Kosher

Happy Hanukkah peeps! 

I’m actually a gentile myself, but the hospital I used to work at in NYC was a Jewish hospital, so I’m totally down with Judaism. 

Lightlife’s Smart Bacon is both vegan and kosher, FYI.  Just sayin’

It’s also salty as all hell, which is not great for blood pressure, but makes for one tasty a$$ dish.  Bad cardiac nurse.  Shhh…don’t tell on me. 

The idea for this dish came while I was home last weekend browsing through my mom’s Bon Appétit mag.  There was a bacon and brussel sprouts dish that caught my eye and I knew immediately I had to veganize it asap once back in LA. 

In typical Elise fashion, I had already prepped roasted veggies and quinoa in anticipation of the work week. 

Also in typical Elise fashion, I made some changes to the recipe (ok, I basically revamped the entire dish). 

Remember how I raved about how this restaurant cooked their quinoa?  Well, I finally tried my hand at stir frying the cute ‘lil grains to recreate the crunchy crispy texture. 

After a bit of sizzling went down, I tossed in the roasted brussels. 

Snap, crackle, pop. 

The bronzed bacon looks pretty beautiful, and that’s coming from someone who has zero interest in pig. 

At the very end I added the butternut squash and Bragg’s liquid aminos.

All warmed up and plated (aka ready to be devoured).  I.Could.Die. 

Holy [bleep] this was good.  Pretty sure I could eat this same thing for all 8 days of Hanukkah. 

In case you missed that, here’s a little zoom zoom action. 

Lunch dessert gave me a boost and next thing I knew I was out the door.  I ran for 35 minutes – no idea how far I went.  It felt good though, and it’s the longest run I’ve done in a while (sad but true).  The fact is, my average daily mileage has dwindled now that I’m running outside (as opposed to running on a treadmill).  It’s way better, but makes me wonder about my stamina for potential future races.  While I’m not signed up for anything currently, I can’t help but feel like I’d probably need more preparation to get in shape.  Maybe not.  I don’t know.  What I do know is that previously I could’ve run 6-10 miles on any given day without thinking twice about it.  Now.  Well, I honestly can’t remember the last time I logged more than 4 miles.  Whatever. 

In any event, I came back, showered, and got ready for my first night shift. Thank you to everyone who left helpful tips, it was really nice to have insight from PM pros. 

I didn’t leave my man high and dry for the week, though. 

I made a lasagna for Kyle to remember me by…haha.  Of course I’m kidding, but it is SO weird being on an opposite schedule as he is.  We don’t even see each other!

I used TJ’s no boil noodles which were a welcome break from the usual lasagna noodles that you have to cook first.  These are definitely easier.  I haven’t talked to Kyle to see how it tasted, but there’s a big chunk missing, so I’m guessing he was ok with it.  😉

For my packed eats, I brought along a couple slices of my favorite bread and other fiberrrrific snacks.

 

Alvarado Street sprouted whole wheat bread…also known as God’s gift to carb lovers.  I feel ok using the Lord’s name in vain, given the fact that the bread is actually made with the essential ingredients as listed in Ezekiel Verse 4:9 in the Old Testament.  This post is getting awfully preachy.  Oy! 

So yeah, given that my (unpictured) first dinner was a bowl of cereal, I packed a more complete and wholesome second dinner for work.

Baby carrots, 2 slices of Alvarado Street sprouted bread, and an apple all to go with vegan faux “tuna” salad. 

This bread literally keeps me held over for-eh-ver.  I had one slice with the “tuna” salad at midnight and wasn’t hungry again ‘til 4 am.  The second slice did the trick again and kept me sated until I was off work in the early morning. 

I also had several tea bags on hand for various degrees of caffeination needs. 

How’d the night go?  Welllll…it was weird at first.  But, whatever.  I survived.  Although I’ve currently been awake for 28 hours and I’m not remotely tired AND I have 6 hours until my next night shift starts.  Not good my friends.  Not good. 

It may be due to this. 

Venti soy misto with an extra espresso shot.

That’s a mouthful of a drink order.  Maybe I should sign off now and crawl into bed.  Goodnight?

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Eighty five candles

Saturday was my grandma’s 85th birthday.

Well, technically it’s not until later this week, but it was her birthday PARTY at least.  I hope I’m blessed with her genes because she doesn’t look 85 at all!  Am I right or am I right? 

To celebrate, my Aunt and Uncle hosted a party at their house in Laguna Beach.  Naturally, our family gatherings include lots of fun and good food, so I’ll share some of the highlights.

G-ma, Auntie Wendy, me, Mom

Hazel

Food

From left to right: vegetarian lasagna, warm ciabatta bread, turkey lasagna, salad, and vegan pasta

Yes, you read that correctly, my Aunt made a vegan dish

She used my vegan lasagna recipe, subbing whole wheat shells for lasagna noodles.  And it was fan-damn-tastic. 

I love warm bread.  I love when the crust is crunchy and the inside is doughy.  Yum yum yum.

Finn feels the same. 

It’s important to pass on key life lessons to our youth…and it’s never too early to learn about carb lovin’ right?  Right.  🙂

I got a bit of errrthang on my first plate, and went back for seconds of the vegan pasta because it was cheesy bliss.

Two desserts, many candles, one song.  Happy birthday G-ma!!

Choose wisely Finn…

While most of the fam was oohing and aahing over the chocolate bundt cake with flan on top, I was having my own dessert ‘gasm.

This, my friends, is proof that my family is too good to me.  Also known as vegan peanut butter fudge from Whole Foods.  Holy no words (as in speechlessly good).  It tasted like a dense version of the inside of a Reese’s peanut butter cup.  It was buttery and flaky and just about the best thing I’ve had in a while (and vegan no less!).  It was also so rich I had to stop half way to not wind up in a sugar coma (and that’s saying a LOT since we all know I have zero self control).  I did take the rest home (and as suspected, it lasted less than a day in the apartment). 

The next morning my parents met us for brunch at Huckleberry. 

You’d think I have stock in the company I go so frequently!  I’ve taken each and every family member who has visited me 🙂

The proximity to my apartment is hard to beat, and anyways, who doesn’t love fresh baked goods? 

Brunch definitely deserves it’s own post, so stay tuned…

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The Good Wife

A wordless Wednesday post…

Stored until my husband came home to claim it…

Aren’t I a good wife? 

[vegan lasagna recipe here]

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Marching on…

I would just like to say how awesome it is entering the subway at 5:45 am in darkness and reemerging to a glorious sunrise.  Light in the morning!  Can I get a hell yeah?

Anyways, here are my eats, pre-packed and ready for the trek to the hospital…

Apples, salad, carrots, hummus, and bars (PB&J Dipped MoJo bar, Super Protein Odwalla bar, and the latest PranaBar flavor to rock my world). 

In zee salad: spinach, steamed brocc, zucch, sesame/seaweed salad, and dried cranz.

My feelings about the Cranberry Goji Supercharger PranaBar cannot be masked.  Effing fantastico.  Every bar is better than the last.  This company has me hooked.  No others can compare.  My stomach is so happy with the wholesome un-processed ingreds, and it keeps my app at bay for way longer than any other bar.  Truly.

Luff.  Let’s talk about all the yummy stats shall we?  Organic, soy free, no sugar added, gluten free, vegan…I could go on and on…and MIGHTY tasty to boot.  Apparently my thoughts on Goji berries were in accordance with the rest of the blogging community…well, kids, try this bar, stat, because it’s the best use of Goji I have found thus far. 

After work I schlepped my way back uptown on the most obnoxiously packed subway ride.  It was kinda steamy, but NOT in a good way.

Hello lover. 

What goes best with carbs?  More carbs.  Duh.  Naturally, I turned to hummus to supplement my meal.  Some Italians like garlic bread with their pasta.  Well, (a) I’m not Italian AND (b) I detest garlic, so hummus-y bread is my version of the side dish.  Unlike the other day, today I managed to practice some self restraint and stop after one serving (like a normal human would). 

But don’t start giving me props for operation moderation just yet…

I rounded out my meal by eating half my weight in carob covered raisins…

And then so many pistachios that I completely fried my taste buds.  Apparently too much salt can be a bad thing?  Who knew?!?  I hope I can taste things again tomorrow. 

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Crack is wack!

Is it really March already? 

I’m so glad that NuNaturals’ vanilla stevia is back in my life.  Coffee is definitely my drug of choice, but this stuff is incredibly addicting.  It’s like super-crack.  Nothing like adding crack to another stimulant. 

So, I was seriously buzzzzzzed as I headed to the gym.  Yes, oddly enough, I went to the gym today, and in the AM no less!  I haven’t been feeling the gym much lately, but I was really pumped today and decided to get in some cardio while the iron was hot.

How cool are the thumb loops in this Adidas zip-up?  Almost as cool as my Nike running gloves.  They have a tiny pocket in the palm for a house key.  So clever.

At the gym I ran a few miles on the treadmill and then set up shop on the mats, stretching like whoa…at the end I felt looser than Octo-Mom’s [edit].  Feels so good. 

I stopped by Stabeezies on the way home to grab a soy misto.  They spelled my name wrong, but at least they got the right name.  For some reason people have SO MUCH trouble with “Elise.”  I mean, it’s unique and all, but it’s not that hard.  Apparently, it is.

Maple Walnut Dessert Hummus and bread scoopers.  Mmmm…

The breakfast of champions.  Ok, it was noon at this point, but who’s keeping track?

After brunch I got to work, tackling my to-do prep work for the week. 

Since I’m about to start a three-in-a-row set of shifts, I like to have as many eats tupperwared and ready to go as possible, so my lists (on my days off) look something like [the above].  The list usually grows to double that size, though.

First up…lasagna. 

 

Check!

This time I used a different brand of noodles, but stuck with the same vegan “cheese” as my last recipe. 

Turned out just as tasty.

Next on the list…beans, squash, and taters.

No pictures of the final products (yet), but you’ll see them in upcoming meals.

All my food prepping got my appetite going, so I decided to make a little PM snack platter. 

 

β-Carotene anyone?

What we have here is a pound of carrots, two kinds of hummus (OG & roasted red pepp), and leftover home-made TVP chili.

Followed by Tazo Chai tea and yogurt covered raisins.  These really hurt my stomach, I have no idea why I thought they would be a good idea.  I was regretting it BIG time after eating them.  Will I ever learn?  Bah.  I must be some kind of masochist. 

Eventually dinner rolled around and I sampled my days work. 

Vegan lasag with a side salad (spinach drizzled in the MOST delish balsamic vinegar ever) and then sprinkled with Vegan Parm.

Two things you should know about my dinner: (1) I went back for FOUR servings of lasagna.  There was barely half the pan left after Kyle had his (single) serving.  So much for prepping for the week?  (2) This Compagnia Del Montale Balsamic Vinegar is imported from Italy, but (fingers crossed) it will soon be available in my OpenSky shop.

I had NO dessert tonight (shock!) because I was actually still full from the massive amount of lasagna I inhaled.  Wow.  I can’t remember the last time I actually got too full for a post-dinner snack.  I guess that’s a sign of a good meal, huh.  So, uh, yeah, mission accomplished?

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