Food

4 Easy Plant-Based Breakfast Options While Traveling

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I sometimes forget what a privilege it is to live in Portland where the plant-based options are freely flowing. You can find an abundance of options for every meal, at every price point and in every neighborhood. Unfortunately when it comes to traveling finding food options, especially breakfast options, is often a huge challenge.

Breakfast is often a meal that is centered around meats, eggs and a whole lot of dairy. So finding options that don’t include any of these things can be a struggle. On our recent trip to Seattle and Bellingham I struggled to find good plant-based breakfast options for us however there are a few things that helped us work around the obstacle.

Stock Hotel or Airbnb with breakfast options. Depending on your accommodations you may be able to out fit yourself with a complete breakfast but even if you aren’t there are a number of great options that don’t require anything more than hot water. Stock up on things like instant oats, fruit that doesn’t need refrigerating such as apples and bananas, and nut butter – put these all together you have a filling and delicious loaded oatmeal. Bonus: if you have a hotel with a breakfast take advantage of things such as fruit, toast, bagels and dry cereals. 

Seek Out Coffee Shops. Many coffee shops these days have come to also serve food such as avocado and nut butter toasts. Some even sell vegan baked goods or bagels. Bonus: good coffee, shorter wait time and often less expensive. 

Order Sides.  One of my favorite ways to put together a plant-based breakfast at a restaurant is by piecing together a selection of sides. You will often find fruit, toasts, greens, beans and potatoes offered as side dishes and you can easily put together a satisfying breakfast. Tip 1: remember to as for dry toast and either carry a bit of vegan butter with your or as for jam and/or nut butter. Tip 2: It’s often a good idea to inquire about how they prepare their potatoes because some places use butter. 

Visit Co-ops, Natural Food Stores and Farmers Markets. These are all great spots to find plant-based options. Co-ops and Natural Food Stores often will have a prepared food section or even a small cafe that have plant-based options. Farmers Markets are filled with food options from breads, to fruits to vendors selling their amazing foods. 

Honestly, these tips work whether you are plant-based or not. My favorite is to hit up coffee shops or food markets because I always want coffee in the morning anyways and I am obsessed with food shopping. However if we have an Airbnb I will prepare as many meals as I can at it because I am always looking for ways to reduce our spending while traveling. 

What are you tips for eating plant-based in not-so-plant-based-friendly places? 

[Recipe] The Best Vegan Sandwich | #TTLA

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This post is sponsored by Lightlife. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hello Friends! I’m here to share the news you can now find the vegan friendly #TTLA at Whole Foods Market!! This delicious sandwich creation inspired this viral video  and has everyone (including me) wanting one.

But wait are you asking yourself um….Lindsay what is the #TTLA? Let me break it down for you: The Whole Foods TTLA sandwich  is created by layering Lightlife Organic Fakin’ Bacon Tempeh, tomato, lettuce and avocado between two pieces of ciabatta slathered with a vegan garlic aioli.

I know not all of you have Whole Foods nearby or you simply prefer to make your food at home so I’m here to share my version of the TTLA with a little extra flare. My version has a creamy herb mayo, candied tomatoes aka quick roasted tomatoes that taste like candy and smashed avocado. You could go for slices of avocado but I prefer smashed because there is nothing I hate more than a sandwich sliding apart because of slippery avocado slices.

For my version you will need:

  • Lightlife Organic Fakin’ Bacon Tempeh
  • Sourdough Bread, Sliced
  • Lettuce
  • Candied Tomatoes
    • 1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
    • Salt
    • Pepper
  • Herb Mayo Spread
    • Vegan Garlic Aioli
    • 1 Tablespoon Chopped Italian Parsley
    • 1 Tablespoon Chopped Chives
    • 1 Tablespoon Chopped Basil
  • Smashed Avocado
    • 2 Ripe Avocados
    • 2-3 Teaspoons Lemon Juice
    • Salt & Pepper

Start with preheating your oven to 425F. Slice the tomatoes in half and place cut side up on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper and himalayan pink salt. Bake for 15 minutes.

While the tomatoes are baking work on putting together the remaining elements of the sandwich.

In a small bowl mix together the garlic aioli and herbs; mix until incorporated.

In a another small bowl mash the avocado with the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Like your bread crunchy? Now it the time to toast it.

In a skillet add just a touch of oil to prevent the Fakin’ Bacon tempeh from sticking and pan fry until lightly brown on both sides. If you prefer you can also place the Fakin’ Bacon on a sheet pan and cook in the oven.

Once the tempeh has been browned and the tomatoes are sweet like candy it’s time to put your sandwich together. Slather one side of your bread with the herb mayo spread and the other half with the smashed avocado. Top the avocado side with a layer of candied tomatoes and top the herb mayo spread with your favorite lettuce greens. Now it’s time to add the Fakin’ Bacon tempeh right on top of the tomatoes and then put it all together and enjoy!

If you are crunched for time you can use freshly sliced tomatoes or sundried tomatoes instead of the candied tomatoes.

Feeling a little cheeky? Add a layer of sliced dill pickles, tangy saurkraut or your favorite spicy peppers

 

What I Eat In A Day | Camping Edition

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We recently went on our first camping trip of the year and I thought I would share what I ate on this trip. We only went away for one night and since our old camp stove is no longer working we ended up doing a cooking free camping trip. Looking back on things now I wish we had just bought our new camp stove because an entire day of basically sandwiches and snacks just wasn’t that much fun for me. Anyways here I what I ate while camping at L.L. Stub State Park.

When we arrived I was feeling snack-y so I had a handful of these Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Squares that are so incredibly addictive.

Still feeling a bit hungry I opted for a slightly better and new to me protein bar the Square Organics Vanilla Cashew Crisp. This bar was so delicious! It was just sweet enough, a bit chewy, a bit crunchy and not at all chalky.

After a short hike I worked on getting the fire started and things set up for dinner. I brought a spread of fruit, olives, dips and spreads, cut up veggies, tofurky and bread for sandwiches and pita chips for dipping. While I would like to say that I filled up on tons of veggies it was more like a few veggies, lots of pita chips dipped in my green goddess cashew dup and Toby’s Tofu Dip and half eaten tofurky sandwiches. I also enjoyed a beer and a half with Neil.  
The next morning we broke out our backpacking stove aka thing we use to boil water and we made oats for the kids. I ended up having this Paleo Muesli from Bob’s Red Mill and it was meh. I also enjoyed a hot mug of Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee with Coconut Cloud Vanilla Creamer. 

Not pictured is the sandwich I had for lunch before our hike, the two sips of terrible coffee I bought at a random coffee shop and all the water I drank. 

We are headed out camping again this weekend but this time we have a camp stove so things we surely be more fun! If you’d like to see an What I Eat While Camping – Camp Stove Edition let me know in the comments below! 

What are your favorite things to eat while camping? 

Find my Travel Guide to L.L. Stub Stewart State Park.

How Weekly Meal Planning Changed My Life

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Weekly Meal Planning helps us to eat healthily, waste less food, save money and reduce the amount of stress around meal time.

I have attempted to meal plan in the past but was never able to fully commit. I get overwhelmed with having to plan out all of our meals and eventually just give up and go grocery shopping for whatever looks good. Then I attempt to use everything we purchased by creating recipes on the spot. In all honesty, I usually fail to use everything and end up wasting food.

So what changed? Having a third child has changed things. One of my goals for this postpartum period was to limit how much we dine out and order take out. The only way to help prevent this from happening was to create a meal plan with recipes/meal ideas that were easy for Neil to put together and it has worked. Over this postpartum period, we have only eaten out at times when it was already implemented into our meal plan, we have used up 90% of our groceries, and overall we are eating more healthily than when I wasn’t meal planning. Being able to take advantage of grocery pick up from Fred Meyer (Kroger) has been a life saver as well. 

Meal planning allows us to spend less money. We aren’t running out to pick up one or two things and coming home with five. We know what we are having for dinner in advance so we are able to prepare meals and are less apt to go out to eat or order take out. 

Just remember to…

Keep it simple. Meals don’t need to be elaborate. Many of our meals are as simple as protein, grain/pasta/bread/starchy vegetable, lots of vegetables, healthy fat and sauce/condiment.

Example: BBQ Tofu (simply Amy’s BBQ sauce + Tofu), baked potatoes, massage kale salad (kale + olive oil + lemon juice + coconut aminos), chive cashew cream (chives + soaked cashews + lemon juice + ACV + S&P) and grapes for the kids. Simple, easy and loved by everyone. 

Account for snacks, treats & drinks. When planning your meals/grocery list make sure you are including your favorite snacks, treats (ice cream, chocolate, etc) and drinks. These are most often the things that we run out for and then of course that turns into picking up some additional items. 

Clean The Fridge Meal. Include a clean out of the fridge meal. This can either be eating up leftovers or simply using up any veggies and/or proteins that are left in your fridge before you do your weekly shop. 

Give Into Your Cravings. Have you been wanting pizza all week? Add it to your next meal plan. Either make it at home, pick up your favorite frozen/take-and-bake or plan for a pizza night out. In my experience when I ignore my cravings it just makes me want them more and then I end up going off plan and eating out or buy more ingredients to make what I’m craving. Now I just plan for it and I am able to save money and be more mindful about my food choices. 

Weekly Meal Rotation. Make your life easy and plan weekly meals either the same recipe every week or every two weeks. Alternatively have themed meal nights like Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday or Leftovers Night. Here are a few more themed meal night ideas. 

Keep Staples On Hand.  Meal planning sometimes has it’s hiccups so allow yourself room to improvise. For example I ordered our groceries this week and I ended up with baby spinach with a short expiry date, a bag of potatoes that had a few bad potatoes in it and some avocado crazy kids who ate 4.5 of the 6 avocados I ordered in less than 24 hours. So I had to make a few adjustments to our meals. For this reason I like to order an extra veggie and have a few staples on hand just in case. 

At first meal planning can feel like a chore and just another thing you don’t have time to do but after a few weeks you’ll find your groove and it will become easier and easier. If you have a week that gets you off track don’t fret just return to your planning the next week. 

Do you meal plan? What are some of your favorite go to meals? 

Holiday Gift Guide | What’s On My Wishlist

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While there really isn’t much that I need this holiday season there are a few things that are on my wish list. Most are consumable as I work to have less things but of course there are a few things like my favorite notebook that I just can’t give up and a few fun items that would be fun to add to my collection. So here it is my wish list – ENJOY!

Wild Friends Sugar Cookie Peanut Butter. I recently purchased a jar of this peanut butter at our local grocery store and our family polished it off in less than four days because it is just that good. That being said I wouldn’t hate to find my very own jar in my stocking along with a few of Wild Friends new Nut Butter Oats that I have been dying to try. 

Conscious Ink Tattoos.  While I would love to get a new tattoo that just isn’t in the cards right now but these temporary tattoos are the perfect alternative. Conscious Ink Manifestation Temporary Tattoos consist of a dream list of positive words, inspiring quotes, healing affirmations and empowering invitations. I just love that when I look down at my wrist (where I tend to place these) I can be reminded to Be Present, Breathe, Love, Laugh and so much more. I also love to share these with Edith who is all about the temporary tattoos right now. 

Leuchtturm 1917 A5 Dotted Notebook. I am obsessed with notebooks and these are my absolute favorite. I have a handful of these books already that I have filled up with blog ideas and journaling and used for bullet journaling. Some people want bags or shoes in every color – I want notebooks. 

Oat Mama Lactation Tea and Bars. Oat Mama was kind enough to send me a variety of their bars and their Chai tea and I have fallen in love. The bars are delicious and perfect for a busy mama like myself. The Chai tea is perfect with a touch of vanilla almond milk and I have been enjoying it most evenings. The problem is however I am almost out so if anyone wants to fill my stocking with tea and bars that would be great. 

Splendid Spoon Cleanse. After the holidays I could use a Splendid Spoon Cleanse. I know I share about these all the time and it’s for good reason I love the soups and drinkable soups. I love to keep the fridge and freezer stocked with them so that I can have something easy to grab for breakfast or lunch (seeing a trend? Mom of three = need for quick, easy and healthy food options). While I usually have a few soups on hand I could really use a full week of cleansing for the new year. Also this is the perfect gift for someone who has everything or is more of a minimalist because it’s truly consumable (and delicious). psst you can save $20 on your first box with my link.

Sappho New Paradigm Liquid Foundation. I recently purchased the Alima Pure Liquid Silk Foundation and while I like it fine and will use it up I don’t love it. Prior to purchasing the Alima Pure I had been using samples of the Sappho New Paradigm Liquid Foundation and while I loved it the price tag was a bit higher than I was prepared to spend but now I am having a bit of buyers remorse. I loved the way the Sappho felt on my skin, how light it was in feeling but how great the coverage was  and overall I just wish I had waited, saved a few extra dollars and purchased it for myself. So now I am doing just that… unless of course someone wants to buy me it for Christmas in the color Rachel. psst this foundation is natural, vegan and you can purchase your own sample here.

Savage Seeds – Moon Mama T-Shirt.  If you know me you know how much I talk about my kids and parenting in relationship to the moon. So obviously this is the perfect shirt for me and I would love kid and baby versions for my littles. 

Fresh Milk Made Here.  I don’t have much to say about this besides the fact that I love it and need it for my office area. It’s just amazing. I also want this one as well which pairs well with the Moon Mama shirt above. 

Honey Mama’s Chocolate. Last but not least I would love a package or stocking filled with Honey Mama’s chocolate. It is easily my favorite chocolate in the world. My entire family is in love with it so much so that we purchased four bars at the farmers market last week and all four were one within the week – oops. 

What is on your holiday gift list this year? 

This post is NOT sponsored however it does contain an affiliate link. Purchases you make through these links will help fund the work I do here on Running With Tongs at no extra cost to you. Thank you sincerely for your constant support.

10 Pantry Must Haves From Thrive Market

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While I would love for this post to be sponsored because my love for Thrive Market is more of an addiction it is NOT however if you’d like to save some $$ you can use my referral link and it helps me out.

Thrive Market Spices // I love the Thrive Market spices. While they are close in price to to the Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s brands I think the quality is superior. I personally love the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon and Italian seasoning. 

Braggs Nutritional Yeast //  This is a staple in our house and the price for the bottle is less than most grocery stores. I will say you can get nooch cheaper in bulk and that is the route I usually go but every so often I add one of these to my Thrive Market cart. 

Lundberg Short Grain Brown Rice // This is by far my favorite rice of all time. I love the quality, the taste and that it has some of the lowest arsenic levels (yes most all rice contains some level of arsenic – read more here). This is also one of the cheapest prices I have found for this rice that isn’t a sale or bulk. 

Native Forest Organic Coconut Milk //  I have tried so many different coconut milks and this one is my favorite by far. 

Annie Chun’s Pad Thai Brown Rice Noodles // Have you tried these? They are so good! I always have these on hand for quick and easy lunches and dinners. I use them to make salads, stir fry and add them to soups. 

Thrive Market Extra Virgin Olive Oil // I first tried this olive oil because it was a free with purchase item (a perk of Thrive is that they are constantly offering free product with a minimum purchase). I liked the olive oil so much that I continued to purchase it once I ran out of my free bottle. 

Thrive Market Beans // We eat so many beans in this house so we always have them on hand. There are a few varieties that I really enjoy and Thrive Market’s line is a new favorite of mine. 

Annie’s Naturals Dijon Mustard // I will happily declare this the best dijon mustard – ever. I can’t get enough of it so I am constantly ordering it because not only is it the best but this is the best price. I use this mustard on sandwiches, in sauces, in dressings and for dipping. 

Thrive Market Coconut Aminos // Thrive has a few coconut aminos options and I have tried them all and like them all but I tend to most often buy their brand. I love to use this in place of soy sauce or tamari. 

Thrive Market Sprouted Quinoa // I think you can’t be plant-based without having quinoa on hand at all times. 

Bonus:

Edison Grainery // Edison is a brand that I had no idea about until I ordered their red lentils off Thrive Market. Since then I have ordered their lentils and other beans and legumes countless times because they are the best. They also have the best gluten free pasta which unfortunately you can’t get on Thrive Market – hopefully they add it to the site soon! 

What are your pantry staples? 

Interested in giving Thrive Market a try? Save 25% and receive free shipping via my referral link! Thank you for supporting me, my family and my blog by using my link.

Fawen Drinkable Soup | Loaded Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup

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This post is NOT sponsored. I was gifted a few Fawen Drinkable Soups to try and I’m sharing with you how I jazzed up my soup. 

Soup has been the name of the game around my house this Summer. I know Summer sounds like a strange time to be so into soup but as I have shared previously soups are wonderful for healing the postpartum body so I have been enjoying my fair share.

When Fawen asked if they could send me a sample of their soups to try I took them up on their offer. These soups are packed with superfoods and are made ready to drink either straight from the carton or you can heat them up on the stove. Every batch of Fawen soup is made with hydrating organic coconut water which is combined with coconut milk and virgin coconut oil all working together with filtered water to form the perfect alkaline base and bring balance and vitality to the body and mind

This day I decided that I was in the mood for a soup with a little extra added to it. The Broccoli & Cauliflower sounded creamy and so I decided to do a loaded soup topped with homemade tempeh bacon bits (I really love the 101 Cookbooks tempeh bacon recipe) and perfectly roasted cauliflower. I also loaded it up with creamy avocado for some healthy fats to support my milk supply.

It was super delicious and I was able to make two heaping portions of loaded soup for Neil and myself. We were left feeling full, happy and energized to take on life with three kids.

Do you prefer your soup simple or do you like to load it up? What are you favorite soup toppings?  I also love to add crispy croutons, nutritional yeast and sriracha.