What's In My Kitchen For December

Thanks to a few of my blogging buddies for reminding me to hurry up and post my 'What's In My Kitchen' for December!  I'm going to TRY not to repeat too much here, but, this first one I MUST!  The first item on my Top Ten for this month is Grapeseed Oil.  I recently stocked up on the Natural, Garlic, and Basil Pesto Grapeseed Oils from Wildtree as we will no longer be reps but I still LOVE the product!

#2 on my list for this month is Organic Liquid Smoke which also happens to be raw vegan!  I have had this in my pantry for a while and I seem to go in spurts when I use it but for the past month, I have been tossing a dribble or two in many of my dips!  A little bit goes a long way!  This is my FAVORITE brand!

I've blogged about this before.  This is my #3 for this month.  It's Sesame King's Tahini but more specifically their Garlic flavor. 

As many of you know I'm garlic obsessed and will try just about anything that is vegan that also has garlic in it! 

Not shocking that 2 out of my top 3 contain garlic, eh!? 

This is also my secret weapon when it comes to my most recent vegan cheese sauce!

#4 is Dill.  I have been adding a dash of dill in almost everything for the past month or so.  I LOVE the aroma of dill and the taste.

#5 is Chickpeas.  This really isn't a surprise, I realize that but when I don't know what else to eat I bust out a can of chickpeas and throw something together - real quick and easy!

Plus I thought this graphic was a wonderful comparison!  Less Fat, More Fiber, ZERO Cholesterol, Less Sodium, WAY MORE Potassium and Calcium, and More Iron than chicken!  Knowledge is POWER!

#6 is Justo Mayo.  I realize this is a convenience item but it's pretty darn good.  The price is right.  And it seems to be more and more available in my area than any other vegan mayo.  That and if you have followed their battles in the last couple of years I have had a soft spot in my heart for their company and how hard they fought their competitors to stay afloat and get where they are today!  They have been able to educate a lot of people along the way about plant-based foods not having to be more expensive, too!

#7 on my list is Amy's Kitchen VEGAN Soups.  I have to admit that I'm not sure if all 6 pictured are vegan because I have never come across a few of them but I LOVE they have as many vegan options as they do!  And those few days I was sick and didn't feel like making anything or even moving - I was grateful I could find them locally.

#8 on this months list is Potatoes!  Plain and Simple.  Potatoes!  Hillary got me on the bandwagon, finally!  Thanks, girl!

#9 is Bragg's Liquid Aminos and/or Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos!  Since I'm not much of a sea person I like to add these two items to my sauces, dips, vegan cheeses, etc to give it a little more savory flavor while still incorporating more aminos into my foods! 

#10 has to be these Bare Coconut Chips.  They have moved out of my kitchen and into my office.  I like to snack on them while at work!  Yum!

Scroll down for a 2nd post today and swing by the Kitchen Link-Up, too!


 

What's In My Kitchen ~ Current Top 10 ~ 2 X 2

For once I really wasn't sure what to blog about because I haven't been buying much even in the way of groceries and what I have been buying is pretty standard.  I haven't done a What's In My Kitchen in a long time so I thought I would do one today.  This time around I thought I would do my Current Top 10 in 2X2 format.  So...2 in each category!

SPICES - Turmeric & Smoked Paprika

I try and add Turmeric in as much as I can and it's tremendously easy to include in sauces, dips, and spreads!  Same with Smoked Paprika!  I just use a pinch in just about everything and it really kicks it up a notch!

Everyday Fruits/Veggies - Tomatoes & Mini Peppers

I eat some form of tomatoes nearly every day!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! I REALLY enjoy sweet red bell and mini peppers, too!  Especially Red, Orange, and Yellow!  I eat a LOT of these and they usually have a top spot on my What's In My Kitchen List!

Nuts/Seeds - Sunflowers & Cashews

Cashews are almost always on my list whether it's actually IN my kitchen or on my grocery or wishlist.  However, I have had to start replacing them with Sunflowers lately because of prices and availability.  I adore both of them but haven't found them as interchangeable as some other bloggers...YET. 

Tools - Tupperware Holiday Cups & BlendTec Wild Side

Many of you may know that I have a VitaMix that I use often but a few years ago I bought a BlendTec Wild Side Jar that attached on my Vitamix base.  I still use my Vitamix but will also use this BlendTec Jar other times.  Just like anything I think there are Pro's and Con's to each.  The most important PRO for me for the BlendTec Wild Side Jar is that it's more user-friendly in getting the contents out (better than the Vitamix Jar).

One purchase I haven't talked about yet was Tupperware.  A friend of mine had a book party and I grabbed the Holiday cups similar to the one of the top of this photo.  They are small and cute.

Condiments: Lemon Juice & Dijon Mustard

I have found that I am using more and more Dijon Mustard in my sauces, dips, spreads as of late to enhance the flavors.  Lemon Juice is almost ALWAYS in my frig, too!

Convenience Items: Aldi Guacamole & Vegan Veggie Burgers

Avocadoes are ALWAYS expensive where I live.  The cheapest place to buy them here is my local Aldi but the last 6 months or more even Aldi's has made it so I can't or won't purchase them.  As of this weekend, they were priced at $1.69 each....the highest I have seen them at Aldi.  So instead, I opted for one of their prepared Guac's which was priced at $2.99 but you get 2 packets which would last me longer than 1 Avocado!  The other convenience item is their Vegan Veggie Burgers which I blogged about last week.  I added them to Taco's this weekend!  YUM!

Must-Have's For Munchies: Carrots & Celery

I have been trying to shy away from massive amounts of corn chips and have been opting for Carrots and Celery Sticks instead.  So far - so good!

Oils: Grapeseed & Pumpkin Seed

As many of you know, I sell Wildtree Products.  But not for long because we will end that journey the end of this year.  I have and will probably continue to use Grapeseed Oil as my main oil of choice when I do use oil, however, I found some Pumpkin Seed Oil a few months ago at a really good price and I'm almost done with that bottle.  I will be on the lookout for new good deals on oils, soon!

Superfoods/Additions: Sprouts & Chlorella

As you can see from my recent blog posts I have been getting into sprouting again and have been trying to include Chlorella into my daily intake more and more.

Superfood Contents: Genuine Health Gut Superfood Summer Berry Pomegranate & Hemp Seeds

Here's a new product I need to tell you about and upon opening the tub it smells AMAZING! It's Genuine Health Gut Superfood Summer Berry Pomegranate! @genuinehealth #GHsuperfoods - Genuine Health sent me samples to work with and I'm in the process of working on ways to include this product in some recipes. In the meantime, I'm simply mixing it into water and BAM! There you go! I'm always excited to try a new product that helps with gut health and is VEGAN!

WHAT'S IN YOUR KITCHEN Link-Up!