Second to last week of summer – eats & learning from experience

It’s sad that “summer” is coming an end – but I’m looking forward to fall! It was weird to get back to work this week after my time away, but I was busy so I had no choice but to adjust pretty quickly! This week I also started rehearsals for “Annie” so I’m coping with having rehearsal up to 3 times each week. I’m going to do a post very soon on planning for dinners when you’re super busy!

I made some yummy eats this week, beginning with the lasagne from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook.

It was delightful!! (Sorry for the sloppy picture, mine was the first piece out and that NEVER goes well!) It was so filling and I loved the tofu ricotta. To make it gluten free I used no-boil brown rice noodles which worked amazingly well and to bump up the veggie content I added sautéed mushrooms and peppers and served it with a green salad with a simple salad dressing (apple cider vinegar, grape seed oil with a bit of Dijon). Both Joey and I really enjoyed this recipe. It makes a lot so there is some in my freezer for quick go-to meals. Can that cookbook do any wrong? Seriously.

One of my amazing & thoughtful members sent me this recipe for Portobello & zucchini tacos awhile back and I finally made them:

Wow!! So simple and delicious. I served them on brown rice tortillas with some salsa and avocado alongside the lentil black bean salad from La Dolce Vegan!: Vegan Livin' Made Easy. Such a great combination! We enjoyed everything again for lunch the next day:

(Note the cheese in Joey’s and the avocado in mine ) Joey’s so cute about his packed lunches. He prefers taking a lunch to having to buy it as well! It saves us both a ton of money, and I feel good knowing that he has healthy choices, because who KNOWS what he would choose if left to his own devices (kidding, sort of).

On Wednesday night I went into a frenzy making roasted ratatouille,

(which I enjoyed with some brown rice on my way to rehearsal the following day)

homemade larabars

(enjoyed with some oatmeal for breakfast) and then doing the 30 Day Shred. Both recipes were awesome! I will definitely be making more “larabars” in the future because they are super easy, delicious and a lot less expensive than buying them! I’ve stored some in the freezer for future use.

In the meeting room this week we talked about looking ahead to the fall and learning from our experiences from the summer. Here are some of the things I learned this summer:

• Taking PROPER vacations are an important way to take care of myself. I will be taking more in the future. Vacation days are not just for running errands and appointments!
• I learned that I am capable of a lot more physically that I ever thought possible. This summer I tried indoor cycling, Booty Camp and performed in my first public belly dance performance. I’ve also joined a gym and am having a ball doing classes!
• I’ve also realized how far I’ve come from the girl who started Weight Watchers 3+ years ago
• I’ve also realized how much I love fruits, vegetables and foods from the earth and have tried a ton of new recipes

On Saturday we also talked about applying our newfound summer knowledge to the achievement of our goals. I’m still working on the goals that I set out back in July and I’m currently using the storyboarding tool to determine the best course of action to help get me there!

What did you learn this summer? What are you going to take away from your experience to apply to the goals you’re currently working towards?