Silk Creamer

Silk Creamer (Original)

         I'm not a vegan, but I have vegan tendencies. Call me a semi-vegan, if you will. I mean, I do use honey in my tea and my shoes are made from leather, so I'll never be completely a vegan, but I am trying to cut down on my dairy consumption, which is a lot. I don't really drink milk unless I'm having a chocolate cake or if I'm having cereal. I've cut down on my chocolate cake consumption and since the cereal that I enjoy has little protein, I've stopped having cereal. So, the only real time I drink milk nowadays is when I'm having tea or coffee. Enter Silk Creamer.
     Sure, there are other creamers, such as Trader Joe's Soy Creamer, etc. In any case, all these creamers are creamy enough to put into tea or coffee, if you're into that stuff. I find that putting soy milk, hemp milk or rice milk into tea or coffee just doesn't taste that good. Silk Creamer is really creamy and sweet enough without going overboard.
     And if Silk Creamer is good in tea or coffee, why not cocktails?



Kahlua and Grey Goose Vodka

     
     I bought a bottle of Kahlua two Christamases ago and didn't touch it at all. I enjoy a drink now and then, but I am not naturally drawn to liquor. It's been a long time since I've had a White Russian or other Kahlua drinks like a Dirty Mother, so I bought some vodka just for the hell of it. Of course, I could just have Kahlua and Silk, and also, there must be better things to do with Grey Goose, but whatever.

White Russian (or A Russian in Silk)

Here's my White Russian, or as I call it, A Russian in Silk:
1 oz of Kahlua or coffee liqueur
1 oz of vodka
2 oz of Silk Creamer (or a similar creamer like Trader Joe's Soy Creamer)

In any case, if you're cutting down on dairy products and you still like a mixed drink now and then, why not?

Silk Soy Creamer is not organic, but Trader Joe's is and Organic Valley has an organic version too.

Gardein Trios



Gardein's Trio Quick Meals


     When you're feeling really lazy and you want something quick, it's nice to know you have products out there that you can heat up and eat very quickly. I know I've said that before, but you get into these lazy moods or when you haven't planned your meals properly, you suddenly have an excuse to try something new.
     Well, I was at Whole Foods and I noticed the new Trio line from Gardein. I believe what they mean by Trio is that you have a protein, a sauce and rice. There are several flavors. I noticed the burgundy and a Thai version I have in the refrigerator that's waiting for me for some day in the future when I'm feeling really lazy.

Gardein's Burgundy Trio

     Here's what it looks like after you microwave it. You're instructed to heat up the rice separately from the 'meat' and the sauce, but who's got time for that? I emptied all the pouches into the bowl at once and heated them up at the same time. Alternatively, you can put the pouches and boil them. I'd be interested to hear from any of you who have tried these and decided to boil them. I'd be interested to know if it was worth it.
     In any case, I thought it was good. Mind you, I make a real good version from scratch and maybe you can come over and try some (with mashed potatoes and not rice, even though I like rice a lot), but when you're not in the kitchen for hours, this will do. Sorry, Amy's, you now have some competition in the quick lunch category. As for Amy's, I'll eat the vegetarian lasagna for lunch or the cheese enchilada meal, but now, I'll start eating Gardein's burgundy trio and their Thai version, most likely in rotation. Amy's lasagna cost about $3.99 and this one was less than that. And best of all, it had 25 grams of protein. Take that, Amy's (which has only 17 grams)!

Rambutans

Rambutans

     When I was a child, on special occasions, my mother would purchase lychees and I remember the excitement of getting some. The joy of getting some was more exciting than eating them. I remember eating a few and that would be enough for me until the next time, but I still looked forward to them.
     Every now and then, my mother would mix it up and buy longans. I remember liking these better than lychees, as I explained in a previous blog entry. The lychee and the longan are relatives.
     Another relative is the rambutan, a fruit I didn't grow up with, but nevertheless caused excitement when I found them at the Seattle Supermarket recently. Despite having showy and hairy skins, their edible fruit inside looks rather boring and very similar to other fruits mentioned.

The rambutan sliced open with fruit and pit

The fruit is bigger than lychees and I'm sure some art project can be done with the skins since they are so dramatically showy. Inside the white-ish fruit is a grayish, woody pit which is inedible. The outer bark of it sticks to the fruit no matter how careful you are. I eat around those areas, but I'm sure there are people who don't care. They're not cheap either and you don't get that many.
     All said and done, they are tasty. I like them better than lychees, but I like longans better. You can get them canned too.
     I don't want you to believe that I'm some sort of authority on rambutans especially since I didn't grow up with them. Even when I think about these fruits, I think of some place exotic like Southeast Asia, definitely not the non-exotic Sinospheric world I was raised in. However, I enjoy adventure I was rewarded with a new and pleasant experience.

Love Letters and Coupons

Various replies from various companies

When I like a product, I like to let the company know. For example, when I'm feeling really lazy and I don't cook, I like prepared meals. For lunch, I'll eat Amy's vegetarian lasagna or the cheese enchilada meal. And I've been eating Amy's for years. I've written to them in the past, but it's been awhile so I wrote them and told them how I still appreciate them. Well, they sent me some coupons.
     The same thing happened when I contacted Gardein (about their chicken tenders) and WestSoy about their wheat gluten/seitan (which is owned by Hain). They sent coupons for more of their products. Isn't that nice of them?
     It's not that I'm doing it just for coupons. I mean, if all I wanted were coupons, I'd just go to Safeway, where if I buy Amy's or some vegetarian product, the machine spits out coupons for more of the product. I write to them because their products are really good and why shouldn't I let them know how I really feel?
     In any case, if you like a company, maybe you should write them a letter or an e-mail. They'll most likely send you coupons too.

Hitting the Wall



Back from what seemed like a long journey

 Somewhere along the way in the last two weeks, I hit the wall. I was going very smoothly, losing one pound a week for nine weeks. And then, everything started going haywire. I started to feel stressed and unfocused and I started eating lots of junk (three different Haagen Dazs flavors: chocolate peanut butter, chocolate chocolate chip, strawberry, coffee- wait, that isn't three?!). I realized, after the fact, that I must have gotten sick or something.

My weight fluctuated downwards to 185, then all the way to 189. All that effort seemed wasted. Needless to say, it was frustrating. I wondered why I was so stressed? Was it because of physical reasons or otherwise? I, of course, stayed on my plan and waited this out. Slowly, but surely, I felt the stress fade away or whatever it was that caused me to have uncontrollable eating episodes. From 189, like coming home from a vacation on a plane that's about to land, I gently came back down to 186. While not as nearly as impressive as losing nine pounds in nine weeks, I'll take nine pounds in eleven weeks, thank you very much! Using the equation I was using, my protein needs drop from 79 to 76 grams a day. My BMI is down from 27.6 to 26.3, still in the overweight category. And my waist size is a solid 34.

Anyway, the point is, we'll off get off track and that shouldn't end the ride. Get back on track and see where it leads you. It's been awhile since I heard about your weight loss progress and it seems like those New Year's Resolutions were so long ago. Are you feeling as committed as you were a few months ago? Please let me know how it's going. Me, I feel great and I'm ready for Round Two. (Talking to the overweight me) If that's all you have, you better bring it!

Gardein Vs. MorningStar



MorningStar Chik'n Nuggets

 Making your own meals all the time can be time consuming, although it's worth it. You know what's going into your body and you make the food suited to your unique tastes. There are times when you're feeling lazy and you want something easy and snob-free. Why not vegetarian chicken nuggets?

Maybe I was in seventh grade or so when they came out with Chicken McNuggets. I knew it was before Madonna's Who's That Girl movie was released because I remember her character came out of prison and was instantly taken with them. They were already popular and Madonna probably didn't increase sales or anything, but it somehow stuck in my head all these years, just like when Madonna was eating Cheetos in Desperately Seeking Susan. I remember seeing some Morgan Spurlock documentary that said that McDonald's was looking for a way to sell products that didn't waste sick and old chickens. I guess that's what they are, mashed up sick and old chicken flesh, treated,  battered and fried, served with sauce. I say that in the most loving way because I was known to order them more than a few times. So, when I have a yen for chicken nuggets, MorningStar is there for me. Although I have to provide the sauce myself. I was in nugget bliss until I discovered a new product. Gardein's Crispy Tenders.



Gardein's Crispy Tenders

 While MorningStar's brand has its charms, I do like Gardein's Crispy Tenders just a little more. They are confident that you will recognize what they are because the name doesn't suggest that they might be chicken-like, but the picture on the package gives it away. Gardein is based in Richmond, BC, which is pretty close to Seattle.

You can buy Gardein at some Safeways and at all Whole Foods. However, you can find MorningStar at most stores, such as the Red Apple, Safeway, Whole Foods, PCC, etc.

As for sauces, you can use Thai sweet chili sauce. I also mix ranch dressing with a little dijon mustard.

Loving Hut

Loving Hut, 1228 S. Jackson St.

I'm not a vegan, but I enjoy vegan food. Maybe you could call me a semi-vegan? Or a future vegan? I do enjoy eating ice cream, yogurt, cheese, whipped cream, etc. I have milk with my cereal and my tea (not to mention honey) and I use half-and-half when I drink coffee. I do enjoy eggs now and then. Also, I do enjoy cooking, but restaurants are a good option for social gatherings. And sometimes, you're so lazy or so looking for something new to eat that you can only find satisfaction through someone else's cooking.

Loving Hut is a worldwide franchise started by Chinese-Vietnamese spiritual leader that serves pan-Asian food. The restaurant is bright and has its charms. As usual, when I eat meals, I take into consideration the protein content. I could easily choose a few dishes that are just vegetables and then I will suffer a protein deficiency. I decided to see what they had in wheat protein. I ordered the sesame cha cha (what I call vegetarian sesame beef).

Sesame Cha Cha

It was good and it approximates the experience of having sesame beef but there's no meat in it and it has the amount of protein you would find in beef. And it comes with broccoli, which is a classic Chinese combination. Tasty, yes. My omnivore friend liked it too, even though he was putting hot chili sauce on everything he was eating.

Another dish I had was the Au Lac Curry. Au Lac is a place name in Vietnam where the spiritual leader is from. It is within the range of most Southeast Asian curries you are likely to encounter.



Au Lac Curry

 Lastly, I tried the asparagus stir-fry with your choice of protein. Options include various soy products, but I chose gluten. The gluten they serve there are like sheet noodles stacked on top of each other and are cut into pieces reminiscent of chicken, though it looked like pieces of stacked noodles.

I do plan on going back to try other dishes as they have interesting looking appetizers, soups, sandwiches, various entrees, special drinks and desserts. If you've been there before or if you plan to go, let me know your experiences.

Meatless Beef Chow Mein

Meatless Beef Chow Mein

I've always loved noodles. Call it a Chinese thing. On the other hand, noodles is a world-wide thing. So, everyone can get in on the noodle action. Here's my version for the day. It's really what I had lying around. Really, if I had mung bean sprouts or bell peppers or bok choy, I'd throw it in. However, Chinese cabbage works nicely too. This dish features my homemade wheat gluten, but you can buy it at the store. Since I made a whole batch, I may as well eat it up while it's fresh, you know.

Meatless Beef Chow Mein
8 oz of chow mein noodles
1-2 cloves of garlic
4 oz of wheat gluten/seitan, homemade or WestSoy Seitan Wheat Protein
1/2- 3/4 cup of vegetarian chicken broth/bouillon or vegetable stock or mushroom stock
2 teaspoons of soy sauce
2 teaspoons of vegetarian oyster sauce
2 oz Chinese cabbage
1 handful of dried Chinese black mushrooms
a little Lao Gan Ma chili sauce (optional)
spicy sesame oil (optional)
1 teaspoon of sugar (optional)
coconut oil

Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water until soft. Remove stems. You can reserve the water and replace the broth if you wish, but make sure you don't pour in any sediment. Prepare noodles according to directions on package. Usually, you will soak them in hot/warm water for about five minutes and drain.

Pre-heat pan on medium heat. When it's hot, add coconut oil and coat the pan. Throw in your Chinese cabbage, mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Add garlic (making sure not to burn) and your wheat gluten. It's already cooked so you don't have to worry about it that much. If using Lao Gan Ma sauce, add some at this point. Pour broth in or water. If using bouillon, toss it in right now. If using, add sugar now.  Add soy sauce and oyster sauce. Bring broth to a boil or close to a boil. Add noodles and toss noodles to coat. Reduce broth until it's near dry. If using sesame oil, pour in teaspoon and mix evenly. Serve immediately. This makes 2 servings, but I can eat the whole thing. 23 grams of protein per serving.