MidWeek Munchies all Bulked Up!

I discovered my bulk connection! I feel like I came home yesterday! Other times I've been in Whole Foods, I've just run in for a few things. I've always gotten a ride, and so I felt pressured to be kind of quick. Yesterday, I put on my big girl pants and figured out the bus situation, and I took myself! Jumping back into riding the bus in Seattle has been pretty much like riding a bike, but the Whole Foods closest to me is in a neighborhood called the university district, or you know, the u-district for us cool locals.(haha) Anyway, the u-district is one of my least favorite neighborhoods, so I am pretty unfamiliar with how to get around. But it's easier than I thought, and now I can bulk up whenever needed! This is only one wall, on the other side is a whole wall of nuts, all different types of granola, and dried fruit.

They had several varieties of garbanzo beans. I always thought it was just the one type of garbanzo. I got some of the York White ones. I wonder if they'll taste a lot different?

I had to get these Zero-Tannin lentils. They had several types of lentils I had never heard of, like these. I once crowned myself the lentil queen, so maybe I'm demoted to Princess of the lentils for now. According to this website, they cook to a  golden color, and won't turn the water muddy. That is so wonderful! It's so hard to make lentil soup look appetizing because it's always so brown. I can't wait to cook with these!

Look at all that vegan Mac and cheese on sale! Woot Woot! Also, I noticed Follow Your Heart ranch was on sale for $2.77 a bottle! I don't know if all Whole Foods run the same sales, but it's worth checking out of you're doing any last minute food shopping!

I saw this on a shelf, they also had plain and chipotle BBQ style. What is Burmese tofu you ask? I had to look myself! It is tofu made from chickpea flour!! It's kind of similar to very firm polenta. This is great news for people who can't have soy. It has to be better than the hemp tofu! I don't like to bad mouth vegan foods too much, but the hemp tofu is one of the worst things I've ever put in my mouth. I didn't get any of this today, but I will try it in the future. It seems like it might be easy to recreate. I love how almost every time I go to a store, a new to me vegan product appears. It tells me that although not fast enough, things are changing, and people are giving up, or at least trying to give up animal products.
Okay, now on to my haul!!

They were having a sweet sale on all varieties of organic kale, so I couldn't say no. I really enjoy the Tuscan Kale for salads. I'm making an eggplant dish from The China Study Cookbook and I have to say sometimes it can be hard to find a nice eggplant at the grocery, but these are so perfect and beautiful.

The kitties told me that I needed to get some vegan treats today, as a gift from them. I do listen to my cats, so vegan cheese it is! The Provolone slices will be an addition to my eggplant dish if I don't eat them all straight out of the package! And Goat cheese was one of my favorites, so the Heidi Ho and Treeline should fill that void.

Wildwood smoked tofu is one of my favorites, and they have a BBQ and a mild schezwan flavor that I didn't know existed! And chocolate! The Thumbs Up is the Go Max Go version of a butterfinger. I had it last night and it is my favorite of any of the Go Max Go candy bars I've tried. Very close to the original. And it's nice to have "milk" chocolate!

Can you believe I finally got my hot little hands on a package of this Jackfruit? I have looked everywhere for the canned stuff so I can experiment, but so far no luck. I need to hit up an Asian market. In the meantime, I am so excited to try this, I've heard nothing but rave reviews.

I can't wait to try this Ethiopian simmer sauce. I got some red lentils in bulk, and these two are going to get married! Does anyone remember the blog Peas and Thank you? I used to love her blog. Anyway, she came up with her own version of Cafe Yumm's Yumm sauce, and it was love at first bite. Even my extremely non vegan, very picky ex boyfriend loved Yumm sauce. There is a Cafe Yumm in downtown Seattle, maybe one day I will venture to downtown and stop in. This sauce is really amazing. It's made with almonds and chickpeas and some seasonings.  I'm sure I still have the recipe written down somewhere!

I remember years ago I started taking Spirulina tablets, and they really helped with my energy and mood. So I thought I could use the help since the grey is real in Seattle.

And finally, I had to get more Samosas. These are also on sale. All Whole Food appetizers are two for five!
And finally, after all that adventure I made my beloved General Tso's cauliflower for dinner. If I were to make any best of lists for 2015, this would be in my top three of favorite recipes of the year.

I cannot stress enough how amazing this dish is. The sauce would make anything taste good. I am not one to repeat recipes this often. I like/need a lot of variety, so it;s so shocking to me how often I make this. But I seriously crave it. And it's cauliflower!!!
I hope everyone is relaxed, and enjoying the season, and eating some great food!