My Morning Routine

I've never been a very structured, organized person. It's just not me! It doesn't come naturally. I have a laid back, go with the flow personality. That said, I do love making to do lists and I find a lot of comfort in familiarity. So, this past year I've really been learning how to be a bit more organized and to have some sort of schedule in place. I mean, it's kind of a must when you have a baby!  I've gotten into some routines, one being my morning routine.  I always think the first hour of your day is so important because it tends to set the tone for how the rest of the day will go!

First thing I do, it take a tablespoon of tru.therapy. It's easiest to describe as oil pulling but this amazing blend is honestly so much more than that! I gently swish this around in my mouth while I change Beckett's diaper and carry him downstairs.

I let me dog out into the backyard to potty while I get Beckett dressed and sit him down to play.

After I feed the dog and go upstairs to spit out tru.therapy (along with scrapping my tongue and brushing my teeth), I had back downstairs and make myself some lemon water (sometimes I add ACV).

Then I make breakfast. Today it was just cereal with almond milk and a tru.juice smoothie. Sometimes I'll watch a recorded show while I eat or just catch up on social media (not a very good habit!) and read blogs. At some point, Beckett decides he's done playing alone and so we hang out together.

After I eat and play with Beckett (and feed him), I'll look at my planner to see what I need to do that day and jot down any new things that have come up.

Beckett takes his first nap a couple hours after waking so usually by 10am.

If I'm having coffee, I like to wait until his nap so that I can enjoy it uninterrupted haha I also try to get some work done in my office during that first nap if I have the rest of the day at home. If I'm going somewhere, then I'll workout/shower.

 By then it's usually closer to noon!  So yeah, that's my morning routine. I'd love to hear about yours!

Plan Ahead

Some of what I ate this week.

Food prep:

GF banana coconut muffins (no sugar added) and gluten free waffles

Almond butter and date syrup

Regular almond milk and dark chocolate

Sweet potato chips

Pineapple and kale

Breakfast: 

Chocolate fruit tacos (these were fun!)

Same waffles as above. I freeze them and then just pop one into the toaster oven when I'm ready to eat. Topped with banana and date syrup.

Snacks/Lunches:

Green juice

This protein shake. I'd recommend leaving out the dates though, I found that made it too sweet!

Water, VegaOne chocolate protein powder, frozen strawberries/banana and spinach

Banana/pineapple soft serve (just frozen fruit processed until smooth. I use my juicer which makes it that shape hehe) topped with nuts and sugar free coconut whip (thick part of canned coconut + liquid Stevia!). I had this two nights in a row. haha SO freakin' good.

Sweet potato chips + hummus. I shared the chips with my pup. He loves sweet potatoes! 

Dinners:

GIANT burritos on Cinco De Mayo at home.

Chinese pineapple fried rice from Forks Over Knives cookbook

Salad with curried chickpeas

Burritos with saffron rice

Home

1.  Enjoying some fresh juice. I think this was two apples, kale, half cucumber, one celery stalk... my husband and I shared it.
2. I finally bought a new kettle. My old one was just nasty looking haha This one is pretty cute! Target.
3. Enjoying our morning cuddles while I blog.
4. I like the swatch stickers from Julep! So handy. I stopped doing the plastic nail swatches a while ago.
5. New necklace from Target on clearance.
6. My Golden Globes nails hehe Inspired by Zooey Deschanel.
7. Watching the Hawks game at a Seahawks bar in Pacific Beach, CA. What an amazing atmosphere! People got there as early as 8:30am because the game was at 10am and the bar is pretty small. It was so full! Too bad the Hawks lost but it was a cool experience; wish I'd known about the place earlier. It's called Thrusters Lounge.
8. My husband and cat passed out on my lap on the couch. So flippin' cute.
9. Bow (made by moi).

Traveling Vegan Food

Being away from home for the past week and a half was an interesting experience for me when it came to food because it was my first trip since becoming vegan. I brought some groceries, bought some and then ate out a bit. I only have pictures from our trip to WA not our trip to Mission Beach, CA but overall I feel like I ate fairly healthy while still eating a lot of delicious stuff and not feeling deprived.  Since we were eating out more than normal, I felt a bit less in control of the ingredients I was consuming but I think I did a decent job. If I did accidentally consume any animal products, I at least know it was a minuscule amount! And that's really not the end of the world.

So for our trip to WA we had 22 hours of driving each way. My husband ate out a few times on the drive there but I only ate out once (veggie burger at Denny's).  I had brought some food (pita, hummus, Larabars, apple etc) so I ate that stuff. Oh I also "ate out" breakfast at our hotel where it was included in the fee. I had oatmeal.

I brought a big jug of green juice (not fresh) from home and enjoyed that in my reusable cup

The chocolate coconut butter came in my Eco Emi box. I ate some with the apple and then used the rest in oatmeal (twice). It was so yummy!

Got veggie sushi from Fred Meyer's and enjoyed some more green juice when we arrived in WA at my inlaws' place

I had brought some leftover "nacho cheese" sauce (just water, flour, spices and nutritional yeast) from home so I enjoyed that with chips and salsa.

I'd been wanting to try this so when I saw it on sale at Fred Meyer's (I was VERY impressed by their natural foods selection; loved it) I had to get it. So yum!

I also made my husband and I smoothies with it. Another day we had PB banana smoothies.

OJ and oatmeal with fruit. I hate a lot of plain instant oatmeal with fruit in WA. In Mission Beach I had a lot of muesli with fruit. I brought a little baggie of chia seeds and ground flaxseed from home and always added that.

From Alberstons, I brought along a package of falafel where you just add water to it, let it sit for 10min, form into balls and cook. So easy...and delicious! I had a yummy pita sandwich with it and then ate the rest on our drive home (with pita and hummus)

Another typical breakfast. Oatmeal with chia, ground flaxseed, banana and chocolate coco butter.

On our last night, we stopped at the Rogue Brewery in Portland with  my brother in law and his wife. Highly recommend! My husband and I shared a hummus plate (yes, I've been having hummus everyday lately) and then I had a hazelnut beer and a quinoa salad (gave the bread to my husband).

I've always wanted to go to VooDoo Doughnuts and we finally were able to! At 4am, of all times, haha. It was before our long drive home. Both my husband and I chose two vegan donuts each. I got the oreo pb one and a maple one. I think it had been years since I'd had a donut! They are generally a bit too sweet for me.  The toppings on the oreo pb made eating the entire thing a bit much for me but overall... BEST DONUTS EVER. Sooo good. The inside was just perfection.

Random snack my husband and I had on our way home. I'm not sure I liked the beet chips haha

 So, don't be afraid to stick with a plant based diet while traveling! It may be a bit inconvenient but it was very doable.  When I was in Mission Beach with my family, we cooked a lot. Like, our first dinner was a spaghetti and while they had chicken I made vegan sausage (which my husband also had; proud of him!). When they all ate at a crepe place in a food court, I got a Jamba Juice smoothie. I think the key is to try and be included in the social aspect of it, like sticking with the group as much as you can but finding what you can eat.

Mission Beach on Dwellable