vegetarianinacoma.blogspot.com

Trader Joe's has always had a very impressive selection of vegetarian/vegan products and have been adding more and more over the past few years. I try to mix up my regular supermarket trips with ones to TJ's just to balance out my meals for the week (as you probably know, the supermarket can be somewhat limited in regards to soy/meatless products). I usually end up walking out of TJ's with a handful of new things to try...this was one of them.

It is a newer product of TJ's found in the refrigerated section near the hummus, soups, etc . It's called Chicken-less BBQ Pulled Chicken and although being a little hesitant to try it out (the packaging offered very little idea of what was inside), I was happy with the results.

First thoughts? The texture is eerily similar to real pulled chicken. Very similar. It also has a smokey/somewhat spicy BBQ flavor that makes for a great sandwich. It's fully cooked so all that is required is heating it up. You have several ways of doing this but I opted for the stove-top option on a pan. It was a bit messier but I like to try to stay away from my microwave unless it is necessary.

Next thought...how did they get the texture to be so firm yet not too chewy?! It's almost perfect. I topped it with some shredded cheese on a bulkie (yes, I'm from New England) roll and it was great.

The whole box can feed two people and has 17 grams of protein in total (there is both soy and pea protein in the ingredients). If you're feeling the urge for BBQ and don't feel like marinating tofu yourself, I would highly recommend giving this a try. For $3.50-$4.00 a box, it's worth it!

Fake chicken! Yes, it may sound creepy and there are a good number of really bad "faux" meats out there. But one brand that I use often is Quorn. It's tasty and easy to cook. The only drawbacks are, of course, the price ($4.50-$5.99 for the cutlets) and the whole shaped like a piece of chicken thing. I don't mind this personally but I know there are people out there who detest fake meat shaped like what it's supposed to be. It's weird!

I make pizza almost every week and this was a bit of an experiment. I was nervous that after cooking the cutlets and adding them to the pizza they would dry out. You can spare yourself from dried up "chicken" by brushing it with olive oil before it cooks and again before adding it to the pizza.

Ingredients:
1 can Pastene pizza sauce
1 12-inch pizza crust (i just buy the bags of dough from the supermarket)
1/2 cup flour
2 tomatoes
2 cups mushrooms (sliced)
2 cups chopped onion
2 Quorn Naked Chik'n Culets (cooked and sliced)
1/2 package (6 ounce) of mozzarella cheese
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 tbsp olive oil





What to do:
Start with the dough. Stretch it out however you prefer. Then add a coat of olive oil and the sauce. Then add the garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, chicken, and top with cheese. You can season and salt it to taste (I use a dash of Italian seasoning and garlic salt for taste).

Bake at 400 degrees on a pizza stone or pan for about 20-25 minutes until it's crispy. Yum!

This is a simple, cheap recipe that is usually a staple in my weekly routine of food. Below is the basic recipe but feel free to add/try/substitute different spices (parsley and cumin can be used instead of cilantro for instance). You can eat it over lettuce or greens or enjoy it as is!

Ingredients:
1 16oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups corn, drained
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1 tsp cilantro, minced
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Add salt and pepper to taste.

What to do:
Mix all ingredients into a decent size bowl or pan. Cover and chill overnight for best results.

The supermarket can be a tricky place sometimes. I often find myself wandering down aisles trying to figure out a list of ingredients knowing that, in all honestly, I'll be halfway home before realizing I forgot an important item. I'm usually pretty good at getting in and out but sometimes, especially after a long work shift, I can be a bit...off. My head is booming, my brain is foggy, and those kids in aisle 4 are waaaay too loud. My iPhone has the Notes app that I use religiously in these instances and it allows me to not only make a detailed food list, but I can put food items in order depending where they are located in the supermarket. An example could be:



This way, I'm grabbing things in the order I'm walking through the grocery store and I can get out of there and home in no time. It might seem a bit elementary but it works.

This recipe is incredibly straightforward if you want an easy, cheap, and filling soup. The ingredients are all the basics and you can add other vegetables, seasonings, etc if you feel the urge. Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cups of mushrooms, diced
1 16oz box of Swanson Vegetable broth (use a 32oz box if you'd like it a bit more "brothy")
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup pearled barley, uncooked
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 large bay leaf
2 tsp olive oil



What to do:
The prep for this takes the most time, otherwise you're just adding all the ingredients and letting it simmer.

Start with a large soup pot, saute the celery, onion, mushrooms, and carrots for 4-5 minutes on med/high heat. Add vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, beans, barley, and spices, reduce heat to medium low. Let the soup simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally and making sure the barley is getting soft. I usually cook this the night before and have it the next day so all the flavors can settle. Either way, it's filling, easy to make, and delicious!

"Because We Must"
-Stephen Patrick Morrissey

When I was 15 years old I decided to stop eating meat. My Mom freaked out, my Dad called me a "Sally." This was not a decision I made overnight or even over the span of a few weeks. I wasn't changing my diet because of the health risks or because I didn't "like" meat (I grew up in an Italian household and was fed some of the most delicious meals a meat-eater could probably ask for). Over time, I found myself acting more compassionate towards animals, something I believe started after finding out, pretty much, where my meat came from. Now, this was well before the internet was in every household so information wasn't as readily available as it is today. But after a few weeks I found myself following my own set of guidelines regarding my diet and had actually formed some concrete (gasp) convictions towards what I ate. I know this may seem like nothing now but to a 15 year old this is a big deal.

For starters, not eating meat can take some effort for anyone, especially a freshman in high school. Working 20-25 hours in a local Italian restaraunt as a line cook during that time didn't support my cause much either. How can you be a vegetarian but roll 50-75 meatballs in one shift? I was surrounded each day by foods I could not nor wanted to eat. But during this time I was able to make certain discoveries that helped me along the way. I made trips to a Wild Harvest a few towns over once I got my own car and soon discovered the wonders of soy crumbles, tofu, FRESH fruits and vegeatables, and yes, even tempeh (still not a fan!). I found local farms and supermarkets that published their own newspapers that included great vegetarian and vegan recipes. I even had my Mom bringing home vegetarian suggestions she got from the local shops in Chinatown she would visit on her lunch break.

I guess where I'm going with this is the reasoning behind creating this blog. I've recently found myself in several conversations with friends, family members, and co-workers that revolved around me not eating meat. As most individuals who are vegetarians know, you often get the, "well, what do you eat?" question. It can be a tough one to answer if you're not used to getting asked. Part of me wants to put myself in the other persons place and go down the list of delicious foods I eat daily just to "enlighten" them a bit, maybe even create a spark that could ignite into something bigger for them. Maybe I could get them to change their diet, cut out the meat, feel more healthly, and even save some animals while I'm at it.

But that's not me. I tend to take the diplomatic approach when it comes to my diet and, pretty much, everything else in life. I've never been one to preach, and it's just not in my nature to tell someone how to live. This blog won't be about posting pictures of slaughtered animals or smashing the ideoligies of meat eaters. I'd rather have it as a place people can visit to see recipes of food I've made, enjoyed, and would like to share. I'll probably even include a few ramblings here and there on some of the veggie products I've bought over time and my thoughts on them (hopefully starting with a full panel review of all Quorn products!). So I'll leave it at that for now, enjoy!