Amy's Teriyaki Bowl

This is another great Amy's bowl. It's non-GMO and vegan!

Click here to see the Amy's Kitchen website

Sliced Kiwi

Deep River Sweet Maui Onion Kettle Chips

These non-GMO kettle chips are extra crunchy with a strong sweet and salty onion flavor. This is my first time trying this product. Great first impression! I like these!

A Vegan Salad With Red Wine Vinegar At Jason's Deli

Whole Foods Vegan Berry Pie

I can't find much information about this Whole Foods pie. It was labeled "vegan" in a stack of other identical pies also marked "vegan", so I trust that it is safe. It was very good. Not too sweet. The crust was flaky and mild. The berry filling was perfectly sweet with chunks of berries. I do wish it had more crust to balance the generous amount of filling, but that's a minor issue.

Cherokee Purple Hierloom Tomatoes On A Vegan Sandwich

I saw some really ugly tomatoes at the farmers market. Most of them looked twisted and deformed with cleavage and bulges. I figured tomatoes this ugly would surely not be GMO tomatoes. GMO tomatoes are designed to look perfectly round and bright red. I asked the farmer about the ugly tomatoes. They're Cherokee Purple Heirloom tomatoes. I bought the three best looking ones based on how easily I could wash them.

The story about these tomatoes being a native food source for the Cherokee people is another good reason to try them. I feel really bad about what happened to the native people in my country. They lived right here where I am. I've found their arrowheads in the yard. But that whole civilization was mostly erased from history as Europeans moved in. Tasting a food the Cherokee people grew and enjoyed makes me feel like they are not forgotten.

Theses tomatoes were really good. Very juicy and tasty. I will look for these again. I made a sandwich with them. I used Kroger Bakery French Bread with Treeline Scallion nut cheese, Cherokee Purple tomato, white onion, and green bell pepper from the garden. This was the freshest sandwich I've had in years!

Mean Greens at I Love Juice Bar

The Mean Greens is made with spinach, kale, jalapeno, celery, cucumber, parsley, and lemon. It's very good, and it gets my blood flowing!

Click here to see the I Love Juice Bar website

Nature's Bakery Raspberry Fig Bar on the Richard Martin Trail near Elkmont AL

I enjoyed this snack during my bike ride on the Richard Martin Trail. This was a good light snack on a hot day. I like this product very much because it isn't really sweet. Each package contains two squared pieces. These fig bars usually have a few hard pieces in the filling. Notice this is a non-GMO product.

This is the north end of the Richard Martin Trail looking south and just a few feet from the Tennessee Alabama state line at a small town called Veto AL. The trail is another railroad bed trail. It's about 22 miles round trip. The southern end stops just north of Athens AL. The trail is mostly smooth with a few washed out areas. Beautiful streams, a large swamp, a Civil War historic battle site, farm land, and fragrant trees and other plants make this trail a nice place to visit. The trail is almost completely flat and mostly shaded with three public restroom stops, so it's great for the whole family. I wish Tennessee would clear the old trail on their end and extend it further north so I could ride to more small forgotten towns.

Sluggo's Veggie Plate at Sluggo's in Chattanooga TN

Here's the Sluggo's Veggie Plate at Sluggo's in Chattanooga TN.

Vegan Veggie And Cream Cheese Sandwich

I made this awesome vegan sandwich with Kroger Bakery French Bread, Treeline Scallion nut cheese, tomato, green bell pepper, green leaf lettuce, and red bell pepper (hidden under the lettuce).

Daiya Margherita Pizza

I don't need to say much about this product. It's a Daiya pizza. Of course it's excellent! And vegan!

VeganFest 2019 in Asheville NC

I attended VeganFest 2019 in the beautifully weird city of Asheville NC. This exciting event offered vegan food with plenty of free samples, coupons, vegan clothing and accessories, information about local animal rights groups, vegan and plant-based lectures, and a chance to meet other like-minded people. The turnout was really good considering the threat of nasty weather.

My first food tasting of the day was Hempe. It was made to taste much like chicken salad with celery and spices. It was excellent! I'll be watching for this product in stores.

My next snack was a delicious serving of Mint Chocolate Chip Hemp Milk Ice Cream from a local Asheville vendor, The Hop Ice Cream Cafe. I loved the combination of flavors. Very good!

I found this Diosas Vegan Cheese. They had four flavors; Original Goddess, Garlic Herb, Smokey Chipotle, and White Cheese. All of them were great, however my favorites were Original Goddess and Garlic Herb. Diosas Vegan Cheese is another locally made product.

Tasty Bite, one of my favorite food producers, was at the festival giving out samples of Channa Masala. They had many varieties of Tasty Bite presented, however not all Tasty Bite products are vegan.

It was time to check out the food trucks.

I eventually chose a Falafel Pita Taco by Gypsy Queen Cuisine. The fluffy pita held flavorful falafel balls covered with tahini, tomato, parsley, and pickled turnips. It was awesome! The flavors and textures blended very well.

I didn't stop there. After a while, I went to the Smash Box mobile kitchen. This plate is called The Box and includes Nicaraguan rice and beans, a sweet plantain patty, cilantro lime slaw, house-made chimichuri, goddess dressing, and barbecue habanero hempeh.

That's all I've got for you. It was fun. I'll try to be there again next year!

Home-made Vegan Pho

This home-made Pho was pretty good. Another vegan in my family made this. She said it was made with Pacific Vegetable Broth, miso paste, Bragg Liquid Amino Acid, Edward & Sons Not Chick'n bouillon cube, minced garlic, tofu, basil, baby white mushrooms, shallot, bok choy, mung bean sprouts, seaweed, and water.

Siete Grain Free Tortilla Chips; Nacho, Ranch, And Fuego

These beautifully designed bags caught my attention at the grocery store. I saw the non-GMO and vegan labeling and decided to look more closely at the products.

These are grain free chips. That sounded good to me because grain is now possibly full of nasty stuff that could cause allergy symptoms and inflammation. I wanted to try a bag, but three flavors were available for purchase. I bought one of each hoping the products would be as awesome as the bag designs. I'm glad I did, because these chips are great!

Siete Grain Free Tortilla Chips. Nacho, Ranch, and Fuego

Nacho
This flavor was the saltier of the three and had a mild tang and cheesiness. There was plenty of flavor, but it was milder than Doritos and other nacho chips. I got a hint of serrano and jalapeno pepper, but it was just enough to give these chips a nice nacho flavor.

Ranch
This one offered pleasant hints of onion and garlic. It was the cooler, milder of the three. It was the least salty of the three but still had plenty of flavor, just not overloaded with flavor like other ranch chips.


Fuego
This one was hot! The jalapeno and habanero peppers really bit me back. This flavor was much like other brands of hot chips. The saltiness and bold pepper coating was predictably hot, especially with the name Fuego.

Each of these products had a slightly softer crunch, not a hard crunch like the big popular brands. But that really wasn't an issue. The solid, medium chip thickness was not too thin or thick. These flavors were all delicious and addictive. I could easily eat a whole bag as a meal. I would like to have a favorite but they were all very good individually. These are more great vegan, non-GMO products that I plan buy again. I would recommend these to anyone, especially those with allergies or sensitivities to grain. 

Click here to see the Siete Foods website

 

Another Peasant Plate Combo at Blue Coast Burrito in Florence AL

My last Peasant Plate was so good I had to go back for another one. Florence AL doesn't have many places to eat vegan food. Blue Coast Burrito is the most convenient place to eat your veggies. It's on Hwy 72 just east of town, beside Five Guys.

Peasant Plate Combo at Blue Coast Burrito in Florence AL

Click here to see the Blue Coast Burrito website

Southern Vegan Sunday Dinner

What does a southern vegan eat for Sunday Dinner? Most southern vegans probably suffer from starvation on Sunday, because the deep south lives on fried pig flesh. A vegan down south can easily become an outcast in their own family and end up eating potato chips with mustard alone on the porch while everyone else spends time as a family. Next thing you know they aren't welcome at church anymore so they move to the city to live with candle-making hippies. And who's fault will that be? That doesn't need to happen! Families should not break apart because one person chooses not to eat a corpse. People can live in harmony if they find what makes them the same and not focus on the differences.

Plenty of traditional southern foods are vegan. Everyone can enjoy Sunday Dinner with a few very simple modifications in the preparation. Check out this vegan southern plate.

How could anyone not enjoy this comforting soul food? Even omnivores will gobble this up. And there's not a single drop of blood on this plate! A corpse can be served on the side for those who don't mind the unhealthy side effects.

This delicious home-made vegan southern meal included:

1. vegan cornbread made with just cornmeal, water, onion, salt, baking powder, and a touch of sugar
2. collard greens with olive oil, black pepper, and salt
3. butter beans with a light sprinkle of salt
4. fried okra battered with only cornmeal with a sprinkle of salt
5. oven roasted potato chunks seasoned with olive oil, salt, and rosemary.

Boiled Peanuts With A Beer At Green Bus In Huntsville AL

Brave Lil' Toaster From Hippea Camper In Huntsville AL

I enjoyed a nice light lunch today from the Hippea Camper in Huntsville AL. This was two pieces of toast with almond butter, hemp seeds, and bananas. I also ordered the hibiscus tea (not pictured). Both were excellent. The price for this meal was $12.

Brave Lil' Toaster from Hippea Camper in Huntsville AL

The bread was lightly toasted. The bananas were perfectly ripe. The almond butter was creamy and slightly sticky. The hemp seed offered a little bit of texture and flavor.

I do feel that this was a bit over-priced, not because of the quality or taste (both of which were far above average for street food), but because this is such a simple thing to make at home. Also growing up in poverty made me cheap. But the fact is I was not at home and really did want to buy this. I gladly let the Hippea Campers make it for me today. I paid the price, and I don't regret it. I enjoyed every bite and will probably order this again. It was very good!

I've been to Hippea Camper several times now. I'm always satisfied with the food and service. I'm glad to see them getting around town and spreading the love of vegan food. The need for healthier street food is now being filled. The foods are simple and created with mostly whole ingredients. I would recommend Hippea Camper to anyone who wants good food. More posts about Hippea Camper will be coming soon.

Click here to see the Hippea Camper website

Cookie Monster Cupcake From Mason Dixon Bakery In Huntsville AL

 This vegan cupcake has vegan cookie dough inside!

Cookie Monster Cupcake from Mason Dixon Bakery in Huntsville AL

Click here to see the Mason Dixon Bakery website