Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Herbal Tea

This Sleepytime time was delicious, but it didn't help me get sleepy. I did feel more relaxed, but I don't know if it was the tea or the darkness of night.

Home-made Mashed Potatoes and Gravy with Tempeh

This plant-based meal looks fancier than it really was. I made this myself with leftovers.

Gravy
This bowl of food started out with some leftover Thanksgiving gravy. I heated it up and dumped it into the bowl. See my Thanksgiving 2018 post for the ingredients. It's 100% vegan.

Potatoes
I had some old potatoes that were starting to sprout. I boiled and mashed two of them. I used salt and pepper to season it. I used a mixer to whip it up before dumping it into the bowl of gravy.

Tempeh
I had some store-bought tempeh that I bought a while back. I needed to do something with it before it spoiled. I just baked a few strips and used soy sauce to flavor them. I broke them into pieces and created the ring around the potatoes.

Dehydrated Green Onions
This last summer I grew green onions in the garden. I dehydrated them for later. A sprinkle of those onions was a nice final touch to create a pretty bowl of food and a delicious meal.

Wildbrine Raw Organic Kraut

This is a good raw product. Ingredients: red cabbage, sea salt, garlic. This is a really good natural probiotic if eaten raw.

Spaghetti & Wheatballs at Graze in Nashville TN

The Spaghetti & Wheatballs at Graze is made with BE Hive seitan wheatballs, marinara sauce, chopped spinach, parsley, and spaghetti. It comes with garlic bread. It's all vegan!

This meal was excellent in every way. The sauce tasted fresh and well-seasoned. The wheatballs had a slightly meaty flavor, but the texture was more like falafel with small chunks of chewy seitan. The "cheese" on top had a nutty, cheesy flavor and a Parmesan cheese texture. The garlic bread was crisp on the outside and soft inside with a nice buttery garlic flavor. This was a basic spaghetti meal but it was made well enough to make it worth the price at $12.

For this visit, I got to Graze right as they opened at 4pm, so I got quick service right before the large crowds arrived. The staff was very friendly and helpful, but the hipster country-western Indie rock music was too loud. I liked the choice of music but I was seated directly under the speaker and had to use ear plugs.

Click here to see the Graze website

Boston Creme Cake by Vegan Vee Gluten-Free Bakery in Nashville TN

Here's another good sweet treat from Vegan Vee in Nashville TN. This vegan Boston Creme Cake was really good! But I had to make sure each bite included icing to keep the flavor right. When I ate a bite with just the cake I could tell it was a gluten-free vegan cake. The cake texture reminded me of falafel and was not very sweet. But together the cake and icing are great!

Olive Bar Sampler

I like to nibble on these goodies from the olive bar. Here you can see a variety of olives with garlic and peppers, dolmas, cherry peppers, and olive tapenade. I usually eat these with rice crackers.

Majans Bhuja Snacks, Cracker Mix

This is a really good spicy snack mix with plenty of flavor. This is gluten-free, non-GMO, and vegan!

Blueberry Bagel with Jelly and Coffee at Panera Bread

Panera has many very good vegan options. Here's a perfect vegan breakfast. I got a toasted blueberry bagel with jelly and a cup of Hazelnut coffee.

Betty Lou's Almond Butter Nuts About Energy Balls

This small ball of nuts is packed full of flavor. This wasn't cheap, but it did work very well as an energy ball. And it tasted great too. Non-GMO! Vegan! Gluten-free!

El Burrito Soyrizo

This is my first time trying El Burrito Soyrizo. I found this at Sprouts, noticed it is vegan, and thought it might be good on tacos.

It was very good on tacos!  I enjoyed mine by putting it on sprouted corn tortillas with Daiya cheddar and lettuce. I sprinkled a little bit of Cholula hot sauce on it.

This product comes in a tube that makes it look like sausage links, but it's really not very solid. It's mushy like firm refried beans, so it's easy to squeeze it out and mash up. It can take the shape of sausage if squeezed out carefully. It's softness makes it easy to form whatever shape is needed. I've never had real chorizo, so I can't compare this to the real thing. But I can say this is very flavorful, is well seasoned, and tastes like real Mexican food.

I really like this product. It's vegan, non-GMO, and gluten-free. The texture is good for tacos, burritos, or nachos. The taste is great. It cooks well. I believe I've found another great vegan product. This will probably be a regular on my shopping list now.

Lightlife Wild Mushroom Ravioli

As a vegan, I surprise many people when I say that I'm not a big fan of mushrooms. I do eat them occasionally for their health benefits and to add variety to my diet. Here's one mushroom product I bought. Lightlife Wild Mushroom Ravioli is a non-GMO vegan meal. These were actually pretty good!

I drizzled a small amount of olive oil on them and added some cracked black pepper. These had a very obvious mushroom flavor, but I was fine with it. Despite being a known mushroom hater, I enjoyed this meal enough to think about buying these again. I may try them with marinara sauce.

California Avocado Sandwich at Atlanta Bread

I attempted to order and enjoy the vegan version of the California Avocado sandwich at Atlanta Bread with a pickle spear, a side of kettle chips, and peach tea. According to my research, making it vegan means no dill sauce, no cheese, and not cut in half (to avoid the tuna salad knife). When made correctly with care, this can be a very good sandwich. I've ordered this several times in the past. Unfortunately, this visit was consistent with most of my past experiences. This is the sandwich the way it looked when I sadly and kindly asked for a refund.

What a horrible shame. That could have been a good meal, but they really messed it up. I received a sandwich with cheese on it. At first I thought "Well, maybe I can carefully remove the contamination and wipe down my veggies with the napkins. Maybe I can save this." But once I took the bread off, I saw mayonnaise fingerprints all over the lettuce and tomato, and it was on the bread too. I was hoping to possibly pick out the nasty parts, but nothing was left. All hope was gone. If they messed it up this bad, the kitchen must be a filthy disaster and the kitchen staff must be wearing filthy gloves.. They must not have the ability to give me what I was hoping to receive. They're in the habit of rapidly making little piles of garbage for people. I shouldn't expect anything better than garbage. I was so disappointed. I just asked for my money back.

I was not going to pay almost $11 for a nasty mess. I really don't like wasting food, because I grew up poor. Taking the sandwich back felt really bad. But mayonnaise and cheese on my food can't be repaired. It's like receiving a sandwich with feces on it. How can that be fixed? I can't pretend it wasn't there. It's ruined.

I'm sorry for not being very nice on this blog post, but I've been through this so many times before. Vegans need to know what to expect from Atlanta Bread. The food would be very good if it wasn't contaminated and slopped together. I hope Atlanta Bread learns not to be so nasty. This story does have a slightly happy ending though. I ate the pickle spear before taking the sandwich back, and as I was getting the refund, I told the manager I want to keep the chips and tea. It would have been nice to get a full refund for the trouble, but I didn't go there to get free food. I went there to spend $10.70 on a good meal. I left with chips and peach tea for about $2. Fair enough.

I really don't enjoy giving less-than-great reviews. Atlanta Bread was one of my favorite places to eat breakfast and lunch as a non-vegan. The breads are excellent. They offer delicious, quality food that most people can enjoy. They do have at least one vegan option, but Atlanta Bread is not vegan friendly. They have cross contamination issues with dirty gloves, shared knives, and sloppy makelines.

Based on years of experience with their employees in Georgia, North Carolina, and Alabama, Atlanta Bread is generally not interested in keeping or creating customers with dietary restrictions. Bringing to their attention the mayonnaise or tuna residue on avocado sandwiches just causes confusion and is a distraction to them. Their website in its current form does not offer any ingredients or allergy information. They aren't very transparent with the food ingredients. Vegans can try to get a good avocado or veggie sandwich, but I would not recommend Atlanta Bread to vegans. The food is great for omnivores and vegetarians. Vegans, just stay with the teas and coffees, because the other products aren't for you.

Vegan Thanksgiving 2018

Here you see my family's vegan Thanksgiving feast. Herbivores know how to eat. Look at this fantastic plant-based meal!

Here's what my plate included at this year's Thanksgiving feast:

Home-made Mashed Potatoes
I made those myself with only potatoes, water, salt, black pepper, and olive oil. I did very well. They tasted so good I should go make more to eat as left-overs.

Home-made Onion and Mushroom Gravy
I made that myself with Bella mushrooms, white onion, water, miso paste, Marmite, Dale's Seasoning sauce, salt, black pepper, olive oil, and a tiny bit of flour. This was very good. I've perfected my recipe. Once again, I deserve the opportunity to give myself credit for a job well done. 

Publix Peas
I made these myself by heating a bag of Publix frozen peas.

Gardein Holiday Roast
A vegan family member brought that. It's a vegan meatless turkey substitute that's stuffed with dressing and comes with gravy. It was really good!

Arrowhead Mills Stuffing, Savory Herb Flavor
That was another vegan item brought by a vegan family member. It was excellent.

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic
I also made those, and it's just Brussels sprouts cut into halves or quarters with olive oil, minced garlic, and a sprinkle of salt.

Mashed Sweet Potato
A non-vegan family member made that and said it was just sweet potatoes, baked, scooped, and mashed with no other ingredients

Oven Roasted Green Beans
A non-vegan family member made those and said it was just green beans with olive oil and onions.

Clean, guilt-free, nutritious eating on Thanksgiving can be a reality for anyone who chooses it. Deciding to do it is the hardest part. This was all better than any meat I remember eating.

Carrot Cake Muffins from The Wild Muffin in Nashville TN

These carrot cake muffins are gluten-free, vegan, and yummy! This is my first time trying a product from The Wild Muffin. The taste and texture doesn't give away their secrets. These muffins can go to any muffin party and fit right in. In fact, the other muffins would be jealous. I must be high on sugar. I better stop typing before my ridiculousness affects the quality of this blog.

Click here to see The Wild Muffin Bakery website

Twisted Fork Huntsville 2018

I will now offer a summary and photographic documentation of my visit to Twisted Fork, a plant-based festival in Huntsville AL. This was a free plant-based food event that was open to the general public. Free samples and plate lunches were offered. Food education and cooking classes were given in smaller rooms. This was my second experience as a guest at Twisted Fork in Huntsville AL.

The focus of this recurring event is plant-based foods and products, but most of the food this time was comfort food, soul food, and cup cakes. There's nothing wrong with that at all. Trust me. I ate and enjoyed those foods more than I should have. But I would have liked to see vegan breads, freshly squeezed juices, and international foods such as kushari, bean tacos, orzo pasta, tabouli, and raw spring rolls with Thai peanut sauce.

The food I saw and enjoyed at the festival was healthier than what normal people eat, but I'd hate to think those foods accurately represent the diets of average vegans. I hope non-vegan guests didn't leave with the impression that vegans live on cupcakes and high-sodium southern home cooking with processed meat replacements. I know this blog doesn't accurately represent what I eat. I can only post so many photos of beans and rice, bananas, ramen, raw veggies, and hummus with bread.

I started my 3 hour adventure of plant-based gluttony with a vegan barbecue sandwich and slaw. I was told the "meat" was made with wheat, vegetable broth, and seasonings. It was very good! This had as much flavor as the real thing, and it was just as messy. This was a great choice for my first meal. I believe this was made by the main sponsor of the event, Elegance on Any Budget, but I could be wrong.

Vegan barbecue sandwich with vegan slaw

After a couple hours of chatting with people, I decided to try a vegetable plate by Heaven's Healthy Kitchen, which was green beans, mac n cheese, cranberry sauce, dressing, and gravy. It looked so good I had to try it. This had a classic home-cooked flavor with a slight smokiness and layers of other flavors. I usually prefer simple, lighter foods with few ingredients, but this was really good. I ate every bite, eventually. After nibbling at each item, I was too full to continue eating!

Vegetable Plate by Heaven's Healthy Kitchen

Sweets were everywhere. I will now present examples of the amazing treats I found. I picked a few cupcakes to take with me. I'll be eating cupcakes for several days!

Vegan carrot cake cupcakes

 I bought one of the Pina Colada cupcakes. Yes. Vegan.

Vegan Pina Colada cupcakes

Vegan Coconut Lemon cupcakes

Vegan chocolate cake

I bought a Lemon Poppy Seed cupcake. Also vegan.

More vegan cupcakes

 I bought a Pumpkin Pie Spiced cupcake, Strawberry cupcake, and Peanut Butter cupcake. All vegan.

More vegan cupcakes

While not as big as the last Twisted Fork in April, the turnout was pretty good for Huntsville AL. Things are slowly changing for Huntsville. The Seventh Day Adventist community is strong and growing. Californians are moving in for the high tech jobs. The artists, hipsters, and weirdos are now socially accepted enough to stay in Huntsville. I heard talk about plans for a vegan food truck and even a vegan restaurant. Watch out Huntsville! The vegans are slowly taking over!

Quinoa Plate by Chef Will The Palate in Huntsville AL

This is the quinoa plate from Chef Will. He's a vegetarian/vegan chef currently located in a trailer outside Lowe Mill in Huntsville. The menu said the quinoa plate is quinoa, kale, cabbage, and avocado. I'm not sure why I got quinoa, collard greens, plantain, and avocado. It was pretty good, but I really wanted what the menu listed. It was vegan, so it's no big deal. I ate every bit of it. Food from Chef Will is good even when the order is wrong.

Quinoa Plate by Chef Will The Palate in Huntsville AL

Vegan Cocktail; Bourbon Tea Party at Sip in Huntsville AL

Vegans can have mixed drinks too! Be careful. Some drinks like White Russians are made with milk. Other drinks may contain honey. Most drinks mixed fresh by a real bar tender will be made with simple ingredients. This one is bourbon with chai tea.

A Thanksgiving Feast at Work 2018

We had our company's Thanksgiving party. The company bought the meats, and we all had the option to volunteere and bring a side dish. I wanted to show off some of my vegan cooking skills, but I didn't have enough time to prepare anything. I'm sure most of my coworkers would not be impressed by anything I would bring. As far as I know, I'm the only herbivore at work. Surprisingly, I was still able to find something to eat. Someone brought a raw veggie platter. Another person brought a hummus and baguette plate. I seemed to be the only person enjoying those.

Home-made Dirty Rice

Dirty Rice is a good way to make a flavorful meal if you're low on money. Just make a pot of rice as usual and mix in something flavorful. This time I threw in some dehydrated green onions and peppers from the garden. I added some yellow onion, salt, and chili powder. Then I added some El Burrito Soyrizo. This was really good! The Soyrizo really made this go from good to great!

Amy's Sonoma Veggie Burger

This Amy's Sonoma Veggie Burger patty got completely lost in the mound of other delicious vegetation. I could barely taste it with all those pickles and the spicy mustard. The Sonoma Veggie Burger is good. It just has a milder flavor.

Click here to see the Amy's Kitchen website

Meatball Sub at Cashew Plant Based Vegan Cafe in Chattanooga TN

Cashew Plant Based Vegan Cafe has done it again. They never let me down. Each meal I've had there has been well above satisfactory. During my latest visit, I ordered the Meatball Sub with a side of chili and chips. Take a look at this!

The meatballs were made with walnuts, mushrooms, and quinoa. They're mild and soft with an almost-meaty appearance and texture. This had the essence of meat balls, but it was not meaty enough to send me into a panic. I don't like my vegan "meat" to be too close to the real thing, and this was real enough. The marinara sauce was a classic, well seasoned tomato marinara. On top of that was the heavenly cashew cheese! I've said it before. The cashew cheese at Cashew is amazing! And it was a very good addition to this meatball sub. The chili was excellent with a generous amount of onions. I used it as a dip for the chips.

While this meal was excellent, I would have liked the sub even more if it had a wider variety of textures. The whole sub was made of soft ingredients. I believe a toasted bun would be a nice improvement to give it some crunch. But trust me, the soft texture will not keep me from ordering this again. It was really good!

During this visit, the cafe was mostly peaceful with groovy music playing at a reasonable sound level. The dining area was clean. The service was fast and professional. I will return soon!

Click here for the Cashew Plant Based Vegan Cafe website

Del Monte Peas & Carrots

Tofu Lettuce Wraps at P.F. Chang's

The Tofu Lettuce Wraps at P.F. Chang's is vegan as long as you don't find mystery meat in the tofu. It happens sometimes. The best thing to do is nicely ask them to use a clean wok because of dietary restrictions. This is considered an appetizer, but this also makes a really good meal. This is one of my favorite items at P.F. Chang's.

Whole Foods Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

This Roasted Tomato Basil Soup from the Whole Foods food bar is really good! Tomato soups usually have milk in them. This one had the ingredients clearly listed with a label. No milk!

Ingredients: tomatoes (tomatoes, salt, naturally derived citric acid), onions, leeks, water, roasted garlic, basil, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, spices

Black Bean Holy Chipotle Tamale Plate at Delta Blues Hot Tamales in Birmingham AL

One of several good vegan options at Delta Blues Hot Tamales in Birmingham AL is the Black Bean Holy Chipotle Tamale Plate. This is two black bean tamales smothered with chipotle-lime sauce, topped with charred corn and tomatoes. I chose the potato salad as my side item.

This meal was fantastic! The tamales were soft on the outside with a pleasantly seasoned black bean paste on the inside. The creamy chipotle-lime sauce doubled the deliciousness of this heavenly basket of plant-based food. To make it even better, the charred corn gave it a nice roasted corn flavor and a little bit of smokey crunch. This was a spicy pair of tamales, but don't let me scare you away. They weren't as hot as the Tabasco sauce on the table. It was a medium heat level. The potato salad was cool and chunky with a hint of mustard and Vegenaise. It was an excellent choice to calm the heat of the tamales.

This meal was so good I would have licked the plate, but it was on corn husks and limp paper. The flavors stayed with me for a while after the meal was over. There's noting about this meal I would change.

Keep in mind this place offers food for special dietary needs, but this is not a vegan or vegetarian restaurant. Order carefully with the help of the friendly staff. They have many choices for herbivores and even more choices for omnivores. This is a great place to share a meal.

Delta Blues Hot Tamales specializes in tamales for people with special dietary needs. They have gluten-free non-GMO foods with several vegan and vegetarian options. This place is in what appears to be the rear basement of a 1920s apartment building. It's hidden in the alley behind a wall of bamboo. Upon arrival, the place looks like a normal cafe with exterior seating. At the main door, things start to look a bit funky and weird.

The well-used front door leads to what looks like a neighborhood dive bar. The dining area stretches along a walkway to quieter areas with pillow-lined benches. Empty picture frames, books, and bottles create a comfortable atmosphere with a creative vibe. The exposed pipes, electrical conduit, A.C. unit, and thick support columns remind visitors that they are in fact in an old basement. At first, this well-used place looks unclean, but I noticed the important parts were actually cleaner than average. It's just funky and artsy like the rest of the neighborhood. During this visit, the music of choice was a collection of Motown favorites and was played at a comfortable sound level. Plenty of parking was available next door. Delta Blues offers a cozy atmosphere and great food. The service was friendly and fast. The food was excellent.

Click here to see the Delta Blues Hot Tamales menu

We Got the Beat at I Love Juice Bar in Huntsville AL

We Got the Beat is tangy, earthy, and slightly sweet, but the fresh ginger really gives it a spicy kick. Very flavorful! I had to sip on this one slowly for hours.

Click here to see the I Love Juice Bar website

Gas Station Snack: Pepsi and Doritos Blaze

Pepsi and Doritos Blaze are both vegan, however neither ingredients list will impress a health conscious person. This would be a tasty snack for a vegan who's at a gas station out in the middle of nowhere. Watch out. Those Blaze Doritos are hot! They have the kind of heat that hits the front and sides of the tongue. Another vegan Doritos option is the Spicy Sweet Chili. Those aren't as hot.

Whole Foods Okra and Tomato Stew

This was at the hot food bar at Whole Foods. It's vegan!

Sriracha Sunshine Hippeas

These Hippeas are great! They have a firm, light texture similar to cheese puffs. The sriracha sauce flavoring gives these a bit of sweet heat, but these ate not hot like hot pepper sauce. Even kids could enjoy these. I will be buying this product again. This snack is organic, gluten-free, kosher, vegan, non-GMO, nut-free- and soy-free.

A Large Home-made Vegan Full English Breakfast

I wanted to do a full English breakfast and make it vegan. I made too much food and couldn't even eat a quarter of this. I just nibbled at each part and put the leftovers in the freezer.

Here's what I made:

1. Heinz Vegetarian Beans with tomato sauce
2. toasted Ezekiel Sprouted 100% Whole Grain bread
3. sliced avocado
4. lightly fried tomato slices
5. Fried mushroom slices with a hint of soy sauce
6. Field Roast Apple Maple Breakfast Sausages (yes, they're vegan!)
7. tofu scramble made with tofu, turmeric, paprika, parsley, Adobo seasoning, salt, and black pepper

Peasant Plate Combo at Blue Coast Burrito in Florence AL

Based on my previous enjoyable visits, I returned to Blue Coast Burrito in Florence AL. This time I ordered the Peasant Plate and made it a combo to receive the chips and drink. I helped myself to the salsa bar. This meal was as good as expected.

Peasant Plate Combo at Blue Coast Burrito in Florence AL

The Peasant Plate is basically beans and rice with guacamole salad. This is the cheaper meal because there is no option for a meat. Blue Coast Burrito lets you choose your favorite items to go on top. What you see is black beans, Mexican rice, and guacomole salad made with leaf lettuce, green onions, jalapeno peppers, pico de gallo, and guacamole. I forgot which salsas I chose. It doesn't matter. They're all great!

I did find some tiny pieces of cheese on the lettuce. I removed the offensive contaminant and the lettuce on which it was found. Other than that, this meal was great. The ingredients tasted fresh. The seasoning was acceptable. The beans did have a slightly sweeter flavor this time. This tasted like real food. Again, I am a mostly happy customer and intend to return some time in the future.

Click here to see the Blue Coast Burrito website

A Vegan Pizza at Pieology

I went to Pieology for the first time. To make this vegan I ordered the regular gluten-free crust (that's the only vegan crust they have), olive oil base, Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese, green pepper, olive, red onion, and a small amount of mushroom. I seasoned it with crushed red pepper and oregano at the table.

This was really good! The crust was nice and crunchy on the edges. The ingredients tasted fresh. The oil base worked out very well. This was a delicious vegan lunch!

Piology is another pizza shop that lets you pick ingredients as you watch the pizza being made, like Subway does with sandwiches. Different from other places is that they have a set price and don't charge for extra ingredients. Just order whatever you like. It's all the same price.

One thing about Pieology I have an issue with is the amount of real cheese I witnessed being scattered all over the other ingredients. They're messy just like the other places. I could not include tomatoes, red sauce, jalapeno peppers, or spinach with my order because those containers had bits of cheese all in them. That's nasty! But I understand I'm the one with a problem. Other people consume the curdled excretions of cows' mammary glands, and I'm the weirdo. I proudly accept that title.

Overall, this was very good. I will return to Pieology, but I will need to be very careful to look at the food line before I order, just as I did this time and as I do at Uncle Maddio's and Subway and Chipotle. If the ingredients looks clear of inedible debris, I will place an order. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes pizza, but vegans should be cautious as usual.

Click here to see the Pieology website

Amy's Non-dairy Vegetable Lasagna

Amy's Non-dairy Vegetable Lasagna is a very good meal, and it's loaded with spinach. I always loved lasagna, but going vegan came with the acceptance that I may never enjoy lasagna again. I can eat this. It's vegan!

Click here to see the Amy's Kitchen website