The Good, The Bad, & The...CUTE!

We'll start with the...CUTE...because it's the easiest and, well, THE CUTEST!  The other day my father sent me this photo of my niece.  Apparently, she has messy hair and doesn't care!

Now...for a little bit of the...GOOD!  I found this a while back and it is darn tasty!  Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter made with REAL Pumpkin!  I have a few spoonsful for a snack on occasion!

And for another 'nut butter' I am feeling conflicted about this one...while it smells and tastes WONDERFUL the texture is a little hard to deal with!  Sure...I expected the oil to be on top and that I would have to stir but OMG it was SO DRY on the nut butter part that I got oil all over me and couldn't really stir it at all!  YIKES!

The last time I saw this brand I had the spicy queso (I think) and it was ok but really thin and runny.  THIS ONE was MUCH BETTER!  I liked the consistency and the flavor better than the first one!

For the next product...I guess I aimed a little too high with this one.  Perhaps my expectations were too over the top but I have to say I really didn't care for this product.  The noodles were very gummy and a weird slimy texture that didn't jive with my pallet.  Sorry, folks!

This, however, was AMAZING!  The flavor was great and the texture was right on, too!  BUT...locally, speaking, was WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!  I had to try it just once but at $7.99 I can't justify it...no matter how yummy!  Knock 2 to 3 bucks off and I will consider it!

I've had this one other time before but when I found it again I had to grab it not only because I was out of vegan cheese but because it was on sale and I had a craving!

This was the first time I had come across this brand of hummus so I knew I had to try it and was glad I did!  It was great!  And the price was right, too!  I'm looking forward to trying to find it again and trying another flavor!

I did find the new or at least the new-to-me Mexican Classic Blend of Daiya Shreds and I enjoyed them!  YAY!

This was a bit more than I wanted to spend but I rarely find Engine 2 brand items and knew I wouldn't be back to that location for MONTHS.  I gobbled it up rather quickly to say the least!

I tried the Bootleg Bucha Apple Spice and it was pretty good.  Another flavor I had right around that time was a HOPS one and I really liked that one, too!  One of these days I hope to visit a Buffalo Based Booch Place...maybe even Bootleg!  Time will tell!

New-To-Me Vegan Finds & Booch Results!

BOOCH!

Here is some of the finished product from the 1st batch of Kombucha that my Dad and I did.  We just went with the 1st brew and flavored with slices of oranges in the middle one and whole blueberries on the two on the left.  The one on the right is my Dad's experiment with ginger and cinnamon.  The blueberry was ok...next time I think I will blend the blueberries and then add it to the booch.  Altho I haven't finished the orange one (I have only sipped at little) I am totally LOVING the orange one!  We had to pitch one of the smaller batches due to mold but the large 2 quart and a smaller mason jar worked well...we even grew 2 baby SCOBY'S!  We started another small batch and in about a week and a half or so I want to try for the 2nd brew and carbonation!

I waited for as long as I could but had to break down and go shopping the weekend before last.  I stopped at Whole Foods Co-Op in Erie and they had a bunch of new products and a slew of sales...FIGURES...I didn't have a lot of money to go on a spree...but I did find some new-to-me items including these bagels!

And Miyoko's!  I think it was $2 off!  I know I have had some of her other vegan cheese - like the pub cheeses - and flavored cream cheeses - but this might have been the first time I have tried the 'straight up' plain vegan cream cheese.  And let me tell you...I LOVED IT!

Target in Erie expanded their vegan offerings, too, including a pumped up Sweet Earth section!  I already ate these Aloha BBQ Quesadillas.  They were ok but I don't think I would buy them again unless they were on sale.  They really didn't look anything like the photo.  The vegan cheese was near non-existent, I couldn't really taste the pineapple either.  They didn't taste bad but I I was thinking they would have layer upon layer of flavor but they really didn't.  They are good if you are in a hurry, however.

Another Sweet Earth meal I found was this.  Again...if you can find them on sale they are worth a taste.  With this I did appreciate that the cauliflower was actually roasted.  It was literally a little bit of mac with cauliflower on top.  There wasn't much vegan cheese sauce at all.  Luckily I had some of my Vegan Alfredo left over from a previous meal that I added on top and mixed it.  The flavor was good but it really could use more sauce!

Check these 'bad boys' out!  Daiya came out with some vegan yogurts.  But not just ANY vegan yogurt...CRUMBLE Yogurts!  As I type this I am eating the Key Lime one now and the taste is certainly a flavor EXPLOSION!  This Key Lime is right up there with the Lemon Cashewgurt for me - and that is saying a lot!

I haven't tried this one yet but if it's anything like the Key Lime one I know I will be a fan!  These are NICELY done.  Word to the wise...be sure to stir these well!  They are VERY thick!  That in itself puts it in the WIN category for me because many of the vegan yogurts I have had up to this point have been runny and/or thin.  

And finally, Kite Hill Ricotta!  It's the first time I have seen it locally and that was at my local Tops.  However, it was EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE, but I felt like I had to buy some to support the addition of a new product at that store so I did.  Of course, I really enjoyed it and can't wait to get more, so I hope they have it on sale VERY SOON!