Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Another Plant-based Snack On Monte Sano Mountain

I fueled my day-long hiking adventure on Monte Sano Mountain with this snack acquired from the nearby Star Market. While quite tasty, this was obviously not the healthiest option. But these items are vegan.


Sunday, February 23, 2020

Brown Bag Chili, Vegan Style

I altered the recipe on the Brown Bag Chili bag to make it vegan. This was great! I'll buy this again!



Sunday, February 16, 2020

Chick-fil-a Side Salad Without Cheese

Chick-fil-a does have a good raw plant-based food option. Here's a vegan salad with sweet tea at Chick-fil-a.


I ordered "a side salad with no cheese and no dressing". These usually come with cheese, and they are usually pre-made with cheese on them. But Chick-fil-a employees can have one ready almost as fast as they can get you a refill of tea.

One thing that concerns me is that I once received my salad with 2 stickers on it. One for my order and under that was another for a drive through order for grilled chicken salad minus cheese. It makes me wonder if that salad had chicken on it and they just picked it off. Vegans, be careful. ask them to make sure its a freshly made salad.

I did look to see if they just picked the cheese off. There was no evidence of cheese in this salad. I feel confident it was made fresh without cheese as requested, at least this time.

For the dressing I used the Polynesian dipping sauce. On a salad it tastes much like French dressing but slightly spicier. This salad came with a pack of crunchy sprinkles, and those are vegan too! This was a really good meal.

Click here for the Chick-fil-a website

Impossible Burrito Combo at Qdoba in Charlotte NC

I went back to Qdoba in Charlotte for this good meal. I got cilantro lime rice, black beans, Impossible Burger, lettuce, guacamole, red onions, and cilantro. I made it a combo with chips, salsa, and a drink. This was my first time trying an Impossible Burger product.

The burrito was very good. The serving size was generous as usual. The veggies were fresh. Even the tortilla had a noticeably good flavor. The Impossible Burger tasted very meaty, but I could tell it was made with plants. That's good for me, because it would freak me out if it tasted too much like beef. Everything was right about this burrito, but $10 was pushing my limits. This was a special occasion, so I'm still satisfied.


The chips, salsa, and drink were also good. The chips were a bit salty, but that's no big deal. I really like the tomatillo salsa. The tea was nice and dark.


Overall, I thought it was good to finally try the Impossible Burger. It was just overpriced considering my other burrito options. I'll probably get the cheaper veggie burrito next time I'm at Qdoba.


Friday, February 14, 2020

Pacific Vegetable Masala

This is a flavorful vegan option for those who like soups and stews.



Miyoko's Fresh Vegan Mozz

Wow! This product is amazing! This tastes just like real cheese. It's very flavorful. Amazingly flavorful. Miyoko's currently makes the best plant-based cheeses I've found in grocery stores. This brand is really impressing me, and they don't even pay me to say it. With cheese this good, I'll be the one paying. And I paid a hefty amount for this block of "cheese". It was about $8, but it goes a long way, and the flavor is heavenly! On the down side, I didn't care for the packaging. It doesn't open easily, and I couldn't reseal it.


It only tastes a small amount of this Miyoko's Mozz to turn a simple bowl of poverty spaghetti into a gourmet Italian dish. It's almost unbelievable how much better my pasta tasted.


This is why it's good for herbivores to try new foods. Don't get stuck eating the same things. The world is changing fast. New products are coming out. Go find something new to try. I was missing out this whole time because the price of this Mozz scared me away. I finally tried it, and now I can make real Italian food again. This product opens the door for so many opportunities!


Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Sad Times For Earth Fare Shoppers

Earth Fare recently announced that the company is now closing all stores and their headquarters in Asheville. I went to see what's left at my nearest Earth Fare store a couple times this week. During my last visit I was able to get a few snacks, but most of the food is now gone. The newly remodeled store looked so alive and well two weeks ago.

I've been shopping at Earth Fare stores since 1994. Years ago, Earth Fare was the only place I could buy specialty products designed for health-conscious people. I found the store in Westgate Shopping Center in Asheville by accident, and I was fascinated with the concept. I've always respected and appreciated their philosophy and the service they've provided. It seems that I may have purchased my last bag of Earth Fare products. It's really sad to see what's happening to one of my favorite stores.


I've enjoyed the Earth Fare store brand products. During this visit I purchased my usual tea, along with peanut butter and crackers.

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Original Bitchin' Sauce

I saw this at Whole Foods, and the name got my attention. I wasn't even sure what this was. The ingredients indicates that it is an almond-based product that also contains nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, and Bragg Liquid Amino. What a strange combination. I had to try it.


I like strange foods. And I liked this dip very much. I will admit the first taste was confusing. It took a few seconds to see where it was going. The liquid amino gave this a flavor similar to soy sauce. The almond, garlic and lemon juice provided a tangy creaminess similar to ranch dressing. This is a really weird product, but I kept going back to it. By the end of the day I had eaten the entire contents of the tub. This was good!

I would recommend using this product as a dip for raw vegetables such as celery, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. If you think hummus and ranch are a bit boring as dips, this product is a good way to add some excitement.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Patty Melt At The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant In Nashville TN

The Patty Melt is made with a black bean patty, grilled onions, vegan cheddar, spicy mustard, thousand island dressing, and sourdough bread. It came with a choice of sides. I went with the Lentil Stew. This sandwich would have been better with pickle slices, but this was still a great lunch.


This was my first visit to The Wild Cow since they moved to Five Points. The new location has an open-air seating area, but overall it doesn't seem to be bigger. The sound doesn't echo so much at the new location, but it is still uncomfortably loud.

The Wild Cow is a great place to eat some of the best vegan food you will find and meet very creative and interesting people. If you've never been, be prepared to see friendly people with tattoos, face paint, brightly colored hair, and fashion choices that simultaneously amaze, confuse, and inspire. Anything goes in the east side of Nashville.

Click here for The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant website

Super Bowl From Hippea Camper In Huntsville AL

The Hippea Camper's Super Bowl is made with roasted potatoes, black beans, quinoa, spinach, and "cheese". At first I thought this combination was a bit strange, but it was very good!

Mongolian Veggies at MeiWei in Huntsville AL

From the perspective of an herbivore, the Hippea Camper is Huntsville's best food truck, except it's really a camper. The menu is all plant-based. They also sell tea, juices, and lemonade. I usually get one of the teas. Excellent!

Click here to see the Hippea Camper website