APRIL VEGANCUTS

Another month has past and I am back with an unboxing post of my April Vegancuts box. If you are interested in any of the products included in this month's box the company's website are linked for each one. If you wanted more information on Vegancuts you can click here.

My opened vegancuts box

Chocolate Protein Powder by 22 days Nutritional

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Nirvana by 22 Days Nutritional

Roasted Peppers & Artichoke Bruschetta by Milas

Grapefruit Lip Balm by Meow Meow Tweet

Green Olives in Lemon juice &Garlic by Oloves

Cheddar Vegan Cheese by Chicago Vegan Foods

Hazelnut Herbal Tea by Teeccino

Parmesan Style Cheese by Parmela

Popcorn by Skinny Pop

Sweet Potato flavored Tortilla Chips by Food Should Taste Good

A coupon for Beyond Meat

Products I like/Looking forward to try

• The Popcorn  was one of the items that I tried at The Green Festival this past weekend and liked so finding it in this month's box was a pleasant surprise.
• The coupon for Beyond Meat was another nice surprise because I purchased their southwestern style Chik'n recently and was looking forward to repurchasing it
• Finding Teese Vegan cheese was very exciting, I have been wanting to try their cheese for sometime. It melts very well and would work great for a grilled cheese!
• Although my brother ate most of it I did try the Sweet Potato flavored tortilla chips and liked them well enough. It has a hint of sweet potato, not to overpowering.

Products I am undecided on/Don't really care for

• I wasn't exactly thrilled by both Protein items from 22 nutritional only because I don't usually use protein powders or eat protein bars. I already have a few protein bars stocked up from previous boxes and have yet to try any of them. 
• The products I was the most disappointed in was Oloves only because I do not like olives. I gave them to my sister who likes olives and lemon, thinking she would like them but she did not. She described them as being greasy.
• I'm curious to see what the Red pepper and artichoke spread tastes but I am hesitant at the same time. 
• I normally don't like tea but seeing the Teecino Herbal coffee piqued my interest. I have yet to find a tea that I like but since this has hints of carob and hazelnuts I am looking towards to trying it.

All in all I am really glad with the products that I received in this month's box. In comparison to the boxes I have received in previous month's I am most likely to use the majority of the items included. I really think vegancuts is a great subscription service that always try's to include a variety of different products each month. 

NYC Vegetarian Food Festival: Vegancuts Mystery Bag

Yesterday I attended the Vegetarian food festival, and along with receiving some free samples I also bought a few things. One of the companies in attendance were vegancuts who had a mystery bag that you could buy for $20. Since I was very happy with my last vegancuts box I decided to buy it. Below are the pictures of everything included. I haven't tried anything yet but will within the next week or so.

Everything out of the bag

Cute little button

Ultima were at the festival so I had a chance to try their replenisher's before hand, I was glad to find a sample in the bag

Totally unexpected to get a gift card but still much appreciated

I was so happy to see this included in the bag because I have been wanting one

Same gummy candies that were in their box but these are sours

All in all I'm glad that I did purchase their mystery bag because they included a lot of products I had never heard of or tried. They also included a sticker of willtravelforveganfood . I would recommend signing up for their monthly subscription if you haven't already!

If your interested in seeing what kind of things I picked up at the Vegetarian Festival stay tuned for my next post!

Vegancuts

I'm excited to share with you what I received in my February Vegancuts box. Just like the consciousbox which I shared with you in my previous post, the vegancuts box is also a monthly subscription company. They box is filled with different vegan snacks as well as some vegan products. If you were looking to try out or discover new vegan snacks then this box is for you. The box is around $19 a month and you can chose how often you want it sent to you. What's great about vegancuts is the ability to shop for vegan products and food without subscribing to the monthly service. Although they do sell some products that are featured in their monthly products as well.

Taken straight from the Vegancuts website:
Vegan Cuts is run by a vegan couple, John and Jill, who really want to see more people shopping with vegan ethics. A commitment to buying vegan food is a great start, but you can also make a positive difference by choosing vegan options when purchasing clothing, shoes, accessories, body care products and everyday household items. This is why Vegan Cuts features a range of vegan products and encourages members to shop vegan by promoting opportunities to save money while eschewing animal cruelty.

Below I will share what products came in this months box.

A small sticker with the company's logo

A note from the founders of Vegancuts

An offer for an online cooking school and a free coupon code 

Now onto snacks 

A square of chocolate mint from the company Righteously Raw

A cherry filled chocolate from www.sjaaks.com

A raw bar from BudiFree

A peanut butter toffee crunch protein bar from PureFit

3 samples of tea packets (earl grey, chamomile blend and jasmine green tea) from Serengeti Tea Company

A packet of gummy candies from Surf Sweets

Toasted Coconut chips from Dang

Lentil Chips by the company Simply 

Hemp Lip Balm from by The Merry Hempsters

I was happy to see that a few products that had caught my eye in the supermarket were included in this months box. Although I haven't tried most of the snacks I did try a few with my sisters. The Lentil chips are good, sort of a cross between a potato chip and a tortilla chip in my opinion. My sister pointed out that the lentil chips taste like pork rinds and I have to admit they do (how ironic). The chocolate mint is bitter but that's to be expected since its 82% raw cacao. The cherry chocolate heart is my favorite because it wasn't bitter and I did enjoy both flavors. The gummy candies were just like regular gummy candies only not too sweet (I'm not into candy but my sister really liked it). The last things we tried was the toasted coconut chips which were slivers of hard coconuts. The package says it can be used with yogurt, cereals and the like but I'm still on the fence on what I would pair it with. 

Hope you enjoyed this post and those that are vegan or just interested in vegancuts should definitely sign up and see how they like it. 

-Melissa

Update of Sorts

So I've found myself in a bit of a rut, food wise. At the beginning of my vegan journey I was so enthused about cooking new different dishes, and now I'm not. I keep blaming it on the season, saying because it is hot outside I don't want to cook anything too complicated. Honestly its a little bit of that mixed with allowing myself to get comfortable with minimal effort.

I find that my meals now (maybe 90%) center around rice and beans. Not that I don't like rice but it gets so boring eating it so much during the week that I've become uninterested in really cooking. It's become more of a need to eat to sustain myself rather than cook and eat because I like it. Nothing I've eaten has actually satisfied me in months, if I'm being honest the last time I had a satisfying meal was around Christmas.
I'm tired of not enjoying anything I eat, I should derive another emotion other than apathy.

So because of this I am going to make a huge effort into cooking again, I'm going to try out some recipes and see if I get that spark back. I have also been considering going Gluten-free and at least 50% Raw but rather than do them both I think I will have to try one at a time. I want to try Gluten-free first but something tells me that it will be harder for me to do than becoming 50% raw. Anyway everything in baby steps, right?

Mofongo

A couple weeks back I had a hankering for this Puerto Rican dish. It is a plantain based dish that is traditionally filled with fried pork skin. Although Mofongo comes with different variations like chicken, beef, shrimp etc. Never having made this before and knowing that I wouldn't be able to get a vegan version in a restaurant I decided to make my own. This dish is a bit time consuming and not something that can really be made with a small amount of time. Nonetheless it's delicious and should be given a try at least once. To accompany the Mofongo a pot of rice and gandules/peas were made.

Ingredients:

4 green plantains (will make two Mofongos)

4 slices of Vegan Bacon

Olive Oil

Garlic (preferably pureed)  

Salt and Pepper to taste

Vegetable Oil for frying

Pilon (similar to a pestle and mortar only made of wood and taller.

Deep cup (something like a coffee cup)

Optional: Water to boil

* You can cook your pieces of  vegan bacon before the plantains or afterwards. I like sprinkling a bit of salt on them because I think it gives it more of a realistic flavor. Also cook the bacon until crispy but not burnt, just enough to make it easy to crumble.

1. Peel the skin off of the plantains. Cutting the plantains in wheels make sure to cut them somewhere around 1/2 inch to an inch in length. If they are too small it will later make it hard to mash them.

2. Set the cut plantains in a bowl of salt water for about 5-10 minutes.

3. Take a pan and pour some vegetable oil (enough to cook the plantains). Let the oil heat up before the next step.

4. Drain the plantains and place the wheels in the pan to cook on low-medium heat. Make sure you cook the plantains evenly on both side enough so that it is cooked inside but isn't crispy on the outside. You do not want to fully fry the plantains.

5. Set the cooked plantains aside on a plate with some paper towels to drain some of the oil. *You want to work while the plantains are still hot, if you let them sit too long it will be harder to mash them when they are cold.

6. Now take some of the wheels of plantains and place it in your pilon OR your deep coffee cup. If using the cup find something suitable to mash the plantains like a mortar. Mash the plantains up together adding some olive oil (not too much) and some garlic, salt and pepper (to be fair I use adobo instead of the salt and pepper). Do not over mash the plantains you want them to mix together but they don't have to be all completely mashed since its common to find some unmashed pieces in mofongo. Also add in the bacon (1 or 2 pieces per mofongo) at this time making sure to crumble it in. *You can add in more olive oil if the plantains are too dry, not too much to make it greasy but enough to adhere everything sufficiently together.

7. Flatten the top of the plantain's that you have mashed and using a knife run it around the mix to make it easier to get it out of the pilon or cup. 

8. I like to set a flat plate above the opening of the cup or pilon and then turn them both upside down so that the mofongo can go onto the plate flat side down. 

9. You now have it plated and can serve with some rice and beans or by itself. 

*Mofongo is normally served with a sauce on the side called Mojo which is basically a Garlic sauce. It is very easy and quick to make, you will need:

Vegetable oil

Garlic

Adobo/ Salt and Pepper

The measuring is up to you but basically you are mixing all three ingredients together and the amount of garlic you put in depends on how garlicky it will taste. You pour a bit of it onto your mofongo and it gives it yet more flavor.

*OPTIONAL: Another way to make the mofongo if you do not feel like standing over a stove watching the plantains to ensure that they do not get crispy is to boil them. This is a more time saving way and simpler I dare say. You simply have to cut the plantains and boil them in a pot of salt water. Let them cook until they are cooked all the way through but not overcooked, 5-10 minutes will do. After draining the water roughly mash them and place them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Let them get a bit crunchy and then place them into your pilon or cup to mash and mix with the ingredients. Follow the rest of the steps above and you will get the same end result. 

This is a delicious dish that is easy to adapt. I enjoy making these and my family enjoys eating them. 

Give it a try and enjoy!

Vegan Tacos

For the past month or so I have been a bit obsessed with eating taco's, actually more than when I used to eat meat. Funny story sort of concerning tacos. So when I was around 11 I stopped eating tacos and it wasn't until many years later that I tentatively gave them a chance again. At the time I was playing a round of card games with some friends while we ate tacos and someone happened to make a funny joke that caused me to laugh. Well it so happened that I was chewing right when I laughed and a piece of the taco shell lodged sideways in my throat. I was choking on it for a minute before it ended up dislodging and I was able to breath albeit with a sore throat. Since that moment I steered clear of tacos having been traumatized a bit. Now though I have fully embraced the greatness that are tacos and eat them often. I use hard and soft taco shells depending on my mood but one thing I always make sure it to avoid talking or laughing while I'm eating them.


Moving on here is my recipe for Taco's

Depending on how many taco's you are going to make you can add more or less. This recipe is to make 4 tacos

Ingredients:

4 soft taco shells/4 hard shell tacos

1/4 of an Onion (you can puree or just chop the onions, it all depends on your taste)

1/2 tbsp of Paprika

1/2 tsp of Chili Powder 

1 clove of garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

Taco sauce ( you can make it or if lazy then use a pre packaged one like Ortega)

1/4 package of tempeh (cut into cubes)  OR 1/2 small package of Soy Crumbles (Can be any brand, I tend to buy LightLife's Ground Crumbles but use what you have)

1/2 cup Shredded Cheese OR 1 tbsp of Nutritional Yeast (Can be any kind of cheese and doesn't even have to be shredded really. I like to use Daiya or half a slice of Rice cheese if that's what I have)

Refried Beans (If getting store bought refried beans make sure they are vegan friendly. Or you can just use whole washed and cooked beans)

Unlimited Greens (Any kind of vegetable topping you like to put on tacos, like tomatoes and lettuce. I've used spinach or string beans even and some sprouts, it depends on your taste)

Optional: Guacamole (home made or store bought doesn't matter. I will be posting a recipe for some home made guacamole)

*If you are using whole beans make sure to cook and drain them prior to cooking your Soy Crumbles/Tempeh.

*If you are not using store bought guacamole make sure to have it ready before you make your tacos.

1.Using a non stick pan place your soy crumbles in or if using tempeh then put those in.

2.Taking your onion, paprika, chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper mix those into your "meat" of choice. Let them cook together for about 2-3 minutes to ensure they are well seasoned. You can add your taco sauce in to cook or just top it as a sauce on your taco.

3.After cooking your filling you can start cutting up whatever greens are going inside your tacos.

4. Now you can start assembling your taco's. I like placing the beans on the bottom then my tempeh or soy, followed by the cheese and sauce then topped with my choice greens.

These taco's are so good I can't even remember how they tasted when I did eat meat. Everything in this recipe is easily interchangeable.


Plate, serve and enjoy!

Domplines/Dumplings

DOMPLINES (Puerto Rican Dumplings)


4 cups of of flour (Can be regular flour or whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons butter room temperature or melted (you can also use lard)
1 cup lukewarm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
OPTIONAL: 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Vegetable oil for frying

Mix the baking powder, flour and salt together. Slowly add in the warm water as you mix it together. I melted the butter and added it in. Knead the dough until its similar to the consistency of pizza dough. If its too dry just add some more water, enough so that everything sticks together and you can get it into a big ball. 
Let the dough rest for a couple minutes if you'd like and then go into separating it. If its sticking to your hands or your surface just dust some flour over it and roll out into a thin circle or half a circle shape. Because you're making them thin you don't need to take so much dough since it will be flattened out. 
Then just fry them in some vegetable oil and soak up the grease afterwards. All you need is to make a plate of beans to accompany it and you're done.

The dough should look something like this (I used whole wheat flour this particular time). It should be pliable enough to be molded into a ball without sticking to the sides of whatever it is in.

The end result plated with some red kidney beans.

The great thing about this recipe is that it is suitable for Vegan's and meat lovers. No animal 


products needed and its quick and simple.








Give this a try and enjoy!