La Choy Chop Suey Vegetables with White Rice and Rice Noodles

This is a good home-made meal that costs about $6 to make, and it can be split into 2 meals, making each meal $3.

Which Wich Black Bean Patty Lettuce Wich Combo

This time I picked the black bean patty with red onions, bell peppers, black olives, spinach, deli mustard, and oregano. I ordered it Lettuce Wich style (big pieces of lettuce instead of bread) and made it a combo.

Cold Leftover Pizza from Mellow Mushroom

This is the cold leftover slices of Mellow Mushroom's Veg Out pizza with vegan cheese instead of mozzarella and with no garlic butter or Parmesan cheese on the crust.

Click here to see the Mellow Mushroom website

$1.80 for Beans and Rice at Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle only charges 90 cents per side item. This was only $1.80.

Click here for the Chipotle website

Panera Bread Bagel with Peanut Butter and Coffee

Toasted sesame bagel with peanut butter and Hazelnut coffee with cane sugar.

Click here for Panera Bread's vegan menu

Earth Fare Crackers and Garlic

Earth Fare Salad Bar

This big bowl of salad at Earth Fare was charged by the weight. Since I went heavy on the greens I was charged just over $5. Everything was fresh and clean. Very good super food meal!

Home-made Plantain Lettuce Wrap

I diced and fried a plantain with diced garlic then wrapped it in green leaf lettuce.

Buenatural Vegan Tamales

When I went vegetarian one of my favorite foods I had to give up was tamales. After going a decade without tamales I found these. Now I buy them regularly, and they are very good!

Mmmm. Look at that flaky corn shell and those spicy veggies!

Amy's Black Bean Chili with White Rice

Click here to see the Amy's Kitchen website

Home-Made Vegan Cheesy Pasta

This is just organic non-GMO spaghetti noodles with Daiya Cheddar Cheese mixed in. It was delicious, reasonably inexpensive, and easy to make.

Woodstock Brunch Plate at Green Sage Cafe in Asheville NC

This is the Woodstock brunch plate at Green Sage Cafe in downtown Asheville NC. This is root hash and a biscuit with strawberry jam and Earth Balance on the side. It also comes with tofu herb scramble (not pictured here).  It's all vegan, but please note that this is not a vegetarian restaurant. Cross-contamination with meat and cheese may be an issue.

Click here to see the Green Sage Cafe website

Van Gogh at Green Sage Cafe in Asheville NC

This is the Van Gogh breakfast burrito at Green Sage Cafe in downtown Asheville NC. It's made with tofu herb scramble, black beans, spinach, root hash, and avocado with avocado salsa. This plate has an extra side of tofu scramble. Please be aware that Green Sage Cafe is not a vegetarian restaurant. They serve pork and other non-vegan breakfast foods.

Click here to see the Green Sage Cafe website

Veggie Earmuffs at Moe's Southwest Grill

Here's the vegan version of the Earmuffs at Moe's Southwest Grill. Everything here was fresh and delicious. I chose Spanish rice, pinto beans, grilled green peppers, lettuce, cilantro, diced tomato, black olive, and guacamole. At Moe's, the chips and salsa are free. They even give refills of chips. This was almost $10, but this serving size could make 2 or 3 meals.

Amy's Pad Thai with Tofu and Vegetables

Here's another winner for Amy's Kitchen! This is one of my favorites. This has a sweet and tangy sauce with nuts, noodles, and veggies. It's easily cooked in a microwave. Check out the other Amy's products. Many of them are clearly marked VEGAN in the ingredients list and on the front lower corner of the packaging.

Click here to see the Amy's Kitchen website

Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich, Toasted

Dr. McDougall's Vegan Ramen Chicken Flavor

Here's a real easy one for you. Just pour in the flavor pack, add hot water, cover, and let it sit a few minutes. Dr. McDougall's Vegan Ramen Chicken Flavor is good. It could use a bit of salt, but it's easy to make. It's great for lunch breaks at the office and cold days at home.

Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders

This is one of the few meat substitute products I really do like. This is Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders. I usually eat this as a snack with a left-over Chick-fil-a ketchup pack. The texture of this product is very similar to dry chicken. It has fibers like chicken meat, but this product is not greasy and nasty. The taste is excellent, almost as good as real chicken. On a sandwich, a meat eater may not even notice it's not real chicken. I highly recommend this product, especially to people who are new to the plant-based lifestyle. This will make the transition so much easier. Kids will enjoy this too. This is another great non-GMO vegan product.

Click here to see the Gardein website

Muffuletta Olive Salad and Roasted Garlic on Edward & Sons Organic Toasted Onion Brown Rice Snaps

Edward & Sons Organic Toasted Onion Brown Rice Snaps are gluten free, vegan, non-GMO, and low in sodium. Sometimes I just eat them plain because the onion flavor really does come out, and these are just as crunchy but much healthier than potato chips.

For this first meal I got some olive salad from the Kroger olive bar and scooped it up with the rice snaps. The olive salad was pretty salty, so people on a low sodium diet should think about another product to eat with the snaps.

For the next meal I used the same rice snaps with roasted garlic, also from the Kroger olive bar.

Annie's Organic Cheddar Flavored Vegan Mac

Annie's Organic Cheddar Flavored Vegan Mac is a good meal. The instructions say to use soy milk and vegan butter, or whatever. I skip that and just add the powdered cheese to the drained noodles so it's thicker and cheesier.

Natural Factors Vegan Protein and Nutrasumma Pea Protein

"How do you get your protein?" Here's the answer to the question I get asked the most.

I actually eat foods that provide adequate amounts of protein, like spinach, broccoli, black beans, pinto beans, lima beans, edamame, lintels, hummus, Brussels sprouts, black eyed peas, green peas, corn, rice, quinoa, potatoes, sprouts, peanuts, tofu, seitan, tempeh, textured vegetable protein, wheat gluten, avocados, bananas, and plenty of other nutritious foods. Sometimes I combine those foods in one meal like beans and rice, spinach and cornbread, hummus and tortilla chips, or avocados and sprouts on a sandwich. I've been a vegan since 2009 and vegetarian since 1995. Trust me. I've never had an issue with it, even when weightlifting, hiking, cycling, swimming, and jogging.

Let us suppose I lost my mind and spent 3 days eating nothing but watermelon, carrots, and Chick-O-Sticks. I always have the option to add protein with a vegan shake mix. I will introduce you to the two brands I currently have. There are other good ones, but these were on sale. Notice they are both Non-GMO and vegan.

These products usually taste like a watered down milkshake. These do have a slight chalky texture to them, and chia seeds are a little bit weird at first, but these drinks aren't bad at all. I'll have a protein shake any time I feel that I need to supplement my diet.

The only thing I don't like about these is the way they settle in the bottom of the cup and the way they stick to the inside of the cup. I must continuously shake them, and washing out the cup must be done immediately after drinking.

Vegan Food at O'Charley's

O'Charley's does have something a vegan can eat. Here's a baked potato with nothing on it, some steamed broccoli, and chips with salsa. It was actually pretty good for what it was.

Back To Nature Wheat Crackers with Daiya Cheddar Style Non-Dairy Cheese

This is a great snack! The crackers are certified non-GMO, and I believe Daiya is non-GMO also.

Mellow Mushroom Hummus and Veggies

Mellow Mushroom has a hummus and pita plate on the menu, but the pita is not vegan. A good substitute is the veggies. They usually get creative with this. Sometimes the whole plate of food looks like a flower. Sometimes it has "Mellow Mushroom" written in the paprika.

UPDATE! The pita bread at Mellow Mushroom is now vegan! Now, both hummus plate options are safe for herbivores! However, the one shown above would the the healthiest way to go, and is wonderfully crunchy and flavorful.

Click here to see the Mellow Mushroom website

 

Chips and Hummus

Que Pasa organic blue corn tortilla chips with Private Selection Roasted Garlic hummus

Chick-fil-a Waffle Fries

They weren't before, but now they are. Waffle Fries are vegan!

Click here for the Chick-fil-a website

Tacos at Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill

This is a 2 taco combo, veggie style, with beans and rice instead of chips. This was a really good meal, but it did cost well over $10. The veggies were fresh like they were just picked from the garden. The green salsa was excellent. I told the guys to make one taco with black beans and the other with pintos. I got Mexican rice, fajita veggies, cilantro, and lettuce on top. I really wanted guacamole, but they now charge another dollar for that. I'm not going to start paying a dollar for a scoop of guacamole. I'll bring my own avocado before I do that.

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

Avocado Sandwich

Avocado, kale, and Boar's Head Deli Mustard on multigrain bread.

Vegan Burger with Fries at Red Robin in Huntsville AL

Red Robin has options for vegans! The bar tender told me "you can go vegan on pretty much any burger". In the past I got the Keep It Simple with a Boca Burger vegan patty, but the menu has changed slightly and that patty is no longer available. I had to change it up this time. Red Robin is a gourmet burger restaurant, so this is not a cheap meal. It was about $14, and that's not including the tip.

I ordered the Keep It Simple burger just as before, which has lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and onions on the side. It comes with Bottomless Steak Fries. Now, here's how to make it vegan with the new menu items. I chose the "ancient grains and quinoa vegan patty", requested the bun not be toasted on the grill (to avoid butter or grease from the grill), and requested "allergy fries" (that means the oil they fry them in is used for fries only and not other products like chicken or products battered with milk and egg batter). What came to my table was a huge, delicious, beautify vegan burger with as many fries as I wanted. And I got tea to wash it down.

The ancient grains and quinoa patty was as firm and textured as a beef patty. It had chunks of carrots, corn, and other goodies inside. The other topping on the burger were beautify. This place made it right! The lettuce was a whole bright green leaf, and it was clean! The tomatoes and onions were perfect. They didn't put garbage on my food like some other restaurants do. And the taste was amazing. It was better than any beef burger I ever had. It was also better than the Boca Burger, which was often served under cooked on my other visits to Red Robin. The fries were so good I got a refill.

Now for the mild concerns. The Boca Burger that is no longer available was microwaved, which sounds boring and cheap, but it was a good way for a vegan to feel save about the cooking process. This new ancient grains and quinoa patty was clearly not microwaved. It looked and tasted grilled. It was great, but how was it cooked? Was beef grease all over the grill? Was my patty cooked with beef on a nasty flat top grill? Is there a separate area for veggies? I don't know. It didn't taste like beef at all. I patted it down with my napkin just to check it out. Not much oil to see. Beef grease is usually noticeable. But cross contamination is one of my concerns. Also, the plate on which my food was served looked clean upon first glance, but it was actually greasy. I could take my napkin and rub the clean plate to reveal a cleaner spot. It was almost like the plate was rinsed clean of all solids but without the use of soap that would strip the oil from the plate. These are mild concerns and didn't ruin the meal at all, but I figured I'd mention them. 

Overall, I enjoyed this meal very much. The taste, appearance, and texture of the food was better than expected. It all seemed clean and healthy, not greasy, dirty, or heavy. The option to go vegan with many burger types is surprising. I'm just nervous about the food prep. I will cautiously go back, hoping to enjoy my next visit as much as this visit.

UPDATE: More research has revealed evidence that both the bun and new ancient grain quinoa patty MAY NOT BE VEGAN. Unfortunately, Red Robin wants to remain flexible with the ingredients, and it's difficult to get a clear understanding of what the food contains. My conclusion is that I will remember this as a good meal, but I will not order this again unless I get confirmation that it is without a doubt vegan. Next time I'll stick with fries and a drink.

https://www.redrobin.com/ 

Burger King Hash Browns and Tea

Burger King Hash Browns with a medium tea costs less than $5. 

Bojangles Grits

Here's a good southern breakfast item. This is the Bojangles "picnic grits", meaning this is a larger bowl of grits and not the tiny sample size that people would get as part of a larger meal. With a large sweet tea this is less than $5. Grits tastes best when slightly salty and with a sprinkle of black pepper. In the south grits only get salt and pepper. Some people also use butter. This is a great way to start the day. I always get sweet tea with it because Bojangles knows how to make really good southern sweet tea.

UPDATE: I got a new photo of the tea with lemon. Look at it. Beautiful!

Gas Station Snack: Fritos and Coffee

Peanut Patch Cajun Style Boiled Peanuts

Vegan Christmas Party Snacks

Hey, herbivores. Have you ever been invited to a fancy Christmas party and knew there would be nothing to eat once you get there, so you eat a pack of Lance Cashews or a banana on the way? I have many times. I went to a really nice company Christmas party and was pleasantly surprised with the following options. Check it out!

Strawberries, crackers with capers, blackberries, cornichons, garlic stuffed green olives, black olives, red pepper stuffed green olives, and french bread. I also had grapes, veggie kabobs, and several glasses of chardonnay blanc, but my camera was malfunctioning and photos of those aren't available.

Vegan Hors d'oeuvres

I made these with organic wheat crackers, vegan cream cheese, rosemary, and fresh red bell pepper.

Vegetable Pasta

I went to a vegan food sharing event and filled up on delicious vegan pasta. It's nice to attend an event with like-minded individuals.

Lance Salted Peanuts

Lance Salted Peanuts are two for $1. This snack keeps me from getting hungry, and it's great for hiking or biking adventures. I eat one pack and save the other for later.

Stacy's Multigrain Pita Chips & Lilly's Red Pepper Hummus

This was my first time buying Lilly's Hummus. It was pretty good. I just had to stir it up before eating. This meal was all "Non-GMO" and vegan.

Veggie Lovers Pizza and Breadsticks at Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut Veggie Lovers with no cheese on a thin crust. Very crunchy and delicious. This is one of my favorite pizzas.

Breadsticks with a side of marinara dipping sauce. I order them "with no butter and no sprinkles....just bead". It will come with Parmesan cheese and butter if you don't request it plain.