How Angie Eats Peace: What Does a Vegan Eat?

When I explain to people who have asked that I do not eat any animal products, I am frequently questioned, “….so, what do you eat?”

I thought I would share a little bit of what a typical day of eating looks like for me, and how I fuel my busy life.

All the food below is what I ate last Wednesday. Here’s a break down of my day:

5:00-Wake up call. I actually slept in. I generally wake up at 4:00. I like taking my time in the morning, drinking tea, reading, journaling and setting aside time to meditate. However, the heat wave that has hit Southern California has messed up my sleep patterns. It took me awhile to fall asleep and I was up later than normal, and therefore, slept in.

As soon as I woke up, I drank some warm water with lemon, cayenne pepper and apple cider vinegar. I love starting off my morning this way, to get my digestion moving and blood flowing.

I drank this down while preparing the day’s breakfast and lunch.

For breakfast I made oatmeal, and for lunch, I quickly assembled black beans, quinoa (both prepared in bulk over the weekend, to be used for quick meals) and chopped fresh cilantro, tomatoes and avocado to top off the mixture.

After cleaning up, I quickly got ready for work and was on the road by 6:00.

I arrived at work a little after 6:30 and quickly went about my day.

7:30-I was hungry early on, so I started chomping on my oatmeal while catching up on emails. My oatmeal was topped with blueberries, cocoa powder and cinnamon.

11:00-I was REALLY hungry and finally found a break in my day to eat. I mixed up all my toppings into the black beans and quinoa and went about stuffing my face! The flavors were great!

1:00-I definitely did not pack enough food with me, because my stomach was growling again. My co-worker was kind enough to share her crackers with me.

3:45-As soon as I got home from work, I started assembling an afternoon smoothie. I have been drinking my smoothie more in the afternoon lately, as opposed to the morning.

I saw an iridologist at the beginning of the month, and he told me I am having some blood sugar issues, because of my pancreas. He recommended some herbs I have been taking, but he also recommended I get some protein in the middle of the afternoon, to help keep my blood sugar elevated. It was a very interesting meeting! He told me I probably crashed everyday at 3:30 and was irritable. He was exactly right, I am always craving a nap and some silence, as soon as I am home from work.

Switching my smoothie to the afternoon has helped. This smoothie contained:

serves 2

• 2 bananas
• huge handful of spinach
• 2 tablespoons of flax seed meal
• 1 tablespoon of maca powder
• 1/2 cup of soy protein
• carrot, grapefruit, orange and ginger juice (made earlier in the week)
• 1 cup of water
• ice

On Wednesdays, I teach yoga, so the afternoons are a bit hectic. From 3:45-4:15, I made and drank a smoothie, chatted with my husband, took a shower and flew out the door. By 4:15 were on the road to the yoga studio.

I studied the class I had planned, while my husband drove.

I taught my class, then we stayed for the 90 minute, level 1-2 class. The temperature hit the high 90s this day, so class felt extra hot and challenging. I really put the hot in hot yoga, eh?:

By the time we got home, the smoothie was long ago digested and I was hangry! Luckily, I had some food pre-prepped that only required assembling.

8:30-I quickly assembled what I call edamame fusion tacos. On the weekend, I made a big batch of edamame by simply warming up the frozen beans, adding in a splash of extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle of sesame oil, a sprinkle of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. I throw in cherry tomatoes and have a delicious, protein rich snack for the week (one cup of edamame = 17 g of protein).

I had also prepared baked tofu over the weekend. I warmed some corn tortillas, spooned in some edamame and tofu and topped with cilantro, avocado and sriracha. I really wish I would have gotten a better picture of these, but I still wanted to share:

 

confession: I really ate 4 tacos.

I try to keep track (most) days on MyFitnessPal and overall I took in 86 g of protein (6 under goal) 47 grams of sugar (23 under goal) and 1,912 calories (65 over goal).

I really try not to get too caught up on any of these numbers, but I do like to be mindful of my protein intake, to make sure I am getting enough and my sugar intake, which I am trying to reduce.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know if you would like to see more of these featured. I am not sure if it comes across as too mundane or not, but I know I am always curious about what other people eat!