Almost Vegan

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.

Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, Brown Sugar Cinnamon, and Strawberry Pop-tarts are vegan!
But the ones with frosting are not vegan.

Tragic email I received today (below). Ellen, has (I believe) lived in Austin all her life. Her parents are vegetarians and she is vegan. The sad part is, for whatever reason, she has to move. She is going to a town called Beaumont, in Texas also, and it doesn’t sound good. Check her comment on Wal-Mart has Soy Yogurt — YEEEEHAAAA!!!!
What she has done for us is celebrate her home town of Austin by sending me an email listing her favorite vegan restaurants. Take a look and thanks Ellen.
——————–
Wow. I live in Austin. I’m about to move and I’ve had a really sheltered life if you think about it. Two vegan restaurants and countless vegetarian restaurants (including a vegetarian coffee house that’ll make anything vegan).
I thought that you might find these restaurants interesting. I suggest that anyone who wants good vegan food, take a trip to Austin.
Nu Age
Has a vegan custard even! Vegan risotto! (And I found it hard to find vegetarian risotto.)
Veggie Heaven
All vegan items clearly marked on the board! Wonderful food, wonderful lemonade.
Cafe de Luz
Vegan restaurant. The only one I haven’t been too. Supposed to be wonderful.
Mr. Natural’s
Not my favorite. The food is a little bland.
Bouldin Creek
The coffee house I was talking about earlier. When I’m craving breakfast tacos, I can get vegan ones here.
West Lynn Cafe
Upscale vegetarian restaurant with plenty of vegan options. My vegetarian parents love to go there.
As you can see, Austin is quite veggie friendly.
–Ellen

Thanks Green Giant for quick and easy Garlic & herb potatoes that are vegan.
After a weekend with my family of: “Can I eat any of this stuff? What’s in the wild rice?” family: “Chicken broth, I’m sorry.” Cheese and cream in the potatoes, creamy-cheesy Cesar salad, yesterday they finally put the cheese sauce on the side instead of right on the cauliflower so I had something to eat.
Thick steaks Friday night, chicken Saturday and a tenderloin Sunday night, all grilled to perfection by Ryan with ooohs and aaahs all around.
I am starving.
(Potatoes were Angela’s tip – thanks)

I have been cooking with Gimme Lean Sausage Style a lot lately. It is really tasty and adds a good shot of protein, where if I only used the veggies to make the same meal (which I often do), I would otherwise miss out on.
Try this excellent pasta dish. It is fast, easy and not too messy to make. One skillet and one pot to boil the pasta.

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I found these VAN 100% Vegetarian Egg Rolls in the “deli” (it’s not a deli, it’s just a refrigerated island of packaged food) section of my super Wal-Mart. Right next to some brats and brie. It’s funny, I never look in there, but wandered over and found these. I read the ingredients and couldn’t believe it.
They are pretty good for egg rolls minus the eggs.
Be warned, they make 4-5 different kinds, the rest have meat in them.
*(of note) Angela, a new reader who has taken a great interest in Almost Vegan, emailed me about these egg rolls the very next day after I found them. I think they must be new, at least at Wal-Mart.

I found one.

Now I have been looking for a vegan granola bar for some time now. I don’t know how many bar’s ingredient lists I have read and it surprised me that I didn’t find one that was vegan. Always milk in them. I had almost given up.
But then I noticed the Full Circle brand on this package and because I have recently discovered Full Circle, (Hey, I live out in the middle of nowhere) I thought what the heck.
Score.
I tried the wild berry. Yum. They have a little, Rice Crispy Treat-like texture to them. Don’t be fooled though, their Cobbler Cereal Bars do have milk in them. Rats!