Trying New Thangs!

 

This is my new addiction. It's so good I almost want to cry! I've seen it around, but it is on the pricier side, and in the past I've been let down by accidentally vegan popcorn. Plus, I tried Lesser Evil's paleo puffs and wasn't a fan. But this is AHMAZING! The perfect amount of salt, the cheesy flavor is spot on, and popcorn cooked in coconut oil is the best in my opinion! Ten out of ten will definitely buy again!

I found this Primal Kitchen no dairy Alfredo sauce on sale awhile ago and tucked it away for a rainy day. Saturday after shopping was that day. I cooked up some Banza chickpea linguine and had an easy dinner. It was easy, just not tasty. The sauce has a decent texture, although a little thinner than I make  mine, but the flavor was both bland and way too lemony. What a letdown. I would give this a one out of ten, and will definitely not buy again!

Since going gluten free I'd given up on spring rolls, but look what I found! The wrapper is made with garbanzo and rice flour, and they are of course vegan!

Last night I had a simple rice, tofu, romaine bowl with spicy gochujang peanut sauce and two of the spring rolls. I am definitely impressed. They aren't as light and crispy as a traditional spring roll, but that's to be expected with gluten free. But they are lighter and crispier than I expected. And the filling is very nice. On just a spring roll scale I would have to give these a six or seven out of ten, but on a gluten free scale these are an eleven out of ten and I will definitely buy again!

I Got Stuff!

 I needed a new winter coat, so yesterday I did double shopping duty and got a coat and groceries on the same day. I dread clothing stores, love grocery stores! Although the pandemic and 2020 in general has dampened my enthusiasm a bit. I did find a coat, at fifty percent off even, and I found some groceries too so I guess it was a pretty okay day. 

I got groceries at Whole Foods and Natural Grocers. I'll start with Natural Grocers.

GF bread, fizzy water from Whole Foods(oops), Treeline cheese, incense holder, yerba mate, coconut cream and milk, Epsom salts, kale, kombucha,vegan cheesy popcorn,soy curls, vegan GF peanut butter bar

I'll never be known for my photography skills or my gorgeous staging of any pictures, but this week's haul pics are particularly bad I'm sorry. I was hangry, and very overwhelmed when I got home. Too much stimulus for this introvert!

Vegan GF cheddar crackers, apples, grapefruit, avocado, banana, chocolate bars, grape kombucha,celery, oranges, carrots, dark chocolate peppermint trees, dirty chai mix,ricemilk chocolate, romaine hearts, bath salts, tofu

You guys I am seriously addicted to the vegan GF cheddar crackers from Whole Foods. They are the best vegan Cheese it or nip type cracker I've ever had. They blow Earth Balance cheddar crackers out of the water! And no palm oil!

Since I save fifty percent on my coat, I had a few extra bucks in my budget so I got something I've needed for years, a colander!!! I've been using my small mesh strainer I have for juice to drain potatoes, pasta, whatever and it's always been a very messy and dangerous ordeal. And the french press was more of a want than need, but man do I love it! I'm having a delicious cup of mocha teecino as I type!

Sweet and Spicy

 I've always loved chocolate covered raisins. Raisinets were always one of my favorite movie theater treats. I haven't had a chocolate covered raisin since going vegan. That's a long time!

I spotted these at Whole foods a few weeks ago and they are vegan! I finally got around to trying them the other night and yum! Pretty basic, nice dark chocolate covering a plump raisin., what's not to love? 

I found these gems at Smith's last week. They're like little Nestle crisps, but even better! And that little touch of sea salt warrants a chef's kiss!

Thursday night I was craving noodles, so I made an old favorite, sesame noodles from The Asian Vegan Kitchen I added some baked tofu on top. Man, why had I gone so long without making this? 

Last night I wanted to make peanut stew, but didn't have quite enough peanut butter, so I made a bits and bobs curry! I had little amounts of things including tofu, red and green lentils, and red potato so I used those up, and I had a sweet potato that desperately needed to be used so I blended that into the sauce along with the small amount of peanut butter I had on hand. Makes it a beautiful color, and adds a little sweet relief.

I swear I truly crave a bowl of lentils in one form or another at least once a week, usually more. It's just so satisfying and comforting to me. 

This is where Joan lives during the winter! if it's not this vent, it's the bathroom vent! At least here she is laying the long way, so some of the vent is at least exposed, but normally she lays along the whole vent so the rest of us get no heat!

Not Too "Meaty" Please

 

I've been loving these burgers from Whole Foods. They come in original and this smoky and spicy version. I've had and love both. They're very similar to the original Boca burger, which is the perfect amount of "meatiness" for me. And at $3.99 a box with four burgers, it's a good deal. 

I've never had any kind of meat jerky, and honestly I haven't tried many vegan jerky. They're expensive, and not something I crave so I just don't search it out. But I found this on sale at Smith's so I decided to try it. Wowzers, is it good. Nice and smoky, but the good kind of smoky, not the fake, overpowering smokiness in some vegan foods. I also like that it's mushroom pieces, not really trying to be meat.

Yesterday I made another delicious recipe from Wil Yeung! This is coconut chickpea rice, and as all of his other recipes have, this blew my mind! The rice is made in coconut milk, so it's rich and creamy and almost buttery, and the chickpeas are spiced with turmeric, smoked paprika and some chili. Here is the recipe, I cannot recommend it enough! 

I really love his recipes and style of cooking. He doesn't use expensive vegan specialty items like faux meats or cheeses, or superfood this or that. He uses simple ingredients and appliances, just pots, pans and maybe the oven.

Another This and That

 

Although I always love to try a new kombucha flavor, I was a bit nervous to try this one because while I love apples, I don't love or even like apple juice or cider. I decided to try it anyway, and as I suspected I wasn't a huge fan. I'm not sure what oak tastes like, but this had a smoky flavor that was unexpected. So, apple mixed with smoke in my kombucha is definitely not for me. But, if you're into apple flavors you might enjoy this!

I was getting into a big coffee habit, and I needed to reign it in so I've been enjoying these caffeine free teas with this delicious oatmeal cookie creamer. So, so good!

I picked up these gluten free sweet potato wraps and they're pretty decent for gluten free. 

I put some leftover curry in a wrap and had a breakfast quesadilla. Dipped in sriracha, this was like a poor man's samosa!

Yesterday I had a very late breakfast and I was HANGRY! So I baked some tofu with old bay seasoning and shoved that with lots of greens into two wraps. The wraps are smallish and not very flexible, and I like to really have an overstuffed wrap,  so I had two, one with mustard and one with the vegan habenero blue cheese from Bolthouse Farms. Delicious!

The Mayacamas brown gravy is my all time favorite gravy, and sometime ago I came across this chicken style gravy. Last night I finally got around to trying it with some lentils and horseradish mashed potatoes. it's okay, but it doesn't come close to the delicious brown gravy. 

It's always a race to see who can claim the pink sweater. Kiki usually wins, and will stay just to deprive Bubba. I found an old pink sweatshirt one day, and he seemed to enjoy it just as much a s the pink sweater. But the real scoop is how close they are, it's practically a cuddle!

Yes We Did!!!!

 How happy is everyone that Cheeto lost?? I went through the gamut of emotions. Leading up to election day I felt so confident that Biden was going to win, and then the couple of days after my confidence started quivering a little, but in the end kindness and decency won. 

And a woman Vice President, a woman of color!! I'm not usually a patriotic kind of gal, but damn this makes me cry, and feel proud. I know we have an INCREDIBLE amount of work to do, but we have to take a minute to appreciate this progress!!!

These are not decent. These are the Trump of gummies. I've been hearing a lot of good things about these candies, they're very popular in the keto/low carb universe. Not all flavors are vegan, but they have two or three vegan offerings. They use monkfruit sweetener, stevia and something called allulose which is apparently found in raisins? These tasted so fake, and that's saying a lot because lets face it, it's not like gummy candy tastes natural. But the texture is off, the flavor is way off, and my stomach hurt pretty badly after eating them. 

They're pretty expensive for gummy candy, so I've never been willing to try them. But, eighty cents is a different story!

Unfortunately, after trying them I feel like I'd like my eighty cents back. These are BAD.  

Honestly for me, I'd rather have a banana or dates, or ANYTHING else if I'm trying to avoid carbs or sugar. These are a hard no from me dawg!

Yesterday I was so happy about the election, but so sad about the snowfall we had so I decided I needed a celebratory comfort meal. I made Aloo potato curry, recipe from the AMAZING Wil Yeung. This is the fourth or fifth time I've made this dish, and I love it more every time I make it!! Here is the recipe, I cannot recommend it enough! I've made several of his dishes, and loved every single one. 

Look at that long and graceful back leg!! Supermodel of the world right here ladies and gents!

Spicy Spicy

 

I tried the habanero blue from Bolthouse Farms! I had it on my simple garden salad with a veggie burger. The dressing definitely has a kick, so it's not for spice sensitive people. I say this about the FYH blue cheese too, I don't know how they nailed that blue cheese funky flavor. But somehow they did. The spice gets you first, then you taste the blue flavor. really nice. On a spicy level I'd say this is a six, six and a half out of ten. This would be great with some gardein tenders, or whatever your favorite vegan nugget is!! I will definitely buy this again!

I've been hearing a lot of good things about a pumpkin curry simmer sauce at Trader Joe's, but the two times I've been this pumpkin season I haven't seen it. 

I had a sweet potato that needed to be used, so I made my own simmer sauce but with sweet potato. I just blended a boiled sweet potato with a handful of cashews and simmered that with the usual garlic, chili, onion, ginger, spices and red lentils. Halfway through I added some baked tofu and coconut milk. I really love the color. The sweet potato added a slight sweetness that played well with the spice. Yesterday was grey and gloomy so this was the perfect cozy meal!

Small Vegan Sprouts Haul

 I haven't been to Sprouts in awhile, and with everything going on, I figured it would be a nice distraction to see what's new. Honestly, it wasn't very distracting. I felt like a zombie, just wandering around. I went with a budget, but no list. I've mentioned a million times I'm not a meal planner, but I do like to have some ideas for meals, and I usually do have a list. So, I have a small haul picture.

Vegan jello, sweet potato, kombucha, cilantro, green onion, bananas, celery,carrots,tofu, mushroom latte, teecino ground and teabags,oat creamer, red, yellow and russet potatoes, apples, cuties, lemons,coconut milk, Pacifica serum

Bolthouse Farms is in the salad dressing game now! I can't resist a vegan blue cheese, and even better if it's spicy!

Here's Bubba being cute, hanging out in his favorite bag in the shelf. Cat in the shelf?

Just A Random Mish Mash (Nerves)

 

After last week's snowstorm and temperatures dropping to the low teens, now at the start of November we're having days in the upper sixties! Wearing sandals to take a walk on the first day of November is pretty nice! Weird but nice!

Flowers in November!

I loved the sour cream and onion flavor so much, I decided to try the vegan cheddar and the vegan buffalo ranch. These are okay. They have that extremely fake cheddar flavor that a lot of the boxed vegan mac and cheeses have. The sour cream and onion get a solid ten out of ten, I would give these a five out of ten. I'll eat them, but even on sale I probably wouldn't buy again. Once I finish these, I'll open the buffalo ranch and hopefully be blown away!

Total impulse buy, but I've never heard of tater stix, but tater tots in stick form is definitely something I need in my life!

I've been loving dipping my potatoes in a hummus/all over it sauce combo. The jalapeno hummus from Whole Foods is especially tasty. 

Sunday night I made Filipino garlic fried rice with a beyond brat. With a little salad on the side for some green. This dish was okay, but it needed more spice and pizzaz.

Last night all I wanted was a nice bowl of lentils and tofu. So I made a peanut butter curry. So soothing on my unsettled stomach.

Today I feel so many things. So very nervous. In 2016 I had no problem falling asleep on election night. I never in a million years thought Trump could win. I felt that so strongly in my bones. I won't make that mistake again. I'm terrified of Cheeto winning again, but I'm also terrified of him losing because of his violent, insane supporters. I'm scared of the violence. 

I'm trying to see the positive, at least this is something to distract from the anxiety surrounding Covid!

Groceries Fueled by Anxiety

 I got some groceries at Whole Foods and a few things from Smith's yesterday. I think my anxiety is getting the best of me because this haul is full of more snacks than normal. It's funny because I've been wanting to branch out and try to eat more veggies, especially veggies I don't eat often, but I kind of did the opposite! 

Vegan cheddar crackers, sweet potato puffs,jalapeno hummus, grape kombucha, vegan gummies, smoky veggie burgers, lip balm, coconut milk, gluten free brownie mix, quinoa flour tortillas, harissa vinaigrette, chocolate covered raisins, lemon, vegan oatmilk chocolate chips(!!!)

Smith's had a sale on Treeline cheese and I couldn't resist. Treeline has replaced Chao as my absolute favorite vegan cheese. I love everything about it, and I've loved every single flavor I've tried. 

Look what I saw at Whole Foods! I didn't even know these existed, did you? I didn't buy them because I had already reached my budget, but I always love seeing new things!

Last night I was feeling lazy when it came to dinner, so I heated up the last few Trader Joe's frozen falafel I had and threw them in a wrap with a smear of Treeline scallion cheese, baby lettuce and some of the harissa vinaigrette. Random but really tasty! The vinaigrette is really, really  nice. It's not spicy, it's actually a little sweeter than I expected. I will definitely buy again!