Oodles of Noodles!

 Well, I made it to the Asian market. I wish I could go more often, but it's just such a pain in the arse to get there. I went for two things specifically, tofu and of course noodles!! It's funny, when I fist started having wheat again, I thought I'd be going for all the different plant meats that have popped on to the scene while I was gluten free, but really I mostly want all the bread and noodles. Plant meats are very expensive so that kind of turns me off to be honest. Anyway, on with the haul!!

Enoki mushrooms, oranges, carrots, noodles!!, tofu, broken Jasmine rice, dumplings, scallion pancakes, fruit flavored mochi, banana mochi, sweet chili sauce, ginger, Vietnamese sour soup starter

These looked like fun little dumplings! From what I learned from Google, I believe these are Chinese boiled dumplings. I think they'll be a great for my dumpling soup addiction!

I still have an unopened bottle of Halo vegan fish sauce so I didn't get this, but it sounds interesting huh? I don't know why, but I'm scared to try the fish sauce. I've heard the flavor described as funky, which I know is meant in a good way, but I just don't know if I want the funk. 

Last night I made black bean noodles with tofu and some avocado and cucumber on the side. I used Pancit noodles for this dish. They're bouncy and chewy and I love them!!

Small Things

 I have a tiny Smith's haul. Just a few things to hold me over until tomorrow, when I plan on making a trip to the Asian market. I'm out of noodles, and now that I'm having wheat again, the Asian market is a playground for noodle lovers!!

Viatl wheat gluten, tofu, orange pepper, celery, pineapple, cucumber, onion, avocado, chocolate bar, baba ganoush,pita bread, green onion, silk creamer, vegan queso, crusty bread

 

I'm most excited about the wheat gluten! When I first went vegan, and long before going gluten free I used to LOVE to play around with different seitan recipes. I never had  brilliant result, but I never had a total fail either, so I'm excited to try again! I love the Viet Vegan YouTube channel, and she made seitan using regular flour!! It seems like something I'm not yet ready to try, but here's the video if you're interested. Regular flour is much cheaper than vital wheat gluten so maybe I'll try it someday!

As I was walking from the bus with my groceries I noticed these little babies poking through!! The first signs of spring always make me so happy. Sometimes you just have to appreciate the smallest little things!!!

Bars and Dumplings and Soup Oh My!

 

I spotted these on sale last week at Smiths, and couldn't resist. I've loved every vegan item from their simple truth line except their vegan cream cheese. I hated the cream cheese with a passion! But their vegan queso is the best vegan queso I've had, including homemade and it's like three fifty a container which is dollars less than any other brand I've seen. 

But back to these bars. I wanted to love them. Raspberries are my favorite berry, and adding chocolate seems like a dream.  Unfortunately I didn't love them. The ice cream is very, very brittle, not creamy at all, and it has a tartness that almost reminds me of frozen yogurt which I've never loved. Also, the chocolate shell breaks and falls off so much it stressed me out. I will eat the other two bars, but I doubt I'd ever buy these again. I would give these a four out of ten. Just below average. 

I found these at Smith's too. Potsticker soup has become one of my favorite easy dinners. I crave it! It's nice for those times I don't want to cook, and am tempted to just throw some frozen fries in the oven. 

These dumplings are really, really good. they're plump and generous with the filling. Ten out of ten. I'm happy to have a good dumpling option when a trip to the Asian market just isn't in the cards. 

Last night I made a spicy gochujang broth and added some baked tofu, rice and dumplings. Easy, delicious and ready in fifteen minutes. 

I'm going to try and get back to more regular posting. Part of managing my depression is keeping up some healthy habits that I know make me feel better. Blogging is one of those habits. Usually one good habit leads to another, so hopefully this will help me get my kitchen groove back!

Nuggs and Booch!

 

Last week I tried the spicy Nuggs, and I loved them so much I had to try the regular. A few people on Instagram said they had heard bad things about the regular flavor, so I was a bit nervous, but how could the spicy be so delicious, and the regular be horrible? It seemed unlikely.

Well, I'm happy to report that the regular are really tasty as well! These Nuggs are definitely like fast food nuggets. Some vegan "chicken" tenders or nuggets I've tried just have kind of a healthy undertone. These are crispy and greasy, not too greasy, just like they came out of a fryer. And all the breading stays on the nuggets which I really appreciate. 

I prefer the spicy Nuggs just because I'm a spicy gal, but I highly recommend these for anyone who doesn't love spice, or even if you do. Ten out of ten I will buy both flavors again!!

I found this at the same store where I found the Nuggs. This is a brand new to me flavor, and it was on sale so I had to try it! Ten out of ten! GT's is not my favorite brand of booch, but they have a few flavors I do like, and this is now on that list. It tastes like summer! It doesn't have that sharp bite that some GT's flavors have. Ten out of ten!!

Small and Sweet Vegan Sprouts Haul

 I went to Sprouts and Smith's early this morning and figured, what the heck, why not show my little haul. Sprouts was having a pretty decent BOGO sale, and I had a five dollar off coupon, so even though I got a few fun items I was under budget! Woot!

Daiya cheese, peanut butter, vegan gravy packet, nooch, apples, vegan gummy bears, clover sprouts, onion, oranges, carrots, califia farms creamer, garlic, ginger, vegan protein powder, live booch soda, garden salad mix

Look what I found at Smiths! These were on sale for $3.50 a box, and since most frozen chocolate covered bars have vanilla or chocolate ice cream, and because raspberries are my favorite berry, I had to get them! Simple Truth is really taking care of us vegans!

I've been seeing these on social media, and I finally found them. My Sprouts finally has them and I can never say no to vegan gummies! Especially because a lot of times accidentally vegan gummies are sour, and sometimes I want a regular gummy!

Comforting, Boring Food

 I'm sorry for my very sporadic posting lately. Not that I was ever really on any kind of schedule, but I've been posting way less than usual. I feel really low, and I don't want to complain all the time, but putting on a fake positive face feels like nothing I want to do here anyway. And I've definitely been in a food rut. I'm not bored with what I've been eating, but it's a lot of the same or very similar meals, lots of lentils!

Spicy black lentil dal with paratha bread

Red lentil dal with rice

Lentil soup and za'atar flatbread

It's been dreary and grey here for so long, I can't remember the last time I saw the sun for more than five minutes. All I want is a soup or stew and a blanket.

I've also been loving potsticker soup. It's so delicious and comforting and thanks to all the delicious vegan dumpling options out there, it takes under ten minutes to make!

Rice, sriracha tofu and potstickers in a spicy miso broth

Ramen noodles and potstickers in a spicy coconut curry broth

So although I'm enjoying my food, I am in a rut and my diet certainly hasn't been social media ready for awhile now. I feel stuck in several ways, not just the kitchen.

I woke poor Bubba up trying to get a picture of him all cozy wozy with his favorite blanket on one of his favorite chairs. Look at those baby blues!!

I have to get some groceries tomorrow, so maybe I'll be back this weekend with a haul, depending on how boring my haul is. But when I have something noteworthy to say, or I feel better I'll pop up. I hope everyone is staying warm, safe and as happy as we can be right now!

Trying Spicy Nuggs!!

 I don't buy a lot of faux meats because they are all expensive, and I would rather splurge on vegan cheese if I have a few extra bucks in my weekly grocery budget. But when I see sales I like to try things, especially now that I'm having gluten. 

I've been hearing a lot about Nuggs for quite some time on social media. I think in the past you had to order a huge box online, and it's pretty expensive. I guess that isn't the case anymore because I saw them at a regular grocery store here in little old SLC!! They come in a box with 3.5 servings, and the serving is five nuggs, so I guess seventeen nuggs per box. The box was a little over five bucks, so definitely not cheap, but not too much more than similar products.

Simulate chicken??

They have a regular and spicy version, and of course I chose spicy! I was very surprised, because these actually have a pretty serious kick!! If you are sensitive to spice, avoid these and try the regular!

These have a pretty thick, in a good way batter that is very crunchy and definitely sticks to the nugg. The texture is firm, not mushy at all, and although I really hate this word, they are meaty. I think these would definitely if not fool at least satisfy a meat eater.

Ten out of ten! Next time I'll try the regular nuggs!

Thumbs Up!

 

I know not everyone loved Trader Joe's original vegan shreds, but I didn't mind them as long as they were heated of course. They were much cheaper than other vegan shreds for a similar result. I didn't see the vegan shreds the last time I went to Trader Joe's, and I think these are the updated version of those shreds. 

I made some stuffed shells the other night and used some of these shreds in my tofu ricotta and of course topped the shells with more. It melted very nicely, and doesn't liquefy the way the old shreds did. I like them and will definitely buy again!

I've been hearing so many great things about this simple truth cookie dough, and let me tell you, the hype is deserved! These taste like the buttery tollhouse cookies my grandma used to make. Absolutely delicious, ten out of ten will buy again!

 

 Several stores in my area carry Vegan Rob's puffs, but I've never been able to find the crisps until now! Sprouts has the cauli crisps, dragon, and turmeric crisps. These are tasty, but I do like the puffs better. To me, the puffs replicate the puff experience, and while these are similar to Pringles, I do wish they were a bit saltier. I still would buy again, especially when I'm craving pringles!

Sprouts had Boca products on clearance, so I scored some crumbles for under two dollars a bag! Of course I had to make boca and black bean tacos! I topped them with a slaw made with vegan mayo and green dragon sauce. Delicious! I am team flour tortilla all the way!

Last night I made one of my favorite meals from way back before I went gluten free! Garlic, kale, salt, pepper, and lots of crushed red pepper sauteed and tossed with linguini!! I haven't had this meal in three years! It's so easy and tasty, not to mention super cheap to make!

I'm sure I've mentioned these before, but they deserve all the love! These are one of my favorite after dinner treats. They aren't super sweet, and the crunch is addictive!!

Sprouts and Smiths Vegan Haul!

 I picked up a few things from Sprouts and Smiths yesterday. Sprouts is the peace to Trader Joe's chaos, so it's a nice change of pace. And I have yet to see an employee or customer wearing their mask around their chin!! It's the small things in life!

Regular and Meyer lemon, celery, onion, garlic, ginger, boca crumbles, and chicken patties, Vegan Rob's cauliflower crisps, potaoes, vegan gravy, carrots, grapefruit, tofu, live booch oatly, soda,kale, green onion, coffee creamer, pear, booch

Since I had to run into Smiths for toilet paper and kitty supplies, I always have to peruse for any WooHoo deals, and I found one! I want to try to make my own naan bread, and all the recipes I've come across call for plain yogurt. I found this pretty big tub of kite hill unsweetened yogurt for $1.55! And the yogurt is good until March so I have time! And who can say no to vegan cookie dough?

Yays and Nays!

 I've tried a few new to me foods recently, and figured why not share my opinion! I have a few hits and two misses.  Let's get the misses out of the way first!

This soda has been all over social media. Everyone seems to love it. I've seen nothing but glowing reviews. This soda is sweetened with cassava syrup(??) and of course stevia. One review I saw talked of how cloyingly sweet regular soda is, and how this is not that way. I strongly disagree with that opinion. This was so cloyingly sweet, but in that weird stevia way that I could only have three or four sips before tossing it. They have other flavors, but they're all sweetened with stevia, so it's a big no from me dawg.

I always see this TCHO chocolate, but most flavors aren't vegan, and it's expensive! I found this flavor on sale for three dollars and had to treat myself. Except it was hardly a treat. It tastes stale, like maybe the banana chips are stale? Not exactly sure, but not what I was hoping for. Hard Pass.

Now for the good! Trader Joe's recently came out with this vegan cheesecake, or should I say cakes. Each box comes with two perfect individual cakes. They're sweet and creamy, and I love the crust. It's not quite as tart as daiya's, but I didn't mind. This is a huge yes and I will definitely buy again!

Found at Trader Joe's. This is unflavored, which sometimes is nice although I have gotten spoiled by flavored creamers. This is nice and rich, makes coffee and tea creamy and you don't have to use a ton. I will definitely buy again!

These are the crackers of my dreams! They're big and thick, you can really load them up with toppings, or scoop up soup and they don't fall apart. They have a little spice, but nothing that would blow your face off. I will definitely buy these again!

I've been LOVING Dave's killer hamburger buns. I was scared they were going to be really dense and taste really healthy kind of like an Ezekiel bun. But somehow they are as light and fluffy as a white bun! Ten out of ten recommend. And bonus, even though they are more expensive than a regular white hamburger bun, they're still a million times cheaper than any gluten free bun!

Another Haul Bites the Dust!

 I went on a grocery run on Saturday and boy was I drained after. I've been looking into signing up for some kind of grocery pick up or delivery, but I can't really afford a lot of extra fees, and also I have concerns because I know they substitute things if they're out of something, and I don't like that. I also feel really nervous about someone else picking out my produce. Does anyone have any success or failure stories? Maybe even if I just did it every other week or something to give myself a break. I'm tired of seeing people on the bus and in stores with their mask around their chin!!!!

I went to Trader Joe's for most of my groceries, and got a few things from Whole Foods and the Indian market. 

Onion, garlic, tangelos, lemons, shredded cabbage, booch, tofu,vegan shreds, celery, romaine, soft pretzels, mini peppers, carrots, fizzy water, tomato paste, coffee creamer, apples, crackers, green onion, raw cashew pieces

Miyoko's aged cheddar, veggie burgers, Dave's killer Buns, vegan puffs, chocolate covered raisins, kombucha, chili garlic crunch, Epsom salts, dish soap,nag champa

 

I went to the Indian Market for naan, and discovered all their naan has milk in it!!!! I enjoyed the paratha which is vegan, so I picked one that is stuffed with spiced lentils and one plain for dipping. I guess I need to learn how to make my own naan!