Celebratory two-year veganniversary recaps–FINALLY HERE! I know it’s only been four or five days after the magnificent half-weekend (I say half because I didn’t celebrate too much on Sunday), but to me, it honestly seems like more of an eternity. There’s already so much ahead for me–Vegan Street Fair LA Nights, a cinema dinner, move-in day–though for now, I want to soak in the past and attempt to re-live every beautiful moment through sentences and photography.
Above is my full Instagram statement pertaining to honoring my veganniversary. I actually revered two years of veganism twice. Get it? Two years…two days? Okay, that probably made you scrunch your face and hunch back in your chair, cringing enough for your stomach to wrench up. ANYWAYS. Time to just hop into the food. I will include links and ratings of each product.
FRIDAY 8/24/18 (official veganniversary)
- Early pre-workout breakfast: Trader Joe’s Joe’s O’s with some crumbles of the Inno Foods coconut clusters (found in Costco! One of the best discoveries I’ve ever achieved from this store!) and Silk unsweetened almond milk
- Rating: 7/10 (Joe’s O’s–nutritious but grainy and flavorless…tastes much better with Stevia and cinnamon), 8.5/10 (coconut clusters, superbly sweet, crunchy, and satisfying), 8/10 (almond milk, something I prefer as a base to other foods); average: 7.83/10
- Lunch: air-fried kabocha squash (and YES, this IS a whole pumpkin! I attempted eating a whole kabocha squash two years ago and failed semi-miserably, but hey, an active day calls for lots of nourishing food!), protein frosting made with more toasted coconut clusters and True Nutrition vegan cookies n’ cream protein, and Boom Chicka Pop light kettle corn
- Rating: 10/10 (kabocha, AKA the magical pumpkin), 9/10 (vegan protein and coconut clusters–both individually rated as well–both taste splendid, with the protein mixing smoothly and nicely, and the coconut clusters adding the perfect crunch and extra-sweet-fatty factors), 10/10 (kettle corn–so crunchy with the perfect sweet and salty flavors!); average: 9.76/10
- Dinner: a custom spinach salad from the Tender Greens location I work at–spinach, garbanzo beans instead of hazelnuts, tomatoes, and avocado instead of goat cheese–with an unpictured side of ketchup and hot sauce (unpictured)
- Rating: 9/10 (my go-to salad combo!)
- Dessert/late-night drink: GTS Trilogy kombucha on tap at my Tender Greens!
- Rating: 9.5/10 (figures…I LOVE this kombucha brand!)
SATURDAY 8/25/18 (official celebration)
- Early pre-workout breakfast: a Lenny and Larry’s snickerdoodle cookie
- Rating: 9/10 (no question, this cookie is absolutely delicious)
- Post-workout breakfast: protein frosting made with True Nutrition vegan cookies n’ cream protein topped with Mamma Chia vanilla almond clusters alongside a plate of a butterscotch blondie with strawberries and a triple chocolate brownie with blueberries (fun fact: I burnt both the tops and had to cut off the charred corners of both pastries–they still tasted spectacular!) from Doomie’s Home Cookin’
- Rating: 9/10 (vegan protein), 7/10 (vanilla almond clusters–love the crunch, but it tastes a bit bland), 8.5/10 (blondie, otherwise a dessert that had to grow on me after a few bites…fortunately I fell head-over-heels by then), 10/10 (brownie; what can I say? LOVE AT FIRST BITE!)
- Midday snacks (finished them throughout the day while on-the-go): Louisville vegan smoked black pepper jerky and So Delicious No Sugar Added Vanilla Bean coconut milk ice cream
- Rating: 7/10 (jerky; good, but too salty), 10/10 (ice cream, which was superbly creamy, flavorful, and satiating)
- Lunch: Tosai vegan spicy veggie roll and Pressed Juicery blue lemonade (for some reason, I cannot find the exact bottle of the lemonade I had online, but it is found at the Westfield Century City mall location)
- Rating: 8/10 (sushi–the rice crumbles a bit, though the filling and rice combination is A+!), 9/10 (blue lemonade, a drink that is splendidly refreshing without being too sweet or bitter)
- Snack: Plain pizza alla pala from Eataly L.A.
- Rating: 10/10 (so incredibly fluffy inside, yet somewhat crispy and warm externally!)
- Dinner: vegan spring rolls (goi cuon chay) with pickled carrots and jicama and peanut sauce from Pho 21 Canoga
- Rating: 8/10 (need I say more? Come on. It’s a freaking spring roll for Pete’s sake)
OVERALL
By far, my favorite items to eat were the kabocha squash, kettle corn, butterscotch blondie, triple chocolate brownie, coconut milk ice cream, and the plain pizza bread. That being said, I love celebrating my veganism every single day by choosing healthy, wholesome, and nourishing foods, splurge a little bit every single day or every other day, and start throwing them dollars on incredibly special occasions like events, veganniversaries, birthdays, and holidays. By dollars, I literally mean green U.S. dollars, not like “calorie dollars” (most people think of their calorie allotment like a checkings account, which is kind of B.S.).
Again, ANYWAYS. I hope that you enjoyed this quick post! Thought I’d sneak in some quick food reviews and links since I know you will all LOVE these products as much as I do! They are remarkably fantastic and I recommend them to anyone and everyone–vegans and non-vegans alike! Nothing is more refreshing to see a mixture of creative and simplistic plant-based meals and products that anyone can enjoy. What are you waiting for? Start looking up these foods NOW and dig in from there!
What are your favorite vegan food products/meals?
Happy anniversary! 🙂 That’s very cool about the vegan activist. I haven’t heard of too many activists having that long-term impact, although, I’m assuming that’s the starting point for a lot of people. It’s those little voices and images that you can’t shake from your mind that help lead you towards a life of compassion and good food.
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Thank you so much Kari! Had I known about her values and intentions in the present moment, I probably would have considered veganism much earlier. It wasn’t until I began analyzing vegan activism and animal rights where I truly comprehended the vigor behind this philosophy. I can’t thank her enough!
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