Fun with Soy Curls!

I saw this new to me flavor of kombucha and I had to try it. Now that I'm brewing my own booch, I like to taste interesting new flavors to see if I want to recreate!
This was really tasty, very refreshing. Not too sweet, but definitely fruity! I've never actually had passion fruit, but it tasted dang good and I could definitely taste the tangerine.

The other night I made baked potatoes stuffed with buffalo soy curls topped with FYH blue cheese. And a little iceberg salad with the same dressing. I think crisp iceberg is the absolute best lettuce with blue cheese!

Last night I made peanut stew with potato, chickpeas and soy curls. I love this stew so much. It uses simple spices so the ginger and the peanut flavor really stand out. I used this recipe. I added a little turmeric because why not, and I also left out the collard greens because I forgot to get some! I love this stew so much, and I love how flexible it is. You can pretty much throw in whatever you have around!

Cookies and Cream is one of my least favorite flavors of ice cream, always has been, but this Nada Moo cookies and cream is the exception. Their vanilla ice cream tastes so real and vanilla-y.
This is one of the reasons Nada Moo is really my favorite vegan ice cream! Plus they have so many fun flavors!

Annie Oatly

I spend between thirty and forty dollars a week on groceries. There are some weeks when I'm broke and it's less, and other weeks where I can maybe splurge, but for the most part my budget allows thirty or forty dollars.
Since I got some great deals at Sprouts this week, I had about eight bucks to spare to take my total to forty dollars. I've been wanting to try oatmilk, and I found Oatly of all things on sale, as well as the daiya block. And I didn't know Treeline made cream cheese, so I had to get that. If Treeline were cheaper, all their cheeses would be in my fridge all the time!!
I did taste the cream cheese when I got home, and WOWZERS!! It's definitely the best vegan cream cheese I've tried! It's got the right amount of tang, and the texture is exactly how I remember real cream cheese, not whipped or anything weird being. Treeline, you've outdone yourself!

I've had so many people recommend this Annie's boxed mac and cheese. I've been so let down by all the brands I've tried so far I kind of didn't believe anyone. But since Sprouts had this on a buy one get one sale, I decided to be brave.

I had a long day yesterday and didn't feel like cooking so I whipped some up. I used the Oatly milk as my milk and it worked out perfect. I was blown away by how much it resembled Kraft!!
I was pretty blown away by the taste! I really liked it. It was nice and cheese-y. But not that fake cheese-y like daiya. I remember years ago trying the Earth Balance boxed mac and cheese and it was so fake tasting I couldn't handle it. I don't even think they make it anymore!
I really enjoyed this, and I will definitely buy this again. It's a great comforting, fast and easy option when you just don't have it in you to cook!

Small Haul and More!

Spotted yesterday at Smith's! Vegan sour cream and French onion dip!!!They also have Simple Truth vegan cream cheese, but I forgot to take a picture. Both the dip and the sour cream are under three dollars, so definitely a bit cheaper than other brands.

Carrots, potatoes,oranges,Epsom salt,Chai tea, celery, gluten free bread, tempeh, bulk rice and chickpeas,lemons, bath fizzies,Amy's chili,pink lady apples, Annie's gluten free mac and cheese, soy creamer, avocado,chili onion crunch, vitamin c packets

My little multi store haul. Sprouts, Trader Joe's and Smith's. I got most of my stuff at Sprouts, with just a few random things at Trader Joe's and Smith's.

Every time I try a boxed mac and cheese I'm disappointed. The daiya is just way to daiya for me to handle, and the last few I've tried have been super healthy tasting, and not in a good way. Several people have suggested Annie's. Sprouts is the only store I've seen the gluten free version, and they just happened to have the Annie's mac on a BOGO sale!! I hope I like it!

The other night I was watching Netflix in bed and Joan was watching right along with me!!! She was very much paying attention, and it wasn't even a birds for cats video!

Some New Favorites!

The Miyoko's Cheddah spread has pretzels on the container, so I took that suggestion and picked up my favorite gluten free pretzels!! This is truly a match made in heaven, soulmates if you will. Of all the Miyoko's products I've tried , this is definitely my favorite!

I saw a post on Instagram of Kung Pao chickpeas, and it kind of blew my mind. I would have never thought to use chickpeas in this dish! I knew I had to try this myself!

This is my new favorite way to eat chickpeas! I used this recipe, I just left out the bell peppers and water chestnuts. The homemade Kung Pao sauce is a serious keeper! It's so much better than bottled! I will definitely be making this dish a lot in the future, and I'll never buy Kung Pao sauce again!

So Many Things!

I had to get some new jeans yesterday, the inner thighs have given up on my old jeans. So, I went to Sugarhouse which is a very nice neighborhood here that I could never afford to live in, but I love to visit! There are so many shops and cafes and restaurants! Even a Mellow Mushroom pizza which has vegan cheese and everything!
There is a very tiny Whole Foods that I ran into to see what new vegan offerings I could find! Like I said, this is the tiny Whole Foods, there's a huge Whole Foods downtown that I haven't been in yet. So, I'll start with the few new to me thins I saw, and then I'll show my small haul.

I would never want to try these, even if they were free. I think cracklins are the same as pork rinds, and I remember being near someone eatin pork rinds and the smell was enough to make me gag. I remember they kept teasing me and running the ba under my nose. Gag. But I'm glad these exist for people who crave pork rinds?

Vegan butter is booming!! I really don't bake or cook with butter so I never have it in my fridge, but if I did need butter for something I would definitely try The Forager Project butter. I love their yogurt, and the butter is palm oil free!!!

My jeans were forty percent off, so I treated myself to a few things for a belated Galentine's day gift to myself.I am trying to be my own best friend after all! The Miyoko's Roadhouse Cheddah is seriously one of the best things I've tasted in years. You know those sharp cheddar cheese balls that are rolled in almonds? I used to love those, and that's what this tastes like!

I picked these up at Winco the other day. The Wildberry Ginger is a new flavor from Brew Dr., and I love their booch. Plus, I'm always looking for new flavoring ideas for my own booch! This one is a winner!
The breakfast bites are just okay. I want to like this company, it's a woman owned all vegan company, but I've now tried their burgers, mushroom bites and now the breakfast bites and they're all just okay. They are all very dry, you need a sauce, and they are pretty high calorie for being small and having really healthy ingredients, and little oil.

Each tiny patty is ninety calories!! I guess you're meant to have these with other things, like a tofu scramble or something but I don't know, I just want to love but I don't!!

And finally, here's what I ate last night! Spicy soy curls and rice. I sauteed the curls in a little coconut oil, added chili flakes and tamari, and then threw in some hoisin. So delicious! I kind of forgot about soy curls for awhile, I'm glad I remembered them again!

Weekend Wrap Up

Yesterday was a half rain half snow kind of day, I had the day off and the ingredients to try a second round of cookies! I'm trying to recreate the Simple Mills almond flour chocolate chip cookie mix I got on clearance a few weeks ago. I decided to get funky and add some peanut butter to the mix this time! They turned out pretty dang tasty if I do say so myself!

These were almost perfect. The only issue is timing. I left them in the oven for about a minute or two too long and as they cooled they got a little more crumbly than I wanted. Hopefully soon I will be able to share a recipe!

I've been adding about one fourth of a teaspoon of turmeric powder to my matcha lattes. You can't really taste it, and I figure any way to get some extra turmeric in is good, especially in the winter.

Hoisin tofu with rice, butter lettuce and spicy peanut sauce

Black bean rice noodles with tofu and cucumbers

I treated myself! This is only five dollars at Winco, and this bottle will last me for a very long time.Now, instead of buying the more expensive flavored creamers, I can just buy the soy or coconut creamer from Trader Joe's which are only like $1.19. I have been paying attention budget moms of YouTube!!

Small Trader Joe's Haul

I had an early morning shift yesterday, so I got off mid-morning and decided to go to Trader Joe's for some groceries. I thought I'd be safe on a Friday. I forgot it was Valentine's day, so the store was packed and I didn't get half of what I wanted/needed to get. I just grabbed the basics and couldn't get out soon enough.

Water kefir,tahini,refried beans,cucumber,tofu,onions,lemons,BBQ chip things, Miyokos cream cheese, butter lettuce,celery,carrots,lime popsicles, fruit leather buttons,coconut oil, pink lady apple,coconut milk, coconut creamer Joan snoopervising

These are so freaking good, it was almost worth the anxiety and crowds!! BBQ chips are my favorite, but a lot of them are real let downs. Either too mild of a flavor, or some really pack on the smoke flavor way too much. These are perfect and the right amount of smoke. Ten out of ten!!!

I also ran into Smith's for cat food and of course to check out the clearance items, and look what I found! I have never tried Sir Kensington's anything because the price is too high for me. But when it's on clearance I can't resist!

These were my Valentine's day gifts to myself. My favorite flavor of water kefir, and a pink grapefruit candle to go with! Enjoyed while taking a hot bath!

I tried some of the mayo with my favorite stress meal, fries!! I had some salad for balance! The mayo is really tasty. I don't know if it's worth the high price when not on clearance, but it is really tasty and the mayo has a night texture too.

Some Things I Love

A few weeks ago Target had a sale on Pacifica items. I love Pacifica for so many reasons, the first being they are an all vegan and cruelty free company! I love not having to read labels and figure out what certain ingredients are. And I love that they use natural ingredients that make sense, and that you've heard of. I love their perfumes too, I've never come across one I don't love!
Anyway, back to Target and the sale. So Target had Pacifica stuff on sale, and I picked up this mask. I love a good face mask so much, and this one doesn't disappoint. My face feels very clean and glow-y after I use it.

I don't own a microwave, and I cannot make popcorn on the stove top. I have tried over a million times with thousands of different stoves and pots and I just can't do it. So, when I crave popcorn I have to buy it. This is my favorite bagged popcorn. It tastes really fresh, and the coconut oil gives it that buttery taste. And they use the perfect amount of salt.

Last night I made one of my favorite quick and tasty meals. Sesame noodles with hoisin tofu. I also added some slice sweet peppers for color and some extra veggies. The sesame noodles are from The Asian Vegan Kitchen cookbook. My favorite recipe for sesame noodles. Better than any restaurant sesame noodles too.

Joan got a little sloppy with her hiding spot yesterday! Usually she just lets a little of her toe stick out, but here she went almost full leg plus tail!

Chickpeas, Cookies and Brooms?

Sunday night I made "The Stew" It's a delicious chickpea stew spiced with ginger and turmeric and simmered with full fat coconut milk, I added a leftover cubed potato and some leftover tofu too. It's a recipe from the New York Times, and I guess it became so famous that if you Google the stew, this is the first result! I definitely understand why, it's warming and comforting and nourishing! The New York Times only lets you see the recipe one time before they want you to pay for a subscription, but I found someone who made the dish and reprinted the recipe. Here is the recipe, I think everyone should try it!

I sauteed some onion, mushroom and spinach so I can add some to my chickpea pancakes for my first meal. I'm treating myself like a kid, and trying to sneak more veggies in!

I soaked and cooked dried chickpeas for the stew and had some leftover, so last night I made chickpea noodle soup and some gluten free grilled cheese with daiya havarti jalapeno block. Hug in a meal!

Remember that almond flour chocolate chip cookie mix I got on clearance from Sprouts? I've been dreaming of those cookies, and so upset with myself for not buying more than two boxes!! I kept the ingredient list from the box and I'm working on recreating those gems. This was my first go, the taste is on point but the texture is a little off. They're somehow both crumbly and moist. Gluten free baking is weird! Once I have mastered these I will definitely share the recipe!

I saw that the broom challenge was trending on Twitter yesterday, and like a dork tried it and was blown away! Twitter said Nasa said Monday was the only day this could happen due to the earth's gravitational pull. Well, I guess a broom can stand on it's own any day due to the broom's gravitational pull. How have I used a broom my whole life and not known this could happen?

Stuff I'm Going to Eat!

Yesterday was grocery day. I wanted to go to Trader Joe's for a few things, but going there on a Saturday is a hard no from me dawg. So Sprouts and Smith's it was!

Vegan frappucino, BBQ sauce, sweet potato glass noodles, daiya jalapeno havarti, oatmilk coffee creamer

This was the best find at Smith's! I was going to buy a loaf of gluten free bread at Sprouts for five or six dollars!! Too bad they didn't have two loaves on clearance, because I learned from one of the budget moms that the BOGO works on clearance items too!

Water kefir,Ocho candy bars,lemons,bulk garbanzo beans and flour,veggie burgers,celery,mushrooms,popcorn,oranges,carrots,spinach,potatoes,opal apples,Nada Moo ice cream,tofu,lemon ginger tea,sweet mini peppers,coconut milk

This was my best find at Sprouts! They had these in their little clearance section for $.99 each! I went a little crazy and bought like five or six!

I really need to learn how to make water kefir!! I really enjoy this and keep treating myself to one a week, even though I'm making my own booch! It's just so light and doesn't really have as much of a fermented pucker. So far grapefruit is my favorite flavor, but really they're all pretty tasty!

More Snow Day Eats!

Yesterday was yet another snow day! I had the day off (so lucky) and I was originally going to run some errands, maybe get some groceries, but there was no way I wanted any part of trudging through that mess! So, I just stayed home and cleaned, decluttered and did a face scrub and mask followed by an Epsom salt bath.

I started my day with celery, apple and romaine juice. I feel so Instagram worthy when I start my day with a green juice!

I had one slice of avocado toast, and one slice of  with some Treeline cheese I found on clearance earlier this week. My last two slices of too expensive gluten free bread!!

I needed some energy for decluttering so I made a matcha latte! I don't have a whisker or brush or whatever I see people use when they make a proper matcha tea, so I just whiz it in the blender for a few seconds and it makes a nice frothy drink.

Raspberry lemonade kombucha!

I've been feeling a bit down and I wanted to make something tasty for dinner even though my fridge is pretty bare. This beauty is from Some Like It Hot by Robin Robertson. It is the Broiled East Indian Tofu with Curried Vegetable Pilaf.
I had to make a few substitutions based on what I had, and it was still delicious! The tofu is nice and garlic-y, and the rice is flavored so well, I really like the spritz of lemon at the end!