Meal In A Box | The Purple Carrot

February 22, 2016 by Lindsay Ingalls 4 Comments

I would love to say that I thought The Purple Carrot plant-based subscription box was amazing but it honestly fell flat. We decided to order it after finding a 50% off promo code in my email. I figured for $35, yes the regular price is $70, that it was worth giving the family box a try. Then our box arrived.

The first recipe we had was for a spinach risotto with crispy chickpeas. I made the recipe per the directions and served it up to my family. First thing I noticed was that the chickpea and spinach ratio to rice was way off. It was like having a big bowl of spinach with a tiny bit of rice. Secondly the entire dish was incredibly bland. Lastly it was simply boring and extremely overpriced. For me to purchase the items myself it would have cost me maybe $20 and that would be with extras to use for another meal or two. Really not impressive or interesting.

As for meal two which was a chili with flatbread again one of those meals that was fine but nothing that stood out to me. We actually ended up going to purchase extra toppings per recommendation of a friend to really jazz things up. For me to have made this dish myself I could have done it for around $20-25 with ingredients for another few dishes.

Overall I found The Purple Carrot to be a bit uninspired and nothing I couldn’t have done on my own without a service. Now I know that my cooking standards/abilities might be higher than others but honestly I really don’t think anyone needs a service for recipes like these. Honestly considering they put the recipes up on their site each week you could purchase all of the ingredients yourself and make the same dishes for a fraction of the cost. You might have to and shop for the items and measure things yourself but honestly that will take you very little time. You could even have all your groceries delivered to you via services such as Instacart* for a minimal delivery fee and tip.

Maybe it’s that they don’t have any competitors since they are the only plant-based/vegan box out there or maybe it’s because they are brand new and are still working the kinks out but at this time I wouldn’t recommend this service unless money is no object and you just want it all done for you. I hope that over time they will workout the kinks and that it will become something great but for now I think it’s just meh.

Have you tried The Purple Carrot box? Thoughts?

Disclaimer: This post is NOT SPONSORED. I used a promo code to get my first box 1/2 off.

*Referral Link.

Vegan Mac & Cheese Throwdown | GF So Delicious v. Annie’s

September 10, 2015 by Lindsay Ingalls 10 Comments

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I was not approached to review these products or paid to review either of these. I purchased both products with my own money.

We eat a whole lot of mac and cheese in this house and while having little ones could be my excuse it’s really just because we simply love mac and cheese. I have probably made about 40 different versions of mac and cheese that ranged from amazing to absolutely dreadful.

The thing that we don’t often have though is boxed mac and cheese so I have decided that I want to try them all. I mean who else grew up on Velveeta Shells and Cheese or Kraft Mac and Cheese or if you were so lucky to grow up in Canada like my hubby you would have had Kraft Dinner which is completely different that Kraft Mac and Cheese. I am on a mission to find the best boxed vegan mac and cheese out there because frankly I think it will be fun.

For this first round I went with two that I didn’t even know existed until the other day at Whole Foods. The first is Annie’s Homegrown organic and gluten free elbows with a creamy sauce.

Ingredients required: non-dairy milk and optional non-dairy buttery spread (I used unsweetened almond milk and Earth Balance)

Cook time: Pasta was supposed to cook in 8-10 minutes but really took closer to 12.

Texture & Consistency of Pasta: chewy and slimy and not what I would describe as elbows.

Photo on the box v. actual dish: Close but the photo on the box shows off more flexible noodles and a thicker sauce

Taste: sweet, funky, disgusting

Thoughts: I’ll tell you “elbows and creamy sauce” should have been a giveaway that this was no real mac and cheese but alas we tried it anyway – oh and by tried it I mean Edith, Alder and myself all put one bite in our mouth and promptly spit it out after a few seconds of chewing.The sauce for this one is a base of sweet potato and pumpkin and now reflecting on the ingredients I don’t see anything in it that would make it remotely cheesy. Anyway regardless of whether or not this was intended to be a vegan mac and cheese (which I think it was because it is listed under vegan mac and cheese on the Annie’s website) or not this creamy sauced pasta was dreadful.

Would I Purchase Again? I wouldn’t even take a box if I found it for free.

Next up we have the Gluten Free So Delicious Dairy Free Mac & Cheese Cheddar Flavor.

Ingredients required: non-dairy milk (unsweetened So Delicious coconut milk recommended) and non-dairy buttery spread (I used unsweetened almond milk and Earth Balance)

Cook time: Pasta was supposed to cook in 9 minutes and it did!

Texture & Consistency of Pasta: I thought that the pasta was great for gluten free pasta.

Photo on the box v. actual dish: I think it was pretty close to looking just like the photo.

Taste: creamy, sort of cheesy, a little tangy

Thoughts: So this mac and cheese was okay. I didn’t find it overly wonderful and I honestly thought it had a bit of a sour or off taste to it but it was edible. I ended up eating a small bowl of it with a ton of sriracha, Edith had a few bites but I think she wasn’t over the moon about it, however Alder ate his plate and most of Edith’s as well so we had at least one fan!

Would I Purchase Again? I would eat it if someone served it to me but I don’t think I would go out of my way to purchase it again. I will however be trying the pizza flavor because I’m curious to see how it is.

Clearly the winner of this throwdown is the Gluten Free So Delicious Dairy Free Mac & Cheese Cheddar Flavor.

Which two vegan mac and cheese should I try next?

[Recipe] Individual Italian Plum Crumble | V+GF

September 8, 2015 by Lindsay Ingalls 17 Comments

I think my favorite time of the year to visit the farmers market is just at the end of summer when it starts to get a bit cooler and the produce is starting to change to apples and squash and you get the last of the summer fruits. This week the littles and I headed to the Hollywood Farmers Market and we found ourselves coming home with an abundance of fruit including some beautiful fresh and dried Italian plums.

While I could have just left them alone and enjoyed snacking on them throughout the week I had a craving for some really yum crumble. I didn’t want anything to sweet or heavy, just a really light crumble that highlighted these delicious Italian plums. Since I find that plums and almonds are fantastic together I thought let’s break out the almond meal for this one and along with a few other ingredients a delicious crumble was formed.

Italian Plum Crumble

2015-09-08 14:06:07

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Filling

10-12 Italian plums, pitted and sliced
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping

3 tablespoons coconut sugar
2 tablespoons gluten free rolled oats
4 tablespoons almond meal
3 tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 375F
Toss the plums with the coconut sugar and vanilla and evenly fill six lined muffin cups.
Stir together the coconut sugar, oats and almond meal. Add in the coconut oil and crumble together.
Top each of the plum cups with the crumble topping.
Place in the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes until lightly browned.
Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before enjoying. Serve with your favorite vanilla frozen dessert.

By Lindsay Ingalls (@RunWithTongs)

Naturally Lindsay http://3.232.172.97/

Of course no crumble is complete without some vanilla “ice cream” with it. Especially when the crumble is still warm enough to melt the ice cream as you eat it and you end up with this creamy sauce at the end that you could just drink up. Needless to say with the help of my parents all of the crumbles are gone and I’m hoping that this Saturday there will be more Italian plums for me to make this crumble again.

[Recipe] Dairy-Free Chocolate Protein Shake with a Hint of Honey Vanilla Almondmilk

May 30, 2015 by Lindsay Ingalls 2 Comments

[Recipe] Dairy-Free Chocolate Protein Shake with a Hint of Honey Vanilla Almondmilk - @RunningWithTongs

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Almond Breeze Almondmilk.

We have been having some crazy hot days around here and when it’s 80F I really have no desire to cook or really spend any amount of time in my hot kitchen. So, whenever that happens I bring out the blender and start whipping up smoothies and shakes. This week Neil and I were all about the chocolate “[almond]milk shakes”.

Our milkshake bases always start with a heap of frozen bananas and a non-dairy milk from there we like to mix it up depending on what we have on hand or are in the mood for. This week we had a carton of Almond Breeze Almondmilk in the Hint of Honey-Vanilla flavor so that is what we used as our liquid for our shakes. We also added in some chocolate protein powder and in this particular one a chocolate peanut butter but most of the time we use almond butter.

[Recipe] Dairy-Free Chocolate Protein Shake with a Hint of Honey Vanilla Almondmilk - @RunningWithTongs

Dairy-Free Chocolate Protein Shake
Serves 2-4 (depending on how hungry you are)

5 frozen bananas
1 scoop of your favorite chocolate protein powder or alternatively a scoop of cacao powder
1-2 heaping tablespoons of your favorite nut butter
16-24oz of Almond Breeze Almondmilk in the Hint of Honey-Vanilla**

Blend until completely smooth.

*Tip 1: Freeze your bananas when they are super spotty because that is when they are the sweetest and easiest to digest.

**Tip 2: For a shake start with 16oz of almondmilk and add more as needed. If you are more into a smoothie/thinner consistency than start with more almond milk.

I found the Almond Breeze Almondmilk in the Hint of Honey-Vanilla to give this smoothie a subtle extra sweet taste. I tasted it on it’s own as well and it’s sweet but a much more mellow sweet – perfect for smoothies and shakes.

What’s your favorite warm weather breakfast?

Are you a thick smoothie/shake fan or a thin?

Recipe | Nutty Honey Chocolate Bites | Blue Diamond Almonds

August 27, 2014 by Lindsay Ingalls 10 Comments

This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. As always all opinions are my own.

I’m back in the kitchen and it feels great! The past two months have been a little chaotic and I haven’t really been inspired or in a position to really work on any new recipes. Yesterday however I made it back into the kitchen and I brought Edith with me.

Blue Diamond Almonds- Honey Roasted Vanilla - photos

I really want Edith to love cooking as much as I do and I also think that having her in the kitchen and being apart of the process makes her more interested in food and healthy eating. As you can see she is also learning how to become a food blogger with her Cabbage Patch camera. I’m thinking I need to find one of my old point and shoot cameras or maybe an inexpensive kids digital camera for her so that she can take real pictures – any recommendations?

Anyways we headed to the kitchen to make a snack for the week. Now you might be thinking chocolate as a snack? YES! These bites are filled with yummy and healthy ingredients like oats and almonds and just a little chocolate to make them a treat as well as a tasty snack. I used Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Vanilla Almonds in this recipe because a. they are super tasty and b. I thought they would be amazing with chocolate. Check out the recipe below and then head to the kitchen right away and MAKE THESE they are seriously insane!

Blue Diamond Almonds- Honey Roasted Vanilla

Nutty Honey Chocolate Bites

Inspired by Annie Eats

INGREDIENTS

2 cups old fashioned oats
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1-6oz container of Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Vanilla Almonds
½ cup creamy unsalted almond butter
½ cup honey
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup dark chocolate chips
¼ tsp. Himalayan pink salt

Blue Diamond Almonds- Honey Roasted Vanilla - photos

DIRECTIONS

Place oats in the bowl a food processor fitted with the s-blade and process until it is small coarse pieces. Add the almonds and coconut and pulse 15-20 times until finely ground. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Add the almond butter, honey, coconut oil, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips to a small sauce pan and heat over medium heat until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate chips are completely melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the salt. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the oat-almond mixture and stir together until everything is evenly mixed.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour out the mixture. Top with another sheet of parchment and roll out into a square or circle that is 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Place in the freezer for 1-2 hours until set and then cut into squares. Store in an airtight container the fridge or freezer

Blue Diamond Almonds- Honey Roasted Vanilla - bites

OUTTAKES

Edith enjoyed helping me make these tasty treats but she is only two so she is easily distracted by other things like putting stuff on top of her baby brothers head. At least he didn’t seem to mind!

Blue Diamond Almonds- Honey Roasted Vanilla - outtake

Healthy Seasonal Recipes with PAM | Warm Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

July 23, 2014 by Lindsay Ingalls Leave a Comment

Something exciting happened this past weekend…TOMATOES! Yes finally our local farmers market vendors have tomatoes and I am seriously in heaven. You would have thought the two huge heirloom tomatoes and three pints of heirloom cherry tomatoes would have lasted us all week but since I have been on a crazy tomato kick we are already out of them….four days later.

I am hoping that this baby makes his/her appearance very soon but I am also hoping that we can make it to the market to stock up on super sweet and juicy local tomatoes. I am salivating just thinking about buying more. Lately my favorite way to enjoy them has been on top of toast. Sometimes simply raw and sliced up with a little salt and pepper and other times I like to saute them up with a little onion or shallot and serve warmed.
Healthy Seasonal Recipes with PAM | Warm Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

Warm Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

Serves 4-6

1 pint of cherry tomatoes, quartered
PAM Organic Olive Oil Spray
1/4 cup minced red onion or shallot
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
4-6 slices of sourdough bread

Directions:

Toast up your sourdough bread; you can simply do this in a standard toaster, under the broiler in your oven or if you have a grill try grilling up your bread (my favorite method).
Heat a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Spray to coat the bottom with PAM Organic Olive Oil Spray <– this spray keeps things light and healthy plus clean up is a breeze. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until onion is soft.
Add in the cherry tomatoes and garlic and cook until the cherry tomatoes start to break down; this should just take a few minutes.
Season with red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.
Top each slice of toasted sourdough with the warm cherry tomato topping.

Healthy Seasonal Recipes with PAM - Warm Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

Leaving up to 99% less residue, PAM is your ally in the kitchen and allows you to save time during prep and clean up.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by ConAgra via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of ConAgra.

Sunshine Burger Recipe + Giveaway | California Burger

July 2, 2014 by Lindsay Ingalls 19 Comments

Disclaimer: I received Sunshine Burger product to review without monetary compensation. All opinions are my own. I was given the opportunity to review through the Sweat Pink Ambassador community.

There was a time when we ate veggie burgers all the time at our house but over the past few years we have been diversifying our meals more so now when we do have burgers we like to go all out. It also happens that summer time is our favorite time to indulge in veggie burgers because it’s grilling season and there is also a summer bbq party to host or attend.

While the standard burger toppings (lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard and onion) are fine a burger is always better if there is upgrade to toppings. Some of my favorite combinations include bbq sauce, sauteed mushrooms, crispy onion rings and vegan cheese slices. I also love a good “cheese” burger with lots of banana peppers and pickles and of course your standard toppings. When I’m feeling a little crazy going a more Tex-Mex route is always fun with toppings such guacamole, salsa and refried beans. However, while all of those are great combinations my current favorite is what I like to call the California Burger.

Ingredients:

Tomato, sliced
Red Onion, super thinly sliced
Micro Greens or Sprouts
Avocado, sliced
Vegan Cheddar
Whole Wheat Bun
Garden Herb Sunshine Burger – cook based on instructions on the box
Herbed Vegan Mayo (1 tablespoon each freshly chopped basil, chives, parsley and lemon juice with 1/3 cup vegan mayo)

Sunshine Burger: Cali Burger top and bottom

Simple and easy to put together! I like to slather a healthy serving of mayo on each side of my bun and then I place the micro greens on one side and the tomato, onion and avocado on the other. I make sure to melt the “cheese” onto the burger and then that goes in the middle. Then it all gets smooshed together and I gobble it up. P.S. this is messy so get the napkins ready or just lick your fingers like I do. Sunshine Burger: Cali Burger Finished

Now I have been a Sunshine Burger fan for years now so I was thrilled to work with them. My favorite way to eat them (besides the recipe above) is either on top of a salad or in a wrap. They are seriously delicious and they are free of gluten, wheat, soy, corn, oats, dairy, eggs, tree nuts and peanuts AND Non-GMO project verified. <—All the more reason I love these burgers. My favorite flavors are the Garden Herb and the Hemp & Sage Breakfast but now that I see there is a Loco Chipotle one I am going to have to try that one out because I love chipotle flavored foods.

Want to try Sunshine Burger out for yourself? Sign up for the e-newsletter and receive a coupon. Take advantage of the Find-A-Store feature, where you can locate local grocery stores that have Sunshine Burger products so you can use your coupon!

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nutty Honey Chocolate Bites

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

OUTTAKES

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by ConAgra via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of ConAgra.

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