Shopping spree!

     If there's one thing I've learned through this process it's that being vegan isn't hard if you have the right kinds of food to cook with. Yesterday I went shopping at a health store called "Wealth of Health". They have all sorts of natural remedies, vitamins, supplements, and whole foods. And my absolute favorite part of the store is the back. Here they have all sorts of fun foods like vegan cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, ice cream, etc. Needless to say I had a lot of fun grocery shopping yesterday. Here are the fruits of my labor:

In my goodie basket: veganaise, coconut milk ice cream, vegan cream cheese, vegan sour cream, silken tofu, vegan shredded cheese, nutritional yeast, powdered egg replacer, and a few other things you can get anywhere (red curry sauce and coconut oil cooking spray).

I've really been missing these food items. It's hard to eat burritos without sour cream. Or make sandwiches or wraps without mayonnaise.

     After I got home with all my goodies, I had to decide what amazing meal I would make first. It was getting kind of late and I needed something fast. So i decided on making a mushroom gnocchi. Gnocchi only takes 3 minutes to cook, and I figured it wouldn't take me too long for the sauce. I first sauteed up some onion garlic and portobello mushroom until the onions were clear. Then I added some white cooking wine, almond/coconut milk, and a few tablespoons of flour and cooked it down until i was a nice thick reduction. (Don't worry, I cooked all the alcohol out of the wine). Then when it was the right consistency I added a tablespoon of vegan cream cheese, a tablespoon of vegan butter and seasoned with salt, pepper, and italian seasonings. Right before it was finished I popped the gnocchi into a pot of boiling water and cooked them until they floated to the top. I threw the delightful little gnocchi's into the sauce and let them suck up all that savory flavor. I enjoyed them with some fresh green beans and a dinner roll. 

     And that my friends is why it isn't so hard to be vegan. If you still don't believe me you should come spend the evening at my house.

Tuesday's meals:

Breakfast- Cold cereal with coconut almond milk

Lunch- Lots of small snacks, nectarine, grapes, almonds, fried polenta

Dinner- Gnocchi with a creamy(vegan) mushroom sauce

 

     Stay posted for some exciting and delicious recipes in the next few days!