Abundance All Around! {Keeping the Thankful Feels Going}
Hey everyone! I hope all my US pals enjoyed the holiday this past Thursday. My Thanksgiving was a low-key day spent with family (minus one sis suffering from an unfortunately timed migraine). The boyfriend and I jumped in on the fun workout with my work "family" in the morning, then loaded up my vegan goodies to enjoy a meal with the family later on. Holidays now seem to center mostly around my niece, but it makes for a fun and memorable experience every time. I can't wait for Christmas up next!
I think with the hustle of getting everything to the table and desire to be as unplugged as possible, I hardly ever get good photos of my holiday meals. I did have a few folks interested in how my cranberry marinated tofu came out, though, so I had to take a few shots of the delicious finished product!
A bit more simple than some Thanksgiving plates, but no eater's remorse for me! ;)
I had gotten fresh cranberries from the farmers market the Saturday before the holiday on a whim, not really sure what I was going to make. After looking around for some inspiration I decided to make a basic homemade cranberry sauce then use it for a marinade. The sauce itself was just the cranberries cooked down in a bit of water with a few tablespoons of blackstrap molasses. Once the sauce was made, I blended a cup of it with a heaping tablespoon of fresh minced rosemary, a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon of coconut aminos, and a pinch of black pepper. I sliced extra firm tofu into slabs then marinated them in the sauce overnight.
On Thanksgiving day, I fired up the broiler and put the tofu underneath for about 4-5 minutes each side. It came out even better than I expected! A little sweet and tart from the cranberries, but with that nice earthy aroma and flavor from the rosemary. Even my brother-in-law enjoyed it, and he's usually not big on tofu. The sauce was so good I used it again for a new meal on Friday.
We didn't have many leftovers from the holiday, but I had plenty of my farmers market veggies to use for a meal the day after. Nothing beats an easy casserole after a busy few days leading up to the holiday. Into a baking dish went chopped sweet potatoes, beets, fennel, tempeh and Red Russian Kale. I poured over the same version of the cranberry sauce marinade and mixed it all in. Popped it in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit and let it cook, covered, for about 45 minutes.
Max was interested in tasting this, too...
Another easy and pleasing bowl of goodness! I don't often use fresh cranberries in my cooking, so I'm glad to have some new ideas to add to the repertoire as they are little healthy gems. We've got a few more servings of this to enjoy into the beginning of the new week.
To continue on with the theme of abundance, the BF's parents came back to collect our little fuzzy house guest Saturday and brought with some goodies from their trip to Florida. Citrus will never go to waste in our household, so a big bag of fresh oranges was gladly received. They also brought this beautiful papaya fresh off the tree!
I also made my usual Saturday trip to our local market, which was nice as the theme of the day was Small Business Saturday. Always love supporting my farmers and other local vendors! It was a quiet market as many vendors were taking the holiday off, and lots of shoppers were, as well. I got to purchase a lot of the usual veggies, and snagged a bag of fresh pecans from the southern part of our state. Talk about a delicious snack!
Finally, I'm very thankful for the wonderful @naturalmedicine group on Steemit for once again facilitating a nice little challenge to get me on track with my meditation routine again. A nudge from a few of the members encouraged me to jump in for the Abundance Challenge starting today and finishing up on the 21st. I haven't done the meditation yet for the first day, however really enjoyed starting out the day with the homework to make a list of at least 50 people or things I am grateful for. The school nerd in me for some reason always enjoys "homework", so I think that component of the challenge appeals to me as a way to keep me motivated and engaged. It is a lovely way to keep the spirit of the holiday season going even when things get busy!
I will try to continue to share some of my thoughts and experiences throughout the next three weeks. Perhaps the discipline will help me find that "abundance" of time to tackle all the other goals I want to work on before the end of the year!
On that note...time to finish my turmeric tea and get to some mindful moments. Cheers to starting off the last month of the year on a high note!
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Much appreciated! 🙏
The children are what make the holidays extra fun.
They really are! Such joy at the simplest of activities and time spent together. :)
Fresh and healthy
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Yes indeed! :)
Your food allways looks so good @plantstoplanks and makes me believe I could go vegan, although cheese would be the killer for me. I do love pecan nuts, and that tofu looks insanely good!
This abundance meditation thing is really cool. I'm less into the list making as I'm the opposite with the old homework thing, but I did for my 50 things written out today after completing the meditation 🙂
Don't worry Rowan, I have modified some too as homework is tough for me! Dont feel guilty if you don't get all challenges complete and some I even come back to when I have time.
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The tofu was definitely a keeper! I'll be making it again soon for sure.
I'm sure they'll be some of the other homework bits that give me more of a challenge. So far so good after day 2. Really enjoying the idea of infinite abundance. I think it's easy to think there's only so much to go around, so I'm looking forward to chipping away at that limiting mindset.
I am happy to see you had such a lovely Thanksgiving Katie, surrounded by loving family with plenty of delicious vegan food. I must say that cranberry tofu seems like something I definitely must try. I also love your tree by the way, even if only form the distance 🎄😍🎄
Thank you Lena! Always goes by so quickly, but lots of good memories to last until plenty of new ones on Christmas! Already thinking about what I want to make for then, though it is a bit more challenging since we have to go see both families so I tend not to have as much time. My sister is thinking about making the delicious vegan-friendly minestrone soup she made last year, though, which was a crowd-pleaser all around. :)
Always a pleasure Katie and I know what you mean, but I am sure you will manage, you always do. And vegan minestrone sounds wonderful. 🎄😍🎄
That tofu looks amazing! I have never had fresh cranberries. I am all inspired again now hubby is quitting meat again. Love how creative cooking with vegetables can be.
Whats the signifiance of your wrist tattoo, Katie?
I am on Day 7 of the challenge.. some of the homework I modified but I have loved the meditations!
Last night I mixed black rice with toasted sunflower seeds and black sesame, and ate with stirfried brocc with ginger, tamari and sesame oil. Damn it was good!!!!
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There's no end to the variety of things we can make, right? Just when I think I'm running out of ideas, I find a whole host of things I want to try! I just finished lunch, but now you've got me craving black rice again, haha.
The wrist that you usually see is a symbol for "sister". My sisters and I all have that one, they just have theirs in a different spot. I know some people think it's pretty "basic" to have a Chinese tattoo, but I'm just happy all three of us settled on the same one! I have daughter on the other wrist. Most of my tattoos come back to family in some way. :)
I'm fighting off a bit of a head cold, so today's meditation was a little bit more challenging. Trying to channel abundant health to get over the funk quickly, haha!
foodgasm achieved!
So glad you had a wonderful thanksgiving and your dishes look delicious! Plus fresh pecans! Yum!
I'm really grateful for that Abundance challenge @naturalmedicine put on Too!
I completed day one and it really made a difference in my day!
Thanks for sharing and we'll see you in the abundance challenge channel!
Food and friends are the good things in life 😘
For sure! Thanks for stopping by. :)
So much ( an abundance of ) good stuff that I don't know how to reply on this.
I miss cranberries and don't think I'll be having them for Christmas.
Apparently, according to Ayurveda, they are not great for Vata types but sometimes you just need to eat certain things because you feel like doing so.
I am still very inexperienced in prepping tofu. Got some in my fridge, but am indecisive on what to do with it. Can you tell me the easiest way to prep it? I would like to eat something more than just rice, pasta or other grains with (sweet) potato and veggies for a change, now I'm hardly eating meat anymore.
Thanks a lot!
xx
That's interesting about the cranberries. I still haven't looked up that part of Ayurveda. I think it's good do use some of that as a guide, but that there are always exceptions to the general guidelines. According to the blood type diet I should be a carnivore, but I'm pretty much thriving on the exact opposite, haha.
I have come to really enjoy tofu! It's great just in a quick stir fry with a bunch of veggies (@riverflows is awesome at putting those together), or marinated like this and broiled or cooked in a pan for a few minutes. I like it crumbled up in salads sometimes too to mimic the texture of feta. Loooove a good tofu scramble for breakfast, too! That's really easy to put together. I also enjoy it in a pasta bake in place of ricotta. So many ways to enjoy it. :)
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I am so excited for you starting the abundance challenge, I am just about to finish and it has been very powerful.
That tofu looks amazing, I love how you have used the cranberries with it. Cranberries are great in Tagine also. It is really important to get together with family and celebrate one another. xx
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Thank you! Oooh, I do need to try Tagine! So many wonderful takes on wholesome food out there, it's tough to taste them all. I'll gladly try my best, though. :)
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Are you bored? Play Rock,Paper,Scissors game with me!SHOPPlease go to steem-engine.com.It's always nice to see that someone is celebrating The Thanks Giving Day in vegan style & spreads the word about it!
I believe your family had a real feast!
You are a true magician & would like to try everything you made!
Thanks so much! After 6 years of living the plant-based lifestyle, I don't miss any of the "traditional" Thanksgiving goodies. So many good vegan options to try to keep everyone excited!
In my country - Croatia - the most important holidays are Christmas & Eastern & a lot of meat is served on both. I tried few years to show my family there's no need to prepare & eat meat but it was impossible, so I quit.
I'm still showing on my example by not eating meat or fish but, I must admit I still like to eat a tasty cheese & drink some kefir / yogurt. I very rarely eat eggs too.
Yeah, my family and my boyfriend's family still eat meat, but there are a whole lot more veggies on the table than there ever used to be. And everyone always enjoys my vegan dishes, so they definitely eat less meat overall. Figure it's some progress at least!
Bravo! Good work! & healthier for them!
I approve of this plant-based posts.
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