McDougall And His Soup

First and foremost, I feel as though I owe the people at McDougall's foods a huge apology. They sent me one of the nicest box of samples I have ever received, and it has taken me until now to review it. Sorry guys. Thing is, I've been busy eating their soup.

It really is the perfect time of year for soup, and frankly, I don't really like making it, so the many boxes that graced my doorstep one November evening were a welcome addition to my kitchen.

This is the good stuff, not only because it comes in pretty boxes instead of cans, but its better for you. To show you why, I conducted a face off between the lentil soup and a can of lentil soup that has been migrating around my pantry for a few months.

The first thing you'd notice is that McDougall's is larger. However, they both contain two "servings" of soup. Check out the nutrition information:

Canned

The canned soup has more calories, more fat, more sodium, more sugar, less fiber, and less protein.

McDougall's

Don't get me wrong, it isn't exactly a low-sodium food, but it definitely has less than its canned counterparts without tasting like water. Oh, did I mention that yet? That it tastes good too?

I set out to tasting it right away, which was made convenient by the pristine white bowl they sent me.

Yes, we eat in front of the TV

I set out to trying the minestrone first, which has always been one of my favorites. I love the veggies along with the beans and the pasta...its just perfect. McDougall's version did not disappoint.

Please try to ignore the embarrassing background of the garbage/recycling

The next day I wanted more soup. With my pretty white bowl all dirty and in the dishwasher, I had to improvise and use one of my own green bowls. This time we went for black bean, with a few cubes of avocado for good measure.

Definitely try avocado in your soup, its a nice addition, especially for black bean. This soup was perfectly hearty and warm...what black bean soup is best known for.

While they didn't send me this, I also took the liberty of trying their instant soups at work one day, and it was another version of their black bean.

The flavor in this, was really good. I couldn't figure out what it was at first, then I remembered that it was black and and lime. Definitely had a lime-y-ness to it. Unfortunately, soup was just not made to be powdered and instant. It was okay, but it just didn't come together completely. Bits were still crunchy, and it there was goopiness at the bottom even though I mixed throughout eating it. Not bad in a pinch, but not a staple either.

By now, we've tried almost all the soups, but of course, I had to leave you with the classic: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup...with McDougall's Chunky Tomato soup, of course.

Just as good as it looks, made with Follow Your Heart Cheddar, dunked in warm chunky tomato soup, this was a perfect meal at the end of a long week.

So if you are in the market for some convenient soups, give McDougall's a try. I know I have seen them popping in at my local Giant and Wegman's, which is nice and the weather is cold!! They're made from a group of people focused on wellness, and as far as healthy packaged soups go, they are pretty tasty too.

First Squash of the Season

The leaves are changing colors, there is a definite chill in the air and Halloween is just around the corner. But in my house, something is missing. For some reason, it just wasn't fall yet.

Well that reason was the squash. I was so excited when I first saw squash at our grocery store, and they are my favorites, so I picked them up right away. And they sat on the counter for over a week (you may have seen them lurking in some photos this week).

One of the reasons I love acorn squash, is that they are the perfect size for becoming a single-serve bowl.

I liked how my lovely friend at kubiclekitchen used them as a bowl for chili, and I decided that I would be a copycat. So after I cut them in half and roasted them, that is precisely what I stuffed my warm, orange, edible bowls with.

Three Bean Chili in the better edible bowl

This only used one half of my squashies though. Nick wasn't home, so he didn't have one, and he didn't take one to work along with the rest of the leftovers.

I don't know what the weather is like by you, but it is ugly here: rainy, foggy, cold. And I finally had that little light in my head go off that said "Time for Soup".

Not only was it the perfect time for soup, but it was the perfect time to use up the leftover squash, and a pantry items that I rarely use: red lentils.

Except, although I rarely use lentils, I ended up not having enough (go figure), so split peas went into the pot as well, along with some leftover roasted squash.

Roasted Squash and Lentil Soup

1 cup TOTAL red lentils and split peas

1/2 cup brown rice

6 cups broth (I used half low-sodium)

2 onions

3 carrots

3 cloves garlic

1 roasted acorn squash

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp dry rubbed sage

1/2 tsp ground sage

1/2 cup cooked beluga lentils (optional)

diced avocado (optional)

Serves 4-6

The onion, garlic, and carrots were sliced and diced, then sauteed until soft with the red pepper and sage. The squash, removed from its skin, was roughly chopped and thrown into the pot.

The broth was added and brought to a boil, and then the rice, lentils, and peas were added. This all cooked together for about 40 minutes, when the lentils were mush, and the rice was tender. The cooked beluga lentils were stirred in during the last two minutes and were just added something pretty, they are not necessary.

This could be pureed...except the rice kind of gets in the way. To puree, cook the rice separately, then add when everything else has been cooked and pureed. I happen to like my soup chunky.

Add some diced avocado for some cooling creamy bites, and this made a perfectly wonderful rainy day soup. Just a little spice, just a little sweet, and perfectly warm and hearty for a chilly day.

So there we have it, the first squash of the season, and now I have finally entered fall. I am much more in the fall mood now, and these warm meals have been perfect for this rainy weather. Is anyone else super antsy for the holidays this year?? I can't wait.

We have some indoor fun planned this weekend at the Philly Wine and Food Festival, which should be fun! I hope you all have something fun planned! And if not...eat some soup!

A Warming Sensation (POST 100!!)

Can you believe this is my 100th post?  That is something crazy.  Its been almost nine months, which also means I've been vegan for a little longer than that.  Its all so "milestone-y".    

Okay, well the first order of business is, husband says to use his name.  Husband = Nick.  I'm sure you would have caught on.  

Second order of business.  We moved!  I know, I mentioned this time and again, that I wanted to move, that we were going to move, that we were living in a hobbit's shoebox, that we were in the process of moving, etc.  Well its done.  Some of our stuff is still on its way from storage in Hawaii, but I thought I'd give you a tour of one room that looks like it is completely finished:  the kitchen!  

Now, the apartment is small, so the kitchen is small, and its not even an eat-in, but its pretty nice.  Here you are walking in:  

Nick wanted me to show you the fridge.  I don't think he's ever seen this many vegetables in one place before!  We went to the farmer's market yesterday and picked up local greens and strawberries, squash and eggplant.  Yum.  

I am a big fan of the Debbie Meyer's Green Bags (yes, they work!!!).

You will then turn and see my makeshift pantry on the left.  There is a ton of storage all over the apartment.  Our bedroom has three closets.  Yet, there is no pantry in the kitchen.  So, this is what we did.  It works.  

Oh wait.  What is that?  I told you, its my pantry.  No, no.  That big giant black box on the right.  Ohhh, that.  

That is my new dehydrator!!  I was so stressed around my birthday that I never told my parents what I wanted, or rather, exactly which dehydrator I wanted.  I finally got around to it (easy decision), and when I went home last week it was waiting for me!  I know, its gigantic, its the 9 tray Excaliber, and I am very excited about it.  

Okay moving on (don't worry, I'm getting back to the dehydrator in a minute), we have been eating food.  In fact, Nick even went and cooked by himself the day I was home last week, and I suspect he'll want to be sharing it with you at some point.  This weekend though, someone has been sick.  Someone is not me.  He spent way over 24 hours of this weekend in bed with a fever.  So, tonight we had soup.  Possibly, the most simple soup ever in the entire world because I was being super lazy.  

This is 1 coffee mug of Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix (we don't have measuring cups), 4 coffee mugs of water, 4 tsp low sodium vegetable broth powder, 4 tbsp tomato paste, liquid smoke, salt & pepper.  This belongs in the "stupid easy" category, but I enjoyed it so much!  It simmered in the broth for 30 minutes, then I added the liquid smoke, salt, pepper, and tomato paste, and gave it another 30 minutes.  I am really happy we have leftovers because I want more.  Does anyone else buy low-sodium broth and then end up adding salt because it tastes like nothing?  I wonder if it ends up being more or less sodium in the end.  

Anyway, on top are a few of Peanut Butter Boy's Roasted Chickpeas,which I also made today.  I was hoping for a stronger peanut butter flavor, but the do give a good crunch!  

I mentioned how excited I was to get Ani's Raw Food Dessert book a few weeks ago (and many times on other's blogs too).  I got it the week it came out, and until today, I hadn't made anything from it.  So sad.  Well, I finally had my dehydrator.  Although not many of the recipes in the book actually call for dehydration, I still wanted one of them to be the first thing I made.  So, at the farmer's market we got strawberries.  I picked up a few medjool dates at the store, and everything else was in my pantry to make Strawberry Macaroons!  

Her recipe says it makes 6.  She is making GIANT macaroons!!!  I got 15.  They dehydrated, nice and quietly, for 3 hours.  My husband and I split one when they were done.  His reaction was something like "....?!?!  These are amazing!!  Good thing we have a dehydrator now."  They really are awesome.  They're just firm enough on the outside that you can pick them up no problem, but they're still so soft and moist on the inside, and you can taste the fresh strawberries.  He was looking through Ani's Raw Food Kitchen later on, and he wanted to know what she was eating on the front cover, and then wanted to make it, so....I see her burgers in our future. 

Okay, well that it is it for the food portion of this post!  But...I do have more to say and show you.  When we were living in the hobbit house, I mentioned that Zoe was very unhappy.  Well, she is much much happier here.  

Her new favorite activity:  Watching cars 

(we live outside of the mall entrance, lots of action for her!)

She likes to cuddle with smelly boots.

Blurry, but too cute not to post it!

We got her this scratching "thing" on Saturday.  I heard her scratching *something* she wasn't supposed to be scratching in the middle of the night.  I'm pretty sure it is our chair seats, and this thing has a really cool texture, which is just what she seems to like.  

The idea is that they "sit" in the seat part, and then scratch the woven part.  So, she's doing it wrong, haha.  Nick calls it her "couch", and she does snuggle with it.  Here she is "with" him.

So far she loves it.  I'm really hoping it'll keep her attention away from our chairs.  

Thank you to everyone who has been reading and commenting on my last 100 posts.  It has been so wonderful getting to know so many of you, and I appreciate everyone who has stuck with me even though I haven't been able to post as frequently.  I hope that I will get know even more blog friends (whether or not you have a blog, feel free to comment or email!) over the next 100 posts!  

Now its on to a busy summer of blogging...and it WILL be busy...an announcement and a request tomorrow!

The Perfect Day

Welcome to a walk through my perfect day...which is exactly what today was.  

First, you'll wake up to the radio, like always, but Jack Johnson will be playing and it will instantly put you in an excellent mood.  

Second, even though you should really get up and have breakfast, you are going to lay in bed for an hour and finish Eclipse.  

You'll finally get up and have whatever your favorite current breakfast is.  For me is was the Apple Pie Quinoa and Tempeh Bacon Hash (with spinach, for greenery), that I posted about a few days ago.  I wasn't kidding about eating the same thing for weeks!  

All the equipment you need at the gym will be free when you need it.  A girl you went to high school with who you now look better than will be chugging away on the treadmill, then lift some girly weights, and you will smugly smile to yourself (hey, I'm not perfect, its just my perfect day).  

Then, you will set off to discover heaven.  Well, at least if your idea of heaven is fantastic natural bulk food/grocery store.  A few weeks ago, my mom pulled a flyer for this place out of the paper, and I finally got myself there.  It was a bit of a drive, but worth it, completely.  Oh and on your way to this mecca, your iPod will gleefully pump out all the Jack Johnson songs you have, even though its batteries should be running out any second.  

While you are visiting heaven (also known as Nature's Pantry), your husband, who you haven't talked to in a week, will call, and...well honestly, he'll kind of distract you from reading nutrition labels and whatnot, but you're really happy he called.  

Lots of fun stuff will be acquired at Nature's Pantry:  

From the bulk food section, low-sugar pineapple rings, carob covered raisins, and wheat free fig bars!  (Not pictured is also nutritional yeast and oat groats)

With another giveaway in mind (because they're fun!), you'll pick up two bags of Soyfree, a coffee substitution made from soy, in Chai and Almond Amaretto.  Don't forget to sign for my current giveaway in the meantime!:

Other pantry foods will be picked up, some single serving packets of almond butter, wakame flakes, miso ramen noodles, Corn Thins, a Bumble Bar (which are vegan, even though they have a bee on them.  I never would have even picked them up, except I saw them on Erica's blog yesterday), and a chocolate orange Jocolat bar:

You've been looking for vegan hair gel or mousse on the internet for a week or so.  You've been using up all the leftovers in the house, waiting until you find something, because ordering hair gel online seems like a hassle.  You find Giovanni hair gel here!  It comes with a shampoo sample too!  Because it is the perfect day, you'll also pick up some bubble bath, because you've been using shower gel in the bathtub for the past month:  

While you are at the store, you might start to think that maybe this isn't the perfect day after all...because this store ALSO doesn't sell vegan carob chips.  Huh??  However, when you get home, you will chide yourself for thinking this was not the perfect day.  That is because you will immediately see a package on the table, and you will know what it is instantly!  

Orange County NY, you may want to keep vegan carob chips away from me, but the lovely Heather (of Heather eats Almond Butter) has thwarted you!!  I mentioned on her blog last week that they were no where to be found, and she had some in the mail the next day.  She also surprised me with this chocolately Raw Organic Food Bar!!  It looks awesome, full of good stuff.  When I try it, I will post my review.  Honestly, I also ripped into it immediately, but I was able to practice some self control (because one doesn't overeat to the point where they feel sick on the perfect day). 

After you relax for a little, you'll get started on dinner.  Its another day for recipe testing!!  Today I made the Vegetable Crisp.  It had eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, etc.  

  

Serves 6

Nutrition Information:  217.7g Calories;  6.7g Total Fat;  1.2g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  34.0g Carbohydrates;  6.1g Fiber;  8.2g Protein.

This was yummy!  To go with it, you'll try something else from V'con, like the Tomato-Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans.  

Serves 5 (made a half-recipe)

Nutrition Information:  174.2 Calories;  2.4g Total Fat;  0.3g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  34.4g Carbohydrates;  6.6g Fiber;  6.6g Protein

While you are cooking, you will make a gigantic mess (something about dropping a baking sheet with food on it...oops), but you totally won't get upset because the Jack Johnson emanating from your laptop keeps you chill.  

Sadly, your perfect day is coming to a close.  After dinner, you'll start on your blog while you watch 'How I Met Your Mother'.  Then, your mentor teacher will call and set up you coming in later this week (which you are equally terrified and excited for).

Lastly, I mean, the perfect day couldn't end dessert-less!  Come on, seriously, you guys must know me a little better than that.  

  

Yes, that's right, Carob Peppermint ice cream.  Fruit sweetened too, so that makes it..kind of...sort of...good for you, right?   

Edited to add:  Then your mom will give you a coupon for Puffins!  

So, perfect day, no?  Relaxed, good food, awesome gym session, packages from blogger friend, food store discovery.  Yes, definitely my idea of perfect.   

If you haven't noticed, Jack Johnson is most definitely my go-to relaxing music.  What kind of music chills you out?  

So, today's Cooking Song of the Day is one of my favorites:  "Losing Keys" - Jack Johnson.  Relax :)

I hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend and had a great start to their week!  

Snowy Day Beans

I love snowmen.  My best friend knows this, so my homemade Christmas gift from her this year was topped with some snowman fabric.  I don't have a picture of the whole thing because by the time I remember to take a picture, the contents were looking something like this:  

At least I got the picture while the peas and lentils were still colorful, right?  

The gift, if you haven't already guessed, was a 12 bean (ish, I didn't count...maybe she will chime in and tell me) soup.  It was packaged all pretty, like when you make those layered sand creations, when you're a kid, at craft fairs and stuff.  Or maybe that's just me?  I dunno.  

You may have seen me commenting on others' blogs with soup lust recently, and since today was all cold and snowy I thought it was the perfect day to utilize my Christmas gift.  I quick soaked them, which I've never done before, I usually soak overnight.  I think it worked well for this because of the different beans.  So, they boiled for two minutes, then were covered and soaked for an hour.  Then drained the soaking water, and added them to 6 cups of water, 1 can of diced tomatoes, vegetable bouillon, and a bay leaf, then simmered it for an hour.

Zoe says: stop taking my picture and go read your stupid book

    

The stupid book is Twlight...the third one, Eclipse, which came into the library for me today! 

Anyway, after it simmered for about an hour, I needed to add another 2 cups of water.  Half an hour after that I added a bunch of spices.  I wanted so badly to make it spicy (cumin, chili powder, etc), but I always do that.  So I tried to keep it more Italian.  So, I added dried basil, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, crushed red pepper, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, and salt to taste.  It cooked for about 20-25 minutes after that, until it started sticking to the bottom of the pot a little.    

Okay, this picture doesn't really do it justice, but this was my brother's bowl and he was hungry, so I only got one shot, haha.  

Serves 5

Nutrition Information:  204.0 Calories;  1.1g Total Fat;  0.3 Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  35.5g Carbohydrates;  10.7g Fiber;  15.2g Protein.  

**I'm not sure how accurate that is.  It was kind of hard to get accurate nutrition information for each kind of dried bean, plus I didn't know exactly how much there was of each kind because I didn't make it.  Should be close enough though.  

It came out really good.  I love how the lentils and split peas are pretty much mush and make the soup nice and thick while the bigger beans stay in tact.  My brother really liked it, he had seconds.  In fact he told me multiple times that he really liked it.  Also, it was awesome that everything was from the pantry, which can definitely be a good thing sometimes.  

Gotta love Christmas presents that feed you!  Now if only I had some Christmas cookies left... 

Don't forget to sign up for the Juicer Giveaway if you haven't already! 

Disappointing Day

Not to be a gloomy gus, but today was LAME in the life of me.  I did get to the gym though, so at least it involved some sort of productivity.  

I am trying to use up what I've got around the house this week.  For breakfast today I had some leftover ABC stuffing.  For lunch, I wanted to use some tofu that was on its last legs and a poblano pepper.  So, I went the tofu scramble route.  I guess it is sort of clementine season?  I dunno, but there is a big box in my fridge, so I added one of them along with some salsa and onions.  That and some quinoa, good to go.  

Poblano Tofu Scrmble

Nutrition Information:  344.1 Calories;  6.7g Fat;  0.4g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  728.3mg Sodium;  54.8g Carbohydrates;  16.6g Fiber;  16.8g Protein

Now, I would like to thank all the blog and cookbooks authors that give me great soup recipes, because this is something I have yet to perfect.  It didn't taste bad, it just wasn't as exciting as I had hoped.  Partially because my mom also needed the garlic, so I ended up with half as much as I wanted.  It was roasted cushaw squash, roasted garlic, white beans, chickpeas, and spinach.  Oh, and the pictures were pretty crappy too!  I don't know why, my pictures have been coming out bad lately, I'm usually a decent photographer.   

Nutrition Information:  211.2 Calories;  1.1g Fat;  0.1g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  1,193mg Sodium;  42.9g Carbohydrates;  7.1g Fiber;  9.3g Protein

These muffins though, were delicious!  They are from the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of VegNews, on page 69.  Their recipe is for garlic basil muffins.  I just subbed the basil with rosemary.  They are really good (I had two)!   

Nutrition Information:  126.6 Calories;  6.8g Fat;  0.9g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  221.5mg Sodium;  14.5g Carbohydrates;  2.0g Fiber;  3.1g Protein

I also got my student teaching assignment and...I think I need to start looking for apartments or something, it is an hour away!!!  That's pretty ridiculous, I am NOT happy.  

Jeweled Fall Split Pea Soup

I went shopping with the intention of making lentil soup and ended up with yellow split peas! I've never really used them, and decided it would be fun to make some split pea soup instead.  And, who doesn't love a good pomegranate?  I couldn't resist, so pretty!  I realize the spices on top of the garam masala seem redundant, and you could really just use more garam masala if you wanted.  It was great the next day as a cold dinner during class also.  I made it really thick, but you could probably use more water, or blend some of it to make it thinner and soupy-er. 

  

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/4 cup yellow split peas

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tsp ginger

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp sea salt

*salt & pepper to taste

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1 apple, chopped

2 tbsp pomegranate seeds

1. Cook the onions, carrots, garlic, ginger, and celery in oil, in a large soup pot, until slightly soft, then add spices, saute for another minute. 

2.  Add 6 cups of water, bring to boil, then lower heat and let simmer for 20-30 minutes.    

3.  While soup is boiling, in a separate pan, cook the red pepper and half the apple until slightly soft, but still crunchy.  

4.  About 5 minutes before cooking is finished, add the sauteed apple and pepper.  

5.  Serve, garnished with the remaining apple and pomegranate seeds.  

Makes 2 Full Servings, or 4 Small Servings

Nutrition Information (for 2 servings): 229.0 Calories;  1.0g Total Fat;  0.2g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  333.8mg Sodium;  46.8g Carbohydrates;  15.2g Fiber;  11.6g Protein. 

Today's CSotD:  O Valencia - The Decemberists  

Roasted Garlic Soup and Edamame Burgers

So, once a week I cook dinner for my family.  I tend to borrow recipes for these meals because I don't want to subject them to what may be a disaster.  

Tonight we had a completely borrowed, but nonetheless delicious dinner menu:  

White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup

This is from Vegan with a Vengeance.  It involves lots of garlic...yum!  This was seriously delicious.  I am not kidding when I say I licked the blender, haha.  I had also never used fennel seeds before, and I love how they smelled like Italian sausage and peppers.  I never liked Italian sausage though, just how it smelled...my grandparents always used to get sausage and peppers when we went to the state fair.  You can't taste the fennel too much after you blend it though, but the soup is so delicious. 

I eliminated the oil and just sauteed the onion in a saucepan with cooking spray.  

Nutrition Information:  178.8 Calories;  0.6g Fat;  0.1g Saturated Fat;  0.1g Cholesterol;  520g Sodium;  34.2g Carbohydrates;  7.0g Fiber;  10.5g Protein

 

We also had Joni's Edamame Burgers

They were a challenge for me, mainly because I don't have a food processor (yet!  Christmas, hopefully).  Also, I used soy flour instead of chickpea flour, which ended up being fine, I just think I used a little too much.  I baked them, 15 minutes on one side, 10 on the other.  I'm not big on bread, but my family ate them mini whole wheat pitas. 

Nutrition Information:  212.8 Calories;  9.1g Fat; 1.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  110.5g Sodium;  21.1g Carbohydrates;  9.0g Fiber;  15.9g Protein

All in all, this was a great meal to end a not so great day.  My left eye has been swollen all day.  I took some Benadryl and I can open it now, but it's still really sore.  It also didn't water when my other eye did when chopping my onions...creepy!!  I'm hoping it will be better tomorrow because I skipped the gym this morning because of it.    

Today's Cooking Song of the Day:  Ocean Breathes Salty - Modest Mouse