natures path

WIAW: Thai Me Up With Chocolate

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We are back from vacation but I still haven’t done any major menu planning or grocery shopping this week which resulted in Thai takeout last night for dinner. It was tasty but it was a reminder that I’d much rather cook us as healthy dinner at home rather than eat out of cartons. So on the agenda today is a trip to Costco and the natural foods store to pick up the necessary goods to make healthy meals for the rest of this week/month.

Breakfast: Smoothie of frozen pineapple, frozen mango, banana, almond butter and unsweetened almond milk topped with a sprinkling of Nature’s Path  Hemp Plus Granola.  I have been addicted to Nature’s Path Hemp Plus oatmeal and now recently they sent me some of their granola and I’m addicted to it as well.  I actually just had some this morning on top of my granola to add a nice little crunch. 
Snack: Pear and another handful of Hemp Plus Granola (not photographed)
Lunch: Leftovers–> black beans, cilantro-lime brown rice, sauteed cabbage, mushrooms and onions, roasted asparagus, avocado and a nice drizzle of sriracha.
Dinner: Thai/Vietnamese Take-out –> vegetable fresh roll, lemongrass tofu and vegetables and curry noodles with vegetables and tofu.  We had leftovers of this for lunch today. 

What I DIDN’T Eat Wednesday but I did eat half of sunday with some strawberries and a scoop of coconut milk ice cream –> Chocolate Inspirations Vegan Brownie.  This brownie was so good! Neil and I both thought that it looked like it was going to be a little dry but it ended up being really moist and tasty.  I also tried a few other items over the past few weeks from Chocolate Inspirations including Peanut Butter Pillows with Chocolate, Michael’s Favorite Chocolate Combo with Pretzels (dark chocolate, vegan caramel, pretzels and peanut butter) and Vegan Caramel Corn.  I have to say my favorite was the caramel corn and I honestly love their toffees, brittles and barks which I first tried a few years ago more than the peanut butter confections.  I still have one of their hot chocolate stirrers to try and I’ll let you know how those are .

Indulgence Hangover

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After our night of indulgence I felt like  I was a bit hungover from the sugary and fried foods.  To cure this I went right to a big glass of water things morning and have been making an effort to eat better today.  For breakfast I started out with some Sun Seed Manna Bread with The Nutty Vermonter Maple and Chipotle Triple Nut Butter that I got in my Christmas stocking. I didn’t love the bread because it was really chewy but I think the issue was that I cut my slices too thick.  Generally when I purchase sprouted grain bread it comes pre-sliced and is usually really thin; fail on my part. So I didn’t end up finishing much of my bread with nut butter and stole two left mock prawns from my husbands leftovers breakfast.

For lunch I ran out to the market to see what looked good and came home with a cremini mushrooms, red bell pepper, red onion, radish sprouts and cauliflower. I cut the cauliflower up into small pieces, diced up the red bell pepper, red onion and mushrooms and sauteed with a bit of olive oil until soft; then tossed in chickpeas for protein. I seasoned with a bit of salt, pepper, granulated garlic and red chili flakes. I plated the cauliflower pilaf and topped with a fist full of the sprouts and drizzled with a bit of Drew’s Roasted Garlic & Peppercorn Dressing that I had picked up at the market last week. On the side we had THINLY sliced Manna Bread with nutritional yeast and garlic gold.

For dessert we split a treat sent from JJ’s Sweets– a Java Chocolate Covered Caramel- TO DIE FOR.  They need to start selling these in Vermont…or maybe they shouldn’t because I would buy them all the time.  They are lush and creamy and VEGAN!

I just received a huge stack of $1 off coupons from Nature’s Path and want to give you a few! So email me lindsay@cookingforaveganlover.com with your address if you would like a few!

Disclaimer: I was provided a sample of a selection of Manna Bread and JJ’s Sweets; 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 or add this to my OpenSky shop in return for a discount on this product.

Holiday Vegan Chex Mix and My Sweet Vegan Fudge

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Tonight I made some peppermint fudge a variation on Hannah Kaminsky’s Coconut Fudge from My Sweet Vegan. It is great and is going to hopefully be a hit with my co-workers tomorrow. I also made some vegan chex mix something I’ve always wanted to do.

I used Nature’s Path Oaty Bites instead of the traditional Chex and they worked great. They are a bit sweeter then normal Chex cereal which gives this Chex mix recipe a great sweet and salty taste.

Recipe for Oaty Bites Mix

4 1/2 cups Oaty Bites
1/2 cup spelt pretzels
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw walnuts
3 T vegan margarine
1 T vegan worcestershire sauce
1 t Adobe seasoning (I use Goya brand)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder

Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 250F
2. In the oven melt the margarine on a large rimmed baking sheet.
3. In a bowl mix together the Oaty Bites, pretzels and nuts.
4. Once the margarine has melted add the seasonings and mix together then gently pour on the Oaty Bites mixture and evenly toss in the margarine spice mixture.
5. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
6. Let cool and then store in air tight containers for 5-7 days (not that it will last that long)