Product Review: Svelte Organic Protein Shake - Chocolate

This vegan protein shake is made with soymilk. If you like soy, you will love this. It tastes just like chocolate milk, there is no gritty or chalky protein powder that a lot of protein drinks have. And I love the packaging. 

This 11 ounce bottle has 11 grams of protein, which is similar to cows milk. It also has added vitamins and uses organic ingredients. Organic is nice for soy because that means there are no GMOs, which are otherwise common with soy ingredients. 

Review: Svelte Organic Protein Shake - Chocolate

First impressions: Yum, very chocolatey. 
Taste: Just like chocolate milk. There is a slight soy aftertaste, but I like it. It is masked by the chocolate for the most part, I don't know if I would have noticed it if I didn't know it was vegan. 
Texture: Similar to chocolate cows milk, a little bit thicker. Smooth, there is no gritty or chalky texture that some protein shakes have.
Can you tell it's vegan? No, if I didn't know I don't think I would have guessed that it is vegan. 
Worth buying again? Yes. 
Overall: 5 out of 5

Product Review: Naked Smoothies - Blue Machine

Naked makes a whole bunch of smoothies, most are vegan (the protein ones are not). They're called smoothies but it's more like a juice. 

They have quite a few flavors. Blue Machine is my favorite because it's not too sweet and I love blackberries. 

Review: Naked Smoothies - Blue Machine
First impressions: Yummy, refreshing. 
Taste: Blueberry and blackberry, not too sweet. 
Texture: Thicker than juice, thinner than smoothies from smoothie stores. A little bit creamy from the banana. 
Worth buying again? Yes, I buy the big size. 
Overall: 5 out of 5

Product Review: Califia Farms Iced Coffee - Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin spice has taken over the grocery store, and my boyfriend loves every part of it. So we were excited to find this vegan pumpkin spice latte flavored ice coffee. Even better that it is from Califia Farms, which has become our go to brand for vegan premade iced coffee. 

A cool thing about this product is it is has real pumpkin in it. Pumpkin is different from pumpkin pie spice (a mix of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove). Usually products that say "pumpkin spice" only have the spices and not actual pumpkin. Even though this is labeled pumpkin spice, it has both pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices. 

Review: Califia Farms Iced Coffee - Pumpkin Spice Latte

First impressions: "Mmm, very cinnamony."
Taste: Strong pumpkin flavor, but hard to taste the coffee. This is a common problem with these premade iced coffees. 
Texture: Thick and creamy like the other almond milk iced coffees. 
Can you tell it's vegan? No, it could pass for a non-vegan premade iced coffee. The pumpkin covers up any aftertaste that would give it away. 
Better than other vegan versions? This is the only pumpkin flavor we've tried so it's hard to say. Compared to all of the iced coffees our favorite was the Califia Farms Double Espresso.
Worth buying again? Probably not,  maybe if I was really craving pumpkin. 
Overall: 3.5 out of 5

Product Review: Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs

Shown with Vegetable Marinara Sauce

Spaghetti is one of my favorite foods. Since I grew up eating it with ground beef, I am always looking for ways to make it vegan. I thought vegan meatballs would be a good way to go and so I tried Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs. 

These are made from Texturized Soy Protein. 

I really wanted to like these. They didn't look weird...

But when I took a bite I was overwhelmed by the mushy texture. It might have tasted good, but I couldn't tell because I was so put off by how gross the texture was. 

I waited a little bit and tried another bite thinking, "It couldn't have been that bad." And yes, it was that bad. I couldn't finish one meatball. 

Review: Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs

First impressions: When cooking: "looks good and smells good." After first bite: "omg gross." 

Taste: Honestly, I can't give an accurate taste description because I couldn't get past the texture. 

Texture: Disgustingly soft and mushy. I couldn't finish a whole one. 

Does it look like the picture on the package? Yes.

Can you tell it's vegan? Absolutely. 

Worth buying again? No. 

Overall: 1 out of 5. If you are not texture sensitive and don't mind the mushiness of some veggie burgers, then you might like these better. 

Making Pasta Sauce in Bulk

I love making pasta sauce from scratch, but it can be so time consuming! There is an easy solution - making large amounts of sauce in advance and canning them. I do this with my spaghetti sauce and red pepper sauce. This makes for an incredibly easy meal down the road, all you have to do is cook the pasta and add sauce. 

For this batch, I added more vegetables to the spaghetti sauce to add more nutrients and natural sweetness (a red pepper has more vitamin C than an orange!) 

I do not have a canner so I froze my jars. There are guides on how to can without a canner, but just to be safe I froze mine. To defrost, I move one jar to the fridge at least a day before I want to make pasta. 

I used the giant cans of crushed tomatoes from Costco. I used one 106 oz can for each recipe, and each recipe made 5 batches of about 24 ounces each. 

Vegetable Marinara

Ingredients

• 4 onions (I bought a 3 pound bag of yellow onions and used half in each recipe)
• 2 red peppers
• 4 carrots (or half of a 1 pound bag)
• A whole head of garlic (ok to skip some of the smaller cloves)
• About 1 cup of red wine, I used 1/3 of a bottle of Cabernet (optional)
• 106 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• About 1 tablespoon each, or enough to sprinkle over the entire top of the sauce
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• oregano

Directions

1. Chop the onions, red pepper, and carrots. 
2. Add oil to a very large sauce pot, enough to coat the bottom.
3. Add the vegetables and salt. Saute until the onions are clear and the peppers are soft ~15 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and simmer for ~5 minutes.
5. Add the wine, simmer for ~5 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes and other seasonings and stir to combine.
7. If you are blending do that here.
8. Simmer for at least 45 minutes, I did for about an hour and a half. 
9. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
10. Let cool until no longer steaming before you start canning to avoid hurting yourself (speaking from experience).

Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 onions (I bought a 3 pound bag of yellow onions and used half in each recipe)
• 4 red peppers
• 2 jars of roasted red peppers
• A whole head of garlic (ok to skip some of the smaller cloves)
• About 1 cup of red wine, I used 1/3 of a bottle of Cabernet (optional)
• 106 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• About 1 tablespoon each, or enough to sprinkle over the entire top of the sauce
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• oregano
• cayenne pepper (I used 1 tablespoon for 5 batches of sauce, the overall spiciness was about a 3 on a scale of 1-10)
• red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

1. Chop the onions and raw red peppers. If you will be blending the sauce like me, you can use a rustic approach when chopping. They do not need to be the same size. If you will not be blending, I think thin, julienne strips would look best. 
2. Add oil to a very large sauce pot, enough to coat the bottom.
3. Add the onions, red peppers, and salt. Saute until the onions are clear and the peppers are soft ~15 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and roasted red peppers, simmer for ~5 minutes.
5. Add the wine, simmer for another 5 or so minutes
6. Add the tomatoes and other seasonings and stir to combine.
7. If you are blending do that here.
8. Simmer for at least 45 minutes, I did for an hour and a half. 
9. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.