FAUXGURT Battle

You know I recently discovered non-dairy yoghurt, and I am in love! I missed eating yoghurt for a long time because it reminds me of my childhood, but I would always experience weird mood swings after consuming it (usually crying episodes) so I stayed away. Well, childhood delight and no more tears with FAUXGURT (FAUXGHURT if you believe in the British monarchy)! I think/hope I invented that word. (Side note: I recently heard a nice new word for non-dairy ice cream: NICE CREAM!! YEAAAH!)

So by now I've tried the following, and here are my brief thoughts about each:

Blueberry Forager Cashewgurt - Sweet and delish with a really nice almost gummy bear texture

Strawberry Forager Cashewgurt - Same as above.  I'll add that I like how the label is paper and you can remove and recycle the plastic and paper separately.

Unsweetened Plain Forager Cashewgurt - a little bland, but great if you are adding to sweetened granola or something to make a parfait because the texture is there, and it lets the granola add the flavor (I ate it with cranberry granola.  Delish!!

Strawberry Kite Hill Almond Milk Yogurt -  I could tell this is almond based, which was distracting for me. My husband did not mind at all (he enjoys almond based NICE cream too, so

Blueberry Kite Hill Almond Milk Yogurt - same as above, I just couldn't get into it.

Blueberry So Delicious Yogurt Alternative (coconut based) Delish, also has a nice smooth texture like the cashewgurts.  I don't love the shape of the cup though, as I feel like miniscule drops of delicious fauxgurt get trapped in the bottom and I want to squeege that cup clean with my spoon!

Cocoyo Coconut Yogurt - this is the most "sour" of the bunch, like plain dairy yoghurt, which I also love.  The jar I had was a little fizzy and tasted a little tingly like kombucha, so I wasn't surprised that it's made by the same folks that make kombucha.  I assume this is all the live probiotics that is making this so good for you.  This is very rich and creamy, definitely couldn't finish a whole jar in a single sitting which made the resealable jar nice.  I also like that the jar is glass and it makes a great container to wash out and reuse in the kitchen for green juice, spices or whatever you have around afterward.

So my pick out of all these is... Blueberry Cashewgurt!  2nd up, Cocoyo, third is So Delicous.  Kite Hill I can pass on, but by all means if you love almonds that is the one for you.  Go forth and enjoy!!!

Easy Recipe: Vikka Masala

(No picture because I ate it all already. It was delicious!)

So I love Indian food.  And lucky for me, a lot of it is vegetarian, and if you can avoid the dairy, it is also easy to get it vegan as well! You should know by now that I barely ever cook.  Ever. So when I manage to make something I like to parade it around like it's a huge revelation.  I'm really proud of this one! And this was SO EASY! It's made mostly of things that people have around.

A note: I don't put quantities or times on anything, because once a friend's Taiwanese grandmother tried to teach us how to make dumplings and the whole time she was like "if you like X, add more X, mix this and that till it looks right, cook it till it's done" etc etc.

Ingredients:

• An onion. The more you like onion, use a bigger the onion
• Garlic.  The more you like garlic, use more garlic (duh!)
• Rice.  In my case, it's leftover rice from the last time I ordered delivery. Those restaurants are always delivering too much rice! You can make fresh rice if you're up for it. 
• Marinara Sauce. A simple one is good, mostly tomato, olive oil, garlic and salt. I had half a jar leftover from when I made spaghetti the other day (also a major event!). 
• A ton of spices.  I added curry powder and lemon pepper from Trader Joe's, coriander (I don't even know what this really tastes like, it was just in the cabinet), and some chili pepper. Basically add in whatever you've got, the more the merrier. Depending on what's in there, this will end up somewhere on the Tikka Masala/Tomato Risotto spectrum.  
• Olive oil.

Chop up the onion and garlic. Sautee the onion in olive oil on medium heat until it gets browned. Add in the garlic, stir that around too. Mmmm, enjoy the smell. Dump a ton of spices on top of the onion and garlic, and stir that round too, adding a little more olive oil if you feel like it.  Dump the rice in, stir that around.  Dump in some pasta sauce. Stir that all around, add a little water if it's too thick. Add more spices.  Eat it straight out of the pot with your spatula, but be sure to put a trivet on the table first.

You're welcome!

Sharing is Caring!

A generous friend in my improv class shared raw vegan white cheddar flavor kale chips with all of us, nom nom nom! Soooo delish (also addictive)! Thanks Rob!


PLUS, he also shared a tip: The restaurant he works at, Blockheads Burritos, has a vegan burrito!  I LOVE Mexican food! I just checked their website and they do it with Tofu ``Sour Cream`` and Vegan Cheese.   They have locations all over the city, and it's now on my list of things to check out! I will get one and report back here.  

Saturday June 28 is Vegan Pizza Day

So says Facebook and PETA.  And as much as I realize this is a made-up holiday (aren't they all?), it reminded me of the frozen vegan pizza binge I went on a few weeks (months?) ago.

I bought every frozen vegan pizza in the store to do a taste comparison! I meant to post a detailed illustrated comparison of each one (I think I bought 5 different ones, I don't remember all of them and I don't know where the photos went), but I overcooked several of them (our oven has a replacement knob and the temperature numbers on the knob don't reflect the actual temperature, so I had to keep tweaking it up and down) and regardless I ended up just gobbling them all down and then lounging around, as pizza eating often induces.  Here are my hazy, time delayed notes:

The first thing I realized was that just because a pizza is using non-dairy cheese, it DOESN'T mean it is vegan!  Some of those frozen pizzas were implied they were vegan, even though they were not.  Amy's Soy Cheese pizza "Contains wheat, soy and milk protein" so be aware!  Amy's Vegan Margherita Pizza is vegan though, and I recall it being pretty good.

Another one was Daiya's Cheeze Lover's Pizza, and that was pretty good too (sorry it's so vague, it was a while ago).  I think I had two different varieties of Daiya frozen pizza.  Daiya seems to be the gold standard of vegan cheese, and I hear people gush about it all the time but my mother-in-law (who doesn't do dairy) prefers some other kind, I'll have to ask her to remind me what it is.

The Tofurky ones were OK, it's been too long for me to remember specifics, sorry. Honestly, I don't even know why I'm writing this post because I don't eat dairy frozen pizza normally.  BUT I DO EAT HOT FRESH LOCAL PIZZERIA PIZZA! Which brings me to....

My top pick: Go to Two Boots (so many locations now! Even outside of NY!) and get a V for Vegan pizza, which is "Daiya non-dairy cheese with artichokes, shiitake mushrooms, red onions and criss-cross of basil and red pepper pestos."  There's a Two Boots in my neighborhood and when I want a pizza fix, that is my go-to place! If you prefer delivery, they don't list it on their website, but the V for Vegan pizza shows up when you order via Seamless. That's one of the reasons why New Yorkers live in New York, right? So we can make a few clicks online and a hot vegan pizza shows up at our door.

PS since we're on the topic of pizza which naturally leads to cheese, I found a BuzzFeed called 14 Vegan Cheeses That Will Make You Forget About The Real Thing. It's mostly recipes so don't hold your breath waiting for me to make one and tell you how it is, but if you want one leave me a comment and tell me about it!

Back to the Start

I'm still alive!  I wasn't sure I would be at one point though, I was really sick (likely the flu, although I never tested positive for it).  Anyway, I was a hot hot mess, and I'm just now finally getting back to my full potential.  It's been hard with the cold, I think just being exposed to the elements really drains a lot of my energy.

So anyway, I just started another meditation course, so it means I'm back to the East Village once a week, which is chock full of great places for wannabegans to eat!

Last night was our first night of level 2 meditation class, and we went to the same place where we went on the first night of level 1 mediation class, ANGELIKA KITCHEN!  I have such affection for this place, because back when I was a wee young wannabegan (... let's just say over a DECADE AGO), I worked in the takeout/juice bar section of the restauruant (apologies to all the people that I messed up their orders).  I loved it though!  Actually, the reason why I applied for a job there was because I loved the food so much, but as a scrappy young thing I didn't have enough $$ to eat there as often as I wanted to.  When I worked there, I got a meal every shift!  I was SO HEALTHY and energetic and fit back then (partially due to youth), random people would comment that my skin looked amazing (true!) and overall I was probably the closest to ideal health I've ever been.

OK, enough reminiscing.  Last night was COLD, and I wanted nothing more to warm up with a hot meal!  To start off the meal, we ordered the CURRIED CASHEW SPREAD (all raw) and KOMBU VEGETABLE BOUILLON. I love that boulion - definitely warming. For entrees, my husband and I both ordered the DASHI AND NOODLES.  We almost never order the same thing because we like to sample as many things as possible from the menu then share, but we both wanted the exact same thing and it's so good, we did it even though it didn't make sense to. Also super warming, and we both love that dish so much!  We had finished our meal but we had a teeny bit of time to kill before our class started so we went ahead and also ordered my favorite, favorite tea which is nearly impossible to find in stores: MU 16 TEA!!  My husband has a sweet tooth so for a dessert we got a MAPLE TOFU WHIP, which is kind of like whipped cream or vanilla pudding, which Hubby loved.  I was pretty full, or else I would have gotten the Kanten Parfait, which is layered cookie bits, nut cream, and kind of a fruit pie filling.  For some reason I love the parfaits, and I generally love Angelika Kitchen, but I have to agree with my husband that their one weak spot is their cookies.  On their own, they just taste like what I imagine cookies taste like during war time or the great depression.  Mixed up in the parfait, they are great!

So anyway, it was another great meal at a place full of nostalgia for me.  I definitely recommend coming here if you want something hearty, warming, and comforting in the middle of winter.  (They also have juice and lighter fare, but we can talk about that once the trees have leaves on them again.) Also I love being able to order ANYTHING off the menu and not think about if it is vegan or not.

(Follow me on Foursquare if you want to know what and where I'm eating wannabegan!)

Not Beef

This morning I had a slow morning and I had some tea, but really I wanted something savory and warming too. Soup is one of my favorite foods and I usually keep some bouillon or something in the fridge for when I want a hot cup of broth (is that weird?). I bought this on a whim a long time ago, so I expected a rock-hard cube of salt, but what came out instead was such a pleasant surprise!  

So I took one of the cubes and broke it into a few pieces before pouring boiled water over it (I used a pint glass with a thermal sleeve, so 16 oz) which I think is the recommended ratio. The cube dissolved surprisingly fast, and the the best part was ...(is this weird?) it created a thin oil layer on top of the broth, which I love!  It just makes they soup so much heartier, it feels like real soup not just salty brown water.  It tasted like Pho broth to me, with a rich and complex flavor (that could have just been the photo on the box suggesting the idea to my brain.)  I was thinking, this broth plus plain rice noodles, DINNER=DONE.  Seriously, the broth is so delicious it really doesn't need anything else. What if I had broth for breakfast every morning??  

Anyway, having my Not-Beef broth reminded me of this video about dairy cows and how happy they looked to be set free in a pasture.  Have a cup of Not-Beef instead of normal beef broth and imagine that you made this happen!

A New Smoothie, So Delish!

I haven't been drinking that morning smoothie lately (I ran out of hemp protein powder and still need to go grocery shopping) but I DID make another smoothie that was pretty great, it was even easier to make and delicious! I made it for a coworker too and he really liked it! It's just banana, spinach, and almond milk.

I didn't invent this smoothie though, I totally got the recipe from my friend's favorite yoga teacher, Tara Stiles.  She has a whole blog of stuff she eats (Tara Eats) and I'm pretty sure most of the stuff is vegan or at least... Wannabegan!  I'm hoping one day I'll actually make it to one of Tara's classes, if I do I'll write about it here!

I'm on Foursquare, Eating Vegan Ice Cream!

I'm telling you because I'm going to start checking in at all my fave places and leaving tips about the all the vegan friendly things to enjoy!  For example, last night we (my husband and I) were walking home from meditation class (when I was meditating, thoughts kept creeping in about how I need to update this blog!) and I had always looked in the window across the street at Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream and thought how warm and cozy it looks in there, and on the window there was a big poster for vegan ice cream!  It was below freezing outside, but for some perverse reason that makes me really want ice cream (and hot tea).  My husband is super easy to convince we should eat anything sweet, so we went in even though I don't like to eat too late at night.  Look at all these flavors!!!!

The cashier said that their vegan ice cream is cashew-nut based, along with some other nut-milks.  Amazing!  The texture and the flavor were both fantastic.  I consider non-dairy ice cream a completely solved problem- My husband is lactose intolerant, but looooves ice cream (I don't mind the his farts, but I think it makes him uncomfortable) so vegan ice cream it is!  Between this and the coconut sorbet, I feel totally fine never eating dairy ice cream again.

So if you're on foursquare, look for me, my screen name is....  Wannabegan!

I Scream for Coconut Sorbet!

I KNOW it's winter! But....

1) My husband said that he has a weird perversion where cold weather makes him want to eat ice cream.
2) My husband is lactose intolerant.  He doesn't take those tablets, he just "gets farty for 2 days" when he eats normal ice cream.
3) We've been staying at my mother-in-law's apartment while she's been out of town, and raiding her fridge and freezer.
4) My mother in law is also lactose intolerant, so she avoids dairy completely.  She's a Wannabegan!

So after dinner last night, we were rummaging in her fridge for a treat to enjoy while watching a little TV before bed. In the freezer we found:

Sharon's Sorbet in Coconut, and it is amazing!  First of all, I have to say, it's NOT what I traditionally think of as "sorbet," which in my mind is an icy, frozen scoop of fruit juice.  As soon as I dipped my spoon in the carton (yes, we ate the whole pint) I could tell the texture was smooth and creamy, not icy or hard at all.  There are tiny shreds of coconut in it which gives it a really nice texture in contrast to the smoothness of the sorbet. You already know that I love coconut, so this was divine for me!

My husband is sold and said he has no reason to eat normal dairy ice cream ever again (he's already excited about trying the Dutch Chocolate flavor).