TAZA Mexican Chocolate

Apparently I’ve been missing out on Mexican chocolate all my life, because, until I went to my local bulk/health food store I had never even heard of it. There I was, setting my bags of bamboo rice, red quinoa, and dried fruit down at the counter, when a little display of round packages caught my eye. They read TAZA Mexican Chocolate, and i was intrigued. I read the ingredients; they were vegan-friendly and all organic, then I read it was stone ground and had peppers in it, too! I instantly knew I would get the chocolate, especially since I had ran out of my Scharffen Bergers one or two days before. Once i got home I opened the chocolate and broke a little piece off of the first tablet and popped it into my mouth. True. bliss. Mexican chocolate is so different from anything I’ve ever tasted before, it has a very interesting, crumbly, almost dry texture, and a spicy, smooth aftertaste.

Go get some TAZA chocolate!

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Coconut Milk or Almond, Which Is better?

   While shopping for my list of vegan groceries, i wasn’t sure what kind of faux milk to get… there were so many to choose from! From Soy, Rice, Hemp, Almond, Coconut, and Oat, I decided to take a risk and just pick two that looked good to me. So, that night in my kitchen, Pacific Natural foods brand almond milk and So Delishious brand Coconut milk had a chilled showdown. They both had their unique qualities, the almond milk had an, erm, interesting sort of nutty aftertaste, and the coconut milk  had a very sweet flavor. Compared to the old regular cows’ milk, they were both thinner, but lighter and they went down more easily. Overall, I liked the coconut milk faaar better than the almond milk. I still have the other kinds of milk to try, and I’ll post about those, too, but for now, I’m sticking with the sweet, smooth flavor of my coconut milk.

If you have any suggestions for what I should try next, just leave a comment!

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Fresh Market Grocery Store

So I just went to a cute little shop in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and it was a lot like a Trader Joe’s. I was on a mission for a quality vegan chocolate. They had a whole wall of chocolate bars, and I checked every label, looking for one without butterfat or milkfat. The chosen chocolate? Scharffen Berger’s Extra Dark Fine Artisan Dark Chocolate. Whew, there’s a mouthful! It was a bit on the expensive side, though, at$3.99 for 3 oz, but I had to get it, it smelt sooo delicious! And, boy, was I right! At 82% cacao it was the best chocolate I have ever tasted. Complete with it’s logo and hearty break lines pressed into the surface, each serving (half a bar) had 210 calories, 8 grams of sugar, 5 grams of protein, 19 grams of fat, and no cholesterol or sodium. Great buy! I’ll be looking forward to enjoying a piece over rooibos tea tonight, while unwinding from the long day of driving, and bracing myself for tomorrows vegan grocery shopping. Mmmm!

Scharffen Berger's Extra Dark Artisan Dark Chocolate

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Dinner Party S.O.S.!

Okay… I admit I’m typing on my iPhone at a fancy dinner party, while I should be slaving away at making small talk with my extended family and people I’ve never met, but… I’ve decided to write a new post about being vegan while surrounded with meaty food and trying to find something safe to eat. I guess you guys get to learn from my mistakes, and I hope you do, because I’ve been scrounging on fritos and mixed nuts all day. Yeah, like I said, learn from my mistakes.
Okay, first off, I’d really suggest bringing a vegan appetizer. This way, it’ll look like your being nice and bringing a side that everyone can enjoy while theyre waiting for the food, and it will also serve as a safety net if there’s not anything else there that you can eat. Just be sure it’s not something you’ll get sick of after a few bites.
Another thing you might want to do if you know the person really well is call them ahead of time and make sure there’s something there that you can eat, this will also give you time to determine if you should bring something or not.
And the last recommendation I have, if you don’t know the person really well and don’t feel comfortable bringing a side, just make sure you have something to eat before and afterwards. That’s all I can suggest, if you don’t want to be stuck looking for things you can eat. Hope these tips can save you!

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