Miso Soup!

                        
                         
                  
                             
                                                                                    
I can't get enough of this song all year and it's of course meant to be played all day today! Maybe hum it in your head if you have any uncomfortable social situations today! I hope everyone has understanding families. It's really hard to deal with feeling teased and sometimes even bullied for having compassion.

Although I work today and I also don't really do holidays, I still like to make something kind of traditional just to feel sentimental I guess? I decided I wanted to make mac and cheese with the violife cheese and also gluten free stuffing. I have a loaf of BFree bread in my freezer from a WooHoo sale, but I'm hoarding that and want to use it for sandwiches and stuff. It's really, really hard to find gluten free bread that's vegan. Gluten free bread seems to have either eggs or honey, sometimes both. It's maddening.
Luckily Natural Grocers had this gluten free bread clearly labeled vegan! It's from a bakery in Provo. UT. Look at me being all local and stuff. If only it was artisan! I also picked up some miso and these veggie burgers I always want to get but never do. Hodo soy makes the BEST tofu but it's pricey and so are these burgers. Since they were on sale for under four dollars a box I decided to go for it!

Since I'll be having heavier food today I kept it light last night with miso soup with mung bean noodles and baked tofu. It really hit the spot as miso always does.

Whether or not you celebrate, and whether or not today is even a holiday for you I hope it's a warm and cozy day!

Nog Coconut Yogurt and Violife Parmesan

I like to take yogurt to work because it's a quick snack that keeps me from getting hangry. I tried Trader Joe's coconut milk yogurt awhile ago and I was not a fan. I don't even remember if I liked the taste because the texture was so offensive to my mouth and that's all I remember. It was super thick in a very weird fake way. Like I could feel whatever starch they used. 
Someone posted this on Instagram and said the texture was much better than their other yogurts. I decided to give it a try. I was so scared to take that first bite. But Instagram was right! They improved the texture, and the flavor is seriously out of this world. It's very noggy! I really wish I would have gotten more! This is by no means healthy yogurt. It has only one or two grams of protein and obviously a lot of sugar, but it's a really tasty treat! Tis the season!

I finally decided to try the Violife Parmesan last night. The first thing I noticed was how much it smelled like Parmesan! And I tasted a bit and the texture and flavor are pretty dang spot on!! I have to say that Chao has been my favorite vegan cheese for years, but I think Violife might be my new fave.

Atrocious picture, but delicious meal. I just tossed the gnocchi with some of the sun dried tomato pesto and shredded parm and had an amazing salad with baked tofu, pepperoncini and sunflower seeds. The violife added that salty unctuousness that I remember from Parmesan. I love nooch on top of pastas, but this was a nice treat. I felt like I was at a restaurant or something!

I also made another pan of delicious, fudge-y black bean brownies! I always use this recipe and they always turn out perfect! This time I added chocolate chips and used coconut sugar and maple syrup instead of regular sugar. They even get that brownie top!!! I've tried a lot of gluten free brownie mixes which are always double the price of gluten full mixes and these are my favorite brownies ever. They're so fudge-y and inexpensive and easy to make. Yum!

See You in 2019 Trader Joe's!

Well, I braved Trader Joe's yesterday and it was pretty brutal. There was a time last year during the holidays where I actually left my cart and left. I just couldn't do it. I felt like such a dick because I work in a grocery, I know what a pain that is! Well, I almost did it again yesterday but I really needed groceries and I realized everywhere is going to be crazy this week. But in all honesty this might be my last Trader Joe's haul until 2019! I am trying to practice self love and sending myself into what feels like guerrilla warfare just isn't very loving.

Butter lettucex2, seaweed snacks,celery,green onion,carrots,concord grape juice,coconut milk,stuffed grape leaves,cranberries,nog coconut yogurt,apples,onion,lemon,tofu(!!!!) banana, dish soap,frozen strawberries, peppermint tea and chocolate peppermint almond creamer

I also went to Natural Grocers to see if they had any amazing clearance sales going on. I found a few goodies!

Kite Hill peach Greek yogurt(clearance) booch(clearance) thyroid health supplement(clearance)sun dried tomato pesto,roastaroma chicory herbal tea

You guys know I love Teeccino, but I rarely buy it because it's pretty pricey. But Natural Grocers has Celestial Seasonings tea on sale, and the roastaroma is very similar so I lucked out! I also found a thyroid health supplement on clearance. It's vegan and has things like iodine, zinc, selenium and other things for thyroid health.

This is what made all the stress from Trader Joe's worth it. I saw this the other day on Instagram and knew I had to try it. When I got home I made a cup of the roastaroma and had it with a little coconut sugar and some of this. DELICIOUS!!!

I didn't buy these but I thought I'd show a picture for anyone interested. These are new to me so that's always exciting!They also had a buffalo chick'n flavor. Dr. Praeger's can be hit or miss for me, so maybe if these are ever on sale I'll try them because they're also gluten free!

Vegan Scalloped Potatoes

Anyone who has been reading this blog for awhile knows that I don't really do holidays. So every year I feel like a horrible blogger because I don't have gorgeous pictures and recipes for super fun, festive food. Not that I ever have gorgeous pictures, but you know what I mean!
Yesterday I realized I have a lot of potatoes, plus some cashews, so why not try to make vegan scalloped potatoes? I feel like that could be a side dish that would be widely accepted by vegans and non vegans alike. I tried to make this early so I could have some nice natural light, but the day got away from me so the pictures don't do the potatoes justice!

I also made garlic-y Brussels sprouts, but the recipe wasn't as awesome as I hoped it would be. I decided to get all fancy and attempt a maple syrup glaze type of thing and it wasn't my favorite.

This is what I'm most proud of. In the past my scalloped potatoes have been looser and messier than they should be. But this time I precooked the potato slices and used a thick cashew cream and they turned out really nice!

                                                             Vegan Scalloped Potatoes

• 3/4 C. raw cashews soaked for at least two hours. ( look for raw cashew pieces in the bulk section, They're much cheaper than whole cashews!)
• 6 Medium russet potatoes peeled and thinly sliced.
• 1 C. Water
• 1 Tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 C. Nutritional Yeast
• 1/4 Tsp. Garlic powder
• 1/ 4 Tsp. Onion Powder

Boil the potato slices for about eight minutes. You want them to be Al Dente. Once done rain and set aside. I put the slices on plate in a single layer so they didn't stick together. Blend the cashews, water and seasonings until smooth and creamy.
In a non stick baking pan add a layer of sauce, then a layer of potato slices. Add a little more sauce to cover, and then the rest of the potato slices. Cover with the rest of the sauce, cover the dish with foil and bake in a 350 oven for forty minutes. After thirty minutes I took the foil off and added a handful of daiya mozzarella shreds and let those get all melty. That step is optional of course, they didn't really need the cheese. Let rest for five or ten minutes before slicing!

I live with too much cuteness!!!

Hello Old Friend!

I was supposed to get groceries yesterday, but it was a cold, grey day and I just couldn't force myself to leave early because it was really cold, and well it never got nicer and the stores only get busier the later it gets on a Saturday. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm really struggling with the change of seasons this year. More than any other year I think. If I don't absolutely have to go somewhere it's sometimes hard for me to make myself.
I had stuff to eat for dinner, like potatoes, lentils and such but what I really wanted was tofu. Like all the tofu. So I did something I rarely do and got delivery. I got spicy lemongrass tofu and it was AMAZING!!

This had big triangles of deep fried tofu in a spicy lemongrass sauce. Since I never deep fry this was the perfect meal to break my tofu fast!

These girls don't help me want to leave when I don't have to. They make sleeping look GOOD! And they're just so much nicer and cooler than most humans!!

Tis the Season for Potato Sales!

I was near a store I never go to called Harmons and I stopped in for kitty food and scored a ten pound bag of potatoes for $1.50!! Ten pounds! I never go to Harmons because they're expensive, like Whole Foods before the Amazon takeover expensive so finding deals there is super satisfying. This might soun weird but I love cold baked and roasted potatoes, so I like to bake of a bunch of wedges an keep them in the fridge for a quick snack, or take to work because they're quick and easy to eat.
I also saw the Just Egg at Harmons, which is my first time seeing it anywhere, even Whole Foods! I was going to snap a picture but it was crowded, and I always feel awkward and like I don't belong as it is. It was $8.99 for a smallish container. The same size container as their dressings. At first I thought it was just Harmons, but a few reviews I've seen have noted the price being high. I'm a little surprised because I thought Hampton Creek was all about vegan food at affordable prices? I don't know if I'll ever try it because I would rather splurge on vegan cheese. I never was crazy about eggs, and I remember in Seattle I tried black salt and I was offended by the smell and it ruined a perfectly good tofu scramble!!

For dinner I had a big butter lettuce salad with sunflower seeds and banana pepper rings with Italian an a little just ranch. I also had some longboard fries dipped in just ranch. Kind of boring but it really, really hit the spot! Plants are just so delicious!

Blanket weather!

Today is the first day of no elimination, well except for gluten. I have to get some groceries this morning and I can't wait to buy all the tofu!!

The End of the Elimination!

Today is the last day of this elimination diet I've been doing and I couldn't be happier! For anyone who doesn't know, I have hypothyroidism and I'm trying to heal my thyroid so I cut some things out of my diet to see what would happen. I cut out gluten, soy, green tea, sugar, and raw goitrogen vegetables like kale, spinach, and broccoli. I also tried meditating, my plan was to do it every day, but I did maybe three times a week which is still an improvement. Why is meditating so hard!!!!
To be honest I don't feel much different. I've watched videos of other people who eliminated certain foods for whatever reason and they always seem so enlightened and healed and changed. That hasn't been my experience and I feel like a failure. I'm half joking.
Moving forward I will be continuing to live gluten free, because every single article I read screamed to avoid gluten. It seems gluten is bad for all auto immune issues from what I've read. I will also continue to avoid goitrogen vegetables in their raw state. I read some articles saying avoid soy, and others saying have soy, so since I feel no differently I'm adding soy back in. The bottom line is that I'm on a budget and tofu is a great, inexpensive protein source that I truly enjoy so I'm going to continue to enjoy it. I'll have sugar again, but only in moderation and I'll continue to experiment with coconut sugar for baking.
So instead of amazing news and changes to report, I'll just show what I've eaten these last couple of days!

Frozen berries, banana, avocado, hemp seeds and maca powder

Not really food, but homemade booch!!! Look at the bubbles!

Keto fudge brownies

I found a few gluten free low to no sugar desserts on vegan keto websites! The fudge that I made was a keto recipe and so are these brownies! They're made with almond flour and I used coconut sugar and maple syrup for sweetener. They were pretty all right, although I actually think I prefer black bean brownies!

Red lentil and potato curry

Last night I had this delicious mushroom ramen bowl! I sauteed mushrooms in sesame oil and garlic and made a really savory broth with ginger, garlic, Bragg's liquid aminos and mushroom powder. Put it all together with these rice ramen noodles. Delicious!!!

She plays hard and sleeps hard!

Daiya Cutting Board Shreds

Even though the cutting board shreds from daiya have been out for awhile, I've never tried them. I usually buy Trader Joe's vegan shreds, and when I do buy daiya it's been the original formula. I neeed some cheese for my cauliflower pizza the other night an I decided to finally try the cutting board formula.
The first thing I noticed is how different the shreds look. They're longer and thinner, and they aren't as damp and kind of mushy. It also didn't have such a strong daiya smell when I opened the bag.

Green chili enchiladas!

Daiya has always melted great, but this cheese actually gave me some pull and stretch which is really satisfying! It also has a thicker, fattier feel when it melts. It's really satisfying! I've compared the ingredients in their original and cutting board, and not a lot has changed other than the cutting board formula has potato protein, and while both have coconut and canola or safflower oil, in the original formula canola oil was listed before coconut and in the cutting board coconut oil is before canola/safflower oil. But it seems those small tweaks made a big difference.
I shared the enchiladas with some non vegan coworkers who gave them thumbs up, even the cheese. I'm really impressed with the cutting boar shreds, and I can't wait to try the cheddar!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust plus Treats!

I finally picked up the cauliflower pizza crust from Trader Joe's! I was a big fan of their frozen gluten free pizza crusts which unfortunately are no more. It seems everyone is riding the cauliflower craze! This was definitely a treat, it isn't that budget friendly at $3.99 for one kind of small crust. But at the same time it's cheaper than other cauliflower crusts I've seen at other stores. And a lot of those crusts have egg or dairy. Since I love their cauliflower gnocchi so much, I definitely felt safe giving this a try.
So you cook this crust for some time with no toppings, flipping halfway through. I have heard complaints that it's hard to flip, but that wasn't my experience. I was afraid it would be delicate and break, but it's pretty sturdy. After baking it for 20 to 25 minutes naked, it gets topped and baked for for a few more minutes.

I topped mine with pizza sauce, vegan shreds, green olives, green onion and sliced pepperoncini. Man, another cauliflower dish I love! With the strong flavors of the sauce and the toppings I chose I definitely could not taste cauliflower. And the crust held together! I was able to eat my pizza with my hands! I am really impressed and will definitely buy this again! It's no substitute for a delicious gluten full pizza crust, but if you're gluten free or just wanting to try something new, or to sneak more veggies in I would say this is worth a try!
I have a little mini haul from Sunday to show. I kind of treated myself to a few things so it's a bit more exciting than my usual hauls.

cauliflower gnocchi and pizza crust,butter lettuce,lemons, avocado,conditioner,truffle salt(!!!)

I feel so fancy!

Since I had to go to Petco for litter, and there just happens to be a Whole Foods in the very same plaza I decided that meant I needed to try the violife mature cheddar since I love their smoked provolone so much. And I couldn't resist a Parmesan wedge!!! I am so excited to try both of these! And since I cannot resist a vegan caramel I got the chocolate for a treat after this week is over!

Trader Joe's Falafel Mix!

I always go back and forth on buying this. I have put it in and taken it out of my basket so many times it's not even funny. I've tried two different falafel mixes in the past and they were both terrible so I pretty much gave up on boxed falafel mix. But last week I guess I was feeling brave so I decided to pick it up, and last night I was craving a falafel salad. Perfect time to try it!
The directions are very simple, you just mix the dry mix with water, let it sit for thirty to sixty minutes and then either fry or bake. The ingredients are simple and what should be in falafel. Fava beans, chickpeas, spices, baking powder and such. I could tell this was going to be better than the other mixes right away. The dry mix smelled delicious, an once I mixed it with the water it really smelled great!
I was scared to bake the falafel because I've tried that in the past with mixed, mostly bad results. But I also have a deep, deep fear of deep frying so I kind of did a shallow fry? I used more oil than I would to saute, but less than a deep fry. They held together well and gave me no problems at all. 

I made a delicious salad with butter lettuce, red onion, green olive and banana pepper rings and had the falafel with it. I also made a spicy, garlic-y tahini sauce. You can taste the garlic and parsley, and these really don't taste like they came from a box. Absolutely delicious, I will DEFINITELY buy these again! It's also a deal at $2.99 a box, that box will make a lot of falafel. I still have over half the mix left! I think I'll try falafel burgers next!!