Plant Strong Food Finds &The Vegan Cheat Sheet Book Review

Happy Monday everyone! Food find posts are some of the most popular posts on my blog. I love seeing what’s in other folks shopping carts as much as you do. I’m also reviewing a little gem of a book that is a must have if you want to shorten your time in the kitchen and still make healthy plant based food.

I found these all fruit bars in a food coop when we were on vacation. There are made with fruit – That’s It! I love the name and they are just at 100 calories, 3 g fiber and 0 fat.  Perfect for backpacking, hiking, bike riding, lunch boxes, road trips and snacks! I recently saw these bars at my local Whole Foods. They are a cross between fruit leather and a Lara bar.

I first read about this Manna Bread on the Dr Fuhrman message boards. It’s sold at Whole Foods and health food stores and will be found in the freezer section. It’s full of goodness and the taste is amazing. I let it thaw out just enough to cut into 12 slices and then I refreeze it so I can take out one or two slices at a time. It’s delicious with a cup of hot tea. There are several different breads to choose from but the nutritional counts do vary and this one was one of the lower calorie options. Since I cut it into 12 slices instead of 6 it’s just 60 calories a slice.

These were found in the frozen foods section at Whole Foods. They are grain medleys that just need to be heated up! It’s nice to have a few in the freezer as a back up for a quick meal. All you need are some salad greens or steamed veggies to serve the savory ones over. Add your own seasonings or sauces and you have a complete meal. I haven’t tried the morning blend one yet but it sure looks good.

This is a Costco find. I do prefer the tartness of the barefruit Granny Smith apple chips but the last time I was in Costco all they had were the Fuji chips. These are much sweeter but I still enjoy the crunch! If you don’t have a Costco check out your local health food store, Whole Foods or even the food section at TJ Maxx and Marshalls – that is where I bought my first bag.

Another Engine 2 product that is sold at Whole Foods that hubby Tom and I like is this crispbread. I must tell you that it’s super hard not crispy like a cracker. Even so we love the flavor of the fennel, poppy and sesame seeds. One cracker is 95 calories but its a slow eat and great spread with a little hummus and served along side a salad or a cup of soup. I don’t recommend the Engine 2 hummus – we tried both flavors and just didn’t care for them – they had way too much citric acid which made them taste bitter.

This book was being given away over on Healthy Girls Kitchen –  have you visited her blog yet? It’s my blog away from blog – I have learned so much about eating a plant based diet from her blog. Well  getting back to the book The Vegan Cheat Sheet, I didn’t win it so I had to order it from Amazon. It’s a small paperback book that will easily fit into your purse or pocketbook as my Grandma used to say. This handy little book is perfect for the person who is new to eating some meatless meals or anyone interested in following a whole foods plant based diet. With all the dining out suggestions be sure to take it with you when traveling or even when you are trying to figure out what to order when eating out with your friends at your local chain restaurants.

A few of the highlights:

• Three weeks of plant based menus – all family friendly
• More than 100 recipes that take 20 minutes or less to make
• Dining out tips including what to order at popular chain restaurants
• Plant strong pantry list and substitutes for some of your favorite foods
• Menu suggestions complete with easy recipes for various entertaining events through out the year
• Tips on making food prep easy peasy.

I haven’t tried any of the recipes yet but they do look easy and since one of the authors is a vegan chef they should taste good too. I especially like the menus for entertaining – it takes all the guess work out of what to serve. Love that! It also has plenty of tips on how to cut down on your time in the kitchen by prepping some food in advance and freezing it. I’ve learned a lot from reading it.

All of the products were purchased by me and I am in no way being compensated for the reviews given here. I just love sharing things I like!

Nutmeg Notes

This week marks 5 months of being on our new whole foods plant based food plan. I can’t believe it’s been this long already. Remember a while back when I reported that hubby Tom asked me if we were just in the honey moon phase and he was wondering if we would tire of this way of eating? Well so far so good, we still love eating this way. Once in a great while I do still have a fish meal – usually if we are eating out and there really is no other option. Hubby Tom eats some chicken and fish when eating away from home and once in a great while he indulges in a burger but he says the beef doesn’t leave him feeling all that great.

There is so much wonderful diversity with our food plan. For instance we enjoy a huge variety of home made bean burgers using different combinations of tofu, beans, grains and seasonings. So many ethnic foods are naturally plant based and offer so much variety to our taste buds in the form of soups, stews, chili and salads. I am trying new recipes all the time and we are creating a new list of favorite  healthy meals.

Hubby Tom is at his goal weight and having no trouble maintaining it. I on the other hand find myself still 3-4 pounds above my goal weight – just stuck at a plateau. I have let more carbs (albeit healthy carbs) back into my food plan and if I cut those back I think I would hit my goal.

Right now my post surgery foot is dealing me fits. Its been acting up since my last major hike so I have not been able to bike ride or go hiking for the past two weeks. I have also had to skip a couple of my daily walks which really cuts into my calorie burn! Stress and pain aren’t helpful when it comes to weight loss.We have one more summer trip and after that I will set about dropping these last few pounds!

Some of the benefits of eating this way have been, sleeping better, less snoring for hubby Tom after weight loss (yeah!), more energy, softer less dry skin, stronger finger nails, shiny hair, better digestion and less hunger.

Happy Healthy Eating!

Tami

Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment or ask a question.

Where are you in your weight loss/ weight management journey?

Have you tried any of these products?