What We Eat In A Week - Episode 017

Welcome back to a new episode! This week we went on a trip for Fahims birthday :) We booked an Airbnb in Fresno and visited Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, and the Forestiere Underground Gardens! We’re excited to share with you our vegan finds from this trip! Hope you enjoy it!

Thursday, April 8th

Breakfast - Gardein Breakfast Bowl + half a bagel

This was a quick breakfast kind of day. I heated up the Gardein bowls then toasted the last Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel and spread Miyokos Creamery Cultured Vegan Butter on top. We both had half a bagel :)

Lunch - Rubio’s Coastal Grill Impossible California Burrito

We picked up lunch to eat in the car before we headed out to Fresno. Rubio’s has Impossible Foods now in CA, AZ, and NV! We ordered their California Impossible burrito to make it vegan omit the chipotle white sauce. They also have an Impossible Taco salad which can be made vegan by omitting the ranch dressing. (I had mine without beans because IBS). The burrito was good but we’re sticking to the Impossible California bowl in the future because it has more food.

Dinner - Fasika Ethiopian Restaurant

We’ve been wanting to try Ethiopian food for so long and it exceeded our expectations! We got 1 order of vegetarian sambusa, 1 combo plate with #3 Miser Wat, #8 Azifah, #7 Kik Alecha, #9 Timatim Fitfit. Everything was spectacular! The owner was very friendly too. If you’re in Fresno this place is a must-try!

Friday, April 9th

Breakfast - Vegan Pan Dulce from Cafe Oaxaca

This was the morning of Fahims birthday! Instead of a cake, we got birthday pan! We got every kind of vegan pan dulce we could get. We also got their vegan tiramisu and flan. Everything was amazing, we loved this place! I will be dreaming about their vegan Gansito until we go back. I hadn’t had one in over 7 years my childhood heart was so happy!

Lunch - Falafel Platters + Grape Leaves from Noah’s Ark

This place was great! We ordered 2 falafel platters and grape leaves from here. We shared one of the falafel platters for lunch in the car before we headed out to Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia.

Snack - Grape Leaves

We ate the Grape Leaves while we were driving through the park.

Dinner - Falafel Platter

We had a picnic at Hume Lake! The second falafel platter held up pretty well in our cooler bag :)

Dessert - Pan Dulce

We shared a few bites of the vegan conchas!

Saturday, April 10th

Breakfast - Pan Dulce + Smoothies from Tower Blendz

We shared the vegan Oreja for pre-breakfast as we were getting ready to check out of our place. We stopped at Tower Blendz and ordered their immunity and antioxidant D smoothies before heading over to our tour reservation at Forestiere Underground Gardens!

Lunch - Vegan Curry Veggie Pizza + Vegan Desi Garlic Breadsticks from The Curry Pizza Company

We picked up a pizza to eat in the car before we started our drive. This pizza place was incredible! We ordered 1 family size of their vegan curry veggie pizza and 1 order of their vegan Desi Garlic breadsticks. We had leftovers for DAYS — we’ll definitely be going here again whenever we’re in the area. They also have vegan wings we want to try next time!

Dinner - 2 Vegan Combo Plates + Vegan Cream Cheese Wontons from Pots n’ Woks

We stopped in Whittier to pick up Pots n’ Woks for dinner. We ordered 2 vegan combo plates, both plates half rice and half chow mein, one plate with orange chick’n and the other with jalapeño chick’n, and their vegan cream cheese wontons! Everything was delicious and even better than we imagined! I’m so happy we finally got to try them I had been wanting to go for so long.

Sunday, April 11th

Breakfast - Nutty Açai Bowls from Robeks

We didn’t have any fresh produce to cook with so we picked up our go-to bowls for breakfast. To veganize this bowl omit the honey and pee pollen. We also like to add strawberries and agave as extra toppings!

Lunch - Leftover Pots n Woks

We heated up the leftovers from Pots n’ Woks for lunch!

Snack - Leftovers from The Curry Pizza Company

We each had a slice of pizza and one breadstick as a snack! We ate this in our front yard to get some sun :)

Dinner - Basil Fried Rice from Palm Thai Cusine

My parents kindly brought us some takeout they were getting food themselves and stopped by to drop off our go-to order! I’m happy that my family loves this place too it’s so flavorful! We had the basil fried rice and saved the other dish for the next day.

Monday, April 12th

Breakfast - Dunkin’ Beyond Breakfast Sandwich

Our go-to order is 2 Beyond Sausage Breakfast sandwiches and 2 hashbrowns. To veganize the sandwich ask for no egg and no cheese. We stack the hashbrowns inside our sandwich and drench it in Cholula Green Pepper Sauce. For pictures check out Episode 9!

Lunch - Pad Kee Mao from Palm Thai Cuisine + Spring Rolls

I heated up the Pad Kee Mao and air-fried some spring rolls to have on the side! We found this vegan-friendly box of spring rolls at Costco.

Snack - Leftovers from The Curry Pizza Company + Suja Kombucha

We enjoyed the last two slices of pizza and breadsticks outside again!

We also sipped on Suja Kombucha the Blood Orange Bitters flavor reminded us of orange Fanta.

Dinner - Nongshim Soon Veggie Noodle Soup Cup

We found a box of these vegan ramen cups at Costco. We’d get them when we lived in Vegas but this was our first time seeing them in a Costco in CA! We each had a cup of noodles for dinner.

Tuesday, April 13th

Breakfast - Kashi GO Flakes & Cluster Maple Brown Sugar Cereal

We found this cereal at Grocery Outlet if you like crunchy cereals you’ll love this one!

Lunch - Papas con chorizo de soya tacos

I made papas con chorizo de soya for lunch. I wanted to have something more filling before we went to the gym. I made them into tacos and topped them with cilantro, red onion, and homemade salsa (click this link for the salsa video we made). The recipe for this will be in my cookbook that’s in the works!

Dinner - Salad + Veggies + Alpha Foods Plant-Based Nuggets

Once we got back from our workout I made us a late dinner. First I air-fried Alpha Foods Plant-Based Nuggets. Next, I reheated a roasted vegetable medley from Costco on a pan along with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then, I added a handful of spring mix to our plates and drizzled them greens with white wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I tossed the greens until they were evenly coated with the dressing. Then I topped the greens with the roasted veggies and nuggets. This was simple and tasty!

Snack - Poporners Kettle Corn

We snacked on these after dinner. We found them at Costco, it’s kettle corn in chip form!

Wednesday, April 14th

Breakfast - Oats Topped w/ berries, almond butter & choc chips

I made oatmeal and topped it with fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, almond butter, and semisweet chocolate chips. This was so good and filling!

Lunch - Udon Noodle Soup

First I added sesame and chili oil to a nonstick pot. Next, I added half of a diced brown onion, 3 cloves of minced garlic, and a generous amount of shiitake mushrooms. For seasonings, I used a version of Lawry’s from Cardenas, sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I sauteed those veggies until the onions browned. Once the onions started to brown I added 2 diced celery sticks, 1 diced fresh jalapeno, frozen corn, and lastly 2 small red potatoes thinly sliced into the pot. I sauteed that together and added about 1/4 cup of Nona Lim’s Miso Ramen Broth (wanted to use what was leftover) then I filled the pot with water until the halfway point.

To the broth, I added vegetable bouillon, sea salt, pepper, onion powder, chili oil, sesame oil, dried oregano, and 2 mushroom broth packets from the Mushroom Udon Packet. I let the broth come to a boil. Once the broth boiled I added the udon noodles and let them cook with the broth for 3 minutes. Lastly, for toppings, I drizzled Sriracha over top and added seaweed flakes to my serving. This was phenomenal and perfect for the chilly weather!

Dinner - Gardein Skillet Meals Asian Style Chick’n Fried Rice

By the time we got home from our workout, it was past 9 pm. I made us a quick dinner and heated up Gardein’s Skillet Meals we each had a bag. (I picked the broccoli out of my serving because of IBS problems). While heating up the rice I added extra seasonings of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Lastly, I topped the rice with drizzled Sriracha. Fahim said he liked the rice. If I hadn’t added the Sriracha over top I wouldn’t have eaten it because the rice itself was bland. I honestly think that Fahim only liked it because of the Sriracha too. I ended up leaving a couple of bites on the plate because I just wasn’t a fan. I wouldn’t get it again but it came in handy for a quick meal.

Snack - Redvines

We both had a couple of red vines as we watched some tv. I’m so happy these are accidentally vegan because they’ve always been my favorite candy to have while watching a movie!

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 every Thursday! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! Also Happy Ramadan to everyone celebrating! <3

See you next time :)

-Mariana & Fahim