Welcome to another weekend. I’m going to do a bit of holiday decorating this weekend–just easing into it slowly. I picked up nice outdoor planter inserts with greens at a fave local spot this week, a few little fun ornaments to poke in, and some other things. Other than that, it’s laundry, cleaning, groceries, and all the usual weekend stuff. I also need to find some fresh cranberries because I want to make a cranberry, popcorn, and dried citrus garland this year. Mostly, I’m really looking forward to cutting down my screen time for a couple days. This time of year is wild for food content creators!
If you’re in the US and still planning your holiday feast for next week, all of my best options are rounded up in this post. And if you have any questions about prepping ahead or just vegan holiday cooking in general, let me know in the comments and I’ll try to answer them as soon as I can. Here to help! :)
Be well and take extra good care this weekend ♥️
5 Things I’m Reading:
- The lie of “deinfluencing”
- Also, Vox’s Buy less stuff series
- Sleep Better at Every Age
- How To Romanticize Your Life
- On my nightstand: Peace Begins Here
5 Things I’m Enjoying:
- Nuts for Cheese’s limited edition cranberry pink peppercorn cheese is SO good! Love it served crostini-style (as they show in the link), and also “crumbled” on a kale salad with roasted beets, apples, cider vinegar dressing, and chopped pecans.
- This episode of Reset with Liz Tran: How to Welcome a New You
- Love some reading nook inspiration, and also the idea of calling it a “snug.”
- I knew nothing of David Beckham’s career or football in general, but thoroughly enjoyed watching Beckham on Netflix.
- Trying the Waking Up app free trial and loving it so far.
5 Questions:
- I have wondered if I should eat the whole fruit/veg and skip the juicing so I get all the fiber etc. How do you understand this for yourself in the context of the larger picture of eating and balance?
I attended a talk about this topic with a dietician recently! She did mention that fresh juice does contain soluble fiber, which was new information for me. For my lifestyle, I do eat quite a bit of fiber in general so I’m never worried about getting enough. Sometimes I just crave a fresh fruit and veg juice, so I’ll make it (as a compliment to a meal)! Other times, I’ll prefer the satiation of a smoothie or just whole fruits and veg in a salad, grain bowl, snack plate etc. Right now I love making a juice every day, but I always enjoy it with food in its whole state. I do always strive to give my body what it craves and to increase the variety of plant-based foods that I’m consuming. - Can you share how you made the overnight steel cut porridge again?
I posted this on my Instagram stories and had a lot of folks ask for the recipe a couple days later! The night before you want to eat the porridge for breakfast: combine ⅓ cup steel cut oats, pinch of salt, and ⅔ cup water in a small saucepan. Bring that to a boil and let it bubble for 30 seconds or so. Turn off the heat, pop a lid on top, and leave it overnight. The next morning: remove the lid, add a splash of whichever milk you like, stir it up, and bring to a boil again, stirring often. Once the porridge is hot and at the consistency that you like, you’re good to go! I’ve been enjoying mine with apple butter, brown sugar, and a bit of cinnamon lately. - What are some of your favourite Canadian food brands?
Nuts for Cheese, Greenhouse Juice, Acid League, Zing, Logan Petit Lot, City Seltzer, Prana Foods, Big Mountain Foods, Abokichi, yoggu!, and Silver Hills to name a few! - Perfect last meal?
Pizza and french fries 🙂 - What is your go-to vegan sandwich?
I use sandwiches as a meal to help clean out the fridge more often than not! I love my ultimate veggie crunch sandwich so much and usually just recreate a version of that with the same spread plus whichever veggies, pickles, and ferments that I have hanging around. If I have a nice vegan cheese spread or ripe avocado on hand, I’ll incorporate one of those as well. I know that I mentioned the Nuts for Cheese cranberry pink peppercorn cheese already, but I also love it in a sandwich with fresh bread, sliced roasted beets, arugula, and grainy mustard.
Hi Laura! Love reading the Saturday Sun weekly :) Thank you for these Canadian food brand recommendations this week. I actually hadn’t heard of most of these! I’m always on the lookout. Definitely going to put in some orders and have some good Christmas presents :) (I love giving food gifts!). It would be amazing if you put these plus any other Canadian food brands (or ones that ship to Canada) as a page on your blog that could be referred to and updated easily. I know I would appreciate that :) Thanks!
Hi, I do not really have a question but more of a request. I really love your creative way of cooking and would love if you would make a series of ‘nourish bowls’ recipes. I see this as a wholesome bowl filled with carbs, protein,veggies and greens, something crunchy and a delicious dressing… thank you so much in advance and also thank you for your wonderful recipes, to say I am obsessed is an understatement :)).
When I first discovered your steel cut overnight oats method from your cookbook a couple of years ago it totally changed my world……seriously!!
In the past, after a frustrating session of stirring I would still end up with oats with too much bite and a nasty mess of a pan requiring some elbow grease to clean LOL. Your overnight oats worked like a dream…..now I make a big batch of it and store in a container in the fridge for the week. It’s so easy to make too. Thank you, thank you xxx
Diane, I almost forgot that I had that recipe in my cookbook! Haha thanks for reminding me, and I’m so glad that it’s been working for you.
-L
I have a comment and a question.
Comment – same for me about watching Beckman! Honestly, my kitchen has been so much tidier since I’ve watched it :)
Question – After eating vegetarian for 8 years and vegan for 2 years, lately I have been giving in to cravings for chicken. I truly don’t want to, as the idea of eating flesh kinda turns my stomach, but the craving is strong. I’m thinking it’s a message from my body that I am missing something (protein?) in my diet. My job has been crazy, so there is little to no time for meal making. I have been trying to pre-prep meals, but that can take a good chunk of time during my weekend. I tried pre-prepping protein smoothies so I could just grab them, but they get kinda ick after three days. Is it the protein in chicken I am missing? And if yes, any ideas how to satiate this “need”? (and yes – I am now 62 yrs old, so I am sure this is coming from my “changing body”. )
Hi Wendy!
Thanks for your comment. I’m all about honouring your cravings, but if you have some hesitation or questions about bringing meat back into your world, I would definitely check in with your doctor or other medical professional. I’m just a home cook, so can’t comment too much on what you’re going through other than sharing my own personal experience :)
-L
” I love my ultimate veggie crunch sandwich so much and usually just recreate a version of that with the same spread plus whichever veggies, pickles, and ferments that I have hanging around.”
Do you ferment your own veggies?
Hi Concetta!
Not very often these days if I’m being honest. I’ll usually buy pickles from local stores and I love the sauerkraut/other ferments by Wildbrine.
-L