What We Ate Wednesday: Sunday Family Funday (What A Vegan Family Eats)

May 25th, 2016 - filed under: The Food » Food Styles

Hello dears, where did the past two weeks go?? I’ve been busy wrapping up this quarter, grading midterms and preparing for finals, and yesterday I taught my last discussions of the year! Wahoo! BRING ON SUMMER!

So yeah, I’ve been busy busy in grad school, and also I’ve been intentionally practicing pleasure-seeking. Like, as an activity. Like, as a priority. I’m the type of person who is ever practical, always putting work before play, but in light of recent battles with major stress and anxiety, I say — no more! I am making space for pure pleasure. I am gardening. I am spring cleaning. I am spellcasting, wild-food-foraging, Netflix binge-watching (Gilmore Girls finally!) and all sorts of other delicious self care. It’s wonderful and worth it, but it does tend to diplace other activities, such as blogging.

Ah well, I’m sure you understand. There’s only so many hours in a day, and sometimes putting on a podcast for mid-morning weeding in the spring sunlight just has to take priority over staying inside and writing. But hey, now I’m back! And speaking of only so many hours in the day . . . here’s how we spent a recent Sunday, the whole little family all together:


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The face I get to wake up to. He’s holding a stack of fridge magnets, which I’m told are actually a “Magical Morpher”.


During the week I get up early to get Waits ready for school, and we let Jeremy sleep in late because he needs and deserves it for all his hard work, and also there’s no use in both of us being tired. But Sunday? Sunday is my day to sleep in, and my boys creep out of bed to let me snooze away in absolute bliss. Mmmmmm Sunday mornings are GOOD.


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Breakfast crumbs and my precious french roast.


Waits had already eaten breakfast by the time I got up, but I’m told he had 2 slices of whole grain toast with vegan butter (we love Dave’s Killer Bread) and a side of organic soy milk.


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All the things.


After showering and getting myself ready to hit the road, I whipped us up a quick “road smoothie”. See, we were on our way to LA, and it would be about 2 hours until we had lunch. No worries, my standard smoothie packs quite a punch with oat milk, strawberries, bananas, kale, peanut butter, protein powder, plus vitamins and minerals (D, K2, Cal-Mag, zinc, and a probiotic — if you’re wondering which supplements I use and why, here’s the post on that).


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Maca and Ashwagandha are both incredible herbal supports for stressed out, anxious, over-worked, adrenal-fatigued bodies.


After I pour Waits his smoothie, I add these supplements and re-blend. Jeremy and I are stretched pretty thin these days, and adaptogens like these keep our bodies semi-balanced amidst all the chaos.


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Sweet Hercules says “Please don’t go away, guys!”.


But away we go, into the car, road trip tunes blasting, south along the beautiful Pacific Coast. We saw dolphins off of Rincon Point and wildflowers all along the bluffs. It’s a beautiful drive and before we knew it we were in La-La Land. First stop, VEGGIE GRILL!


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My two verymost favorites, patiently awaiting their meal.


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Waits is pretty predictable. Mac n’ cheese with fries, natch.


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Side of buffalo, because duh buffalo.


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Jeremy got the southwestern cheeseburger with seasoned fries.


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And I got the BLAT, kale style (no bun), with sweet potato fries.


If I’m being totally honest, this was not the best Veggie Grill experience. I’m not goint to rehash it here but if you’re interested, I wrote about it on Instagram (I do a lot of microblogging there, you should follow me!)

After lunch we were off on another adventure — to the California Science Center! It’s one of Waits’s favorite places, and a place we visit as often as we can. As a family of scientists (Jeremy double majored in biology and chemistry before he got into wine) it’s something we all love, and this place just never disappoints. We spent hours roaming the exhibits, playing with the demos, and filling our brains with science!


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In the entrance hall.


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Marine bio out on the mezzanine.


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Space!


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Fun with chemistry.


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Fun with physics.


It was fun fun fun all around, so much so that Waits even got a little bit hungry again. Jeremy and I were wanting some re-caffeination, so it was a perfect opportunity to hit the snack shop and take a minute to relax out in the sun.


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Snapeas and Califia, oooooh yeah.


By then it was late afternoon/early evening, and we were ready for the last leg of our adventure. We had plans to meet up with some friends — some very SEXY friends — for a vegan Vietnamese feast.


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My first time experiencing Vinh Loi Tofu, after year and years of hearing about it. Weeeee!!!


The plan was for us to swing by and grab the food, and then take it over to our pals’ house for a backyard picnic. Restaurant eating is tough when there are multiple energetic weegans to wrassle.


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Everyone in the restaurant was wearing some sort of vegan message tee, haha.


And who were we meeting? Well Mr Sexy Vegan himself, Brian Patton of course! And his wonderful wife Desiree, and their adorable little weegan Oliver. We’d hung out with Brian and Desiree a bunch of times at various festivals and events, but this was our first time meeting their little one.


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HEART. BREAKER. I swear vegan kids come out cuter (Just kidding! Oh god don’t send me angry emails!)


So of course, we hung out for like, hours, but there was Vietnamese and there were rugrats and alas, not a single picture of grown-up people was taken. Oh well, at least I got the food!


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Jeremy and I split two soups, the curry soup (left) and a pho (right) plus some tofu spring rolls. Waits had pad thai (behind the spring rolls) and a big side of cubed tofu (not pictured).


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Closeup of the incredible curry soup mmmmmmm I want it again right now.


A great meal with great company, and it was so nice to hang with Brian and Desiree away from all the madness of a formal event. ♥


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Boys playing like boys do . . . rough!


We left after dark and despite the 2-hour drive home, Waits stayed wide awake. Buuuuut he was asleep pretty much as soon as his head hit the pillow, and I crept out to the kitchen to make myself my new favorite bedtime drink.

You guys I drink this like every night, it’s the best thing ever!


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Ginger-turmeric tisane.


I take a 1-inch nub of fresh ginger, skin it, chop it, and drop it in the bottom of my mug. Then I do the same to a 1-inch nub of fresh turmeric. Then I add a glug of maple syrup and the juice of one medium lemon. I mash the roots into the maple-lemon, using a cocktail muddler (any blunt object will do) and really get them good and mashed. Then I add boiling water and usually some sort of medicinal tea bag, like my hormonal balance blend or an favorite immune booster. The tea doesn’t really matter since the flavor is mostly overpowered by the lemon and roots, but I love my medicinal teas so I usually add one. Also sometimes a splash of bourbon, when I’m feeling feisty.

A perfect nightcap to end another long, lovely day.

♥ ♥ ♥

  • Kati

    Haha I was so hoping you would recommend a splash of bourbon or whiskey in that nightly tea, sounds awesome!

  • http://www.dayattheshore.blogspot.com Mrs. D.

    Love the glimpse into your daily meals! Gives me the encouragement that it can be done (still new to the scene and still on the fence about it, to be honest). Looks like a fun day for your family, too. Cheers!

  • lysette

    Restorative getaway! Hercules soft fuzzy muzzle <3 That space exhibit picture is so cool!

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

    Happy summer! I had no idea how much stress and anxiety and mental garbage I was hauling around until this semester’s exams were over. Blech.

    Gilmore Girls! I think Ni and I have watched the series all the way through three times.

    We’re heading out to Cali in a few weeks, once I figure out which part of the state we’ll be in I might hit you up for museum recommendations.

    Also, that tea looks fab. I make mine with fresh ginger and lemon, but I can imagine that the addition of turmeric is fantastic. We eat so much of it that I never think to add it to my tea, but I’ll give it a try.

  • Bianca Phillips

    Ooooh, I must try that nightcap — maybe tonight! Been dealing with lots of inflammation lately from running injuries and have a half-marathon this Saturday. That drink would help! Thanks for the idea.

    Sucks that Veggie Grill sucked. I went in Seattle last March, and that location was on point. Got the Harvest Bowl and it was amazing. Also had a great experience at the one in Portland in 2013 (when we were there for VVC). But we don’t have them down here, so it’s been awhile. I hope it was just a fluke! Or just an issue with that location!

  • j.

    Totally out of topic but today I came into this and I automatically thought of you! (podcast related).

    http://www.racistsandwich.com/episodes/2016/3/21/e1-bertony-faustin

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Awesome, will check it out!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    It is sooo good, let me know if you try it! It’s my favorite way to consume turmeric. =)

    Yeah, I think there’s a lot of variation by location. I have since heard similar stories from that particular VG, so hopefully it’s just that place and not store-wide.

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    I am sooooo ready for this quarter to be over! I heart summer because it is my lowest anxiety time of year. And I am ready for it like whoa.

    But wait, HELLO you’re going to be in California??? Where?? Is there any way we can meet up, because that would be amazing! Please let me know k?

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Thanks Lysette! Hope you’re having a great week. ♥

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Oh awesome, yes welcome to the veg scene! It can definitely be done but also, remember that every little bit helps. It’s not all or nothing and it’s not black or white. It’s a series of small habitual changes that you can incorporate slowly, over time. No pressure, just do whatever works for you at whatever speed feels fun and comfortable. Good luck with everything and remember there’s a huge online community if you have any questions!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    But of course! ;-)

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

    Umm, YES, we should totally meet up!! The relatives we are/were going to visit in June live just outside of San Francisco, BUT they are moving to Hawaii at the end of the month and so we are probably going to visit them in their new digs instead(!!) in December, for Nina’s birthday.

    I also have family south of Los Angeles, and since we will fly through LAX on our way to/from Hawaii anyway, we have decided to tack on two or three days to explore the LA area, probably in mid-December on our way to Hawaii.