Hello Joe!

 I went to Trader Joe's yesterday for the first time in awhile. I went right at opening and it's the first time since the pandemic that there was no line. They might not even be limiting numbers anymore because of the vaccine. Either way I avoided the rush so I was happy! 

Cucumber, tomato, spicy picles, green onion, red and yellow onion, vegan queso (Smiths), gnocchi, pita bread, flatbread, tofu, iceberg, frozen strawberries, garlic spread, vegan gummies,soy curls, Dave's Killer English muffins,red and green lentils, avocado, jalapenos, lemon, corn dippers, coconut milk, spinach

The soy curls are from Natural Grocers, the muffins Whole Foods and the Queso is from Smith's. Whole Foods has Dave's breads on sale for under four dollars!!! I have become a Dave's bread enthusiast. It is pricier, but honestly so worth it. And coming from the world of gluten free, it's still cheaper than any nasty ass gluten free bread!

I also grabbed this at Whole Foods. It shocked me that it's vegan! I'm trying another Wil Yeung recipe tonight, and I think a drizzle of this will make it even more chef's kiss. 

Trader Joe's has the Impossible patties now! The package of six is $11.99, which almost gave me a heart attack!! I guess two bucks a burger isn't bad, but it's too rich for my blood! Someone on the Gram mentioned that they paid much more at Sprouts, so if you want some burgers to grill this weekend and live near a Trader Joe's you can save some money.

Field Roast has been changing their packaging, and I think they changed their formula for their hot dogs. I remember the old hotdogs were very firm, almost more like sausages, these felt softer, more like a tofu pup or smart dog. Tofu pups were my favorite vegan hotdog, I wonder if they still make them?

What I Ate Plus a New Friend!

 

 I took a picture of what I ate and drank yesterday. A day of eating from the rut if you will. It's not exciting, but not every vegan meal is full of sparkle and shine as social media would sometimes try to make us believe. 

After my morning lemon water I had iced instant coffee. I really like this instant cold brew from Trader Joe's. It's decently priced, and you get many servings from each jar. It tastes pretty dang good for instant if you ask me!

Someone I follow on Instagram had a beautiful watermelon for breakfast one day, and it made me crave watermelon so badly. I bought an expensive organic one at Natural grocers, and it was mushy and mealy city. I was so pissed because of the price. I expect more when I pay more. Anyway, I turned that lemon into lemonade by making watermelon juice. It was tasty.

Since I couldn't have watermelon, I made some kitchari for breakfast. Topped with some sriracha and green dragon sauce. Very soul satisfying.

Lots of flat water, fizzy water and cold yerba mate. I feel like I'm living in a constant state of dehydration living in Utah. It's like I can never drink enough fluids!

For dinner I made spicy sesame noodles and had a few radishes and spring rolls. This was very tasty and comforting. I've been loving adding a little radish to my meals.

I'm going to brave Trader Joe's this morning. I'm going to mask up and get there early so I can avoid a ton of people. Hopefully I'll get some inspiration. 

I feed some of the neighborhood strays. Most run from me, the first stray I ever saw still won't let me near him. But there have been a few new kitties that show up at feeding time, and two of them are very friendly. This is one of them and she is so sweet and pretty. She flops over for belly rubs as soon as she sees me!!!

 

I love her!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things I've Tried While Being Stuck in a Rut

 I still haven't blogged much lately. I've been in a kitchen rut for so long, and I'm starting to fear that it's permanent. Like, do I just not like to cook? I've always loved cooking, even when all I have is a bag of lentils. 

I've barely even been grocery shopping, more like just picking up odds and ends that I need, to tide me over till I feel like actually doing a shop. I used to LOVE grocery shopping. Now it's a chore. 

But, I have still been eating food, so here are some things I've eaten and tried and mostly liked! First is the newish vegan Bolognese pasta sauce from Trader Joe's. I had tried a vegan Bolognese from the Kroger line Simple Truth, and it was one of the worst things I've tried. I couldn't finish my pasta or the jar and I HATE wasting food. I must have been in a brave mood to grab the Trader Joe's version. 

A lot of people have compared this to Chef Boyardee. I've never had Chef Boyardee, but I get what they mean. This is definitely a sweeter, more maybe school lunch tasting pasta sauce. I liked it, honestly it reminded me of being a kid and having spaghetti at a friends house, and the mom used regular white pasta, not whole wheat, and the sauce would be from a jar and have kind of a sweet, processed flavor that my mom's homemade, healthy ass sauce didn't have. I give it an eight out of ten. 

You guys know I LOVE Vegan Rob's! The Brussels and cauliflower puffs are two of my favorite snacks. But these were just okay. I love spicy food, and have a very high spice tolerance, but these were not the kind of heat I like. It's just kind of like a blast of heat and no other flavors. I also HATE the orange stuff on my fingers as I eat them. I'll stick to the Brussels and Cauliflower puffs from now on.

I haven't tried this as an actual salad dressing, but I did dip some awesome vegan tenders in this and it was a ten out of ten experience! I was thinking this would be good on a taco salad too. If you have a Kroger/Ralph's/Fred Meyer/Smith's near you, look out for the Simple Truth line. Lots of vegan options at a decent price, and while I've had a couple of misses most are huge hits.

I found this somewhere on sale, and it tastes just like I remember Mounds bars tasting. ten out of ten, definitely will buy again!

This is one of my favorite chocolate bars! It has little pieces of dried coconut and pineapple, which makes it tasty and a great texture. 

I have had the gardein beefless crumbles, but the potstickers and sausage will be new to me. I found these items in the freezer clearance section. Two dollars each!! They also had a daiya pizza for three dollars, but it was a cauliflower crust. I don't even really care for their regular gluten free crust, I'm not dying to try the cauliflower crust. Three dollars is only a deal if you like or can use the item. 

I walked by this house the other day, and it made me smile. I love how the grass is so overgrown, and then there's just a patch of flowers. That would be me if I owned a house, why mow when you have flowers?

Should Have Gone Lyft

 Guess who'd fully vaxxed? This guy! Although I'm feeling pretty crummy, headache-y, clammy and tired, I'm so glad I did it! I had a very hard time finding an appointment, and I had to go to a Smith's pretty far away. Well, if you Google directions, by car it's nine minutes, by bus it's one hour and fifteen minutes!! For my first shot I hitched a ride, but that option wasn't available this time so I took a taxi. I had a different person both trips, and the first driver told me way too many TMI stories, and wouldn't stop talking even once we got to the store! Then, on the way home the driver asked what brought me to that part of town, and then proceeded to give me the biggest anti vax lecture the whole way home! I tried a few times to end that convo and steer it anywhere else, but he was not willing to let it drop! I didn't know scientists sometime moonlight as taxi drivers!

After my shot I shopped around for a few things, and I saw this! I know it's not vegan, but I am someone that appreciates progress, and small steps can often lead to bigger steps. I think this is great!

I also stumbled across these! I've seen gardein's ultimate burgers at several stores, but never tenders! They also had ultimate chick'n patties. I also found this Simple Truth vegan spicy ranch which seemed like a natural choice for dipping. 

Last night I was really feeling icky, and not in the mood to cook so these came in handy!! I haven't had their regular tenders in awhile, but I remember that the breading used to come off pretty easily, even with parchment paper. This is not an issue with these babies!

These are what I imagine a fast food tender would be like. The breading is very seasoned and nice and crispy. Perfect ratio of breading and chick'n in my opinion. Ten out of ten! The spicy ranch is also delicious!

Meals I Made with Bits and Bobs

 I figured I'd show some of my freezer/pantry meals I had last week. To be honest, I'm surprised I was able to pull it off, because I definitely don't have a super stocked pantry or freezer. But I guess it was more stocked than I realized. 

I have this vegan pesto that is really sharp and I don't like it, so I blended some up with some slivered almonds and made this creamy pesto pasta with tofu. Pretty tasty.

I really love that Tik Tok tortilla hack. It's just such an easier way to eat a quesadilla. This had leftover rice, refried black beans and some Simple Truth queso which is the best queso vegan or not I've had.

I had an extremely freezer burned Beyond sausage in my freezer, so I roasted that with some potatoes and had a little sauerkraut on the side.

I always have tofu in my fridge. I think tofu is my favorite protein, or "meat substitute". I just Googled spicy braised tofu and found a recipe I liked. Simple and super tasty. This was my second favorite meal of the week.

This was hands down my favorite meal of the week. Buffalo soy curls on top of one pot vegan mac and cheese. Ten out of ten. The mac and cheese recipe is here. It was so easy, and wow, really great. I had a handful of vegan cheese in my freezer I used, but I tasted it before adding the cheese and it's still delicious. Honestly, when I make this again I'll probably leave out vegan cheese. And it's just as easy as any boxed mac and cheese and a zillion times tastier. 

I had some frozen fruit and carrots and oranges so I did have green smoothies and carrot orange juice about five out of the seven days, so I did have some color and fruit and veg in my life too!

Tomorrow I get my second shot of the vaccine, so a week after tomorrow I'll be as safe as you can be which is good with mask restrictions being lifted. I think it's too soon, so I'll still be wearing mine. 

Wish me luck, if I feel too icky I'm sure I won't be around for a couple of days. But it feels good to be a part of the solution!

Small Vegan Whole Foods Haul

 I was a little MIA last week.I was on the losing end of my depression, and could really only what absolutely had to be done. I also skipped grocery shopping, so my meals were out of my not very well stocked pantry and freezer. I swear if I could have put it off another week I really would have. 

Trader Joe's and Sprouts both announced on social media that fully vaccinated people can shop mask free. Since I won't be fully vaccinated until next Tuesday, I decided to keep it safe and shop at Whole Foods where they are still requiring face coverings. With all the covid deniers and and Trumpists and anti vaxxers out there, I feel unsafe. To be honest, even after being fully vaccinated I will still wear a mask in public, and honestly I'll probably wear a mask forever on the bus!

Kombucha, oat creamer, onion, tomato, avocado, nag champa, unreal candies, chocolate covered raisins, kale, green onion, rice, bananas, frozen strawberries, coconut milk, baked beans, jalapeno hummus, tofu, bath salts, vanilla incense, garlic, alfalfa sprouts, bread, fizzy water

I've enjoyed shopping at Whole Foods during the pandemic because it seems everyone has Amazon Prime shoppers do their shopping, so it's rarely busy. And if you stay away from specialty things, you can find good deals. I think that's true for anywhere though, unless you're lucky and have access to a Grocery Outlet, specialty items are going to cost you.

This was kind of a half assed trip to be honest. Usually I love grocery shopping, but yesterday I just grabbed what was on my list and couldn't wait to leave. My appetite has been a little off, I'll feel hungry, make something and then after a few bites I don't feel hungry anymore. So I guess this will be an interesting food week!

I hope to be around more this week, I plan on it. I plan on pushing myself to feel like a human again. 

Vegan Food and Stuff

 

I'm pretty loyal to Silk coffee creamer, whether it's almond or soy milk, it's always nice and creamy.And it's one of the least expensive. I do like to venture out and try other brands when I find sales. I've never heard of this brand, but Sprouts had it on sale, and the container had a dollar off coupon so it cost me two dollars! 

It's pretty good. This is almost as creamy as Silk, and it does taste sweet and it is creamy! I'm not sure how much this is without the sale and coupon, it was so new there was no price. But if it's comparable to Silk, I would definitely buy it again!

Such an ugly, but delicious bowl of food! I found a random store brand bag of potato and onion pierogi that are accidentally vegan. I caramelized some onions, then added some white beans and the pieogi and that was that. With some sauerkraut of course! 

Last night I made a burrito stuffed with refried black beans, avocado, the best vegan queso ever from Simple Truth, and these Taco Bell style spicy potatoes. Here's the recipe I used for the potatoes. I had more potatoes with green dragon sauce on the side. This hit the spot and I highl;y recommend the potatoes. The cornstarch gives them a crispy coating that makes them almost feel fried. 

I took a different street on my walk yesterday, and I came across this little oasis! You can't really see it, but behind all the beautiful trees is a little house that almost looks like a cabin. The yard just looks like you're in a forest. So beautiful! I definitely appreciate seeing anything green or lush since moving to Utah. Lush isn't a word I use often. Dry and parched are more the usual. 

So big and majestic!

I've been waiting for La Croix to come out with some new flavors! I spotted two new flavors, a raspberry/blackberry flavor that is really good, and this beach plum which I'm really in love with. I don't know how they do it, but this is going to be in my fridge a lot this summer!!

No More Night Sugars!

 I've been feeling really down and blue for the past few weeks. I feel hopeless about a few things in my life, and that's the worse feeling, when you're just stuck. Because of that, I've noticed that at night I've been mindlessly eating way too much candy. I don't eat or drink anything sweet throughout the day, but before bed I like to have something sweet. Normally it's something small, but too many times in the last few weeks I've just shoved way too many gummies in my face. I guess I'm eating my feelings. 

I've decided for the month of May, no candy before bed. Only fruit if I'm dying for something sweet. Summer fruit should start rolling in pretty soon which will make it all so much easier. Nectarines forever!

I stocked up on bananas and some freeze dried fruit to hold me over until more fruit pops up. I'm not totally cutting sugar out of my diet, I won't give up my sweet coffee creamer, just cutting out the night time habit. I'm hoping after this month candy will taste too sweet. That's what happened with soda for me. I used to be a casual soda drinker, maybe a couple a week. I gave up that habit years ago, and now if I have a sip of soda it just tastes so sweet to me, like I'm drinking syrup. So, hopefully this month I can lose my taste for vegan gummies!

I tried the mango last night and WOW!!! I've never had freeze dried fruit, and the texture is crunchy but also light. And it's only fruit, no other ingredients. 

 This was my delicious dinner last night! it was so easy but tasted like takeout. It's just one of those Asian chopped salads, spring rolls and soy curls with a spicy hoisin glaze. I have a ton of jalapenos and Thai basil that I need to use, so I added both to the salad. Ten out of ten!

 

Don't judge my dusty ass laptop, but isn't Bubba's little foot the cutest? He was in serious cuddle mode and holding me down so I couldn't leave!

Korean Pancakes, Thrifting, Finding Sales and Smelling Pretty!

 

I found this on my last trip to Chinatown Supermarket, and I had some veggies that needed to be used so I made veggie scallion pancakes the other night! This mix makes it so easy because it's already seasoned.

I've never made Korean pancakes, or even had them when someone else makes them, so I'm a newb. Next time I will definitely make them thinner, and leave out the cabbage. They were still really tasty so definitely not a fail!

I ran to Natural Grocers for incense and found two little treeline cheeses on clearance! These are the harder little circles and they're so, so good! Treeline is definitely one of my favorite vegan cheeses. 

I also found this booch-y kind of drink and since it's a new to the store item it was on sale. I'm glad I tried it on sale because it wasn't my favorite. It has an odd aftertaste, and it's kind of dry. 

I made this towering stuffed baked potato the other night, and it was so filling and delicious! I stuffed it with baked beans, BBQ tofurky 'chicken", and coleslaw. This tasted like summer and really hit the spot!

I went thrifting the other day and found this adorable bowl for a buck! I love anything paisley! Inside is a steaming bowl of green curry ramen with tofu, kale, and lots of Thai basil!

I have been using Schmidt's natural deodorant for over two years now. It's one of the only natural deodorants that works on me. I'm sure there could be others, but let's be real, they are freaking expensive, and so many of them don't work I can't afford to experiment! Alas, Natural Grocers was out of  Schmidt's the other day, so I grabbed this because it's natural, vegan and at least was on sale. And the only other natural deodorant that I like is the primal Pit paste that comes in a little jar like this. I kind of like applying the deodorant with my hand. 

Anyway, the other day I went to get groceries, and it was like eighty three degrees and I was walking around lugging three heavy bags. By the time I got home, I was a sweaty, greasy mess. But my armpits still smelled like Jasmine! I'm impressed so far, and it's nice to have another option!