Oatmeal and Fruit

The Chef: Anna

The Menu: Oatmeal with blueberries and an orange on the side

The Goods: The holidays are the best—dinner parties, soy nog, so many cookies you can't count—but all those parties and treats can also wreak havoc on your stomach. Case in point: moi. After a week filled with four holiday parties and taste-testing for the VegNews Holiday Cookie Contest, I woke up over the weekend feeling less than ideal. Enter: oatmeal. Simple, tasty, and filled with fiber, this meal, while boring, will hopefully get me ready for round two of holiday eating, i.e., my parents' house. But until then, it's oatmeal time!

Peanut Butter (and) Jelly Time

The Chef: Anna

The Menu: The classic PB&J and a big-as-your-fist orange to go with it

The Goods: After an entire weekend of stuffing my face with delicious, rich food (Do I restrict my gluttony solely for Thanksgiving? Goodness, no!), it's time to get back to basics. This sandwich-and-fruit combo has weaved itself throughout my entire dietary life, and I was happy to once again dig in today. As happy as I am to have a respite from stuffing and pie, I can't wait until its time to head back to my family in Denver for Christmas cookies, soy nog, and a whole lot of baking. Do you have a stellar vegan holiday cookie recipe that wows taste buds year after year? Enter the VegNews Holiday Cookie Contest for your chance to win a KitchenAid stand mixer! And in case you already have one, I have that very mixer on my Christmas list. Just saying.

Falafel, an Orange, and Salad

The Chef: Anna

The Menu: Half a falafel wrap from TaDah Foods, an orange, and a spinach salad topped with carrots, red bell peppers, and balsamic vinaigrette

The Goods: I'm trying to keep it simple this week (I can't imagine why) so this lunch of fruit, salad, and a little bit of falafel with hummus is just what I needed. The orange was super sweet, the greens fresh, and the falafel flavorful. Between Expo West, daylight savings, and the dreary San Francisco weather, everyone in here at VNHQ feels a little bit off, so it's nice to eat something simple and tasty, even with an entire table (and refrigerator!) of goodies mere steps away. Luckily it's week three of VN Book Club's coverage of Veganist by Kathy Freston. The discussion on Freston's tome will keep me from day-dreaming of vegan-marshmallow Dandies!