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Sunday, February 13, 2011

Steak, ice cream, and brownies - oh my!

I have to say, I am really enjoying this vegan thing.  I think I have passed the point of going through meat and dairy withdrawals.  I'm not saying I will never cheat again, but as I sit here right now I truly have no desire to.  Of course this might have something to do with the truly amazing dinner I just made myself.


First of all, it was super simple because all the work was done for me already.  All I had to do was heat it up and put it all together.  The apron was totally unnecessary, but any excuse to wear it!  I love my owl apron. :) Let me tell you, if you are craving beef and broccoli from the Chinese place, you should try this.  The flavor and texture was great.

I used vegan black pepper steaks, a soy-based imitation meat.  I thought for sure the texture would be creepy and it wouldn't taste like meat but I was so wrong.  I really don't know how they made this texture so real looking.  It shreds just like the real thing.  It's perfectly chewy and the sauce that it comes in is very tasty. I picked it up at Whole Foods in the freezer section. I think it was $6. So I heated it up according to package directions, 8 minutes in a sauté pan on the stove.
Then I just served it over some quinoa and brown rice with a side of steamed broccoli. I am totally patting myself on the back. For me, this gets an A+ because it took all of 10 minutes to make AND it was delish. These can also be heated up in the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes or baked in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Definitely worth a try if you are craving a beefy meal; which I was not craving by the way. It was more or less an experiment to try this fake meat.

Now for dessert... those who know me know that I am a major ice cream junkie, hence my unduly ample shape (just a fancy, more polite way of saying fat). So anyway, I thought it would be so hard to give up real, dairy-based ice cream. Not so.  I discovered the most satisfying and yummy ice cream. OMG! Ok, Blue Bell, you are so NOT missed. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that this non-dairy, soy-free ice cream is BETTER than the real deal. It's just as the brand name suggests, purely decadent. I tried the chocolate flavor. It tastes like an Almond Joy candy bar, but better! No lie! This is coming from an ice cream connoisseur (seriously, I used to blog about ice cream). Now, I'd be perfectly happy with this ice cream substitute from here on out because I love chocolate. I think there are only a few flavors to choose from currently, so I'm hoping there will be more to choose from in the future.

Now, while we're on the subject of desserts... a friend of mine sent me a tip for making easy "vegan" brownies. I am putting quotes around the word vegan because, technically, they aren't 100% vegan. What you do is take a store bought box of brownie mix and just add a can of pureed pumpkin instead of adding the eggs and oil. The mix itself does have some milk product in it. I headed to Publix to pick out my brownie mix. As I was looking at the voluminous selection of mixes I decided right then and there, since I was having such a hard time deciding, that I would conduct a taste test (really, it was just an excuse to make two batches of brownies). So, I first went for the Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownie mix. I thought, if I am going to be making these things with pumpkin so they're "healthier" then I want the best mix I can find. I perused the nutrition facts.  The mix by itself is 140 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, and 18 grams of sugar.

After taking the time read that I asked myself, self- what was the point in reading that if supposedly you're main concern isn't calories and sugar content? So now I've been in the brownie aisle for about 5 minutes thinking. I thought, well how good are these really going to be?? So if the point is to be healthy we might as well compare them to a "diet version." I went for the Pillsbury sugar-free brownies. With only 90 calories and 2.5 grams of fat, I thought it would make for an interesting match.
I knew I already had a can of Libby's pumpkin at home (I stocked up during the pumpkin shortage over the holidays... I was paranoid that I wouldn't be able to make a pumpkin pie in an emergency situation). Now, just FYI, Libby's nutrition facts are slightly healthier than Publix's store brand, (Libby's has 40 calories per 1/2 cup and Publix has 50 calories; not to mention somehow you get 2 extra grams of fiber with Libby's) so I put the "healthier" pumpkin with the sugar-free mix to make them the ultimate healthy brownie. The verdict is in... I'm going to be honest as I promised in my very first entry. I wasn't in love with either one of them. They were both good, but neither one was AMAZING!

First of all, the texture is very moist and dense. You can really taste the pumpkin in both of these brownies. Obviously there was a richer chocolate flavor in the Ghirardelli mix. However, they were very similar overall as far as the overall experience. So if I make these again, I would actually go with the sugar free ones and save on the calories. They are better, I think, after they have been refrigerated. It's more like eating a moist chocolate cake than a brownie. It definitely cures a chocolate craving no doubt! Maybe I can find a real vegan mix at Whole Foods. I'll let you know what I can come up with.

That is all for today. I'm just starting to read the book Veganist by Kathy Freston. Halfway into the first chapter and I'm already learning a lot and looking at things from a different angle. More to come on that this week.

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