What We Ate Wednesday: Raw Mom, Vegan Baby, Veg Dogs

May 25th, 2011 - filed under: The Food » Food Styles




This past Monday I enjoyed another all-raw dining adventure, as I continue to work my way through this MMM and my current writing project. Waits doesn’t eat 100% raw with me, but he does eat a whole lot of raw foods, especially the green ones. That boy does love his greens . . .

I’m also including a peek into our furbaby’s diet, just for fun. Consider it a preview of the upcoming Veg Dog series.

Aaaaand, we’re off!



Coffee
Yup, I’m back on coffee. The truth is that I just love it too damn much to deprive myself, at least not when I’m under this much pressure. These days I drink it iced and that way, at least the agave and almond milk that I add to it remains raw.




Baby Breakfast
Waits had a scoop of oatmeal mixed with peanut butter (ohmigod, SO GLAD to be over the possible-peanut-butter-allergy hump, whew!) and topped with coconut milk and hemp seeds.




Dog Breakfast
I was out of my homemade dog food – “dog soup” we call it – so I whipped up a quick pot of oatmeal for the pooches. Did you know that oatmeal is a complete protein?

They each got an egg from the ladies as well.




Smoothie
I was recipe testing for the book, so this one was all fancy pants:



Oooh, exotic superfruit powder, aren’t you impressed?! But whatevs, as soon as I tasted it and confirmed it was awesome-sauce (it was awesome-sauce!), I reblended it up Rebhal-style. Ha!



The finished concoction had Brazil nut milk, bananas, acaí powder, hemp protein powder, a lot of kale seedlings from my garden, and vegan vitamin k2 (for baby bones and teeth!)

This is what Waits looked like by the end of the meal:



And of course, the dogs were more than happy to help with the clean-up (they’re so thoughtful):




Second Breakfast
One of the things I’ve had to do now that I’m eating raw, is re-calibrate my food flow. I definitely eat more often . . . which is fine by me! I had a small bowl of homemade multi-grain gRAWnola (oh haha, get it?!), while Waits was offered some nanner with almond butter.



Which he promptly offered along to those lucky beggars . . . so I gave him some kale chips instead:



. . . which he adores.

WARNING: We interrupt this edition of WIAW to bring you a test of the emergency cuteness system. This is only a test:





*sigh*

Okay, back on our regularly-scheduled posting, I spilled some sprouted oat groats as I was transferring them from the dehydrator. Luckily I have two hoovers!




I also prepped a few items for later.

Sprouted lentils spread atop the dehydrator to dry:



And my dinner, into the dehydrator for 6 hours:




Juice!
After our walk it was time to juice. This was a simple mixture made up of 1 red leaf lettuce “heart”, a bunch of parsley, and 2 persian cucumbers. With a twist of lime. Yum! Waits really liked this one (also, he’s finally getting the whole straw thing, yay!)




While we drank our juice I got the doggie dinner started. My “dog soup” base is a 17-legume blend, to which I add all manner of items, depending on, well, all manner of things. This batch included the legumes, a few days worth of juice pulp, 1.5 bunches worth of kale stems (chopped), safflower oil, an enormous bunch of parsley, some nutritional yeast, and some seaweed.




Afternoon Eats
Following our errands and chores, and a failed attempt at a second nap, Waits and I split a veggie plate. Red bells, carrots, and sugar snap peas from the Farmer’s Market. The sauce is an almond and tahini-based creation.



Waits sure had fun feeding it to his buddies:




Afternoon Tea
I kept my caffeine lighter later in the day. Looseleaf green sencha with a bag of my favorite herbal (Peach Passion) thrown in for flavor, then served over ice.




Dinner
I had a spring sorrel and sun dried tomato quiche, served in a savory herbed quinoa flour crust. Yes, it was as good as it sounds!



Of course it was accompanied by a beast of a salad: red butter leaf lettuce, purple onion, persian cucumbers, red bell pepper, and sprouted lentils. Amen.




Baby Dinner
I’d made Damian a breakfast-for-dinner sloppy breakfast burrito, because he is being such an awesome-amazing-supportive husband as I go a little crazy with writing this book under deadline. So Waits got a few (baked) breakfast potatoes, a few bits of (baked) tofu, some kale chips, and some cucumbers drizzled with hemp oil and sprinkled with sesame seeds. He ate a ton – diversity is key, I’m learning. He eats more when there’s a bunch of different options.




Doggie Din-Din
The dogs enjoyed two steaming bowls of fresh soup, but if I left you with pictures of that as the final image, I wouldn’t be a very nice person.


And that, my friends, is that! What have you been eating lately? What was the very best meal you had last weekend?

  • zannie

    I know coffee isn’t raw, because it is roasted, but have you heard about cold-brewing? It’s simply mixing coffee and water and leaving it overnight. They say that it gets almost the whole aroma of traditionally made coffee, but much less acids. It tastes a bit different and is much nicer for the internal bits that normal coffee usually disagrees with.

  • Sam

    Sayward, as a college senior with my thesis due TOMORROW, I’m glad you’re back on coffee for your sake; I don’t know what I’d do without it! Or without brown rice, oatmeal, and fresh farmer’s market veggies, for that matter.

    With all the thesis stress, I’ve done embarrassingly poorly at the MMM… but I DID get a job at my town’s Farmer’s Market (named the best one in Columbus, OH); I work at the herb stand! Ahhh… now every Saturday morning for five hours, I stand in front of three long tables chock full of dozens of herbs… I tend to hang out near the basil and rosemary… those mornings are kind of amazing.

    I know people have said this before, but I love how in some pictures, Waits looks exactly like you (Emergency cute-ness, hello?!) and in others he looks EXACTLY like Damian (sitting on the stairs feeding veggies to the dogs) lol.

    @zannie, just to play Devil’s Advocate a little, I’ve always found that toddy-brewerd, or cold-brewed coffee is much, much worse on my internal digestive-y bits than hot coffee, or hot coffee that’s been iced. No idea why! It does taste delicious though…

    Happy Wednesday all!

  • zannie

    @Sam: oh, that’s disappointing! I wouldn’t know, I don’t drink coffee at all (I’m a black tea fiend). But I wrote an article about cold-brewing a while ago and thought it might be interesting. I guess everyone has to find out for themselves.
    Good luck with the thesis! :)

  • Sam

    @zannie Thanks!! 24 more hours of thesis work, haha. I’m trying to get into iced black and green tea for summer, since I tend to not drink enough water…

  • http://Www.bibsnbonnets.com Lisa

    Waits is soooo cute! Those curls! I’m really intrigued by the Veg Dog diet, as someone who has worked in a specialty/organic pet food store. Our owner refused to sell vegetarian or vegan dog food because it was almost nothing but grain, which is generally not great for doggies. (We sold a LOT of raw dog food, hah.) So I’m happy to see you make your own and that it’s legume based. Also, PLEEEEASE share that quiche recipe?! :D

  • Annie

    @Lisa; oats are grains, not legumes.

    Kinda off topic and excuse the ladies issues if you have a problem with them, but I’ve had assumed endometriosis since puberty (11). I had a laparoscopy today and they found nothing, which is bittersweet as I *don’t* have endometriosis, but I *do* have extremely irregular ‘girlies’ [as we call them in my family :)] and a whole bunch of pain, bloating and bitchiness with no apparent cause. So, after I have recovered from surgery, I am going atleast substantially RAW (why not now? it’s winter and I refuse to go without soup for the netx couple days), focussing on pms and period pain reducing foods and supplements, exercising more and just trying to be generally better at eating and living. If anyone has some suggestions or recommendations that have worked for them/friends, let me know!

    PS. Waits is so friggin cute, and I am oh so relieved that it is all clear for me have someone that cute some day!

  • Serenity

    Can you not make “Sun Coffee?” Put the coffee in a clear container and set it out in the sun. That way it can brew all day.

  • http://mamasthyme.blogspot.com/ Lydia

    Your blog is so much fun, and so inspiring! Your son is definitely a cutie. We are just starting the journey of going more vegetarian (my husband is a die-hard meat and potatoes guy) and our garden is churning out lots of ingredients for some raw meals :-)

  • Jacquelyn

    Waits = the most adorable baby ever.

  • Lisa

    @Annie, I know that, I was referring to her “dog soup.”

  • Nicole

    Um so I have to agree with everyone that Waits is beyond cuteness, he’s as precious as a kid can get! Anyways I am very interested in learning a lot more about the doggie food. I would love to experiment more with that so please share ALL your info.

  • http://spabettie.com Kristina @ spabettie

    I’m so glad Waits is making sure your pups eat well! :)

    and GOOD LORD, he is so SO cute. once again love all the photos – everything looks delicious!

    I am becoming quite the seasoned recipe tester (for two cookbooks so far!) so… if you ever need help…

  • http://katehateseverything.blogspot.com Kate in SB

    I kinda want to do a parody ‘What I Ate Wednesday’ post and take pictures of all the horrible things I’m eating. (No offense to you, just to be funny.) Free pizza from a seminar at work, a handful of peanut M&Ms, half a can of Simple Times beer, etc.

    Seriously though, congrats on being able to walk the walk with the raw food thing. Great pictures too.

  • http://peasandcrayons.blogspot.com Jenn L @ Peas and Crayons

    This rocks! My mom’s pup has crazy food allergies (which… most dogs do when they’re fed any type of kibbles… even the natural ones have their flaws. boo!) and she cooks for the pup daily — I love the idea of the doggie soup! I’ll have to check if beans are on her trigger list! Flax is.. and a lot of veggies are for some strange reason (noo avocado for my pup. poor baby!) anywho – rambling again! Great post! <3

  • http://peasandcrayons.blogspot.com Jenn L @ Peas and Crayons

    haha ps: tell katie above that she can totally do a parody WIAW — I love them all <3

  • Selina

    Your baby is oh-so-cute! Love the curls!

    We’ve been working on just getting more (ideally raw) fruits and veggies over here…the hardest part is just keeping produce “in stock”! But we’ve been having a lot of fun with trying new juice and smoothie combinations; we just finished drinking the red cabbage/cuke/orange juice from your recent post. I re-named it “Purple Princess Power Juice” and my daughter loved it. So did I! Super yummy. :)

  • http://catnip13.blogspot.com/ Catnip

    K absolutely devoured her dinner the other night – I made her a rainbow salad plate – strawberries and bell peppers, oranges and carrots, thawed frozen corn and apriums, blanched broccoli, zucchini and snap peas, blueberries and purple cabbage, with tofu ‘clouds’ and a little dish each of cashew cream and hummus for dipping.

  • http://windycityvegan.wordpress.com Monika {windycityvegan}

    Waits is beyond cute! And if I wasn’t already planning on buying your uncook book, I would do it just for that quiche recipe.

    @Annie: Have you tried going gluten free? I know it’s sort of the trendy thing to do right now, but I was recently diagnosed with non-Celiac gluten intolerance and I feel a bajillion times better now – problems are clearing up that I was so accustomed to living with that I’d forgotten they aren’t normal. (Including ‘girlie’ issues.) I went back to high raw at the same time I went completely gluten free, and I’m sure that being raw has helped speed my recovery.

    @Kristina: Who have you tested for (or are you currently testing for)? I wonder if we’ve tested for some of the same people…

    @Kate in SB: Do it! I would love to see a parody WIAW.

  • http://www.iheartvegetables.wordpress.com Liz @ IHeartVegetables

    Haha awww what a cute post!!! I love the little guy eating the smoothie :) Aren’t Vitamixes the best EVER?! I make a smoothie at least once a day!

  • http://iwannarockyourgypsysoul.blogspot.com tara

    the top cuteness pic is definitely a senior-yearbook contender. possibly the cutest (to me) that you’ve ever posted, and that’s saying something.

  • Rebecca

    Oh man…everytime I see your food stuffs I get major envy (and a bit of embarrassment!). I love love LOVE cooking but as a singleton I get super-lazy (also not super cost-effective to cook. I usually just have something boring…). But, honestly, I blame it more on my cramped kitchen. Oh…to have a nice large kitchen with room for all of my various cooking (or un-cooking!) accoutrements to be at the ready! (juicer, dehydrator, blender, food processor..and on and on). A gal can dream can’t she?

  • Annie

    @ Lisa, sorry about that, somewhow I didn’t even *notice* the legume soup. I think my post-surgery haze was making me a little bit more vague than I realised… I also got into the shower wearing socks, haha!

    @ Monika, thank. I am mostly gluten free, just because of the food I eat regularly/like, but I will give that a try. Frankly, I’ll give pretty much anything a try considering the only other medical option is pain medication, and I’m not really keen on taking pain medicine every 3 weeks for the next 20-30 years. It’s good to hear suggestions from lots of sources, different things work for different women.

  • http://exoticdonkeymeat.com Kate

    a note on your incredibly cute child eating more:

    ‘they’ (foodie folks) have done studies with kids. They’ve offered kids *just* pretzels, or *just* cheeze its or *just* crackers, and the kids limit themselves. When you offer the kids a ‘munchie mix’ with the three combined, kids eat more than 2x what they would eat if you just offered one option (this helps explain why we’re all fat when it comes to plenty of obese americans buying cheap junk food). Ironic how even healthy food it works too :)

  • http://windycityvegan.wordpress.com Monika {windycityvegan}

    @Annie: I’ll admit that gluten free is not the end-all be-all panacea that many purport it to be – but it certainly won’t hurt to try! I hope you find a non-invasive/chemical solution.

  • Minna

    Mmmmm… that quiche looks de-li-cious!

    And that kid is not only beyond cutenes, as Nicole put it, he’s also really got some style! Just like mommy :) Flirting with the camera like that – super! And those cheeks!

    When my dog was still alive, my mom used to make him oatmeal mixed with our leftovers and he loved it :) About homemade dog food though… Do you just feed them that dog-soup now or do they sometimes get meat-based pet food from the store? I was just curious if they get all their dog vitamins and important dog nutrients (obviously I’m not familiar with dog nutrition) they need from homemade dog food? :)

    Also, great article on VegNews! I’m full of inspiration again!

  • Suzy

    Waits is SUCH a cutie! Ah! But Sayward, we are missing your fashion, what have you been wearing lately? Update us!

  • Jacquelyn

    I agree with Suzy! Weren’t you going to tell us about dressing your post-pregnant bod?! Inquiring minds need to know :)

  • http://zerowastelifestyle.blogspot.com Sonja

    you are one industrious mama-love your blog-love the ideas

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com Sayward

    I seriously *love* how popular these posts are. WIAW is so fun! IF any of you guys are bloggers, you should totally play along. And leave me a link in the comments here – even if it’s a parody, Kate! =D

    @ zannie – Cold brewing is *definitely* on my list of summer projects to try.

    @ Sam – Aw, working at the FarMar must be so amazing! Also congrats on the thesis, you better have an amazing weekend now. =)

    @ Lisa – Yeah, I’m surprised by how grains-based the commercial veg dog foods are. My boys only get grains as oatmeal, or in something if I share leftovers. As for the quiche, that’s an uncookbook exclusive, sorry!

    @ Annie – I feel like I have really been able to manage my hormones (which were all over the place after Waits was born) through healthy eating, and especially raw. So I have high hopes for you – good luck!

    @ Serenity – You can! And I will this summer, but still the beans themselves have been roasted before you buy them. ;-)

    @ Lydia – Yay, good luck with the veg adventures!

    @ Jacquelyn – Thanks. =)

    @ Nicole – Dog feeding info is coming soon, I hope next month!

    @ Kristina – Ooh, thanks for the offer, I’ll keep that in mind for future projects. Also, I was so excited to win the NuNaturals giveaway on your blog! I got the package yesterday and omg this stuff is hella good! =D

    @ Kate in SB – Parody! Do it!

    @ Jenn L – Yeah, I suspect a wheat allergy in both my dogs, I think canine allergies are much more common that people realize!

    @ Selina – Making ure there’s always an abundance of fresh produce is one of my biggest tricks! If it’s around I gobble it up because I don’t want it to go bad, haha.

    @ Catnip – Rainbow plate sounds amazing! I’m really looking forward to when Waits is a little older and we can do snack plates like that. =)

    @ Monika – Aw, thanks lady! Also re: gluten free, I have also noticed such a difference! Especially regarding my mood swings around my girly cycle . . .

    @ Liz – Vitamix is my favorite thin gin the world, I may sleep curled up with mine if there wasn’t already a baby in my bed. I <3 it SO MUCH

    @ tara – I know, I love that little smirky smile, what a look!

    @ Rebecca – I hear ya, it can be really hard in a tiny kitchen. We all do the best with what we have to work with! =)

    @ Kate – Iiiiinteresting. And really, that just makes so much sense, logically.

    @ Minna – The dogs are entirely vegetarian now. They are mostly vegan with eggs from our hens a few times a week. Dogs are a lot like people and are opportunistic scavengers just like us. That means that they/we are biological omnivores and functional whatever-is-in-front-of-me-pretty-much-works-ivores.

    @ Suzy & Jacquelyn – Ack! I know, I can’t believe how long it’s been. I wear boring stuff in winter! Okay, I’ll get on it, thanks for the reminder!

    @ Sonja – Thanks!

  • catherine

    I imagine it has something to do with Waits being the most beautiful baby but I just love this post…love it

  • Rossella

    hi there – just popped by by chance… My lill one is 18 months she’s primarily vegan and been eating all sort of food I gave her but she’s getting fussier recently….would love to read about different recipes you do for Waits can I find these anywhere else (a part from this post here…)??
    cheers by supa-vegan mum

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Hey Rossella, yay for vegan babes! I haven’t really done toddler-specifc recipes, but if you look through my “What We Ate Wednesday” posts, there’s tons of good ideas for kid-friendly foods. Check ‘em out! – http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/tag/wiaw/

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