nut butter

Coffee = Friend

11 Comments

With the time change and my hectic to do list a big glass of water and a cup of coffee has been my friend lately. I have to say though I have been a lazy friend to coffee and rather than taking out the french press and making myself a cup I have been turning to our Mount Hagan Organic Instant Coffee packets that I found on sale at the natural food store a few weeks ago.  As much as I love my french press coffee I just don’t have the time or patience to clean it and baby sit it while I wait for my cup of coffee.  We are actually thinking about getting a coffee maker- a whole new thing for us- any suggestions?

With my coffee I have been enjoying a big bowl of hot oatmeal with flax seeds, wild blueberries, cashew butter and Bee-Free Honee (giveaway coming later today so keep your eyes peeled.)  I have been loving this combination of creamy nutbutter, sweet fruit and a drizzle of honee.

Also wanted to share a tip I learned (by actually reading the label on the nut butter); when you have natural nut butters that require stirring- stir them up real well until it is all combined and then stick it in the fridge and it will come out looking so good (see below).  No longer will you have to spend hours stirring your nut butter before you can eat it and you won’t end up with an oily top and dry bottom.

Before I head to the kitchen to make myself a bowl of oats I’ll leave you with a mini updated about our new furry companion; he is settling right in and seems to love being with us.  He has the funniest little squeak he makes and when he wants you to give him love and attention he hisses – strange right? He also has come to love to spend his nights sleeping with us.

Indulgence Hangover

4 Comments

After our night of indulgence I felt like  I was a bit hungover from the sugary and fried foods.  To cure this I went right to a big glass of water things morning and have been making an effort to eat better today.  For breakfast I started out with some Sun Seed Manna Bread with The Nutty Vermonter Maple and Chipotle Triple Nut Butter that I got in my Christmas stocking. I didn’t love the bread because it was really chewy but I think the issue was that I cut my slices too thick.  Generally when I purchase sprouted grain bread it comes pre-sliced and is usually really thin; fail on my part. So I didn’t end up finishing much of my bread with nut butter and stole two left mock prawns from my husbands leftovers breakfast.

For lunch I ran out to the market to see what looked good and came home with a cremini mushrooms, red bell pepper, red onion, radish sprouts and cauliflower. I cut the cauliflower up into small pieces, diced up the red bell pepper, red onion and mushrooms and sauteed with a bit of olive oil until soft; then tossed in chickpeas for protein. I seasoned with a bit of salt, pepper, granulated garlic and red chili flakes. I plated the cauliflower pilaf and topped with a fist full of the sprouts and drizzled with a bit of Drew’s Roasted Garlic & Peppercorn Dressing that I had picked up at the market last week. On the side we had THINLY sliced Manna Bread with nutritional yeast and garlic gold.

For dessert we split a treat sent from JJ’s Sweets– a Java Chocolate Covered Caramel- TO DIE FOR.  They need to start selling these in Vermont…or maybe they shouldn’t because I would buy them all the time.  They are lush and creamy and VEGAN!

I just received a huge stack of $1 off coupons from Nature’s Path and want to give you a few! So email me lindsay@cookingforaveganlover.com with your address if you would like a few!

Disclaimer: I was provided a sample of a selection of Manna Bread and JJ’s Sweets; I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway or add this to my OpenSky shop in return for a discount on this product.

Product Review: Artisana Raw Organic Nut Butters

Leave a Comment

Artisana Raw Organic Nut Butters sent me some teasers of their amazing raw nut butters. These cute little jars had one serving of nut butter in them just enough to get a taste and leave you wanting more. These handmade and raw gourmet nut butters are a great treat. Although they are expensive they are amazing and worth the money as an occasional treat. My absolute favorite of all the samples was the cashew butter; it was amazingly creamy, silky and smooth.  The cashew butter was closely followed by the luscious macadamia cashew butter.  Of course all the others were tasty too.

Disclaimer: Artisana provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.