skinny bitch: vegan challenge day 4

Posh was just really skinny, I'm sure she's not a b*tch. mindbodygreen.com

Houston, we've got a problem. I woke up this morning with a crippling stomach ache and blamed it on last night's rice bowl with among other vegan goodies, spicy tofu. So many vegan menus replace meat with some kind of tofu, I was worried that I can't make it through this challenge if I can't have soy products. And I was so looking forward to making Astig Vegan's sizzling tofu sisig!

Then I remembered that I was munching on this bag of dried green mangoes as I cleaned the pantry at 11pm last night in a fit of Bikram energy. I may be vegan, but still a compulsive eater.

So good! But you probably shouldn't eat this just before going to bed.

It's day 4 and I love this challenge. I'm not hungry at all. My fridge is stocked with fruits, vegetables and other vegan goodies that I've prepped over the last few days. The key to my success so far is planning and making meals that are just as hearty and tasty if they were made with meat. In fact, they're more delicious. I actually look forward to eating the meals I've prepared for myself.

Day 4 vegan challenge meals:

Beverage: 8am, chamomile tea (stomach much too upset for anything else)
Breakfast: 10am, red grapefruit. Probably not the best fruit to eat on an empty upset stomach, but that's what I had so I ate it.
Beverage: 11:30, coffee with almond milk of course. Just not loving my homemade coffee, but I hate to go to Starbucks and pay $2 everyday. Must find a better brew for home.
Lunch: 1:30, Rice bowl with bok choy, spicy tofu and eggplant. I had to know if it was the tofu that was upsetting my stomach. Verdict: I'm fine. It's not the tofu.
Snack: 3:00, Vegan Hot Cocoa. Vegan heaven in a cup, recipe below.
Dinner: Nothing. Working. A nap--cocoa does that to me. Yoga.
Post-yoga Snack: 10:30pm, Sunflower seeds.

VEGAN HOT COCOA

It was a surprisingly cool day. When Precious got home from school I asked him if he wanted hot chocolate and he said 'But it's not good for me'. I tell ya, I think my kids aren't listening, but they clearly are! When I said it was made with almond milk, he wanted to try. What boy can say no to a cup of hot cocoa when he comes home from school? He loved it! My vegan version is just as creamy and spicy as this Mayan hot chocolate or a drink from Soma.

Vegan heaven in a cup

Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups almond milk, 3 tbsps cocoa powder, agave nectar to taste, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, pinch each of salt, ground cinnamon and cayenne pepper.

Bring the soy milk, agave, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and whisk until frothy. Serve immediately.  

Tomorrow, day 5. And then the weekend and a family dinner. THAT will be a challenge.