Vegan Mofo & Healthy Vegan Friday

Hi there! I hope you had a nice week. I’ve been such the busy bee getting my life organized for my upcoming surgery. Having healthy foods prepared in advance is one of my top priorities because I don’t know if I’ll be able to go shopping right away or spend my usual amount of time in the kitchen prepping and cooking. I am really trying to have at least 3-5 days’ worth of foods at my disposal.

I went to the hospital on Monday for my pre-op blood work and an EKG to make sure my heart is okay for all of this. I mentioned to several different people that I am vegan and gluten-free and that seemed to be no problem. Alan and I even checked out the hospital cafe to see what kinds of choices he would have and they had a salad bar and a vegan burger on the menu, yay! Here’s a picture of the hallway; it is a new hospital and very nice:

Even so, I am not holding my breath that our options will be as healthy as what I would make at home. Okay, maybe that sounds snotty, but I certainly don’t expect hospital food to be pesticide-free and prepared with no oil or salt. So, my plan right now is to take a big cooler bag for Alan for the day of surgery so he has foods for at least that day and he can supplement if necessary at the cafe. For me, I am planning on making a big batch of vegetable broth (I will post my recipe after I make it) and I’ll bring maybe one thermos-full in case I am hungry when I am done with surgery and depending on what the doctors’ orders are. For that night or maybe the next morning before I am released (and for as soon as I get home), I have started freezing green smoothies. So far, I have only had enough to freeze one serving, but I simply poured it into this quart-size ziploc bag and  froze it flat:

I usually try to store foods only in glass containers, but since the smoothie was cold I felt okay freezing it in the plastic bag. Plus, I am seriously running out of freezer space and it’s nice to have something flat like this. I will likely be freezing at least 3 more of these; the trick will be to de-frost them in the fridge or the cooler bag in a timely manner so they are ready to eat when I want them. I am also thinking I will need a bowl or a large glass to pour them into when it’s time to eat, but I’m sure that won’t be a problem.

Another food that I prepared in advance just because it sounds like it would be tasty post-surgery is a giant batch of my slow-cooker applesauce. For this batch, I bought 8 pounds of organic fuji apples at the farmers’ market. Since I got the visually-distressed ones, they were only $1 a pound! I just chopped up the apples and put them in my giant crockpot with some cinnamon and raisins:

I set the pot on low and cooked it for 12 hours overnight. The next morning, I had this:

I froze about half of this and Alan and I are eating the other half now.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, I am making and freezing batches of vegetable and bean blended soups. These soups were originally inspired by Dr. Fuhrman’s Anti-Cancer Soup, but I always make adjustments with each batch.

I made one yesterday morning with kale, chickpeas and onions blended with vegetable juice and cashews. Before I blended it, it looked like this:

After I blended it, I poured it into my glass containers and popped them into the freezer. I know these will come in handy post-surgery because they are so nourishing and the blended texture will probably be very easy for me to swallow with a sore throat. Don’t ask me why they always turn yellow, but I’m guessing it’s because of the turmeric I added:

So far, I have three big bowls of vegetable soup frozen. I also like having these because it is something that Alan can easily heat up in a saucepan for us to eat, so I don’t need to be in the kitchen.

Let’s see, other preparations have been continuing to work on my emotional health by connecting with other people who have through this and accepting the support from those around me, including everyone who has left a comment on my blog or sent me e-mails. I am making time to do the things I enjoy including lots of time outside and little things like going to the farmers’ market and making a picnic. Overall, I am doing pretty well.

Alan and I went walking at the beach on Monday:

We had a picnic yesterday where I made salads. Check out my cool new pin, too, that came with my vegan gift basket. It says “There’s plenty to eat without eating choosing meat.” Ain’t that the truth!

Lastly, don’t forget that today is Healthy Vegan Friday! I’m part of this blog recipe link-up party where we feature whole food, vegan recipes each week (for details, click here). This week’s most clicked-upon posts were these:

Vitamix Vs. Nutribullet from Becky @ Pure Vitality

Paleo Toffee Caramels from Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva

Quinoa Wraps with Sweet Potato and Tofu Feta from Janet @ the taste space

 Don’t forget to link up your healthy, vegan recipe!

Have a happy, healthy weekend and I’ll see you back here on Monday!

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