Garbanzo-Pesto Sandwich

You know that point right before you go grocery shopping, where you're sort of at a loss as to what to eat but you're not quite ready to hit the store? Well, sometimes that place inspires some great creations in the world of noms.

For instance, this afternoon I invented a whole new sandwich! I had a bit of leftover pesto (but I was out of pasta! Oh no!) and two whole-grain wraps...but not much else.

Luckily we have a nicely stocked pantry, and there's almost always some veggies around, so I had a can of garbanzo beans and some lettuce and tomato to create a meal out of.

It may sound strange, thinking garbanzos would make a good sandwich, but I was inspired.

What You Need...

• One wrap of your choice (I used a multi-grain tortilla like wrap, same kind I use to make personal pizzas)
• Half a can of garbanzo beans
• Lettuce of your choice (I recommend a fairly strong lettuce - spring mix will probably wilt under the heat)
• Tomatoes
• Pre-made pesto (vegan recipe to come)
• Earth Balance vegan margarine
• Any accents you like - for example, I added a few capers for a zing

Directions...

Drain and rinse your garbanzos, and then take half (or the portion size you would like) and mash them a bit with a fork. Add a tablespoon or two of pesto and mix well. Then, take your tortilla and smooth on a bit more pesto, then your lettuce and tomato. You've created the bed for your garbanzo mix, so add that next and then perhaps your capers or olives, or any extra veggies you might like. Fold over your tortilla to make a sort of taco shape. Then, spread Earth Balance on one side. Just as if you were making a grilled cheese, place the Earth Balance-side down in a hot pan. Then spread Earth Balance on the other side, and once the pan-down side is browned, flip and brown the other side! It doesn't take too long, maybe 15-30 seconds on either side depending on how crisp you like it. Then just cut in half and enjoy!

It's super delicious. Super quick and easy. And with a nice, short ingredient list...perfect for a last-minute meal. You could always use a different sauce that you have on hand as well - maybe some veganaise, marinara even? Or if you're not a vegan, some added cheese would probably be great!

Pizza Fusion

Pizza is amazing. We all know this. Several of my friends appeared very distressed on my behalf when I told them I was going vegan, professing their dismay that, "But...you can't have pizza..."

Oh ho ho my lovely and well-meaning friends. Of course I can have pizza! Not only is pizza without cheese and loaded with veggies a fine option, there are some lovely vegan cheeses out in today's world.

Daiya has what I've found to be the best, most usable and cheese-like brand and I finally found a restaurant that would go through the effort of making a vegan pizza with it on my behalf! (I did not want to try the mozzarella version at about 5-6 dollars a bag without being sure I liked it first)

Pizza Fusion's hybrid delivery vehicles :)

Pizza Fusion is amazing, and for more than just the (absolutely phenomenal multi-grain thin crust) pizza. This hip little restaurant is all about going green as well as providing healthy, mostly organic and all-natural options for vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike!

They had several little signs around the place detailing their environment-saving efforts, which include building their booths out of reclaimed wood and using hybrid vehicles for delivery.

Even their bathrooms were green (in the environmental sense).

The place itself was very attractive and cool, and as I've mentioned the food was incredible and so satisfying. My mom order a vegan pizza as well and loved it! The leftovers were even better, in both our opinions.

I'd highly recommend this place. They have a few different locations, so look em up and see if you can try it out.

There's also apparently a pizza joint that offers Daiya cheese pizzas near my university ... I'll have to check that out sometime, but I just don't know if it will compare to the magic of Pizza Fusion ;)

Happy noms!

Insta-Foods Take 5

I have been the absolute worst in updating the blog. I'll admit, I fell off the blogging wagon - and that is all thanks to my last show. Being involved in theatre is time-consuming, hard work, and sometimes so stressful you'd rather not do anything but the work, sleep, and eat. So I ended up just not having time. But the show ended April 1st...

So the rest is just my lazy self. And in part finishing out my junior year of college, but let's be honest. I was lazy.

Let's hop back into it with something easy - another instagram foods report!

 

 

 

1. One of Chocolate Covered Katie's chocolate frosting shots, made for my mother as a little mother's day treat. This stuff is delicious - a smooth, chocolatey (and healthy!) chocolate mousse.
2. Oh She Glows's version of vegan mac-and-cheese. This has pumpkin in it! And nutritional yeast instead of expensive non-dairy cheese :) With kale and pea mix-ins. Soooo good.
3. My first meal from Sweet Pea Cafe, a restaurant I'd been meaning to try for awhile. It's all-vegan and my new addiction. This is a "cheez" quesadilla with sweet potato fries, which are to die for.
4. Brunch at Sweet Pea! Breakfast tofu scramble quesadilla with roasted potatoes. My mouth waters just thinking of their food (their black bean quinoa burger is THE BEST).
5. Home-made blue corn tacos - black beans, salsa, avocado...yummy.
6. Soul Veg's BBQ tofu plate with sweet carrots and hebrew rice...avec a side of cornbread. All vegan...and so.so.so good. It's hearty southern soul - made vegan!
7. My roommate and I made a pizza together. Using the Peas and Thank You crust recipe and topped with simply sauce, mushrooms, and olives. Yes please.
8. Mom and I stumbled upon a cute little cafe last weekend while walking in town and I was pleasantly surprised to find this roasted veggie wrap on the menu. I asked to do it without the cheese, and the guy making it was very understanding since he's also lactose intolerant! It was a great find for sure.

You know, looking over this it's odd because...9 times out of 10 I eat at home and make my own food! I guess restaurant food is just much prettier. That and I eat a lot of the same stuff...don't want to bore anybody ;)

Well thank you for reading! Expect more posts soon - product finds, restaurant reviews (what can I say? visiting the parents means I eat well!), maybe even some recipes...

Home Life: Going to the Farm

I am a big supporter of local, organic farming and produce. I know it's not always plausible (believe me, I know - college student here) to buy fresh and organic, but it can be very beneficial to your health and taste buds to stop by a local produce market once in awhile. My mother and father are lucky enough to have a local organic farm in their area, which they subscribe to. My mom goes once a week!

During my break last week, I was lucky enough to make the trip with her, my sister, and my niece. It's a lovely operation with tons and tons of delicious and colorful produce. They also sell homemade goat cheese, goat's milk soap, jam, and fresh farm eggs. Plus, they even had baby chicks this time!

 

D'awwh.

They didn't have any of my favorite (sweet potatoes) left (sad face), but we got plenty of awesome goods. I picked out some lettuce, swiss chard, yellow squash, and beets that were of course taken back to college with me. My sister got some corn to take home with her, and we also picked out some nice tomatoes and broccoli for use in salads that week. Nom nom nom.

Oh, and a cucumber shaped like a crescent moon...really brings me back to my Sailor Moon days.

Seriously. Veggies are so good fresh and straight from the source. It really makes a difference! It's really sad to me that it's so much harder to find and buy organic produce when it's crazy better for us and better tasting. My mother, who has a strong distaste for raw broccoli, loves it from the farm! Also, some produce from the supermarket is so inundated with pesticides and other chemicals that it can make us sick if we consume a lot of it. And you need a lot of veggies.

...or I do, at least ^_^

And farms are just great places to be sometimes. Ahh, nature.

And my niece loves it, too!

Crazy for Coconuts

 

So for awhile now it's been a deep wish of mine to drink a coconut. Yes, drink a coconut. I also want to try coconut butter and buy myself a jar of coconut oil and just eat coconut (but I mean, I'm not obsessed or anything...) but mostly I have been trying forever to get a straw and a coconut and go to town.

Here's the story: in my home town there's a little outdoor market on Saturdays where the "coconut man" sets up his booth and dishes out coconuts in which he's cut holes. It's like a little tropical drink, no cleaning up cups required! But we always go to the chiropractor first and we always miss him.

But yesterday, luck was on my side:

And I ended up with my heart's desire:

Mmm. A dream come true. It actually seems pretty easy to do yourself, so I guess if I stumble across any coconuts in my local supermarket I can try it. I'll let you know what happens. With that and with the leftover coconut ;)

Oh, and Saturdays at home also often mean a Whole Foods stop. I piled so many different things in there, I honestly couldn't tell you what some of it is. I know there's cranberry cous-cous, hummus & cucumbers, a mango and hearts of palm salad, balsamic tofu, basmati rice, asparagus, black-eyed peas, and kale hidden somewhere...

Gosh I love Whole Foods.

What are some of the foods you can't wait to try?

Sonja

PB Crave Review

So, via the twittermonster, I was given a rather exciting opportunity. I'll admit that when I first got a twitter I was dubious - and peer pressured into it - but I'll give a hearty thumbs up to anything that gets me closer to peanut butter. That's right, ladies and gentleman, twitter helped me receive free peanut butter. And we all know how I feel about nut butters.

PB Crave, previously known as PB Loco, has come back with four new flavors and an exciting charity project. They asked via their twitter if any bloggers would be willing to review their product in exchange for free samples - and who was I to turn away this PBlicious opportunity?

Anyway my samples arrived in the mail only a few days ago and I was so excited I immediately tore into them to discover not any mere sample - but four. beautiful. jars.

And I had a spoonful of each on the spot. So let's get started.

#1: Coco Bananas

This is the PB I was most excited for, because there is very little I love more than a PB/Banana/Chocolate combo. I have PB and Banana together almost every morning, and certainly every day.

The Verdict: It's good, but it surprisingly ended up being my least-favorite flavor. Like all four flavors, it had an excellent creamy quality (possibly due to the melo honey) and I adored the little chocolate chips inside. The chips, as opposed to cocoa flavoring, added a nice texture and pop of chocolate. However the banana flavor was not all how I hoped it would be. It is an all-natural flavoring, but it still leaves sort of an artificial aftertaste. Still delicious, but a bit disappointing.

#2: Choco Choco

The double-chocolate peanut butter. I am all for more chocolate. Those little lumps are the chocolate chips! :)

The Verdict: Yum. Yum yum yum. I had this one (and coco bananas, as pictured above) on some toast after the initial taste test and I adored how easily it went onto the bread, and how some of the chocolate chips melted into the spread and added an extra kick of chocolate to it all.

#3: Razzle Dazzle

This one had white & dark chocolate along with raspberry flavor. I apologize for not getting a better picture of the texture of it, I realized last minute I'd not taken one when I taste-tested! Shameful. And then I had to leave my apartment for the day...so I snapped a quick pic in order to get this post out ASAP.

The Verdict: I really liked it - it had a nice light fruity pop. The flavoring did still left a bit of an aftertaste like the banana one but it wasn't overwhelming. And I'd never seen a berry-infused PB before! I was very impressed by the creativity in this PB recipe.

#4: Cookie Nookie 

A cookie dough flavored PB...uh, count me in. Admit it, doesn't this idea intrigue you?

The Verdict: My favorite. I love it. It's got a nice decadent flavor, which you'd expect from the name. It doesn't lose its PB-quality while still having a great chocolate chip cookie punch. I want a spoonful...like now. Excuse me, I have to run into the kitchen.


The Health Stats


A disclaimer, guys: these PBs are not vegan. I know my blog is very vegan, but I don't consider myself a stringent vegan I was not going to turn down free PB. Anyways, I consider my diet more plant-based than vegan, meaning I stick to plant-based and whole foods whenever possible, but I don't restrict myself. And I have honey every day. So. Non-vegan PBs. Onwards.

All four peanut butters are all-natural, made with Mel-o honey and Belgian chocolate. They are free of gluten, added sugar, trans fat, and high fructose corn syrup.

They are all 180 calories per serving (2 Tablespoons). Naturally most of those calories come from fat - it is peanut butter after all. But I firmly believe a bit of peanut butter is a good, filling snack or addition to a meal. Fat is not necessarily bad for you guys. Unless it's all you eat. And treat yourself with the added chocolate!


The Charity

PB Crave gives a minimum 2% of their profits to Project Peanut Butter, a charity whose goal is to treat and save malnourished children. This, I think, is the best part of their company and the strongest reason why they are worth trying.  So many children go without what we mostly take for granted, and we can help with these small gestures. And give our taste buds a little treat as well ;)

You can also vote here in Walmart's Get on the Shelf competition to help them further this goal: www.getontheshelf.com/product/4878/PB-Crave 

So there you have it. Expect a cookie recipe using one of these PBs soon! I'm thinking maybe Razzle Dazzle...


*disclaimer: I was not paid for this review of PB Crave's products, and my opinions are entirely my own.

Insta-Foods Take Four

yes I only do these when I am running out of time for anything else

 

 

 

1. Blended PB & Banana Oatmeal - a very typical breakfast of mine, especially on chilly mornings.
2. Endangered Species Chocolate Bars: Turtle (dark w/ blueberries) and Lemur (dark w/ raw cacao nibs) - been craving them for awhiiiile. Noms.
3. Vegan strawberry cupcake, made & consumed for V-Day.
4. Vegan strawberry pancakes! Had to use up those strawberries somehow ;)
5. A salad of mixed greens, olives, tomatoes, snap peas and hummus/apple cider vinegar dressing, topped with black beans.
6. My rainy day treat to myself: a grilled banana-almond butter-apricot jam sandwich.
7. Cucumbers, carrots, green beans, & homemade brown rice chips - all for an excuse to eat a ton of hummus, of course!
8. Seasoned black beans on a bed of spinach and quinoa. With a side glass of carrot juice that I'd already consumed most of...along with a slice of Ezekial bread toast (I am loving Ezekial bread right now) coated in apricot jam.