December Recent Vegan Eats

Hi friends! Welcome to this edition of recent vegan eats, December/holiday style! I have been oddly busy since getting home for the holidays. Like, from the day I got home I’ve had days packed with appointments, family stuff, errands, etc etc. I’ve still barely had time to just sit down and rest! I am hoping to catch up on chill time, blogging, and some work this weekend. I feel so out of my routine it’s making me crazy!

Anyways, on to the recent vegan eats! If you’re new around here, in these “recent vegan eats posts,” I simply share some phone pics of random foods that I’ve eaten recently. These posts are not meant to depict what an ideal diet looks like, but rather, they are meant to just give you a glimpse of cheap easy vegan eats, restaurant highlights, and new vegan product reviews. Enjoy!

Chocolate Tofu Pudding

Two nights in a row before I left town to go home for winter break, I made full-brick servings of my chocolate tofu pudding. Basically, I whirled silken tofu with a hefty amount of coco powder and a tiny drizzle of syrup and a tablespoon or so of peanut butter. I topped it with coconut whipped cream from Trader Joe’s. So good.

Amba Mango Sauce Tofu + Bowls

Last Sunday I whipped up a quick, wholesome dinner for my mom and I. I had been wanting to try the Amba Mango Sauce from Trader Joe’s for a while, so I bought some a weekish ago and put it to work! I quickly marinated some firm tofu with the sauce, and baked it for 25ish minutes at 425 degrees.

I also steamed some cauliflower and broccoli, and cooked up some veggie rice. I then assembled everything in a bowl and topped it off with more Amba Mango sauce, Sriracha and some cilantro.

It was a tasty quick meal! The Amba mango sauce was pretty good. I think it’d be even better with a hit of lime juice for some aded brightness. Next time!

Bran Muffins and Cereal

I am so into bran stuff lately it hurts. In a good way. Pictured here is a random vegan bran muffin. But I’ve also been VERY into bran flake cereal. I get the Millville Bran Flakes from Aldi and they are scrumptious with chilly almond milk for a night time snack.

Beans and Barley Blueberry Pancakes

The best vegan pancakes ever! Yum.

Bang Bang Broccoli from Celesta!

Last Friday I went to Celesta with my dear friends Jimmy and Meg. We shared 2 orders of Bang Bang Broccoli to start. Bang Bang Broccoli is basically battered, crispy crunchy broccoli with a tangy, spicy sauce, sesasme seeds, an green onions. Yum!

For my entree, I went with a Kale Cesar salad and added smokey tempeh. I was feeling veg since I hadn’t been able to chew many the previous few days due to a dental procedure and it just sounded good and easy to eat. The tempeh was also SO GOOD. Usually I don’t like artificial smoke flavor, so I was a bit nervous to add something called “smokey tempeh” to my salad, but it was more like BBQ tempeh than smokey tempeh, and it was delicious!

Sorry my photos suck; the lighting was low and I swear my phone camera quality has taken a serious nosedive recently.

NuGo Bars

These are still my favorite vegan protein bars. They literally taste like a TREAT. Unlike a lot of protein bars, the texture is crunchy and delightful an they are enrobe in legit dark chocolate (rather than a chocolate coating or whatever). I love the chocolate peanut butter cup, salted pretzel, and mint. I keep a couple in my backpack for when I need a sweet yet satiating snack at school or while traveling. Also, I realize this paragraph sounds sponsored. It’s not.

Subway Veggie Delite

I grabbed this while traveling home a couple weeks ago. I know many people disagree, but I love Subway. It’s probably my favorite fast food option (along with Taco Bell, but Subway is still my #1). I just love a loaded veggie sub with guac and every sauce adde. Yum!

Beans & Barley Tofu Burger

I met my friend Eileen from my MPH program (who is also a Milwaukee native) at Beans & Barley for lunch on Christmas Eve and ordered the tofu burger. I love this! I don’t know why! It’s just so simple and yummy to me. I’m pretty sure they use a local Simply Soyman patty. I always swap mayo for guacamole and the side of chips for fruit or salad. Yummers.

Chobani Coconut Milk Blueberry Yogurt

I had a $1 cartwheel coupon for Chobani non-dairy so I decided to give it another whirl. Meh. Too sweet. Forever looking for a good non-dairy yogurt since Nancy’s Soymilk Plain Yogurt is no longer!

Winter Salad

I made this salad for both Thanksgiving and Christmas and it’s awesome. I call it my “winter salad,” and it’s comprise of mixed greens, roasted delicata squash (roasted at 425 for 20-25 minutes with olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper), pomegranate perils, cooked and cooled farrow, sliced opal apples and walnuts.

If you want to make a variation, you can use whatever kind of apple, nuts, grain, or squash (or sweet potato!) you have on hand. Or you could omit any of the above. All up to you. Yummers!

Kitehill Stuffed Pastas

Last Saturday night, I headed to my sister and her husband’s house to try not one, not two, but all three varieties of Kitehill stuffed pasta. Verdict: all three were delicious. I especially liked the two raviolis (mushroom and spinach). The tortellini was also good, but a bit plain compared to the other two. It would be great in a soup or cold salad though!

We also had a simple arugula salad, roasted peppers, and some roasted parsnips and carrots for sides.

Dr. Prager’s Gametime Buffalo Chick’n Tenders

These were on clearout sale at Wegmans earlier this month so I picked them up to try. They are pretty meh in my opinion. Perhaps I’m just not a breaded-chick’n-product girl, because I found them a little too…..junky tasting. Also, for being labeled “buffalo,” I didn’t find them spicy enough at all!

Chocolate Lasagna

I made Olive Garden-inspired Chocolate Lasagna for the family Christmas dinner. Basically, “chocolate lasagna” is chocolate layer cake with almond butter cream and chocolate chunks. I enjoyed this with some vegan ice cream and CocoWhip, as well as some apple/cranberry crisp on Christmas night. Recipe coming tomorrow!

That’s all for now! I’ll be back this week with some recipes and info-packed posts. In the meantime, enjoy this photo of my pupper and my nephew in matching pajamas just for funsies!

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