Hi guys!

Guess what?! We have new muuuuuusic! *cackles*

The release of my band, The Antique Toy’s, album “When it Started to Begin” couldn’t come at a more meaningful time — at least for me (and it’s all about me, right? harharhar). As a freshly graduated chick trying to take over the world like Pinky & the Brain (I hope I’m the Brain in that figurative duo…), I’m facing a lot of questions, challenges and…well, beginnings.

New track, “Falling,” dropping either today or tomorrow
[Updated 8/24/11 - The track is heeeeere! yippey!]

New job.

New treat!
Unfortunately, Trader Joe’s pulled its signature move and discontinued a product that I fell in love with (never fall in love with items from TJ’s – as soon as you do, they pull them like some sick commitment-phobe) – the product I’m talking about is vegan mochi, by the way, not these delicious snickerdoodles! I came upon these snickerdoodles after crying to one of the TJ staff about the mochi (ok I didn’t cry, but I certainly was whining. Poor TJ crew member). Then, like a mirage, I saw these cookies with the “v” for “vegan” label. Then I looked at the stats…not too bad. Then I took them home and tried one. Then two. Then three. You get the picture. These blow my mind! They’re so soft and gooey…mmmm! Nutritional stats for two cookies: 130 calories, 4.5g fat, 110mg sodium, 21g carbs, 2g fiber, 14g sugars, 1g protein. Ingredients: sorghum flour, date paste, grape, apple and pear juice concentrates, brown pure cane sugar, expeller-pressed vegetable oil (safflower oil and/or sunflower oil), natural rice dextrin, ground flaxseed, water, xanthan gum, baking soda, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, rosemary extract.

Since I got an iPhone about a week ago, I’ve been having fun learning about all sorts of new health-related apps. Of course, the first one I downloaded (at the Apple store, actually — that’s how much I couldn’t wait!) was the Fooducate app! In using the Fooducate app – the above cookies are rated at a B-, which makes sense – they’re mostly sugars, they’ve got some ingredients you wouldn’t produce in your kitchen like xanthan gum and rice dextrin, etc.; but, for a treat, I think a B- is fine. The cool thing about Fooducate is that it lets you compare snacks and it also gives you info. on the questionable ingredients, like what xanthan gum really is. Mmm bacteria!

Wait, did I say “new job”?

More on that to come. In the meanwhile, please go buy a box of snickerdoodles and then come back here to comment and tell me how foodgasmic they are!

Any beginnings you want to tell me about?! I’m all ears! errr…”eyes.” Any iPhone apps I should download?

<3,

The Cranky One

1. My feelings on animal-centered amusement parks are evolving. Went to the Long Beach Aquarium with my mom and niece and couldn’t help but feel – gee – is this aquarium just another example of people’s exploitation of animals? I don’t think anyone could argue that it’s not. I know I sound like such a downer – but, seriously, after watching The Cove my eyes have been opened as to how these sorts of places tie into larger challenges with animal exploitation. And, adding to my belief that we’re so schizoid in our sentiments about ethics: a cafe at the Aquarium boasted fish tacos on the menu. That’s like going to a museum of natural history and then eating at their restaurant…where they’re serving people on kebabs. Just sayin’.
2. Remember I mentioned here that I go out to eat at least once a week and only order an iced tea? My trip above proved no exception. We went to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., located across the street from the LBA, and, clearly, I didn’t deem anything on the menu worthy of its price or hassle to veganize (options were scarce even for vegetarians – this place does, after all, have “shrimp” in its namesake!). And, again, I don’t mention these food-tease outings to complain, but rather to illustrate that I am sufficiently happy to dine with others and wait til later to enjoy my own cooking. And, man was that worth the wait.
3. My elbow is pretty much 100%. How do I know? Well I didn’t faceplant in crow pose today. And *grins* I can do chin ups again. Yeya.
4. I think I food shop too much because Trader Joe’s is like my Cheers: everyone there knows my name. It’s creepy in a wonderful sort of way. And, today as I was browsing, I appreciated all of the cool new (or at least new to me) vegan items they have in the freezer section (all sorts of Asian-food-inspired entrees, sides and soups; veggies; grains; ice cream (obvs. my fave is the vegan mochi, which I’m still obsessed with); and a new salad dressing in the fridge section (HUMMUS salad dressing!). And, I love how vegan foods are easily identifiable w/ the “v” symbol they use.
5. Re-watching The Royal Tenenbaums with my boyfriend made me realize how much I love the movie and how much it reminds me of one of my favorite novels, Franny and Zooey. I have an affinity for representations of dysfunctional families – especially families involving artsy children. Not that I have anything in common with that.
6. Is anyone else watching Platinum Hit? It’s become part of my Friday tradition. I love watching the contestants come up with lyrics and melodies at the drop of the hat. Very inspiring! I’m a big fan of Jes – I love the tone of her voice and she has quite a range!
7. I did not work out enough this weekend :/ But, I have this week (and forever lol) to make up for it — I think I’m more of a weekday warrior than a weekend warrior. And, I plan on weighing in on Thursday with stats for the past week and a half, since I plan on doing some cool new workouts I want to talk about
8. I can’t wait to share the recipe for these vegan corn dog minis tomorrow:

They’re made with wholesome ingredients, taste delicious and are sure to please even the pickiest eaters.

Any random thoughts on the weekend to share with me?

Night night!

<3,

The Cranky One

The only time I ever mention national food “holidays” is if I feel there really is a food worth celebrating or discovering and today, “National Onion Ring Day,” is one of those times

(don’t worry, these aren’t real holidays, they’re just marketing ploys & I think it’s fun to follow suit and start marking your significant other’s calendar with self-themed “national holidays,” like “National Buy Annabel an Iced Soy Latte Day” and “National Don’t Make Annabel Watch Another Boring Art Documentary Day.” You get the picture.)

Say hello to the closest thing to a ring I got right now
[picture source] Trader Joe’s Baked Onion Rings!

These Trader Joe’s Baked Onion Rings are amazeballs. They taste just like Funyuns and have the added bonus of being free from unnecessary additives. Plus, they’re vegan! Let’s compare ingredients and nutritional stats, shall we?

Funyun Ingredients: enriched corn meal (corn meal, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid), corn and/or soybean oil, salt, corn starch, onion powder, sugar, soy flour, buttermilk, maltodextrin, hydrolized soy protein, monsodium glutamate, dextrose, garlic powder, artificial colors, spice, natural flavors, soybean oil, corn flour, and gumarabic.
Funyun Nutritional Facts: For 28g/about 13 pieces: 140 calories, 7g fat, 270mg sodium, 18g carbs, <1g fiber, <1g sugar, 2g protein

Trader Joe’s Baked Onion Rings Ingredients: cornmeal, rice flour, sunflower and/or safflower oil, cane sugar, seasoning (salt, dehydrated onion and garlic, natural flavor, parsley, citric acid).
Trader Joe’s Baked Onion Rings Nutritional Facts: For 30g/about 14 pieces: 150 calories, 6g fat, 270mg sodium, 21g carbs, 1g fiber, 2g sugars, 2g protein

Note: The nutritional-fact profiles are pretty much identical, but the main difference between the two is in the ingredients: Trader Joe’s brand is minimalist and free from dubious and hard-to-pronounce additives. Funyuns, unfortunately, have gross things in them like enriched corn meal, milk and MSG!!!!

Kick the Funyuns to the curb and grab a bag of Trader Joe’s Baked Onion Rings. Just beware that they are highly delicious (I may or may not have eaten an entire bag in one sitting)…

<3,

The Cranky One

Happy Monday! I hope you all had enjoyable weekends. I don’t think I really left my house since I spent most of my time curled up with Jack, but I’m feeling set to begin the paper-writing process now that the research phase and pre-writing phase are out of the way (yes, a lot goes into the writing process for me, which is why it takes me so long!).

Today is National Potato Chip Day — yes, another one of those unofficial snack-industry-made “holidays” encouraging us to gorge on unhealthy crap. But we’re all so much smarter than those fools! *laughs maniacally* Despite the grimace on my face, I think it’s a good time to celebrate that there are a lot of healthier chip options out there in the world and that we can make our own!

Some of my favorite store-bought chips include (taken from my post on “healthier packaged foods” here):

• Food Should Taste Good Blue Corn Tortilla or Multigrain varieties. Vegan; some organic ingredients; no GM ingredients; no weird chemicals. Nutritional range per serving (9 chips): 140 calories, 6-7g fat, 80mg sodium, 3g fiber, 1g sugars, 2-3g protein
• Terra Chips Sweet Potato Chips, Plain. No salt added; no weird chemicals; vegan; 2-3 ingredients depending on manufacturer. Nutritional info. per serving (17 chips): 160 calories, 11g fat, 10mg sodium, 3g fiber, 3g sugars, 1g protein.
• Trader Joe’s Chips with An Identity Crisis & their Flax Seed chips. Vegan; no weird ingredients. 120-130 calories per serving (about 10 chips).

You’ll note that, with chips, serving sizes are pretty lame. In other words, the typical Cranky One would not be satisfied with a 100-something-calorie 10-chip serving. So, chips are not something I often eat simply because I consider them a calorie tease — one serving is definitely suitable, calorie-wise, but after one serving I want more. That’s where the tease part comes in. If you’re really achin’ for simple potato chips, Trader Joe’s now sells 100-calorie packs of kettle-baked potato chips.

Make Your Own Chips

If you want to make your own chips at home, I vote using sweet potato since they’re more nutrient and fiber dense than most other potatoes. One large sweet potato has 160 calories, 0g fat, 65mg sodium, 37g carbs, 6g fiber, 12g sugars, 4g protein and 692% of your DV of vitamin A, 60% of your DV of calcium, & 7% of your DV of iron. Wow! All you have to do is wash & scrub the spud (*giggles* spud), slice it (I never skin mine), place on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray, sprinkle sea salt & pepper (or be as creative as you’d like and add cinnamon, etc.), and bake in the oven at 350 until crisp – about 20 minutes.

My Kale Fail Might be Your Success

If you want to be really crazy, you can try your hand at making kale chips. I know lots of my blogger pals have tried ‘em and loved ‘em. Me, on the other hand? I tried ‘em. And wanted my money back. If you want to buy kale chips, I’ve heard that this brand is a good one (though I can’t say b/c I’ve been afraid to try ‘em. And want my money back.).

In other news…

New @ Trader Joe’s
Organic popping corn. Popping your own is all the rage

Sundried Tomatoes
2 Tbsp: 35 calories, 0g fat, 20mg sodium, 1g fiber, 4g sugars, 1g protein
Ingredients: California sundried tomatoes, sulfur dioxide (for color retention; considered safe by the Center for Science in the Public Interest)

Organic Multigrain Cereal (frozen)
entire bowl: 190 calories, 1g fat, 320mg sodium, 5g fiber, 12g sugars, 4g protein
Ingredients: Filtered water, organic multigrain cereal (organic cracked wheat, organic barley, organic corn, organic triticale, organic rye, organic brown rice, organic millet, organic steel cut oats, organic flax seed), organic agave nectar, sea salt.

Microwaves into this:

Not worth it. Make your own. Plus, they ask you to microwave in the plastic wrapping and that always worries me.

Interesting Reads

• “Once a Villain, Coconut Oil Charms the Health Food World” in the NY Times here
• “I Take Up Space: Examining fatism and its consequences,” a series in Psychology Today by Pattie Thomas, Ph.D., a medical sociologist, here
• Check out Fran’s blog, “Vegan Smarties” – she’s gone vegan for lent and is posting about her experience here.

Alright, tell me your favorite type of chip! And any interesting reads or new product info. to share?

<3,

The Cranky One

I got a couple requests for a sample vegan meal plan, so I’ve compiled one, below, and also provided some resources should any of you be interested in creating your own meal plans.

First, here’s a picture of the vegan “food pyramid”:
[source: Busy Vegan]

As with any food pyramid, the approach is not set in stone — it’s all about what works for the individual. So, I’ve seen other vegan food pyramids that differentiate carbs from grains versus carbs from vegetables, etc., but I like this one most and seem to feel best when I eat in a similar fashion. Honestly, though, I do not spend my time making sure my meals fit this recommendation! (In fact, some days my pyramid looks like one big pita enveloped in hummus topped off with coffee!). I am simply using this image to serve as a guide to how most vegans should eat most of the time. Curious to see a vegetarian food pyramid? See here.

A typical day for me can look as follows. Lately, I’ve noticed my calorie intake ranging from 1600-2500 calories/day depending on level of exercise and other random variables. This day compiled below comes in at 1800 calories and also happens to fit in the daily recommended percentage of iron (based on a 2000 calorie diet). You’ll also notice I get more than the recommended 49 grams/protein day for my weight.

[view larger here]

One thing I need to learn more about is B vitamins and omega 3s. I am still not convinced that taking a multivitamin is the right thing for me, yet I have not done adequate research (and preparation) to ensure I do get all the necessary vitamins and minerals from my diet alone. That’s to come!

Resources

• Vegan Meal Plans, 1800 calories/day & 2300 calories/day options by Vegan Outreach here
• Mama Pea’s “Pealightful Meal Plans” – A vegan weight-loss approach & grocery guide here
• Vegan Kickstart – A 21-Day Vegan Meal Plan that begins in April. Sign up to receive recipe emails now here.
• “Fooducate” – An excellent blog that’ll ease you into becoming a more conscious food consumer here
• How to be Cognizant of Calories, how to ensure you’re eating the right ones and why you should focus on eating unprocessed foods rather than on calories alone (or on “dieting”)
• How to be Cognizant of Portions
• How to Get Enough Protein as a Vegan
• How to Maintain Weight-Loss Long Term
• What do Vegans Eat?
• How to Make Healthier Substitutions When Cooking
• How to Read a Nutrition Label
• Finding vegan food at Trader Joe’s, Costco & Target

Have any of you ever written down your entire day’s worth of food and analyzed where you might improve? What did you find? If you guys are vegan, how does my typical day compare to yours?

<3,

The Cranky One

Dairy Free Mochi “Filled with creamy coconut milk in a trio of flavors: mango, coconut, chocolate”
Six-piece pack $3.49
I am in <3… I used to yearn for mochi – but no longer, no longer! One piece (and it’s big): 130 calories, 4g fat, 10mg sodium, <1g fiber, 15g sugars, 0g protein. These are freakin’ delicious – go get them now!

The ingredients list is rather decent in that most of the items are pronounceable and recognizable. The only exceptions include: maltodextrin (a food additive usually used to sweeten, so it’s often in candy bars), dextrose (aka glucose), carrageenan (a food additive, vegan, that works like gelatin and comes from seaweed). I will keep a box of these in stock for an occasional indulgence.

While the mochi, above, is the best Trader Joe’s new item, there are some other vegan finds worth mentioning:

Fully Cooked Falafel

For three falafel balls: 320 calories, 19g fat, 490mg sodium, 6g fiber, 5g sugars, 8g protein. The ingredients list is pretty legit, except that it does have enriched unbleached flour and a couple safe, though unnecessary, additives that made me not buy ‘em. So, I have no idea how they taste. If I may offer an alternative, I’d go for Falafel Republic’s falafel instead (sold at Costco) because they have less ingredients and way less calories and fat per serving (compare, for three: 210 calories, 7.5g fat, 630mg sodium, 6g fiber, 1.5g sugars, 10.5g protein).

Organic Oats and Flax (Individual Packets Oatmeal) $3.29 (8-pack)
These individual portions are cool enough — they’re vegan and have minimal ingredients. However, the second ingredient is “organic dehydrated can juice solids.” I’d skip these and opt instead for the “Organic Multigrain Hot Cereal” in TJ’s freezer section, or for Country Choice’s Organic Multigrain Hot Cereal (also sold at TJ’s) since you can choose to sweeten these or not.

Rice & Vegetable Bento Box
$5.99

For 1 serving (5 oz; about two in the box): 190 calories, 4g fat, 280mg sodium, 7g fiber, 3g sugars, 5g protein.

There are nine flavors in this box! 1. pumpkin (kabocha!) with shiso seasoning, 2. spicy long beans, 3. eggplant with miso paste, 4. soba salad with oyster mushroom, 5. shiitake mushroom with edamame and carrot, 6. baked tofu with teriyaki sauce, 7. brown rice with seaweed and sesame seed, 8. curry flavored brown rice, and 9. teriyaki flavored brown rice with vegetable.

I am impressed with how few funky ingredients there are given the amount of different flavors in this box! Some of the funkiness present includes: maltose (a refined sugar), coagulant (magnesium chloride – a chemical compound used in tofu products made from soymilk; it is considered safe), gellan gum (an emulsifier/thickener/and stabilizer). The silly thing is that all of these more questionable, though safe, ingredients appear in the tofu dish, so if you just didn’t eat #6, you’d be golden!).

I also wish the tofu used was organic…

Roasted Seaweed Snack
$0.99/pack

Per serving (1/2 package): 30 calories, 2g fat, 50mg sodium, 1g fiber, 0g sugars, 1g protein. Ingredients: seaweed, expeller pressed canola oil, sesame oil, sea salt.

Seems so weird to snack on seaweed, but ever since my band-mate’s wife got us the stuff for our road trip, I’ve loved it! Mmm tastes like the sea! Take that, Ursula!

Vegetable and Grain Salad (pre-made, in the refrigerator section with the pre-made sandwiches) $4.99
This is basically a bed of cabbage topped with marinated bulgur (in the style of vegetarian kibbeh). I love that the ingredients list is totally legit — nothing weird! Ingredients are: cabbage, cooked bulgur (marinated with olive oil), garbanzo beans, tomato, cucumber, red bell pepper, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, fresh dill, cumin, salt  & pepper. 190 calories, 9g fat & 6g fiber per serving (two total). Too bad this little package is so expensive

Other new products, vegetarian not vegan, that you might want to know about:

Sprouted Multi-grain Bread
This is Trader Joe’s version of sprouted Ezekiel bread. It would be worth to try if you’re interested in trying sprouted grain bread (which I love and have written about here), but only if you’re on such a severe budget that it’s worth the $0.50 cent difference you could use to get Ezekiel bread. The reasons Ezekiel bread is better include: organic, no additives, vegan and 100% whole grain. The Trader Joe’s version has honey, cornmeal and soy lecithin. TJ’s version is $2.99; Eziekel is $3.49

Whole Grain Tortillas $2.49/6-pack
These are new whole grain tortillas that have added flax and rolled oats. They actually seem rather decent except that they are not vegan (they have honey) and they have a few added ingredients that you won’t find in my favorite tortilla brand (you guessed it…), Ezekiel, such as guar gum, baking powder, & cultured wheat flour — none of these are harmful or from animal sources, they’re just simply not present in Ezekiel’s. These are also not organic. Per tortilla: 120 calories, 2.5g fat, 180mg sodium, 4g fiber, 1g sugars, 3g protein. Compare to Ezekiel: 150 calories, 3.5g fat, 140mg sodium, 5g fiber, 0g sugars, 6g protein. (Ezekiel $2.29/pack)

Found any new yummy foods or rediscovered an old favorite?

<3,

The Cranky One

I made Post Punk Kitchen’s (PPK) “Chickpea Rice Soup with Cabbage” [recipe here]. I used two 10-oz bags of shredded cabbage from Trader Joe’s, instead of the 16oz required by PPK, a 15-oz can of chickpeas instead of a 24-oz one, no dill (didn’t have any), no oil, sea salt instead of regular salt, and topped with green onion.

Amazing! Nutritional stats for entire soup: 922.5 calories, 6.5g fat, 3541.5mg sodium, 34g fiber, 31g sugars, 32.5g protein

Per 1-cup serving (12 servings total): 76.88 calories, 0.54g fat, 295.12mg sodium, 2.83g fiber, 2.58g sugars, 2.71g protein

To lower sodium count, use low-sodium vegetable broth and make sure to really rinse the canned beans!

Enjoy!

<3,

The Cranky One

If you’re looking to try some new foods, may I suggest a few of my new faves?

Food For Life/Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain English Muffins

I love these English muffins! I toast them very lightly (careful when toasting sprouted grain products, they burn more quickly!) and eat them plain.

One muffin: 160 calories, 1g fat, 160mg sodium, 30g carbs, 6g fiber, 0g sugars, 8g protein – How about those stats?! Amazing. There are two cons to these yummy babies, though: 1) I can only find them at Whole Foods, and 2) They are nearly $5 a box ($4.69 for a six-pack). I think they’re totally worth it though, not gonna lie!

Food For Life/Ezekiel 4:9 Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Sesame Bread

One slice: 80 calories, 0.5g fat, 80mg sodium, 14g carbs, 3g fiber, 0g sugars, 4g protein

I love the taste of sesame seeds and this bread is amazeballs with some peanut butter!

What are the benefits of “sprouted grain” products?

Sprouted grains are grains that have been soaked, drained and then rinsed until they germinate (or grow that cute little head). Technically, you can sprout your own grains (and I hope to do so someday!). So, sprouted grains are highly unrefined – which is a good thing! And, since these grains are typically not cooked, that means that the grains retain their natural plant enzymes (which have been found to aid digestion) and all the nutrients and vitamins that are usually stripped from grains when they are refined and cooked. Flour-less breads, like the two listed above, are made from grinding sprouted grains and legumes. Since the grains are sprouted, they are often referred to as “alive” or “live grains” since they retain the living brain and germ. They also happen to be “complete proteins” because they contain all nine essential amino acids. Note: Sprouted grains should be refrigerated or frozen since they are not made with preservatives.

Arrowhead Mills Organic Puffed Kamut Cereal

$1.79 at Whole Foods

One cup: 50 calories, 0g fat, 0mg sodium, 11g carbs, 2g fiber, 0g sugars, 3g protein

I love this cereal because I can eat two huge cups of it with some almond milk and hardly make a dent in my calories bank. This is great to add to your favorite higher-cal cereals (Mmm Kashi Cinnamon Harvest!) to add volume, or add to your own homemade trail mixes, granola bars or rice bars. See my tips on choosing cereal here.

All three of the above are vegan, too, of course

Any new faves you want to share with me?

<3,

The Cranky One

p.s. Last chance to enter to win a free subscription to VegNews Magazine here

A few of you expressed lack of interest (and fear ) in trying vegan hot dogs in response to my Veggie Link post yesterday (cough *MsFitMint*):

MSFitMint

@FeedMeImCranky1 I’ve had a pack of those SmartDogs collecting fridge dust. Haven’t been able to wrap my head around a fat free hot dog lol

@MSFitMint LOL! Take ‘em out, dust ‘em off, and try ‘em! Just make sure u top ‘em w/ plenty o’ good stuff. they’re not the greatest alone

@FeedMeImCranky1 might risk it,I mean try them,this wknd lol. 

So, I found two brand-spankin-new products from Trader Joe’s that are less processed, less of a meaty-texture amalgamation, and more of a straight-up health food.

Behold….
Cumin & Chili Chickpeas $1.99

Nutrition Facts, 1/2 package, servings per container 2: 210 calories, 6g fat, 350mg sodium, 30g carbs, 12g fiber, 4g sugars, 11g protein
Ingredients: Water, chickpeas, onions, sunflower oil, spice blend, cumin, black pepper, chili, dried mango, garlic, ginger, salt

Spiced Soybeans $1.99

Nutrition Facts, 1/2 package, servings per container 2: 200 calories, 8g fat, 380mg sodium, 18g carbs, 12g fiber, 5g sugars, 14g protein
Ingredients: Water, soybeans, onions, tomatoes, carrots, celery, sunflower, oil, spice blend, cumin, black pepper, cardamom, garlic, salt, vinegar

These products couldn’t make it easier to eat vegan and they’re damn healthy, too, with loads of protein and fiber; no artificial colors or flavors, and no preservatives. They’re meant to be heated in their packages, which makes it easy, obviously, but I don’t ever like heating foods in the package they come in.

These meals taste good on their own, but they’re not spectacular (I mean — they are just spiced beans…ya know? ). So, I recommend a couple things to get more bang for your buck, and to spice things up a notch.

• Make some veggie fried rice — brown rice, a dab of sesame seed oil, green onion, etc. & mix in the beans
• Use the beans as filling in your favorite whole-wheat pita with your choice of salsa or curry sauce
• Eat with whole-wheat naan (a lot of naan breads have milk-based ingredients and/or hydrogenated oils, so read labels carefully! You can make your own naan with these recipes here)
• Use the beans to top a salad of greens; add mandarin oranges for a nice touch. This is a good citrus salad that would go well with beans
• Steam some veggies, add low-sodium vegetable broth (the beans already have a lot of sodium, so low-sodium veggie broth is the best way to go) and then add the beans to make your own healthy and low calorie soup

Beans +

Low Sodium Vegetable Broth =

Yum. [photo cred]

See…not so scary, right? Right, MsFitMint?

<3,

The Cranky One

New item at Trader Joe’s: whole-wheat gnocchi!

Gnocchi are basically soft, yet dense, pasta dumplings typically made from a potato + flour mixture.  I recently became more aware of the food when it started showing up in my boyfriend’s “frozen foods rotation.” He loves the Trader Joe’s frozen version that already comes with a not-vegan-friendly Gorgonzola sauce…
[source]

So, when I saw the dry whole-wheat potato gnocchi staring so suggestively back at me in the Trader Joe’s “New Items” section, I quickly grabbed it and cackled malevolently. “Buahaha…I am going to cook you up so bad,” I said. The surrounding customers were not amused.

Whole-Wheat Potato Gnocchi – Stats

• Ingredients: 70% potato puree (water, dehydrated potato flakes), wheat flour fine bran, potato starch, rice flour, corn starch, salt, acidity regulator: lactic acid, preservative: potassium sorbate)
• Nutritional information per 1-cup serving (3 total): 248 calories, 0g fat, 450mg sodium, 8g fiber, <1g sugars, 1g protein
• Notes: Very simple to cook — boil water, add gnocchi, wait about 2 minutes ’til gnocchi floats to the top, and drain. Done! Yes, it’s a processed food with a preservative, made predominantly from starch. I’m not sure where exactly the “whole wheat” comes in — I guess that’s the wheat flour fine bran; so, obviously, this is not a 100% whole-wheat product. Also, I had to check what “lactic acid” is because I feared the root “lact” might indicated lactose, however…

From the Vegetarian Resource Group here

“…lactic acid [is] not from dairy. ‘Lac’ ingredients are usually produced by a fermentation process using cornstarch or beet sugar. Lactose is always from dairy. Most ingredients made with with calcium are vegan (i.e. calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, calcium sulfate). The exceptions are calcium caseinate and calcium stearate.” Ah. The more you know.

So, processed stuff aside and fear of lactose being unfounded, how did the freakin’ gnocchi taste?!

[can you see the blur of my dog Cody's face at the end of the table?]

Yum. Mers.

Served with Trader Joe’s basil tomato sauce and Tofurkey Italian Sausage for the boyfriend (By the way, the Tofurkey always makes my list of favorite vegan foods). If you eat one serving of pasta with a 1/2-cup of pasta sauce (as I did; I did not eat with the “sausage”), you’re looking at around 300 calories. If you serve with a side-salad or some steamed veggies, you’ll have a nice and healthy treat for dinner.

You can also make your own gnocchi from scratch if you’re so inclined. There’s a delicious looking recipe on Vegan Yum Yum  [here], but you’ll need a potato ricer, a food mill and way more patience than the Cranky One has. This much less glamorous recipe [here] on E-How (oh, so reputable! ) looks much easier and doesn’t require any fancy equipment. If you do end up making gnocchi from scratch, please remember that I don’t charge for taste-testing

<3,

The Cranky One