MidWeek Munchies & $5 Lunch

Sorry this is so late in the week!  MidWeek Munchies is BELOW and I would LOVE for you to join!  Remember you can link up ANYTHING Vegan!

For this first photo - I went to our newly transformed grocery store this past week and found these few items that I was thrilled with!  This is the ONLY place in our region that carries Sour Supreme and it was on sale 2 for $5.  I grabbed an Amy's Kitchen convenience meal the other night because I needed something quick!  I got some organic carrots as you can see and then there is this new-to-me bread which I LOVE LOVE LOVE!  All Vegan, YES!  These 5 items I was able to purchase for about $11 and because I spent over $10 in organic items (on the 3 items other than the Tofutti) I received a $2 off coupon!  WOOT!

I went back there today for my lunch.  I didn't want to spend a lot but my lunches haven't been very balanced as of late.  I am working on it.  Today I spent $5 on the photo above.  Seems like a lot but you can't buy a meal here for $5...it's usually closer to $10...so with that in mind I was happy about this purchase.  It's the first time I have tried the Blueberry Yogurt and I have to say I am a fan!  I think it was $1.29 on its own so it was certainly a treat I will only do once in a blue moon!

TWO MORE THINGS I WANTED TO MENTION...that I don't have photos for...a while back I found 6 quarts of Almond Milk at Sam's Club for $10 and some change and that will last me a while.  Another thing I bought locally by the case was JUST MAYO.  My local herb store was able to order 6 of them for me direct.  I think I paid $33 for 6 of them.  This was about 40 cents per bottle cheap than anywhere else I could find them...since my local Walmart hasn't been carrying them consistently as of late.  So YES I was pretty thrilled with my purchases this week!

What did you find?

An InLinkz Link-up

Thursday 3, Buying Bulk for $3.49, and International Raw Food Day

Today is International Raw Food Day!  I think this is my 3rd year participating in my own way.  But I have been following Karen Knowler for about 5 years and LOVE her website and recipe ideas!  Because today is International Raw Food Day it inspired me to do a Random Thursday 3.  Today it will be Raw Foods Related!  3 things I would like to 'point out' aren't 'things' at all but rather PEOPLE.  People in the health foods and/or raw foods movement that I have researched and learned from the last couple of years.

The first one being David Wolfe.  I don't know if I agree with everything he does but then again I don't think I necessarily agree with EVERYTHING that any one person has to say anyway - that's the beauty of being different.  But I have learned some great things thru his websites and interviews.  I'm also interested in learning more about his non-profit Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.

The 2nd person on my list is Cherie Soria from Living Light.  She was also a co-writer on the Raw Foods For Dummies Book.  I've know of her for a few years and am interested in learning even more.  I think I might look into more of her videos very soon!  I know a few blogging buddies of mine have actually MET her and really LOVED her energy!

And I mentioned her above, but really this day, wouldn't have been possible without all of the organization, knowledge, and networking set by Karen.  What a remarkable lady.  Thank you for International Raw Food Day!  I hope you guys have some time to hop over to these websites today and find things of interest!  I, for one, will be enjoying my MANY free eBooks that I received for signing up for the event today.

Another thing I wanted to share with you was my "Buying Bulk" Success from the other day!  Keep in mind...I ONLY spent a grand total of $3.49!!!!!  YES!  UNDER $3.50 for the following:

Garlic Powder (37 cents)
Organic Cumin (41 cents)
Fennel Seeds (34 cents)
Organic Yellow Mustard (34 cents)
Organic Curry (48 cents)
Red Lentils ($1.39)

I was VERY pleased with this!  To get all of this even at a "Dollar Store" would be a minimum of $6 and the quality would be 'lack there of'.  I've said it once and I'll say it again...I LOVE BUYING BULK!

My Many Mason Jars & The Vineyard is GREEN

 I will be doubling and tripling up on posts today to try and catch up from my wild week or weeks lately.  One of the many things I have been working on - it's a constant battle - but I couldn't be more proud of it as petty as it seems - is my Mason Jar Kitchen Cabinets!

My original post happened almost a year ago and I have been tweaking it ever since.  I'm not the most organized person but I try.  Mason Jar are the way to go for me!  It's what has helped me the longest and I have stuck with it!  I have been getting more and more grains, sprouting items, powders, and more and these are PERFECT for them!  Not only have I been using Mason Jars I have been reusing other glass jars that I have come across as you can see in the 2nd photo. 

The one with the Green Lid is a reused Tahini Glass Jar.  I believe I bought these sprouting seeds over at VitaCost.  Take a look at the right hand side bar for the refer a friend program.  I LOVE this online store!  Anyhow...back to the Jars!  You can see in the first photo I have Marrowfat Peas.  I haven't used them yet but I hope to soon!  On either side are some of my Wildtree items.  In the 2nd photo I have Arugula and Sunflower Seeds.  I sprouted Sunflower Seeds before but didn't blog about it.  I wanted to get a 2nd attempt under my belt first.  Yesterday I started my first attempt at Arugula and I will blog about that later today, too.

In my 3rd photo - you can see the glass jars I bought FIRST even before buying the Mason Jars.  I bought those from my local herb store where I buy bulk often.  I started using those for 'meals' and alternative flours but I also use them for sprouting beans, seeds, etc now, too!

In this last photo - I have some Quinoa but also some Farro.  I have to admit I am still new at using Farro but will be posting about this, soon, too!

In another section of my cupboards I have recently added Maca Powder containers and a Maca-Hemp-Cacao Powder. 


I have been running out of a few of my rices - wild rice, long grain rice, and various brown rices that I had from Lundberg as well as a few other brands.  I have also just finished up my Rice Crumbs and one of my Vegan Panko Bread Crumbs.  Lucky for me I found a box hiding and replenished my stock.

In other news - we went back to Noble Winery in Westfield, NY, on Saturday with our Wildtree set-up and did pretty well!  We LOVE the Noble Winery Crew!  They are beautiful people!  The last time I blogged about Noble - it was cold!!!  This time around it was gorgeous!  The grounds and vineyard were MUCH MORE GREEN!  Afterwards we went to Quagliana's Bark Grill - as we did the last time - it's becoming a favorite!  It has a neat set-up as well as SUPER FRIENDLY people!  They have an awesome cheese-less Bruchetta I had as well as something similar but with Eggplant and Red Peppers!  YUM!

I was wondering what the 4th would have been like on the hill of the winery!  You can see for MILES.  I bet you could see various fireworks that night.  We only stayed until about 7pm so it wasn't dark yet.

We have a party this Wednesday in Little Valley, NY, and we are expecting quite a few so we are looking forward to that and we have a few shows in the works, too!

Green Garlic, Weather, Leftovers, Cancer Sucks, Buying Bulk, Bangkok Rice Crisps, Daiya Wildtree Nacho Cheese, Raw(ish) Vegan Vodka Sauce,

 I mentioned earlier this week - that last weekend - I picked up some Green Garlic at my local Farmers Market.  This was the first time I have done anything with Green Garlic at home.  According to some websites I visited while researching Green Garlic they stated the Green Garlic is a young garlic or a garlic that hasn't full matured yet.  Other sources refer to Green Garlic as Spring Garlic.  It's a little mellower than straight-up garlic but I found it to be fantastic in its own right.  By looking at it - it looks like a Green Onion.  You can read more about it at Food 52.  I had fun breaking it apart and warmed them on stove top.  YES...it takes very little to amuse me, apparently!

I ended up adding it to Quinoa.  I also added Diced Tomatoes and herbs.  It was very tasty!  I received one of the Traveling Tea Boxes in the mail today from the group I participate in over at Steepster.  So I spend some time with various teas and have been reviewing them as well.  The weather has been a little messy this week and it looks like it will be more of the same this weekend, too.  Hubby and I hope to attend a car show on Sunday - regardless of weather - but it will depend on the weather conditions - whether or not we will bring the Corvette.

Earlier in the week I told you about my Raw Wraps and Dipping Sauce that I made and I mentioned I would post what I did with the left overs.  Here is what I did!

It's a Stir Fry of sorts and I used that dipping sauce within it, too!

Pretty much all of the same ingredients - just in a stir fry.  I used the Collards in there too!  I just cut them up and threw them in!  This was yummy, this way, too!  I would try both dishes again!

I have more sad news to report.  This past week...2 more lives were taken by cancer in our small community.  A woman who's husband works with my father lost her battle with Breast Cancer leaving behind a husband and 2 young children.  Then, a girl I played Softball with a few years ago - and my sister played softball with her longer than I did - she lost her battle with Brain Cancer yesterday...leaving behind a husband and 2 sons.  It's getting scarier and scarier.  It seems everyone is being diagnosed these days or at the very least in our area it seems that way.  I'm going to get in touch with our cancer center next week to see which charities I can cross promote at work for families - especially children - trying to deal with the loss of a parent.  See what I can do to try and get the word out there - that there are organizations in our community that can assist children and families in their time of need.

In other news - I've been chatting with a few people about Buying Bulk.  So I thought I would post about what and where I often buy Bulk.  This is a photo of a store I frequent in the downtown area.  The store is called Herbs R 4 U 2.  The store owner, Barbie, is a wonderful lady!  She's very helpful and if she can get the products in we seek - she will!  Over the last several years I have watched her Bulk Section - grow and grow!  It's very impressive!  I've bought quite a bit from her bulk section.  I love that you can buy as much or as little as you want!  I have also bought some of these same glass jars from her for my cupboards at home.  One of the items I buy a lot of is Nutritional Yeast and I store that in one of these jars.  I can fit about a pound of it in one.  Another jar I have filled like this is my Chia Seeds stash.  I have a few alternative flours and meals in them, too.

Another place I have purchased things the last few months is Vitacost.  You can find a clickable link on the right hand side of my site, here.  Check them out!  They have LOTS of awesome items at nice prices.  These Bangkok Sweet Chili Baked Rice Crisps I bought a while back and I decided to crack them open this past weekend.  They are VERY flavorful and I really like them.  I've only had a few of them so far but I see some snacking in my near future. 

I'm so excited it's the end of the week!  But I can't believe the 4th of July is next week either.  The summer is moving way too fast.

 Check THIS out!  Nacho Cheese Sauce!  Here's what I did for this cheese sauce!  Since I had some Daiya Cheese open I wanted to use a little bit but not TOO much.  A lot of the recipes I saw online for Vegan Cheese Sauce using Daiya Cheese called for a LOT of the shreds to be used.  I cut that in about half and it turned out good!
1/3 C Daiya Shreds
1 C Almond Milk
2 T Nutritional Yeast
Wildtree Spicy Chiptole Ranch to taste
Water to consistency - or more Almond Milk

This made quite a bit and I have added it to a few different things this week.  One of them being Nachos!

How fun is that!?  If I had more produce I would have piled it high!  BUT...I ran low towards the end of the week!  I hope to get to the Farmers Market EARLIER this weekend than I did last weekend!

This was one of the best textures of vegan cheese sauces I have had luck with yet.  The liquid to 'cheese' ratio worked well!


Another thing I was pretty excited about this week is something I did last night.  I made Zucchini Pasta with a Raw(ish) Vegan Vodka Sauce.  I say Raw(ish) because I added some White Wine in there and really don't think that was raw??  But...here is what I did for this sauce - which in a way - reminded me of Vodka  Sauce.  I used 1 tomato, 1/4 C Sun Dried Tomatoes - soaked, 1 Clove Garlic, 1/4 C White Wine, 1 Date, and 1/4 C Hemp Hearts/Seeds.  It was tangy and lovely!  YUM! YUM! YUM!  I hope you have a great weekend, everyone!  Drop me a note if you can!