It is feeling a lot like the holidays around here!
Last night, Eric and I put up our tree, outdoor lights, and decorations and we also received our first snowfall overnight. :)
You may have assumed that I had the holiday decor up weeks ago, but the truth is, we didn’t have a chance until last night!
I’m glad the decorations are up now though…except for a couple that really creep us out…
They are a Liddon family heirloom, that is all I’m going to say about that. ;) Sketchie’s tail poufs up when he sees them by the staircase. It isn’t pretty.
Thank you for your support for my Challenge #9 Project Food Blog post yesterday! It is crazy to think that this challenge has been going on since September and we are down to the final round this coming Sunday!!
I feel like I have aged 30 years and sprouted about 100 new grey hairs. bahaha. Good times, good times. ;)
They are cutting 12 contestants down to just 3 this Friday, so your votes will make all the difference in helping me advance to the final 10th round. All you do is click the heart to vote and if you don’t have an account, simply enter your email and username to register. It is quick to sign up! It will also help out if you re-tweet your vote on Twitter and ‘like’ the post on Facebook.
Click here to be taken to the page and thank you in advance for sticking with my crazy self throughout this contest!
Staying Healthy During the holidays
It is that time of the year when my healthy eating can take a nosedive and I find myself losing motivation as the days get shorter and shorter.
The urge to hibernate is strong my friends.
Sketchie knows what I’m talking about. He has been sleeping beside the heat vent for days on end, only to move when he hears a clinking sound in his food dish.
Luckily, with each new day we can commit to making healthy choices, even if the odds do seem to be stacked against us!
On December 1st, I made a commitment to myself:
Every day for the month of December, my goal is to get a hefty serving of vegetables into my diet in some form. This could be in the form of Green Monsters, salads, soups, or other foods loaded with veggies.
So far, it has been going well and I am feeling more energized than I was in November!
Yesterday, I talked very briefly about the salad and dressing that I adapted from The Coup Cookbook and I wanted to go into more depth about it today because I am head over heels in love with this salad.
It is my new favourite salad and I will be eating it frequently over the holidays to keep me energized and satisfied.
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Club Med Salad with Tahini Lemon Garlic dressing
This salad is incredibly delicious, filling, and a great way to pack in a ton of vegetable servings in one meal.
Adapted from The Coup Cookbook.
Makes 1 large salad.
Ingredients:
- 3-4 cups of Your favourite greens (I used organic mixed greens)
- 3-4 pickles (I used sweet pickle slices), chopped into small pieces
- 6 black olives, pitted and chopped, optional
- 1/2 Red banana pepper cut into rings OR 1/2 regular red pepper, chopped
- 1/4 orange pepper, chopped
- 5-8 sundried tomatoes
- Handful of sprouts
- ½ avocado, sliced
- 1/4-1/2 cup carrots, shredded
- 1/4 cup beets, shredded
- 1-2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2-3 tbspTahini Lemon Garlic Dressing (follows below)
- 1/2 cup chickpeas or my Crispy chickpea bites (https://ohsheglows.com/2010/10/28/crispy-chickpea-bites-in-the-oven/)
Directions: Place all ingredients into a bowl except the dressing and sesame seeds. Drizzle on dressing and lightly toss. Sprinkle on sesame seeds and serve. See below for dressing recipe.
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Tahini Lemon Garlic Salad Dressing
This salad dressing is creamy and thick with a sharp, peppery quality. It is my new favourite! Use it on salad or even as a delicious dip for vegetables.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Directions: In a food processor, process all ingredients until smooth. Makes about 1.5 cups.
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This salad really knocks my socks off and Eric even said it was delicious! This is good news coming from a former vegetable hater. :)
The dressing also just takes 5 minutes to throw together.
For the past few days I have been having a nightly snack of chopped veggies and dressing. It is a wonderful snack that leaves me feeling satisfied thanks to the healthy fats.
Creamy and thick.
Have you made any goals to stay healthy over the holidays? What are your tips and tricks for staying on track?
As part of my next post I will be showing you the workout music that has been keeping me motivated during my workouts!
That salad looks gorgeous!!! Love the twig spoon too!
I voted for ya!
I’m committed to at LEAST maintaining my weight loss over the holidays, but also having some treats here and there so I don’t feel deprived.
As always LOVE the photos (the salad looks so good!) and have to say “Awww, poor little Sketchie” that he’s scared of the Christmas heirlooms. Our Neva is the same with a Santa we have….I’ve never seen such a BIG tail!! Have a great day.
That salad looks delicious! I always make an attempt to get in a good workout first thing in the early morning before work. I find when I workout in the mornings, I tend to eat healthier during the day, have more energy, and am more willing to actually get my workout done. Once I wake up, I put my contacts in so I’m not tempted to go back to bed. It also warms me up for the day ahead. :) Not to mention with all of these parties to go to, my evenings are spent entertaining which doesn’t always allow for a good sweat sesh after work.
I thought of something else! :) Typically I tell myself that I can really eat holiday food any time of the year I want. It’s not like this is the last time I’m going to eat this particular meal/food/dessert/etc. And if it’s something unique that someone made, I’ll either remind myself to get the recipe from them, beg them to make it for me again, or simply have the memory of how delicious the one serving was because if I overate and felt gross, more than likely feeling gross will be my memory of the food.
I voted! Best of luck to you. thanks for all the great recipes and your hard work.
Congrats for making it Ang. i’ll vote for you tomorrow since my signal if going crazy at this moment I can barely load a page. Dunno why???
Anywho, where did you get those twig spoons? They’re lovely and the salad is a perfection.
Yes yes yes!! So excited to make this salad – I’ve been looking for salad-spiration (mine have gotten boring), and this recipe is making me salivate!
My biggest challenge this holiday season is maintaining an exercise program. This year more than any, I am absolutely swamped with work — both at the office, and on the personal side of things. I decided that even if I wasn’t getting “formal” exercise in, I would just move a bit more during the day — and that has worked pretty well — though I find I am missing a bit of energy.
Eating hasn’t posed much of a challenge for me this season. I think I’ve finally figured out that the secret to enjoying the holidays is to embrace festive food. All too often we treat heathy food as something relegated to the routine (the antithesis of healthy). Not so. For instance:
Cinnamon raisin bread
Sweet potato whipped with orange juice
Spicy hot soups (corriander, cumin, cardemum, cinnamon are favorite additions)
Anything roasted
Homemade apple sauce (just apples and apple cider with a cinnamon stick)
Fresh pineapple, persimmons, clementines (my all-time favorite holiday fruits!)
A new flavored oil, or salt
I find that what I really crave during the holidays is something special. I’m fine with my regular habits, and have no problem maintaining healthy eating. . . but I simply MUST have something that is special to the season. Clementines and pineapple are two fruits I SAVE for the holidays. That makes them special — just like the first asapargus spears are special in the spring. And then when I have a party where I’m presented with the nutroll that I really only get at one person’s house one time a year — I always have several slices. Because that’s festive, too.
this salad and dressing look so amazing!!! I really need to incorporate more veggies too and this salad seems like the perfect way to do that! :) YUMMY!
I enjoy reading your blog! I am amazed at how diverse Vegan eating can be! I am especially interested in your recipe for the “Decadent S’more with homemade graham cracker crumble” cake-in-a-jar recipe. I see you posted the recipe for the Apple Streusel cake-in-a-jar. The PDF you provided in the Project Food Blog #6 simply says the recipe is coming soon! Can you please, please post it? Please? Thank you!
No specific goals, but I’d make any kind in order to have a salad that beautiful! :)
Keeping up on reading blogs and tracking my food/fitness on SparkPeople not only helped me lose the extra weight but has helped me keep it off!
I caught my cat sleeping on top of the heating vent recently… SIlly cat.
I have to try that salad! Yummy.
omg i am totally making that dressing!! i’m getting sick of my usual italian and balsamic mixture that i usually use and this sounds amazing – it will also be a good use for the nutritional yeast that i’ve barely used! to stay healthy during the holidays, i try to eat as many fresh fruits and veggies as possible, and stay hydrated. i find i usually drink less because i am always so freaking cold in the winter, but i’ve been making a strong effort to not let that happen. I also did a staying-healthy post last week with some more tips. http://bit.ly/eyx9Pc
Great post and recipe too.
I try to stay balanced, eat what I really love or that only comes around this time of year only and in moderation. I always try to stay active too. A salad everyday is usually a good plan for me.
I think if you can SAVOR ~food, ~time with loved ones, ~and this time of year then it will be the most enjoyable. ;)
Oh my, that salad looks awesome. Sometimes I get bummed about that lack of vegan options at my university but I am so grateful to have consistent access to an extensive salad bar! After all, salad is truly one of my favorite foods being so versatile and all.
:)
That salad dressing looks to die for! And living dairy free I don’t get to enjoy many creamy salad dressings! I might have to conquer my fear of making homemade dressing and give it a whirl!
Angela, that salad looks seriously amazing!!
Oh my goodness! Angela you have a way of making veggies look amazing. Stomach literally growling. Lol!
I have been seriously lacking in the veggie department for a while! Especially with all the holiday food around. I have new inspiration!
That salad looks delicious! That’s a really good goal!
My healthy holiday goals are to maintain my exercise levels and to enjoy myself but not overindulge! :D
I’ve been trying to squeeze in more veggies, too. Especially salads! There’s something about a big plate of raw veggies that somehow feels more veggie-like than cooked! Did you shred the beets yourself or buy them preshredded?