I left out the above picture from Mike’s surprise birthday party post – I thought you might enjoy the “nicknames” we were given! Mike’s brother took over this role before Mike and I even got to the bowling alley, so this was not MY doing. Mike, the birthday boy, was the A******. Nice, huh? 
I’ve been trying some new products this week, and one of them I’ve been wanting to share with you because I’m a new convert!
I first heard about Gardein products when they were mentioned on Oprah. To my knowledge this is a relatively new product on the “fake meat” scene and is not yet widely distributed, but if you can get your hands on them, I think you’ll like it!
All of there products contain very natural, recognizable, wholesome ingredients. They are all light in fat (I’m always a bit worried when a fake meat product is super high in fat because it seems like they are just adding in fat to cover up the other bad-tasting ingredients) and are loaded with protein.
For example, here are the ingredients in the Chicken Scallopini (my favorite):
They have numerous flavors such as Buffalo Wings, Beefless Tips, Chicken Scallopini, Crispy Tenders, and Chicken Marinara. The above photo is the Chicken Marinara, which I enjoyed, and sadly Mike enjoyed it too…. he wouldn’t share with me!! I thought it needed a tad bit of salt and some seasonings, but I love things extra salty and I suppose that the low sodium content is a good thing for most people.
The Santa Fe Good Stuff and Buffalo Wings were too spicy so I’m going to leave them for Mike, and I am pretty sure he’s going to love them. 
In preparation for Thanksgiving, I’ve been “experimenting” with some possible dishes. I love, love, love to cook, but I get nervous about cooking for a crowd, and I don’t like to try out a new recipe on a large group of people, especially for a big “foodie” holiday like Thanksgiving!
I attempted to make a vegan pot pie, but it was a bit of a fail. The inside filling (veggies in a thick, flavorful sauce) turned out great, but the crust did not. I think I tried too hard to make it healthy, as I subbed pumpkin puree for the fat, which didn’t work out too well. Oh, well 
Another product that I tried in preparation for Thanksgiving is Soyatoo. I’ve seen many great reviews of the soy-based Soyatoo on other blogs, and I wanted to try out this vegan substitute for traditional chemical-laden cool whip. I instead chose the rice-based Soyatoo, since I already get too much enough soy in my diet.
The Soyatoo was pretty good – not as sweet as cool whip, but definitely a great substitute! However, when I went to use it for the second time, I COULD NOT open it!! And I had bought two containers and was unable to open either of them. So, I may be taking them back to the store to get my money back… something I rarely do, but I couldn’t believe that neither container worked! Do you ever take products back to the grocery store if you are unsatisfied with them?
Here are a couple other samples that were sent to me – I’m sure many of you are aware of how delicious the P.B. Loco products are, and now I am, too! Sadly there was barely a tablespoon in each of this, which merely whetted my appetite for more. I had these smears of peanut butter alongside my first kabocha squash, which was good, but certainly not as mindblowing as I expected, based on the star status it often gets among bloggers!
I’ve been eating a lot of raw veggies, both because I crave it…. and cuz I’ve been lazy Here’s a plate with some tahini dressing which Mike flipped for:
Last night when I started feeling the beginning of a cold coming on, I wanted more raw broccoli but instead I whipped it into a quick and easy cream of broccoli soup, instead!
This was SO simple to make, and the best part is that you can use up that usually-neglected tough part of the broccoli stalk, instead of throwing it away.
I threw chunks of broccoli and cauliflower into veggie broth and let it simmer until the pieces were tender. Add salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, oregano, rosemary – puree with immersion blender. Then, I mixed in 1/2 c. nutritional yeast, a splash of flax oil, and 3/4 c. unsweetened almond milk.
Delish!
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Tonight was Report Card Pickup, which meant that teachers (and social workers like me!) were required to stay late to meet with parents. Meaning, it was a late night for me. I’m off to watch The Biggest Loser – what’s your favorite quick and easy, throw-stuff-in-a-pot soup recipe?
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Don’t forget to check out CCK’s “Operation Chocolate-Covered Kindness”, and her chocolate giveaway here!
I'm a school social worker who is also a newlywed (and had a Big Fat Greek Wedding, no less!) living in Chicago. I am starting this blog to talk about the training process I will go through to prepare for the Chicago Marathon, while also raising awareness for Ceasefire, a Chicago anti-violence program.
I haven’t tried the rice-a-too yet, but I’m definitely intrigued by it!
I’ve definitely taken products back, usually to CVS, actually. If I buy a beauty product or face wash or something and it doesn’t work for me, back to the store it goes!
Ooh, I have seen the Gardein products around but haven’t tried them. I have to admit I usually steer clear of faux meat products, but that ingredient list is quite impressive. I might have to give them a try.
Thats so unfortunate about your soyatoo, I vaguely recall reading about others having a problem with it too (possibly Ricki from dietdessertndogs.com) Hopefully you find something that works for you.
-K
I really want to try these Gardein products now!!!
I am going to send you my new favourite soup recipe- I love it and it takes about 20 minutes to cook!!
Red Lentil Soup from Whitney in Chicago! I will take stuff back if it doesn’t work.
I’ve been curious about that whipped cream? I’m still debating what to have for my Thanksgiving day meal. I haven’t made a decision if I want to eat the turkey or not.
Hi Val,
About the coconut – I buy mine for about $1.50 which is the same as canned (non-organic). It’s more effort to crack it outside but less risky as well. Our kitchen counter makes this weird sound whenever there is any pounding on it so I don’t want to stress the infrastructure. But with the rubber mallet, it really was simple (at least that is what my husband said). He cracked it so quickly that I didn’t get a chance to see him do it.
linda
PS – so, what will you be doing for the veggie pot pie crust? will you be using the traditional ingredients? if you discover any healthy tips for making pastry/pie crust, i’d love to hear them.
That soup looks great! Your experiments always sound so delicious. Now that I’m home I have to consider if my family would like my healthified cooking. It can be really hard sometimes. I used to just throw in sweet potatoes, carrots, kabocha, sesame seeds, tofu and call it a meal but that won’t cut if for them. Hahaha.
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