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By kilax, January 30, 2012 4:29 am

Soy Curls! What are those?

They’re a new vegan product Steven recently added to FakeMeats.com!

Soy Curls only have one ingredient – whole soybeans – and are all natural. 

The idea is that you can substitute these in your favorite meat recipes. We decided to make a fajita mix with them!

The first thing you do is soak them in water for 10 minutes. 

Then you drain the water, season them and add to your recipe (then cook according to the recipe)!

Super simple! For the fajitas, we used the Chik-Style Seasoning (also available on FakeMeats.com, from the same manufacturer, and all natural), and Steven added taco seasoning too. 

Yum yum yum.

They turned out really good. We were both like “Holy crap, how can these be so good?!”

The chewy, pull-apart-with-your-teeth texture reminded me of Gardein products. Only a lot cheaper – under $3.50 for the 8 servings in a bag. And they don’t have to be refrigerated (but that will extend their freshness, if you do). I have a feeling we are going to be using these Soy Curls a lot. 

Since Steven has been running FakeMeats.com, it’s really given us the opportunity to try a lot of fun vegan (and vegetarian, for him) products. I love how adventurous he is in trying new things, and how many cool products there are out there!

How often do you try to cook with new products, or new to you foods? Do you stroll around the grocery store looking for new items like we do?

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By kilax, January 24, 2012 4:27 am

Do you make many slow cooker recipes?

Truth – I did not even know what a slow cooker was, but apparently, I sent Steven a recipe a long time ago that required one. I didn’t believe we had one until he pulled it out of “junk” (sigh) cabinet.

Oh! It’s a Crock Pot! I am familiar with that word. But I am pretty sure we haven’t used this one since I’ve lived in this house (5 years this May). It was time to remedy that on Sunday! We made this Moroccan Slow Cooker Stew, and I was super impressed with how easy it was to just throw everything in the slow cooker, and let it sit for six hours. 

And I loved the way it made the house smell!

Ha ha. I didn’t realize the Crock Pot would get so messy, as it sat all afternoon. I guess that makes sense. 

The mess and wait were worth it. This stew is awesome. We made some rice to go with it, and it was the perfect combination. The recipe called for cumin, cinnamon and crushed red pepper as the spices, and it just went so well together. We will definitely be making it again!

This slow cooker is pretty nifty… do you guys have any slow cooker recipes to share with me?

It makes me laugh that this thing cooks all day… and I eat it in 5 minutes. Yeah. I still struggle with not eating too fast. 

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By kilax, January 16, 2012 5:05 am

During my run on Saturday, I was thinking about how well my eating has been going, except for a few unfortunate run-ins with some cookies. “That’s it!” I told myself. “Stop buying cookies until you learn to eat just one.” (Really, stop buying HUGE cookies! Because just one of the kind I had was 550 calories, revision “Stop buying cookies until you learn to just eat part of one.”)

Then I checked the mail later in the day and had a package from Caveman Cookies!

Ha ha. I had forgotten I saw their ad in a magazine and was intrigued and asked them to send me some samples to review.

But the cool thing about Caveman Cookies is that they only have a few base ingredients (they’re kind of like the Larabar of cookies!), they’re low in calories, they’re gluten-free and they’re dairy free! They’re not vegan, because they have honey in them, but… I eat honey. Sigh. I am not a real vegan. The secret’s out!

Here are their cookie flavors and ingredients:

Original Caveman Cookies: honey, almond meal, walnuts, raisins, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon.
Tropical Caveman Cookies: almond meal, honey, unsulfured coconut, macadamia nuts, ginger.
Alpine Caveman Cookies: honey, hazelnut meal, almond meal, toasted ground carob.
Rainforest Caveman Cookies: honey, almond meal, brazil nut meal, chopped almonds, dried cherries (cherries, sunflower oil), nutmeg, cayenne pepper.

I think the story to how Caveman Cookies got started is really cool:

And what is really interesting is that this cookies are designed to be a part of the paleolithic diet, which I mentioned in this post! And their little caveman guy is so cute:

Okay, on to the review! The cookies are chewy and dense, which I LOVE! I am not a fan of brittle or crunchy cookies. 

And they are not overly sweet! I think honey was the predominant taste in most of them. They reminded me more of a healthy snack, than a cookie. Which they even say in their literature “sweet enough for a dessert: healthy enough for a snack.”

I don’t think I would eat one of these as a replacement for a cookie, but if I was looking for a filling, somewhat sweet in the afternoon, I would grab one!

Want to give them a try? I have two sample cookies of each flavor to giveaway!

Caveman Cookies Giveaway Rules

1. One reader will receive two cookies of each flavor: original, tropical, alpine and rainforest. 
2. Required to enter the giveaway: leave me a comment telling me which flavor you want to try first. 
3. This giveaway is open until 5:00 PM CST on Wednesday January 18. I will use random.org to select the winner. I will announce the winner on Thursday January 19. 
4. This giveaway is open to all readers.

Comments (33)

By kilax, January 4, 2012 1:09 pm

Danger Danger!

An entirely vegan restaurant (Native Foods Cafe) opened across the street from my office. This… could be bad. Vegan cupcakes, only a 2 minute walk away? Vegan chicken wings? Vegan Mac and Cheese?!

Ahh! I must be good. I must be good. I must be good. (Ironically, I have a post scheduled for tomorrow about willpower. Hmm).

It’s really rare for me to find a place where I can walk in and order anything off of the menu (and I recognize it’s my own choice to live this way). It’s actually overwhelming.

Today, I went with a bowl – tempeh on rice with kale, veggies, curry sauce, cranberries and green onions. The presentation was stunning.

My coworker went with a different bowl – tofu, veggies, quinoa, currants and almonds. We agreed hers was better! Mine was very good too.

We grabbed a menu so we can mark all the things we’ve tried. Ha!

Chicago bloggers – if you are looking to meet-up… let me know! Let’s just get there early. There was quite a line!

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By kilax, January 3, 2012 9:40 pm

Anyone have a guess as to what my favorite energy bars are?

Here’s the thing – I normally get hooked on an energy bar, eat too many of them, and never want to eat them again (hello most Clifbars, Larabars, Odwalla, many LUNA flavors…). 

But these Chocolate Dipped Coconut bars from LUNA are so addictive. I have not hit my “never eating you again” point with them. Maybe I have found true love (in bar form)?

All joking aside, I never have more than one of these a day, and try not to eat one a day. But I found myself repeatedly buying them at Target when I ran out of stock at home so I decided to take the plunge and get these huge boxes from Amazon (at a better overall price). 

How long do you think 30 LUNA bars will last me? I’ll send one to whomever guesses most accurately. Ha ha. So, actually, how long do you think 29 LUNA bars will last me?

Do you eat energy bars*? What is your favorite kind?

*I am not really even sure how an energy bar is defined, and I bet these are just as bad as candy bars. Oh well… I guess if someone can tell me otherwise, that would be nice!

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By kilax, December 22, 2011 6:13 am

Before I get to my post… Happy 31st Birthday Steven! 

I’ve been telling my favorite coworker that I would like to try loose leaf tea and she got me this neat IngenuiTEA Teapot and some loose leaf tea for Christmas!

This teapot is so cool. Have you ever seen anything like it? I hadn’t! You put the loose leaf tea in, then add the hot water, let it steep, then put it on a cup and it pours in to the cup! I made a video for you. Ha ha. 

I am really digging this rooibos tea she gave me called “eggnog.” It’s funny though – I love it, but the smell reminds Steven of the smell of pipe tobacco before you smoke it! We have really different tastes in tea!

Do you like loose leaf tea? What kind?

I am excited to go to the store and get some new stuff to try. I did ask my coworker to bring me some more of this eggnog tea (she got it in her hometown, where she is now for the holiday).

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By kilax, December 20, 2011 5:16 am

Awhile ago, Erin was telling me about this Butternut Squash Lasagna recipe she saw on the Paleo Table (the blogger borrowed the recipe from here), a blog that focuses on Paleolithic cooking. From wikipedia, a Paleolithic diet consists consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.

It’s interesting, thinking about the Paleolithic diet compared to the vegan one I (mostly) follow. I try to eat a lot of veggies and fruit, but not fish or meat.  I also avoid dairy. But definitely not grains and legumes! In fact, the fake meat sausage we substituted in for the sausage in this recipe has vital wheat gluten as the fifth ingredient. It’s interesting how many different food lifestyles (“diets”) there are out there. 

Do you know anyone who follows the Paleolithic diet?

Anyway, we finally made this recipe this weekend. Holy cow, it was amazing. I wasn’t sure what to expect… but all the different ingredients went together so well. 

You basically take your favorite tomato sauce and puree it with some roasted red peppers, olive oil and basil. That is the base. Then you layer the sliced butternut squash. 

Put the sauteed “sausage,” onion and garlic mix on top of that, 

Then another layer of sauce. 

Repeat each layer one more time and bake! Super simple.

It totally fell apart when we took it out of the dish, but Steven thought maybe layering the squash would help with that (the recipe said not to layer it). 

Yum yum yum. It was just so savory and good. It got a bit crispy on top, and I liked that little crunch in some of the bites!

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By kilax, December 13, 2011 5:16 am

It’s been awhile since I posted a custom recipe from Steven! It’s not that he hasn’t been creating in the kitchen. It’s that I’ve been lazy. Oops! Well, this latest recipe is too good not to share!

I’ve been doing the vegan thing for about 2.5 years, and if I had to make a list of foods I miss eating now that I am vegan it would be very short… but Fettuccine Alfredo would be on the top of the list! Yum, how I loved to get a dish of creamy Fettuccine Alfredo, devour it all and feel sick to my stomach later.

Do you like Fettuccine Alfredo? What is your favorite Italian dish?

A few weeks ago, Steven whipped up a quick vegan Alfredo sauce. We were both amazed at how simple, yet tasty it was. He tweaked it just a little bit, and now we have Fettuccine Fauxfredo!

Fettuccine Fauxfredo (makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 c broth
• 1 c soy milk
• 4 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 2 tbsp margarine
• 1/8-1/4 tsp salt (to taste)
• 2 – 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch (until desired thickness is achieved)
• 1/4 c cold water
• 1 box Fettuccine noodles

And Data even came by to say hi. 

In fact… Data sat on the table for much of the last hour of the call being a grumpypuss. He did not like that we were on the computer for so long! He kept getting on the counters and fridge. He had a time out and attacked Steven when he left time out. Later that night (after the call) he chewed a hole through a comforter, then spent the night chewing on his stocking while we were sleeping. I don’t think Santa is going to be leaving anything for Data (which is a shame because I think Santa had two gifts for Data)!

Sigh. I hope Data is not turning in to one of those old grumpy cats. He’s only 9ish!

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By kilax, December 6, 2011 5:02 am

Don’t forget to enter the Season of Giving Giveaway #3: Fashion!

Also! My best buddy Gina started blogging again! Check out her new blog: mileWON!

Someone, please tell me the secret to making Chex Mix. Whenever I follow the recipe on the box, it never tastes strong enough! Do you just follow the Chex Mix recipe?

Fun fact – Chex Mix calls for Worcestershire sauce, which is not vegan or vegetarian. It has anchovies in it! We bought some vegan Worcestershire sauce to use this weekend. And despite what my mother says, I do not think that is why the Chex Mix was a bit bland. Nor was it the margarine. 

Hmm, seems I am getting a bit ahead of myself! Why was I even making Chex Mix? Well, back in November of 2008, my mom (+dad), mom’s mom, and sister came out to Chicago to do what we called the “Holiday Baking Extravaganza,” to make sweets to hand out.  We did it in November because that worked best for us. And we really outdid ourselves that year – baking a ton of different stuff (see here, and here for what my brother did with the cookies I sent back for him), and that was after spending a day in Chicago, sightseeing and shopping. 

In November 2009, just my mom (+dad) and mom’s mom came. We still shopped in Chicago and then baked the next day, but not as much (see here).

And in November 2010, my mom (+dad) and sister came, and we just shopped. For two days straight (see here). No baking. 

This year, we got back to our roots – one day of shopping, one day of baking. And we made it simple, only three things to hand out: Chex Mix, Caramel Corn, and Almond Bark Covered Ritz PB Sandwiches. Much easier (and it makes much more sense to do it in December). 

My mom and grandma also made an apple pie. We didn’t send that out to anyone. 

We ate it with dinner. It was as good as it looks. 

Do you like to make holiday treats to share with friends and family? What do you make?

Side note: Data and my dad get along really well. Not. 

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By kilax, November 28, 2011 5:25 am

As a thank you to my readers, I am doing one giveaway a week until Christmas. This is giveaway #2! The giveaways will all reflect different interests of mine, and this one is… vegetarianism/veganism!

We have a no-meat household – Steven is a vegetarian and I am vegan – but we still have a lot of fun trying out fun meat alternatives, which we like to call “fake meats”!

A few years ago, we really got in to trying out different kinds of vegetarian and vegan jerky, which there are surprisingly a lot of out there! We always had to go to specialty stores or multiple websites to buy them though, so Steven actually started a new company, Fake Meats, LLC, to sell our favorite jerky and other fun vegetarian and vegan meats and treats in one place. 

Steven’s been finding a lot of fun products to add to FakeMeats.com. Did you know that there is bacon flavored popcorn? And that it’s vegan? We actually first tried this at Erin‘s mom’s house last April. Someone had given her the bacon popcorn and bacon flavored mayonnaise as a joke! Steven and Erin popped the popcorn and gave it a try, but it smelled so much like real bacon that I didn’t try it!

My favorite products are the meat-free jerkys. I really like them all, but the Vegan Dream brand is my favorite, because I like pulling their jerky apart with my teeth to eat it. Ha ha. They really remind me of the texture of real jerky.  I’m also excited about trying some new products that Steven’s been working out deals on selling (coming soon to FakeMeats.com!), like vegan gravy mix, veggie burger mix and meat replacements for cooking (like what we’ve used to make our vegan chicken and biscuits before). 

Steven’s been having a lot of fun with getting the company set up, finding new products, and promoting them on the Fake Meats Facebook page. I asked if he would donate some products for my Season of Giving Giveaway series and he developed an entire sampler pack and threw in one extra item. The giveaway is for the Vegetarian/Vegan Combo Pack Sampler (products listed below) and a jar of Baconnaise.

Click first image to see larger

The Vegetarian/Vegan Combo Pack Sampler includes 1 of each of these products: 
BaconPOP Microwave Popcorn (vegan) 
Hickory Bacon Salt (vegan) 
Primal Strip – Teriyaki (vegan) 
Primal Strip – Hickory Smoked (vegan) 
Primal Strip – Texas BBQ (vegan) 
Stonewall’s Jerquee – Original Mild (vegan) 
Stonewall’s Jerquee – Peppy Pepperoni (vegan) 
Vegan Dream – Hickory Pepper Vegetarian Jerky (vegan) 
Vegan Dream – Teriyaki Vegetarian Jerky (vegan) <– MY FAVORITE!!! YUMMY!!!

In addition to the Combo Pack Sampler, one (1) jar of Baconnaise (Bacon Flavored Mayonnaise – vegetarian) is being included in the giveaway.

Even if you aren’t vegetarian or vegan, you can still enjoy these products! Enter below to get a chance to try them!

FakeMeats.com Giveaway Rules

1. FakeMeats.com is sponsoring the giveaway of one (1) Vegetarian/Vegan Combo Pack Sampler and one (1) Baconnaise (Bacon Flavored Mayonnaise). 
2. Required to enter the giveaway: “like” Fake Meats on Facebook (here) and leave me a comment letting me know that you did.
3. Optional extra entry: do a status update on Facebook about this contest and leave an additional comment letting me know you did. 
4. Optional extra entry: share this link on your blog and leave an additional comment letting me know you did.
   
5. This giveaway is open until 5:00 PM CST on Friday December 2. I will use random.org to select the winner. I will announce the winner on Saturday December 3. 
6. This giveaway is open to United States residents.