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!

  

Community Involvement & Family Time

Taking a look back at June 24th...our community did something special to celebrating the ratification of 100 years of Women's Right To Vote.

Our Courthouse bells rang 19 times at noon and many of us gathered for a rally and fellowship.  There were several speakers and those who dressed up and held signs.

My mom and dad were watching Trinity that day and the stopped over for the first part of it.  Trinity was a HIT.

She even made the front page of our paper the next day!  This is her and me holding signs.  It was a lovely day.  I'm part of the Suffrage Centennial Committee and there are LOTS of things planned thru the end of 2020 so you will be hearing a bunch more about these events soon!

Here is a photo of the Courthouse lawn with those who participated.  The brick building in the back is our local historical society.

Another thing that I haven't really blogged too much about is that when our company was sold DH and I spent two days in Erie to not only help with their 70th Anniversary for WICU but to get to know some of the people at the main office and such.  Here are a bunch of us passing out fans, coloring books, and sports bottles.

Another thing I was able to do in the middle of July was with our Zonta Membership.  Each year we do a "Summer Surprise" and we don't know where we are going or what we are doing until we leave for the evening.  This year - we didn't travel too far.  We had a private tour and history of our local, historical Struthers Library Theatre.  Many of us have been in the theatre fairly often but it was nice to have a behind the scenes look and really take our time.

And I mean...REALLY behind the scenes...this was backstage!  I just LOVE all of the old signs we saw.

Here is some of our membership enjoying the tour!

Earlier in the summer...my mom, dad, sister, Trinity and I went to Waldameer which is a theme park/adventure park in Erie.  It's been YEARS since I have been there but it was Trinity's first time so it was SO FUN!!!

On the way home that day she was super weird and starting sucking her toes like a thumb and I couldn't stop laughing.  Even funnier was the oh-so-serious look on her face while she was doing it!

Total Evolution really kept me fed this summer with all the running around!  WOWZA!  Here is their Avocado Toast - vegan style, of course!

And here is one of the build-your-own chia bowls.  I chose Peanut Butter, Granola, Raspberries, and it was great!  They use Soy Milk as a base.

Vegan Finds, Vegan RVing, Nature, Volunteering, & Playing Catch-Up

First I want to say THANK YOU for those who commented on my last post and sent words of encouragement.  I truly appreciate you all!  This post will be more on the positive side.  I have LOTS of vegan finds to share with you over the last several months.  As well as some of the volunteering, family, nature, and camping posts to share!  So...here...we...go!  The photo above is one of the new vegan butters I found.  Since I found this months ago it could very well be old news but I think it's still worth posting!  Country Crock jumped on the plant-based train and came out with this new 'butter' made from Avocado Oil.  I have to say I do like it.  I found this one at my local Tops Market.

These next TWO photos are vegan yogurts I found.  The flavors were good but they were a tad on the thin side.  I believe I found these at Wegman's.

Of course, I LOVE Lemon Meringue flavored things so I had to try this one at the very least!

Here are 4 of the dressings and such that got me thru this season of camping!  I have been trying to follow more and more vegan RV'ers and vegan campers to connect with, too!  I know I have posted the Daiya dressings before but I don't think I have featured the Field Organic Goddess Dressing or the Annie's Lemon & Chive but I enjoyed all 4 of them!

Here is a shot of my cabinet for the camping season.  Of course there were other trips to the grocery store in between but I thought it was worth a corner in this blog post.  I tried the new Daiya Bac'n & Cheddar and I wasn't that much of a fan but at least I can say I tried it once.  It was too salty for me.  I'm just now getting to the point were I am eating the soups because it cooled down for a few days.  Rice is always a good choice.  Trinity and I shared the organic applesauce.  There are some Nature's Bakery items in there and a few Coconut Silk Milk's in there, too!

On to the snacks!  My father went to a snack and candy show and brought back a bunch of munchies for me.  Over the last several years he has noticed more and more vegan options!  YAY!  This was one of the new flavors back in April from Vegan Rob's!  I have to say I LOVED them!  A nice kick!  Addicting!  YUM!

And speaking of addicting...THESE GUYS!  OMG!  I adore them!  The only negative?  I can't find them around here!  Maybe that is for the best...I would eat them TOO MUCH then if they were readily available.

While camping this year we found MANY birds nests!  And some of them were in the strangest places!  This one was behind our camping in between the fence and the water hook-up.  It was built AFTER we hooked-up.  I checked on it each time I went to the camper and the eggs were so small!  Too small to be Robins.  After researching it for a bit, I found out these were Chipping Sparrows.  3 out of the 4 eggs hatched and I was actually able to see them fly out of the next a couple of weeks after they hatched, too!

Another thing that happened in the spring was another Refugee Hike.  Once again I helped with the food - as did my mother!  These kids were AMAZING!  The youngest was about 14 and the oldest of was 24.  There were also a few chaperones, too.  Unfortunately, I missed the canoe trip they did in early August because of the volunteering I do at our fair.

Also in the spring, I was inducted as a new Zonta Board Member.  I'm pictured here in the black shirt with red scarf.  I really LOVE being a part of the Zonta Organization.  My only regret was that I didn't join sooner.  In addition to being on the board now I am the Service Committee Chair for a 2nd year in a row.  This year I am also on the Advocacy and Media/Communications Committee (as I was last year) and new-for-me this year is becoming a member of the Fellowship Committee, too!  I'm VERY excited about the new year!

You may remember that last year our club started collecting bras for Free The Girls.  We have continued to do so and have collected 2,001 bras so far.  I doubt we will be slowing down anytime soon!

These next TWO photos are from some of our Suffrage Centennial Committee Meetings.  We have been discussing and planning various events with several other organizations around our county to celebrate 100 years of Women's Right to Vote.

Many of the ladies have been purchasing and making banners, sashes, flags, and more!  It's really neat to see!  Tonight we actually have an actress coming to town to portray Susan B. Anthony.  I will try and take pictures and blog about it soon!

And, finally, here are some photos from Warren County Serves that took place in Mid-May.  It's a group that formed a year or so ago and they lost many of their members even before the first annual event.  I've always wanted to do something like this to encourage and promote volunteerism in our area so I ended up joining the group!  We had projects that included beautification at our local Humane Society as well as tagging and sorting at the thrift shop they have on the other side of town.  There were several parks that also did beautification projects during that weekend.  There is a community house for those with mental and physical disabilities that a group helped scrape, paint, and stain steps, too!  We also have an organization in our county that houses and pairs service dogs and emotional support dogs to those who have PTSD and other emotional difficulties and that group helped clean-up their parking lot, outside of the building, and such.  Another place that had volunteers was our fairgrounds.  We did a LOT of painting, and I mean a LOT.  And others helped with cleaning some of the buildings and landscaping.  There were other projects, too, these are just a few.

I'm already pondering my post for tomorrow.  I still have a lot of catching up to do.  Let me know if you think these posts are too long or if you prefer them.

Life, Loss, and Lengthy Posts

April.  Has it really been since April when I last post?  A lot has been happening.  I needed a blogging break.  Among other breaks.  Blogging was one thing I could actually break from - whereas - the rest I wasn't able to.

It's been a hard several months.  In April, I lost my mother-in-law to Small Cell Lung Cancer.  It was an awful 3 year battle or so.  After the first year, they did preventative so it wouldn't spread to her brain.  Because of that preventative treatment it fast-forwarded Alzheimer-like symptoms.  Cancer Sucks.  I've said it before and I will say it again.

In May, we also lost Charlie.  He was about 19 years old and for those of you who I've known for a while - knew he was feral since the time he was a baby and was a rescue.  He battled strange issues throughout the years and we had always dealt with them.  The last couple of years he was deaf, too.  In the past year, we had watched him get smaller and smaller and he got to the point where many things he once loved were difficult for him.  Things just started shutting down and the vet assumed there was cancer somewhere but didn't want to put him thru all the tests and anxiety.  For the first time since I was 3 years old I'm without a cat in the house.  It's strange.  Our fur family is the smallest it's been in a long time.  Riley and Cricket are still around but we have been having problems with Riley and his natural aging process, too.  He's about 18 or 19 years old now, too!

In June, we found out the company we work for had been sold.  We've been dealing with the change ever since.  It's mostly been good with more changes on the way but it's been a non-stop world-wind of things happening one after another.

Also in June, my mother found out that the sore on her face near her eye was skin cancer.  From what we can gather, everything should be ok, but we had to wait over 3 months for her to be seen again.

With everything going on, I have been unsuccessfully trying to deal with my own stress.  My chronic pain issues seem to come and go like they have in the past BUT now I am dealing with a few other issues I haven't dealt with before.  One being a scalp issue.  I have been trying to treat it with coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, etc.  Just when I think I am making some progress it comes back with a vengeance.  I'm pretty sure it's some kind of psoriasis or eczema of some sort.

I try and keep this blog positive and happy and try and learn things and archive them but it's been so hard with this post not seeming to do any of those things.  I have been doing a TON of volunteer work and between that and seeing my niece when I can those seem to be the only two things keeping me somewhat sane.

I chopped off all my hair.  It's time for me to do it again.  I've gained weight again and need to shed about 20 pounds.  I think I would feel better if I did.  Winter is coming and that is when I struggle even more with not being as active and on-the-go.

I have a lot of things to blog about but am afraid I just don't have the time.  Because of Riley aging and reverting back to his separation anxiety years I'm not able to sleep in bed anymore.  I have to sleep down in the recliner so he won't bark.  Sleep has been few and far between because of it.  I know it's taking a toll.

I'm trying to start my days earlier so I will have some time for myself but then I just start jumping into work and not doing the non-work things I need to be doing.

I need to re-work my time.  I need to start listening to podcasts.  I need to shake the negative and focus on the positive.  I need to spend less time with the people and things that make me feel bad and start realizing I'm not that bad of a person.  That's been hard for me my entire life.  Certainly something I need to work on.

I have a lot of photos over the last several months I need to post and blog about here.  Many of them have to do with volunteering and new vegan finds but I'm also trying to take more photos of my surroundings and BREATHE.  I won't share those in this post but I hope to in near-future posts.  I just wanted to update you on where I have been and why I haven't been posting.  I need to start posting again...I think it will help me in the long run.  Thanks for NOT giving up on me.

More Vegan Eats & Women Are Wonderful Event

Have YOU seen these YET?  Clif came out with new (loose) Granola!  I was able to find this Cinnamon Almond flavor and I must say it was GREAT!  Actually, it was a gift from my parents!  They are VERY thoughtful!  When I eat Granola I eat it loose and dry and usually as a snack!  Because I ate many handfuls of this it was more like a meal!

Eventho this photo isn't the best I wanted to post it because it was a meal I had recently.  It was one of the Tasty Bites Microwavable Pouches...the Spinach Dal...actually, and a side of Garlic Parsley Riced Cauliflower.  I ended up mixing it together.  It was YUMMY!

My 40th birthday is in about a month.  I wanted to do 40 Good Deeds leading up to my Birthdate but I haven't been consistent with doing one each day.  One of the things I'm doing is donating tea to our local Cancer Center for those waiting for treatment (and their families).

Another thing I have done recently is volunteer at our local Women Are Wonderful Event that took place this past weekend.  It was a FUN day.  There were about 100-110 participants about roughly 30-50 volunteers.

Participants could take up to 5 classes/sessions of various topics and there was a breakfast bar and lunch served.  This photo is one of the last classes of the day and it was a card making class.  As a part of the Zonta Club efforts, we had many volunteers there.  We also chose the winners of our Basket Raffle Fund Raiser which the money raised goes to our Service Projects.  That day we also took a collection for our "Free The Girls" Project.  The participants donated 66 bras and $56 to help with shipping our next batch of bras to "Free The Girls".

The other night I was roaming around the house - doing a few things - and I caught Cricket on the recliner like this.  Apparently, she didn't want to sit ON the recliner's seat but wanted to wedge herself in the elbow part of the armrest.

I almost forgot to post this photo.  Still not a great photo but it was a good meal.  I made some more Baked Tofu Nuggets.  This time I threw a bunch of spices in with Bob's Red Mill's All Purpose Flour and some Arrowroot.  I probably left them in a bit longer than needed but the texture was nice.  Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside!