All the Hauls

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well and continuing to remain safe and healthy. Things continue to be crazy here but I'm managing the best that I can. This week was a big haul week. I really needed to get back to the store to get some fresh food and I wanted to plan another order from Sweet To Lick to get some vegan specialty items that are more difficult to find. Finally, I placed my first order from Nuts.com to get some random snacks and other items.

I was really missing my Korean rice cakes and Udon noodles and I have been wanting some tofu as well so I decided to go to H-Mart for this trip. I didn't get a ton of stuff because I still have pantry items so I just got some fresh food and the specialty items that I was looking for.

For my fresh items I got some spring mix salad, seasoned seaweed (not fresh but it's in this pic for whatever reason), avocados, green onion, grape tomatoes and some sweet potatoes. I have been craving sweet potato fries so much!

I also got every type of tofu possible 😂 I have recipes for all of them, ha! I also got my favorite frozen udon noodles and the sliced rice cakes (they didn't have the tubes).

Up next is my Sweet To Lick haul. As you know from my last haul, they've created a stress free shopping experience. I called in my order that she packed up as I placed it. I ran over and grabbed my bag off of a shelf and headed back to my car. I am happy to be able to support an amazing local vegan business while also stocking up on some specialty items. I doubled up on most things to make it last a few weeks.

I got two each of the Earth Balance Puffs, EB Cheddar Squares and 2fer bars.

I also got two Violife cheese slices, Beyond Breakfast Sausage, Field Roast Breakfast Sausage and Violife Mozzarella Shreds.

Finally, this is my first haul from Nuts.com! I've heard great things from them and I really wanted to get stuff to snack on while I work because I tend to eat breakfast later (usually around 10-11) and I start work at 1. I figure these snacks will help me get through to dinner and will be easy to eat while I work.

I know it's hard to see what is in the bags. Basically, the bottom left blue bag is vegan mini chocolate chips (they were a good price for a huge bag and always good to have on hand), above it in the green bag is some puffed quinoa which I thought would be delicious in some homemade chocolates or even to try as a cereal of sorts. The yellow bag is dried diced apples, the blue bag next to it is peanut chews because chocolate and why not. Under that is dried peaches which is my all time favorite dried fruit. They are so delicious and I don't typically find them in stores (although I guess I usually don't think to look) and then the last bag is lightly salted cashews. 

I was really happy with my Nuts.com order. Sure things can be a little pricey but most nuts and dried fruit is. The bags are quite large and they will last me a while. I placed my order on Thursday, it shipped Friday and was on my doorstep Saturday morning. They have tons of stuff beyond nuts and dried fruit. They have grains, beans, legumes, superfood stuff; snacks; candy, energy bites, etc. I am not affiliated with Nuts.com at all but I do think it is a great option to stock up your pantry if you don't feel like braving the world just now.

So that's what I have in my fridge, freezer and cupboards right now. How have you all been holding up?

One of my favorite local vegan eateries re-opened and I was happy to be able to support them during this stressful time. I'm looking forward to sharing that with you in my next post. For now, stay safe and healthy my friends 💚

Sweet To Lick Haul

Hey friends 💚I hope that you are all doing well and staying healthy. I've discussed Sweet To Lick here many times (click the tag for my other posts!). It is an amazing local business that I've enjoyed supporting since they've opened. They opened as a bakery location then opened a market two doors down. They decided to combine the two and moved the market items over to a section of the bakery. In these weird times they've stayed open but have turned into a pick up only spot. What they do is post pictures of what they have in the market as well as menus for the bakery items, you call in your order and pay over the phone. They pack up your order and you pop over and pick it up. It's a really efficient and safe way to do some shopping right now. As I've mentioned, I'm terrified to go to the grocery store so this was a really great way to supplement my stash for a while. This stuff is mostly specialty stuff that I wouldn't typically find in my grocery store so it worked out well.

It has been a shitty ass week so chocolate was definitely on the list. I grabbed chocolate chunks for baking, some caramel eggs, a Vego bar (!!!!!) and a 2fer bar which is like a big vegan twix bar. I've only cracked into the 2Fer bar so far and it's really delicious. I've had Vego bars before and they are AMAZING. So rich and creamy. A little goes a long way and this bar is huge so it will last a while. I also grabbed a box of the Earth Balance cheddar squares.

I grabbed both the Beyond breakfast Sausage and the Field Roast breakfast sausage. I wanted a breakfast sandwich and breakfast sausage is really hard to get your hands on right now so I grabbed one of each to taste test and so I had a proper stash. I also got some Violife Mozzarella shreds, Violife Mature Cheddar slices, the Kite Hill Spinach Ravioli (you know I'm not a pasta girl but omg this stuff is GOOD) and the Field Roast Mini corn dogs. I totally forgot that I got those until I saw this picture 😂

And this is the reason for the order 😂 I have been wanting a breakfast sandwich for weeks (most days I eat oatmeal with banana, raisins and almonds for breakfast) so I decided now was the time, ha! I made one of the Field Roast Breakfast Sausages and toasted a bagel with one of the Violife Cheddar slices. This was SO FUCKING GOOD and the perfect Sunday brunch meal. I really enjoyed the Field Roast breakfast sausage as well. It is a big patty so you only need one and it has great flavor. I would definitely purchase it again. 

I'm really glad that Sweet To Lick has stayed open and changed to pick up only because I felt comfortable going and I have some fun specialty items rounding out my pantry and freezer items. 

So there you have it! My next post will be really a recap of a restaurant that I went to with friends back in December that I had been wanting to try for such a long time. I hope that you are all doing well and staying safe and healthy 💚

Hauls and Meal Prep

Hey everyone. I hope that you are all doing well. I know this post is going up a little later than usual but things have just been so crazy here. Today's post will be quick. I'll just be sharing a few hauls and some meal prep that I did for the week.

First is a small haul from the Sweet To Lick Market. I went in to get the feta because I've been craving Greek salad and Violife is the best feta! I got some other goodies because why not. I saw this individual sized bag of Beanfields cheddar and sour cream chips and had to try them. I have never seen that flavor and thought they sounded delicious and omg they are! I would love to find a big bag of them for sure! I had to get my jerky of course and then some chocolate too.

You can't go to the market without going to the bakery! I grabbed a Halloween funfetti whoopee cookie and a rocky road bar, yum!

I went to Trader Joe's this weekend and grabbed some stuff from there as well. I got baby zucchini, grape tomatoes, inner peas, mixed greens, butter lettuce, baby spinach, tots, white beans, mini marshmallows, falafel, a potato, cornbread crisps, nutty bites with chocolate, pears, bananas and cauliflower rice.

After Trader Joe's I did some pretty awesome meal prep.

I made another delicious soup with all of the delicious veggies and white beans that I got. This is my new favorite soup and will definitely be a winter staple!

I made a baked oatmeal and used raisins instead of chocolate chips. This has bananas, almonds and raisins which are my favorite toppings for oatmeal. This is so freaking delicious and so easy to throw together.

That's what I have for you today! I'm so sorry I haven't been around much, things have been crazy but I'm really trying to find my balance. I hope you are all doing well and I promise I'll catch up on your posts soon! 💚

Hauls!

Hey everyone! I hope that you are well! I can't believe how quickly the weekends fly by now. It's kind of a bummer but I've been enjoying that time so much more now. I especially enjoy any day that I don't have to jump out of bed (that was Saturday this week) because being lazy in bed after I wake up is my favorite thing. Anyway, I am here today with two hauls for you! I went to Trader Joe's for some groceries and I also had a treat yo self moment at the Sweet To Lick Market and grabbed some fun stuff to enjoy!

First up, the Trader Joe's goods:

First up the random grocery/treat items from Trader Joe's. Tots, chick'n tenders, hummus, vegan ranch dip, sourdough bread, sunbutter cups, and Miso ramen cups for quick lunches.

Sesame Crunch Chopped Salad kit, butter lettuce, baby carrots, honeycrisp apples, avocados and grape tomatoes.

Big ol' bag of rolled oats, veggie chips, rice crackers (yay, they're back!) and inner peas.

From the Sweet to Lick Market I ended up with Vegan Rob's Cheddar Puffs, Wayfare Whipped Butter (Doug loved this product!), The Honest Stand Cheddar Syle Dip, some random mini pb sandwich crackers, thai peanut jerky, chocolates with pumpkin spice caramel centers, a 2*fer (vegan twix!!) and some Follow Your Heart American.

I had sampled the cheddar dip the last time I was in the market and knew I'd buy it when I went back. It is DELICIOUS and made from veggies and cashews basically. It's like 25 calories for 2 tablespoons or something. Apparently it makes great mac n cheese too. I may have to give that a try! For now, I'm enjoying it on crackers. I highly recommend this dip, it's amazing!

So that's what I have today! I hope that you all have a wonderful week and I'll be back on Friday with another post 💚

Vegan MoFo 2019: Vegan MoFo Wrap Up

Hi my friends! I hope that you are all doing well! I can't believe I made it through Vegan MoFo without missing a single intended post. And honestly, I'm really proud of the posts I did put out there. I did my best to remain creative and keep the content as fresh as possible. My biggest goals were to use this month to revitalize my blog, gain new inspiration and more creativity in the kitchen and to keep up with the schedule. I feel like I've achieved all of these goals and I couldn't be more thrilled. I'm exhausted but really proud of what I accomplished. I just want to thank all of you that stuck with me for the entire month and I truly hope that you enjoyed the content I put out and that you were inspired as well 💚

I figured I would go with the prompt from the MoFo site and just do a general conclusion/wrap up post. I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that I enjoyed most from my MoFo journey. 

First and foremost, I LOVED following all of your amazing blogs!! I loved following Susan's super creative ABC theme, Julie's "Elementary, My Dear Vegan" theme, Food For Dissertating's AMAZING vegan Bento ideas, Jennifer's CSA adventures and all of the other amazing, creative vegans out there! I have gotten so many amazing ideas from them and I can't wait to start trying them out in my own kitchen so thanks for the inspiration everyone!!

As for highlights from my own blog (is that obnoxious? Probably but oh well?) I would have to say that sharing some of the amazing vegan options Long Island has to offer has been really fun for me! I've only barely scratched the surface but it has been great getting out and exploring some of the places that I've been wanting to try!

The sesame chick'n has definitely been a highlight for me and I'm glad I got to share Little Fu's with you!

Finally getting to That Pizza Place was definitely a highlight! I'm so glad I went and tried all of this amazing food and that I was able to share the glory of garlic knot crust with you! 😂

The most special post to me was where I talked about Zen Garden, the amazing restaurant where I shared a meal with Doug before he tragically passed. This restaurant is not only DELICIOUS but it holds a very special place in my heart and being able to share my experience there with you was truly THE highlight for me. I'm glad I was able to introduce you to Doug a little more through that post because he was truly a special person.

Of course the Rocky Road bar from Sweet to Lick was another amazing highlight!

In addition to trying these amazing restaurants (which I will absolutely continue in the future) I also finally tapped into my Pinterest pins and tried out a few of the recipes.

The Ambitious Kitchen's chickpea blondies and this incredible sundae were definitely a must try from me! So so delicious with less guilt for the actual blondie (I mean there is ice cream sooooooo yeah).

FINALLY trying the Viet Vegan's Tteokbokki recipe was another highlight. I have made it again and will continue to enjoy it because it's freaking awesome! Another recipe I would highly recommend trying!

Finally, I really enjoyed taste testing lots of fun products that have been new to me. 

The "thin mint" type of cookie from Aldi was a really great treat! I love thin mints and wouldn't mind having a package of these in the freezer at all times 😂

The Mahalo bar was SO AMAZING! It was also a nice gesture from a new friend that I shared the amazing concert experience with in the beginning of August. I've had a lot of really beautiful moments with new friends this month and it is another reason why this has all been so special.

WHITE CHEDDAR POPCORN IS BACK IN MY LIFE! I was so excited to learn that this was vegan and even more excited when I tried it and it was delicious! Now I just need to get all of the bags the next time I see them 😂

So there you have it, some of the highlights of MoFo for me. If I had to put it into a nutshell, I'd say the thing I enjoyed most about my own journey has been getting out and experiencing more of the vegan scene around me. This blog has been called Long Island Vegan for a long time but I haven't really been showing you what Long Island has to offer. Until now. I'm really excited to spend more of my time on this blog sharing all of the amazing things Long Island and the surrounding areas have to offer. I am also excited to tackle my Pinterest list and share everything with you. And you know I'll continue sharing my meals and hauls with you. It feels so good to be re-invigorated.

So, for now, I will be taking the weekend off and then going back to my twice per week schedule as I adjust to my new job, new schedule and new routine. Once I have it all well managed I will probably try to add on at least one more post per week. I will definitely let you know when the time comes 😃 What have been some of your MoFo highlights? What did you see here that you'd love to see more of in the future? Is there anything you'd like to see less of or not at all. Let me know, I am so curious to know what you think and what you are enjoying!

I hope you all have an amazing weekend and I'll be back here next week 💚 Thank you all so much for taking the time out to come here and read my ramblings. It truly means so much to me!

Vegan MoFo 2019: All The Hauls!

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well! Well, MoFo is wrapping up this week and it has been a whirlwind. I am so proud of myself for sticking with the schedule that I created for myself (posting every weekday), despite my life being so hectic and crazy right now. I am trying to figure out what kind of schedule I want to stick to after MoFo. Since my first week at my new job is next week I'm thinking I'll stick to 2 posts a week until I get settled in and then I'll try and add at least one more post per week. We'll get to that when the time comes though! I hope you've been enjoying MoFo this year and I'm so happy that I participated this year.

So, let's get on the to hauls!! I went to a few places and wanted to share everything with you because hauls are fun 😂

The first place I went to was the Sweet To Lick Market which you can read about here. I was looking for a few specific things (which they didn't have, of course… my life, ha!) but I found a few things that I wanted to splurge on. The first is the Kite Hill tortellini! As you know, I'm not really a pasta person but for some reason I really wanted to try it so here we are! I got a bag of Vegan Rob's Cheddar Puffs, some Follow Your Heart Shredded Parmesan (I've never tried!) and American Slices and my beloved Thai Peanut Primal Strips.

When you go to the market it would be silly not to go to the bakery as well. I saw that they had two Rocky Road Bars left (I got there just in time!) so I made sure to grab one of those along with a Death By Chocolate Whoopee Cookie.

I went to Stop & Shop, our local grocery chain, to pick up a few things and found a few fun new things to try! Gardein has these bowls out that sound amazing!! I grabbed the Sausage and Country Style Gravy Breakfast Bowl to try because it sounded like exactly what I need in my life (and something I can recreate on my own!) so I will be trying that out in a taste testing post later this week! I also got some of the breakfast sausage to meal prep for the week and these Flatbread Pizzas were on sale from $9.99 down to $5.99 so I decided to grab one. I will also review it in the taste test post.

Finally, I picked up a few things from H-Mart so I could meal prep my lunches for the week. I got some cauliflower, broccoli, Japanese Sweet Potatoes and some unpictured tofu. I don't know how I forgot to add it to the picture but it's been a hectic few days, ha!

So there are some hauls for you! It's mostly fun stuff and I brought some other stuff from home to fill in for the rest of the week. I'll be back tomorrow to share the meal prep that I've gotten done for the week. Hope you have a great day! 💚

Vegan MoFo 2019: Sweet To Lick Bakery and Market

Hello friends! Welcome back to another MoFo post! I couldn't let MoFo go by (especially when one of my themes is Long Island Vegan businesses and restaurants!) without discussing one of my favorite businesses on Long Island. It is called Sweet To Lick and they started by selling their amazing baked treats at farmers markets here on the Island. Luckily they decided to go brick and mortar and they opened up their bakery in Williston Park. They have been doing well and even expanded their menu to include some lunch items as well. I haven't tried their savory lunch options yet but it is definitely on my list of things to try.

Here is what the bakery looks like:

source

I don't go to the bakery very often (typically about once every couple of months) but I always enjoy it when I get to go. I figured I'd share some of the amazing treats I've had in the past:

One of the first times I went into the bakery I tried their version of the Swiss Roll and OMG. These things are amazing. They haven't made them in a really long time and when they did make them it was sporadic and they sold out quickly. I'm sure you can guess why I stocked up on this particular occasion. There are two regular and two peppermint and there was also a funfetti scone because I love all things funfetti. I am so sad that they don't make the swiss rolls anymore.

One of my favorite items that they make are their whoopee cookies. They are two cookies with a cream filling and they are delightful. My standard choice is the chocolate chip cookie with cookies n cream filling (right) and this trip I chose to pick up a grasshopper (chocolate cookie with mint filling) whoopee cookie as well.

On this trip I picked up a black and white bar (this one was ok but I probably wouldn't repurchase) and a funfetti (I told you I can't resist some damn sprinkles) whoopee cookie.

This is now my new favorite (OK tied with their version of a rainbow cookie which also shows up sporadically) item to get when they have it. This is a Rocky Road bar and it is FREAKING DELICIOUS. Pop it in the microwave for a few seconds and this shit gets next level awesome.

A few years after opening the bakery the owners of Sweet to Lick opened up their sister store two doors down and Long Island finally had its own all vegan market. To be honest their prices are a bit high but I get it. They probably aren't buying enough stock to get super wholesale pricing so I definitely understand. I love coming here when I want to try new items and get them all in one spot and not have to worry about going from store to store and them possibly not having it.

I figured it would be fun to share a few hauls to show you the kinds of products they have.

They typically have a really great selection of WayFare products which I think is awesome because they can be hard to find. Their dips are freaking awesome and while they are a treat for me I enjoy them when I eat them. The puddings are nice and thick and delicious. They also have a really great vegan cheese and meat substitute selection as well.

I chose this haul to share because it was the first time I had found most of these products! I was so excited that I found the Amy's Vegan Margherita Pizza Swirls, Oatly and the Violife Feta (they have a HUGE Violife selection). I know it is easier to find these products now but at the time they were all a lot more difficult to find so I remember being really excited about it.

Primal Strips in the Thai Peanut flavor are a random snack that I LOVE but can NEVER find. I can always find them at Sweet to Lick. It was also where I tried my first Vegan Rob's products and loved them. 

If you are ever on Long Island and want to check out a great little market to see what kinds of new vegan products you can find I highly recommend stopping by Sweet to Lick. Bring a cooler if you are traveling far because the highlight (for me at least) is their refrigerated selection. They also have health, beauty and lifestyle products as well as some apparel and cute accessories. They are very supportive to local companies and artists and just a very cool business to support. If you stop by make sure to pop in to the bakery and grab a tasty treat. If I'm being brutally honest I'm not a huge fan of their cakes and cupcakes but typically love everything in the first case you'll see when you walk in (to the right of the register). 

Thank you so much for stopping by! I'll be back on Monday for another week of posts! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 💚

Getting Back to Normal(ish)

Hey everyone! I hope that all is well and that you enjoyed the long weekend (if you had a long weekend - I sadly did not). Things are on the upswing here with my tooth finally feeling better. I've been feeling pretty happy and that's awesome because the struggle can be real as you know 😂 I don't have a ton of food pics because it was a lot of bananas, watermelon, soft bread with peanut butter and other soft foods as I waited for the antibiotics to do their thing. I did take a few to share and I have a few more pieces of art that I worked on over the weekend.

As you know, I don't eat a ton of pasta but some well cooked pasta was perfect because it was soft enough to chew when my pain was at its worst. This just has a little Earth Balance and some salt.

I ran over to the vegan market to see if I could find anything festive for Memorial Day. I walked out with some Vegan Rob's Cheddar Puffs and the Field Roast Mini Corn Dogs (which I didn't even eat for Memorial Day 😂).

I also went to the bakery and grabbed this cookie dough brownie and it was DELICIOUS.

Finally, now that I am doing a lot better and can handle some more firm meals, I grabbed a pumpernickel onion bagel with Tofutti. I asked for plain but got scallion and I'm not made at it, ha! It was really good.

Over the weekend I worked on some more mixed media art projects. I really like how these came out.

This is a closer picture so you could read the quotes and see the cool textures going on.

I made tis one as a gift and I can't wait to send it to her! I love that color green so much! 😍

So that's what I have for you today! Did you do anything fun for your Memorial Day/long weekend? Let me know!

Vegan Market Haul & Stuff I Ate

Hey everyone! I hope that you are well. I am hanging in, migraine and all. I did a whole lot of nothing this weekend and I enjoyed every second of it. The only thing I did do was take a quick trip over the the Sweet To Lick Market and Bakery (the only fully vegan market on Long Island and the bakery that opened first) to grab a few fun things. I didn't do a proper grocery shopping this week but I splurged on some items from the market as I will be going into super budget mode now. There have been some changes happening behind the scenes which unfortunately means I really have to be careful with my budget so in the future you'll be seeing more budget friendly eats.

Before that though we do have an AMAZING haul from the market and a few fun meals from the weekend.

So I grabbed some fun stuff! I got the vanilla cocomels (OMG SO GOOD!), Wayfare Chocolate Pudding, Follow Your Heart American slices (grilled cheese you guys!!!), some of my favorite Thai Peanut Primal Strips, a few vegan chocolate eggs (because chocolate), a mint carob cup that was on sale, individual sized bags of Vegan Rob's Cheddar Puffs and Wild Mushroom Kettle Chips and some Field Roast Mini Corn Dogs. It was kind of dumb timing for some of it because Passover is coming up but oh well.

I ran next door (because why wouldn't I, it was right there!) and got this AMAZING Rocky Road bar. This is one of my favorite things that they make and someone suggested to try warming it up and OMG. It was INCREDIBLE.

I got these from a different store but I was craving kale chips and Justin's cups so there you go.

This was a random but delicious dinner that I had of mini corn dogs, hash brown patties and the most delicious, crispy grapes ever. So so good.

I had a small hummus snacky plate with dolmas, grape tomatoes and flatbread.

You guys. This grilled cheese THOOOOOOOOUGH. I made it on multigrain panini bread with the Follow Your Heart Slices and it was amazing. I had some kale chips and a small pink lady apple on the side. Such a delicious meal.

So that's what I have for you guys today! I'm looking forward to finding some budget hacks over the next few weeks and sharing them with you. Passover also starts on Friday night so I'll be doing my best to figure that out, ha! I should probably take some time to round up some recipes this week.

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend and that your week is going well! 💜 I'll see you on Friday!