Vegan MoFo review of Earth Balance white cheddar Mac & Cheese

Oh, those folks over at Earth Balance know what vegans want, don't they? They came out with Vegan Cheddar crackers earlier this year, and I bought 17 boxes...

Okay, don't think I am THAT crazy, I've only eaten 2 of the boxes. But Cheese like crackers were the only things I missed when I went vegan.

This summer, Earth Balance released Mac & Cheese, in cheddar and white cheddar flavor. I got the white cheddar flavor to try.

 

Opening the box, this looks like something I would have eaten in College. Small noodles, and a packet of powder.

I cooked the noodles in water for about 10 minutes, then, according to directions, I added 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance vegan butter, 4 tablespoons of almond milk, and the cheese powder.

I tasted the finished product, and was pleased. It was pretty tasty. Not too overwhelmingly cheesy, not too artificial tasting. Then I fancied it up by adding chives and black pepper.

Will I buy this again? Honestly, probably not. It isn't a problem with this product, I just prefer making my own mac from scratch. It is easy, and I think mine is healthier, and with way less sodium. Also, the serving size of the Earth Balance Mac is small. The entire box prepared fit in my bowl, and that was 2.5 servings.

I might, though, get some boxes for my daughter, Mia, I think this would be easy to prepare in a microwave & simple in the dorm room.

Vegan MoFo Quinoa Breakfast

Ok, I just finished my run. Who is ready for breakfast?

Today is a long day for me, so I need to get a filling, healthy breakfast.

This has been one of my favorites lately.

For this recipe, you will need about 1/2 cup cooked quinoa (I pre-cook about 3 cups at a time, then just pull out what I need. This makes it a fast morning prep!) One banana, some ground flax seed, and the topping of your choice, such as maple syrup, bee-free honey, peanut butter, chocolate peanut butter, etc.

 

First, mash the banana in the bottom of your bowl. You may want to only use half a banana, but remember, I'm a runner. I need potassium. I use the whole thing.

 

Now add the quinoa.

Top with ground flax seed (you need to grind your flax to get the maximum nutrition, plus, then it doesn't stick in your teeth!)

Today I felt like maple syrup, but experiment with toppings! Have fun!

I have to take a moment before I eat to pet my beagle, Lily, because she is that awesome.

It wasn't until I became a runner that I really started to comprehend the importance of a good breakfast. Toast & juice just didn't cut it anymore. 

I run before I go to work, so I need to eat well enough so that I don't get hungry. You don't get the luxury of snacking as a teacher. I find that a breakfast that is mindful of protein is best for me. Quinoa is a great option, as are tofu and beans.

Vegan MoFo Creamy Tomato Soup

Summer is ending, and it is getting a little cooler. Time to start eating soup! Hooray!
One of my students brought me a huge bag of tomatoes, and tomato soup is easier than you think!

First, I washed all of the tomatoes, and cut them into large chunks. Then I drizzled a tiny bit of evoo over the top, and sprinkled a little of my favorite lavender salt over them, and popped them in the oven at 375 degrees for an hour.

After about 50 minutes, I started doing the rest of the prepping. I chopped up an entire head of garlic (no vampires live here!) And tossed it in my soup pot with a little dry white wine over medium heat.

Then I checked on my tomatoes, yep, they look and smell goooood. (Can you spy Rob's baked potatoes in the oven, too? Those will be part of his lunches this week. We are oven multitaskers.)

In 2 batches, I pulled out the tomatoes and processed them in my blender. When I want a chunkier soup, I will only puree half the tomatoes, but I was in the mood for creamy tonight, so I processed all of them, but not too finely.

I added the pureed tomatoes to my soup pot, along with 2 cups of veggie broth, and simmered for 20 minutes. If you want a really creamy soup, you can add almond milk at this time.

I like to serve my soup with style, a dollop of cashew crema (Soaked cashews blended with water & Lemon juice), some fresh ground pepper, chives, and hey, Rob just toasted up some butternut squash seeds!

Pictured here with my soup is my recipe notebook. I try to jot things down, but sometimes I forget for months at a time. The funny thing here is that when I got all these tomatoes, I went looking through all of my cookbooks, knowing I had made tomato soup before. On a whim, I looked here, and realized I'd written it down! Hooray! And the date says I made this soup recipe last year at this time, when I got a big bunch of tomatoes from the same student!

Let's take a moment, and be thankful for recipe books, writing things down, and for tomato growing students!