New find

Was at Trader Joe’s the other day (not like that was something new) and they have done their typical thing of moving products around.  So now the hummus is pretty much right in front of you as you walk in the door at one of the locations I go to.  Had to check it out just in case I needed to pick some up.

I saw a new one…it’s not actually hummus but Green Tahini Dip and Sauce.  The ingredients: Tahini (Ground Sesame Seed), Water, Lemon Juice, Parsley, Green Onion, Dill, Mint, Dehydrated Garlic, Cilantro, Sea Salt, Cumin, Citric Acid.

It has some nice tang to it, great with veggies and the normal pita chips, etc.  Totally worth testing.  And, it’s lactose free and gluten free!

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Vermont, we have a problem

Innovation is key, yes indeed.  But sometimes staying a step behind helps people stay away from ‘harmful’ things.  What am I referencing?  Ben & Jerry’s, that just slightly known ice cream name based in Vermont, has just come out with a non-dairy ice cream.  Lactose-intolerant ones, oh lactards, let’s rejoice! Also, if wondering, it’s certified vegan. I see trouble on the horizon…

I happened to read a press release about this about a month or so ago and have been waiting for this stuff to come out.  Finally found it after going to…I’m not going to say how many stores.

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I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I have eaten Chunky Monkey.  I just sort of let that spoon hang out of my mouth.  Are there really four servings in a container?

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Vermont, you have really caused a problem here.  I’m going to start spending way too much money and will need to go to the gym a bit more frequently.  Besides Chunky Monkey, they also have a few other flavors of the non-dairy addiction.  Totally check this stuff out.

 

Leftovers = Soup

I had to buy celery for some reason, which I honestly can’t remember.  So I had a bunch left.  I did not want to have it go to waste.  I also did not need to consume more hummus than celery if I used it for dipping into that, because I’m really good at eating more hummus than the size of the object that I’m dipping into the said chickpea stuff.

So, I googled celery soup. I forgot many of them have dairy, so after that I remembered that using the term ‘vegan’ in searches is great for lactards (love using that term myself since I am the lactose intolerant one).  Came up with several and finally found one to use via another blog.  Pretty basic recipe.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped roughly
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon thyme (optional)
1 head of celery, cleaned & chopped roughly
1 white potato or 1 cup cauliflower, chopped — here I used a bag of mixed frozen veggies because they were out of frozen cauliflower
1 litre of vegetable stock — I used chicken broth because it’s what I had on hand, and I just searched vegan for no dairy
pepper

IMG_3784Preparation

  1. Heat the oil in a non stick pot and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.
  3. Puree the soup using a blender. Hand held works fine.  —  used the immersion blender, that also eliminates step 4
  4. Return to the pan, check seasoning and serve.

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I tasted it when it was done and it was fine.  I only made it the other day so the celery didn’t go to waste.  It had to cool for a while before I could put it in containers to freeze.  I finally got around to doing it the next day after it had been in the fridge for 24+ hours.  WOW!  Great celery flavor.  Can’t wait to eat it when fall is truly here.

Plane Food

When traveling (internationally) and therefore actually getting fed on the plane I always kind of wonder what the food will be.  Being lactose intolerant I always run the risk of not being able to eat what is served.  Some airlines don’t offer the lactose-intolerant option.  They have gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan.  The first two have the cheese thrown in there.  So, I opted for vegan recently to see what might come out because I know there would be no cheese coming into play.  I will say, not too bad.

One meal had some Indian flair to it.  I love that it came with fresh veggies and fruit!

IMG_3258For another meal I got a veggie sandwich (it was artichokes, avocado and tomato) on focaccia bread and I also got hummus.  It was in heaven.

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So if you’re looking for something new, request a different type of meal when booking your (international) flight.