I get asked a lot what I eat. People usually ask me this after finding out that I am a vegetarian (and that I eat a vegan, plant-based diet 98.5% of the time). I think people are just naturally curious and I totally understand why.
I’ll never forget the first time I met a vegan – I was shocked. I actually did ask, “What do you mean you don’t eat meat, eggs or dairy? Do you eat honey?! How do you bake?! How do you cook?! What do you eat?!?“. I genuinely wondered how she got through the day and imagined her eating things like grass, barley, and oats. I could not wrap my head around what her diet consisted of! After coming to a much healthier place in my life and living a vastly plant-based diet for the past year, I can honestly say there are lots of oats, barley and greens involved (though I haven’t tried grass just yet) along with a huge variety of other delicious foods as well.
When I wake up in the morning, I am usually already hungry (I mean it has been at least 10 hours since my last meal!). The first thing I do when I wake up is hydrate myself by drinking a big glass of lemon water (with the juice from half a lemon), and a big cup of green tea to wake myself up. I was particularly hungry this morning and had to run off to buy the groceries for the week (we always do a big haul of groceries at the beginning of the week at a local inexpensive grocery store) so this morning, I quickly drank my lemon water, green tea and ate my oats all at once.
One of my favourite parts of the morning is waking up to a big bowl of oats, with chia seeds, cinnamon, banana and almond milk. This bowl contains 1/3 cup oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 banana and a great big splash of almond milk. Chia Seeds + Almond Milk + Oats make the most comforting and fluffy morning breakie.
When we got back from the grocery store (it’s about a 30 minute walk each way) I wasn’t particular hungry but wanted to put something nourishing and substantial in my body to hold me over until lunch. Behold by giant mid-morning purple smoothie with a whole banana, strawberries, raspberries, and spirulina. Spirulina is basically this amazing blue-green algae that is choc-full of antioxidants, iron, vitamins, protein and lots of good stuff. I discovered it a few months and have been loving it ever since.
For lunch I like to have a big bowl of veggies with fruit and nuts and usually an oil free dressing. Today was a big bowl of shredded cabbage, carrots, apples, and a bit of red onion with a homemade oil-free sunflower seed apple vinaigrette.
I usually like to have a little dessert after lunch (dessert with lunch and dinner #yesplease). Dessert today came in the form of this week’s recipe which I was testing after lunch – Pumpkin Blender Oat Pancakes. I also snacked on a couple pecans which got into my mouth before I could take a picture of them.
I always need a little snack before lunch and dinner and today I opted for clementines. Helllooo Vitamin C!
Dinner is usually big (go big or go home, right) and today was no different. I did not want to spend a long time on dinner, so I quickly whipped up a pot of polenta for J and I (with nutritional yeast, chives and chili flakes), threw some frozen vegetables into a pan with a dash of olive oil served alongside my comforting red lentil mash (which I was too lazy to fully mash apparently lol). It’s all smothered in just a little bit of hot sauce. 😉
As you can see I have a pretty big appetite! Gone are the days when I relied on Lean Cuisines for ‘healthy’ lunches and dinners. Eating a diet full of filling fruits and veggies, with a couple sweets in between, provides me with an abundance of energy to get through my busy days at school, work and trying to fit in some activity in between. I love to enjoy what I eat throughout the day and the feeling of being nourished and energized from what I put in my body.
Most days I have a small dessert after dinner, like a piece of dark chocolate, but today I just was not feeling it. I always finish off the day with some sort of calming tea – I love spearmint. Pure Bliss.
So there you have it – next time someone asks me what I eat, I’ll remember to respond – A LOT. 😉
What do you typically eat in a day? Are you an all day eater type like me or a strick 3 meals a day kinda person?
Helpful info. Fortunate me I discovered your site by chance, and I am shocked why this accident did not happened in advance! I bookmarked it.
I only mention to people that I don’t know well that I eat plant-based to avoid ‘too many questions’ or ‘judgemental questions’ and I don’t question other peoples’ dietary requests either. Honestly there are a lot more delicious plant-based ingredients out there to try! I’m happy you are staying vegan, and I’ve been vegan for nearly eight years and loving it! What a lovely bowl of fruit and veggies – looks delicious with the sunflower seed apple vinaigrette! Gosh that is one comforting red lentil mash – I would eat a whole bowl of it instantly!
I only mention to people that I don’t know well that I eat plant-based to avoid ‘too many questions’ or ‘judgemental questions’ and I don’t question other peoples’ dietary requests either. Honestly there are a lot more delicious plant-based ingredients out there to try! I’m happy you are staying vegan, and I’ve been vegan for nearly eight years and loving it! What a lovely bowl of fruit and veggies – looks delicious with the sunflower seed apple vinagirette! Gosh that is one comforting red lentil mash – I would eat a whole bowl of it instantly!
I love seeing posts like these. Looks very similar to what I have during the day too 🙂 Smaller meals during the day and a little more for dinner. Yum, your salad for lunch and lentil mash for dinner look really good, I can’t wait to try it!
My bestie is vegan, and I don’t question what she eats for a minute because she is a smart and healthy vegan! I never thought I would be best friends with someone who doesn’t eat animals because all I eat is animals, lol, but honestly, who cares what one another eats, it all about the person’s personality! 🙂
I love your approach to your friend Gigi! 🙂 Great!
Yum!! That lentil mash looks tasty!! I just had lentil soup the other day!! So healthy, delicious and nourishing!! YUM! I’m like you, I like to eat throughout the day… sometimes I go through phases where I eat more at meals, less snacks and visa versa… it just depends!! 🙂 Glad you are nourishing your body and treating it well!!
Thanks Cailee!! I sometimes go between the two as well 🙂
I used to get asked that all the time when I as a vegetarian. It’s like people can’t comprehend a meal without meat!
So true Dannii – I used to think like that as well so I understand where people are coming from 🙂
shredded cabbage never looked so good #foodporn
#loveyou!
haha, I even get asked that question and I’m only a vegetarian! Next time I get asked that I’ll send the person this post and say “SEE!!!! And this girl is vegan!”
Hehe, love it Katrina!! 🙂 Feel free to share!!
oh I just love these kinds of posts! … call me snoopy but I love seeing what other people eat in a typical day 😉
Hehe, I totally hear ya! I love seeing what people eat as well! I am super curious!
I’m always so curious about what vegans eat, too! I’m not too familiar with that lifestyle, so it’s interesting to me! I love that you start your day with lemon water and green tea. I definitely need to drink more water! And I have to try out your oats, too. I always have chia seeds stored in my pantry, but always forget to add them to the simplest dishes! I try to stick to three meals a day, although I have been doing a bit more healthy snacking, as that helps curb my hunger and make me feel a bit healthier! 🙂
How do you not blow up and go up in to the air? Love all the healthy stuff you eat, but usually by evening i am so bloated from all the salad/ oatmeal i eat in the mornings that i can only drink Kefir (drinkable yogurt) for dinner to calm it down. I could not have imagined myself without meat a year ago, but now i notice the only protein i eat is fish, thoughts of anything heavier ( steak, pork) repulses.. But i am tired of feeling bloated every afternoon. Is your stomach stronger then mine?
Love that you have the confidence to put in everything you eat online 🙂 That takes courage 🙂
Have you tried drinking tea in the evening to calm your stomach down? I find that drinking a soothing, hot tea in the evening really helps me with digestion (esp. if I feel a bit bloated from all the fruits and veggies I eat). I know that dairy and refined flours are big no-no with me in terms of my tummy and also heavy protein foods that I used to eat (i.e. meat). I have also struggled with my digestion almost my entire life so know exactly where you are coming from. I guess we are all different in terms of what agrees with us! If you are not hungry in the evening maybe a low-sodium nutritious bowl of soup would help! I often have soup for dinner when I am feeling that way. My hunger does depend on the day though! Thank you for stopping by and hope this helps a bit! <3 🙂