Author: Lindsay Ingalls

Product Review: Eden Organic Wild Berry Mix

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Eden Organic gave me the opportunity to try one of their products and I chose the WIld Berry Mix.  This Wild Berry Snack Mix has no added salt and is filed with organically grown roasted almonds, roasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins, dried wild blueberries and dried cranberries.

This snack mix was delicious and I’m sad I don’t have more (I guess I’ll have to go to the store and find some). I ate this for dessert some nights with some mini vegan chocolate chips to it to make a yummy dessert.  This would also be a great snack for hubz and I to bring hiking with us this summer.  It is filled with protein and fiber and has a nice bit of sweetness.

Disclaimer: Eden Organic 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.

Product Review: Artisana Raw Organic Nut Butters

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Artisana Raw Organic Nut Butters sent me some teasers of their amazing raw nut butters. These cute little jars had one serving of nut butter in them just enough to get a taste and leave you wanting more. These handmade and raw gourmet nut butters are a great treat. Although they are expensive they are amazing and worth the money as an occasional treat. My absolute favorite of all the samples was the cashew butter; it was amazingly creamy, silky and smooth.  The cashew butter was closely followed by the luscious macadamia cashew butter.  Of course all the others were tasty too.

Disclaimer: Artisana 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.

Product Review: Rishi Tea

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Rishi Tea provided me with a few samples of their organic fair-trade tea to try. Rishi has many great teas such as: African Rooibos, Ancient Tree Tea, Black Tea, Caffeine Free Botanical Blends, Chai, Green Tea, Iced Tea, Oolong Tea, Organic Tea & Botanicals, Pu-erh Tea, White Tea and Yerba Mate.  They also carry some great tea cups, pots and other accessories for any tea lover.

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Rishi Tea sent me their Rishi Masala Chai, Organic Wild Rose and Organic Mandarin Citrus.  My husband is a huge fan of chai tea and was excited to try this one.  It is described as “a robust and full-flavored black tea blended with traditional masala spices.”  We enjoyed this tea with some unsweetened almond milk and stevia.

The other teas that I tried were both white teas the Mandarin Citrus and Wild Rose.  I enjoyed the Mandarin Citrus described as “Jasmine scented white teas hand blended with Australian lemon myrtle leaf, mandarin orange and grapefruit.” This tea was light and refreshing, a great morning tea.

The Wild Rose is a white tea infused with wild harvested roses.  I am not a huge fan of floral teas and this one was just too over powering.

I look forward to trying some of the other interesting teas that Rishi has to offer.

Disclaimer: Rishi Tea 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.

Pantry Challenge Update

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5 Suggestions on How to Make a Pantry Challenge Successful:

  1. The first thing you need to do is figure out why you want to have a pantry challenge, how much money you will need to spend on produce to make it successful and how long you think you will be able to do it.  Also, don’t get so caught up in how long you do the pantry challenge because you might get a week and half in like I have and decide that you don’t have enough stocked in the pantry to go any further.
  2. Check out the weekly circulars for your local grocery stores before heading out to shop.  This is a great way to find out what is on sale and you can use this to your advantage when planning your menu/outline of meals for the week.
  3. Look at recipes before you go shopping whether it’s online, in cookbooks or asking friends for advice on what to use with the items already in your pantry. Having an outline as to what you are going to make for the week will help to keep you on track and help to calm any frustration that might occur.
  4. Visit your local farmers market! Many times these are the places where you are going to get the best deals on produce and it’s local and many times organic which are two great bonuses! If you are like me and live in a northern climate farmers markets in the late fall/winter/early spring months are limited and don’t carry a vast amount of produce but are still worth checking out.
  5. Lastly, have fun! Get in the kitchen and just enjoy cooking and using those products that you have been stocking up.  It’s spring cleaning for your cupboards!

Recipe: “Sausage” Stuffed Mushrooms

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“Sausage” Stuffed Mushrooms

These mushrooms make a great appetizer for any dinner or cocktail party. You can make the stuffing ahead of time and fill mushrooms and bake before your guest arrive.  The stuffing would also be delicious in zucchini boats and stuffed squash.  You could also stuff portobello mushrooms and serve with your favorite sides as an entree.

Makes 4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

  • 16 white mushrooms
  • 5 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Marsala wine (you could also use sherry or vegetable broth)
  • 1 vegan Italian Sausage (I used Field Roast), minced
  • 6 scallions, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 4 tablespoons of vegan cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala. Set aside.
  3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, mushroom stems, garlic and green onions cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients.
  5. Turn the heat off and  stir in the cream cheese until it has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy.
  6. Place in a medium bowl and stir in the nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Cool slightly.
  7. Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer.
  8. Bake until the stuffing for 50 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and crusty.

Pantry Challenge 2010 Redux

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As many you know I attempted to do a pantry challenge back in January however after a week and half of trying I realized our pantry was just not overstocked enough to follow through with the challenge. Now that my pantry is stocked back up I have decided that it is time for a pantry challenge redux.  Basically I will only be allowed to buy $20 of fresh produce a week and non-dairy milk for the remainder of the month. I have a packed pantry, freezer and fridge right now and we are in desperate need of cleaning it out, oh and it’ll be nice to save a little dough ($).   This challenge will help me do a number of things:

1. Create new recipes

2. Saves money

3. Ensures that food does not get wasted

I’m excited to see how well I do, while still eating healthy. This week I picked up:

  • 2.07 lbs of Bananas $1.43
  • .19 lbs of Garlic $.76
  • 1 package of Scallions  $1.69
  • 10oz of Mushrooms $2.49
  • 3PK of Romaine Hearts $3.49
  • 4.61 lbs of Navel Oranges $4.57
  • 1lb Carrots $.89
  • 5lb Russet Potatoes $1.69
  • 2 Lemons $1
  • 2.71 lbs of Green Cabbage $.68
      • Total: $18.69

Have you ever tried a pantry challenge? How well did it go for you?

Product Review: Lotus Foods

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The Winner is: Melissa

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Lotus Foods sent me a few samples of their exotic rices. I was delighted to find that the package included:

  • Bhutanese Red Rice- We tried the Bhutanese Red Rice the other night and it was absolutely delicious. This rice is a short grain rice has a great nutty flavor
  • Forbidden Rice- this rice is black which makes it so much fun to eat because the color makes the dish interesting.
  • Jade Pearl Rice- I haven’t tried this one yet but it is described as “When cooked, this premium rice produces the aroma of a bamboo forest, a light vanilla taste, and an explosion of health giving nutrients.” (source)
  • Cambodian Mekong Flower Rice- this rice was really floral and nutty
  • Indonesian Volcano Rice- I also have yet to try this but it sounds amazing: “Volcano Rice is a colorful blend of nutrient-dense brown and red rice. Reputed to restore vitality due to its high mineral and fiber content, the Javanese favor this healthy rice for its satisfying wholesome flavor.” (source)

Lotus Foods sent me a few big bags and some one cup samples so now I am going to give you a chance to win 3 one cup samples. Enter by March 15, 2010 at 8am- update since I have an appointment I will not be around to pick the winner at 8am so you will have until 8PM. (P.S. Unfortunately this giveaway will only be open to U.S. residence)

To Enter:

  1. Visit the Lotus Foods website and let me know which flavor you’d like to try.

Additional Entries:

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  3. Tweet “I want to win @cookveganlover Lotus Foods giveaway http://wp.me/pFVWo-xG” (leave a comment)
Disclaimer: Lotus Foods 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.