Holiday Survival

I went to bed an hour ago and yet…here I am. I am always behind on things as it is but for whatever reason tonight every detail on my ‘to do’ list is swimming frantically in my head. Clearly, a new post is long overdue, so at least I’m being productive.

I have to admit it, and I’m sure I sound crazy but – I am SO GLAD the holidays are over! At least when it comes to food. Lack of farmer’s markets and baked sweets have gotten to me. If you didn’t know, let me tell you now, eating vegan does NOT always equal healthy! I have had waaaaayyy to many processed flour, sugar treats and fried things lately. I am beyond eager to get back on track and very happy to be a self proclaimed ‘plant based Vegan’.

Speaking of the holidays, I will admit – I derailed Christmas night. We were invited to a family members house that we are becoming increasingly close with, but are still getting to know each other and we didn’t know anyone else that had been invited. Simply put, I wasn’t comfortable coming out as a Vegan and didn’t want that to become a main topic of conversation. Do I think it was worth it? Yes.

I had a game plan: certainly I made sure to eat well at home prior to leaving. As my dish to pass I made a generous serving of the green bean casserole from Thanksgiving and also brought mixed nuts, hummus, pretzels, mixed berry pie, and chocolate coconut cupcakes. Because, let’s be honest – should a meat eater look down on your vegan ways, you can usually stop them in the tracks with a good chocolate cupcake. Or at least confuse them.

This was a formal dinner affair, though, complete with a long table beautifully decorated and everyone shoulder to shoulder. I didn’t want to offend anyone by not eating their cooking (because I know *I* am sensitive when people won’t eat what I’ve cooked) so I dished up what veggies I could find, trying to take larger servings of the ones that appeared to have the least amount of butter pooled in them. Bottom line, everyone had a great time, I didn’t go hungry, and everyone loved the pie and chocolate cupcakes – never knowing they were vegan. As far as I’m concerned, it was a successful night!

To start the New Year, I made a late day breakfast dish. Maybe it was because I was so hungry, but it was goooooooodddd. How anyone could eat this and categorize Vegans as ‘boring’ is beyond me!

Cranberry, Kale & Wheatberry Salad, Oven Pancakes, Hashbrowns with Kale & Tempah, Biscuits & Gravy