WIAW: Loving Lately

Happy WIAW! I swear, this year’s gonna be over before I know it. I can’t believe I’m already almost done with midterms, am about to sign up for classes for next semester and Christmas is almost 2 months away. I’m one of those crazy people who can’t wait for it to be the holiday season so I’m already counting down to Thanksgiving. But can you blame me, I need a break!

Unlike my most recent WIAWs, this one isn’t documenting what I ate on a certain day. I used to like doing that but then I always ended up posting similar items each week. I don’t feel like I eat the same things all the time, but I almost always end up taking pictures of the same things. So this week is all about what I’ve been loving on lately.

Apple nachos. Half a sliced Jazz apple. Peanut flour drizzle. Mini chocolate chips. Raisins. Maple almonds.

Not much to say about these, except you’ve gotta try them. They take apples to a whole new level!

One minute coconut flour carrot cake. Coconut flour. Chopped carrots. Cinnamon. Chopped dates. Ground flax. Almond milk. Peanut flour paste.

This was a microwave cake, but I’m working on a vegan, grain free coconut flour based carrot cake for the oven. Stay tuned!

Coffee roasted squash seeds. Ground coffee. Kabocha seeds. Maple syrup. Coconut oil.

These were even better than the original squash seeds. But then again, anything coffee-flavored is.

Dirty chai waffle. Buckwheat and almond flours. Cinnamon and nutmeg. Ground coffee. Raw cacao powder. Topped with raw pumpkin chocolate protein frosting, mini chocolate chips, fresh figs and maple syrup.

What’s dirty chai? Apparently it’s chai tea mixed with espresso, and this waffle was inspired by that delicious combo. The best part of any waffle is the toppings though!

Roasted kabocha with peanut flour drizzle. Coconut flour microwave cake crumbles. Frozen grapes. Alter Eco dark mint chocolate. Justin’s vanilla almond butter.

This snackplate style lunch was perfect right before class. This week I roasted my first kabocha and I’ve gotta say that now I understand the addiction. The texture is a little weird but it’s so tasty!

Kale topped with nooch.

So simple, so good. Seriously, try this and you will be amazed how good kale can be when topped with plenty of nooch.

My macros. So proud of that 25% protein!

I don’t really talk macros on here much, but I really love tracking mine. Usually my carbs are around 45%, protein at 20% and fat at 35%, it’s just what works for me. But there are a few days that I definitely love my protein and fats more. Who says you can’t get enough protein as a vegan?!

Spicy Italian-style kelp noodles. Sauteed kale. Half a chopped Field Roast Mexican chipotle vegan sausage. Nooch. Olives. Spicy harissa hummus. Kelp noodles. Basil pasta sauce.

Who knew I’d end up loving kelp noodles even more than my beloved quinoa pasta? It’s really just so cool how kelp noodles are pasta-like but are made from a sea veggie instead of grains. I love having them any way, but the Italian way is my fave. Bring on the olives and the nooch!

Whole Foods salad bar box. Crushed homemade tortilla chips (the best!). Curried wild rice. Cold sweet potato salad. Coconut curry tofu. Orange chipotle tofu. Calabasitas (mixed grilled squash).

I wish this weren’t true, but the Whole Foods salad bar at my home WF is so much better than the one at the WF near school. I love the store near school, but the salad bar rarely has many tasty vegan options like the one at home has. As you can probably guess, this particular box was from a weekend trip home.

What foods have you been loving lately? What do your macros look like (if you track them)?

Vegan MoFo: Sweet & Salty Squash Seeds

You know something’s good when you can’t stop eating it straight out of the oven!

If you’ve ever roasted your own pumpkin seeds before, you know how addictingly delicious they are. They’re almost impossible to screw up (seriously, even burned ones taste good) and they’re incredibly customizable. And they’re a fall tradition in my family. Every year around Halloween, we’d carve giant pumpkins and set them outside with candles inside. But before we could carve them, we had to gut them first. Kinda gross, but the reward was the tons of seeds we’d find inside. We’d set them out on plates overnight to dry and then the next day my mom would roast them in a secret blend of spices that tasted amazing together.

It’s not quite Halloween yet, but I was still in the mood for some roasted seeds…without all the pumpkin guts. When I bought a carnival squash the other day to roast, I realized it came with a bunch of seeds. Um, light bulb moment–I could try roasting squash seeds! Squash seeds are generally smaller than pumpkin seeds, but that means that they take less time to roast and are easier to remove from the squash. But they taste just as good, if not better, than pumpkin seeds. I decided to go with a sweet and salty take for this batch, and of course they’re vegan as all my recipes are. But they’re also much healthier than typical roasted seed recipes that call for lots of oil or butter and sugar. A little goes a long way in this recipe, but the end product is worth eating straight off the pan.

Told you I ate some of them straight off the pan!

Sweet & Salty Squash Seeds (vegan, gluten-free, grain-free)

seeds from 1 squash (or multiple squashes, if you want to make more)

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp coconut oil

sprinkle sea salt, to taste

In a bowl, mix the seeds, maple  syrup and coconut oil until seeds are sticky and coated. Sprinkle sea salt on top and taste to make sure it has the perfect balance of sweet and salty. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet in an oven preheated to 400 degrees. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, making sure the sugar doesn’t burn too much (full disclosure: mine did, but they still taste great). Remove from oven and let cool (or just eat right away!) and store in a plastic bag. Makes about 1/4 to 1/3 cup seeds.

This is another small batch recipe, just because squashes don’t produce many seeds but you can always use seeds from more squashes and just up the amount of maple syrup and coconut oil you use. These seeds have just enough natural sugar and salt to taste amazing but aren’t loaded down with unhealthy ingredients. Plus squash seeds, like pumpkin seeds, are full of healthy plant-based fats, so eat up!

Do you like to roast pumpkin seeds? What is your favorite flavor combo (like sweet & salty, etc.)?

Thanks for all your amazing comments on my last post! I think it’s cool that you think it’s cool that I’m on TV 😀