Chow Vegan

Slime Be Gone with Vejibag

October 28, 2013 By chow 6 Comments

You know it’s there, lurking, just waiting to pounce on long-forgotten veggies. Yes, it’s slime. Watery, smelly, slime from veggies hanging out one too many days in the deepest, darkest corner of the refrigerator.

To the rescue, Vejibag – a simple, terry-cloth-like, organic cotton bag made at home by women in Maine. Just wash the veggies and stuff it in a damp Vejibag to keep for a week or so.

The first couple of times I tried it, the bag froze. But I had it on the shelf as there was no room in the produce drawer. I really wanted the bag to work so I tried again, rearranging all the veggies in the drawers so there was room for the bag. That worked! The kale is good! The veggies are saved!

It took me awhile but I couldn’t be happier now that the Vejibag is comfortably incorporated into my veggie storage routine. It’s so much better than my old plastic container method. For more information on storing various vegetables, check out the handy infographic at Vejibag.com.

Disclosure: I received the product free of charge from the company to review. The opinions and experience with the product expressed herein are my own. There was no pay to say.

This post also contains an Amazon link, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on the link and make a purchase of anything.

Halloween Zombie Pizza Pockets

October 15, 2013 By chow 11 Comments

I woke up this morning with a stiff neck. I must have slept on it wrong, I’m barely able to turn my head. Since I feel like I’m moving around like a zombie, I of course, made zombie food…

Halloween zombie pizza pockets.

The recipe is basically the same as my Super Easy DIY Pockets, just in a different shape. It is a little bit more work shaping them into zombies but it’s fun thing to do for Halloween.

For the template, I made a freehand drawing of a body shape on a sheet of paper. Folded in half and cut out to make both sides the same (like how you make a Valentine heart). If you have a gingerbread man cookie cutter of the right size, you probably could use that instead. I didn’t, so I trimmed out the shapes by hand using the paper template.

Whenever I make hot pockets, they’re usually sadly misshapen and far from perfect looking. I like to say they’re “rustic”. For these pockets, the imperfections actually add to the zombie look.

Halloween Zombie Pizza Pockets
Makes 2 zombies

Crust
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup water
Large pinch of bread topping (I used King Arthur Flour Everything Bread & Bagel Topping)

Filling
Your favorite pizza sauce and cheese

Sriracha or other sauce for decorating

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine all of the crust ingredients, except the water and bread topping, in a bowl and mix until it looks like coarse meal. Add a little bit of water at a time, mixing until the dough comes together in a ball (I added less than a 1/4 cup of water).

Sprinkle a bit of cornmeal on the work surface and rolling pin so the dough doesn’t stick. Divide the dough in half and roll it out into a thin circle. Create a paper template of a body shape or use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out the top and bottom shapes.

Place the filling on the bottom side, leaving about an 1/4 inch edge, do not over stuff. Carefully place the top side on and press along the edges to seal. Repeat with the other dough half.

Place the pockets on a well-oiled baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil. Sprinkle with the bread topping. Bake for about 20 minutes until the top and edges are lightly browned and warmed through. Using a skewer dipped in sriracha sauce, poke in the eyes and draw on a mouth and any other decorations as desired.

Nelly’s Energy Truffle Bars

October 10, 2013 By chow 9 Comments

Healthy handmade candy bars. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, in for review is a selection of Nelly’s Energy Truffle Bars, a line of 100% organic, vegan, non-GMO and fair trade chocolate candy bars.

As I have a soft spot for all things coconutty, the Coconut Bar got devoured first. Oh my gosh, it tastes just like a Mounds candy bar but so, so much better, like a gazillion times better. It’s decadent but it also feels light and not overly sweet.

The bars are stored in the fridge to keep the chocolate from becoming a mess. They can be out and about for a day but might be a little melty and soft if it’s warm out. It is a bit inconvenient but on the other hand, it also means it doesn’t have all that shelf stable stuff that other companies put in their bars.

Look at the ingredients list and you see things like raw organic superfoods, nuts, seeds and dates. Things that don’t require a chemistry degree to decipher. Plus, it’s handmade in small batches.

After the first bite of the Peanut Butter Bar, I’m reminded of a Whatchamacallit candy bar but not as crunchy. Once again, it’s not grossly sweet, just a nice peanut butter and chocolate taste with a great texture.

The Goji Berry Bar didn’t remind me of any particular candy bar, not that it’s a bad thing. It certainly has no problems standing on its own goji berry goodness.

Note: don’t give in to your I’m-so-hungry-I-have-to-eat-right-now side, definitely let the truffle bars sit out of the fridge for a few minutes before eating. Otherwise it’s way too hard to bite into (yes, I actually did that so learn from my mistake).

The Mint Chlorella Bar is so minty, I can smell the mint while taking its photo. One bite and it reminds me of a refreshing after dinner chocolate mint.

I would be in some serious trouble if all candy bars tasted this good or were even half as healthy. As it is, Nelly’s Energy Truffle Bars are currently available only in Southern California (check out their Facebook page for where and when they’re offering free samples and for updates).

For everyone else, they’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign in an effort to expand their distribution so we can all have healthy candy and eat it too.

Disclosure: I received the products free of charge from the company to review. The opinions and experience with the products expressed herein are my own. There was no pay to say.