Many Vegan Aldi Finds...But Some Others, Too!

Over the summer I noticed yet another gas station chain that started carrying more random vegan things!  YAY!  This Willy's brand of salsa had 2 or 3 of them that I tried.  I have to say it's unlike other salsas and I truly believe it's because of their punchy-use of bold cilantro.  I know cilantro is one of those things that some people love and others hate.  I've always liked it but I can see in some cases where the over the top use of it could give certain things that soapy taste.  For some reason the loads of cilantro worked here.  They also seem to love garlic.  Lucky for them...I love garlic, too!

Here's a pic of the new, local Falafel that is being made in-house at Total Evolution.  It's also vegan and pretty wonderful!  This was a HUGE sandwich!  You can pick your own toppings for it, too!

Prior to August, this was our set-up for camping season.  Our new-to-us-but-gently-used 5th Wheel is on the left and my parents Jayco is on the right.  I don't especially like the specific spot we had this year or last year but I didn't complain too much either.

Here's another meal I grabbed at Total Evolution this past summer.  You can build your own wrap.  Most places that tends to be the vegan option around here but you basically get lettuce, tomato, and onion.  I then see if places have salsa or a balsamic for the dressing...BUT...with Total Evolution they have some really neat things to include.  This one contained their in-house hummus, carrots, greens, sprouts, celery, tomato.  I've done variations of this from time to time and I will certainly start sharing more of them with you!

At our local Tops I have fell in love with a new product but that love comes with a hefty price tag so when I see them on sale I will grab one.  It's the line of products from The Coconut Collaborative.  In this pic, here, you will see the Chocolate Ganache.  When I opened the first one I thought...gee...I could eat all 4 in one sitting!  But, you know what?  They are so rich I could only eat one!

Many of the products in this post are new or new-to-me products from Aldi and that includes this one!  It's the Vegan Vegetable Potstickers!  They are tasty!

Another find at Aldi are these Eggplant with Yellow Pepper Raviolis!  I LOVED these and hope I can find them again soon!  There is another kind, I hear, but I haven't seen those locally yet.

I finally spotted their Vegan Sour Cream.  I grabbed some.  It was ok.  It was certainly good enough for the price!  A nice, cheaper alternative.  I would probably buy it again!

One of the one pot meals I did in the camper this year was squash with vegan margarine, vegan pepper jack cheese, and topped it with tortilla strips!  It know it doesn't look like much but it was VERY yummy!  I would categorize it as a vegan comfort food for sure!

I don't really have time to do a blog post YET re-capping fair week but I thought I would give you a little teaser for now.  These were our new work banners that were at our broadcast booth!

Moving on to a thing or two from Wegman's!  I did grab this to have the camper during fair week.  Let's just say...it lasted about a day!

I can't remember which place I spotted these at since there were about 2 to 3 weeks I seemed to travel all over the country-side grocery shopping at various places.  I'm not sure if I grabbed them at Wegman's or Mustard Seed.  I don't think I went to Whole Foods Market, Whole Foods Co-Op, or Trader Joes during that specific time so it might have been Wegman's or Tops.  I'm leaning more towards Wegman's as the possibility.  They were easy to do in the microwave and for a nuke-able meal it was tasty!  I recommend vegan mayo and ketchup on them!

One thing I know I found at Tops was THIS!  Mango Sorbet!  I thought I would try it but didn't really have a WOW pre-judgement, however, when I had my first taste...I was blown away!  This was one of the BEST naturally-tasting mango flavored treats I think I have ever had!  YUM!

Also at Tops - right around the same time - I found these gorgeous watermelon radishes!  I knew I had to buy them since we don't usually see them available for purchase in our area!  I really enjoyed them.  I share them with my mom, dad, and 2 ladies at work and all for of them thought they didn't have much taste.  They were a sweeter flavor and not a spicier flavor like regular radishes usually are and I think that threw everyone off.  I think most people go for your 'standard' fruit or veggie and then when you ask them to try something new they already have a pre-judgement that they aren't going to like it.

When I saw this at Aldi this summer I knew I had to buy it because my local Aldi isn't consistent with what they carry so when you see it you should buy it because you don't know if or when it will be back.  I still have yet to open this but it sits nicely in my freezer until then!

And finally, another find at Aldi!  The first go around with these - that everyone was talking about - I didn't have them at my local store - but - I was able to find them this summer and tried them.  They were pretty good!  Next time I would like to try and top them like they did on the box...with mushrooms and onions...and greens, oh my!

  

Smiles, Backlogging of Vegan Finds, & Community Happenings

I'm still trying to catch up on posts.  I really have to stop doing that.  Life gets in the way, sometimes.  This photo of my darling niece was taken a while ago but I thought it was too cute NOT to post.  That AND she's wearing one of her many unicorn shirts.  Yup!  I'm totally getting her into BOTH unicorns AND dinosaurs!

I've had this Rebel Kitchen Mylk before but recently found it at our local Tops Market and it was on sale and I had to grab it!  I found the chocolate one and the chai one there!

I want to say I grabbed this a while back when we visited the Whole Foods in Buffalo but I'm 2nd guessing myself.  I've never been a cereal person but this looked interesting.  Heck...I have never been much of a breakfast person but I'm REALLY trying to change that.  So far...I'm failing.  I still have this unopened.  Hopefully, SOON I will crack into it!

I finally got my hands on 2 of these plant-based burritos from Alpha Foods.  I know a lot of people absolutely LOVE these.  I thought they were 'ok' but I didn't find them mind-blowing.

And speaking of burritos...I was also able to locate one or two from Daiya recently.  These were also just 'ok'.  I found the texture of the burrito itself a little weird.  The taste wasn't bad...it just wasn't as awesome as I had hoped it would be.

This was another Whole Foods product I forgot to highlight on my blog when I got them several months ago.  They were tasty!  They had a nice medium strength spicy kick to them, too!

This was something I was really surprised about when I first saw them at my local Tops!  They are pricy but because I had never seen them before I HAD to try them!  They were really yummy!  I also had their little dessert cup thingies, too!  YUM!

My husband thinks it's weird that I eat waffles plain and like toast or pop tarts with my hands instead of a fork.  I hadn't had these in a LONG time and found them on sale a while back at the Lakewood Wegmans!

I was able to find these again at my local Aldi.  When they first came out I saw them but it's been a while in between.  I think they are pretty good.  They also have a root vegetable one, too!

Back in early March our local Zonta Club had it's Annual Lucky Numbers Luncheon which is a crazy day of fun and fundraising!  I was thrilled to see THIS vegan handbag as one of the prizes.  I'm not into fashion or accessories usually but I did throw my tickets in this one!  I didn't win but it was all in good fun and we did raise a lot of money that day.  There were over 120 LARGE prizes!

In other community news, I'm part of a group who is trying to wrangle up volunteers in our county.  We are organizing an annual weekend of volunteerism in the middle of May.  It's called Warren County Serves.  More on that in coming posts.  I think this photo was from our February meeting and since we live in the snow belt you can see we even wear hats inside sometimes because the heating systems couldn't keep up with the frigidly low temperatures.

During our Mid-March Zonta Meeting not only did we do another collection and shipment for Free The Girls we also took part in My National Freedom Day.  

Here are some of the photos from our shipping party!  We shipped another 400 bras to Free The Girls!  That is the 3rd shipment we have done since joining to be an official drop off location.  1,264 bras have been shipped in the 3 shipments so far!

How To Catch Up On The Last 3 (Or More) Months?

I guess the BEST way is to just jump in, eh?

Yeah!  It's been WAY TOO LONG since my last post!  There has been a LOT going on and I really hope to share as much as I can with you!  I thought the best way to do it is in screenshots of 6 and go from there!  So with this first set of 6 photo shown above you can see that I have been trying my green thumb at more plants.  My co-worker has really been getting me into it.  The problem is...I can't keep up with buy more and more dirt and potting soil for the ones we are obtaining!

I was able to get my hair done and I have to get it done again soon!  I'm so horrible about being consistent with that!  YIKES!

Cricket is still doing well.  Riley and Charlie are aging by the day!  I have really seen a rapid change in both of them this past year.  Charlie is 19 and Riley is 18.

I have been able to locate some great new and new-to-me vegan items over the last several months in our travels!  I also put in an order online at some point, too!  This Daiya wasn't available to me locally with the 4 cheese style but I was able to find it online!

SWIRLS!  These Vegan Swirls receive a HUGE two thumbs up from me!  I absolutely LOVED them!  I can't wait to find them again!  She's Swiss Cheese I bought online, too, and whereas it wasn't the best vegan cheese slices I have ever had I was able to get them at a low price so I was happy I was able to try them on the cheap!  The Foodies Frittata was ok, too!  Very filling!  Again...found that online over at Vegan Essentials.  Same with the French Bistro product.  I have to fess up and say I wasn't a fan of that product but was super excited to try and was stoked it was one of the 'overseas' vegan products I was able to get my hands on!  The Mustaches were cute and cheesy but really small and easy to eat in one sitting!

We did take a trip to Indiana a while back - more on that in the near future!  

I have been finding some great random vegan deals at our new local Ollie's, too!  Annie's was on sale not too long ago!  There was another Vegan Mac I grabbed from Vegan Essentials that was pretty good and from Germany (I think).  And some more office plants!

Here are some Amy's Vegan Cheese Pizza Snacks that I finally found and enjoyed! 

And the other 5 photos are from Letchworth State Park!  We finally visited it this past fall!  I can't believe I had never been there before now!  We hope to go back in the spring or summer, too!  I really liked the visit!

Our mall is being ripped apart and the guys working on the building were going to trash all of the plants so my co-worker and I grabbed a bunch and tried to save them and propagate them.  Some are working well and others aren't.  

More pics of Cricket and Riley!

In one of our Ohio trips I was able to visit Mustard Seed Market again and found more VioLife Vegan Cheeses which I really like!  And our local Tops has Enjoy Life Cookies!  YAY!

LOTS more on tap!  Just need to take it a little at a time!  Hope you haven't given up on me!

Things I Bought, Things I Didn't, Concert Going, & Other Current Events

This will be yet another LONG post!  I thought I would kick thing off with one of my recent grocery shopping hauls!  I stopped in at my local ALDI and just wanted to find something for my lunch during that specific work day and I walked out with a slew of stuff!  Ironically, when I was thumbing thru my YouTube Feed later that day - BOTH No Egg Craig AND The Vegan Zombie had posted ALDI Videos with the same items!

Check this out!  Not only do they have a new Vegan Ranch they have a Vegan Harissa Ranch!  I tried the Ranch last night and it was pretty tasty.

It was thinner than most Ranch Dressings and was a bit heavy on the vinegar so it was like a Ranch Vinegarette but I still liked it!

This next photo is the actual haul!  I grabbed 2 dressings (they also sell a Vegan Cesar but I didn't buy that one), Potstickers, and Vegan Cream Cheese.  The 'patties' I found at my local ALDI were the Lentil (which were AWESOME), Asian, Thai, and BBQ Chicken.  I also grabbed some Guac, Vegan Moz Shreds (which I tried before), Frozen Cauliflower Rice, and Bread/Thins.

I only spent $35 on all that!  Now on to some of the things I have found interesting this week but did NOT purchase...

First up is this Cucuzza Squash.  It's the first time I have seen this in my area!  I have been thinking about it ever since so I might have to go back to see if they still have some.  I found this at my local Tops.  I haven't cooked with it YET but have heard you can cook it like any other squash.

Yesterday I stopped into Family Dollar to get some Unsweetened Ice Tea and noticed Love Beaty and Planet Shampoo and Conditioner.  I read the back of the bottle and found they were vegan - among other things!

I was pretty shocked that they were priced at $7 each at Family Dollar but all-in-all was THRILLED to see them there.  I have never seen or bought this line before and might try it at some point - just not now.

$7 Shampoo and Conditioners at Family Dollar.  I'm not sure if I have ever seen that before.  If it were $2 or even $3 - I would have JUMPED ON IT!  I guess I'm just CHEAP.  I guess I should say...THRIFTY, eh!?

So...I haven't done my Concert Recap YET from Fair Week so I guess now is as good of a time as any, right?

I really slacked on photos this year, it seems, but here is one that I did get from the Colt Ford Concert and Meet & Greet.

From left...my Dad, me, Colt Ford, my Mom, Patsy (who is a director), and Missy (who is one of the fair photographers).

Colt Ford was our Tuesday show.  On Wednesday we had Ben and Noel Haggard with opener Allie Colleen.  Both acts have music in their blood and are the 2nd generation of performers!

This is a photo of Allie Colleen.  Her father is Garth Brooks.  Her performance was AMAZING!  She has a great voice.  She had a wonderful connection with the audience.  And she is so sweet!  I spoke with her a couple of times when she first arrived and again before and after she went on stage.

Funny thing...I'm short...not quite 5'2"...Allie Colleen is quite tall and has a strong handshake.  Even the guys were saying how firm her handshake was!  You GO Girl!

She was a peach!  VERY talented!  I wish her all the BEST!

Noel and Ben Haggard are 2 of the sons of Merle Haggard.  They also performed.  I didn't catch much of their concert because I was handling a few other issues backstage and with the vendors but what I did hear was well received by the packed house.

Those two acts were on the stage Wednesday...then on Saturday...were these guys!  They are a tribute band.  Can you guess which band they are a tribute band of?

If you guessed Fleetwood Mac - you are correct!  They were AMAZING!  They were my favorite act of the week!  They were 'on point'...isn't that what the kids say, these days!?  Regardless, I am now a fan of theirs and hope to see them again someday!  They put on a wonderful show!

Those were the acts we had at our fair during fair week.

THIS week, a friend of mine and I were lucky enough to get some tickets to the Alabama Concert at the Crawford County Fair.  Here is a photo of the two of us.

We both worked full work days that day and drove after hours to the concert and then drove back.  It was TOTALLY worth it!  One of their members no longer tours due to him having Parkinson's but the other two members were really great and their band was terrific, too!  Memorable show, indeed!

Special THANKS to those who reminded me of the upcoming Vegan MoFo!  I signed up with seconds to spare!  That might be a little dramatic but I was cutting it close to the sign-up deadline!

Please let me know if you will be participating in this year's Vegan MoFo!

I've done it for YEARS but the last 2 years it was a bit hit and miss with my posting for it.  Hopefully, this year will be different and I will be more active with it again!

Like I said...another long post...and I haven't even gotten to the Mall Photos...YIKES!

So...here's the scoop on our local mall...it was booming up until the mid 90s and it's been dieing and slow and painful death ever since.

Right now they are in the process of ripping it apart.  The plans have changed many times and to be honest I can't keep up with how the end of the project is supposed to look.  I will have to wait and see just like everyone else, I suppose.

I mentioned in a previous post that they were going to be scrapping all of the plants and trees.  Yup!  They were pulling them out and throwing them away!  A co-worker and I (with permission) tried to grab some of them to see if we could grow them from snippets.

In the photo above, I always did like the sky lights.  It was the sole reason this greenery survived as long as it did because no one has been taking care of them in YEARS!  Next to NO water has been applied either.  Just sunlight.

In this next photo, you can see many of the plants are dead but some are still trying to survive!  I hope our experiment works and we can save the ones we took!

In the background you can see The Bon Ton.  It's closing this week.  It's one of the very few clothing store in our small area.  It's a shame to see so many businesses go under here.  To the right you can see plastic and light...that goes to the outside.  They ripped off the front of the mall and are making it into a strip/plaza type thing.

In this photo, you can see what I am referring to even better.  All of that plastic tarp is 'outside'.  They used to be stores.  They are no longer.

Up front, you can see more plants.  There used to be fountains there, too, but they have been empty for YEARS.  All of that will be removed.  Since they have made the decision to remodel and rework this dead mall...we have seen a Dunham's Sports and Ollie's Bargain Outlet move in.  I've heard the next thing to open will be a Shoe Show but I haven't see the sign yet.  The only other stores remaining are a Label Shopper, Lee Nails, and a pizza place...all of which have had to move.