Trader Joe's Haul and Stuff I Ate

Hey everyone! Sorry for all of the lackluster content lately… it's been a rough end of the year healthwise so it always kind of messes with your meals and eating. I am back on different antibiotics for a tooth issue to while I have to make sure to eat I never actually want to. Anyway, I do have a Trader Joe's Haul to share with you today as well as a few meals.

Also, why doesn't anyone sell Earth Balance butter sticks? I can always get the tubs but I need the sticks for baking and I can only get those at Whole Foods (which is not super close to me). Has anyone else had that problem? Have you found an easier to find substitute? One of my cookie recipes calls for coconut oil which is great but I need butter for the other two. Any tips would be awesome!

Ok so let's get into it!

First up is the produce! Carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, pears, potatoes and an attempt at a bag of butter lettuce. Looking at the picture I'm annoyed at all of the packaging. It's so unnecessary. This has always been an issue for Trader Joe's, maybe one day they will actually fix it.

I decided it was time for my annual treat to the Candy Cane Joe Joe's which are my FAVORITE, some Jasmine rice (when you feel like shit all the time sometimes you just need some frozen rice to get a meal on the table), the Veggie Spring Rolls which I've heard are awesome, the Cranberry Spiced Apple Kombucha, dolmas and chocolate chips.

I had an everything bagel lightly toasted with avocado, salt and pepper. It was really good and exactly what I wanted.

I decided to get some more veggie rolls as well. This time I used my favorite chopsticks that my friend got me from Japan. I love these and they are perfect. I love the rainbow steel ones I got online but they are heavy and big and harder to use so these continue to be my go to!

Sorry this is such a short post but that's what I have for you today! What is on your holiday shopping list? Are you into the holidays or is it just another day for you?

Hope you have a great week and I'll see you Friday!

Stuff I Ate

Hey guys! I hope that you are all doing well! Happy Friday! I hope you have all had a great week and I'm sure you are all ready for your weekend. I am as well and I feel like I'm counting the minutes. I still feel like my body is dragging and I'm just completely drained from being sick but I'm working on getting better.

I have a few meals to share with you today but it has definitely been a weird week as there isn't much that I've actually wanted to eat. With that said, I'll show you the few meals I did photograph.

I decided to treat myself to some sushi and it was so delicious. It was by far my favorite meal of the week and oddly enough the price went back down to $6.49. I'm not going to argue with it, it's just weird 😂 In any case, it was absolutely delicious and I'm glad I decided to treat myself.

I was really craving pizza but didn't have a pizza crust (I keep meaning to get one from Trader Joe's but I keep forgetting!) so I decided to make a pizza bagel! I used the Violife Mozzarella Shreds (really good!!) and it was exactly what I wanted.

When I went to pick up the sushi I noticed that they had Panera Garden Veggie soup in a container! This used to be my favorite soup at Panera but I haven't seen it there in the longest time (it is vegan without the Pesto). I decided to grab it for lunch the next day and you guys… it was so DISAPPOINTING!!! This is not the garden veggie soup I remember. This was like a few sad veggies and barley in tomato sauce. I hated it and it made me nauseous. Definitely disappointing and a waste of money.

I brought some fruit and peanut to work with me to have as snacks. This is always a good idea!

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I saw this meme on Instagram and I was like OMG ME!!! 😂 

So those are all of the sad meals I have to share today. Sorry things have been lackluster here lately but as I start to feel better it'll get more exciting! I hope that you enjoy your weekend and I'll see you back here on Tuesday!

Cookie Idea Roundup

Hey everyone! I hope all is well! Thanks for your well wishes after my sick day post, it is greatly appreciated! I'm definitely starting to feel better but not near 100% yet so meals are still quite boring. I figured it would be fun to share some fun cookie recipes I found on Pinterest for anyone planning on getting into the holiday baking spirit! I definitely plan on making some cookies once I feel better so I'm sharing the list of cookies that I will definitely be making as well as some maybes :)

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First up are these gorgeous Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies from Nora Cooks! I love the powdery, snowy finish on them, it reminds me of hot cocoa and snow. These are on my definite list and I'm so excited to give them a try!

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Next up are these beautiful Molasses Cookies from I Love Vegan. I always want to make Molasses Cookies but I never do and I think I want to change that this year. I love the ones with the sugar crystals on them because it reminds me of glitter and you know how much I love glitter 😉

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These Chocolate Chip Sprinkle Cookies from Namely Marly are another one on the definite list for me. I know they may not be Christmas festive but they are fun and festive and the only thing that is better than funfetti is when there is chocolate involved as well. I'm so excited to give these a try!

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These beautiful Vegan Thin Mint Cookies from The Pretty Bee are a PERFECT cookie for the holidays! I'm pretty sure everyone loves Thin Mints and mint and chocolate is such a classic holiday pairing. They would be beautiful with some crushed up peppermint candies on top as well. These are high on my list and one I would love to make if I have the time!

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Another recipe that I found and would love to make are these Vegan Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies from Loving It Vegan. This may be blasphemous but I'm actually not the biggest fan of peanut butter cookies but I had the idea to swap out the Peanut Butter for some Trader Joe's Cookie Butter (you're welcome!). To me that feels so festive for the holiday because the cookie butter has such a warm holiday flavor and what is better than a little Cookieception around the holidays? 😉😂 If I get the chance to make these I'll be using the cookie butter and I will definitely let you know how it swaps out!

The last thing I hope to be able to make are little chocolate clusters with lots of different ingredient combinations in them. I love making bark and chocolate clusters around the holidays because they are so easy and come together so quickly and the flavor combination possibilities are endless. Some of my favorites are peanuts and raisins (any fans of the Chunky bar?), cashews, pecans, cranberries and pistachios with white chocolate (how festive!), the Candy Cane Joe Joe's from Trader Joe's, pretzels, etc. The possibilities are endless and it as easy as melting chocolate, adding your mix ins and scooping onto a pan and refrigerating.

So that's what I have for you in my cookie lineup this year! Are you baking for the holidays? What's on your cookie list? Definitely share your ideas in the comments!

I hope that you all have a wonderful week. I'll see you back here on Friday, hopefully with some regularly scheduled programming 😃

Sick Day

Hey guys. I'm sorry I don't have a proper post for you today, I ended up getting bronchitis so I've been a bit more sick than I originally thought. Cue the antibiotics and for those of you that have been here for a while you will know that I don't do well on antibiotics. I'm incredibly sensitive to medications in general and it seems like antibiotics are at the top of the list. I feel horrible and I pretty much only eat something when I have to take the pill so I don't have much to show you. I drink a kombucha a few hours later because the probiotics seem to offset some of the side effects but if I eat after that it's like the kombucha never happened. I'm on the course until Monday so I'm thinking up a fun post for Tuesday. It won't have stuff I've been eating (because how much toast can I post?) but it will have really fun ideas for you!

Anyway, I hope that you are all doing well. I'm back at work trying to finish out the week before I rest all weekend. I will see you next week, have a great weekend!

Hauls and Meal Prep

Hey you guys! I hope that you are all well and that you had a great weekend. Happy Hanukkah! My weekend was eventful but now I'm getting sick just in time for the work week. I'm going to try to stop it in its tracks now but it may be a little too late. I guess we'll see though. It's really strange, I haven't had a cold or cold type illness in a really long time but I think being exposed at my brother's house sealed my fate.

Anyway, I have a few fun things to share with you today! I have some random hauls from over the week and a few things that I prepped for the week (assuming I'll have an appetite). Check out all the things!

These beauties came from the Sweet to Lick Bakery. I wanted to grab a dessert for when we got together for Hanukkah and couldn't choose so naturally I got both. The top is a black and white bar and the bottom is a funfetti whoopee cookie (cookie sandwich). You know I love all things sprinkles so the funfetti whoopee cookie is amazing. The black and white bar was good but a little bland. I don't know if I would repurchase that but they have so many delicious treats it's all good.

I ran to the market as well and picked up a few cheesy type things because they have THE BEST SELECTION. I have been craving pizza and needed some shreds so I decided to try the Violife shreds. I also grabbed some FYH American slices for grilled cheese and you know it love that.

I also ran to Trader Joe's and picked up some stuff. I grabbed some grape tomatoes, baby spinach, Crunchy Curls (yum!), the Vegan Jackfruit Cakes, some of the Hi-Protein Veggie Burgers to try, shredded hash browns, green onions, cucumber and I started hoarding my Scandinavian Tidings gummies (omg guys honestly they are so freaking good).

I also did a little meal prep yesterday.

I was reminded about the deliciousness of Cucumber Salad by The-student-turned-Doctor so I made a batch to munch on through the week. It looks really good, I LOVE cucumber salad.

This is a crappy picture of some delicious potato latkes! I NEVER fry anything at home but I decided that for Hanukkah I needed to do it so I pan fried these gorgeous, crispy latkes. It is more difficult with no binding but they stayed together and they are delicious. I used the Trader Joe's shredded potatoes with salt, pepper and green onions and they are delicious. I like mine with a little Tofutti Sour Cream.

That's what I have for you today! I don't know what I'll have on Friday, I think it depends on how I feel over the week. Hopefully I can knock it out soon but who knows. Anyway, I hope you are all doing well and I'll see you back here soon!

Broccoli Corn Casserole RECIPE & Stuff I Ate!

Hey you guys! Happy weekend! I hope you all had a great week. I'm so ready for the weekend but sadly I still have today and tomorrow before I get there. Do you guys have any fun plans? I think I'm going to be taking my brother's annual family holiday portraits this weekend which should be fun. Otherwise I'm hoping to be mellow, work on a few things for myself and relax. I've been pretty exhausted lately and I haven't had a whole lot of time to decompress so I'm going to actually mark that into my planner to make sure that I set aside some time to do that. It's so important to make time for yourself.

Before I get into some stuff I ate I wanted to share the Broccoli Corn Casserole recipe from Thanksgiving. This is my favorite Thanksgiving dish and we have made it for as long as I can remember. I remember eating it in my pre-vegan days because we had to tweak the recipe to make it fully vegan when I went vegan. I *think* my mom's friend gave her the recipe but I'm not 100% sure.

Broccoli Corn Casserole (Veganized)

Ingredients:

1 lb bag frozen broccoli florets

16 oz can creamed corn (most creamed corn is vegan!!)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 stick vegan butter

1 cup Herb Stuffing Mix (for drier consistency, add additional 1/2 cup of stuffing mix)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine broccoli, creamed corn, onion, salt and pepper into a large mixing bowl. Mix and set aside.

3. Melt butter in a saucepan and stir in dry stuffing mix and stir until completely coated.

4. Add stuffing to veggie mix and stir until incorporated.

5. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan and bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes.

As you can see, it is such an easy recipe and it comes together quickly. It does have a long cook time but the prep time is minimal. It is great as leftovers (my family knows I claim the leftovers, ha!) and all year round! If you decide to give it a try please let me know how you like it!

And now for a few meals I ate over the past few days:

I haven't been feeling great the past few days due to a Fibro flare up so I've been eating kind of mild foods that are quick to make. This breakfast was easy but delicious. I had some toast with some Earth Balance and a delicious pear.

I made some of my favorite No Chicken Noodle Soup. I find soup to be a great meal when I'm in my flares because they come together quickly, are easy to eat and it is so comforting. I ate this a few times but only photographed it once. I finally ran out of soy curls so I'll have to get some more!

I decided to treat myself to a proper bagel store bagel so I got a pumpernickel bagel with scallion tofutti cream cheese and it was DELICIOUS.

I have been loving my pears lately. Unlike the avocado I got from Trader Joe's, these pears ripened up quite nicely.

So that's what I have for you today! I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend, to any Jewish friends out there Happy Hanukkah! It starts on Sunday and I'm quite excited because Hanukkah is a fun one :) You better believe I have some potato latkes on my radar for next week!

Trader Joe's Haul and Stuff I Ate

Hey everyone! I hope all is well and that you all had a great weekend. I'm excited to share a little Trader Joe's haul with you and some delicious meals that I ate this week. I'm so sorry that I forgot to get the recipe for that broccoli corn casserole but I PROMISE I will get it for you on Friday. It's my favorite and I can't wait for you to try it!

So here is the haul. I have a ton of veggies at home so I was filling in. I got some of the Scandinavian Tidings gummies (like Swedish Fish) which are SO MUCH BETTER than the Scandinavian Swimmers. I will definitely be hoarding these as they are seasonal and they are such a delicious option if you are looking for some sweets. I got some potatoes, apples and pears, the new Crunchy Vegetable pouches, the Maple Ladders cereal (I can't wait to try this!), some banana bread, carrots, backups of the gyoza and miso ginger broth, the cocoa peppermint creamer, some tofu and an avocado. 

This delicious meal was some leftovers from Thanksgiving and it was just as delicious as Thanksgiving night :)

I needed some warm comfort food so I made a bowl of my No Chicken Noodle Soup!

I was loving the roasted potatoes from Thanksgiving so I prepped some to have throughout the week with my dinners. So delicious.

This is my new favorite oatmeal! I baked up some apples with cinnamon and maple syrup and added them to oats and topped with pecan "chips" (I guess that is what they call pecans that are chopped really small).

So that's what I have for you today! I'll be back Friday with that recipe and probably some more stuff I ate. I hope you have a great week!