Food From The Garden

I have a confession to make: I watch Food Network. I know it might seem odd because most of what is shown on Food Network is not vegan and no, this is not how I satisfy cravings for non vegan food. I don't really have cravings because I've been doing this long enough. I do this because of what we have in common. What could I possibly have in common with anybody on Food Network? Quite a bit. We share our love of food and cooking. We enjoy being creative and bouncing ideas off of each other. It's fun for me to see what people on these shows come up with, some on the spot because of a theme assigned to them, a budget they have to stick to, or an ingredient they are required to use. I talk about cooking all the time with people I know who share my passion for simply being in the kitchen, even though most are not vegan and I get a lot of inspiration from the, even though it's very rare that I follow a recipe to a T other than my own. I look at Food Network the same way. Wh

I'm sure we've all done it before. I'm not talking about using animal ingredients to give into cravings on purpose. That's where Gardein and Daiya come in if you're craving animal products when you first transition to a plant based diet. I'm talking about when you act in good faith to make sure your food is vegan but an animal ingredient slips through the cracks and you don't realize it until after you ingest it. I've done that a couple times and I can't say that I'm necessarily proud of it but I don't beat myself up about it either. Here's why: According to the Vegan Society, veganism is "a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose." The key phrase here is "as far as is possible and practicable". It is very possible to not eat meat, dairy, etc and I make that choice on a daily basis.

Welcome to my first post of 2019. I have been very busy this holiday season and I took some time off of writing my regular posts to spend time with my family and catch a much needed and much deserved  break from the day to day. I am really lucky to have been able to spend quality time with a lot of extended family I don't get to see as often as I'd like and it's always a good time. When I'm buying groceries, I look for the best quality ingredients and I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables in all forms. I also like to look for the best deals in the process. As a result, I don't buy everything from one grocery store. Trader Joe's is one of my favorite grocery stores for high quality food at good prices and they always have fun things to try. I am always trying something new from Trader Joe's so my favorites are ever changing. Here is an updated list: 1. Peanut butter. Trader Joe's has a variety of options for peanut butter, all at varying prices. One of