Almost Vegan

I really do love Thai Kitchen.

Vicky, a regular commenter on Almost Vegan, suggested I try Thai Kitchen’s noodles in a bowl. I think this is what she was talking about.

These Noodle Cart Instant Rice Noodles & Sauce are really quick to make, but a little bit of trouble in the microwave. (you can also use the boiling water method) You have to take everything out of the little tray, take the noodles out of their package, put them back in the tray and fill it with water. Microwave the tray for 3-4 minutes, snap on the lid they provide and drain the water. Take off the lid, pour in the seasonings and oil packet, stir and eat.

The 2 I tried, Pad Thai and Roasted Garlic, were a bit more spicy than the mild on the box would indicate, but it’s fun to have tasty noodles in 4 minutes. All 3 kinds (plus Thai Peanut) are completely vegan.

These are vegan Oreos – Oreo Thin Crisps, Baked Chocolate Wafer Snacks – and frankly I like them better than original Oreos.

I never really liked the sugary inside of an Oreo and these don’t have any of that. They come in cute 100 calorie packs. Just another sensible snacking option from the world of Nabisco!

Go visit NabiscoWorld.com

I tried these just today for the 1st time and I love them. They are better than any vegan burgers I have had so far. I like them better than Gardenburger and I love Gardenburger.

I hope this makes that very brutal post about your hot dogs easier to take, LIGHTLIFE.

I have to call ’em as I taste ’em!

I am taking credit for this recipe here, but it was actually Carmen who left a comment on a Zatarain’s Black Beans & Rice post suggesting vegetables be used to make these Zatarain’s mixes a meal.

I used onions, zucchini, mushrooms, and carrots in this one, but you can use most any veggies and unless you like your zucchini pretty soft, I might go with vegetables that hold up better when you cook them a long time. 25 minutes on low to be exact.

I don’t mind, and thought zucchini would be good for a New Orleans style recipe, but okra would be even more authentic.

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It’s taken a while for the thought that Wonder Bread is vegan to sink in, and I still don’t completely believe it even though I got this bit of information from the Peta website, so it’s got to be true! I Can’t Believe It’s Vegan is a great article, infinitely helpful and surprising.

My favorite sandwich when I was a kid was 2 slices of very fresh Wonder Bread with a mound of lettuce in between and mayonnaise. I’m gonna get me some Vegannaise and see if I can revisit my childhood.

It’s funny the things you crave when you are denied or in my case denying myself. Caramel corn, for me, is one of those things. I don’t know of a caramel corn that you can buy that is vegan, but we’re in luck. I got a pretty quick and easy recipe for caramel corn that you make in the microwave. I made it in about 10 minutes, popcorn included.

Try it, it is incredibly good!

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I don’t know if all Wheat Thins are vegan, but these Harvest Crisps, Five-Grain are and they’re good, too.

You’ve got to visit NabiscoWorld.com, it looks kinda like Disney.com, but it’s all about food instead of cartoons. (they do have food cartoons) – [not anymore]

Now just because it’s Nabisco doesn’t mean they don’t care about a healthy diet. Look, they have this sensible snacking link right on the main page, and the sensible snacking page has links like – What’s your snacking IQ? – 100 ways to burn 100 calories. [no snacking IQ anymore]

They do care.

It is hard to believe a box cake, especially Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Dark Chocolate Fudge, is vegan…but it is.

I use Ener-G-Egg Replacer to substitute for the eggs.

One thing, don’t try to get fancy and make a layer cake. I’ve found while a 9×13 works, my vegan layer cakes never hold up. They fall a bit and get gummy. I’m going to overcome, and I will give you the secret recipe as soon as I find it, but make do with a 9×13 until then.

Here’s a trick for tastier rice. Toss in a couple of Knorr Vegetarian Bouillon, 1 – 1 cup dry rice for tasty, 2 – 1 cup dry rice for tastier, when you place the rice and water in the pot. Yum. Everybody (vegan/non-vegan) likes it.

UPDATE – This batter mix from McCormick is no longer available, and one from McCormick that is, (see link below) has eggs in it. You can use this onion ring batter mix instead >>

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I never trust anything battered and fried in restaurants. When I do ask the wait-person if I can eat it, I usually regret it. So (when I am not dieting) I make them at home.

There are many batter mixes and a lot of them are vegan. I didn’t think so for a long time, and one day I saw a packet by a big batch of fresh Vidalia’s and just on a whim I picked it up and read it…vegan.

This is McCormick Onion Ring Batter Mix [caution, contains eggs] and even McCormick’s is vegan [not anymore] and I bet they didn’t do it on purpose! So read the package you find in your grocery store by the onions and then fry up some onion rings, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, okra, zucchini, whatever.

Put a game on, get some beer, call your friends, wear a T-shirt, swear a lot and pretend you’re in a sports bar.