Sooooo Expo! Expo West is the largest “natural living” trade show in the world; a 4-day extravaganza of healthy food, bath/body/beauty, supplements/wellness, cleaning/home, and any other eco-lifestyle product you can imagine, and it all takes place every March at the Anaheim convention center. It’s a bit of a shangri-la for those of us in the healthy-living community, and it’s always a totally wild, totally overwhelming, totally exciting adventure.

Whenever I go to Expo, I try to think of some creative or clever “angle” for my write-up. Should I forecast future health trends? Focus on new kid-friendly foods? Or maybe, like I was thinking of doing this year, write a think piece on the way that the health community is changing, returning to its crunchy “granola” roots.

But then, I also always feel like that’s kind of not what people really want? Like, on the years that I don’t get to go to Expo and all my friends are there, I’m not posting on social media asking them for their thoughtful analysis of the health and wellness industry. No . . .

I just want food pics! I want to know what’s new and I want to get excited about eating it!!

So this year, for this blog, that’s just what I’m doing. I’m sharing all the super awesome exciting delicious new vegan eats, because there’s a lot of them and it’s raaaaad! No lofty think pieces or fancy-pants analysis. I ate yummy food, and it’s coming soon to a grocers near you! So let me tell you what I loved the very most . . .




So can I just say? Follow Your Heart is KILL. ING. IT.

I grew up on this brand so they will always have a special place in my heart, but in the past few years they’ve completely upped their game with a series of seriously ground-breaking products being released on the regular. I mean, Vegenaise is my all-time favorite vegan mayo, and I love their cheeses – especially their block and sliced cheeses – and their gluten-free bread is the *best*. But apparently that’s only the beginning.




This new line of soy-free yogurts is awesome, and with fun uncommon flavors like piña colada, key lime, and strawberry rhubarb, they totally remind me of those Yoplaits from the 80s that came in a million different flavor combinations. I loved those! And these are the same — super fun and a nice departure from the old standards.




For those of you who already love the VeganEgg, you might be excite to learn that the product will soon be released in a liquid form! Just pour and go, easy peasy.




And the glorious pièce de résistance: ROCKET CAKES! Probably (okay definitely) my favorite new food find from Expo 2017, this is gluten free vegan pancake batter that comes ready to squeeze onto the griddle, just open and pour, no mixing no mess. And they are good.




From a big brand, to a baby brand — this was one of my favorite discoveries in the “New Vendors” exhibit hall. Elmhurst “milked nuts” offers a line of nut milks that are free of the gums, thickeners, emulsifiers, and other additives that are so common in plant-based milks. Each variety (almond, cashew, hazelnut, and walnut mmmm) is just water, nuts, cane sugar, and salt. And they’re sooooo delicious!





So like I said, Vegenaise has long been my favorite vegan mayo, which is why I was always reticent to try Sir Kensington’s Fabanaise, the new kid on the mayo block. But . . . WOW. This stuff is amazing! It uses aquafaba (whipped chickpea liquid), which gives an incredibly light and fluffy texture. Try the chipotle, it’s A++.






And speaking of mayo, the folks at Field Roast/Chao have an expansive new range of products, from Chao mayo and butter, to various mac ‘n cheeses (!!!), to fun frozen meat subs like buffalo tenders and mini corn dogs! Alas, they are gluten-full, so I wasn’t able to try them myself. However, I have it on good authority that the entire line is deeeeelicious.




I’m not one of those pumpkin spice people, but DANG these new cheesecakes were awesome.




Another favorite find from the “New Vendors” hall, these buffalo nut wings are unlike anything I’ve ever tasted and I could eat the whole bag in one sitting. Buffalo walnuts??! Why didn’t I think of that!




And finally, helloooo gluten-free ice cream sandwich cookies from Coconut Bliss! I’m thinking these will become a permanent fixture in my freezer, come summer.

And that’s it! The best of the [Expo] west, in my very humble opinion.

So now I’m curious — what are YOU most excited about? Something I’ve posted here? Something you saw in the flurry of Instagram photos that bloggers were posting from Expo? Or maybe . . . a thoughtful analysis of the health and wellness industry, eh? Lemme know!

8 years.

8 Years is a long time, and these past 8 of mine have been some of the most magnificent, and most harrowing, years of my life. In these 8 years I have loved, and lost, and loved again, I have made a child and built him inside my body, out of my body, out of plants (mostly burritos), and I have been sick and I have been better, I have moved from a home I loved in Portland to a broken home in Santa Barbara, built a new foundation and formed incredible friendships family, watched my little baby boy grow into a bright beautiful firecracker of a creature, his body still built completely of plants (mostly Magic Beans), and I have loved fiercely and I have fought demons, I have hit rock bottom and also, miraculously, I have recovered. And fought onward.

8 years is a really, really long time.

During summer I eat watermelon for breakfast pretty much every day. Big bowls, I mean BIG serving-bowl sized bowls, overflowing with crisp cold perfectly juicy red flesh. It’s one of my greatest pleasures.

On this particular day I had a late-morning appointment, so I set out on foot for a slow stroll to my destination. It was such a lovely August day, all warm and ocean-breezy, everything blooming and vibrant and alive. Quintessential summer.

My walking sunbath nourished me as much as the watermelon did. 8 years in, and I’ve learned that health and wellness go so far beyondsomething as simple as the food we put into our bodies. We need sun and serenity, nature and quiet and connection. Good, plant-based food goes a long way, but optimal health is ultimately a product of the mind.

That’s the greatest thing I’ve learned, 8 years in.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch!

Jeremy was bustling about in the kitchen, getting his food geek on and flexing his creativity which he so rarely gets to do. Preparing for me a feast of a lunch, featuring produce from our garden and flavor pairings unlike any I’ve had before (I love his culinary mind, so different from mine, and so untethered by convention).

When I arrived home, hungry after my meetings and my miles of walking, I was greeted with this:




Mostly raw, but with a protein punch — just the way I like it! This was so amazing and I can’t even begin to describe it. And a beet rosette! A homegrown beet rosette!

Speaking of homegrown beets . . .

After lunch I was able to spend some serious time down in the dirt in my garden, which is my absolute favorite place to be. There was so much to harvest — so much abundance! — and I’ll do a garden update sometime soon. Sunflowers and strawberries and herbs and greens and of course, the beets. My garden is overflowing!

In the evening we both showered and got a bit gussied up, just a bit, and made our way out for a dinner date. We intended to hit our favorite noodle bar but alas, they close early on Mondays! Oh well, we wandered on through downtown Santa Barbara, not really knowing where we were going, but trusting that we would find something good. And with a little of that Veganniversary luck, we struck gold!

We found a recently re-opened Mexican restaurant, with a gorgeous patio and an enticing ambiance. Their new ownership is super open-minded, and their new menu boasts nearly 20 vegetarian entrees! All of which can be made vegan by simple omitting the dairy.

Mmmmm yes.

Our appetizer was house-made chips with guacamole and pico. Also margaritas! And our first course was a roasted beet salad with arugula, apples, and balsamic, and a plate of nachos where each chip had been dipped in house-made adobo.

Epic.

We split this final entree and were so stuffed we couldn’t even finish it. Such a unique and satisfying meal! Gotta love that good Veganniversary juju.

After dinner we made our way back home, a nice long walk on a warm summer night. We talked about our future — about our plans and our dreams. We’re so good at that, Jeremy and I. Always plotting to take over the world!

And we will, I think, in our own little way.

8 years I’ve lived in alignment with my heart, uncompromised in my moral core. It is an incredible gift, and one that I am grateful for every day. Because every day I live my values of empathy and integrity.

8 years down, and the rest of my years to go!

♥ ♥ ♥

This time of year, when the fresh food is finally flowing again, it can be easy to rely on that abundance of produce to comprise the bulk of our childrens’ school lunches. And it makes sense! Fresh fruits are full of easily-assimilated energy (simple carbs), healthy vitamins, and of course, hydration hydration hydration. And vegetables are an excellent source of so many nutritious minerals and micronutrients, not to mention fiber. I mean, what’s not to love?

Well, my fellow veg parents, this is your friendly mom-to-mom reminder, from my kitchen to yours. Because I see veg parents making this mistake a lot, both online and in real life. Fruits and veggies are healthy, and delicious, and kids love them, and they are just so pretty! A rainbow lunch is beautiful, and it makes us feel like we’re giving our kids the very best. Especially since we know that most American children do not meet their minimum requirements for fruits and vegetables.

But . . . most vegan children? Well, they don’t need to load up on more fruits and veggies. They’re already getting plenty! So before you pack on the extra produce, please keep in mind that there are other macronutrients which are equally essential: protein and fat! Growing bodies need both of these, and while fruits and veggies are super high in micronutrients, they tend to be very low (*too* low) in calories, and almost entirely lacking in these oh-so-essential macronutrients.

So, make sure your weegan school lunch packs a super protein punch, with concentrated sources of plant-based protein like tofu, beans, lentils, seitan, peanut butter, and pistachios.

And ensure your weegans are getting healthy fats for long-lasting energy and satiating calorie density, with delicious favorites like avocados, nuts and seeds, coconut, and healthy oils like olive, hemp, or flax.

Around our house, we tend to eat very dense dinners, so as you’ll see in the following lunches, I often rely on leftovers to provide the protein and fat that I know my growing vegan needs. Here’s a few examples of what our lunches have looked like lately, as we’ve moved through spring and started to glimpse the abundance of the coming summer bounty:

• Leftover spaghetti! Organic brown rice pasta with organic marinara and Beyond Meat crumbles.
• Trail mix with almonds, cashews, dried pineapple and dried cranberry.
• Organic apple slices.
• Organic corn chips.
• His treat — a few chlorella tablets which he pops like candy. Those vegan kids, man!
• Strawberry + peanut butter + kale protein smoothie, in the Panda Squooshi reusable squeeze pouch.
• The lunch box is our new absolute fave! It’s the Planet Box Rover and we use it almost every day. Waits adores it and I love that it’s reusable, long-lasting, and it’s super easy to clean. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!

• Leftover chia pudding! I like to make it in large batches. It’s high in protein as well as omega-3 fatty acids, and Waits just loves it. This one was made with oat milk and blueberries.
• A small hand full of organic shredded wheat cereal.
• A wee tin of organic cinnamon almonds from our local farmer’s market.
• Organic carrots and sugar snap peas from the CSA.
• Local organic blood oranges, also from the CSA.
• His treat — 2 locally grown dates. They taste just like carmel!
• Same amazing Planet Box lunch box.

• Leftover burrito! Simple refried beans, brown rice, and cheeze.
• Organic strawberries from our CSA (I use these adorable picks).
• A slice of homemade zucchini bread. SO good!
• Local organic snap peas and tangerines from our farm box.
• His treat — cinnamon & sugar almonds from the farmer’s market.
• Strawberry & kale protein smoothie, in the Penguin Squooshi reusable squeeze pouch.
• Same super fly stainless steel Planet Box Rover.

• Leftover lentils, made Magic Beans style, sent in the smallest of the Kids Conserve nesting trio containers.
• Tofurkey and cheeze sammie on whole grain bread, sent in the Lunchskins reusable snack bag.
• Raspberry + peanut butter + spinach + protein smoothie, in the Penguin Squooshi reusable squeeze pouch.
• Local cucumbers and celery, both from our CSA box, and organic corn chips. All packed in the Lunchbots Duo stainless steel bento.
• That same amazing Planet Box lunch box. Oh how we love it so!

• Leftover spaghetti bolognese. Organic brown rice pasta with organic marinara, vegan cheese, and Beyond Meat crumbles.
• Organic strawberries from our farm box, sprinkled with hemp seeds.
• Leftover savory baked tofu strips.
• Organic carrots, cucumbers, and celery.
• His treat — dried wild blueberries.

And there you have it — another round of healthy, seasonal, plant-powered and eco-friendly lunches. Each including a miniature rainbow, but also centered around a calorie-dense, protein-packed main staple, to keep my little vegan going long and strong till dinner time.

So don’t forget those leftovers! ♥

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I recently got an email from a reader that went something like this:

I’m an on-again off-again vegetarian looking to go vegan. My doctor recently told me that I have to decrease my carbohydrates and increase my protein (she said it had to be animal protein) in order to lose the weight I gained when I went on a new medication. I already eat a lot of beans and some fake meats as well, but she told me that these aren’t a good substitute. I need to know what kinds of non-animal, low-carbohydrate protein options are out there. I really want to stay veg but I don’t know how to do this. I would really appreciate your help!

And as I was writing bak to her, I realized that I was sharing this info for like, the bazillionth time. In other words, I have gotten this question or similar questions a whole lot, so it occurred to me that I might as well just go ahead and share my answer here on the blog! And thus a new series was born: Ask A Vegan Lifestyle Coach.

So here’s my answer, to her and now to all of you . . .

I’m so sorry that you’re dealing with unwanted weight gain, and I actually agree with your doctor when she advises that increasing your protein intake while decreasing your carbs may be able to help you manage that. However, I disagree (shocking, I know!) that the protein needs to come from animals. Humans are able to extract quite a bit of concentrated protein without resorting to meat-eating, and you don’t even necessarily need to eat the processed vegan meat analogues if you’d rather avoid them. The following are a few of my favorite high-protein plant foods:

It sounds obvious of course, but tofu! tofu! tofu! I would load up on it if I were you. It’s high in protein, has a little fat (the good kind), and is relatively low in carbs. When buying tofu, opt for organic whenever possible.

Other legumes, like beans, also offer good protein, but they tend to come with more carbs. So here’s a good tip: if you’re doing a greens/beans/grains bowl, you can skip the grains to reduce the carbs, and let the beans and greens take center stage. Lentils with steamed kale or steamed broccoli is a favorite of mine, covered with a delicious sauce like The Tahini Sauce That Done Stoled My Heart or a Spicy Cilantro Peanut Sauce. I like to add extra flavor with green onions, pickled vegetables or sauerkraut or kimchi, and/or avocado. If you just serve beans and steamed greens alone, it will be super boring (of course). But if you add a mouth-watering sauce (nut- or seed-based will add extra protein) with those extra “flavor-makers” on top — well there you have a delicious, satisfying, and high-protein meal!

Just make sure you skip the grain (especially high-carb grains like rice, barley, or corn), unless you are opting for a protein-rich grain (like quinoa, amaranth, or wild rice).

Buckwheat is one of my favorite higher-protein grains. You can eat it whole as “kasha”, or you can find 100% buckwheat noodles (make sure they’re 100% because usually they’re cut with refined wheat which makes them more of a carb) for awesome noodle bowls. Stir fried veggies with chickpeas or tofu or seitan (“wheat meat” made from vital wheat gluten, aka wheat protein), served over buckwheat noodles, is simple and delicious and much higher in protein than a normal stir fry or a normal noodle dish. I order my 100% buckwheat soba noodles in bulk packs online, here. They can be hard to find but if you’re in a bigger city I’d check your local co-ops and health food stores.

Breakfast can be hard as a vegan, and tends to be pretty carb-centric. Tofu scramble is good, but can feel repetitive if you’re eating a lot of tofu dinners. Recently a few new vegan yogurts hit the market, and they’re FINALLY higher in protein like their dairy counterparts. My favorites are Kite Hill and Daiya, both of which have 6+ grams of protein per container. These should be available at Whole Foods or other health food stores.

My other go-to high-protein vegan breakfast is my old favorite, the chickpea flour pancakes. They remind me of omelets and since they’re made from legume flour, they’re super high in protein. I have the recipe for mine here.

The thing about most vegan protein sources is that they *DO* come attached to some carbs. So the strategy becomes this: you have to eat lots of these awesome vegan protein sources, and you have to include more of them in your diet wherever possible. And then, you ALSO have to eliminate errant and unnecessary carbs elsewhere in your diet. So like I said above, instead of the greens/beans/grain bowl, just do a greens + beans bowl. Instead of wheat pasta, use a high-protein legume-based pasta. Instead of a wheat bun or bread on a sandwich, put the patty on a bed of kale, or wrap it in cabbage leaves. Instead of making a burrito, pile all the burrito fillings in a bowl on top of lettuce, minus the tortilla. Replace snack foods like chips, crackers, and popcorn, with less carb-centric options like kale chips, nuts or seeds, or carrots sticks with guacamole. All of these little alterations will add up throughout your day.

So bottom line, if you can increase the plant-based proteins while simultaneously lowering the non-veggie carbs, then there’s no reason why you won’t be able to have an optimal protein-to-carbohydrate ratio — all the while remaining veg.

I hope that helps, and good luck with your journey!

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Hey-o! So hey there, I am a certified Vegan Lifestyle Coach and I have a BA in biology, but I’m not an MD, an RD, or any other kind of “D” for that matter. I am super duper not a doctor, or a nurse, or a health care practitioner of any kind. This post represents my personal thoughts and opinions and is in no way meant to be taken as medical advice. Okay? Whew!

And who knew that packing up lunches would become such a pure little pleasure for me? It may sound strange, but I truly do enjoy those quiet moments in the kitchen, late at night after Waits has gone to bed, with a podcast on and alone in my thoughts, preparing a nutritious and delicious little lunch for my weegan. It only takes me a short time, probably 10 minutes or less, and I try to use as much fresh local/seasonal food as possible (easier to do here in California, I know).

I also make sure to include a healthy dose of plant-based protein. Overall my lunches usually follow the formula: plant protein/main dish + veggie side + fruit side + and some sort of energy-dense side, like carby chips or pretzels, or fatty nuts or seeds. It’s a solid equation that seems to be working well so far, and having those loose guidelines really helps me to be able to crank out lunches on the quick, which is important for a busy working mama like myself.

So anyway, here’s what a handful of our lunches have looked like over this past winter:

• “Pizza bread” with tofu, marinara, cheese, and olives on whole grain bread, sent in the “Tangerine Orange” Lunch Skins full-size sandwich bag.
• A simple salad of shredded romaine and kalamata olives, with an olive oil dressing, sent int he largest of the Kids Konserve stainless steel nesting trio.
• Carrot sticks and cuties, both from our local organic CSA box, sent in the middle-sized Kids Konserve stainless steel nesting trio.
• Cinnamon-covered almonds sent in the smallest of the Kids Konserve stainless steel nesting trio.
• I’m sure I sent him a beverage of some sort, but it’s not pictured. Oops!

• A peanut butter, strawberry, and kale smoothie in our adorable Penguin Squooshi reusable squeeze pouch. True story: I am in LOVE with these pouches!
• Whole wheat crackers in the half-size “Aqua Elephant” Lunch Skins reusable baggie.
• Three local organic tangerines from our CSA box.
• Leftover pasta bake (rice noodles, marinara, spinach, beyond meat crumbles, and vegan cheese on top) in the Steeltainer compact container.

• Cinnamon almonds in an inherited plastic mini container (brand unknown).
• Snap peas from our local organic CSA, washed and trimmed and sent in the smallest Kids Konserve stainless steel nesting trio.
• Leftover baked tofu cubes and oven-baked potato “chips”, in the Thinkbaby bento.
• Oat milk in the pretty blue Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.

• Organic “corn puffs” (Waits begged me for these and I caved. They tasted pretty meh and I won’t buy them again) in the large “Tangerine Orange” Lunch Skins full-size sandwich bag.
• The inimitable Magic Beans, in the large-sized Kids Konserve stainless steel nesting trio.
• Organic tangerines and red bell peppers in the Lunchbots Duo divided steel container.
• Leftover homemade mac ‘n “cheese” in the small-sized Kids Konserve stainless steel nesting trio (you can see I get a lot of use out of this trio!).
• I’m sure I sent a drink, but again – unpictured.

• Leftover pizza (yes, we do a lot of leftovers! sometimes I specifically make extra dinner so I’ll have some to send in lunch the next day) in the Thinkbaby bento.
• More tangerines (like I said – California winter) as well as star fruit, in the Steeltainer compact container.
• Olive Oil popcorn in the large Kids Konserve stainless steel nesting trio.
• Oat milk in the Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.

• Peach smoothie with protein powder and spinach, probiotics and vitamins, in the Panda Squooshi reusable squeeze pouch.
• Dried coconut strips and dehydrated mango in the Lunchbots Duo two-compartment container.
• Boxed mac ‘n cheese (don’t hate the player, just hate the game) in the medium Kids Konserve stainless steel nesting trio.
• Magic Beans in the smallest Kids Konserve stainless steel nesting trio.

And there you have it — another round of healthy, seasonal, plant-powered and eco-friendly lunches. Winter is finally over, spring has sprung, and just this week we received the very first strawberries of the season in our CSA box! Waits was pretty stoked, and I’m also looking forward to the coming bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Viva la spring!

Until next time. ♥

//

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1. urban foraging
The practice of foraging for free fruits, vegetables, and other “wild food” around the city.

Urban foraging is one of my very favorite hobbies, and it’s something I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember. It’s something I wish more people did, and it’s something I wish more cities would make more possible for people to do! It just so happens to be my personal belief, in fact, that all government buildings should be landscaped with kale and cauliflower; that city streets should be lined with fruit trees; and that public parks should all be planted with with beautiful berries, brightly colored peppers, and edible flowers everywhere. Can you even imagine? What a world that would be!

But until then, we have to make do with what we’ve got. And at the beginning of 2015, I made myself a secret resolution. My Mission: to urban forage a different food from a different place, every single month in 2015.

And you know what? I did it! And I had so much fun. If you’re interested in exploring urban foraging, this is a great little challenge to get you started. You also might want to read this helpful intro post on my “Rules Of Urban Foraging” that I wrote a few years back.

So! Every singe item on this list was collected within 5 miles from my home in downtown Santa Barbara, California. Here’s what I found in 2015 . . .

Month: January
Distance From Home: less than one block // less than one block


Dandelion greens grow everywhere, and as long as you know your neighborhood, they should be safe to eat when foraged in urban areas. Just make sure you wash them well! I love dandelion greens in juices and smoothies.




We found these oranges in an alley behind our house, on an afternoon when we were taking a wagon ride/walk over to visit Jeremy at the shop. Citrus grows everywhere in California in winter, and these beautiful Valencia oranges were large, juicy, and perfectly sweet. A great snack for our journey!


Month: February
Distance From Home: 2 miles // 4 miles


There are 3 kumquat trees that skirt the edge of the Rose Gardens at the historic Santa Barbara Mission, about 2 miles from our home. They produce the biggest, fattest, most perfectly sweet-tart kumquats I have ever tasted, and Waits and I collect them every February.

Most of them go straight into our mouths, because kumquats are “nature’s candy.” But this year I also made some kumquat-infused gin. (DIY infused spirits tutorial can be found here)



River mint is one of my favorite wild treats, and it grows in abundance in all the riverbeds which run from the foothill neighborhoods of Santa Barbara, all the way through downtown SB, and right on into the ocean. Waits and I found this particular mint on a creek walk with some friends, although we gather it nearly year-round whenever we’re near a creek bed. It makes awesome wild mint mojitos in summer!


Month: March
Distance From Home: 3.5 miles // 3 blocks


Beautiful! These gorgeous morel mushrooms were popping up all over the back yard at Waits’s in-home preschool. The children were finding them for almost an entire month, and most of the families were able to take some mushies home. Such incredible little treasures. ♥



There is a giant, I mean GIANT — one of the biggest I’ve ever seen — avocado tree just a few blocks from my house, and it drops ‘cados all over the sidewalk for about 6 months out of the year. I grabbed this perfectly plump beauty, plus a few others, one March afternoon while Waits and I were skating around the neighborhood.


Month: April
Distance From Home: 3 blocks



Loquats are little fleshy fruits that grow in clusters on small semi-tropical trees. They sort of resemble miniature apricots, but the flavor is sweet and very, very tart. Loquats originate from south China, but they are a staple of Southern California, and it’s a fact that no SoCal kid can grow up without many memories of gorging themselves on loquats.

We found this bunch on yet another wagon ride from our house to the store to visit Jeremy. Wagon rides make for great fruit eatin’.


Month: May
Distance From Home: 3 miles


I love edible flowers, and spicy sunbright-colored nasturtiums are some of my favorites. I collected these by the side of the road while running errands around town, but they could have come from anywhere. Nasturtium flowers blanket the yards and parks all over Southern California through late spring.

I like to eat my edible flowers in salads, to preserve and highlight their beauty. So pretty surrounded by all that fresh green! (Nasturtiums are peppery and add a bit of bite, which i adore.)


Month: June
Distance From Home: less than one block


There is a glorious fig tree that overhangs a fence a few houses down. Every year I watch as the figs ripen, eagerly anticipating the sweet juicy fruits which indicate the beginning of summer. Figs are basically like alien fruit. They’re so weird inside . . . but man are they tasty!


Month: July
Distance From Home: 1.5 miles



This is a chayote, and I found it in the back yard of a house I was viewing to potentially rent. Chayote is a South-American vining melon, sort of like a spiny cucumber, and they are super rare around here. So when I saw a vine in that back yard I knew I had to grab one! Waits and I didn’t end up caring for the flavor, but we were still stoked to be able to try something so unique.


Month: August
Distance From Home: 3.5 miles // 8 blocks


I saw these cherry tomatoes on the side of the road in the scorching heat of summer one day, while driving to drop Waits off at outdoor school. I had to swerve to pull over and Waits was like “MOM what are you doing?!” and I was like “TOMATOES” and he was pretty understanding. These were just growing on the side of the road, no doubt the seeds had been dropped by some bird after the tomato had been plucked from a nearby neighborhood garden. We only got a small handful but they made for a wonderful afternoon snack, all sun-warm and sweet and delicious.



Mmm Mmm Mmm Mojitos! One of my favorite summer cocktails. The mint in this mojito was grown in my own yard, but the limes I’d nabbed from an abandoned grove of fruit trees down by the train tracks, on a bike ride home from visiting a friend. These were some of the juiciest, most flavor-filled limes I’d ever tasted.


Month: September
Distance From Home: 4 miles


Nopales are giant cactuses that grow all over Southern California and Mexico. You can eat the actual cactus paddles, but I’m not too fond of them. The fruit though? Amazing!

Cactus fruit, also called prickly pear, can be tough to pick and prepare because it’s covered in very fine hair-like needles that hurt like you wouldn’t believe, if they stick ya. Still, it’s worth it for that incredible, unique fruit!



Prickly pear lemonade with foraged prickly pear, organic lemons, and raw agave. This is summer in a pitcher and Waits can’t get enough of it. Look at that color!


Month: October
Distance From Home: 4 blocks



I love rosemary, and I feel like it’s such a perfectly autumnal herb. I collected this little bundle on a walk back from my neighborhood grocery store. Rosemary grows like crazy around here and people often use it for landscaping, so it’s not too hard to come by. But it reminds me of autumn, so that’s when I like to use it. Rosemary cashews, rosemary roasted potatoes, rosemary chocolate chip cookies. Yes please!


Month: November
Distance From Home: 2 miles


Lavender is so beautiful, and here in Santa Barbara it blooms in late spring and on through summer. Which is why I was so happy to find this lucky rebloom in late autumn! I like to use lavender in DIY beauty products, or make satchels for my linen drawers. It’s such a lovely herb with so many traditional, medicinal, and magickal applications.


Month: December
Distance From Home: all over town


Winter in Santa Barbara is all about citrus. This past December I actually collected an abundance of varieties on my adventures around town — from tangerines to mandarins to regular ol’ lemons. Someone even gave me a Yuzu they had grown!

But the only picture I managed to get was of this little meyer lemon, all smooth and soft-skinned and smelling like heaven. Waits and I grow our own meyers on a miniature meyer lemon tree in the back yard, and we use the lot of them to make a lemon loaf every single Christmas Eve (the tree is so small, we only get 3 or 4 each year). But this was earlier in the month, and it was so nice to get a taste of that wonderful flavor.

And that, my friends, is that. My Year Of Urban Foraging! I had so much fun, I just might have to do it all over again, now that I’m moving to a whole new neighborhood next month. But until then, I want to hear what YOU collected out and about around your own cities this year. Any cool foraging finds? Let us know in the comments below!

Okay so it’s not quite acting like autumn around here. We’re still getting temps in the high 80s and even into the 90s, and our local produce is still pouring in like it’s midsummer. I’m not complaining though. Farmer’s Market strawberries in October? Yes please!

So here’s what our weather-crazy California lunches have been looking like lately:

• Tofu shapes! Waits loves these – Jeremy makes a nooch-battered pan-fried tofu recipe, and cuts the pieces in star wars themed shapes. These were left over from a beach dinner picnic the night before. ♥ Sent in the Steeltainer compact container.
• Organic cucumbers and local CSA carrots, in our super-cute “Aqua Elephant” Lunch Skins reusable baggie.
• A gluten-free blueberry muffin from our favorite gluten-free vegan bakery in LA. We were able to stock up recently when Jeremy picked me up at LAX, so now we have a freezer stockpiled with all the gluten-free goodness!
• Local organic CSA strawberries with organic hemp seeds, sent in the ECOlunchbox Eco Dipper.
• Oat milk in the Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.

• Organic cucumbers and kalamata olives (two of his favorites) in the Steeltainer compact container, with the rarely-used divider insert.
• Local organic CSA grapes in the ECOlunchbox Eco Dipper.
• The new Daiya yogurt! Cherry flavor. We’ve tried all the flavors and Waits loves them all. I’m so-so on my feelings about these yogurts — I like that they have probiotics and that he likes them, and I like that they are higher in protein than other vegan yogurts. But, they are essentially just starch and gums and fillers with flavoring, and not much actual real food. So I’ll buy them occasionally, but they’re not my first choice for vegan yogurts.
• Sandwich time. This one was grilled tofu with Vegenaise and red leaf lettuce, sent in the Lunch Skins full-size sandwich bag in “Tangerine Orange”.
• Oat milk as always, in the Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.

• Burrrrito, made with Taco Tuesday leftovers (refried pinto beans, grilled peppers + onions, black olives) sent in the ECOlunchbox oval.
• Small container of Magic Beans leftover from dinner with my godparents, in the little tupperware they sent us home with.
• Gluten-free blueberry muffin.
• Organic cucumbers and organic CSA strawberries in the Steeltainer compact container, again with the divider insert.
• Water in his Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.

• Peanut butter filled pretzels in our Steeltainer compact container.
• Taco! Blue corn taco with refried beans and vegan cheese, cut in half and sent in the small-size Lunch Skins in “Aqua Elephant”.
• Sliced kiwi fruit in the ECOlunchbox Eco Dipper.
• Another Daiya yogurt, strawberry I think it was.
• Water in his Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top. We switched to water mid-week because he wasn’t drinking the oat milk and I felt like too much was being wasted. It’s better for hydrating in this crazy heat, anyways.

• Ahhh, the new Kite Hill yogurt. Now this stuff is great. Delicious, rich, and REAL. Almond-based but with much more protein than other almond milk yogurts (I think because they use the whole almonds and not just the milk). The ingredients list is quite short, so yeah — this is my new fave vegan yogurt!
• Magic Beans with kidney beans this time, in the Steeltainer compact container.
• Herbed popcorn in the extra-large ECOlunchbox oval.
• Local organic CSA grapes in the ECOlunchbox Eco Dipper.
• Water in the Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.

And there it is, another week of healthy, vegan, eco-friendly lunches. As I finish this post up, I am sitting on my couch and it is 90 degrees in my living room. Autumn? Any time now. Please?

Until next time. ♥

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Waits eats almost everything I send, but it’s all throughout the day. These “lunches” cover his morning snack (during recess) at school, as well as his actual sit-down lunch at school. I pick him up in the early afternoon, and we usually go through his lunch and see what he ate. After that I drop him off at his afternoon child care provider, and I usually send him with an additional snack to share with the other children. So he eats the rest of his un-eaten lunch in the afternoon, plus an additional little something, which he’s sharing with the other kiddos.

So yes, mostly it all gets eaten, but not all at one big meal. And now — onto the lunches!

• Organic strawberries and organic heirloom melon, both from our weekly CSA box. Sent in the trusty LunchBots Duo stainless steel container that we’ve been using for almost 5 years.
• Oven-baked french fries (leftover from the night before) in our super-cute “Aqua Elephant” Lunch Skins snack bag.
• Sandwich! Tofurkey and Follow Your Heart cheddar-style slices on whole wheat sourdough. Packed in our “Green Pear” Lunch Skins full-size sandwich bag. I’m really loving these reusable bags — they are durable, practical, and super easy to clean. I’m a big fan of stainless steel, but man these bags are awesome!
• Oat milk in his Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.

• Oat milk! I’ve said before that I feel bad using these little single-serving cartons, but man they come in handy for days like this one, when the dishes had piled up and the Klean Kanteen wasn’t so, ahem . . . Klean.
• Local organic CSA strawberries in the ECOlunchbox Eco Dipper.
• Magic Beans (recipe here) in the Steeltainer compact container. I love this bento even though I’m a bit torn on it. I prefer to be 100% plastic-free, but the snap down lid is so convenient!
• “Pizza bread” is one of Waits’s absolute favorite lunches. This one is topped with kalamata olives, cut to look like the Millennium Falcon, and sent in the Lunch Skins “Green Pear” sandwich bag.
• A Mama Chia chia squeeze pouch – another big favorite around here.

• Baguette mini sammies, with Tofurkey slices and Follow Your Heart cheddar. Held together with a toothpick, with a black olive on top. Served in our Steeltainer compact container.
• Snapea Crisps in the ECOlunchbox Eco Dipper. I love this little steel container – it’s the perfect lunch box size. And y’all know how much we loooove our Snapea Crisps around here!
• Kite Hill yogurt! This is a new product and I was so excited to try it. Vegan yogurts can be pretty hit-or-miss, but this new almond-based offering is rich and creamy, high in protein, and relatively low in gums/starches/thickeners. Waits loved it and I did too. It’s a bit pricier, which is a downside, but other than that I’d say this is my new favorite vegan yogurt.
• Organic strawberries and organic red bell peppers from our CSA box, in the LunchBots Duo stainless steel container.
• Oat milk in his Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.

• Oat milk in the ever-present Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.
• Two Tofurkey roll-ups and a handful of kalamata olives, in some old plastic tupperware of Jeremy’s. This day made me realize I needed a few much smaller steel containers.
• Herbed popcorn in the extra-large ECOlunchbox oval.
• Two slices of leftover pizza from a local vegan-friendly pizza parlor. This was a simple pie with vegan cheese and marinated tofu cubes. The two pieces were a tight fit, but they worked out quite nicely in the “Tangerine Orange” “Lunch Skins full-size sandwich bag“
• Chia pudding made the night before with oat milk, maple syrup, and frozen blueberries, left to gel up in the fridge over night, and sent in the ECOlunchbox Eco Dipper.

• Peanut butter filled pretzels in our Steeltainer compact container. These pretzels are the Trader Joe’s brand, not the healthiest thing, but they’re filling and he loves them. Plus peanut butter = protein which is so important for growing kiddos!
• Almond butter and sugar-free raspberry jam sandwich pocket on multigrain “power seed” bread. I used a cookie cutter to create the flower shape. Packed in the Lunch Skins “Green Pear” sandwich bag.
• Organic persian cucumber slices and organic CSA strawberries packed in the LunchBots Duo steel bento.
• Oat milk in his Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.

And that, my friends, is that! Another week of healthy, vegan, eco-friendly lunches. I have to say, I’m excited to see how the foods I’ll be packing will evolve through early fall, late fall, and into winter . . . then into spring, and summer again. So much of my lunch inspiration comes directly from our weekly CSA box, which means of course that the lunches will change with the seasons. A fun challenge for me, and one that I really look forward to sharing!

Until next time. ♥

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• Vegan cheesy crackers (special occasion for the first week of school because he loves them! we buy these ones) and green olives, in the Steeltainer compact container. I love this little bento; the snap-on lid is a great fit and it never leaks. However the divider piece is removable, and it doesn’t really stay put. I’ve mostly taken to using this container for single-items. And for that, I love it.
• Hummus + cucumber pinwheels on whole wheat flatbread in the Eco Lunch Box oval.
• Homemade blueberry kombucha in his Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.
• Two gluten-free blueberry mini muffins. I sent these in the LunchBots Rounds leak-proof containers, but a word of warning – this is a set of 2 and BOTH of them came to me with broken seals. I’ve since returned them and won’t be buying them again. So – I don’t recommend LunchBots Rounds!
• Local organic grapes from my CSA box. These are literally the crispest, juiciest grapes I have ever tasted. They are soooo good!

• Oat milk! Our fave, and I try not to use the single-serving cartons very often for lunches, but they sure are handy to have around. I try keep a few in our snack box in the car, since they’re shelf stable. Life savers, they are!
• Half an apple with almond butter, in the Steeltainer compact container. The almond butter did not stay where it was supposed to, which is my one and only gripe with this container (and if you need it to separate foods, that’s a pretty big gripe!)
• Local strawberries from our CSA box and organic cucumbers, in the LunchBots Duo stainless steel container. I have had this bento for a loooong time, since way back in Portland, and it has held up so well. And definitely keeps food separate — so if you’re looking for a split container, this one is ace!
• Homemade blueberry kombucha in his Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.
• A taco! Leftover refried beans + grilled peppers taco, in an adorable Lunch Skins snack bag. I love these reusable baggies THEY ARE SO CUTE.

• Herbed popcorn in the trusty Eco Lunch Box oval. I like this container because it has the snap-down lid, but a word of warning – it’s really big. So if you use it *for* a lunch box, it’s great. If you want to put it *in* your lunch box, it takes up too much space. But I usually just put it in Waits’s back pack alongside his lunch box, and that works well for us. I’ve had this thing for years and its held up great!
• Tofu shapes! Flowers and leaves and acorns, pan-sautéed in olive oil, Braggs, and nutritional yeast. Sent in a Lunch Skins sandwich bag.
• Oat milk, in his Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.
• Olive hummus with celery + bell pepper + cucumber sticks, in the Steeltainer compact container. This was the last time I used it with the divider. Now I use it as a singles container and I like it so much better that way.
• Them amazing grapes.

• Still working through those local strawberries from our CSA, plus organic cucumbers, in the LunchBots Duo stainless steel container.
• Chocolate smoothie! Oat milk + banana + cashew butter + kale + chocolate protein powder, with vitamins and probiotics added (zinc, K2, D3, bone-builder complex — see this post for why and how I supplement the way I do for vegan kiddos) sent in the Little Green Pouch reusable squeeze pouch. Our school is glass-free for lunches, so I love sending his smoothie in this reusable squeezey pouch. It’s a perfect “snack-size” smoothie, it’s dishwasher safe for easier clean-up, and so far no leaks!
• Peanut butter and banana roll-ups on whole wheat flat bread. These were a hit, especially since I added a drizzle of his absolute favorite – Bee-Free Honee! (vegan “honey” made from apples) I used the Steeltainer compact container without the divider, and it was perfect.
• Herbed popcorn in the trusty Eco Lunch Box oval. This is popcorn from Whole Foods, non-GMO, super inexpensive, and the seasoning contains powdered mushrooms. We LOVE this stuff and I always keep a big bag in our car snack box for emergency transit munching.

• Chia pudding made with oat milk, maple syrup, and strawberries, sent in the ECOlunchbox Eco Dipper. This one doesn’t have a snap lid and I was a little worried about spillage, but it stayed perfectly sealed. Chia pudding was a big lunch hit!
• Oat milk in the Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.
• His first school lunch sammie. ♥ With Tofurkey smoked “turkey” and Follow Your Heart cheddar slices, on whole-wheat sourdough. I wasn’t sure how this would be received, but he really liked it. Sent in the oh-so-adorable Lunch Skins “Green Pear” sandwich bag.
• Half a local heirloom mini melon from our CSA box, cubed, sent in the Steeltainer compact container, sans divider.
• Homemade “cheesy chips”. Jeremy and I came up with this late at night brainstorming something fun for lunch. Corn chips by themselves are boring . . . but corn chips sprayed with a light misting of coconut oil, then dusted with salt and nutritional yeast? YUMMY! He loved these. (Also sent in a Lunch Skins sandwich bag – the “Tangerine Orange” pattern this time.

And that, my friends, is that! A whole week’s worth of lunches. I hope that you enjoyed this new series, because I sure am having fun putting together these little lunches!

Until next time. ♥

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This post contains affiliate links. If you like my blog and want to support what I do here, using my affiliate links is a great way to do that. But, if affiliate link squick you out, no problemo. Just use my word descriptions to locate the item of interest via a search engine of your choice. ♥

So you guys — I’ve been having SO MUCH FUN planning and preparing for this exciting new lunchboxing adventure! And of course, I want to share all of my findings and creations with you. My 2 main criteria for Waits’s lunches are:

1) Healthy
2) Sustainably Packaged

I’m aiming for homemade, whole-foods-based vegan lunches (with some snacky stuff thrown in there – this is real life after all, and we’re all busy people!) packed in re-usable, earth-friendly containers. My plan is to share his lunches with you guys in periodical round-ups, featuring both the food I send and the containers I send it in.

Here’s a horrible cell pone pic of the very first lunch I packed, for his very first day of kindergarten. I promise the pictures in future posts will be better!



I sent:

• A banana + berry + kale smoothie in a Little Green Pouch reusable squeeze pouch
• Celery sticks, green olives, and olive hummus (his favorite) in a Lunchbots Duo stainless steel container
• Pizza bread! Cut into the shape of a Star Wars TIE Fighter plane, because Star Wars
• Oat milk mini. This is a temporary solution until we get our stainless steel bottle
• Organic grapes
• 2 healthier “oreo” cookies, because it’s the first day of school!

I’m really looking forward to sharing this new series with you guys. I’ve also created a Pinterest board where I’m pinning ideas, inspiration, healthy lunch foods, and eco-friendly lunch containers. Follow the board to see everything I find!

♥ This post contains affiliate links. If you like my blog and want to support what I do here, using my affiliate links is a great way to do that. But, if affiliate link squick you out, no problemo. Just use my word descriptions to locate the item of interest via a search engine of your choice. ♥