Thanksgiving 2010 [in pictures...]

Thanksgiving this year was a blast! I'm too lazy to write down captions and all that, so I'm just gonna have the pictures tell the story :)

The main dishes included: lasagna, a cute lil' tofurky, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, sweetened squash, caramelized sweet potato and cranberries, gravies, cranberry sauce, wild rice stuffing, and pumpkin and apple pies.

Food This Week...(11/01/2010-11/06/2010)

Thought I'd post on some random meals I had this week.

For me, the only thing to look forward to on a weekday morning is breakfast. Otherwise, what's the point of getting up? School, haha? So this week, I bought a box of Barbara's Cinnamon Puffins cereal. I also had some packs of soymilk so I mixed the two together for an all-natural bowl of cereal.

Cinnamon Puffins in Soymilk

But I was still hungry so I decided to have this energy bar I've been craving for a long time...NuGo bar!

NuGo Vanilla Yogurt

I tried the vanilla yogurt flavor and absolutely loved it! I love the vanilla yogurt drizzle on the top and the crispy rice. It's like eating a healthier rice krispie treat.

The Goodness Unwrapped!

I also tend to have soups and salads for lunch and dinner on weekdays since it is much more convenient. But once in awhile, the dining hall usually makes something that isn't loaded with calories and fat, and this includes the vegan muffuletta.

Muffulletta, Cous Cous, Pita Bread, Sliced Cucumbers

This type of muffuletta has a grilled top and is made of two crisp pieces of bread. The middle has a sweet hummus like spread with tender carrots, tomatoes, onions, and some type of nuts. I had some couscous salad and pita bread on the side. Except for the two tiny pieces of nut shells I had to pick from my mouth, the dish was well-prepared, but I was sad when it was all gone (290 calories is only so much I suppose).

A Packed nutrient-rich salad with a bowl of cream of mushroom soup

On my non-muffuletta-only-fatty-foods-are-available days, I tend to stick to a make-your-own salad and soup of the day. On Wednesday, I loaded my plate with lettuce, beets, carrots, cucumbers, chickpeas, broccoli, olives, baby corn, and cauliflower---and ABSOLUTELY NO dressing (not even the fat free kind!). I had a cup of the cream of mushroom soup. A pretty decent lunch, but nothing outstanding.

Injera, Gomen, boiled cabbage, lentils, tender carrot and potato slices

My lunch on Friday was the opposite. I was able to eat Ethiopian food which I love! I was able to get two servings from the vegetarian buffet at a local Ethiopian restaurant downtown. I helped myself to some injera (the rolls of light, tearable bread), yellow daal-like lentils, spinach (gomen?), and boiled cabbage I believe. I also had some flavored carrot and potato which was the best part. The best thing about Ethiopian food is that it is so light and healthy, so helping yourself to another serving isn't going to kill you. And it's just plain good for the soul.

No place like home :)

Coming home Friday evening to a home-cooked meal is even more good for the soul :). Had a stir-fry dinner (steamed veggies, including carrots, potato, broccoli, and onion with cornstarch) on a bed of rice. Super delicious!

Energy Bar and Frozen Yogurt Craving

This week I had a crazy craving for energy bars and frozen yogurt. When I mean craving, I mean that is ALL I wanted to eat. Random, right?

Choco-walla!

I initially had a craving for Odwalla's Chocowalla Bar.

Looks like a chocolate cookie---only it's good for you!

The bar has the texture of a double chocolate cookie, since you can taste the semi-sweet chunks of chocolate, but it is so healthy for you! (There are so may vitamins and minerals listed on the back of those bars!!)

Banana Nut!

But that wasn't enough for lunch, so I had to have the Banana Nut Bar.

Banana Bread molded in rectangular easy-to-eat perfection!

It had a similar texture to the Chocowalla Bar, but tasted like banana bread (maybe even better than the old-fashioned recipe that calls for butter and eggs!)

Clif Bar Cranberry Apple Cherry

For "dinner", I had the insistent craving for a Clif bar, so I decided to try a flavor that I hadn't tried before, which was Clif's Cranberry Apple Cherry. It is lighter in calories and fat, since it is a fruit-based flavor rather than chocolate or peanut butter (even though those are good as well!)

My trail mix mosaic :)

After opening the wrapper, the gorgeous pieces of fruit stood out like shiny pieces of a trail mix mosaic. Yeah, my attempt at an analogy, but the bar tasted like a scrumptious trail mix cookie that would fuel me for my late afternoon classes.

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I also had a frozen yogurt craving over the weekend that needed to be sated. I was able to drop by Tuttimelon and help myself to some self-serve fro-yo.

The perfect cup?

My concoction was: original tart yogurt, strawberries, MOCHI PIECES (my absolute FAVORITE FRO YO TOPPING!), and a piece of lychee, just for taste. The original tart flavor was a perfect compromise since the strawberries and chewy mochi pieces added sweetness. The lychee was pretty random, since it kind of brought it's own flavor to the mix. Overall, the result was satisfying since my craving was extinguished (at least for a couple hours :) )

Coconut Bliss Vegan Ice Cream!

Yes, there is such a thing as vegan ice cream, and I tried it! It's called Luna & Larry's Organic Coconut Bliss, and it tastes great!

Dark Chocolate

I happened to try the dark chocolate flavor, and could see the chocolate pieces as I was eating it! I believe I had a 1/4 of a cup but a serving is 1/2 a cup, and 14g of fat per serving. Maybe on the high side, but who can argue with an organic dessert? I mean, you are doing a service to the planet as well as doing a favor for yourself (:!

Amy's Kitchen Products I've Tried

Amy's Kitchen is a great brand that makes vegetarian products that encompass many different cuisines. The products are convenient since they can be microwaved in minutes! Here are some meals that I've tried (and remembered to take pictures of!)

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Black Bean Enchilada Whole Meal

I had a coupon for $0.75 off a whole meal, so I purchased the Black Bean Enchilada Whole Meal from Wal-Mart. The meal comes with an enchilada packed with a mix of rice and bite-size vegetables (presumably corn), Spanish rice, and beans. The enchilada sauce was amazing for being a microwavable dish! My favorite part was the garnish, it made my meal look amazing =)

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Country Cheddar Bowl

I had a coupon for $0.75 off any Amy's Kitchen product, so I purchased the Country Cheddar Bowl. It is a toss of tofu, brocolli, carrots, red peppers, and rotini pasta with cheddar cheese sauce. It packs 400 calories and 19 grams of fat, but makes a yummy meal! After I microwaved, I tossed it in a bowl and enjoyed each bite. Cheese, vegetables, and chunks of tofu make a perfect combination!

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Black Bean Vegetable

I had a coupon for $0.55 off any Amy's Kitchen pantry product, so I purchased a can of low fat black bean vegetable soup. It was hard to microwave since I didn't have a cover for my bowl, so i ended up having to clean up my microwave as my soup cooled. It has a mildly sweet taste, but you could taste the chunks of vegetable and black beans. A great organic alternative :)

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Creamy Deliciousness + Sweet Bites

I visited the local co-op on a day when I felt like I needed to stock my micro fridge with frozen organic goodies. I have been waiting to find Amy's Kids Meals...and I finally did! Amy's Kids Meals: Mac n' Cheese to be exact :). The mac n' cheese came out cheesy and creamy, a burst of milky delicious flavor that I haven't consumed in a while (since I haven't had a good ol' plate of mac n' cheese in FOREVER). The broccoli added great texture and who can not love the two mini apple turnovers?

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Layers of Organic Goodness!

Another yummy product I recently tried was the Amy's Kitchen Tofu Lasagna. After a quick pop in the microwave, I separated the layers and admired the filling of cheese, vegetables, and pieces of tofu. Yeah, it was 11g of fat, but courtesy of the tofu. And I made some room for it. All-in-all, a delicious Italian treat---veggie style!

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Not exactly the poor thing's best picture...

I have also been wanting to try Amy's Tamale Pie, so I did for lunch one day. The picture I posted isn't too appealing, since it was taken while the pie was still cooking in the microwave, but the taste was the complete opposite. The top layer tasted like a soft corn tamale while the filling was warm and helped with the flavor. The filling was full a yummy vegetables and beans, so even though it looked like a meat lover's pie, it certainly was not!

Somersaultin' Samplin'

(This post is about a month overdue from when I originally wanted to post it, but better late than never c:!)

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I recently requested to try samples from the Somersault Snacking Co. They make these amazing bite-size snacks that are made of sunflower seeds and packed with flavor. So after requesting some samples, I was surprised with a box in the mail!

Yes, a box full of samples!

I immediately dived for the Santa Fe Salsa flavor which is my most favorite.

Santa Fe Salsa Sample

It is slightly tomatoey, but it has a spice blend which is super tasty (and makes you crave for it).

Santa Fe Salsa Bite

I tried Chez Cocoa next, which is the perfect flavor if you want something sweet and crunchy.

Chez Cocoa Sample

It doesn't have a "chocolate" flavor like one would guess cocoa to have. You can actually taste cocoa.

Chez Cocoa Bite

The third flavor they sent was s.s. sea salt. It is comparable to an "original" flavor I suppose, but it is the classic go-to afternoon snack.

s.s. sea salt Sample

I still have yet to try the salty pepper flavor* but I guess that's what my 50 cents off coupons are for ;D

s.s. sea salt Bite

I DEFINITELY recommend these snacks! They are the healthiest, crunchiest yummy bites ever.

All three flavors c:

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While I spent the month sampling sunflower seed bites, I also found my love for Target's Archer Farms granola cereal brand line, especially the chocolate chunk hazelnut biscotti! The mix of hazelnuts, chocolate chip chunks, and perfectly sweetened granola bites mix wonderfully together. This has been my snack of the summer ;D

My snack of the summer c:

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*UPDATE! I had the privilege of using one of my $0.50 off any somersault product on the salty pepper flavor!

The 12 oz. bag

I ate up the 12 oz. bag within two days of purchasing it! I could definitely taste the pepper. What else can I say? They were so filling, they kept me full till dinner (I had 1/3 of the bag as breakfast one day :3 )

Aww! Come into my stomach! Muahahaha!

Vegetarian Brand Name Foods List

I recently discovered that many common brand name foods contain animal-derived ingredients, even if the ingredients on the packaging do not say so directly. As a vegetarian, I discovered that ingredients like glycerin, mono and diglycerides, and gum base (just to name a few) can be animal or vegetable based. This can be tough to decipher if not given this certification in advance. Because of this issue, I've decided to list foods that are either vegetarian or non-vegetarian depending on certain ingredients.

I personally wrote to the companies of the products listed and give a summary of what I asked and their response. The foods listed are foods that I could not find as certified vegetarian from previous internet searches.

The list is based on replies I have received after e-mailing the product's company. Hopefully this "random" list helps you as much as it helps me!

*This list does not guarantee that the following products are vegan.

Vegetarian:

• Cow Tales - I am so glad this chewy, yummy caramel candy with a creme center is animal friendly (despite the name)! According to a reply I got from the company, they state that, "Our products do not contain gelatin or any animal-derived material. The mono and diglycerides are derived from soy bean." Yay :)
• Otis Spunkmeyer - Yes, the makers of those gargantuan chocolate chocolate chip muffins found at so many office meetings. I always shied away from them since they were dense in fat, but my sweet tooth kicked one day and I had to know if these were vegetarian friendly. They responded my e-mail with this: "Both are derived from non-animal sources. Hope this helps answer your question!" (Both pertains to mono and diglycerides and natural and artificial flavors). Yes, it does answer my question, and I can enjoy these without concern (except maybe for my figure..)
• Quaker Life Nutrition Bar - I received a sample a few weeks ago, but wanted to make sure the glycerin that was listed in the ingredients was indeed vegetable derived. I received this response: "I'd like you to know that the glycerin used in all Quaker snack bars is a vegetable source." So I assume this includes Chewy bars as well. I've always enjoyed Quaker products and now I can continue snacking without fear! Yay :)
  

Non-Vegetarian:

• Chex Mix (store brought, not home made) - I specifically asked about the Chex Mix Bold Party Blend, and received this reply, "Mono and Diglycerides are from an animal source in our products. To look up the enzymes, we will need the UPC code from the product." Just to be safe, I'll probably be making home made Chex Mix if I ever have a craving for it.