Author: Lindsay Ingalls

Product Review: Pirate’s Booty

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Ahoy! As as kid I remember I always wanted those electric orange cheese puffs, you know the ones that were horrible and looked radioactive? Well as an adult I have come to realize that things that are florescent colors are probably not that great for you, okay they are horrible for you. No don’t fret there is an alternative to those nasty finger staining “cheese” puffs because Pirates Brand has come out with a variety of yummy snacks that are all-natural and low calorie.

Pirates Brand sent me a bunch of their Booty and some Tings to try and I was pumped when I saw the Barbeque however to my disappointment I read the ingredients and saw that honey was listed, boo! They also sent me some of the Aged White Cheddar Pirate’s Booty, which I can tell you was  a favorite of mine when I was a vegetarian but of course they are not vegan so I gave them to my parents who loved them.  As for the other two flavors that were vegan:  Pirate’s Booty Veggie and Original Tings I loved them both.   Now with the veggie booty how can you NOT love it? It’s green which is fun and is crafted from puffed rice, corn and a medley of veggies including spinach, kale, carrots and parsley.   Lastly there are the Tings which are crunchy, salty and the perfect snack to munch on.

Now for those of you who didn’t know Pirates Brand has a bunch of new flavors (since I last checked there site like a year ago) which I am really excited about. As for vegan treats they have:

  • Pirate’s Booty- Veggie
  • Potato Flyers- Original
  • Potato Flyers- Homestyle Barbeque (I wish they had sent these I heart BBQ)
  • Original Tings

What is your favorite product from Pirates Brand?

Disclaimer: Pirates Brand provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

New Things That Go Va-ROOOOM!

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Yesterday hubby and I spent most of our day hanging out at the hockey arena for a fundraiser for my work. It was FREEZING and so sad to be inside because it was 80F outside! Oh well it was for a good cause.   After the game we decided we go do some more car shopping and ended up at a Hyundai dealer where we test drove a few cars and feel in love with the Hyundai Santa Fe so we made a decision that this would be a good time to purchase it and so we are the proud new owners of a 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe:

So that we are driving this hot new vehicle we will be spending the next few months on a strict budget and remember that whole pantry challenge thing that I have done for a week at a time….well this time I am forcing myself to stick with it and buy as few things as I have to and doing crazy menu planning.  I have actually taken most of my ingredients out of the pantry and they are currently sitting on my kitchen table waiting for me to evaluate and create healthy, yummy, INEXPENSIVE meals for as long as I can.  However, before I could start any menu planning I had to sit down with a bowl of oats, almond butter and banana.

So now I am off to plan our menu for as many days as I can while trying to pick up the least amount of money possible.  Have you participated in a pantry challenge and/or do you plan your menus every week? How well do at sticking to it?

Product Review: Lucy’s Cookies

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"Dr. Lucy’s gluten-free cookies are made without milk, eggs, peanuts or tree nuts, but you’d never know it. They taste delicious! We use only high quality ingredients in our carefully controlled bakery to ensure our products meet our tight allergen testing criteria. And with 0mg cholesterol and 0g trans fat you can feel guilt-free about making them part of your healthy, balanced diet." Click Photo for Source

The hubby and I have been snacking on these bad boys over the past month and they are yummy! I have also given some to friends and family to try and everyone has come back telling me how much they enjoyed them.  There are 4 types of cookies: Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Cookie, Cinnamon Thin and Sugar Cookie.  The great thing about these cookies is that you can find them in stores and Starbucks in individual sized packages.  You can also get small boxes of these cookies to share with the whole family.

The Chocolate Chip cookies are so delicious and are great for vegans as well as people with nut allergies as all of Lucy’s Cookies are nut free!  I really enjoyed these cookies because there was just the right amount of chocolate in every bite. Now my husband’s favorite is the Cinnamon Thin which is inspired by the snickerdoodle.  These cookies are filled with cinnamon and have a great crisp.

The Oatmeal Cookie was a favorite of mine because they were light and airy and reminiscent of childhood oatmeal cookies.  I also love that these ones are low in calories so they don’t disrupt my (usually) balanced diet.  Lastly, the Sugar Cookies are just like they say SUGAR- I found these ones to be the sweetest and a little too much for me but once I paired them with a cup of coffee it was a great balance of sweet and bitter.

Which of these cookies are calling your name? Have you tried any of Lucy’s cookies yet?

Disclaimer: Lucy’s Cookies provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Recipe: Wild Black-Eyed Pea Patties

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Wild Black-Eyed Pea Patties

  • 2 cups of cooked and cooled wild rice
  • 1 block of lite silken tofu (I used Nasoya)
  • 1/2 red onion diced
  • 1T soy sauce
  • 2T nutritional yeast
  • 1t garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 to 1&1/2 cups whole wheat breadcrumbs
  • 1/2T hot sauce
  • 1-15oz can of black-eyed peas, drained, rinsed and smashed

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Blend the silken tofu, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and hot sauce until smooth.
  3. In a large bowl mix together the wild rice, tofu mixture, onion, and black-eyed peas.
  4. Starting with 1 cup of breadcrumbs and mix to combine then if needed add breadcrumbs 1T at a time until the mixture forms balls.
  5. Create patties using about 1/4 cup of mixture per patty and place on a lined baking sheet and press down.
  6. Place in the oven and make for 20 minutes, flipping after 10.

Chaos

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As many of you know I just started a new job so my life has been pretty crazy the last few days since I am trying to transition from being a “house wife” to going back to the working world.  I am attempting to figure out how to get myself back in the kitchen making interesting, new dishes to blog about as well I have a number of cookbook and product reviews that are on my ‘To Do’ list.  Just a heads up that this weeks blogging will be slightly inconsistent but I am still here!  I just need to figure out my new schedule and adjust to the big changes in my life.

One of the other big transitions is not being at home to make whatever I want for lunch it’s back to planning and packing.  For lunch yesterday I brought:

I had a half portion of dried apricots, dried mangos and habanero bbq almonds- I weighed out the portions on my kitchen scale

Blue Diamond sent me some samples of their products and these yummy nuts were among the mix. I love these! They have great flavor however when I read habanero I expected them to be spicy but they aren’t.

Veggies! lots of carrots, red peppers and cukes!

A mug of half-caf in my new PureVia tumbler which is my new favorite one. I still have to try my PureVia sample - I'll let you know what I think

Lastly some hint water- the grapefruit mango flavor is my favorite

Question: Do you usually pack your lunch or eat out?  What do you usually have for lunch?

Chickpea Salad and Garlic Lovers Pasta

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Yesterday my hubby and I took a drive to Lake George NY to visit the Coleman Outlet.  We are heading up to Acadia for our anniversary at the end of May and were in need of a new tent  since ours is small and old.  Since we have eaten out WAY too much lately I decided to make us some lunch for the road.  I packed up some chickpea salad sandwiches, Hint water, veggie straws and a couple Jazz apples.

Chickpea Salad

  • 1-15oz can of chickpea, drained and chopped into small pieces (a food processor works well for this
  • 1/4 of a medium red onion, minced
  • 2T chopped dill pickle
  • 1-2T vegenaise (I like to use the reduced fat kind)
  • 1t triple blend flakes or kelp flakes
  • 1t lemon juice
  • 2T finely chopped parsley

Mix this all together and serve it on a sandwich, salad or with crackers

This is a blend of dulse, laver & sea lettuce- you could always use crumbled nori or kelp flakes - you also could change the flavor a bit and use dill

We had a successful trip to Lake George and came home with a new tent, a few new camping plates and bowls and a camping mattress (I know, I know but hubby is old and his back hurts haha).  We also picked up a few new spring duds at the J.Crew outlet which we both love.  Dinner was a quick and easy meal to put together.  It was hubby’s favorite Garlic Lovers Pasta and a small side salad.

Garlic Lovers Pasta

  • 3 servings of pasta of your choice- I used spinach spaghetti tonight
  • 6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2T olive oil
  • 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
  • 3T nutritional yeast
  • salt and pepper to taste

While the pasta is cooking place the garlic and olive oil in a large saute pan and heat over medium low until the pasta is finished.  DO NOT DRAIN PASTA, rather using a spaghetti spoon or tongs take the pasta out of the boiling water and place into the sauce (the starch in the water helps to create a sauce).  The sprinkle in the parsley and nutritional yeast and salt and pepper and toss together to coat evenly.  ENJOY!

So I’m off for the day to a committee meeting a few hours away and I’m anxious since it’s only my second day of work and I have to take the minutes, eek!  However you should stop on over to my Spring Giveaway post and enter to win this great giveaway.  If you already have entered remember you can tweet once per day BUT make sure you go back and post a comment letting me know you did.