Product Review: Attune Chocolate

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Click to Visit Attune Website

Attune sent me three of their Chocolate Probiotic Wellness Bars to try. They sent me dark chocolate, raspberry dark chocolate and coffee bean dark chocolate; all three of these bars were really good. “Attune is the powerhouse probiotic bar packed with 5 times the live active cultures of yogurt. It has all the digestive health and immune benefits of probiotics in one tasty little package you can take on the go. One Attune bar every day is the delicious way to feel amazing.” They are:

  • Packed with 5 times the live active cultures in yogurt
  • Excellent source of calcium
  • Only 80-90 calories
  • All natural
  • Take it on the go!

These bars tasted great and with less calories then most chocolate bars it was a great treat.  The raspberry was my favorite it was sweet from the raspberry and bitter from the chocolate which created a great combination.  I also really like the coffee bean because honestly what goes better with coffee then dark chocolate.  Of  course the plain dark chocolate bar was delicious as well. 

Blogger Disclaimer: Attune 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 in return for the free product.

CT-NYC-MA Here We Come

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Neil and I are off for a weekend filled with lots of fun in CT, NYC & MA. Will blog when we return. P.S. Any NYC bloggers that want to meet up for wine and chocolate meet Saturday at 3pm at Cocoa V. Let me know if you want to meet up by leaving a comment DM me @cookveganlover or send me an e-mail.

You Asked Part 2

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do you have any vegan shopping list suggestions? vegan lover grocery list 🙂

Our usually weekly grocery list consists of:

Lots of fresh veggies that look good 
Onions (lots of them)
Garlic 
Bananas
Apples
Beans
Non-dairy milk (depends on what is on sale at our co-op)
Cereal
Vegan Red Wine for me
Vegan Porter or Stout for hubz

Other Items we pick up frequently:
Nutritional Yeast- I use this in everything
Balsamic Vinegar
Almond Butter
Rolled Oats
Canned Tomatoes
Whole Wheat Pasta
Whole Grain Rice 
Dark Chocolate
Taco Shells
Bearitos Refried Black Beans
Frozen Veggies (usually spinach, cauliflower, broccoli & brussels sprouts)
tofu
tempeh

We occasionally pick up these:
tofurky
vegenaise
vegan cheese slices
veggie burgers
veggie dogs
soygurt (I love Whole Soy)
Non-Dairy Ice Cream (love Coconut Bliss & Tempt)
Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Agave
Tamari or Shoyu
Pure Maple Syrup
Brown Rice Syrup
Raw nuts & seeds (cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds & pumpkin seeds)
Coconut Oil
Safflower OIl
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

favourite thing to do 🙂 ? by sleepingtodream

COOK! haha I love to cook, travel, and read

What’s the most annoying question you get asked by non-vegans regarding your food choices? And how do you answer it?

I think this is true for most vegans but it’s the “where do you get your protein”- In response to this I say that protein is not one of the major concerns that vegans or non-vegans need to worry about and since i eat tons of beans, tempeh, tofu, almond butter and quinoa I get more than enough protein. 

I also get “Oh you CAN’T eat that [non-vegan item], right?” and I think it’s important for non-vegans to understand that I CAN eat whatever I want, however I choose not to eat animal products and I choose not to for various reasons.

Lindsay, I am trying to be vegan, I have been a vegetarian for years, but I find it hard to think about cooking meals for the family and wonder what do you cook for dinners that are fast and easy for a meat eating family?

Great question! I’m all about fast and easy recipes especially during the week. I try to stick to 30 minutes or less to prepare a recipe. If you are dealing with a meat eating family that are not fans of tempeh, tofu or seitan then I would recommend considering beans or meat analogues for protein. Gardin makes some really great vegan meat analogues that taste really good. 

I also always keep about 10 cans of various beans/legumes such as kidney beans, chickpeas, black beans and canellni beans in the cupboard. These are great to toss with pasta and veggies or to whip up a quick veggie chili. One of my favorite things to make that are fun for everyone are lentil tacos- basically make them just as you would with meat but substitute a can of lentils for the ground meat (or you can use veggie ground round). 

I also recommend planning a menu for the week and finding one day a week that you have time to prep dishes for the week (for me this is usually Sunday). This gives you the ability to make quick, healthy and tasty meals for the family. Prep veggies, marinate tempeh or tofu or even cook up some brown rice and store it in the fridge so you can easily put a meal together. Making fast, easy and healthy vegan/vegetarian meals doesn’t have to take time and if you prep things ahead many meals can be thrown together in 10 to 15 minutes! 

Here are some yummy easy recipes your whole family might like:
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/quinoa-chili/
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/baked-pumpkin-mac-and-cheese/
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/pulled-shroom-sandwich/

If you would like to ask me a question (anonymously) you can do so here.

Cookbook Review: Therapeutic Chef

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A few months ago Kristin Doyle sent me a copy of her new cookbook Therapeutic Chef that is filled with “recipes to prevent cancer, heart disease and diabetes.”  The first few chapters of this book are informational and discuss how to use the book, as well as suggested items for the Therapeutic Chef Kitchen.  These first few chapters of the book are great and are important to read to really understand the purpose of the cookbook and how the recipes can help in preventing heart disease, cancer and diabetes. There is also a “Seven Day Meal Plan For Good Health” which is a great resource especially for those who aren’t sure how to kick start a new healthier way of eating. 

Coming from a family that has faced heart disease, cancer and diabetes I have found that this cookbook is a great resource for my own health and when I am cooking for family and friends. All of the recipes are plant based and whole foods, which means that all of the recipes are processed and refined food FREE! Now the best part is that these recipes are delicious and nutritious.

Click to View on Amazon

  I have been cooking up a storm from this book and my dream is to attempt all of the recipes.  So far I have tired:

  •  Cream of Broccoli-Kale Soup
  • Creamy Chickpea Soup with Lemon and Parsley- Husband and parents really liked this
  • Squash Apple Soup
  • The Cleansing Omega 3 Spread
  • Walnut Miso Spread
  • Favorite Tempeh Marinade- This was a favorite of mine and I will be making it again!
  • Savory Marinade
  • Creamy Thai Kale
  • Garlic-Curry Sweet Potato “Fries”- these were absolutely amazing
  • Favorite Portobello Mushrooms
  • Ginger-Garlic Brown Rice
  • Celtic Shepherds Pie with Miso Gravy- This was popular with the family and the miso gravy is so delicious
  • Mom’s Favorite Veggie Burgers

Sounds like a lot right?  I haven’t even made a dent in this 486 page book and the yummy sounding recipes don’t seem to end.  Kristin Doyle gave me permission to give you a sneak peak from Therapeutic Chef with her recipe for Pressed Kale Salad:

You Asked

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I jumped on board with the “Ask Me Anything” trend and here are some of the questions asked thus far:

If you could eat anywhere you like (past or present), where would that be?

Oh that is a tough one! There are so many places I am dying to try but if I had to say one hmmmm or maybe 2 I’d have to say I would absolutely have to go back to Chennai Garden in Manhattan it’s a vegetarian Southern Indian restaurant that is so good and I love that their menu has the items that have dairy marked so you don’t have to ask a million questions: http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/chennai-garden/

However if there is one restaurant that I am dying to try but haven’t made it to yet it would have to be Fressen in Toronto. I visited their sandwich shop Urban Herbivore and honestly the best sandwich I have ever had and I would love to try their sit down restaurant: http://www.fressenrestaurant.com/

What are some of your favorite websites and/or blogs? 

Ohhh this is a tough question because I have soooo many favorites! 
Since I love so many blogs and read tons I’ll just list a few that I read daily:

http://carrotsncake.com/
http://fitnessista.com/
http://vegancrunk.blogspot.com/
http://anotheronebitesthecrustblog.com/
http://eleanordashwood.blogspot.com/
http://ohsheglows.com/
http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/
http://kristensraw.blogspot.com/

Honestly there are too many to name but you can always check out my blog roll which has a more extensive list. 

As for websites I really love:

http://tastespotting.com/
http://vegnews.com/
http://www.happycow.net/
http://www.menupages.com/
http://veggiething.com/

just to name a few!

Sorry if I left anyone out! I love so many blogs it would take me forever to list them.  Like I said above please check out my Blog Roll for a some what complete list of blogs I read.

what is your biggest inspiration, food wise?

My biggest inspiration is my husband- if it wasn’t for him being vegan I would have never started my blog which originally was about my experiences being a vegetarian girlfriend but cooking vegan for my boyfriend hence “cooking for a vegan lover”. Cooking wise SusanV of Fatfree Vegan Kitchen was the first vegan and blogger that I encountered and she inspired me to blog as well as create my own recipes.

If you would like to ask me a question (anonymously) you can do so here.

Recipe: Coconut Raisin Flax Granola

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Coconut Raisin Flax Granola

 This granola is delicious and is great with your favorite non-dairy milk or soygurt. 

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup Blueberry Flax Meal (you can substitute regular flax meal)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup almond pieces
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
  • 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons vegan margarine (coconut oil would be a great substitute for vegan margarine)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 & 1/2 cups raisins 

 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, flax meal, coconut, almond pieces and pumpkin seeds onto a baking sheet. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Grease a baking sheet. 
  4. While the oats mixture is toasting, combing the brown rice syrup, brown sugar, margarine, vanilla and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.
  5. Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the brown rice syrup mixture, add the raisins, and stir to combine. 
  6. Pour the mixture onto the greased baking sheet and make sure that the mixture is evenly distributed. Place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Review: SoyGo Coffee Creamer

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SoyGo sent me a sample of their coffee creamer to try.  This coffee cream is great for people on the go because you can just throw it in your bag or purse.  When you have coffee at work or out on the town you can pull this out and put it in your coffee.  I don’t know about coffee shops where you live but many that I visit either don’t have soy milk or charge extra for soy milk to be added. 

Click to View SoyGo Website


I bring these on trips with me so that I can add a little creamer to my (usually) horrible cup of hotel coffee.  I also love that it gives coffee a nice sweet flavor and isn’t as heavy as liquid soy creamer.  I am not a huge creamer fan usually but I love this when I am craving something sweet.