Tofu salad sandwich

Today for lunch, I decided to make something new. I made a tofu salad sandwich. Now, with my not being vegan and all, you're probably wondering why in the world I would make a tofu salad sandwich rather than a good old egg salad sandwich. the truth is, I just don't like egg salad. So, I decided to make it with tofu instead. I mashed up some tofu and mixed it with miracle whip and a bit of dijon mustard. I spread it between two pieces of whole wheat bread, and it came out really good. I must admit, I was shocked. I had some whole wheat pretzels, granola crisps and carrots along with it. Today was a happy lunch. :)

Nom Nom...Seitan Scarpariello

OK...so tonight my carnivorous parents were making chicken scarpariello. This would be totally cool...if that were not one of my absolute favorite foods from my meat-eating days. I tell you, my mettle was truly tested. But fret not, dear veggies. I found a way. I promptly went to the local health food store and picked up a package of Gardein Chicken Scallopini. I prepared it exactly the way that my parents did their chicken, and it turned out great! I had it along with two of my favorite things: sauteed spinach and good ole  mashed taters. I thought I would share the wondrousness with you guys.

Here's what you'll need:
1 Gardein Chicken Scallopini "breast"
1 clove of garlic
juice of one lemon
parsley
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper

Here's what to do:
1. Sautee the garlic in the olive oil for about 30 second or until you begin to smell it.
2. Add the Gardein cutlet; sprinkle with lemon juice and parsley. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Voila! That's it! Enjoy!

Friday's Lunch

On Friday, to celebrate the end of the week, I packed a very yummy lunch. Whole grain pasta with broccoli, tofu and marinara sauce with popped apple chips, a Luna Bar, and some Mi-Del whole grain graham crackers. J'adore Mi-Del! They are the masters of delicious and healthy cookies. I previously thought there was no such thing. I am a happy child.

Gah! I've been lazy!

Oh well. I've also been busy. My lunch for Thursday consisted of a Swiss cheese sandwich on whole wheat, granola crisps, Nature's Path wheat crackers, a Luna Bar, organic carrots, and really nice strawberries. It was very good, but slightly on the boring side. My creativity level wasn't high on Thursday for some reason.  

Lunch Today

Today was my first day of high school, and since the caf has no veggie options (boo!), I had to pack my own lunch. I'll be telling you guys every day what I had to help you out if you are in a predicament like mine. Why schools can't offer vegetarian options I don't know, but until they do, I'll help you guys come up with fun alternatives. One thing I suggest you invest in is a food jar, which is an insulated container which keeps food hot for up to 6 hours. It is quite a fantastic device. :) Today, for the first day, I brought brown rice with zucchini, butternut squash, pineapple, black beans, and Teriyaki sauce in my food jar. On the side I had some whole wheat pretzels (Snyder's makes really good ones-the Honey Whole Wheat kills me), Yogi Granola Crisps, and an Luna bar. The Granola Crisps basically make me feel like singing, they're so revoltingly amazing. Oh yes. It's true. The irritating thing is that some kid at my school has a peanut allergy, so peanut butter is STRICTLY prohibited. This angers me, since pb is a big protein source for me. Oh well, I'll find creative ways to get around it. Soynut Butter, anyone??

Alternative Baking Company Snickerdoodle Cookie

My life was made much happier today by a miracle in the form of a giant Snickerdoodle cookie. I was in my local natural foods cafe to grab a bite to eat when I noticed Alternative Baking Co.'s cookies. I couldn't help but pick up a Snickerdoodle. Snickerdoodle cookies are something of a vice for me, and this one looked good. No, I mean, REALLY, REALLY good. So, I unwrapped it, and inside of the wrapper was pure bliss. It had a somewhat firm outside with a perfect, cinnamon-sugary, just baked, doughy inside. It was, without a doubt, the best cookie I've ever had. It was also about the size of my head. No joke. After closer inspection of the wrapped after I had already devoured its contents, I saw that it was actually a vegan cookie, containing no eggs, dairy or butter at all. Better yet, there were no hydrogenated oils and nothing artificial involved in its creation. Just fairy dust to make it the WORLD'S BEST COOKIE!!!

Here's the website:
www.alternativebaking.com

Mmmm...Panera lunch

As a vegetarian, I'm often pretty wary of going out to lunch, as most places don't really seem to have many good vegetarian options. So I was a little reluctant when my friend invited me to lunch at Panera today. I wanted to get together with my friend, so I agreed to go. Most sandwich places offer a menu composed entirely of pieces of meat wedged between two slices of white bread. Most of Panera's menu is no exception, but I did manage to find one vegetarian option: the Mediterranean veggie sandwich. I had it in a You-Pick-Two with a small side salad and an apple (there were several veggie soup options too, but without a doubt they're laden with unnecessary sodium). The Med-Veg, as I've decided to call it to bypass its wordy name, was comprised of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion, feta cheese, delicious cilantro hummus, all on PHENOMENAL tomato basil bread. Surprisingly, there was only one meatless salad on the menu, the Classic Cafe Salad. Isn't it a sad world when even a salad isn't vegetarian anymore? Anyway, it was fairly standard, but still good, with lettuce, tomato, onion, and slightly sweet balsamic vinaigrette. Overall, the meal was great, but I just wish Panera could have more options for the herbivores among us.

Summer Cookout! Yeah!

Nothing says summer like a cookout over the campfire. Unfortunately, this is something that vegetarians usually have to miss out on, 'cuz hotdogs are hardly veggie fare. Lucky for me, however, I found Lightlife's Tofu Pups, these amazing little tofu dogs that taste just like the real thing. They have that same smoky flavor and even the crispy skin on the outside when you grill them. They're especially perfect on a whole wheat bun. Also during my weekly trip to Whole Foods I happened upon a bag of Elyon All-Natural Kosher Marshmallows. Now, sadly, only pesci-tarians can eat these, since they do contain fish gelatin. I didn't know whether or not I was a pesci-tarian, since I hate fish and never ate it in the first place. I ended up deciding that for the sake of a good marshmallow I would be. Elyon's were amazing! They browned perfectly when toasted and got all lovely and melty inside. Yum! What a perfect summer night.