WIAW: Eats & POTUS

Hey guys! How’s your week been? I feel like the past few days have been a whirlwind for me. Who knew the second week of school could be so busy?! As you might have noticed from my post title or recent tweets, President Obama visited my college campus today! Yeah, I know, super awesome. I really don’t think it matters what political party you side with, it’s just cool to have the president visit your school. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see him in person, because I was working studio crew for the campus TV station, but I got to listen to his entire speech and it blew me away. I honestly don’t want to get into politics, but he had some really good points and is just a great speaker overall. So…yeah. I was also on standby to do a quick weather update, since it was so hot that people waiting in line to see Obama were passing out (!) but unfortunately I didn’t get to do it. It was still an exciting experience though.

Anyways, here are some random food pics from throughout the week. I almost never can remember to take photos of all my meals in one day so this is definitely not all eaten in one day!

Mixed greens. Mini sweet peppers. Edamame. Spicy peanut sauce.

Let me just say that everything tastes better with spicy peanut sauce. This one was made with Whole Foods brand peanut sauce (bonus: it’s actually vegan), a little sriracha and some lime juice. Easy peasy.

Raw cookie from Whole Foods. Dates. Coconut. Goji berries. Cacao nibs.

The Whole Foods in my college town has an even better assortment of vegan cookies than the one at home! This raw one was interesting, definitely not as good as the chocolate chip but still delicious.

Pinto beans. Fresh-roasted Hatch chiles. Kale. Mini sweet peppers. Spicy guac. Homemade grain-free coconut flour mini biscuits.

This was a super simple chili I whipped up over the weekend and it actually turned out pretty great. The biscuits did too! I wish I could say I made up the recipe, but I didn’t. They remind me of little corn muffins, but they’re completely grain free and vegan too. It’s hard to cook with coconut flour and no eggs but these turned out great, if a little crumbly.

Kelp noodles. Cheezy cashew sauce. Nooch.

I’ve been really intrigued by kelp noodles lately, and I finally took the plunge last weekend and bought them from Whole Foods. Verdict: really interesting, but tasty. You have to rinse them first, to get rid of the seaweedy taste, and then soak whatever you don’t use, but they are pretty similar to al dente rice noodles and taste great with sauces. These were topped with a nooch and cashew based sauce, and then with even more nooch. What can I say, I love nooch! Kelp noodles are a good source of calcium and are only 6 calories per 4 ounces. So you could eat the entire package for under 20 calories, and then use the cals you saved to add a bunch of toppings. Because that’s what noodles should be, a vehicle for awesome sauces and stuff!

Sweet potato chocolate chip waffle. Buckwheat flour. Leftover sweet potato. Flax meal. Almond milk. Chocolate chips. Chocolate protein frosting.

This is my new favorite waffle combo. It always turns out thick and fluffy when I make them with buckwheat flour, plus it’s gluten-free (and technically grain free, since buckwheat is actually a seed). Don’t judge, but sweet potatoes and chocolate chips are an amazing flavor combo!

Whole Foods salad bar for dinner. Falafel. Broccoli slaw. Mediterranean kale salad. Edamame. Pumpkin seeds. California quinoa salad. Tofu ratatouille.

This Whole Foods salad bar did not disappoint! It was my first time at this particular one and I was definitely impressed by the array of vegan options. My favorite was the California quinoa salad–basically red quinoa, edamame, coconut shreds and a few other things. So good, and so worth the 5 bucks!

PB & J French toast. Sprouted sourdough. Crushed PB Puffins. Almond peanut cashew butter. Organic grape jelly. Side of vanilla protein frosting.

This was my second French toast experience ever. And I’m still loving it. This PB&J version was a total winner. I really love using sprouted sourdough for this because it adds a really different flavor to the dish.

Kelp noodles. Basil merlot marinara. Nooch. Sunshine sage & hemp veggie burger.

This was an Italian take on kelp noodles. I liked this even more than the cashew version, again, the nooch made it! This kind of reminded me of the traditional pasta dinner–spaghetti, red sauce and meatballs–but obviously a healthier, vegan, gluten-free version.

Parfait. So Delicious raspberry Greek coconut milk yogurt. Vanilla protein frosting. Nature’s Path sunrise vanilla cereal. Chopped fresh fig.

This was just a thrown together lunch, but it turned out so delicious. It was really random, but all the flavors worked together. Oh, and I got way too excited when I discovered the coconut milk Greek yogurt over the weekend. I’d seen it all over other blogs but finally got to try it for myself and it’s soooooooo good. Now I don’t miss normal Greek yogurt!

Have you ever seen a president (former or current) before? Would you try kelp noodles?