What We Eat In A Week - Episode 039

Welcome back to our vegan newsletter showcasing what we eat in a week! If you’re new and want to learn more about us and why we started this series, read our About Section :)

We went on a trip this week! Our first stop was in LA. While we were there, we got to try Xochitl Vegan’s Nachos + Tacos, and Philz Coffee’s Plant-Powered Breakfast Sandwich.

Our next stop was in Santa Barbara. We tried food from Himalayan Kitchen, and Açai bowls from Oakberry while we were there. On our drove back home we made a stop in Long Beach to try Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House!

I also made vegan sushi, falafel salad, lentil soup, smoothies, and more at home.

You’ll have to read through for more details :)

We hope you enjoy this edition and let me know which meal ideas you liked or found helpful in the comments!

Make sure to read our first comment too as I’m sharing donation links with further information about what causes you’re helping in the comment section. Feel free to comment on any causes you’d like to share with us too.

Thursday, September 9th

Breakfast - Dunkin’ Beyond Breakfast Sandwich

We picked up breakfast from Dunkin’ this busy morning. To veganize Dunkin’s Beyond Breakfast Sandwich omit the egg and cheese. We like to stack hashbrowns into our sandwiches and add Green Pepper Cholula too! For pictures check out Episode 9.

Lunch - Panera Bread You Pick Two, Ten Vegetable Soup + Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich

We picked up Panera for lunch since we were still out running errands. We ordered their “you pick two” and got their ten vegetable soup which is vegan friendly, and their Mediterranean veggie sandwich which you can veganize by asking for no feta and opting for one of their vegan-friendly breads (we get their Black Pepper Focaccia).

Dinner - Trader Joe’s Japanese Style Fried Rice + Gyoza’s + Gardein Nashville Hot Chick’n Tenders

I heated up TJ’s Japanese Style Fried Rice in a medium pan. I also cooked some vegetable gyozas (from Grocery Outlet) in a separate small pan. In the meantime, Fahim air-fried Gardein’s Nashville Hot Chick’n Tenders to have on the side.

Lastly, I drizzled Trader Joe’s Gyoza Sauce over the Gyozas. TJ’s Japanese Style Fried Rice and gyozas are one of my favorite combos for quick dinners!

Friday, September 10th

Breakfast - Peanut Butter Cup Oatmeal

This is my favorite way to make oatmeal! Cook the oats your preferred way — for the way I make ours refer to Episode 006. Then top them off with a tablespoon of peanut butter and some vegan-friendly semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Lunch - Falafel Salads

For lunch, I made our favorite simple salad. To make this, I first added a couple of handfuls of chopped kale to a bowl and drizzled the greens with Simple Truth’s Plant-Based Caesar Dressing and hummus. Next, I added some minced cilantro to the bowl. I topped each bowl with 3 air-fried falafels.

Snack - Apple Cinnamon Rice Cakes

I snacked on a couple of apple cinnamon rice cakes.

Dinner - Vegetable Sushi + Miso Soup from Tokyo House Ramen Sushi

I wasn’t feeling well and all I could think about was veggie sushi and miso soup so we picked that up for dinner from our local ramen place.

Saturday, September 11th

Breakfast - Protein Shake

I made our go-to protein shake for breakfast this morning. I used Shaklee’s Soy Protein Life Energizing Shake Café Latte flavor, Silk Almondmilk, a couple of frozen strawberries, and topped it with cinnamon!

Lunch - Homemade Sushi

I decided to make sushi at home because I still wanted more. First, I washed some rice and put it to cook in the rice cooker. While the rice was cooking, I sliced some tofu and covered the tofu with a layer of Hoisin sauce, Szechuan sauce, sesame oil, sea salt, and black pepper. Once the rice was finished, I divided it into 2 plates. I drizzled rice vinegar in each plate and mixed it in and placed the plates in the fridge to cool.

Next, I prepped the veggies: bell pepper, avocado, and jalapeños. I also made my own spicy mayo by adding 3 tablespoons of Best Food’s Vegan Mayo along with Sriracha, cayenne powder, and smoked paprika into a medium bowl. In another bowl, I added 3 tablespoons of Best Food’s Vegan Mayo with a tablespoon of Nasoya Kimchi Relish.

After that, I assembled the sushi rolls with a bamboo sushi mat. I made two kinds of rolls.

For Fahim’s rolls, I made them with all the veggies and spicy mayo.

For my rolls, I made them with all the veggies aside from jalapeño (because my stomach wasn’t doing okay) and used the kimchi relish mayo.

These rolls were so delicious and filling!

Snack - Watermelon

We snacked on some watermelon after lunch.

Dessert - Vegan Chocolate Midnight Cupcakes from Just Desserts

We each had a Vegan Chocolate Midnight Cupcake from Just Desserts. We found these at Grocery Outlet and got a bunch of them!

Dinner - Lentil Soup

All I could think of having for dinner was soup so I made lentil soup with green and yellow lentils. First, I washed the lentils and filled up a pot with mostly vegetable broth and some water to top it off. I also added in sea salt, pepper, a version of Lawry’s from Cardenas, half an onion, and a lot of garlic.

Sunday, September 12th

Breakfast - Smoothie

I made us smoothies for breakfast since my stomach was still acting up. For the base, I used Wawona Frozen Foods Organic Daybreak Blend, frozen mango chunks, and Organic Triple Berry Blend from Costco. For the liquid portion, I used orange juice and Suja’s Mighty Dozen juice. I also added in a tablespoon of Moringa and chia seeds. This was very refreshing!

Lunch - Amy’s Sweet & Sour Bowls

We ate a quick lunch before driving to the first stop of our trip. Fahim heated up Amy’s Sweet & Sour Bowls and picked the broccoli out of my bowl for me (because of my IBS). These come in handy for quick light meals! We found these at Grocery Outlet.

Dinner - Vegan Nachos + Tacos from Xochitl Vegan

We originally went to LA to try The Vegan Taqueria but Chef Raul sold out in an hour and a half and we weren’t able to try his vegan tacos this day. We ended up going to Xochitl Vegan for dinner instead. I’d been wanting to try this place for a while now and today was the day. We ordered 1 of each taco (asked for no beans because of my IBS), small order of Asada nachos, “cacahuatl” drink. The nachos were truly godly!

We loved their carnitas and Asada tacos!

Next time I want to get a mulita with carnitas and their nachos again! We will be dreaming about their nachos until we go back. It’s also cool that everything they make is gluten-free too. Their Asada is made with jamaica (hibiscus).

Monday, September 13th

Breakfast - Plant-Powered Sandwich Philz Coffee + Yerba Mate

I wanted to try Just What I Kneaded in LA but they were closed this day. We ended up deciding to try Philz Coffee’s Plant-Powered Sandwich and ordered some iced yerba mate with no honey and no cream. This breakfast sandwich was great! Fahim described it as what Dunkin’s Beyond Breakfast Sandwich should’ve been and I couldn’t agree more. They use Beyond Meat’s Sausage Patty, folded Just Egg, and Daiya’s cheddar cheese.

The yerba mate was THE BEST!

Lunch - Quesadillas + Watermelon

Before we checked out of our Airbnb, I made us some quesadillas and packed them with us to have later. I made the quesadillas with corn tortillas and Vevan Foods Pepperjack Shreds. We ate the quesadillas for lunch along with the watermelon I had packed with us. I recommend packing food with you on trips because it’s so convenient to have.

Pick me up - Chameleon Organic Cold-Brew Non-Dairy Oat Milk Maple Latte

On our drive to Santa Barbara, we each had a can of Chameleon Organic Cold-Brew Non-Dairy Oat Milk Maple Latte. This coffee was perfectly balanced — it wasn’t too sweet and you could still taste the cold brew. I loved that they sweetened it with actual maple syrup too. We found these at Grocery Outlet and would definitely get them again!

Dinner - Annapurna Tofu + Tse Phing + Roti from Himalayan Kitchen

Once we arrived in Santa Barbara we ordered takeout from Himalayan Kitchen and enjoyed our dinner at the beach. We ordered the following vegan-friendly dishes: Annapurna Tofu, Tse Phing, Veggie Thukpa, and Roti. The Annapurna Tofu was INCREDIBLE!!! We cant wait to come back again.

Dessert - Good & Gather Sea Salt Caramel Hot Cocoa Mix + Pringles

We drank some hot chocolate and snacked on some Pringles while we watched TV. Good & Gather Sea Salt Caramel Hot Cocoa from Target is vegan friendly and AMAZING! We mixed the hot cocoa mix into warm Almondmilk. We loved the fact that it wasn’t too sweet it was the perfect amount of sweet and salty.

Tuesday, September 14th

Breakfast - Vegan Breakfast Burrito + Yerba Mate from Savory Cafe & Deli

We ordered vegan breakfast burritos from Savory Cafe & Deli. We also picked up Guyaki Yerba Mates. Unfortunately, the burritos had no seasonings which was extra disappointing since they were pricey. However, the sizing was good and it did fill us up. We were just disappointed about the lack of flavor. We personally wouldn’t come back, although they did have quite a few vegan dessert options which we didn’t try.

Snack - Kashi Chocolate Peanut Butter Chewy Granola Bar

We drove to Solvang, and on our drive back to Santa Barbara we each snacked on a Kashi Chocolate Peanut Butter Chewy Granola Bar to hold us over until we picked up lunch.

Lunch - Açai Bowls from Oak Berry Açai Bowls

We ordered 2 “Works” Bowls with the following toppings: vegan granola, peanut butter, banana, strawberry, goji berry, cashews, cacao nibs, and vegan protein. These were the BEST açai bowls we’ve had! We highly recommend this place. It was pricy but you get unlimited toppings and they're not stingy with the toppings either. It’s also owned by a local Brazilian couple!

Dinner - Gochujang Tofu Buns + Crispy Rice Cake Skewers + Vegan Mushroom Tofu Soup + Vegan Dumpling Tofu Soup from Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House

As we drove back home our hunger caught up to us. There weren’t many restaurants that were still open around the time. Thankfully we remembered we had wanted to try Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House in Long Beach. They’re open late so we HAD to stop by for dinner.

We ordered Gochujang Tofu Buns, Crispy Rice Cake Skewers, a Vegan Mushroom Tofu Soup, and a Vegan Dumpling Tofu Soup.

Everything was PHENOMENAL!!! We cant wait to go back to try more of their vegan-friendly dishes! We definitely highly recommend it.

Wednesday, September 15th

Breakfast - Just Egg Scramble + Rice + leftover soup from Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House

First, I made Just Egg into a scramble. Next, I heated up leftover rice and the leftover soup we had from Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House. This was breakfast was a tasty combo!

Snack - Watermelon

We snacked on some watermelon again.

Pick Me Up - CBD Golden Milk Turmeric Tea + CBD Matcha

I made us CBD teas in the afternoon. For the turmeric tea, I added a teaspoon of Instant CBD Golden Milk Turmeric Tea from One Love Tea into a mug. Then I added in 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar and about 1/2 cup of room temperature water into the mug, mixed it with a frother, and topped it off with a couple of ice cubes. I frothed up Silk’s Oatmilk and poured it over top of the mug. Lastly, I sprinkled dried rose petals over top. This was so refreshing!

I made Fahim a CBD matcha. For the matcha, I added 1/2 teaspoon of Instant CBD Matcha Green Tea Powder from One Love Tea. Then I added in 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar, cinnamon, and about 1/2 cup of room temperature water into the mug, mixed it with a frother, and topped it off with a couple of ice cubes. Then I frothed up Silk’s Oatmilk and poured it over top of the mug. Lastly, I sprinkled dried rose petals over top.

Lunch - Quesadillas + Guacamole

I made us a lighter lunch since we were still pretty full from breakfast. I made us quesadillas using Tortilla Frescas Uncooked Flour Tortillas from Costco. For the cheese, I used Vevan Foods Pepperjack Shreds. For the side, I combined half a diced avocado with the leftover pico de gallo I'd made in the fridge. This was great and quick to make!

Snack - Pomegranate seeds

I cut up pomegranates and deseeded them. We snacked on 3 of them.

Dinner - Veggie Thukpa from Himalayan Kitchen + Makeshift Kimchi Fried Rice and leftovers from Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House

Fahim heated up the Veggie Thukpa from Himalayan Kitchen for his dinner. We were going to share the soup but when he was heating it up we noticed it had cauliflower and broccoli (I avoid eating those vegetables because they trigger by IBS) so I opted out of having the soup.

Instead, I made a quick kimchi fried rice using the leftovers from Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House. Into a pan, I added in leftover white rice, leftover air-fried tofu, Kimchi, a couple of other pickled dishes from Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House, and soy sauce. I really enjoyed this quick kimchi fried rice! I also paired it with the other side dishes from Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House which elevated the dish!

I didn’t eat the macaroni salad though — they did say it was vegan but I was full after having the rice and the pickled sides.

Snack - Lay’s Limón Flavored Chips + Sol-Ti Dragonfruit SuperAde

We snacked on some chips as we watched TV. I also enjoyed a Sol-Ti juice.

Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed this episode or one of our meals, please leave a comment below with your thoughts! Don’t forget to subscribe to get new posts sent directly to your email inbox every Friday! See you next time! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! \(◔‿◔)/ ♥

Heads up — check the comments below as I’m sharing donation links in episodes from now on in the comment section!

-Mariana & Fahim