Vegan MoFo ~ Fave Herbs & Spices

Just a quick post today but still sticking with the Vegan MoFo prompts...today's being...my favorite herbs and spices!  This one is probably going to be non-climatic because I pretty much like them all for different reasons.  So I guess I will point out a few individual ones to keep this months posts consistent!

Basil

I LOVE the way it looks, smells, tastes, and grows!

We've had a LOT of luck with Basil - both indoors, outdoors, in a rooftop garden, and on a window sill garden!

Turmeric 

One of the healthiest things you can consume - some say!  And my favorite Turmeric to buy by far is from The Raw Food World!  Turmeric is one of the most powerful therapeutic herbs on the planet – it is highly regarded in the ancient Ayurvedic healing tradition of India and one of the most popular spices in the world. Turmeric is used in traditional Indian medicine as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral*. This Raw Wildcrafted Turmeric extract is made of pure turmeric root harvested by local farmers in the wetlands of India, low temperature dehydrated and cold water extracted to a standard of 95% Curcuminoids.

Dill

Helps Digestion.  A teaspoon a day can reduce 80 percent of bloating in only three days.  Its antibacterial oils not only kill any possible stomach bugs but also help in the breakdown of carbohydrates and proteins.  Plus I love the smell and taste!

Cayenne

It has thermogentic properties that increase your blood flow and metabolism. Individuals who only use cayenne infrequently also find it reduces hunger.  I just like to give my foods a KICK every once and a while and Cayenne certainly makes that easy!  I think the BEST quality Cayenne can be found online...HERE.

Curry

And you can't go wrong with Curry!  I mean...want can't you do with curry!  Check out some of the curry flavored products you can easily find online!  And of course with fall and winter near Curry is the perfect addition to many dishes!

Mason Jar Make Over - Part 2 - a Look at My Pantry!

Last year (or more) I posted a lengthy post about me totally re-doing my cabinets and cupboards with 90% Mason Jars...well...it's still that way but even more so.  So much so that I think I finally need to get some more Mason Jars!  This past weekend I took quite a bit of time to reorganize them and make them more tidy.  I'm not the most organized person BUT I have TRIED my best when it comes to my Pantry this past year.  This first photo is taking a look at my Spice Cupboard.  It goes about 4 to 5 rows deep and takes up a whole side.  I have a small spice spinner underneath this cupboard as well.  I usually buy in bulk and reuse old containers.  So when you see some of those old McCormick containers and off-brands most likely I have reused those time and time again.  Some of the clear glass containers that you see (with Cumin in it and Ginger Powder, for example) are from the same place I get my bulk spices from.  The local store I buy bulk from gets most of their items from Frontier Co-Op.

Here's another cupboard that I worked on over the weekend.  On the top row you can see some Spaghetti O looking dry pasta noodles, next is my vegan bread crumbs, Barley, then some Farro, and some Quinoa, and then Black Bean Noodles.  On the middle shelf are a lot of my sprouting seeds.  On the bottom one you can see most of my Wildtree Collection, some more sprouting items, some dry soup mixes, and Potato Flakes.

As you can see most everything is in Mason Jars.  When I was getting low I ended up using some old hard plastic ones I had not used in a while like when you see the one marked Quinoa, for example.

Here is a look at the section I have for some of my alternative flours and sweeteners.  These go about 3 deep so you can't really see everything but when you are standing in front of it it's easy to look at everything there.  What you can see on the top row is Bob's Red Mill's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, Garden of Life Flax Seed with Fruit & Anti-Oxidants, more Flax Seeds, Arrowroot, a Granola from Bob's Red Mills, and what you can't see in the back are various alternative flours such as Soy, Garbanzo Bean, Spelt, etc.  On the bottom row you can see some of my alternative sweeteners - mostly from Wholesome Sweeteners.  Coconut Palm Sugar, Raw Cane Sugar, Sucanat, etc.  Behind that I have others such as Coconut Crystals from Coconut Secret and a few other things.

For this self you will see some of my husband's items that are not vegetarian/vegan but most of it is.  On the top row he has his sugar - regular/standard sugar, there are some raw honey's, Liquid Smoke, Steel Cut Oats, and overstock of flours.  On the middle row you can see Coconut Flour, my NuNaturals Stevia Collection, Bragg's including Nutritional Yeast and Liquid Aminos, followed by Chia Seeds, and Wholesome Sweeteners ZERO.  On the bottom shelf you can see our canned goods.  Most of which are from Aldi.  Yes...you can eye some Tuna which is NOT mine (I don't eat it) that's my husband's!  There are some canned beans and veggies but recently I found some fruit toppings and fillers from a discount store that happen to be vegan so I bought them and might play with those soon!

And FINALLY...the last section...mostly on the top shelf you can see our Coffee and Tea Cups along with some pills for hubby and the pets.  But...underneath that you will see some Pink Sea Salt which will last me a LIFE TIME as I hardly ever use salt but it was on sale a long time again and I bought it.  Next and in the back are various rices...standard, white rice, brown rice, long rice, multi-grain, black rice, purple rice, forbidden rice, Jasmine Rice...you name it!  You may even spot some Millet, Couscous, Polenta, Red lentils, Amaranth, grits, etc.

So that's a look at my updated pantry, cupboards, and cabinets!  I was going to include my Bento Box for today along with a recipe or two but I will put that in a separate post!  Questions of the Day...what do you see that are your favorites?  What haven't you tried!?  I'd love to hear!

Vegan MoFo ~ Vegan Persillesauce (Parsley Sauce) ~ Denmark ~ This One's For You!

A special HELLO to my readers in Denmark today!  I saw a few of you lurking yesterday and I appreciate it!  So this veganized attempt is for you guys!

Parsley Sauce or Persillesauce is something I recently saw online that many people of Denmark use for MANY things.  I wanted to try it but minus the dairy!  Here you will see that I added it to Zucchini, Onion, Corn, Peas, and Carrots as a side dish. 

Here is what this sauce has in it...


1 T Earth Balance
2 T Soy Flour
Pinch Pink Himalayan Sea Salt & Black Peppercorns freshly ground
1 C Soy Milk

Just for kicks - I did half the batch of this as-is and tried the other half with a BRAND NEW Wildtree Product.  The Everything Spice Blend.  I'm just starting to use it but I already like it! 

I just sprinkled a little bit on and mixed it in!

Inspired by the ubiquitous “everything” bagel, this blend can now be applied to, well, everything! Use as a coating for fish, flavor pretzels, or mix it into butter to make a unique everything spice garlic bread!

It has Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds, Onion, Caraway Seeds, Garlic, and Salt in it and it's ORGANIC!

CONTEST Continues, My Take on Christine's Avocado Ranch Dressing, and SPICES!

Don't forget to enter for your chance to WIN FREE CHOCOLATE from Fearless Chocolate thru Monday!

You see this lovely green goodness over here!  Well, it was inspired by Christine over at The Raw Project!  It's Avocado Ranch Dressing and I did my take on it.  You know how I have a hard time sticking to instructions - teehee - but then again - I did use some Wildtree products, too!  Here is what I did:

1 Avocado
2 T Lemon Juice
1/2 tea Wildtree Garlic Galore
1/2 tea Wildtree Onion & Chive Blend
2 T Foods Alive Nutritional Yeast
1/2 C Water

This turned out AWESOME and I want to thank Christine for the idea!  I can't wait to jump into it later today!

In other news...

I am trying to continue with kitchen cabinet organization!  TRYING being the key word!  Here you can see some of the ones I have in small jam/jelly mason jars.  LOVE them!  Wish I had 200 more!  BUT...I don't...so...I ended up working with what I have...

What I have is a lot of these glass shakers that I got at my local herb store.  I also buy in bulk there.  As much or as little as I want or need!  It's handy!

You will see some old McCormick containers, too, those I re-used and have Frontier Co-Op Bulk contents in them!

Here is another photo of another nook on the shelf that I did last night for quasi-organization. YES...I have a LOT of spices!  I actually 'chucked' at least 20 of them - off brands, really old store bought ones, etc.

I needed to do this - not only because I was having a hard time finding all of them but because I needed to reserve a space for some more things I am getting into - including SuperFoods, Raw Blends, Greens, and Vegan Protein Powders! I'm really excited to start adding some of these to my smoothies and I figured if I had a nice newly organized space I would be more apt to do that!  Fingers Crossed!

A product I would like to share with you today is Bites Of Bliss Pineapple Coconut with Chia Seeds!  You may remember my last post about my first experience with their lovely products!

My first 3 words when I bit into this were...

WOW!  Potent Pineapple!

Yes!  It was!  And I loved every bite of it!  I've always been a fan of Pineapple as well as Coconut!  I must have gotten the LOVE gene from my father as he's a fan of both of those ingredients, too!

If you have a sweet tooth - TRY THIS PRODUCT!  This flavor is INTENSELY flavorful, wonderfully sweet, extremely healthy, jam-packed with FRESH goodness and nutrition!  I absolutely LOVE it!  It is extremely sweet! Dare I say ALMOST a sweet overload?  Nah!!!!  I wouldn't change a thing about this flavor!  It's wonderful!

The Dates and Pineapple hold it together - perfectly!  The Walnuts and Coconuts add to the snap, crackle, pop, and crunch of it all!  The Chia Seeds ALWAYS pack a powerful punch of health into anything but this certainly gives you the bang for your buck!

I also have a heads-up from this GREAT company that their Bites of Bliss will be listed at an "At Cost Special" over at Raw Food World in April!  Keep an eye out!  Matt & Angela have some really awesome stuff over at their site!  Take a look!

And another bit of information I found out about these Bites of Bliss since my last review is that they are Ashley Koff Approved!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  I have LOTS on tap and remember to scroll down for the giveaway!