Almost Vegan

I love Frieda’s, though it is a bit high-end price-wise, even at Wal-Mart. After shopping at Whole Foods Market, Wal-Mart’s offerings are sorry, but it’s cheap. Very cheap cause there’s not much there to buy.
They do have many Frieda’s products in the produce section, I love Soyrizo and have posted a couple of my fave recipes on almost vegan: Soyrizo Potato Vegetable Saute and Soyrizo Veggies & Yellow Rice.
I have looked at the SoyTaco a million times, but always passed for something else. Well, I was so bored by the limited inventory, I grabbed it the other day just to try something different.
It’s good, it’s Frieda’s. I used it in a kinda different (and lazy) way. I had some cold rice, a few veggies, so I made a Mexican fried rice (no eggs) and the SoyTaco spiced and flavored it up just the amount I was hopping it would.

I found samosas at Whole Foods Market in Boca Raton, they made them fresh there and I purchased them hot with a nice chutney on the side. I got a little hooked on them so when I received my most recent Chicago Tribune, Food and Drink Newsletter with an article about samosas and a recipe so I could make them at home, I was thrilled.
Reading the article is a little frustrating, it’s all about ordering them from any number of take-out and delivery places in Chicago, though she does not mention if a vegan variety is available. No matter, I can get neither take-out or delivery from Chicago, which is 120 miles from me. I am going to make this easily veganized (by me) version myself…as soon as I find the inspiration and the time.

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Thank you all so much for the comments and condolences about my mom. I very much appreciate it.
I’m back home in Michigan… longing for a Whole Foods Market: One of the few things I miss about mall-ville, Boca Raton, Florida. Now I’m driving on dirt roads, hearing about the frost that might effect the fruit trees tonight on the news, and watching the buds on the trees turn to leaves.

More vegan food soon…

It was a tough fight we put up together, she doing all the work of course. It lasted over 6 weeks for her, I was here for over 4 straight. Her heart was just too damaged from the attack to come back.

My mom was a very special person. Not vegan, but she loved Soy Boy ravioli and anything with tofu in it. Even though she was very traditional, she’d try any food I offered with a totally open mind. Just the way she was and a whole lot more I won’t go into.

I will miss her very much.

She loved as well as was… a peach.

Hey, look at this:
Snapea Crisps, by Calbee SNACK SALAD.
I am always looking for alternative snacks, especially vegetable based. These Snap peas that taste fried, but are actually baked, were an interesting find. They don’t taste too much like snap peas (which I love), and that was a bit of a disappointment. They have a very delicate crunch, much less crunchy than fresh snap peas. They come in two flavors, Original and Caesar, the latter I suspect is not vegan.
I happened upon a bag of the Original flavor at the Publix right around the corner from the hospital my mom is in. Not exceptionally crunchy, but I did eat the whole bag in less than half an hour.

It is now. I hope you all don’t mind, but I have placed some Google Ads on the site. Like I said before, I am down in Florida and shopping like mad at Whole Foods Market.
I need the money.
Also, I took a look at the targeted ads they were sending my way. Vegan Chocolate, veganessentials.com, and other interesting vegan links. There was one I saw that had something to do with losing 20 pounds in 3 weeks, and one for cream cheese that I thought was totally inappropriate for a vegan site, but its a keyword oriented computer and there’s bound to be some snafus.
Let me know if you have a problem with it, okay?

Chez Philippe’s mission is to provide ecology-friendly accommodation and breakfast that is 100% vegetal, organic and fair-trade in a non-smoking environment. Enjoy your stay!
Philippe emailed me to let me know about his vegan bed & breakfast located in Montreal, Canada. It looks very nice, judging by his website.
Take a look >>>

Well, I am in Florida for a bad thing, (my mom’s illness) but on a brighter note I have found the biggest Whole Foods Market I have ever seen in my life! (and I’ve been to one in LA — half the size) It’s on Glades Road in Boca Raton.
They have all sorts of prepared fresh vegan food that they sell for $6.99 a pound. (I am going to go broke, I’m sure) and a bunch of vegan items (packaged) that I have never seen before.
Yum!!!!!
I am sitting on the screened in porch right now, it is 80 degrees, and I’m sipping this Lifeway, SoyTreat Strawberry Smoothie. It has live & active kefir cultures, but is non-dairy. I used to love kefir when I was a non-vegan, so when I saw it, I grabbed it.
Pretty tasty.

I finally tried Baha Fresh.
Read my last entry about the restaurant >>>
I am in Florida. My mom had open heart surgery, and myself and my 3 sisters have been taking turns coming down here and being at her bedside. She is still in the hospital in critical condition so we are just hoping for the best.
I’m so sorry everyone for the total lack of posts. I will try to do better. Thanks for all the comments from intelligent vegan readers. I think sometimes the comments on Almost Vegan are more informed than my content.
If anyone has some insight into “Datem” which has been suggested to be in Uncrustables, I’d love a link to more info.

For the vegan child, or adult like myself, these uncrustables are really great. I was driving home from a friend’s house in Chicago one late night, and that is almost a 3 hour drive to S.W. Michigan. The friend is a mom, not vegan, but in her freezer was a huge box of these Smucker’s Uncrustables. I had to read the box to see…
They were clean. (vegan)
I had a long drive ahead, had to be home by morning and it was after midnight. In the old days this would have been no problem, but now in my vegan days, because of the lack of protein, I get tired more easily. So I robbed her kids of a few Uncrustables and hit the road.
I like them because they are individually rapped, stay fresh and they thaw out quickly. So every time I got a little sleepy I jolted myself back to consciousness with a protein + sugar fix from my uncrustable stash.
I made it home, and now I’m hooked on the darn things.
*I have received many comments on the line above “because of the lack of protein”, and rightfully so. I do not “lack” protein as a vegan, but I do find that I have to focus on getting enough because my diet is not overloaded with it from an enormous amount of animal products. I just have to remember to eat beans, nuts and soy products which contain alternative, non-animal based protein. That’s actually what I meant.