I am going to have to give Starbucks an F for effort on this one. Maybe a D?

While I am excited that Starbucks finally has a salad that is not topped with chicken or cheese, I really feel like more thought could have gone into creating this salad. As it is there is just too much going on.

I should probably say that I would never actually purchase food from Starbucks, and while I did used to indulge in a Frappucino every once in a while before I went veg, or a soy chai tea latté after, these days I just can't justify the cost of a $4 drink that is so unhealthy. However, I can't say no to a donation. My former roommate, who also happens to be a Starbucks employee, stopped by yesterday with a box worth of items that his restaurant was throwing away. I was overjoyed to find this salad free of animal products, especially because I was on my way to the supermarket to pick up something for dinner.

I'm really sorry to say that I had a hard time enjoying this, the "Hearty Veggie and Brown Rice Salad Bowl". Which is a damn shame, because I really wanted to, and not only that, I am a fan of all of the ingredients. There were just too many of them. This salad has brown rice, butternut squash, broccoli, roasted beets, kale, red cabbage, roasted tomatoes, and PEAS (the addition of peas makes me furious for some reason).  I feel like if they removed the brown rice and peas this salad might have worked, can fill up a decent amount of space in a container for a very small amount of money, and make the consumer think they are getting more for their money. But as it was there was just too much in there. I wanted more broccoli but I only got two crowns. I wanted more butternut squash and roasted beets, but there were only a few chunks of each. I would have much rather more of a few things, than a mess of different flavors each time I took a bite. I would love to know who thought peas were a good idea for this salad. Or any salad. But that's just my opinion, I'm sure peas have never hurt anyone.

Lastly the dressing. Again, I feel like Starbucks was cheaping out here. The lemon-tahini dressing was far more lemon than tahini, resulted it being a bit too sour for my liking.

With all that being said. I do, at least, appreciate the effort, that Starbucks is putting into this, more vegan options is always a good thing. Its just that the effort was not all that good. A vegan menu choice doesn't have to have every vegan ingredient you can think of. Thanks for trying, anyway.

Here are some pictures of the salad that tried too hard.

Every meal is a bit of a process, and I'm starting to think it doesn't get any easier. I get hungry, I go to the kitchen to discover I don't have the ingredients I'll need to make something really good, and then return to my room for 20 minutes or so until I realize that I am actually still hungry and need to figure out what to eat. This process repeats anywhere from one to four times, until I go to the store, or I just throw together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This wouldn't be a problem if this process didn't usually result in me eating crappy food. Today was no different, but at least the end result had some variety. Its really nothing special, but it was god damn delicious. If you didn't know, Pillsbury's Crescent rolls are one of those "accidentally vegan" products: not necessarily made for the vegan crowd, but just so happens to be lacking milk and eggs. I baked up a small canister of those, and used this fantastic tofu bacon recipe that I've been meaning to try. Vegans love to talk about how much they love tempeh bacon, but I would say this recipe is much tastier and crispier than any tempeh bacon I've ever had. 

I'm starting a new diet. I'm going to call it the 'pantry diet'. The only guideline to this diet is that I only eat what is in my pantry (or fridge or cupboard, basically I'm trying to cut out all dining out). I am basing it on the simple principal that food I cook for myself is cheaper, but also the fact that I tend to be far more conscious about eating healthy when I can look over nutrition facts and ingredient lists, something that is generally impossible in a restaurant.

That being said, health is not my main concern here. I'd love to lose a little weight, but I am a lazy human, and when it comes to going for a jog or playing video games... let's just say that I don't run unless I'm being chased or I'm late for work. As I said in my previous post, I'd like to dispel some myths about veganism. One that misconception that I had is that being vegan is expensive, and while I don't really have a basis for comparison (before I went vegan I lived at home and groceries were taken care of my parental units), I've been surviving on a vegan diet with just a part-time job for the past seven months. I feel like I am proof that you don't need to rely on "cheeze" and "chick'n" to live a vegan lifestyle. I do admit that I'll occasionally spoil myself with faux meats, but that's another blog post entirely.

So today I'm going to end with a few photos of a recipe I love from Thug Kitchen. Thug Kitchen is a fairly new, hilariously profane blog about eating healthy, and while not specifically vegan, pretty much every recipe is free of animal products. I messed this one up a bit. I didn't hear my timer go off so I overcooked the filling a little bit, and I don't have a picture of the burritos all rolled up because I filled them up too much and I needed 2 hands to hold the thing together.

So here it goes. Seven months into veganism, and I have realized that a cruelty-free lifestyle is one worth spreading. Amazingly, thus far, I've only been asked where I get my protein from by two people. I'll chalk that up to living in Portland, OR; people are just far more familiar with the lifestyle in these parts of the country. However, I won't let that fool me. I know that misconceptions about veganism are widespread. Most people couldn't imagine a life without meat, dairy, or without eggs. And let's not even talk about cochineal or castoreum (ingredients that come from crushed up beetles and glands near beaver buttholes, respectively). I don't expect everyone who reads this to go vegan. All I aim to do is educate, let people know what is out there as far as plant-based alternatives to their animal-based meals and products. Hopefully I can dispel some myths, and maybe get some people thinking about what they are putting into their bodies. I won't claim to be an expert, every day is part of the learning process, but all I can do is share what I've learned.

Today I'm going to start off simple. No recipes or anything like that, just two vegan products that I've come to enjoy in the past few months. The first is Tofurky's "Pepperoni" Pizza (please ignore my reflection in the window, I took this photo before I decided to actually buy the thing.)

I'll be honest. If I gave this to an omnivore, they would know right away that they weren't eating a "real" pizza, but different doesn't mean bad! It's made with Daiya cheese, and cubed bits of Tofurky's soy-based faux pepperoni. Daiya has yet to replicate the true meltiness and smokiness of mozzarella, and Tofurky still has a bit of an issue with capturing the spice that a good pepperoni has. But does it satisfy my pizza craving. Well, that is to say, I don't really crave pizza, something about curds of cow lactation and chunks of random pig parts are just not that appealing to me anymore. What I do crave is something quick that I can throw in the oven and eat with my hands, and that's where Tofurky's pepperoni pizza comes in. I recommend the instructions for a crispier crust, the first one I made was a bit soft for my liking, and maybe even leave it in the oven a few minutes longer than suggested, but I do love a crispy pizza, so do what makes you happy. An interesting note: as I mentioned, Daiya, who produces the dairy-free cheese for this product, as well as Tofurky's Vegan Cheese Pizza and their Sausage and Veggie Pizza, has recently begun producing their own line of frozen pizzas. I am very curious to see if this means that the partnership between Daiya and Tofurky is ending, or if Daiya will continue to be the producer for Tofurky's vegan cheese. I love good competition between vegan companies, but if that means the quality of one has to suffer at the expense of another. Daiya by far makes the best vegan cheese that I have tasted.

I'd also like to talk about a non-food product. A few days ago I finished my bottle of Old Spice body wash, and I promised myself I wouldn't be tempted by the flashy packaging and sweet smells of products from the likes of Unilever and Proctor and Gamble, companies known for testing their soaps and deodorants on animals. I almost gave up hope, there didn't seem to be anything that said it wasn't tested on animals in the section of the aisle with all of the body washes geared towards men. But way down the other end of the aisle I found a brand called "Every Man Jack". I had my doubts when I saw the bottle. I didn't think anything claiming to be a manly brand (after all the thing is shaped like a flask) would go out of its way to point out that they don't test their products on animals. With little I picked up the bottle and check out what the notes on the label had to say. "No animal testing." I couldn't believe it. I thought I'd have to find some patchouli smelling soap in some hippie shop on Portland's east side, but at the moment I was going to give up, Every Man Jack saved me. If you are a guy looking for a cruelty-free body wash or shampoo, check out this brand. (Please excuse the embarrassing Instagram-y template I used for the photo, I promise the quality of images will improve)