Woman in Real Life: What I Ate Wednesday, with Easter Dinner & A Salad Challenge!

We had a quiet Easter this year. As much as we would have liked to go visit family, we were all feeling a bit burned out, and the thought of packing up all the stuff for the kids and the dogs was just too much for us. So we had a nice simple vegan/vegetarian Easter dinner right here at home.

We put a Tofurky vegan roast in the oven surrounded by potatoes and carrots and glazed with a soy sauce/orange juice marinade. Then we prepared our other side dishes - my mother-in-law's famous peas and mushroom combo for one.

Hubby and I had red wine while the kids enjoyed pink lemonade.

We toasted to Easter and a relaxing long weekend.

We had sweet potatoes cooked in brown sugar and margarine, the way my mom makes them.

And mashed potatoes of course. You can see from my plate that I got a bit carried away with the gravy. We cleaned up as we cooked, so we were able to enjoy our meal without too much fuss afterwards. It was a lovely way to celebrate Easter.

Take the Salad Challenge!

On another note, I have a confession - I often make boring salads. Lettuce, cucumber and dried cranberries (I like the sweetness). That's it. I read an article in a magazine this past week that changed the game for me - it suggested making a daily salad using 12 vegetables (12!) plus herbs and seeds.

So, on the weekend, I attempted to put together a more extraordinary salad using what we had in the fridge. Unfortunately I uncovered a few rotting vegetables, and we didn't have anything close to 12, but we improvised, adding fruit and chickpeas. Here's what we ended up with:

romaine lettuce
iceberg lettuce (I don't like it, but that's what the kids prefer)
red onions
broccoli
cucumber
carrots
orange pepper slices
avocado
strawberries
chickpeas
sunflower seeds
pecans
fresh basil

It was kind of fun trying to come up with ideas, and I really enjoyed the salad (with our usual olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt vinaigrette). You should try it one day (unless of course you are already a more daring salad eater than me!).

And now for my Monday day of eats. I started off with Nature's Path flax plus waffles, topped with vegan margarine and maple syrup. Strawberries on the side.

I had a banana chocolate chip muffin mid-morning. (I have several muffin recipes in the recipes section if you are looking for a warm, healthy vegan treat.)

For lunch I had leftover Easter dinner (this time pictured without gobs of gravy).

Mid-afternoon I had a Clif Crunch chocolate chip granola bar. This is the first time I have tried them. They are pretty good, Handy to keep in the cupboard for those hungry moments between meals.

Ever since I wrote about the fabulous Strauss WaterBar countertop filtration system, I have been conscious once again (I go through phases) of drinking enough water each day. I have been filling up a big water bottle in the morning and squeezing in lemon juice or dropping in raspberries, strawberries and pineapple. The fruit helps inspire me to drink a bit more than usual. I have been taking a lot of trips to the bathroom though...hopefully my body is getting a good detox!

Even though we flaked out on Easter dinner with our families, my wonderful mother-in-law sent a whole tofu lasagna back with my sister-in-law for us. Love that woman! We had her delicious lasagna for dinner on Monday.

Along with another big ole salad! Pretty similar to the last one (because I hadn't been to the grocery store yet) but with the addition of pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries, cherries and blueberries. I want to add cauliflower, parsley and zucchini shreds the next time.

What other veggies would you suggest adding to our big salad?

Health Enthusiasts - be sure to enter these two giveaways!

I have two giveaways going on right now that are sure to appeal to you health-lovin' peeps! Enter to win a package of healthy, gluten-free snack options from SimplyProtein AND enter to win a Natural Calm prize pack from Natural Vitality.

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