Vegan Buffalo ArtiHearts & Plant Based Veggie Chips

I've teased a few of you about the mini haul I was able to get this passed weekend but I almost forgot about 2 items I got prior to that.  These Spicy Artichokes AKA Monterey Farms ArtiHearts Buffalo Flavor showed off the vegan "V" on the back of the package.  So I knew I had to try them at least once.  I found these at the Erie Giant Eagle a few weeks ago!  Tonight I put them in a Sun Dried Tomato Wrap and what I couldn't fit in the wrap I ate as-is and dipped in salsa.  Both were tasty but I will say due to their size they were a bit difficult to eat in the wrap.  I think they would be ideal for stand alone dipping or even thrown in a salad!

Next up are Brad's Veggie Chips CHEDDAR.  Again, they feature the "V" we tend to look for on the packaging.  They are also Raw, Soy-Free, Gluten-Free, USDA Organic, Non-GMO, etc.

These are NOT a new product but rather an updated, re-packaged product.

I'm almost finished with these and wanted to share them with you before I move on to other foods and snacks.  It's been a while since I had Brad's.  Mostly because when I do find them they are really pricey.  But the last time I went to the Whole Foods Market they were on sale for at least 2 bucks off so I was surely tempted.

Have you seen the flavored Artichoke Heart yet?  Have you tried them?  What did you think?

Scenic Shots, Community Fun, Chihuahua Butts, Cardboard Characters, and Funky Vegan Food

It's been another BUSY week and it's just going to get busier and busier!  Earlier in the week I told you about going out to eat last Friday at a local Golf Course/Restaurant.  Here are some photos from the overlook.  I took these from our table!  I LOVE all that GREEN!  Funnies part...I can't GOLF to save my life but I LOVE looking at the scenic views of the different courses.  I think we are going to go back again tonight. 

The name of the Golf Course is Jackson Valley Country Club.  They have re-done the restaurant and bar area and I was pleasantly surprised that they had a nice little salad bar last week!  I think I am going to smuggle in some of my own "Earth Balance" and "Organic Brown Sugar" from Wholesome Sweeteners for my Baked Sweet Potato.

I also mentioned earlier this week about the Community Event that we attended this past weekend.  I was so bummed I forgot to take some photos of our area but a friend of ours took this one and I just noticed it on Facebook today!  He did the tye-dye shirts for us!  My sister didn't come this past weekend but my mom and dad are pictured here with me.  For this weekend we will be at Nobel Winery in Westfield, NY.  We also plan to spend some time at camp but the weather is supposed to be really cold this weekend!  I can't believe it was 93 earlier this week and there were reports of SNOW this morning about 10 minutes from my house!  My husband's family has a little over 100 acres in the woods nearby so I hope Sunday to take some photos of that!

This week at work has been NUTS once again!  We had another remote today - Part 2 - at the local car dealership.  It was fun!  LOTS of interviews with the staff and it went really smooth!  I found this cute lil guy in the corner and HAD to take a snap of it.  I took this with Opal's Daughter in mind!  I think she'll find it cute - Happy Belated Birthday by the way!

I had another online shopping experience this week over at VitaCost and I will blog about that next week!  I didn't get that much, really, but some neat Sprouting options and a few things I was totally out of like Tahini, Nutritional Yeast, and I finally decided to get some Coconut Oil/Butter.

I've been very busy around the house this week in the evenings!  I have been cleaning like a crazy person!  The 'furkids' don't really like that I am not there to snuggle up with in the evenings but there is work to be done! 

FINALLY after a few hours of running around the house the other night I laid down and watched an episode of NASHVILLE on Hulu Plus.  We don't have Cable/Satellite but we do have Netflix and Hulu Plus.  It saves a LOT of money!  Anyhow...as you can see here Paco appreciated the fact I decided to 'call it quits for the evening'.  It was just too funny NOT to take a photo of his lil Chihuhua Behind!

Now on to the FOOD for this past week, eh!?  One night I decided to just pile my plate high of various things I had on stash!  It's hard to tell by looking at it but here is what this large dinner plate included the one evening...Green Beans, Baby Red Potatoes - Pan Fried with Grapeseed Oil and Savory Spinach from Wildtree (also used a little California Blend), and I did some Maple Tempeh over Baby Spinach with a Lemon Garlic Marinade/Salad Dressing I got from Wegman's a while back that was clearly marked VEGAN.  It is darned-tasty for a store-bought dressing!  With the Tempeh leftovers I ended up doing a large salad with greens - mostly Spinach, Yellow Heirloom Tomatoes, the dressing mentioned above, and carrots.

I have been eye-balling this Wildtree Asian Skillet Meal for a while now and I finally decided to do something with it the other night.  I had some Rice Noodles that I cooked up and added the Asian Skillet Meal from Wildtree to it along with some Water, Veggie Bouillon, Green Beans, and Bragg's Liquid Aminos.  It was just the right kind of spicy.  It worked out really well and made a nice large batch so I had leftovers for lunches.  I was so excited that this was another vegan Wildtree option!

Last night I had the munchies and wanted to work off some of the things I had on hand I wanted to finish-up or get rid of.  I found some Artichokes and roasted them up and made this Vegan Dip for them.  The dip has the following in it:
4 T Vegan Mayo
1 tea Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tea Wildtree Lemon Pepper
1 T Minced Garlic

And since I usually have dips around my house I made this one last night, too, to have on hand for a quick snack.  It's a Zesty Lemon Lima Bean Dip and I got the idea in a back issue of Vegetarian Times.  Of course I put my own little twist on it.  It has 1 C Lima Beans, A Splash of Jalapeno Grapeseed Oil, 1 T or more of Minced Garlic, 1 tea Red Pepper Flakes, 1 or 2 T Lemon Juice, and a little bit of water.  It was pretty good!  I hope to make more dips with a Lima Bean base soon!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Chipotle Lime Polenta "Chick'n" and Tomato Flavored Quinoa with Artichokes and Green Chilies

 Chipotle Lime Polenta "Chick'n" and Tomato Flavored Quinoa with Artichokes and Green Chilies.  I made this last night for my lunch today.  I had a little bit of Polenta left over (I will have a separate post about that in a bit) and really wanted to use my Chipotle Lime "rub" from Wildtree in something.

So...here is what I did...

A little less than 1/2 of a store bought Polenta "roll" but I cubed it (instead of my usually slicing)

I 'seasoned' the Polenta with...

Wildtree Grapeseed Oil
Wildtree Chipotle Lime Rub
Nutritional Yeast

all to taste and texture

I noticed this was an interesting alternative to "chicken" so that is why I named it that.

I added in regular Quinoa that I had flavored with Tomato Paste and Agave Nectar.  It was sweet and tomato-y.  Paired with the Chipotle and Lime it made for an interesting flavor that I ended up really liking.

I wanted more color...so...I added Artichokes and Green Chilies.  Had I had carrots on hand I would have added those, too!

So, this is one of my thrown-together dishes and I have it ready to go for lunch today.  I'm looking forward to the Chipotle KICK.

Participating Post in...

Freedom Fridays
Friday Chaos
Friday Flash Blog
Friday Food Fight
Healthy Vegan Fridays
Strange But Good

Artichoke Burgers by Five Star Foodies

About a month ago I placed an order with VeganEssentials and I came across these lil discs of awesomeness!  Visit the Product Page from Five Star Foodies!  

I have to say this is my new FAVORITE Veggie Burger!  By a LARGE Margin!  I LOVE these Artichoke Burgers from Five Star Foodies!  They are wonderful!

They are SO flavorful!  They are made up of Artichokes, Cashews, Cashews, Brown Rice, Potato/Corn Starch, Oil, Cane Sugar, Spices!

These come out pretty good in the microwave but my favorite method is to do them in a frying pan with a little bit of Grapeseed Oil!

This is FOR SURE a re-order in the NEAR future!

Something like "Mock Tuno Salad"

The other night I followed a recipe from The 4 Ingredient Vegan and it was pretty horrible.  The sauce was made of Vegan Mayo and Tahini.  I didn't want to give-up on it so here is what I did to tweak it:

Yes...that's Quinoa Pasta you see!  

For the sauce I used Tahini, Vegan Mayo, Almond Milk and Water.

For the additions to the sauce for texture I used chopped/marinated Artichoke Hearts, Tomatoes, a little bit of Medium-Hot Salsa, and Wildtree California Garlic Pepper.

With the exception of the Hot Salsa this was reminiscent of a Mock Tuno Pasta Salad.  It wasn't bad!  With the addition of the kicky salsa it really did give it a nice punch.  This is pretty good warm but even better cold!

Pretty tasty ending for something that started out pretty awful! LOL

Vegan Mofo!