Thursday, May 19, 2016

Stuff I Ate

Here are some random meals I've been eating lately — in no particular order.

My office is downtown, and last Friday was day two of the World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest downtown. It's a massive and very non-vegan event that attracts barbecue cooks from all over the world. It's really awful. Throughout the fest, the air around my office reeks from the smell of barbecue (and I can't help but think of all those poor pigs), and the area around our office basically becomes a giant parking lot. So, thankfully, our office has a tradition of closing at noon on BBQ Fest Friday every year because parking for our employees becomes next to impossible. And since we were off at noon, my editor Susan and I decided to hit up our favorite Vietnamese buffet at Pho Binh.

For less than $10 at Pho Binh, you can fill your lunch plate with as much tofu as you want! There is a little meat on the buffet, but most of the dishes are vegan. Last Friday, they had their standards — Green Beans with Tofu, Curry Tofu, and (my very favorite) Lemongrass Tofu. Pho Binh's lemongrass tofu is legendary.


The new Just Mayo dressings (including the ranch!!) are available at our Target here in Memphis now, and they were on sale last week for $3 a bottle. I picked up Just Ranch and Just Sweet Mustard (like a vegan honey mustard dressing). I'd tried the ranch once before when it came out on a limited release last year, and it's AMAZING. But I immediately cracked open the Sweet Mustard when I got home from Target and whipped up this messy Big Ole Dinner Salad with chickpeas and dried cranberries and lots of veggies. The mustard dressing is the best! It's just like the creamy honey mustard I remember from my pregan days.


I've been eating a lot of Miyoko's Creamery cheese lately — the stash I brought back from Little Rock since it's still not available here. This is the Garlic-Herb Cheese (made with aged cashews) with fig jam and crackers.


My strawberry plants are making strawberries like crazy! I was craving chocolate one day earlier this week, so I topped So Delicious Cashewmilk Creamy Chocolate Ice Cream with Fresh Strawberries, Chocolate Syrup, and CocoWhip. So good!


Are you tired of seeing protein waffle pics yet? Too bad! I had another FitQuick Birthday Cake Protein Waffle this morning topped with maple-agave syrup, Miyoko's Creamery Cultured VeganButter, and CocoWhip. These waffles have 22 grams of protein!


And here's a FitQuick Pizza Waffle stuffed with fancy olives and spinach and topped with marinara and Follow Your Heart vegan parm. I'm basically obsessed with FitQuick Protein Waffles. Yes, they're expensive, but the cost for a bag of 8 servings is about equal to the cost of protein powder in the same amount (and protein powder is also very expensive, but I view it a necessity during training season).


Speaking of breakfast, have y'all had this Califia Farms Better Half creamer yet? OMG! I picked it up on a whim at Whole Foods, and it's my new fave thing. It's sooooooooo thick and creamy because it's mostly pure coconut cream. Makes for very creamy coffee!


For Mother's Day, my mama made Vegan Dumplins (like chicken and dumplins but without the chicken), hash brown casserole, vegan dressin', and green beans. I blogged about that awhile ago. But last week, I had some leftover dumplins, and I'd been eating leftovers for a few days. So I decided to mix it up a bit by adding Soy Curls to the dish. I still love my mama's dumplins plain (without any plant meat) the best when they're fresh, but on day four, the Soy Curls were a nice addition.


I guess I've been eating a lot of brown food. I didn't realize that until I started putting this together. Well, here's something green for you. On Tuesday night, Memphis' Planned Parenthood put on the first event in a monthly series called Beers with Pioneers, where local feminist icons talk about their fight for women's rights while guests drink free beer and chow down on food truck fare. It was in my neighborhood, and feminism, beer, and food trucks are all my favorite things! Fuel Food Truck was there, so I got the Vegan Tacos (Fuel's homemade veggie burger crumbles, vegan cheddar, vegan sour cream, onions, lettuce, and lots of avocado) and a free Ghost River beer.


Okay, I've saved the best for last. Cause today I had TOTCHOS! That's right — tater tot nachos. My friend Cassi sells them at Pink Diva Cupcakery. The tots are piled high with vegan cheese, black beans, brown rice, lettuce, salsa, onions, and sour cream. I don't order this often because it's a lot of food, and I cannot stop eating tots once I start. I ate all of these tots for lunch today. And I counted. There were 30.


9 comments:

DW said...

Ok, you cannot mention Vegan Dumplins and not provide a recipe... Seriously....

Hillary said...

I lived in a city that had a BBQ fest every year, and almost the whole town smelled like bbq, and it just made me soooo sad, I know what you mean. I'm glad yo got to leave the area early that day!
I haven't had the Califia farms vegan half and half yet, only their coffee creamer which is already the best, so I can only imagine how creamy the "creamer" is!
I still have to try totchos, they look so tasty!

Brenda said...

I love your Stuff I Ate posts. I have found so many good ideas for things to try to make and cookbooks to try too.

House Vegan said...

I will never be sick of looking at waffles. Or your amazing cat mug.

Susan said...

Once I tot I just can't stop! Potato gems are delicious! :) And I love totchos... I guess gemchos doesn't work as well as a name.
I really want to try the pizza waffle mix, it sounds so good.

Sarah said...

I have definitely had the though before reading your blog that it must be difficult to live in a city that is known for its BBQ. I know you are getting more vegan options but I know it must be annoying to have to deal with all of the BBQ stuff going on.

Anyway, your food looks absolutely incredible!! The totchos look soooo good. I've never tried dumplings before and those look so incredible. The strawberries look like a really tasty and simple dessert (perfect for summer!) and I'm definitely going to have to look for the dressing and the Califia Better Half! I'm glad I read this today so I could add it to my list for Whole Foods tomorrow :)

Hafsa said...

wonderful stuff that you eat! amazing :)

Jennifer said...

Every time I see those fit quick waffles I just want them! XD But I don't even have a waffle maker so.... kind of hard to justify the price. BUT when I get a waffle maker and I wll get fit quick!

Unknown said...

I wish i was closer to target, no one sells the just mayo dressings near me and i keep reading how awesome they are!
The bbq free buffet looks so good- i love sampling all the different tofu preps. And i have to find that creamer!! I love the califa creamer they already have but even creamier sounds even better...
Ttrockwood