WIAW-recovering (and cheese free)

Hey guys

It’s that time again- thanks Jenn for sorting out the WIAW party!

The day I chose this week was Tuesday. I was still getting over the little bug I had- I think I had some kind of virus as all day Monday and Tuesday I had a sort of headache (when I moved, a bit like a head-rush) and my neck was really stiff. Picking up bugs from the children is a hazard of the job. I was still avoiding dairy as after being ill I always have it in my head to leave that for a little.

Breakfast– apple, rude health muesli and almond milk (unsweetened and it is amazing).

Snacks all packed up;

Nakd bar for morning snack, and Eat Natural mini bar for the staff meeting.

Lunch:

Hummus and roasted pepper sandwich, nectarine and pear. And my big water bottle. 🙂

Dinner:

Roasted sweet potato (in the microwave, sorry!) with hummus (I meant to try it with almond butter but turned out I must have finished my jar), and some veggies and basil tofu with tomato and a tsp pesto. I was supposed to have some salad too but it had gone all squishy.

Plus some tea:

(Mainly an excuse to put on a photo of my teapot as I have not had one on here for ages! And our cute cups- mine is the chicken one)

Pre-gardening snack;

A row of Mint Rawr chocolate (soooo good- the perfect amount of mint)

And an evening snack;

Alpro dark chocolate, some of Lizi’s granola and a little white chocolate wonderful (which on reflection was not needed as it was very sweet and a bit too sweet for how I was feeling).

Mint tea always makes it better 🙂

I usually go to aerobics on a Tuesday, but I was still feeling so tired from being ill, and my neck was very stiff so I thought all the jumping about would make it worse. Plus I lead a row so I can’t really hang out at the back and take it easy. So instead after work I walked up to the allotments to plant some leeks my Dad gave us, and to cry at all the weeds growing back! It was nice to get some fresh air but only gently!

Oh and why the cheese free I hear you all wonder (and if you don’t well tough, I am going to explain it anyway). On holiday I felt like I ate a lot of cheese, as it was often the veggie alternative. I also can have a bit of a cheese overdose feeling, where I get really sick of it and start to hate the smell and everything if I have it too much. So I decided to have a few weeks without cheese to focus on other forms of protein. I often put cheese on pasta, but (even with Andy having it on his) I have avoided it and my meals have still been tasty. At lunch times I was getting in a rut with my cream cheese and roasted pepper sandwiches, so going without cheese has meant I have had to get a bit of variety with salads, hummus, nut butters, quinoa and things like that.  I don’t think I would go vegan, but it has made me realise that actually I would manage alright. I would miss goats cheese though- I don’t have it very often but I do love it.

Any cheese lovers out there- what is your favourite cheese? Vegans- do you miss cheese or have you found good replacements? (Or never liked it in the first place? I never liked meat so never feel the need for a meat replacement as I don’t tend to like those either).

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23 thoughts on “WIAW-recovering (and cheese free)”

  1. Aw I hope you feel better soon lovie! As a vegan I don’t personally miss cheese at all. I don’t like nutritional yeast either which I know a lot of vegans use as an alternative but I don’t know, I guess I eat so much yummy food and get plenty of protein in other forms such as tofu, beans, lentils, seitan, protein powders, that it doesn’t make me miss it which thinking about it, kinda surprises me because as a kid I lived on cheese! I know cheese is the one thing that stops my mum from going vegan!

  2. I am totally with you on the goats cheese- I LOVE the stuff! We don’t have it very often as it’s quite expensive so it’s a real treat when we do 🙂

    I’ve never seen the mini Eat Natural bars before- where did you buy those? I want some!

    Also, sweet potato + almond butter = AMAZING!

  3. Cheese? Nope, like Nicky I lived on it as a kid but I never really miss it, aside from jacket potatoes and cheese which for some reason are associated with recovering after being ill and so have comforting memories attached to them. To be honest vegan ‘cheeses’ are all fairly junk-laden and taste like pure, processed fat: nothing like ‘real’ cheese. Nutritional yeast is better for an ‘essence’ of cheese I suppose.

    Feel better soon!

    xxx

  4. I adore cheese! 😀 I found that I couldn’t give it up! I’m still drinking non-dairy milks (which I think is helping my tummy) but I couldn’t stay away from cheese. I love soft rinded cheeses most – camembert, brie, goats cheese etc…and blue cheeses – stilton, gorgonzola etc, yum! I will eat hard cheeses too, but I usually just eat cheddar grated on pasta, it’s not a special cheese imo.

    Your dinner looks great. I love sweet potatoes, but normally just have them with a topping (goats cheese, cinnamon and maple syrup etc) – I should make the effort to cook a vegetable side dish to go alongside it.

    Hope you’ve been feeling a bit better today 🙂

  5. Hope you feel better soon. I love cheese but I swear it gives me a stomach ache from time to time. I may have to cut it out and see if I still get them?

    Those mini Eat Natural bars are so sweet. I’ve only seen them a few times and have always been sorely tempted to buy some!

  6. At one point I was trying to avoid dairy of all descriptions (nasal mucus builder of note!), and I tried the Cheeze cheese alternatives …… YECH is the short answer. They smelt the business but the taste was seriously lacking and the texture was gross, I went without to be honest. In the long run it did me good though because I don’t hanker after a cheese board like I used to.

  7. Ohh I love cheese, a strong melty cheddar and goats cheese are my favourites. I tend to not eat them that often any more though, as I tend to eat a block very very quickly. I like nutritional yeast sometimes in place of it but I don’t think it’s quite the same. Sandwiches are the main thing for me too as I used to rely on it to fill them, but I use houmous now or just eat a big salad with lots of other stuff on it instead. Hope you’re feeling back to normal today!

    1. I have nutritional yeast too sometimes but I don’t think it tastes cheesy- kind of salty and nutty maybe, so it adds a little different flavour, but not the same.

  8. I’ve never been a huge cheese fan and have only recently discovered that I like it more than I thought. I still only have it a couple of times a month. I’ve reduced my dairy recently and it’s fine. I don’t want to completely give it up, but I thought I was relying too heavily on it before.

  9. Your food all looks so GOOD!! I saw that almond milk and was going to buy it, but it would put a bit of a dent in my budget! 😛 And that dessert…granola+pudding+WCW sounds like my HEAVEN!!

    I don’t miss cheese at all really! I used to have it quite a lot, but I’ve always been a sweet tooth person. As long as I can still eat chocolate, it’s all good! 😀

  10. I love love LOVE almond milk! Sooo tasty. Wish it was an option for ‘creamer’ at places like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts 🙁

    CUTE penguin mugs!

  11. I really thought that I would miss cheese more as I really loved it but I haven’t. I have tried some vegan alternatives but haven’t been very impressed, when I fancy something with a cheesy taste I love nutritional yeast instead! I have always said that I would possibly go back to cheese – mainly goats cheese if I got a craving for it but so far I haven’t at all!

  12. I love cheese so much, it’s the main reason I haven’t jumped aboard the good ship vegan! But recently I have noticed that I put it on lots of things, and my husband isn’t the biggest fan of it because it aggravates his eczema, so we’ve made a concerted effort to cut down on it and only have it at the weekends, which has been working well….unless we have guests over for dinner mid week in which case I usually bring out a few cheeses to end the meal in style, ha ha.

    The vegan cheeses out there have never done it for me – Cheezly mozzarella style slices are the only ones that have been anywhere near ok. I have made a few nut “cheeses” and they were nice but very rich.

    Cheese would be my last meal, definitely; with some fresh bread, fruit, a pot of coffee and a glass of wine. I love goats cheese especially.

  13. I looove a good mature cheddar! When I was vegan I liked mature cheddar sheeze best but nutritional yeast is also awesome, mixed in baked beans, on pizza, to make cheese sauce, and it’s healthy so double awesome haha

  14. mmmmmm almond butter and sweet potato is such an amazing combo. THE UK HAS ALMOND MILK???? Where do you find it??
    I don’t eat much cheese, I usually just do feta. Sometimes I mostly eat it for calcium and protein. and cottage cheese of course is a favoruite. I love that you had a “pre gardening” snack. So cute 🙂

    1. Yes I got the almond milk from Ocado, but I have seen it in Waitrose and also Holland and Barrett. This stuff is unsweetened too and is so lovely. Oh I forgot about cottage cheese- I love that too.

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