My Plant-Based Year

Avocado hummus toast with kale slaw, sprinkled with garlic salt and smoked paprika. 🥑

Day 34 - Black bean and corn enchiladas from Trader Joe’s, with extra Salsa Autentica (because I like them saucy!)  I don’t usually eat this much frozen food, but like I said, I haven’t had time for meal prep since I returned from vacation.  That’s what the weekend is for!

Day 33 - Vegan McDonald’s-style “cheese”burger.  I rarely eat fast food.  Like, *maybe* twice a year?  But I get cravings for McDonald’s often.  So I asked myself, what is it specifically about McDonald’s burgers that I crave?  I think it’s the dill pickle/ketchup/mustard/onion combo.  I found some soy-free veggie patties (Amy’s California) and acceptable vegan cheese, and put this burger together on a Rudy’s whole wheat bun.  Not quite McDonald’s, but close!

Day 32 - Veggie & Hummus Wrap.  Back home but haven’t had time to really shop or prep food. Wraps with store-bought hummus, salsa, and prepped salads (veggies are from a vegetable and legume salad from Trader Joe’s) are so easy and pretty healthy.

Day 31 - Vegan Patty from Player’s Cafe at the Liberia International Airport.  Was pleased to find a vegan option after all the cheese and seafood I’d consumed the past week!  It was just ok (as most airport food is.)

Day 30 - Baja Fish Tacos from Coco’s Mexican Restaurant in Playa Samara, Costa Rica.  (Not pictured: chips and salsa.)  The house-made chips here were perfect and this tacos were delicious as well.

Day 29 - Lobster tails from El Lagarto in Playa Samara, Costa Rica.  Also, grilled zucchini, tomato, and baked potato.

Day 28 - Spicy Vegan Melt from Beach Dog Cafe in Guiones/Nosara, Costa Rica.  Sauteed spinach, basil, jalapenos, avocado, and mushrooms with vegan cheese.  This was ah-mazing and I’m going to try to recreate it at home!

Day 27 - Margherita Pizza from Gusto Beach in Playa Samara, Costa Rica.  It tasted as good as it looks!

Day 26 - Taco trio from Lo Que Hay in Playa Samara, Costa Rica.  I don’t remember all the specifics, but one was blackened fish, one was veggie, and one was wasabi shrimp.  All delicious, but I’m bummed they changed their chips from house-made to obviously store-bought!

Day 25 - Veggie Nachos from Lake Arenal Microbrewery in Costa Rica.  I allow eggs and dairy on vacation, and ordered these delicious nachos with cheese, black beans, avocado, pico de gallo, and hearts of palm.

Day 24 - Airport breakfast.  Back from vacation and playing catch up!  I had made hummus and veggie wraps to take with on the plane, but totally forgot them in the fridge as we left our house at 5:55am!  Had to make due with airport food, which is extremely limited.  Found this fruit and cheese tray which is obviously not vegan, but is vegetarian and soy-free!

Day 23 - Hummus Wrap (again, using up leftovers!) - homemade smoked hummus, mixed greens, roasted broccoli, carrots, and onion with the last bits of a potato chip bag and TJ’s salsa.

Day 22 - Homemade Pizza.  I love pizza, and I keep experimenting with cheese-free options.  I used Trader Joe’s Garlic & Herb pizza dough again, pre-baking it longer than it says to ensure a crisp crust (success!), coated with tomato sauce (canned, also from TJ’s) and topped with artichoke hearts, basil, Kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, and dollops of cashew ricotta cheese (http://www.simple-veganista.com/2012/10/cashew-ricotta-cheese.html).  This was a winner!

Day 21 - Wild Rice Casserole.  Wild rice, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, leftover shredded beets, and homemade roux from olive oil, garbanzo bean flour, almond milk, and leftover fresh rosemary.  I usually include tuna as well, but it’s likely I’ll be eating a good amount of seafood in the coming week, so I left it out.

Day 20 - Roasted Salmon with fingerling potatoes, Swiss chard, and marinated mushrooms in a curry sauce (tasted like traditional green curry.)  Admittedly, I did not ask if it was dairy/egg-free, but I’m pretty sure it was.  The only other item on the menu I think I could’ve eaten was a quinoa salad, but I eat enough quinoa at home, and I hadn’t had any fish this week yet.

Day 19 - The Luna Pizza from Mucci’s (Friday cheat day). Taleggio cheese, black truffle, mushrooms, pine nuts, and chives on their delicious Montanara-style crust.