What We Eat In A Week - Episode 016

Welcome back to a new episode! This week was full of more at-home cooking. My mom and I have also been working on veganizing her birria so that deliciousness makes an appearance. I also made more childhood dishes at home + easy quick meals like ramen!

Thursday, April 1st

Breakfast - Oats topped w/ almond butter, choc chips, and berries

I cooked oats and topped them with a tablespoon of almond butter, semi-sweet chocolate chips, strawberries, and blueberries. This breakfast was lovely! If you want to read what I add into oats plus how I cook them check out Episode 6!

Lunch - Grilled Chick’n Salad Bowl

First I added spring mix into our bowls and lightly drizzled the greens with Follow Your Heart’s Vegan Cesar Salad Dressing. Next, I added heated up leftover white rice and grilled vegan chick’n we had leftover. Lastly, I dolloped cucumber mint yogurt sauce in the middle of the bowl. For details on the chick’n and yogurt sauce check out Episode 15! My favorite thing about making the dish in the previous episode is that we can also enjoy the same flavors in a bowl the next day!

Dinner - Vegan Jackfruit Birria

My mom and I made jackfruit Birria using fresh jackfruit she found at the Mexican Market. It took us in total two hours to disassemble the jackfruit which I was expecting after my friend Ope warned me about it. Next, we baked the jackfruit to dry it out a bit afterward, thanks to Keith for this tip! Once we took it out of the oven we made the birria sauce to marinate and let it slow cook in. My mom and I are working on perfecting this recipe once we’re 100% happy with it, it’ll be released in my cookbook that’ll come at some point this year! :) I’m happy that we’re close to getting this down so we can share the veganized version of my mom’s Birria with you all!

Friday, April 2nd

Breakfast - Waffles Topped w/ Banana + Biscoff Cookie Butter

I toasted Kashi’s Golden Goodness Waffles and topped them with sliced bananas and Biscoff Cookie Butter. Lastly, I lightly drizzled agave over top! As a side, we had some blueberries. This is a tasty and quick breakfast!

Snack - Guacamole + Chips

I was starting to get hungry so I quickly made some guacamole to have with chips as a pre-workout snack.

Lunch - Vegan Quesabirria Tacos

I made Quesbirria Tacos with the leftover jackfruit Birria. I used Miyoko's Creamery Cultured Vegan Pepper Jack Shreds. We found the shreds at Grocery Outlet which was a win! I hadn’t tried them before but they’re great! We also had a side of Spanish rice and leftover guacamole from earlier. This was so delicious!

Dinner - Cesar Salad

First I placed spring mix onto our plates. Then I topped the greens with diced tomato, cucumber, sliced kalamata olives, and garbanzo beans. Lastly, I drizzled Follow Your Hearts Vegan Cesar Salad Dressing over top. I made this super simple because we had just got back from doing groceries and we weren’t too hungry. This was good, this dressing is our favorite!

Saturday, April 3rd

Breakfast - Gardein Breakfast Bowl + Buttered Everything Bagel

I had an early morning appointment so we had a quick breakfast. These Gardein Breakfast Bowls come in handy! I toasted a bagel and spread Miyokos Creamery European Style Cultured Vegan Butter over top of it, we each had half. We found this butter at Costco, it’s a two-pack for the price of one! I didn’t realize it had two until I opened it this day.

Lunch - Kenshō Vegan Sushi

After my appointment, we planned on picking up Kenshō so we drove over to their new location. We ended up waiting an hour for our food but it was worth the wait. This was our order: 1 yoga fire roll, 1 jalapeño popper roll, 1 crunchy cali roll. They were all amazing but our top 2 are the yoga fire roll and the jalapeño popper roll!

Snack - Hug Life Ice Cream + Milkshake

It was a sunny day so we wanted to pick up some ice cream from Hug Life. We ordered 1 scoop of the Matcha Monsta, and 1 ReTwix milkshake and also got 1 Unreal Dark Chocolate Peanut Gems and 1 Unreal Dark Chocolate Crispy Quinoa Gems. I had been craving their Matcha ice cream so I ate pretty much all of the scoop and Fahim had most of the milkshake. I just wasn’t in the mood for anything too sweet/chocolate this day but the milkshake was great too! They’re always so nice if you’re in the OC area and want some vegan ice cream check them out!

Dinner - Chilito De Nopales + Porkless Bites w/ Side of Spanish Rice

For dinner, I made Chilito De Nopales. My mom had given me freshly cut nopales (cactus) so I was excited to use them. First I cooked Spanish Rice (the recipe will be included in my cookbook that’s in the works). Then I washed the nopales (my mom had already taken out the thorns for me) and sliced them. I added them into a pan along with some water and sea salt.

Once the cactus was fully cooked through I added leftover salsa I had made the other day into the pan. Next, I added Gardein’s Porkless Bites and let everything cook together. Lastly, I plated the chilito over freshly made Spanish rice. My mom used to add tortas de camarón or chicharrón to this dish so I wanted to experiment with the Gardein Porkless Bites and was super pleased!

Sunday, April 4th

Breakfast - Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Rolls

Trader Joe’s Cinnamon rolls are accidentally vegan! They’re our favorite ready-made cinnamon rolls! The pumpkin-flavored version that comes out in the fall is also vegan-friendly. We baked these and had them along with our morning coffee/tea!

Lunch - Chilaquiles + Spanish Rice

First I made the salsa. If you want to know how I make my salsa I made a YouTube video for it, here’s the link! Next, I added oil to a pan along with sliced onion. Then I added tortilla chips until they were toasted and the onion was translucent. Next, I added the freshly made salsa along with Miyoko's Creamery Cultured Vegan Pepper Jack Shreds. I mixed everything until well combined, then occasionally until the cheese melted. Lastly, I plated the chilaquiles topped them with half of an avocado and with a side of Spanish rice! We can never get enough of chilaquiles or rice!

Snack - Unreal Dark Chocolate Peanut Gems + Lentil Soup

Fahim had some peanut gems as a snack. I had a small bowl of lentil soup my grandma made.

Dinner - Ramen made w/ fresh Korean Noodles

First I cooked Korean Knife-Cut Fresh Noodles according to instructions. Then I added premade ramen broth into a medium pot. I used Nona Lim’s Miso Ramen Broth we found this vegan-friendly broth at Grocery Outlet. Next, I added kale, sliced green onions, frozen corn, vegetable bouillon, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili oil, and sesame oil to the broth. I let the broth come to a simmer. Once the noodles were cooked I drained then placed them into bowls and poured the broth over top. I sprinkled red pepper flakes over top, drizzled Sriracha, and seaweed flakes to my bowl. This was so quick and appetizing!

Monday, April 5th

Breakfast - Cinnamon Rolls

We had leftover TJ’s cinnamon rolls for breakfast this day along with our morning beverages.

Lunch - Burrito Bowls

First I added spring mix into our bowls. I drizzled what we had left of Follow Your Hearts Vegan Cesar Salad Dressing along with lemon juice and chopped cilantro. I tossed the greens with the dressing until well combined. Next, I heated up Spanish rice and added it to the bowl. Then I added cooked chorizo de soya. Lastly, I topped off the bowls with diced avocado, more cilantro, diced red onion, and homemade salsa. This was so flavorful!

Dinner - Vegan Turkey Sandwich + Mozzarella Style Sticks

First I cooked Earth Grown Meatless Turkey Breasts from Aldi on a small lightly buttered pan. (I used Miyoko’s butter). I also sprinkled a version of Lawry’s from Cardenas over top. Once one side was cooked I flipped the turkey and topped it with Field Roast’s Chao Slices, brought the heat to low, and covered until the other side cooked through and the slices melted.

Then I toasted vegan-friendly multigrain bread from Costco. I made my own “spicy” mayo by combining Best Foods Vegan Mayo with cayenne powder and smoked paprika. I spread that over top of the toasted bread. Next, I prepped the veggies. I used sliced tomatoes, butter lettuce, and sliced dill pickles. Then I assembled the sandwich and cut it diagonally. As a side, I also air-fried Earth Grown Mozzarella Style Sticks from Aldi. This sandwich was delightful!

Tuesday, April 6th

Breakfast - Tamales de Elote

I heated up tamales de elote (corn) my grandma gave us for breakfast!

Lunch - Chorizo De Soya Tacos

I made soy chorizo tacos. I topped them off with chopped red onion, cilantro, and homemade salsa. Tacos are always a good idea!

Dinner - Impossible Jalapeño Onion Cheddar Mozzarella Stick Stuffed Burger

First I peeled washed and sliced potatoes into fry form. I seasoned them and baked them at 375°F for 20-25 minutes. As the fries baked I cooked Impossible Foods’ Patty with sliced red onion and fresh jalapeños in the same pan. I seasoned the patty with black pepper, sea salt, cayenne powder, and smoked paprika. For the onions and jalapeño, I added salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

I prepped the toppings as the patty cooked. I sliced tomato, washed butter lettuce, and took out sliced dill pickles. I also air-fried Aldi’s Earth Grown Cheddar Style Sticks. Then I toasted vegan-friendly sesame buns from Costco. I made my own sriracha mayo by combining Best Foods Vegan Mayo with sriracha. Lastly, I assembled the burger and placed the fries on the side. This burger was incredible!!! We ended up being too full to eat all the fries.

Wednesday, April 7th

Breakfast - Kashi Organic Strawberry Fields Cereal

We had a bowl of this Kashi cereal we got at Grocery Outlet. I poured almond milk over it. This cereal was so good and crunchy!

Snack - DQ fries

After our workout, we were really hungry so we picked up some fries from DQ along with a box of their non-dairy dilly bars!

Lunch - Gardein Orange Beefless Bowl

These bowls come in handy I tell ya! We get them whenever we see them at Grocery Outlet.

Dinner - Huitlacoche Tacos

My dad dropped off huitlacoche tacos from this place by his work to us. My parents said the best way to describe huitlacoche would be mushrooms that grow on corn. We added lettuce & the two salsas that come with it. We crave these tacos and salsa so much this place is too good!

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this newsletter or one of our meals please Tweet me @marianavtp and share your thoughts with me! Don’t forget to subscribe to get new posts sent directly to your email inbox! I hope you’re all doing well, sending love. <3 See you next Thursday :)

-Mariana & Fahim