over. What a strange and disorienting year it has been that has felt more like 5 years. But I have learned a lot during this interesting year:

  • Approach differences with curiosity instead of criticism or judgement. Something I’ve had to really work for in a management position and dealing with a deeply divided political time while refraining from discussing my own views. Listening and looking at differences from a curious angle and seeking to understand what motivates someone to have a their view while focusing on similarities makes a huge difference.
  • Replace worry, stress, and anxiety with wonder. This isn’t an easy one as the last few years my battle with panic attacks and anxiety has intensified. But it helps to put things into a balanced perspective, focus on how I can learn and grow from these challenges and being thankful for that.
  • History that I’ve taken for granted as being history can repeat itself, can rear its ugly head right back into the present easily.
  • I have so much to be grateful for and meditating in that is something I always need to make time for.
  • I need to give myself and others more grace during challenging times.

I am ready to move on from 2020 and reluctant to assume 2021 will be a big change at the same time. Whatever 2021 holds, I’ll make the best of it and help others do the same. Hopefully this list is an encouraging start.

Comments

  1. Way to end the year on a truly delicious note! Those meals look like they’re be worth of a celebration all by themselves, with or without a holiday.

    I can’t wait to hear what you think about the FoodCycler. That caught my eye too, but wasn’t quite in the budget for this year. Maybe in 2021!

    • Yes, can’t complain! :-) So far so good with the FoodCycler, we have a growing bucket of “veggie” dirt ready for spring planting.