Hello friends and not yet friends.
Welcome back to another what I ate Wednesday full of fantastic vegan meals.
Plus, I got to try a bunch of new vegan treats thanks to Thrive Market who I am partnering
up with for this video.
If you're new, Thrive Market is the best online store where you can easily find tons of vegan
goodies and if you have other dietary concerns or you only want to shop organic or kosher
or fair trade and things like that, you can do so easily.
They buy direct so they can offer really great prices to their members and ship fast, straight
to your door.
Such a good way to make life easier.
If you're in the US, you can try it out yourself with a free 30 day membership and 25% off
your first order with free shipping with the link in the description and see for yourself.
As usual, I'm starting the day with coffee.
Usually I just put vanilla soy milk in my coffee but today I get to try this hazelnut
creamer by nutpods.
It's unsweetened with 0 g of sugar, which I never see.
I like that because I'm while not anti-sugar, but when I don't need to have it, I don't
need to have it.
And it's so good.
Just perfect.
Friends, this is my new favorite coffee creamer.
If you've already clicked that link in the description and you're shopping as you're
watching, add this to your cart right now.
It's so good.
Later, I had congee, AKA jook, made with brown rice and lentils.
For those new to congee, it's a rice porridge that's popular all over Asia.
I grew up with it but always with white rice.
This version has more protein and fiber to keep me full longer, plus it tastes amazing
with all these toppings.
But actually, this morning, I took it out of the freezer.
While I'm heating that up, let me show you how it's made.
Start with a cup each of uncooked brown rice and lentils.
Rinsed.
throughly.
Then for flavour, a few scallions sliced length-wise, just the white parts.
Normally, I'd add an inch long hunk of ginger but I'm out so it's ginger powder this time.
And salt.
Then, add a bunch of water or veggie broth.
Take it to the stove if you're not there already and get that water to a rolling boil over
high heat.
Then turn down the heat so you get a steady simmer.
This keeps going for about an hour and a half.
Which, I know, is a long time so do this when you have time to stick around in the kitchen
with a book, a podcast, or a friend to keep you company.
You'll want to lower the heat as the congee gets thicker.
Also, if you had it covered, now you'll want to leave that lid off.
The toppings are half the fun.
Or, more like three quarters of the fun.
We've got some chopped scallion.
Just the green parts.
Sriracha cashews from Thrive Market's own brand.
Thrive Market has lots of these basic staple items with their own store brand which makes
things really affordable.
Just a little spicy with a little sweetness and light on the salt.
Wonderfully fresh tasting and buttery.
They're organic.
If you haven't tried these before, you've got to.
Anyways, they make a nice alternative to using peanuts which is more traditional.
Also, instead of vegan pork floss which can be hard to find, I'm using Louisville Vegan
Jerky, Reuben's Smokey Carolina flavour.
Thank you to everyone who told me I had to try it.
You were absolutely right.
Sweet and savory, salty but not too salty.
Chewy, meaty deliciousness.
Plus avocado to add some creaminess.
And a touch of fragrant sesame oil.
Leave it out if you don't do oil but if you do, it adds a lot of flavour.
I love these different textures and flavours together.
A bit of freshness from the scallions, creamy avocado, spicy cashews with that bit of crunch
and chewy vegan jerky.
And it looks great too.
Well, it looks great, then I put the rest in containers.
I had to try these pretty soon after breakfast.
Not because I was hungry exactly...but just seeing them there made me want to snack.
Vegan Rob's Brussels Sprouts Puffs.
They basically taste and feel like non-cheesy cheesy puffs.
Do they taste like Brussels sprouts?
Not really.
You get onion and garlic and nooch though.
Would I buy them again?
Probably not.
I'd like to try another flavour though.
Let me know if you've tried this brand and which ones you've liked or disliked.
Why should I make more mistakes when I can learn from your mistakes.
You know what wasn't a mistake though?
These Love Truffles from Lulu's Artisan Chocolates.
Made from wild harvested, heirloom, arriba unroasted Ecuadorian cacao.
That's different.
This dark chocolate is fruity, reminding me of dried cherries, but not actually cherries,
if you know what I mean.
The inside is silky smooth.
Hazelnut butter.
So good.
This is a little self-love for sure.
I would definately get these again and I want to try more from this brand.
And Valentine's day is coming up so there's an idea for a little something.
Lunch was a big something; a big bowl of this coconut miso noodle soup.
It started with a spoonful of coconut oil over high heat.
When the oil melted completely, I turned down the heat to medium and added a sliced shallot
and crushed garlic.
After a minute, I added tomato paste.
My sister mentioned this technique to me the other day so it stuck in my head.
After a few minutes, most of the other ingredients go in.
Turn up the heat and let it come to a boil.
Now I add coconut cream.
Dissolve the miso paste with some of the broth first so you don't get unexpected spoonfuls
of super salty lumps.
And that's it.
Four big servings of coconut miso soup.
This was so perfect.
The noodles, creamy coconut broth, saltiness from the miso, delicious veggies that really
hold that flavour.
I could swim in this stuff.
But don't.
I don't think that's hygenic.
But what I'm trying to say is...maybe add a can of coconut cream to your cart.
You know what else you should add to your cart?
This delicious Korean BBQ Sauce.
For this scrumptious steaming hot rice bowl that is ridiculously easy to make.
While your rice is cooking and oven is preheating, prep a baking sheet and dump on three cups
of frozen veggies.
I'm using a mix of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.
Add three cups of chickpeas or other cooked beans.
Drizzle on some of the Korean BBQ sauce and a tablespoon or so of olive oil.
I also like adding a tablespoon of nooch and a generous pinch of white pepper.
Massage everything thoroughly so that all the veggies and chickpeas get coated but quickly
so your hands don't freeze off and die.
Pop that in the oven at 450°F for 30 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, prep any other toppings you'd like.
Soon, everything will be ready to assemble.
Now you have dinner for two big appetites packed with nutrients and flavour.
I love this sauce.
It has a well fermented soy sauce flavour with spicy peppers balanced with some sweetness
from molasses, and tangy vinegar.
Loving it.
Also loving Thrive Market.
Don't forget you can have a 30 day free trial membership to try it out.
You're going to save with those wholesale prices which are often 25% to 50% less than
retail, save with this offer for 25% off your first purchase on top of that, and free shipping
right to your door.
Get those wholesale prices.
Get all the vegan treats and staples, save some money, save some time and gas by not
having to go to the store.
If you love it, go for that annual membership and Thrive Market will give one to a low-income
family, teacher, veteran or student.
I love this so much.
I love that Thrive Market really cares about people.
And I care about you...Thank you so much for watching, my friends.
I hope you liked this video.
Please give it a thumbs up if you did and let me know if you plan to try anything from
this video in the comments below.
See you next week.
Bye for now!