Back home

Well, back from my first trip away from home as a vegan. That was tough. I was under the impression that all big cities that had a Whole Foods would have a fine selection of goodies available. Not in the ready to eat variety, apparently....If I was looking for packaged goods, okay. But all I was looking for was a Tom's wrap. Oops. I forgot that it might be regional. But the veggie options were so small that I might have missed them if I hadn't asked for help. And when I ate it today, I swear it was supposed to have hummus in it....nope. And it was heavy on the green pepper, not a fave. But I got a yummy chocolate pudding and a Rice Milk Chocolate bar. Both excellent!

I was glad I brought my own dinner, since my mother and husband had spaghetti with meat sauce. I was offered Caesar salad, and when I said it was not vegan, I had to run down the ingredients to prove it. Apparently Anchovies are not animals....Hmmm. But at least I had enough to eat.

Being back in Austin makes me incredibly glad I don't live in an area that doesn't support the veggie/vegan lifestyle. It must be so hard to get products. And since I had a hard time finding a veggie wrap for lunch, it motivated me to make my own. I will be getting some veggie tortillas, and rolling like crazy. How hard can it be?

Dinner was pretty good. My family had a pizza, and I had a Morning Star lasagna with sausage like crumbles. I swear that is what the box says! I am not usually impressed by Morning Star, but as far as quick microwave meals, this was great. I have always loved the microwave meal, since I am a little bit on the lazy side. I hope they have more vegan meals than just the lasagna, as I am running by on the way to work tomorrow and need a lunch. We will see.....

Road Trip!

I've found the transition to veganism pretty easy, but I live in a great city with a variety of options available. But I have to be out of town this week, and I hope that I can cope with being away from home. I guess this will just be a trial run for T-day....I have already located the nearest Whole Foods in the Ft. Worth area. It is not convenient, but it will have to do. I love to shop, so I am considering buying a cooler that will hold 2 days worth of food for me. Some hummus wraps, veggie burgers, and almond milk to start. Then there is "The big day".....Thanksgiving. Oh, boy. I am getting a Gardin Turkey Roll, and roasting some butternut squash to take to dinner with my husbands family. Luckily, no one will question me too much, as they are pretty accepting. I hope everything will go well......

Good night Veganland, tomorrow has Pasta Florentine on the menu.....

Mmmmm, mock chicken salad.

Now that I am back from my trip, I can start to have a normal cooking schedule. I usually plan 3 different meals (with leftovers) for the week. I looked through a cookbook my vegan friend Danielle gave me for my birthday (Was she premeditating about getting me to join Vegan MoFo?), and chose the Mexican Tortilla Soup and parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme biscuits, and Macadamia Encrusted tofu. All are available in "The 30 Minute Vegan" by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray. I ran by Whole Foods to grab some Miso soup, and while I was there I picked up some mock chicken salad. I had this a few weeks ago, and all I can say is yum! I swear it tastes like the real thing! And I grabbed a Tom's Tobouley Wrap for lunch and a small salad. I also need to get WF's Balsamic Dressing, it was amazing! Anyway....The soup is more like a chili, and I should put corn in too, but it is really good. The biscuits.....well I did not have spelt flour, so I used whole wheat flour. And the recipe says it will be sticky. Not really...it was dry, so I added some more soy yogurt. They looked like dried poop, but tasted good. I will get some spelt flour and remake them. As a bonus, I use some dried sage from my own planters! I hope that the tofu recipe works out just as good, but my hubby and I decided that cashews would be a better crust.....Mmmmm, cashews!

I am hungry again talking about all this food....so I am off to find a snack. Maybe some mock chicken salad?...Mmmmm