Soft Bean Taco Without Cheese at Taco Bell

This is my standard vegan meal at Taco Bell when I get tired of the Bean Burrito without cheese. New vegans, if you order a Bean Taco without cheese, be sure to dig through it a bit before eating. There's probably cheese in the lettuce. Also, beware of the Fresco option. There's almost always stray cheese pieces in the pico de gallo. This taco was perfect!

Taco Bell is a great place for beginner vegans. While the menu keeps changing, the standard ingredients remain. Basic vegan choices include tacos with beans instead of meat and with no cheese, bean burritos with no cheese, bowls of pinto beans or black beans without cheese, sides of pico and chips, cinnamon twists, and topping like lettuce, tomato, pico de gallo, and onions. 

And the food tastes pretty good for the low price.

Click here to see the Taco Bell website

One Table Huntsville 2022 Vegan Option

One Table is an event organized to "bring together people from all walks of life across our city, give thanks, create unity, and celebrate diversity." Free food with good people in a positive environment sounds pretty good, doesn't it? As participants of One Table Huntsville, we were offered a vegan option! Amazing!

One Table Huntsville 2022, vegan option

The vegan plate included vegan fried "chicken", seasoned rice, greens, carrots. cornbread, and cake. When I heard about free vegan food being given out, I was skeptical and doubtful. I assumed the vegan option would be mustard and tomato sandwiches with a side of ham-cooked green beans with the ham picked out. When I went through the line to get my free vegan food I was offered one great item after another. What a pleasant surprise! But was it good?

The vegan fried "chicken" was better than expected. It seemed to be fried wheat gluten. The texture was perfect. The taste was excellent. The rice was delicious and perfect. The greens were amazing! I love greens! I could have eaten the whole catering tray of those greens. The carrots were good. The sweet flavor was nice. I enjoyed every piece. The cornbread was good, maybe a bit sweeter than I prefer. Most vegan cornbread falls to pieces, but this stayed in one piece. The cake was very sweet, sticky, and soft with a coating of powdered sugar. I was also given a free bottle of water.

This was fun. The food was really good. Friendly, positive-minded people were everywhere, sitting together. I left like part of a huge family at a reunion in grandma's back yard. It was free. This was nothing but positive. I will return next year!

Día de los Muertos 2022; Tamales Veganos

I decided to celebrate Día de los Muertos this year. Celebrating the lives of those who have left us is a way to seemingly keep them around a bit longer. And we can enjoy good food and appreciate life while we are still here. I celebrated life with home-made poblano and black bean tamales.

This is my second batch of home-made tamales based on a recipe found in ¡Salud! Vegan Mexican Cookbook by Eddie Garza. The recipe was so successful that I made it again, and this time I doubled the recipe so that I could share and also have some for later.

Vegan Poblano Tamales with Salsa Roja

Vegan Poblano and Black Bean Tamales with Salsa Verde

I also made vegan sugar cookies to share, however it looks like the whole batch will be mine. I'm still the weirdo in the family, and my vegan cookies never get the respect they deserve.

Vegan Sugar Cookies for Dia de los Muertos

Vegan Hobo Pack with Potatoes, Onions, and Field Roast Sausage

Hobo packs can be easy meals for the oven or the grill. Just find some left-over items and cook them in a foil pouch with a splash of oil and your favorite spices.

I had some old potatoes and part of a white onion. I threw in a chopped Field Roast Spicy Mexican Chipotle sausage. I sealed it up in a tightly folded foil pouch and baked it.

Vegan Hobo Pack with Potatoes, Onions, and Field Roast Sausage

This works well for camping trips. These can be prepared before leaving home. Let's take a moment to remember that many people are currently living without homes. They may have jobs and look clean, but they sleep in their cars, campers, tents, etc.

Beats Meatball Sub at Hippea Camper in Huntsville AL

This is one of my favorite items at Hippea Camper. It's plant-based balls in marinara sauce with vegan cheese and a vegan bun underneath. Everything at Hippea Camper is vegan!

Click here to see the Hippea Camper website

Vegan Coffee at Starbucks

Starbucks is usually very vegan friendly. They have milk substitutes for coffee and a few vegan food options like potato chips and snack packs. Some locations have more vegan options than others. This is my usual drink. I order a hot coffee, sweet, with soy milk. This simple drink is priced lower than the other drinks, but it tastes great.

Starbucks Hot Coffee with Soy Milk

Home-made Vegan Aloo Bhindi

This home-made Aloo Bhindi was made with boiled potatoes, okra, and tomatoes, along with turmeric, cumin, garam masala, red pepper, coriander, salt, and Earth Balance Buttery Spread. I was running low on okra as you can see. I just threw this together using leftovers. This turned out better than expected. Preparation time was about half an hour.

Lightlife Italian Smart Sausage with That Pickle Guy Classic Olive Muffalata

That Pickle Guy Classic Olive Muffalata is an excellent topping for hotdogs. This time I used a plant-based Italian sausage on a hotdog bun, because I wanted bold flavor.

Lightlife Italian Smart Sausage with Olive Muffalata

That Pickle Guy Classic Olive Muffalata

 

Home-made Vegan Spinach Quesadillas

I used flour tortillas, Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds, olive oil, and fresh spinach to make these quesadillas. This was a cheap and easy meal. And the taste was as good as restaurant food.

Boca Tacos at Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill

Salsarita's has Boca Burger! I got a 2 taco combo with rice, Boca Burger, black beans, tomato, and lettuce. This was a perfect lunch.

 Click here to see the Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill website

Home-made Vegan Poutine with Bisto Gravy

This poutine included frozen crinkle cut fries, Bisto gravy, Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds, and fresh green onions. Food from heaven!

Home-made poutine with Bisto gravy

I discovered a plant-based instant gravy. I first bought Bisto gravy at my local European market in the British section. Later I saw that Publix Supermarkets also have it, and at a much better price. 

Bisto comes in a can. The actual product looks like rat poison pellets or fish food. When very hot water is poured onto the pellets, it turns into a delicious gravy.

This gravy is amazing but takes some practice to make. During preparation, it has a very thick and gelatinous consistency unless plenty of water is added. More water is better. Also, the water must be very hot to dissolve it. The gravy should be prepared only minutes before serving, because it quickly becomes thicker when it cools. When its done correctly, this gravy is awesome! I love it!

A Vegan July 4th Work Lunch 2022

We had a July 4th feast at work! And they offered some vegan items. Free food!

This work lunch included Lay's Barbecue chips, Lay's Classic chips, a bag of popcorn, and a Dr Pepper. I enjoyed this so much I went back for more during my 15 minute break.

Some people would think of this as a disappointing lunch, since the others got to enjoy a fried chicken feast with several side dishes. I grew up poor. I see this as a really good free lunch. I'm grateful for what I get in this world. I think everyone would be happier if we all focused more on the good things in life.

At work I choose not to tell anyone that I eat only plant material. This just avoids conflict and misunderstandings. I would like to avoid having people go out of their way to get something special just for me, not only because I don't want to take the fun out of their celebrations, but also because they'd get their feelings hurt if they got something they think is vegan but is not. Also I want to avoid having people bring in their own assumptions about vegans and apply them to me. They may have known a very judgemental, outspoken, angry vegan who offended or scared them, and I am completely not like that.

A Vegan Potluck Picnic in Florence AL

I was invited to participate in a vegan potluck lunch picnic in Florence AL. It was nice to meet with like-minded people to share good food, ideas, and food-based experiences.

This was my first social event since the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic. We all met outside at the park in a pavilion, so it seemed safe enough.

Getting good photographs of the food was nearly impossible. The food was being eaten up before I could get good photographs. It all looked so good. Or maybe vegans are just so malnourished and starving from protein deficiency that we couldn't control ourselves. Ha!

Let's look at all the protein we enjoyed. Check out these two broccoli casseroles. Delicious!

There was even a vegan wheat gluten "meat loaf and gravy" available so that we could pretend not to be freaks and social outcasts.

My contribution to this social event was a huge pot of black beans and saffron rice with red pepper and onion. This simple food was prepared in just minutes. I was pleasantly surprised to see how popular my food was with the crowd. I sat down to eat for a moment and it was gone! I had only 2 servings of leftovers to take with me.

My favorite foods included the flavorful Indian sambar and the red potatoes with spinach and garlic. I had to go back for seconds and thirds.

There were two tables loaded with foods. This was a real vegan feast! People accuse vegans of having eating disorders. Okay. I confess. I binged until I could barely move.

Tasty Bite Coconut Squash Dal

Tasty Bite Coconut Squash Dal is a milder choice for those who want the flavors of India but without the spicy heat. It's creamy like a thick stew. This is easy to make because of the microwavable bag. It cooks in one minute. This is a great meal when time is limited. I love this product and buy this frequently. I even have several pouches stored away for random cravings.

Tasty Bite Indian Coconut Squash Dal

Tasty Bite Indian Coconut Squash Dal over brown rice

A Vegan Lunch At Mad Munchies Food Truck in Pensacola FL

Mad Munchies food truck advertises as "100% Vegan Junk Food". How could I resist? The next location was just up the road, so I had to be there.

Mad Munchies food truck in Pensacola FL

When the truck arrived, I recognized it from the social media posts. It was like seeing a famous person in an ordinary place. The truck has a real presence and seemed completely out of place. It's huge and mysterious, the colors are a bit unsettling, the paint is drippy, and the lettering looks like a horror movie title. The logo is a big dripping smile. It was like a food truck from a weird trip whilst taking a mind altering substance. But I'm a weirdo. I love all of that. I had the munchies, and time seemed to be passing too slowly. It was time to eat some vegan junk food!

The menu was pleasantly simple with several possibly amazing vegan options. After studying it for a moment, I couldn't decide on two of my favorite foods, so I ordered both of them; the Mac-N-Chz and the Chili Chz Nacho.

It was exciting to see such beautiful foods come from that monstrous truck. Look at this food. Try not to drool.

Mac-N-Chz and the Chili Chz Nacho at Mad Munchies food truck in Pensacola FL

The Chili Chz Nacho was excellent! This was exactly what I wanted from this food truck. The chili was mild in heat but had a very good flavor. It was thick and chunky with beans. The chips were crisp and fresh. The tomato and onion chunks were a bit large but made this a perfect and complete meal. This was a bit oily, but this is junk food. It says so on the truck.

The Mac-N-Chz was also very good. The noodles were perfectly softened. The vegan cheeze was thick with a hint of smoke and a slight sweetness. It was very oily, but again, this is junk food. It says so on the truck.

I was told that the portion sizes were scaled down for this event because more children were expected at this location. I'm glad I was there for the smaller sizes. This was enough food for 3 or 4 meals. I was munching on this for 2 hours.

I enjoyed this food very much. I chose to test Mad Munchies with two of my life-long favorites. Both items were better than most I've had at higher prices. Based on food taste, portion size, and price, I conclude that this was a very good value and completely satisfying experience.

Good job, Mad Munchies! I hope to try more food in the near future.

Click here to see the Mad Munchies website

 

ZenBurger Street Tacos

Another great vegan product is ZenBurger Street Tacos. These are very oily, but please don't let that scare you away from the amazing experience of eating these. If you have a craving for street tacos you probably don't mind the oil at all. Anyway, the oil makes them crispy while they bake. The end product is good, very good!

The filling texture feels meaty but with random whole grain chunks. It's as good as any meat I've ever eaten, but real meat eaters may figure it out. The box shows a loose filling, but what I got was more compacted and easier to eat. The tortilla shells produce a very pleasing aroma that, until now, I've only experienced in real Mexican restaurants. This food will make your house smell like a home.

ZenBurger Street Tacos

There's a slight heat from the spices, but nothing to fear. This food is for all ages. I would recommend people with GERD to get the meds ready just in case, because of the oil.

The amazing flavor had me chair dancing. I enjoyed every bite. With lettuce, tomato, and onion, this was a great meal. It completely satisfied my munchies.

ZenBurger Street Tacos with pico de gallo and lettuce

 

Diaya Deluxe Cheezy Mac Four Cheeze Style With Herbs

This is my first time trying Diaya Deluxe Cheezy Mac Four Cheeze Style With Herbs. This one has tiny shell pasta and a creamy white vegan cheese with herbs mixed in.

While cooking the shells, the water got very cloudy and starchy. Draining the water was a bit of a challenge. The cheezy pouch made it easy to add flavor to the pot full of shells. Cooking time was about 10 minutes.

The four cheeze sauce is not as bold as the cheddar that comes with the Cheddar Style Cheezy Mac, but the herbs makes up for it. It does seem to have a fuller, more Italian cheese flavor. It almost tastes like cheese pizza!

This was easy to make, and the price was reasonable. Kids should really like it too. This is another great product from Daiya. No surprises. Daiya has a nice collection of vegan foods. I recommend them all.

A Vegan Lunch at Whiskey Joe's Bar & Grill in Pensacola Beach FL

Finding vegan food in Pensacola is only a slight challenge, but once you go over the bridges to Santa Rosa Island, it is nearly impossible to find something to eat. There's an abundance of seafood restaurants, and not a single one currently has a vegan meal on a menu. Herbivores are completely overlooked at the beach. Some restaurants have small vegetarian side salads with cheese, dressing, and croutons. Most of them have fries or other deep fried vegetarian items, but I assume they use shared deep fryer oil. It was a tough search, but I found something really good for vegans. Some creative thinking and a good attitude is needed for this one.

I found myself at Whiskey Joe's Bar & Grill. It's a nice place right on the beach, and I mean it is ON THE BEACH with beach sand all around and dining tables in the sand! Very cool. The bar is on a concrete pad under a big beach hut. It's very casual and comfortable. I chose the beach hut during this visit. They have all kinds of beautiful foods for omnivores. The adult beverages looked amazing, especially the one that's served in an actual pineapple. This place is so cool!

Whiskey Joe's Bar & Grill

 

The menu includes an appetizer called Joe's Pile of Nachos. It usually comes with tortilla chips, queso, shredded cheese, spicy beef, beans, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream and jalapeños. Be very friendly and nice to the server. Ask if they can make a vegan version with tortilla chips, black beans, guacamole, lettuce, pico de gallo, and jalapeños.

 

Vegan nachos at Whiskey Joe's

 

This was smaller but at the same price as the big Joe's Pile of Nachos. The quality and flavor was very good. This wasn't a vegan feast and it wasn't cheap, but this was the best vegan food on the island. Every part of this was fresh and flavorful. Order this with a good draft beer or fancy drink and you will be in paradise.

Remember, this is not on the menu. Don't go in there acting like you're special. Whiskey Joe's is very popular and has plenty of other paying customers. I'm not sure how they feel about special orders. It worked for me, and I hope to order this again next time. It was very good!

Roshen Shooters Chocolates with Brandy Liquor

I found this box of chocolates at an international shop. Each piece of chocolate was filled with brandy. The brandy was very strong, but I loved these. I read the label, and I see no reason they would not be vegan. The ingredients were listed in English, along with several other languages. The label also says these chocolates were made in Ukraine. It's very sad what has happened there. Eating this delicious product was a bit disturbing considering current events. So many thoughts ran through my mind with each piece. This was an excellent product, and I hope to continue buying this in the future.

Bacon Avocado Club Sandwich at End Of The Line Cafe in Pensacola FL

I returned to End Of The Line Cafe for more amazing plant-based food. This time I got a daily special. The Bacon Avocado Club was perfect in every way. This may have been the best sandwich I've eaten in years, and I frequently eat sandwiches. This was loaded with flavor and had a good variety of textures. This included maple hickory "bacon", avocado, lettuce, tomato, vegan mayo, grilled peppers and onions, and knuckle sauce, served on multigrain bread. Mmmmmmm. So good!

Bacon Avocado Club Sandwich at End Of The Line Cafe

Because I've been a vegetarian or vegan for so long, this was my first club sandwich, so I can't personally compare this to a tradition club sandwich. This sandwich was excellent all the way through.

Peace and love to the crew at End Of The Line Cafe. They were very friendly and helpful, and the food was awesome. This visit was great!

Click here to see the End of the Line Cafe website

Trader Joe's Vegan Enchilada Casserole

I just tried Trader Joe's Vegan Enchilada Casserole. This was very good! It was in a family-sized container, so it was too much for one normal meal. This was loaded with veggies. The flavors were a bit on the mild side, so this is a great choice for younger and older vegans. The texture was a bit soft too. I do prefer a crunchy top layer. No big deal though. Overall this was completely satisfying, except for the plastic cooking bowl. This is a good choice for vegan families with limited time. Single eaters, you'll have good leftovers for later. This is now on all of my Trader Joe's shopping lists.

 

Vegan Lunch Box Ideas Part 1

For this series of blog posts, I want to present an accurate view of regular vegan lunches for regular people. This series includes the following requirements:

• Foods must be inexpensive
• Foods must keep well for up to 6 hours without heating or refrigeration
• Foods must not require more than a few minutes of preparation
• Foods must be vegan 
  

 

Publix Lightly Salted Peanuts 

These are great. Of course, I did not eat the entire contents of this jar during one lunch break. These are very satisfying.

 

 

Two Raw Apples

This is a great raw lunch. I prefer mine peeled, so I put a paring knife in the pouch of my lunchbox.

 

Snyder's Mini Pretzels and a Powerbar Plant Protein Snack Bar

with dark chocolate, salted caramel, and cashew! This lunch is non-GMO!

 

 

A Mediterranean-style Vegan Lunch

Dolmas from the Kroger olive bar and a Sabra Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Pretzels snack pack!

 

 

Sweet Earth Kung Pao Chik'n

Sweet Earth has another great vegan product. This Kung Pao Chik'n was cooked in the microwave but tasted as good as some restaurant food. The sauce and veggies were fresh and flavorful. The rice was perfectly cooked. The chik'n had a slightly weird texture at first, but my mouth wanted more after the first bite. I will be buying this again! Very good!

Sweet Earth Kung Pao Chik'n

Margaret Holmes Tomatoes and Okra

Margaret Holmes makes the kind of foods you might eat at Granny's house. And like Granny, Margaret Holmes has no problem putting old fashioned ingredients like chicken fat, bacon, and other "natural flavors" in the veggies. I noticed that the Tomatoes and Okra are safe for vegetarians and vegans! I had to try this.

Margaret Holmes Tomatoes and Okra

I enjoyed my tomatoes and okra with boiled potatoes with plenty of crushed black pepper. This was really good! This simple plant based meal had plenty of flavor.

Tomatoes and Okra with boiled potatoes