Chicken Sandwich

Hello on the 19th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Today's Nostalgia Week post is a modified vegan version of what was one of my favorite fast food meals.

Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients:

--1 Boca chik'n patty

--shoestring fries

--1 bun (or two slices of bread)

--lettuce

--tomato

--ketchup

--mustard

Like yesterday's post, this one is super easy to prepare (as it should be, seeing as how this is imitating fast food!). Lay out a Boca chik'n patty and the shoestring fries on a baking tray, put in the oven at 425° F for 10-15 minutes, flipping them halfway through (the patty takes longer than the fries). Serve the chik'n (on a bun with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and mustard) and fries with a pickle and baby carrots (not pictured), as well as ketchup for dipping the fries. (The pickle and carrots were never part of the meal, but I like to add them now.)

I enjoyed fast food chicken sandwiches before I was vegan, but even so, it took me a while to finally get around to making a vegan version. 

 

Mayonnaise always seemed to be a default condiment for this sandwich, but I was never a fan; when I would request that it be left off, it often still was put on. So, in my veganizing of the chicken sandwich, I've also modified it so that even vegan mayonnaise has no place in it; instead, it's good old ketchup and mustard as condiments.

We didn't get fast food that often when I was younger, so when we did, it was a fun treat, especially because that meant we could also order soda, which we otherwise only drank on special occasions. However, I only remembered this little tidbit about the soda as I was typing out this post! I'd already eaten, with a nice glass of water as a drink, so no soda was included with this meal. (But I'm OK with that, as I'm really not much of a soda person nowadays.)

One final related nostalgia moment has only to do with the lettuce and nothing to do with the chicken sandwich. I have so many nostalgic food memories that remind me of Me-Me, the woman who minded my sister and me when we were little; she was like a grandmother to us. From chicken noodle soup to the candies she would have in jars in the kitchen, I have many great food memories, but one of my favorites in its beautiful simplicity (and "accidentally vegan"-ness) is that of lettuce and a sprinkle of salt. Sounds weird, I know, but it is a special memory to me; while we were making sandwiches, Me-Me would let me take a piece of lettuce, shake a bit of salt onto it, and munch on that while we finished up the sandwiches. I absolutely loved the taste of the salty, crisp lettuce! Every now and then when I'm putting lettuce on something, today being one of those times, I think of Me-Me and break off a piece, adding a dash of salt. :)

Whenever I have a Boca chik'n patty, I have to keep an eye on Mystery, as she once stole a couple pieces of chik'n from my unattended plate. Now she has a taste for them and always follows me around in the kitchen when I am preparing one.

"I guess you won't be sharing..."

P.S. Just a week now until the season premiere of Parks and Recreation! My Parks & Rec theme week begins on Sunday! I'm still tweaking some of the details, but I'm getting really excited!

Peace. :)

Chicken Nuggets and French Fries

Hello on the 18th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Today as part of Nostalgia Week, I tried the Health is Wealth Vegan Chicken-Free Nuggets for the first time and really enjoyed them.

Chicken Nuggets and French Fries

This is probably the simplest of my Nostalgia Week meals to prepare: Just lay out some vegan "chicken" nuggets and fries on a baking tray, put in the oven at 425° F for 15 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Serve with corn and baby carrots, as well as ketchup for dipping.

Growing up, "Chicken Nugget Wednesday" was great because it featured one of my favorite foods, but it was even better because it was the one night a week that my sister and I had the privilege of not having to sit at the table for dinner. Instead, we were allowed to eat in the den and watch TV or a movie, while our mom and dad stayed at the kitchen table to eat together. It was simple but fun, definitely a nice memory from when I was younger.

I used to put the ketchup on top of the nuggets instead of dunking them.

Here's Mystery being a "helper" when Zach was setting up our TV trays.

Peace. :)

Dr. McDougall's Vegan Ramen Chicken Flavor

Hello on the 11th day of the Vegan Month of Food. Today I have a review of Dr. McDougall's Vegan Ramen Chicken Flavor. (I don't have vegan ramen often, but I decided to try this one out when it was on sale.)

Dr. McDougall's Vegan Ramen Chicken Flavor

 

It's simple to prepare.

Take the lid off and remove the flavor packet.

Empty flavor packet over noodles.

Add water to the fill line & stir.

Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove lid & stir. Enjoy once it has cooled off enough.

Thoughts: I enjoyed the taste and texture of the noodles (which were noted to be organic), and it was nice that there were some vegetables included in the flavor packet (corn, carrots, and tiny spinach flakes), but there definitely could have been more. If I were to make it again, I'll probably take the extra time to cook and add more vegetables myself. The broth's flavor was a bit different, not quite what I expected as "chicken flavor" but still good. The cup is labeled as containing 2 servings, but that's just silly to me; there's no way half of that cup would be filling enough. I had the whole cup, plus lentil chips and an apple as sides. However, it has significantly less sodium (and less fat) than the other vegan ramen I've had before, so even if you eat the whole 2 servings like I did, you're still consuming less sodium than if you'd had only one serving (half the packet) of the other.

Bottom line: It's a quick and easy meal, no washing up required other than the fork used to eat the noodles (I just sipped the broth right from the cup instead of using a spoon; I'm so classy). If you're looking for a vegan ramen, this seems to be an overall healthier (though pricier) option. 

Here is a silhouette of Mystery to bring today's post to its close.

Peace. :)

Falafel, Potatoes, and Broccoli

Hello on the 10th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Today is another quick and easy recipe, where everything can be cooked together on a baking tray.

Falafel, Potatoes, and Broccoli

 

Ingredients:

(falafel)

--1/4 cup falafel mix from Fantastic World Foods

--1/4 cup water

--olive oil

(potatoes)

--one medium red potato

--salt

--pepper

(broccoli)

--broccoli

--garlic salt

Combine the falafel mix and water in a bowl, stir, and let sit for 15 minutes. While you wait, put a sheet of aluminum foil on a baking tray, spray with cooking oil, and then slice the potatoes, laying them out on the tray. Add some salt and pepper and put in the oven at 350° F. Remove tray from oven, flipping the potatoes, and then form the falafel into balls, adding them to the tray with a bit of olive oil on top. Return tray to oven for 10 minutes. Remove tray, flip potatoes and falafel, add broccoli with a sprinkle of garlic salt, and return tray to oven for another 10 minutes. Remove tray from oven, let cool slightly, and then serve with baby carrots. 

 

Here is one of my favorite photos of Mystery.

cutie pie

Peace. :)

Peanut Butter Brown Rice

Hello on the ninth day of the Vegan Month of Food! Today is a simple recipe that makes for a quick and easy meal.

Peanut Butter Brown Rice

Ingredients:

--3/4 cup water

--1/2 cup Minute brown rice

--soy sauce

--broccoli (cut into small-medium pieces)

--peanut butter

mmm, broccoli :)

Bring the water to a boil, add the rice, stir, cover, and lower heat (medium-low). Keep an eye on it so it doesn't boil over; stir occasionally. After about five minutes, add some soy sauce, stir, and re-cover. When the majority of the liquid has been absorbed, drop the broccoli on top of the rice, and re-cover to allow the broccoli to steam for a couple minutes. Put heat all the way to low, add a nice big scoop of peanut butter, stir in evenly, and re-cover, turning off the heat. Once all the liquid is absorbed, stir once more for good measure and serve with baby carrots and lentil chips. (I like the Cracked Pepper Baked Lentil Chips by Mediterranean Snacks.)

Here is a photo of a sleeping Mystery curled up in a comforter.

Peace. :)

Pizza Bagels

Hello on the fifth day of the Vegan Month of Food! Did you know that today is National Cheese Pizza Day? I had no idea until I saw it mentioned by a fellow Vegan MoFo blogger, Melissa of New Orleans in Green (see Happy National Cheese(less) Pizza Day!). Today's post, therefore, features vegan cheese pizza in the form of...

Pizza Bagels

    

Ingredients:

--plain bagel, sliced open

--tomato sauce

--spinach, chopped

--shredded vegan cheese (I used Daiya, both mozzarella and cheddar)

--garlic salt

Place the open bagel halves on a baking sheet. Add tomato sauce, spreading evenly. Layer on some spinach, add the cheese, give a quick shake of some garlic salt, and put in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

This is a super quick & easy meal to make. I like to have them with potato chips and a pickle on the side. 

Zach likes his pizza bagels without the spinach and with a sprinkle of salt instead of garlic salt.

And to close tonight's post, here's a photo of Mystery snuggling with her little pink bear.

Peace. :)