Other random sweets this week
This was a cookie I got from my in-laws in my birthday package. It’s from Michelle’s Naturally Vegan and Organic Cookies. It was chocolate chip. This is seriously my favorite packaged vegan cookie to date. It is pretty firm and crumbly. I loved the taste, texture, and nutrition of it. Some packaged vegan cookies can be a whopping 500 calories for the whole thing. This one was 300 calories, and when a half of it is plenty in one serving, it makes a great dessert. Also, the ingredients are all natural, no preservatives. It is also naturally sweetened. I’m in love! They offer pretty reasonable shipping, $5 flat rate on all orders. So order away!!
Love this ice cream! Whole Foods doesn’t seem to carry it, so it’s always a treat to get when we venture to HEB Central Market.
This was truly a random dessert concoction one night this week. We love sweets around here! I have to have a little something sweet after lunch AND dinner. It just makes life even more wonderful!! Raspberry ice cream, vanilla snaps, and a wee bit of chocolate syrup. YUM!!
I saved the best for last. One of my sweet students had a birthday this week. Her mom and her made chocolate cupcakes for our entire class. They were so UNBELIEVABLY thoughtful because they didn’t want me to go without, so her mom got me a gigantic piece of Joy’s Chocolate Cake Slice from Whole Foods. She was so cute when she handed it to me, saying that the guy at Whole Foods swore it was vegan. She’s absolutely right! It’s one of the only vegan cakes they ALWAYS carry in the bakery at our Whole Foods. Of course, it was delicious. I am still just so touched by this gesture. It’s really very touching. The picture below is the piece of cake after two days of me (and a couple of other teachers) chowing at it, after it dropping on its way back into the fridge, and a long car ride home today consisting of several errand stops. I wish I had a picture of it in its prime, but I just had to blog about this sweet gift.
Another day in the food life of me (and my family)…
Almond butter waffles make another appearance this week. This time with bananas on top. Drizzled in agave nectar, they were the perfect start to my Thursday.
Mom and I hopped on over to Whole Foods for a lovely, yummy lunch together. We invaded the salad bar. Look at all the yumminess on that plate! Most memorable was the beets, cilantro tofu, curried sweet potatoes, and the dolma. I also had a wee bowl of black bean soup and Lime Perrier to drink.
Madre and me at lunch. Love you Mom!
Dinner tonight was Fettuccine Alfreda (p. 142 in Vegan with a Vengeance). This is really the most awesome recipe. I’ve probably made this sauce half a dozen times. I roasted brussel sprouts in the oven at 430 degrees F for about 20-30 minutes. We like them a little burned and crispy. 
I sprayed them with a little Pam, fresh black pepper, and Maine Coast organic kelp granules (my favorite low sodium salt alternative) before going in the oven. I think I learned about this product from the amazing vegan cookbook author Dreena Burton. After the brussel sprouts came out of the oven, I baptized them with half of a lemon. Yum! On the side was a mix of every frozen vegetable I had left in my freezer: broccoli, corn, and fava beans. Time to go shopping.
We LOVE a good cookie around these parts. These Super-Charge Me! Cookies from Dreena Burton’s cookbook, Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan, get my vote for all-time favorite vegan cookie. They are so versatile. I have made them several ways. If you’re out of maple syrup, you can sub in agave nectar to make a chewier version. Tonight’s Super-Charge Me! Cookies were made with maple syrup, almond butter, and chocolate chips (along with the oatmeal, and other regular ingredients). The fam wasn’t in the mood for nuts or raisins in their cookies tonight, so I left those babies out. Maybe they’ll make it in the next batch.
Blog virgin
It was after eating half of this tofu sandwich today that I decided FOR REAL I was starting a blog. So here I am! The yummy sandwich was on an Ezekiel sprouted grain hamburger bun and consisted of tofu slices, grilled on George Foreman, avocado, red onion, yellow mustard, Nasoya sandwich spread, and fresh pepper.
I have a VERY sweet tooth, and almost always have a wee dessert after lunch and/or dinner. More often lunch AND dinner. Today’s lunchtime dessert was a vegan blueberry cookie that I had just picked up during a Whole Foods grocery trip and vanilla ice cream. I actually ate half of mine somewhere between when I picked it out of the case at WF and lunchtime. The whole cookie pictured, therefore, is the one I got for Eric.
Working backwards now, my pre-Bikram yoga breakfast was cereal, soymilk, and blackberries. Cereal sweetened with some Stevia, my most favorite natural sweetner.
Dinner was Dreena’s Garlicky Broccoli, Corn & Bean Burritos, p. 127 from ED&BV. Oh so tasty and garlicky! I couldn’t get over how yummy the sauteed veggies were. I used a can of Amy’s low sodium refried pinto beans instead of making my own. Topped off with slices of avocado and tofutti sour cream. Served on the side are lime wedges, along with a basic salad of romaine, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar. Bon appetit!
