Hey friends! Sorry I didn’t post yesterday. After work, I spent all day with family and Matty, and the day just got away from me. It was a good thing, though. We all need to rest! The two winners of five FREE Almond Breeze coupons are #31, Emily, and #38, Alison! Congrats, ladies! Email me at heather@fortheloveofkale.com with your mailing information and I will forward it to the kind people at Almond Breeze!
Workout
Yesterday morning’s workout was a very early one. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to squeeze in a quick workout before heading to work at the clinic at 7:00 a.m. Enter ZWOW #29.
The workout calls for pistol squats but I can’t do those yet (SO hard…and they’re not good for the knee-sensitive folk) so I substituted them for single leg dip jumps. I find these to be a great substitute because you still feel the burn of the workout while protecting your knees. When I first watched the video, I thought the side hops were going to be the easiest exercise out of the four moves. HA. Joke’s on me! They were a killer.
Workout complete? Check. Positive mantra for myself? Double check.
A Day in the Life
Over the past few months, I’ve received quite a few emails from people who are veg-curious, or looking to adopt a more plant-based lifestyle, and requested a post on what I typically eat in a day. I hesitated because a.) it seems rather boring slash daunting to me and b.) I don’t want people to think that this is how they “should” eat every day. This is what works for me and makes me thrive – that could be something totally different for you!
That being said, I think there are a lot of basic principles I live by that really can help others looking to adopt a plant-based lifestyle while keeping their energy levels high and getting all the vitamins/minerals/macronutrients they need. I don’t eat the same exact thing every day and there are lots of welcomed exceptions to my usual eating schedule. Nevertheless, in the interest of helping out the veg-curious, here’s a look into my daily eats!
Breakfast
Remember when I said I don’t eat the same exact thing every day? Well, I kind of lied. I love and crave my chocolate protein pudding oats (now chocolate-peanut butter protein pudding oats, with the addition of peanut flour).
I always enjoy my oats with some fruit and black coffee. Today’s coffee of choice was the Bacio variety from Daybreak Coffee Roasters, an incredible coffee shop in Glastonbury, CT that was introduced to me by my best blend, Cait.
Snack
My snacks have a balance of carbs/protein/fat and vary from day-to-day. Today’s snack was super delicious and extremely easy to prepare. I took two rice cakes and spread some guacamole on each one. Next, I blended 2 tbsp. each of nutritional yeast and salsa (I love Newman’s Own peach salsa), which created a nacho cheezy-like sauce, and plopped it on top of the guacamole spread.
You’d never guess it by looking at it but there are 10 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, and 10 grams of fat in this snack. Winning. Try it sometime!
Here are some other snacks that I enjoy:
- mixed nuts
- rice cakes w/ hummus
- THRIVE almond-flaxseed burger on top of greens
- Tone It Up black bean pattie on top of greens
- sweet potato with nooch sauce (2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast, 1-2 Tbsp. almond milk) on top of greens, sprinkled with hemp seeds
- fruit w/ nut butter
- Pulsin’ Maple-Peanut Protein bar
- Vega bars
- protein pudding (1 scoop protein powder, 2 scoop peanut flour, almond milk to taste)
Lunch
Lunch is typically some variation of a salad. I simply crave a big, leafy green (preferably kale 
) salad for my midday meal. You can check out my recipage for fun, delicious ideas! I often roll with a salad in literal form:
Superwoman Salad with Tempeh Gomasio:
There are other times when I take the salad idea and put it in wrap form, like with my Black Bean Sweet Potato Quinoa Collard Wraps:
Snack
A midday snack is so important to keep our energy levels up and blood sugar stable. I’ll eat any of the above snacks or, if my sweet tooth happens to strike, whip up one of my baked apples with peanutty-walnut crumble. It always does the trick!
Dinner
Unlike lunch, dinner is more random. I whip up whatever I’m craving or use my noggin and try to make something different out of ingredients I always have on-hand. Here are a few examples:
Smoky tofu scramble with baked sweet potao wedges:
Quinoa, chickpeas, kale, and broccoli with homemade daiya sauce and chia/hemp seeds:
Tempeh sauteed in coconut oil & Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki Sauce w/ side of Brussels sprouts:
Warm Chickpeas in a Thai Peanut Sauce with a side salad:
Snack
I love to wind down with an evening snack. My hunger cue usually strikes about 3 hours after dinner, so I make sure to get in a substantial, yummy snack before bed. I typically crave something soft and comforting, so I roll with Numi roobios chai tea and some chocolate-peanut protein pudding. I know, it’s a sick obsession.
Welcomed Exceptions
Of course, I don’t eat this way every day! There are some foods that I don’t consume on a daily basis but are still welcomed exceptions to my routine. I love ice cream. I love pinot grigio. I love tortilla chips and guac. I’m not rigid, strict, or obsessed with my routine. I’ve found a balanced, healthy lifestyle that works for me and makes me thrive! For those veg-curious people, as you embark on your journey towards incorporating more plant-based foods into your own life, I encourage you to have fun and experiment! Say “Bye, bye cheat and treat!” Enjoy the ride and welcome your own exceptions. 
Stay lovely,
Heather
Love this Heather! It is always neat to see how different people approach their daily eating styles!
Ahhh! I won?! This seriously made my day! Thank you so much! I’ll email you my information asap. (:
I love getting to see your daily eating habits- they’re so similar to mine! (Possibly because I’m always inspired by your recipes?) And I finally bought TJ’s Soyaki Sauce yesterday…I’m planning to make marinated tempeh with it for dinner tonight. I can’t wait!
Have a beautiful day, babe!
Woooo! Congrats, sweet girl!
You must tell me what you think of the marinated tempeh!
I always love seeing “day in the life” of eating style posts – even in the healthy blogging world, how everyone eats is so different from each other. It’s always nice to get some new healthy-eating ideas!
Couldn’t agree more, Sam! It’s really fun for us foodies to get a little glimpse into a typical day of eating.
I would totally go vegan if you were my personal chef
Everything looks amazing! I love the rice cake idea with the zesty nacho “cheese”. I’ll have to try that with my nooch!
OH, babaayyy, I’ll cook for YOU anytimt.
Definitely get on that rice cake idea. It’s soooo good.
I was going to say that I’d go vegan if you’d cook for me, but then I realized that what makes your recipes so great are their simplicity! I love that in all of your meals its the actual flavors of the foods that get to shine, not some fancy shmancy cooking method. Thanks for sharing!!
Aww Sloane! What an amazing compliment. Seriously – that means so much to me.
It’s actually the thing I take the most pride in with my cooking, and it feels so good to have it noticed. You’re so sweet!
way to kill that workout girl!! I have not done that one yet, maybe this week! I have to modify the pistol squats, one day I will be able to do one.
Thanks, Michelle! It was a beast. Haha! You’ll nail those pistol squats soon – I just know it!
Thanks so much for this! I flirt with veg, but I’m not planning on making the jump. The hubs and I are happy to eat vegan most days of the week, so I’m always looking for new ideas.
Yay! I’m so glad this helped you out, Tiff. You’re always welcome to steal my ideas.
Hey Heather….quick question! I’ve been vegetarian (forever) and vegan for the past 2yrs. The only thing I question is my Vitamin B12. I’ve had it checked & it’s WNL. I currently use 1-2tbsp. nutritional yeast at least 1x/day (love it) and take a multivitamin (New Chapter Organics) when I remember. My question is do you recommended taking a supplement too?
Thanks!!!!! Danielle
Hi Danielle!
Nutritional yeast has a LOT of B12 in it and seeing how you’re WNL, I personally don’t really see the need for it. You’re going to pee out what you don’t need from the vitamin supplement. As long as you’re getting what you need from food and your tests are A-OK, I say you’re in the clear! As always, check with your doc first.
Yum, all your vegan meals looks excellent! I definitely could survive a day on your meal plan:)
I have plans to do that ZWOW workout tomorrow! Love that ladies workouts. Hoping to dial down the intensity a bit though, since I still got to improve those hormones!xoxo
See you in just a few days!!!!
I’d cook for you any day!
Enjoy your ZWOW, babe. I can’t wait to see you!!!
IM A GOOOOBER.
peek.
I love the behind the scenes
And the best goober in the world!
I’ve been thinking about doing a post similar to this BB! A great idea to get your readers a look of the fab variety of food available to vegans and also the food needed to FUEL the body adequately. I know this post will be hopeful to many. Love you long time and glad you love the Bacio too!
Thanks for sharing these different veggie meals that you eat. I like the fact that you are not so rigid but that you have a balance that works for you. I also feel that this is really important.
My husband and I like the idea of being vegan or eating more like a vegan. We do it a little different and it works for us. We juice a meal a day and we are finding that all those additional vegetables and fruits are really helping us.
Thanks for sharing!!
~Heidi (Juicing Blogger @ Juicingpedia)
I am the same way with my breakfast. I get hooked on one thing and I just can’t help but continue to eat it! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!:)
Mmmm, this post is inspiring! Love your day – healthy and beautiful!