A Less Than Vegan Day

Monday started out with a strawberry banana protein shake (so boring I didn't even take a picture!).  For lunch I mixed up some pasta using Victoria Vegan red pepper alfredo and fresh basil.  But because I was feeling super hungry I went rummaging around the freezer and came out with some Morningstar Farms chicken patties from way back before I became vegan. 

I'd originally thought Josh would eat them sometime, saving me the bother of deciding whether it was okay to eat non-vegan food I already owned but that wasn't about to go bad.  Fastforward many months, and they were still sitting lonely in the freezer with only the freezer burn to keep them company.  It was obvious Josh wasn't going to be eating them on his own.  And with our move just one month away (one month exactly today, actually!), I decided if I didn't eat them they'd just end up getting thrown out (which certainly doesn't help the chicken either!).  So I nuked a chicken patty and tossed it, cut up, in with the pasta. 

Later than evening I finally got back to the crossfit gym after my long, artscape-induced hiatus last week.  It's probably for the best that I got a self-imposed week of rest, just to get my muscles revived for another intense workout! 

I really didn't feel like getting my a** to crossfit Monday.  I hadn't slept well, and doing a difficult workout really didn't sound too appealing.  So I'm particularly proud of myself for dragging my butt all the way to Towson.  Fortunately, I was rewarded with a not-too-challenging WOD: Paul. 

Five rounds of 50 double-unders (translation, 150 single-unders since I can't do the DUs), 35 knees to elbows (raise knees, since I also can't do the K2Es), and 20 seconds holding weight overhead (it says 20 yard walk, but they just had us hold the weight over our heads).  I started with 45 pounds of weight, but quickly realized that wasn't going to happen.  I ended up doing my rounds with 35 pounds ... way below even the scaled weight.  Oh well ...  At least I did my five rounds! 

When I got home I got to work making vegetarian Ribolita.  Unfortunately, I can't call it vegan Ribolita because I used two Parmesan rinds I'd had saved in the freezer for months in the recipe.  I figured they fell under the "food I already have" exception to my vegan eating.  But they were the last of my Parmesan rinds, so I'm not sure what I'll do next time I want to make the recipe ...

Otherwise my Ribolita recipe is incredibly delicious.  I used Yves fake baked ham, spinach, cannellini beans, onion, tomatoes, carrots ... but the most important part is that it's supposed to be served over stale bread.  Fortunately I set aside some leftover Italian flat bread in the freezer for just such an occasion.  It was perfect. 

Like most soup recipes, I ended up with a ton of Ribolita.  Good thing Josh and I both like it!  I served the Ribolita over the bread and topped it with some Parma vegan Parmesan (at least that bit was vegan ...).  Yum yum yum.