Product Review PureFit Vegan Bar with Before and After

When the lovely people over at PureFit Nutrition Bars approached me to do a review on their energy bars, I sifted through the myriad of reasons of why they would choose me.

Could it be that:

1. I eat energy bars like Halloween candy. (I put them in an orange pumpkin and ring my own doorbell).

2. I missed a few blogs, lost my zeal, and one of PureFit's mottos is Say No to Nodose.

3. I live in the United States.

4. I tweet tweet.

5. I am an ex-athlete and coach now relegated to the couch. PureFit encouraged me to get out the door and buy a new couch.

6. I have a blog.

7. I like free vegan stuff.

Hey number 7 is where it's at. PureFit sent me these. Check it out. These bars are all-natural, gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, vegan (of course), kosher, high in protein and diabetic friendly too.

Granola Crunch, Almond Crunch, Chocolate Brownie, Berry Almond Crunch, PB Crunch

Granola Crunch

Peanut Butter Crunch

Berry Almond Crunch

Of course we had to try them all. Me and Crazy Boy had a little PureFit party.

Almond Crunch

Chocolate Brownie

View GiGi's Results Below. Larry refused to be photographed.

PureFit and GiGi's Lawyer's Disclaimer
Not everybody will achieve the same results as GiGi has, bikini sizes may differ.

We really enjoyed 5 out of the 6 flavors with Almond Crunch being the clear winner. PB crunch was not far behind with Granola Crunch and Berry Almond Crunch bringing up the rear, (as you can see from my after pic above). They do taste a lot like Power Bars, but without all the added dairy junk. I used to like Power Bars a lot, so this is a good comparison. The chocolate reminded me of the body building MetR-x bars when they first came on the market. We refrigerated what we did not consume and had a couple this morning. They are great right out of the frig. I haven't run a marathon yet, but I did buzz around the kitchen this morning. It's great to know that there is another vegan bar available. I will definitely add the Almond Crunch to one of my go to energy bars. Watch out I might just be back in action, right after I pick out a new couch. Thanks PureFit! Oh you can find PureFit on FB. And Twitter too.

This Dinner Freaked Me Out

I thought you would be manna from the Gods. A beautiful plate to behold. A substance to write songs about. A triumphant addition to my vegan universe. I dreamed of dousing you with garlic and lemon and gently tossing you with fresh pasta. I fantasized about vegan tartar sauce, and marinara, and a chopped salad on a kaiser roll with basil and fresh tomato.
But you suck! You were just a fake prawn in the game of life. You looked too much like the real thing. You freaked me out. I could not enjoy our life together. It was not be.

Don't worry I didn't go without dinner. I picked these gargantuan vegan bottom feeders out of the pasta because the sauce was really quite good. Here's a pic with them still hanging out and steaming in the dish.

It was a simple sauce of broccoli, garlic, lemon, vine ripened tomatoes, some olive oil and sea salt.
So vegan reader, tell me...would you be able to partake of these veiny pinky prawns?

Bye Bye Pie

Bye Bye Pie

My kitchen was closed for the night. Dishes were done for the millionth time and the ingredients asleep 'til morning. I was done except for something easy, fast and delicious. The box yoohooed to us from Whole Food's frozen food aisle. Drippy gooey Daiya cheese on a pizza crust made by Tofurky. Just 12 minutes at 420 degrees, precisely. I really like the meltability of Daiya Cheddar and I swoon at the texture taste and versatility of Tofurky. We had Tofurky in a scramble the night before so opted for the plain pie, and as the gods would have it the pizza was on sale. It was late and Larry and I were starving. I wound up making a side salad while the pizza was cooking. Firstly, I want to give props to anybody producing a cruelty free product. Ohhh, the box looked so promising.  I really don't want to pan this pizza, but okay it was barely edible. The sauce was bland with a touch of sweet, the crust was mostly non - existent and there was just a sprinkling of Daiya. We really wanted to love it. If you are in the mood for a couple of really good vegan pies may I suggest:
1. the crust used in the recipe below or your favorite dough topped with some vegan pesto, chopped tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, Daiya and a T of olive oil.
2. or check out the Veganville recipe link below for an easy broccoli pie, or if you are local just order a pie from Veganville off of our FB page.
http://gigi-2boomers.blogspot.com/search?q=pizza






I'm Feta Up

Why don't vegans eat cheese? I mean Roquefort cheese isn't an animal, right? If the heinousness of factory farming is Greek to you, then you have come to the right place, unless of course you are loathe to puns. Cows are kept in dry lot operations and fenced in very tiny spaces, tinier than my apartment even. In order for cows to produce 2,000 gallons of milk a year the cows are kept pregnant. When the cows have babies, the male calves are separated from their moms to make into veal. The female calves are made into milk cows. The cows who can no longer produce milk are sent to slaughter. On that happy note, after I've made you falafel, I hope you are more feta up with the cheezy dairy industry than my puns. Woo hoo... still hungry? Then let's make some vegan feta, and look at some really great cheese substitutes.

Vegan Feta

1 block tofu drained and pressed (My friend over at Vegan Aide does have other ideas about the press/drain method)
1/8th C water
1/8 - 1/4 C red wine vinegar
2 tsp Sea Salt
1 T dried dill
1/2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano (optional)

Whisk all ingredients except for the tofu together in a medium bowl. Crumble tofu into the mixture. Marinate over night in your refrigerator. Great in a salad, wrap, or in a vegan scramble with spinach.

Eco Planet = Those cheezy cracker thingies

Tings = Cheeze Doodles

Look Nacho Cheeze Dip almost!

Holy Cow! Now you can munch away with a clear conscience. BTW - those are vegan sandals.

Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil/recipe too

The very kind people from Tropical Traditions tracked me down. I received one email and 5 twitters from them today. They wanted to know if I was enjoying my 32 ounce unopened bottle of coconut oil. Have I told my friends about it? What have I made? Where's that freakin' review? Okay, they didn't say freakin'. Tropical Traditions Gold Label Standard Virgin Coconut Oil is made by traditional methods in the rural areas of the Philippines. I don't think freakin' is a Tagalog term but in my Brooklyn head freakin'  is always implied.

In the event that you don't speak several Austronesian languages like I do, here is a Hawaiian and Tagalog glossary to assist you with the remainder of my review.

Mahalo, GiGi-Thank you GiGi!
Ahui hou kakou-Until We Meet Again
Pupule-Crazy
Wiki Wiki-Fast, speedy, hurry
Kaina Yaan, GiGi- Eat that, GiGi
Pagluto-Cook
Sarap-Delicious
Bwiset GiGi- Annoying, GiGi

Tropical Traditions is a very dependable company. My Tropical Traditions Gold Label Standard virgin coconut oil was delivered over night, or at least I think it was over night. That was many moons ago. My coconut oil has been gracing my shelf for close to three weeks now. Trust me "TT" is reliable. 
I better wiki wiki my pupule ass and write this overdue review.

The Tropical Traditions bottle is gorgeous. It has a black and gold label and the coconut oil appears crystallized when solidified. Coconut oil can be used as a solid to replace Earth Balance or margarine or it can be melted and used to replace oil in a recipe. I could wax poetic on the aesthetic qualities of the Tropical Traditions jar but you cannot kaina yaan glass. It is not so sarap.

Tropical Traditions Organic Coconut Cream Concentrate - 1-Quart (32 oz)

Coconut oil can also be used in smoothies and added to coffee or hot cocoa. It makes delicious pie crusts as well. It's high in antioxidants and is an auto immune builder.
I decided to give the coconut oil a go and try it in my vegan chocolate chip cookies. Before whipping up a batch I had to stick my nose in the jar and get a whiff, (which could have been dangerous given the size of my nose). Some people actually eat Coconut cream from a spoon. It smells like paradise, or very much like a coconut moisturizer I once slathered on. My olfactory gives it a thumbs up. My  nose was quite pleased with the size of the mouth of the jar.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Sans Chip Cookies (about 2.5 dozen)
2 1/4 C unbleached flour
1tsp baking soda
1 C Tropical Traditions Gold Label Standard Virgin Coconut Oil
3/4 C vegan sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
1.5 tsp non-alcoholic vanilla
1T Ener G Foods Egg Replacer Ener G Foods - Egg Replacer - 1(16 Oz.)
1/4 C water
1 Cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour and baking soda in small bowl. In another mixing bowl beat coconut oil, both sugars and vanilla. In a very small bowl whisk egg replacer with water until well combined. Beat 1/2 the egg replacer concoction into coconut batter, add remaining egg replacer and mix again. Add the flour and mix again.
Oh c'mon it's not that much mixing. The good people of the Philippines made the coconut oil you're using by hand, so don't complain!
Stop the machine and scrape down the sides and mix well.
Now taste the batter. Awesome, right? Isn't it like one of the best doughs you've ever tasted?
Go ahead and make half a batch without the chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls (I use an ice cream scoop).
Now fold the chocolate chips into the remaining batter. Drop by teaspoonfuls on to another ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 11-14 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Remove cookies to cooling rack. Enjoy with frosty cold soy or rice milk.

I can't wait to try Tropical Traditions coconut oil in my savories. Please visit their fascinating  and informative website where you can find more scrumptuous recipes at :
http://www.tropicaltraditons.com/

Ahui hou kakaou,
GiGi

Carnivore Conversion/ Key Lime Pie

My friend David Pambiachi and I go way back. I once jumped on the back of his Harley and went with him to a Hells Angels Bar. He remained stone cold sober while I did shots of tequila with some kindly bikers. The next week I decided to white knuckle it and went on the wagon. David left a wormy boozy party with me and together we walked for hours through the chilly upper Westside, while David listened to me ball about my broken love affair with Cuervo.
But David is way more than a friend. He's a Renaissance Man. He's a writer, artist, journalist, chess master, black belt, and all around nice guy... most of the time. That is, when he's not teasing me about my veganhood, or telling me how he thinks my cat Satchmo is in need of Celebrity Fat Cat Fit Club.


David is also a die hard carnivore from a tough Italian neighborhood in Queens so I doubt he'll be giving up cannolis or calzones anytime soon. I certainly ain't gonna twist his arm. I just want to prove to my friend that vegan food can taste surprisingly like the real deal.
The other day David told me he makes a mean key lime pie. What doesn't he do? Well be a vegan that's what, but that's beside the point. I asked him to send me the recipe so I could veganize it. He obliged twice. My computer ate it the first time.

The VEGANIZATION
I considered tofutti and the possibilities of tofu or a combination thereof. I searched the web for
vegan key lime recipes and reviews. One recipe used a combo of silken tofu and tofutti. Reviewers said it wasn't limey enough and that it tasted more like cheesecake. I watched a YouTube video that never completed the recipe. I think the chef croaked after adding the tofutti cream cheese to the food processor. Another video added packets of Mori-Nu vanilla pudding mix. I love Mori-Nu vanilla, but I really couldn't see it in this recipe. Finally I decided to tweak a recipe from "Cooking With PETA" and use my own crust. Reviewers said it was the best vegan key lime pie they ever had, then again Larry was my only reviewer.

Instead of going the usual graham cracker crust route I decided to use Trader Joe's low fat cat (get it... ha ha David) cookies for the crust.

MY COOKIE CRUST (not PETA's)

45- 60 TJ cat cookies crushed + 2T sugar
1/4Cup canola oil
1T rice milk

In food processor with steel blade combine cat cookies and sugar. Pulse into fine crumbs. Pour into pie plate. Drizzle in canola oil and mix with your fingers. This is fun! Drizzle with the rice milk and mix again with your CLEAN fingers. (I emphasize clean, because my Mommy told me to ) Refrigerate until ready to use. The crust not your fingers.

TWEAKED PETA RECIPE

2 8oz containers of tofutti
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of lime (about 3 limes)
3-3.5 T cornstarch
1T of non-alcoholic vanilla
Zest from 1 lime (for garnish later) and lime slices for decoration.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients (except the zest and garnish, silly) in food processor and mix 'til smooth. Fill refrigerated cat cookie crust and bake 45-55 minutes. Let cool. Refrigerate over night.
Go ahead and garnish you vegan artist you! I don't know, I still think it tastes like a vegan lime cheesecake. It's rich and velvety and really good though.


Thank you for the recipes David, and as always thanks for being there for me and thanks for being you. How 'bout giving up calzone and cheesecake for Lent? Huh Big guy?

Casein Point

I ran into my buddy Gillette in Whole Foods one night. He was getting ingredients for his bimonthly Project Runway cook fest. Since I am a regular, and Gillette and his wife Kathleen are so awesome, they always serve vegan options for me. A quick glance in Gillette's cart, hmmmm, dough, sauce, mushrooms, olives, peppers, basil, cheese for non-vegans told me pizza party. (I'm so quick) What's that? Soy cheese? Uh oh.
Should I keep my mouth shut and starve at the Project Runway party or tell Gillette about the horrors of the soy cheese? I weighed the pros and cons in my head. Starve...maybe I could be a Project Runway model. Nah,too old, too big a schnoz.The words came flying out of my mouth.
Gillette, is that soy cheese for me? That's very nice of you but there is casein in it and I choose not to eat that.
Some of those soy cheese people are giant deceptive liars. They offer up their soy cheese as an alternative to dairy cheese and then they just add the crappiest milk ingredient "casein" to their product so it tastes more like cheese. In fact it still is cheese. Casein is a milk protein. It can cause sinus congestion, const----and asthma symptoms. You know what else Gillette? Do you know why vegans don't eat dairy? Vegans don't eat dairy because farmers keep their dairy cows impregnated so they can yield lots of milk. The farmers take their itty bitty babies away from the cows and put them in crates and then they all wind up in that very evil place called a slaughterhouse. Just saying.
Nice to see you Gillette. Give my love to Kathleen. So what do you think Heidi and Nina Garcia will be wearing this week?


For the Best tasting Vegan cheese visit my friends at:
http://www.followyourheart.com/

What are Marshmallows?

Last week my friend Lynnore yes famous blogger Lynnore from "Lynnore's Logic" that Lynnore, facebooked me and asked if I would share some helpful veg friendly kitchen hints.

Lynnore and her new BF Thomas are long time vegetarians and are on the hunt for nifty recipes sans dairy. They have committed to eating healthier on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Surely I could oblige, after all they are eschewing dairy two nights a week. I dig Lynnore so, I gave her a thumbs up on her blog, added accolades for her adventurousness, sent some love ahead for her newish relationship and promised to post some mouthwatering recipes. First,
I mozied over to catch up on Lynnore's Logic.

In one entry Lynnore posted a photo of a vegan Shepard's pie. It is topped with gorgeous golden mashed potatoes. Atop this crusted potato Lynnore has artfully written in mass murderer block letters , "Eat Me". Another entry featured a melange of purple and red turnips, and bright green brussel sprouts, a vegie collage that would make Molly Kazden proud. Dear reader, don't look too close, looks like new boyfriend, Thomas snuck in some Crisco.

Well, well I was quite impressed by Miss Goldfarb's entries. Maybe this Crisco sneaking dude is the right guy for Lynnore after all. Why Lynnore's entries are terrific, imaginable colorful, dare I say veganly... and suddenly I heard Satan...


Doesn't look like Lynnoree needs your help, GiGi. Her pics are better than yours. Yours are always blurry.
That's true.
And one more thing GiGi...Lynnore's kitchen is bigger.
Yeah, that's true.
And she has more money than you...
Not really.
Yeah well her insurance is better. Remember her foot surgery. That cost a pretty penny.
But but... She's almost a vegan, I said as I shooed Satan/Seitan? away.

And besides, I need to get back into the vegan experimental kitchen, you little devil,and anyway and I'd like to be of service to my fellow blogger...

And then I saw it... It was like I was given new sight. Right there on Lynnore's Logic, Right in the midst of that funky kitchen of hers... that kitchen that Satan so lovingly pointed out to me, there right in the middle of the cooling racks were cookies...cookies that Lynnore and new BF Thomas whizzed up were cookies with
OMG MARSHMALLOWS!

Yep. Cookies made of bone marrow! Those are Collagen made rice krispie treats, Lynnore! Marshmallow, that white gelatinous blob that makes S'mores so fun for those little annoying girl scouts, and makes camping such a big dealy, that's right. Well you know what marshmallows really are, girl scout troop #572? Marshmallow is collagen extracted from connective tissue found in organs of pigs, cattle and ponies.

Aha they are not VEGAN! But Ricemellow is and you can find it at your neighborhood online shoppe! What's more is you can make all kinds of goodies and even spoon it out of the container right into your mouth. http://cosmosveganshoppe.com/

Check out this awesome store along with Ricemellow and all types of goodies. Come back tomorrow and I'll share some pony safe desserts.