Woman in Real Life

It's What I Ate Wednesday once again. Sometimes I hear people (on TV and in life) make fun of others who share photographs of their food on their blogs and social media. And I get it. It's not the most thought-provoking content. But food is important. It nourishes and sustains us, and it gives us pleasure too.

As a plant-based eater, I guess a lot of the reason I share photos of my food is to show people just how easy vegan food can be to prepare. For those who are new to a vegan or vegetarian diet, the change can be daunting. It's really quite simple though and it's only a matter of developing a solid routine, but it can take time. That's why I'm here to show that even the lazy cook (that's me) can eat a well-rounded, plant-based diet with minimal effort. I'm certainly not perfect - I would benefit from more fruits and veggies in my diet on many days - but I've got a few years (two decades) of vegetarian eating under my belt.



On this particular day I'm documenting, I wasn't especially virtuous. I started the day with toasted cinnamon raisin bread (top) slathered with vegan margarine. I had a cup of decaf English Breakfast tea with soy milk to wash it down. I got hungry again in a couple of hours and I wasn't quite ready for lunch, so I had a cup of decaf green tea and a big vegan chocolate chip cookie. (My daughter and I had made a batch the night before.)


Lunch was leftovers from our Tofurky roast dinner, including a slice of the stuffed roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli and roasted carrots.


For dinner, I whipped up some Easy Weeknight Baked Tofu, udon noodles, broccoli, edamame and guacamole. I served the noodles with a bottled peanut sauce and added English cucumber slices and grated carrots. We were actually going to have avocado slices, but the avocado was soft so I turned it into guacamole with diced tomatoes.


Later in the evening I had more tea and a slice (or two) of the fresh-baked fail-proof Best Banana Bread Ever that my husband made that evening. All in all, I enjoyed everything I ate that day. I've reached the stage where I don't feel guilty about indulging in treats. I try to create healthy main meals and have a few goodies now and then. (I prefer homemade whenever possible because then I know the ingredients are good.)

Some people document their eating habits to keep on track with goals and to share in a community of others who are also trying to eat more healthfully. Others offer up meal ideas and recipes to make food preparation easier on busy weeknights. Still others review restaurant fare. Whatever the goal, I think our focus on food in social media is a positive step. And those who aren't interested can just pass on by.

How about you? Do you like to take pics of your food? Do you like to look at photos of other people's food? (I'm guessing yes, or you probably wouldn't be here.) What is your motivation for doing so?