Almost Vegan

I made a vegan B-L-T sandwich for lunch the other day. It was not bad, not really the same though because nothing is as tasty as a pig. I say this with no intention of eating one, they look to be very nice animals. Smart, loving, very sweet. It seems they also make good pets.

The Smart Bacon meatless strips from Lightlife I used instead were good enough. I made it on sun dried tomato bread, which made the sandwich quite tasty and special. Be careful not to cook the Smart Bacon too long. It gets to be nasty-crispy very quickly.

I received an email today that cheered me up and surprised me a little. I make websites for a living and created a fitness website for a former client, they sold heart rate monitors, body fat monitor scales, stuff like that. Now to be up with the competition I subscribed to their email newsletters. I never unsubscribed to one of them, just out of laziness, I wasn’t normally interested in them because these “health” types, mostly body builders and exercise fanatics (heaven forbid), are not exactly my kind of healthy…
That’s why this issue of Megafitness, Health News surprised me. It’s all about vegetarianism and veganism. If you have a moment, it is an interesting read. Very sensitive and supportive comments from a non-vegetarian. This leads me to believe that vegetarianism and veganism is getting more and more mainstream.
Click here to read it for yourself.
I am featuring the vegan recipe they sent in the newsletter because it looks really good. I haven’t tried it yet, but I will.

Read more

I have been rather devastated myself, even though I’m safe, well fed, watered, and dry in my Midwestern home, by Katrina.
My fear and concern for the people of the region had lessened a tiny bit today with the entrance of the forces in New Orleans yesterday and the progress they seem to be making, but my worry for the animals has not.
The sight of dogs and cats on rooftops, porches and in trees alone and confused killed me, so I got on my computer and looked for animal welfare societies that might be helping.
Well Peta was a huge disappointment, but The Humane Society of the United States was not. They were finally admitted into New Orleans to begin an animal rescue effort today, Sunday the 4th. Thank God and go folks go. Get that huge dog I saw today on CNN out of that tree and give him some food, water and a comfy place to take a nap!
I hug my dog, Weim, a lot these days, but it doesn’t wipe the scenes of lonely, stranded animals out of my mind.

After a summer here in Michigan of more 90 degree days than in 70 years, it went down under 50 last night. “Good sleeping weather” as some would (and did) say. I love it warm, so I must find things to start comforting myself at the slightest hint of fall.

Bob’s Red Mill is a great company. Not necessarily vegan or vegetarian, but so health conscious their products are often vegan. (Yet they often suggest pork products to be added to their soup, etc.)

I love the Vegi Soup Mix, you can find it in numerous supermarkets or you may also buy it online along with the rest of Bob’s offerings.
Read the labels, but mostly just keep an eye to adjust their recipe suggestions. From the comments I receive, I think you all know how to do that.
To everyone going back to school, my condolences (study hard and be great!)

I found these scones at my local upscale grocery store, from their in-house bakery. Now I just read the ingredients on a lark thinking, no way will these be vegan… BUT THEY WERE!!!!

So the moral of the story is — read ingredient lists on baked goods in your local upscale grocery store. You never know what you’ll find, and thank God for partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. It is saving some cows some work.

Summer is chock full of re-runs and Almost Vegan is no exception, but this post is good enough to revisit every year.
I just may make it an annual thing for blueberry festival. Which is very big here in blueberry country and coming up this week.
Follow this link to
VEGAN Blueberry Coffee Cake heaven >>>

I am into leafy greens. I got some collard greens, (frozen) and made up this tasty dish of the greens, vegan sausage, dark red kidney beans, mushrooms, onions and garlic saut?ed in a little olive oil. It was good and very healthy.

I found the trick to collard greens is vinegar. They don’t taste good unless you drizzle in a bit of cider vinegar. That seems to bring out their flavor.
I boiled them first, then tossed them into the mixture I had saut?ed. Great source of iron. I sprinkled a bit of Veggie Shreds on top after I put them on the plate. Yum.

Another holiday with my family, big fun! If you remember the last one – take a look – I half starved.
This time I am stocking up on good, vegan chow. Amy’s burger offerings are giving me a hand. I have recently gotten hooked on the California Burger, it’s a great departure from the norm, no soy in it. Vegetables, grains, walnuts, and mushrooms. It is very good fried. I had it once on the grill and I think they over cooked it, because it was hard as a rock.

Thanks Amy’s!

If you are going to grill you might want to opt for the All American Burger. It does have soy, (which I do love, thank God) and vegetables and grains as well.
I hope everyone has a fun and safe extended weekend. ENJOY!

Chocolate is dangerous. Most of the time it has milk in it, even dark chocolate often times has milk in it.

Ritter Sport Marzipan Dark Chocolate Bar
Well, Eliza Tudor and her husband Lance Sykes (I hear Eliza’s husband is not vegan, but sounds very supportive because he is an active label reader – wish I had one!) sent me an email telling me about a Marzipan Bar, which is chocolate with a marshmallow *(correction – the filling is almond paste) filling and is vegan. They love it, but I must admit I have never had one.
Well, you can buy a Marzipan Bar online at Vegan Essentials and on that page are listed a bunch more vegan chocolate treats. So many I got really excited, stuff like: Soymilk chocolate bites, chocolate syrup, white chocolate chips, French vegan chocolate fondue, and it goes on an on.
Thanks so much Eliza!
*Thanks for the correction, JM

Want a quick and easy Almost(= cheese w/casein) Vegan pizza? Then try this ready made crust. It’s vegan, unlike Boboli (which I love, but it has cheese in it).

I put a good amount of sauce on it, lots of veggies, and lots of soy cheese and it was pretty good. Not as good as my made from scratch deep dish mind you, (recipe to follow… incredible) but passable when you want something quick and its not too expensive either.