Vegan Snacks, Vegan Cheese, Vegan Soup, Vegan Pizza Pods!

A little bit of a shorter post today.  Not because I don't have more to blog about but because I'm rather short on time.  I'll mostly be blogging about vegan food today!  I'm kicking things off with a photo of these Cinnamon & Sugar Pop Popcorn Mini Cakes.  They were YUMMY!

I recently came across this Spicy Blanco from Siete and enjoyed it much more than the cheddar flavor I tried a while back.  Not that I didn't like the flavor of the other one BUT I found it to be a bit runny and thin.  This was thicker and the consistency was much better - especially for dipping!  The taste was better, too!

I found that our local Tops had a bunch of stuff on their discontinued shelf.  I'm not sure if they are eliminating them to downsize that section (I hope not) or just trying to make room for NEW products!  Here is one of the items I found that they are discontinuing!  I had not tried this one from Amy's yet so I thought I should grab it before it was gone!  It was pretty good!

And here is the meal I had the last time I was in Buffalo (which was a few weekends ago)!  We went to one of my favorite places...The Pizza Plant!  They have many vegan options there including their famous PODS!  I was able to build my own and went for the vegan cheese and artichokes!  YUM!

Weekend Re-Cap in Photos!

Saturday I decided to take a short drive up to Kinzua Dam.  I didn't go to the actual Dam but the Big Bend Area. 

If I were to actually make a stop at the Dam I would be in a Parking Lot or at the Bridge going over top of the Dam that you see here. 

I wanted to do some thinking.  I also wanted to take some photos.  It's been a while since my last stop up there.  It's one of those places that people from far away visit often but the locals don't usually frequent.

If you visit my Instagram Account you can see more photos and even a short video, too!

The weather was gorgeous that day!  It seemed like it was the perfect temperature.  It wasn't muggy (like it has been most of the time the last couple years in the summertime) and it had just the right amount of breeze.  As you can see from the photos...the skies were blue and had some lovely, light clouds.

This photo is looking down 'water' from the Dam from the same spot.  One of these days I might go up to the Dam and the Bridge area and take some more photos to post here.

I wanted to go over to a small waterfall that is tucked off the road into the Allegheny National Forest a bit but ran out of time.

We left our house to make a quick trip up to the Buffalo area and stopped at The Pizza Plant for an early dinner.  Of course, I'm always excited because they not only have Vegan Pizza - they have Vegan Cheese for their Vegan Pizza!  I wanted to do a different topping for it this time around, tho.  Usually, I opt for Tomatoes or Mushrooms.  This time I went with the Artichokes.  It was fantastic!  I ate it for 4 meals!

Driving back wasn't fun.  There was a lot of construction.  We made a mistake with a detour and went about a half hour out of our way.  Oops!

Here's a close-up of an individual piece in case you're interested.

In other news...I've decided to take on another volunteering project.  This past month The Dyslexic Advantage eNewsletter was asking for volunteers to voice certain articles of their monthly online magazine.  I figured since I'm in radio full-time and have access to the equipment both at work and at home, I thought it was something I could easily do.  Plus, I have been wanting to get more involved in advocating for Dyslexics (since I, too, am one).

This past Thursday, there was a chair meeting for our Zonta Club.  It was a real eye-opener about just how much we do in our area.  I hope to help get the word out more about the efforts.  In the meantime, I was asked to chair the Service Committee so I'm looking forward to that, too!

Another thing we did this past weekend was stop in to our some-what-new, local Ollie's Bargain Outlet and we found some extra large fuzzy blankets for cheap.  We bought them and some other stuff for the house and I have to say that the blankets are a HIT with the dogs!  They LOVE them!

Here is a photo of Cricket sleeping on my lap...on the new blanket, of course.

What did you do over the weekend!?

Vegan MoFo ~ Vegan Foods Inspired By 3 Films

The Vegan MoFo Prompt for today was to make or eat something inspired by a book or film.  I went back thru some of my faves and decided to do a collaboration!

First up...remember Gopher's Succotash from Winnie The Pooh?  I vaguely remember it since it's been so long since I have seen that movie but I do like Vegan Succotash so why not?  Here's a photo of one of the Vegan Succotash dishes I have done in the past.  I think my secret ingredient is a splash of Balsamic it seems to make everything better!

Next up is the Porridge mentioned in Beauty & The Beast.  I always 'assumed' that Porridge was like Oatmeal.  Well, when I traveled to The Breakers in West Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this year they featured this Vegan Porridge on one of their menus and it was one of the most memorial meals I've ever had while traveling!

The Porridge was made up of lentils and spices.

What you see on top is a single apple crisp with a dab of salsa.  I really must make some of this very soon.  Of course it will be my own version but something is better than nothing, right!?

And FINALLY...I chose the movie...Home Alone.

Remember when he gets the Little Nero's Cheese Pizza?

Well, here are a few vegan cheese pizzas I have enjoyed over the last few years!

First up...is the vegan pizza from Pizza Plant in Williamsville, NY.  YUMMO!  I love The Pizza Plant because of all of the veggie options they offer.

I also love their PODS and their Vegan Nachos!

I think I will have visit there again, soon!

Last year around this time hubby and I traveled to Tennessee and one of the places we went to eat was Mellow Mushroom.  It was my first time ever being to a Mellow Mushroom and I was completely stoked they had vegan options including this pizza!  They didn't skimp on the veggies either!

Comparing the two I think I liked the Pizza Plant Pizza better than Mellow Mushrooms but I do like them both and was so appreciative that both places had options!

And speaking of Vegan Pizza options...

I couldn't pass up another chance to plug The WNY VegFest!

This photo is a picture of the Vegan Taco Pizza that I had last year while visiting WNY's first annual VegFest in Buffalo!  We had so much fun that my sister and I went back this year.  If all goes well we are thinking about making it an annual tradition!

AND...a heads up...2016 I just might be going to TWO VegFests! I heard from organizers in Erie, PA, that they will start holding VegFest in the upcoming year!  YAY!

Since this Taco Pizza shown here was more 'fake meat' than cheese and veggies I have to say I like the other two options better but again am pleased they offered this at VegFest, too!

And, FINALLY...a Vegan Pizza that I have made all by myself!

If you have visited my blog before this might look familiar from a few months back.

It's the Vegan Mac & Cheese Pizza I tried making.

Sure...it needed a little work on the dough but I am always up front about my LACK of baking skills...this INCLUDES dough!    But they flavor was wonderful and I felt like I accomplished something because I did do it by myself!

So what do you think about my food?  And the films?

Mellow Mushroom ~ Pigeon Forge, TN

***There is still time to enter to win Organic Chia Seeds from Garden of Life***  CLICK HERE I will choose a winner BEFORE 5pm est today!

This first photo isn't mine...it's from the Mellow Mushroom Website.  But the other photos I took while on vacation.  This is the Mellow Mushroom location in Pigeon Forge, TN, and we stopped by while on vacation last week.  I think they had 3 locations in the area...this one, one in Gatlinburg next to Ole Smoky Moonshine, and one at The Island in Pigeon Forge, too!

First...I have to talk about the decor in this place.  It's so cool!  There are lights, mushrooms, tye dye stuff, hippie stuff - pretty much everywhere. 

These are some of the lighted tree decorations they had in the middle of our section.  I took some pics of the walls but they didn't turn out that great.  There was a HUGE painted wall that went from one end of the booth seating area to the other that was hippie and groovy but still a tribute to Pigeon Forge and the Smoky Mountains. 

They had this crazy stone fireplace that had some sort of mystical cartoon character mounted on it (thank GOD it wasn't a real deer - blah!) and candles and trinkets on the shelf below and then...look at the fireplace!!!  Instead of 'fire' it's a slew of Lava Lamps!  How groovy is that!?

There was plenty of parking outside, a lot of seating inside, a bunch of eye candy to look at inside and out and we haven't even talked about the food yet!

We will get to that in a moment...but first...I just had to show you another shot of this 'fireplace' of Lava Lamps...

I'm pretty sure that The Mellow Mushroom has 3 locations in the area of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.  At least that is how many I saw while we were out and about.  This one was in Pigeon Forge - stand alone.  There is another one in Pigeon Forge within The Island that I wrote about on my Travel Blog...then there is another one over by Ole Smoky Moonshine in Gatlinburg.

 Here's a photo of some of the mushrooms that were throughout the restaurant, too!  Of course when I added this to my InstaGram I had a few funny yet crude comments about what they looked like!

But...Mellow Mushroom's InstaGram 'liked' them so that's cool.  It was actually really neat because a lot of the pics I took and put on InstaGram I had the official place 'like' my photos!

Anyways...on to the food, right?  Dale ended up getting wings that were twice baked (not fried).  For those of you who are new to my blog - my husband is NOT vegan/vegetarian.

I, however, found out that they do vegan pizzas!  YAY!  They use Daiya Cheese!  They make their own vegan and gluten free crust from ancient grains.  I'm not Gluten Free but I enjoy eating Gluten Free foods from time to time.  There were other vegan options on the menu but I didn't really want to think about it and wanted to take some of the pizza back to the Cabin for later so this is what I went with.

It was the Veggie Pizza with the Vegan AND Gluten Free Crust.  Yes..Vegan Daiya Cheese.  The sauce was pretty good...but my favorite part of the pizza was the tomatoes!  They were AWESOME! 

The pizza - overall - was quite good.  I'm glad I was able to get it.  Very happy they offer it!  I do like the Vegan Pizza at Pizza Plant in Williamsville (Buffalo, NY, area) better, tho.  If you are veg - where is your favorite vegan pizza located?  Which eating establishment outside of the home, that is!?

Vegan Pizza - Pizza Plant - Williamsville, NY

One of the places we stopped on Sunday was The Pizza Plant on Transit Road in Williamsville, NY, for my Birthday.  They have an AMAZING selection of Vegetarian Options.  They have a great deal of Vegan Options as well.  We've been to the Pizza Plant a few times...they have two locations.  The other is in Walker Center.  I was born in Buffalo and raised in a few towns and cities around Buffalo.  My Mother's Father owned part of Transit Road back in the day.  Of course that was probably 50 years ago or more, but still...we have history there.  I'm always excited to visit.  We didn't meet up with any of my family members - such as cousins, uncles, aunts, etc...we just went for the day and didn't really know where we were going other than Trader Joe's, Guitar Center, and a few others stops.  We ended up at Pizza Plant. 

I noticed they had not only Vegan Pizza - but Vegan Pizza - WITH Vegan Cheese!  I have to confess - this is the very first time I have had Vegan Pizza with Vegan Cheese - eating at an establishment.  You just don't usually find that around much.  So...it was my birthday and I splurged!  They make their own sauces, their own crusts, and use very fresh ingredients.  On this pizza I had Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Artichokes...with herbs!  The crust was their Garlic Crust.  It was AMAZING!  I had plenty to take home...that's for sure!

There are so many things you can veganize on their menu in addition to the already vegan items they clearly mark on their HUGE menu!  PLUS our waitress was WONDERFUL.  As soon as I said "vegan" she lit right up and started raddling off a bunch of additional info!  She said ALL of their doughs were vegan except for their Whole Wheat.  Good to know!  In the past I have opted for the "Pods" that they are famous for MINUS the cheese.  Which would be various veggies and sometimes a sauce inside of a "Pod" which is basically a Stromboli but better!  It opens slightly on the top and they aren't greasy like you would see in stromboli's plus they have over 30-some different combos!  YAY!  Anyhow...I really like this place...perhaps it's because I'm not able to go there often...or maybe it's because of the vegan options....heck...it's probably BOTH...but I'm even HAPPIER after our last visit!  YUM!

Blissful Journey Outing ~ Trader Joe's, Barnes & Noble, and Eats ~ In Buffalo

This past weekend we drove over to the Buffalo area and went to a few places.  Our main focus was their new Trader Joe's.  Eventho it's still almost 2 hours for us to get there - it's closer for us compared to the one in Pittsburgh by at least a half hour.  I was pretty pleased with the experience.  We got there around 9-ish and beat the rush for the most part.  I only spent about $75 or so and $7+ of it was a stylish new Freezer Bag - reusable - of course and another $7 was Pine Nuts. So for around $60 I got the rest...including but not limited to...

* Fire Roasted Tomato/Corn Salsa

* Light Coconut Milk

* Chickpeas (2)

* Lg Jar of Marinara Sauce

* Vegan Enchilada Sauce

* Sriracha Sauce

* Coconut Chips

* At least 4 different frozen Indian Dishes (more on that down the road)

* Falafel

* Tomatoes

* Roasted Veggie Pizza (no cheese)

* Frozen Kale

* Frozen Brussell Sprouts

* Whole Grain Dinner Rolls

* British "English" Muffins

* Corn Chips (2-pounds)

* Tofu 2-pack

* Frozen Carrots

* 2 different kinds of Veggie Burgers that I haven't tried before

* Tempeh

* A couple of "quick" vegan meals to have on hand and to use/eat sparringly

I MAY have missed a few things in there but that gives you a good idea of what I got!

I then went over to Barnes & Noble but didn't buy anything.  I was just REALLY excited they had not only a vegetarian cookbook section but ALSO a Vegan Cookbook Section!  There were a LOT of books missing that I was curious about but VERY thankful that they were there and clearly marked regardless!  My husband wants me to buy them via iTunes so I can have them on my iPad and iPhone so I MIGHT start trying to do that, I suppose :)

In our travels I went to a Pet Supply store to get Riley a Slow-Feeder for his dinner bowl - I'm sure I will blog about that in the future, too!  DH wanted to go to a tool place and found some 'good deals'.  We went to lunch at a burger place - and they did have vegetarian options - but I had to tweak it a bit because the veggie burgers had cheese mixed IN them.  I opted for a sandwich like conversion that included Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Hummus, on a specialty roll.  The highlight, tho, was this Salad.  With your meal you get a trip to their salad bar and it was a pretty good salad bar.  They made their own dressings and I chose the Lemon Herb.  On my salad I loaded up on various lettuces, dried cranberries, carrots, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, and roasted red peppers.  It was GOOD.  Overall it was OK but not great and hubby didn't like his 'meat eaters version' so I doubt we will ever go back since there are so many other options up that way.  The salad WAS the highlight for me and you can pretty mush get that anywhere, ya know!?

 

We pre-ordered some food to take home from another restaurant that has been a favorite of mine called Pizza Plant.  They serve much more than just Pizza, however.  They have Vegetarian, Vegan, and Gluten-Free options.  I decided to get one of their Pizza Pods but veganize it.  The one I had was stuffed with Spinach, Artichokes, Onion, and Sauce with Garlic "Crust".  It was YUMMY!  I REALLY wanted to get their signature Vegan Cheesecake but they were all out of it...BUMMER!

 

I have several other things to post about but will stop there or this post may be another MILE LONG!  Until tomorrow!