Almost Vegan

UPDATE [2023] – I had this for dinner last night, purchased at Wal-Mart. 10 miles from me. Thank you, Amy.

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I am so busy lately. Between work, summer fun and family events I have not had any time to cook.

So if I can get to the health food store, which unfortunately is like 50 miles away, I stock up on these Veggie Loafs, amongst other things. I usually get the regular frozen dinner, which includes mashed potatoes, peas and a slice of loaf with gravy. Totally vegan meal in 5 minutes in the microwave, no muss, no fuss at all.

Amy’s Veggie Loaf also comes in a family size which includes 4 slices. Perfect for the small vegan family, except you don’t get the mashed potatoes and peas, and I hate that because I appreciate having vegan mashed potatoes that I don’t have to make myself. Oh well.

Either way, this veggie loaf is great and the gravy is the best. Try it when you’re busy, lazy, in a hurry, whatever.

One of my favorite quick “almost vegan” meals is quesadillas, especially when I have an avocado on hand. My favorite quesadillas are spinach-mushroom. Of course I use Veggie Shreds [not available anymore, any vegan cheese] and I also use these Tumaro’s Gourmet Tortillas.

These are great, truly vegan, and organic. They come in a number of different flavors: Jalapeno & Cilantro, Chipotle Chili & Peppers, Pesto & Garlic, Garden Spinach & Vegetables, Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil, Honey Wheat, Premium White.

I realize most everyone must know how to make a quesadillas, but just in case you don’t, recipe below.

Almost Vegan Quesadillas
Mushrooms
Bag of Spinach
Cheddar Flavor Veggie Shreds
Tortillas
Oil
1.) Saute enough Mushrooms and Spinach that you need (for 2 I use 6 mushrooms and 2 big handfuls of spinach) in oil in a large skillet. When cooked take out and put on a plate.
2.) In the same skillet, use the same oil or add a little more and place a tortilla in there. Cook till it puffs up or is golden on the bottom and turn over. Remove the skillet from the heat for a moment, place a good amount of mushrooms and spinach on half the tortilla, and sprinkle with Veggie Shreds. Fold over and return to heat. Cook on both sides until tortilla is golden and cheese is melted.

This is the best chai tea there is and it just happens to be vegan.

It comes pre-mixed with the “milk” – Westsoy soy milk that is – already in it. I usually still cut it with soy milk, about 50/50, but that is just my personal taste.

I love this stuff and I would probably drink it even if I was not vegan. It is smooth and sort of chocolaty tasting instead of being really sharp and super sweet like most chais.

UPDATE [2023] – No longer available. Try it. Available at most mid to upscale supermarkets or check the Westsoy [now Westlife] website.

I eat Veggie Shreds and they are the reason why I am “almost vegan.” They contain casein, a milk protein that is from a cow.

Now I am not proud of the fact I eat Veggie Shreds cheese with casein, but I cannot find any other non-cheese cheese that quite does it for me. This stuff melts like cheese, tastes like cheese, and satisfies my cheese cravings.

I love cows. I hope they don’t mind.

This is not a fancy mac’n cheese recipe. Just a very basic, quick and tasty meal when you’re hungry with very little time.

Almost Vegan Mac’n Cheese
1 – 1 1/2 cups Veggie Shreds Cheddar Flavor
1/2 pound macaroni, shells, or whatever pasta you prefer
1-2 tablespoons vegan margarine
1/4 cup water

Cook macaroni to taste, drain, place macaroni back in the pot on low heat and add Veggie Shreds and vegan margarine. Stirring constantly while the Veggie Shreds melt, add a little water at a time to loosen up the mixture until you get the perfect mac’n cheese consistency. It may take a bit more than 1/4 cup of water or a bit less depending on your taste.

I usually add some steamed/microwaved broccoli and/or cauliflower. I’ve also been known to toss in some roasted soy nuts to make it a bit more interesting.

I know a number of non-vegans, in fact I know a lot more non-vegans than vegans. Other than explaining why I am vegan, the most difficult thing is to go out with them and end up eating something I like. Panera’s a good place for this.

Great bread and tasty bagels if you would like something sweet.

They always have a vegetarian/vegan soup, sometimes two. They have salads, but they are expensive and have some really tasty cheese on them that you will have to tell them to take off and still pay for it.

They have some fancy bread dipping sauce that is vegan.

They have soy milk for your latte or chi tea.

I am not recommending this as an incredible vegan dining experience. But if you are by a mall with a non-vegan and you want a quick bite, scan for a Panera Bread and you can eat something tasty too.

Another great vegan feature is on the Panera website. Their menu and nutrition section allows you to click on many of their foods and see the ingredients so you can easily find what’s vegan legal.

I love this Mahatma Saffron Yellow rice.

It is extremely easy to make too. Add water, vegan margarine, and the rice to a microwave safe dish with a lid and cook on high for 3 minutes, then on medium power for 17 minutes more.

It is light, fluffy, and tastes incredible.

The best part is it’s great every time. Heat up some black beans and you have a quick meal. Pair it with steamed vegetables or saute the vegetables in olive oil then toss in a little Soyrizo at the end and put that over the rice for some really yummy eats.

I always have a few bags on hand. You can find it at most grocery stores, even where I live.

It’s also totally vegan and enormously satisfying.

I found vegan raisin English Muffins that you can buy anywhere!

And they have Sun Maid Raisins in them. I know, a bit commercial mainstream kinda food, but they are vegan. I read the ingredients. They do have wheat gluten in them, and I see a lot of health food products that boast they have no wheat gluten in them, but until I find out what that is and what bad thing it’s doing to me…I’m eatin’ it.

UPDATE [2023] – Good news, I have a Trader Joe’s 45 miles from me. Out here where I live, that’s pretty close.

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Oh, to go to Trader Joe’s again. Woe, woe is me…I used to live in Los Angeles before I moved back to the Midwest, but that is another story that has very little to do with food. I miss Trader Joe’s. I did most of my food shopping there and at that time I was not vegan, almost or otherwise.

Now, when I really need a Trader Joe’s within 5 minutes of me because I am almost vegan, the closest one is about a 3 hour drive away. Rats.

I got the bug for Trader Joe’s again from a comment I received from a very interesting blogger. She posted with the name Akemi and her website is http://www.cosmiconion.com [no longer in service]. It is relatively new, like my own and she has some pretty funny bits going about eHarmony dating. She recommends Trader Joe’s vegan cookies, they come very Trader Joe’s appropriate in a paper bag, and she has tried the chocolate chip and oatmeal chocolate chip.

I looked at Trader Joe’s website through my new vegan eyes and drooled. They have some good stuff and I love them because they are always really cheap. The stores in CA have more vegan stuff, of course. I was able to download their list of soy products (they don’t have a list of vegan products) and it looked like they had some things I can’t get anywhere else and would love to try like Trader Joe’s Vegan Pad Thai with Tofu and Trader Joe’s eggless egg salad, to name a couple. Here’s the PDF’s of both the East/Midwest and the West Coast Trader Joe’s soy offerings.

East West
Or just go to the Trader Joe’s website yourself and look around. I love their Monty Python-like images and sense of humor. You’ll be able to find a store near you (hopefully) on their site.

Trader Joe’s also has the best dried fruit section I have ever seen in my life, and priced so you can buy some of it. Great nuts. If you want some wine, this is the place to go. I used to get good Merlot for under $5 and French Cabernet for less than that. I’d also pick up the Trader Joe’s Midsummer’s Night Moisturizer for around $3 (its actually Nature’s Gate which I have to pay $6 for).

That tears it! I’m going to the airport right now and hop a plane to my old Trader Joe’s in Los Feliz, CA. Think of all the money I’ll save!

Pie is a great thing. It can be made vegan so easily I wonder why anyone ever makes a non-vegan fruit pie, but that’s just me. It is much cheaper to make a vegan pie crust than a non-vegan pie crust, just as easy and just as good. It may sound like a lot of work to make a pie from scratch, but it is so worth it, there is nothing better than a homemade pie. Nothing!

As I write this, I have my first fruit pie of the summer baking in the oven. I happened upon some tart cherries at a fruit stand not far from my house.

I live in what they call the “fruit belt” in Southwestern Michigan, not far from the lake so we get plenty of rain and snow. Many of my neighbors are farmers, but I am not.

Now I must admit I don’t normally make cherry pie, in fact this is my very first one. I usually don’t find tart cherries, but I saw them at the fruit stand and it is still a little early in the season for anything but strawberries, which I don’t bake, so I got them. I usually make blueberry, peach, apple. I make a lot of blueberry pies because I live surrounded by blueberry farms. I actually can walk a very short distance and be in a farmer’s field picking enough blueberries for a pie or two and walk home before he even realized I was there. Now I don’t do this, mostly because once when I was young I was in his field on my mini-bike and he shot at me with what I think was buckshot. He missed.

Now I go to his farm and buy them. I get 5 pounds of blueberries for $6.00. I have never mentioned the time he shot at me. I wonder if he remembers, I don’t think he was close enough to know it was me, but who knows.

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Oh my. I was in Chicago, on the North Shore actually, and I ran across this Dean & Deluca Marinara Sauce. Well if you have a bit too much money and want a really, really good pasta sauce, try this.

Yeow, I couldn’t believe it was so good, but I think it cost like $10.00 a jar. I can’t be sure because they didn’t have a price on it and I didn’t pay for it. If I’d had to I’m sure I wouldn’t have gone for it, but rich friends were doing the shopping.

If you are in a very upscale grocery store with some very rich friends and happen upon this stuff, try it.

Or I have the Dean & Deluca website to click on. On their site it’s only $24 for all three different kinds of sauce, Marinara, Arrabiata, Puttanesca. I don’t know if anything but the Marinara is actually vegan, and I don’t know if they would substitute three of one kind instead of one of all three kinds. You can send them an email and ask, for $24 they should do a little dance for you too, but this sauce is actually so incredibly good, they don’t have to.