Welcome to Monk Island, a food blog with a new perspective. This blog documents my experiences as a roaming vegan with limited time, money, and resources. I search the land for simple, plant-based meals for one person, and I share those here with you. This blog is for herbivores on the go who don't live in the kitchen, don't have a kitchen, or don't have a home. No politics or extremist rants. Just peace, respect, and veggies.
Friday, May 24, 2019
A Vegan Sandwich With Tofurky, Daiya, And JUST Mayo
Resources For Plant-based Living
Food, Inc.
Veducated
Eating You Alive
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
What The Health
Secret Ingredients
Genetic Roulette - The Gamble of Our Lives
In Defense of Food
Supersize Me
Forks Over Knives
Fed Up
Food Choices
Hungry For Change
Sugar Coated
Cowspiracy
Speciesism
Meet Your Meat
Earthlings
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Vegan Cheese Grits And Gimme Lean Vegan Sausage
Monday, May 20, 2019
Vegan Rob's Tumeric Chips
Lance Toasty Crackers Are Not Vegan
The ingredients list on Lance Toasty crackers has changed. In the recent past, these crackers were labeled as being manufactured in a shared facility with milk products, but the list never actually included a milk ingredient. Today I received this bag of non-food from a vending machine. I can't eat this, but my 65 cents will not be a waste. I'll just share these with my canine friends. They love peanut butter.
This is really sad. I know of only 2 other Lance products I can eat. I know this vending machine garbage shouldn't be eaten anyway, but I was in the middle of a hard day of work. I really needed a snack. This is a major disappointment. But look at the other nasty stuff in that ingredients list. I'm better off without it.
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Homemade Soyrizo Enchiladas
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Home-made Bhindi Masala
Friday, May 10, 2019
Home-made Fried Batter
Avocado Sandwich Combo at Which Wich
This time I got the Avocado Sandwich on white bread (remember, the wheat bread contains honey). I ordered it with lettuce tomato, roasted red peppers, red onions, black olives, spinach, spicy mustard, salt, black pepper, oregano, and of course avocado. I made it a combo with a drink and Which Wich House Chips. This was excellent!
More Hummus And Veggies At Mellow Mushroom
They now have a fixed set of veggies that come with it unless you request something different. In the past I'd have to ask for veggies instead of pita (because the pita had milk in it). Now the pita is vegan, and the veggies option is on the menu. I like the improvements!
Click here to see the Mellow Mushroom website
Wild Reuben at The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant in Nashville TN
Click here for The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant website
Cinnamon Twists At Taco Bell
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Safie's Sweet Pickled Beets
Ben & Jerry's Non-dairy Peanut Butter Half Baked
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Cinco de Mayo 2019 at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL
I spoke with a very knowledgeable server about vegan options. I will present to you my meal and what I was told about the vegan foods available. First, let's admire this beautiful plate full of plant-based foods.
Veggie Enchiladas at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL |
This Veggie Enchilada meal included 2 roasted veggie enchiladas with refried beans and green chile rice with a small garnish of spinach, lettuce, pico de gallo, and jalapeno slices. I made it vegan by ordering it without cheese. This food was excellent in every possible way, except for the price. This was the best Tex-Mex food I've had in a while. The enchiladas were flavorful with a nice variety of textures. The ranchero sauce was rich and smooth. The veggies were fresh and slightly firm. The corn tortillas were soft with a slight stretch when pulled. Here's a detail of the enchilada with the top pulled off.
Veggie Enchiladas at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL |
The mostly blended beans tasted very fresh and clean. The rice was fresh with a nice chile flavor, a hint of lime, and a mild amount of heat.
Refried beans at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL |
Mexican rice at Chuy's in Huntsville AL |
I added a side of salsa just to try it. The salsa tasted very fresh and natural. It was a bit watery with crisp chunks. The serrano pepper made it very hot! But the taste was excellent.
Salsa at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL |
Of course, I had to get a margarita for Cinco de Mayo. I chose the blackberry frozen margarita. It tasted great with a real fruit taste, but I didn't taste any alcohol in it, and the price was over $9! It was a refreshing drink, but anyone who wanted to get happy on this would only get a smile and would need to spend $30 more to even get a giggle.
Blackberry frozen margarita at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL |
Now for the vegan details starting with the bad news. The server told me that all fried foods share the same frying oil. So all crunchy fried items are contaminated with fish, chicken, shrimp, etc. Also, the flour tortillas are made in-house with whey, which is a milk derivative. So burritos, soft tacos on flour tortillas, and fajitas are not vegan.
Here's the really good news. The roasted veggies are vegan because they're cooked with a soy-based margarine, the soft blue and yellow corn tortillas are both vegan, both refried and charro beans are vegan, and both Mexican and Green Chile rices are vegan. That's a pretty good selection of vegan items!
Here's the meal recommendations for a vegan at Chuy's Tex-Mex:
- Vegetarian Soft Taco meal (yellow or blue corn tortillas) without cheese, plus your choice of any beans and any rice
- Veggie Enchilada meal (yellow or blue corn tortillas) without cheese, plus your choice of any beans and any rice
- Soft yellow or blue corn tortillas with salsa, pico de gallo, or guacamole as an appetizer
Foodstirs Snickerdoodle Blondie Mix
This turned out to be very good, and it was easy to make. This was very sweet so I cut it into bite-sized pieces. The flavor and texture was great! I should have purchased more boxes while they were discounted. I believe these are worth the full price though. Now I know to look for them when I have a craving.
I really liked this product. The only issue I have with it is the instructions telling me to put disgusting things in my vegan food. This was a nice treat with vegan ingredients!
Friday, May 3, 2019
Bama Q Tamales at Delta Blues Hot Tamales in Birmingham AL
The Bama Q tamales are vegan if ordered with black bean filling. My black bean tamales were topped with spicy barbecue sauce, tangy slaw, and pickle slices, and they were served on corn husks. My choice of side was the slaw. This was all vegan! While Delta Blues Hot Tamales is not a vegetarian restaurant, they do have some vegan and vegetarian foods. I believe two more visits will conclude my exploration of the vegan options available at Delta Blues. So I'll be back!
Gas Station Snack; Ritz and Milo's Tea
Vegans, you may not like Huntland. This gas station was decorated with animal heads and photos of hunters posing their victims.
A Large Bowl Of Beans And Rice At Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill
Click here to see the Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill website
Carolina Style Vegan Hot Dog
To make this I used Lightlife plant-based hot dogs, some home-made chili, home-made slaw, and a vegan bun. Search my blog if you want details about my home-made chili and slaw. I've posted about those in the past.