Before I get to the best party of every week, I wanted to share a little news with you guys. I’ll be doing a couple reviews (with a possible giveaway) within the next week so look forward to that! I love entering giveaways and reading reviews so I’m really happy that companies have started to reach out to me to share their products with my readers.
Now onto the eats! I’ve been eating a lot of “new-to-me” stuff lately which I always love. I’m not really a creature of habit, I do know what I love and stick with that but I really like switching things up and trying out new food. I did some of that over spring break and apparently that trend is continuing this week.
Breakfast: chocolate coconut chia protein pudding topped with cacao nibs, shredded coconut and chocolate chip cherry torte Larabar.
The chia seed pudding obsession is going strong, but what’s new is the addition of (half of) this new-ish to me Larabar flavor. I tried the chocolate chip cherry torte flavor last summer and didn’t love it. But after having it a second time, I kinda like it. I pretty much hate anything cherry or cherry-flavored, so this is huge for me. Probably the chocolate chips are what make it ok 😉
Lunch: spinach salad with green garbanzos and balsamic.
The salad-for-lunch thing isn’t new (I’ve been eating one almost every day for three months!) but the green garbanzos sort of are! I bought some frozen ones from Whole Foods on a whim about a month ago and haven’t been using them a lot, but they’re really good in salads drizzled with balsamic vinegar. I’d love to try making falafel from them too!
Lunch side: half a pumpkin pie ALT Larabar.
If you have the new ALT bars near you, please try them! Especially this flavor. It reminds me of spice cake, and is really good and filling! Half of one made the perfect lunch dessert, and it had 5 grams of pea protein to boot (the entire bar has 10 grams). I love finding all-natural vegan protein bars that actually taste good!
Snack: snackplate of yellow carrot, maple mesquite sprouted walnuts, baked apple chips, Kaia buckwheat rawnola and Purely Elizabeth pumpkin fig GF granola, southwest ranch kale chips, peanut flour paste with mini dark chocolate chips.
The kale chips are semi-new (the southwest ranch flavor of Kale Krunch chips is unreal) and so are the apple chips and the cashew butter (the WF brand reminds me of cookie dough, but it’s just made from cashews and a little safflower oil!) but the real newbie is the yellow carrot. Can you believe I’d never had a whole carrot before a week ago? I spotted a bunch of tri-colored carrots at Whole Foods and just had to snag them. I don’t think I’m gonna rely on baby carrots so much anymore, I love the crunch of these full size carrots! And the fun color is just an added bonus.
This doesn’t look awkward at all…
‘Nuff said!
Grape Zevia.
I’ve been wanting to try this flavor for awhile, but I didn’t want to pay $5 for a 6 pack, in case I didn’t like it. Verdict: while it’s not my favorite flavor (that would be the cream soda) , it actually grew on me and I do like it. At first it reminded me of children’s Tylenol, but it’s actually pretty tasty!
Dinner: sauteed kale, sweet potato socca pizza.
Socca pizzas are a staple around here, but this was a first for me–a sweet socca pizza. I made my usual socca base (1/4 cup chickpea flour, salt, enough water to thin) and topped it with 1/4 of a mashed sweet potato mixed with almond milk and cinnamon, crumbled maple mesquite walnuts, shredded coconut and a drizzle of maple syrup. It was like dessert pizza for dinner, and it was oh so good!
These were actually all my meals for Monday, minus my nighttime snack (unpictured because it was eaten too late for a good photo to be taken), which was coconut flour mixed with a little baking powder, chocolate chips and almond milk and microwaved to make a coconut flour muffin, a square of Alter Eco dark mint chocolate, peanut flour paste and a date stuffed with cashew butter and cacao nibs. Nothing exciting, but I love it.
If you’ve tried Zevia, what’s your favorite flavor? Have you ever eaten a weird colored veggie?
almostveggirlie 
I definitely agree that baby carrots are not nearly as good as the big ones! And you’ve also reminded me that it’s been so long since I’ve had a socca pizza! I’ll change that once Passover is over 😉
Hahaha it’ll be over soon enough, right? At least in the meantime you can dream up the perfect socca pizza.
That’s good that you like to switch up your eats. All too often, I find myself stuck in ruts and eating the same things day in and day out, which isn’t any fun! And I’ve never heard of those ALT bars! I will have to be on the lookout because I am a big fan of Larabars.
I definitely recommend the ALT bars! They’re about the same texture as original Laras but I love the extra punch of natural protein, and the fact that they come in a pumpkin flavor.
Loving the snack plate and the pudding! I’ll have to keep an eye out for those ALT Larabars!
I found them at Sprouts, but they might be at Whole Foods and Trader Joes too!
I have no excuse, but I did not try chia pudding over spring break. I’m going home this weekend though. How do you recommend I prepare it? I’m kinda lost. 🙂
So basically I mix some protein powder/peanut flour (or you can just use cocoa powder or coconut flour) with 1-2 teaspoons of chia seeds and stevia (or whatever sweetener) and then add in just enough almond milk to thicken. If it’s too thin, I add in some coconut flour, and sometimes I add in other things like berries. I keep it in the fridge overnight and in the morning it’s really thick and perfect for eating!
thanks!
I love Zevia! I haven’t had it in a while but the creme soda and lemon-lime are probably my favorites! The orange soda one isn’t bad either! I wasn’t a fan of grape though…
Congrats on having the reviews & giveaways coming up! That’s super exciting. (:
I still haven’t tried the lemon lime but good to know that it’s really good!
Wow that breakfast sounds so good, chia and coconut? yummy town!
Would you believe I hated coconut a year ago? Now I’m clearly obsessed!
Hehe I was actually wondering if the grape Zevia tasted like cough syrup. I thought it might, which is why I didn’t bother buying it, but I think I might pick up a can just to see. RIght now, I’d have to say that the ginger ale or ginger root bear are my favourites, but I haven’t tried the cream soda one. I have a can sitting in my fridge, though, so my favorite might change soon!
Oh, I love the ginger root beer and the ginger ale too! The cola kinds are fine, but the cream soda is hands down my favorite. It reminds me of a ‘regular’ cream soda!
My favorite is definitely the ginger ale zevia – and that snack plate looks tasty! It’s funny, I had a Chocolate Chip Cherry Torte bar just the other day 🙂
I love the ginger ale one too, I totally thought I’d hate it but it’s actually really good.