Namaste Say Cheeze non-dairy Mac&Cheese (vegan) Review

When trying a new mac&cheese I get excited!
Being vegan you miss different foods that are not vegan.
For me one of them is mac&cheese, the creamy and smooth texture, with the
warm noodle, yummy:)
So I have tried many different mac&cheese(vegan), and was like
this doesn't taste like the "real" one.
Now I stop comparing them to the "real" one, and I start enjoying
the new flavors, and combinations.
Like anyone a warm noddle with some kind of sauce is soooooo
gooooood!

The Namaste Mac&Cheese is quite good, the noodles are gluten free
and they cook up really well.
I like to describe it as a creamy nutritional yeast, with a hint of mustard, and a light flavor of garlic.
It is not over powering!  
To us vegan nutritional yeast has a cheesy flavor so its perfect for us.
I enjoyed this one, it is truly a creamy noodle in every bite.

My tip when making it is to add 2 Tablespoons of butter(vegan) on the
hot noodles before adding the powder, and if you need to add some of the
noodle cooking water to make it smoother.
You get 3 cups+ it makes a lot.
Next time you see this product, try it I would totally recommend it.
It is great when you are hungry and want a nice warm filling meal.
                                             
                                                                         Birch Life

Avocado Mango Celery Salsa Vegan

I love this salsa:) You can't stop eating it!
So when you make it, double or triple the recipe.
When I originally made it, I didn't use celery, but I wanted a crunch to it.
So I added finely chopped celery, and it adds a great crunch and a freshness.
The combination of the creamy avocados and the sweet mango, is so divine!  
You can serve it with corn chips or potato chips, or whatever chips you like:)
It is also good spread on a wrap, with some fresh greens yummy!


Avocado Mango Celery Salsa
made about 2 cups depends on the size of avocado and mango

1 mango
1 avocado
1 celery stalk (finally diced)
4 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons of fresh lime juice
sea salt to taste

Wash mango and avocado, peel skin and remove pit.
Dice avocado into small chunks, and mango as well.
Mix together and add celery, fresh juices, then sprinkle in sea salt to taste,
I used 2 good pinches.
Serve immediately.

                                                          Birch Life
Sorry the pictures are grainy, but the salsa is sooooooo good!

Vegan Crunchy Sweet and Salty Balls

These are very special, I didn't make them, but someone very special

made them for my birthday!
I love birthday's:)
They were a great treat, I love when I get homemade treats:)
I had to share them with you, they are super simple to make.
I love the salty factor to them, but the chocolate gives it the sweet flavor.
There is crunch too!
For me I couldn't have 1 I ate 3 at a time:)
In up coming posts I will share with you other treats from my birthday!


Vegan Crunchy Sweet and Salty Balls
makes 9 balls

1/2 cup roasted salted cashews
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup dried coconut flakes
3 Tablespoons sunflower butter
sea salt

In a bowl mix cashews and chocolate chips, with the bottom of a sturdy cup,
mash up nuts and chips.
Just to break them up.
The dried coconut flakes were large pieces, so she chopped them up with a knife,
just until they were half the size.
Then mix the nuts,chips,flakes, and add in the sunflower butter, blend until all is covered.
With your hand make into ball shape, 2 inches in size.
Then sprinkle sea salt over each one.
Let set in refrigerator covered 3 to 4 hours.
They will last 1 week in refrigerator covered:)
They didn't last that long here:)
                                                                 Birch Life

Follow Your Heart Cheese Review, Vegan Cheese and Gluten Free!!!

When picking vegan cheese it can be very tricky, there are so many to choose from.
Also if you live in an area with not much choice, it is nice to see what other people think about them,
it may save you some money.
The store that I purchased it at, had a large variety of flavors even shredded cheese:)
When you look at the cheese, it looks very moist and when you give it a light squeeze,
it has a firm spongy texture.
I purchased the cheddar flavor.
I was excited to try it, so when I arrived home I opened it right away:)
I opened the package,and it slid right on the plate, it cuts like butter!
The flavor is on the sweeter side of cheddar, "real" cheddar usually has a sharper flavor.
The cheese is moist texture but still has the dryness like cheddar.
When I gave a sample around my house, there were very different comments!
"It taste like a firm wet sponge",  "it has a very moist feeling on the tongue."
I do agree it has a firm wet sponge feeling, but the flavor is really good:)
If you get over the texture, it is a great cheese, I was even eating it plain, because the flavor is really good.
I cut a piece so you can see the texture when it is sliced!

The one thing I miss is melted cheese, yum.
There is something almost magical about melted cheese:)
The true test for us vegans is does it melt?
When it melts is it a gross mess?
Let me tell you it melts beautifully!!!!
I melted it on a plate, so you can see what it looks like.

 smooth and creamy:)

You can see when I melted the cheese, it became smooth and creamy! Yummy!
I did eat it off the plate after I took the picture;)
My suggestion is when melting it, make sure whatever you are topping it with is slightly warmed,
it lasts longer, melted, and it doesn't get hard to fast.
If you are going to melt it on corn chips or something like that, it may get slightly hard by the time you finish
eating it.
But it is still good!!!!!!!!!!!!
I truly recommend this cheese, it has a great flavor, need to give it a try!!!
It melts, the most important reason of all;)
Follow Your Heart Cheddar here is a link to there website followyourheart.com
If the store you shop at doesn't stock it, tell them about it so they can get it in!!!!
The most important thing for me is that it is vegan, and gluten free!!!!!!
Happy cheese melting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                                                     Birch life

Dr Praeger's Veggie Burger Review, Bonus Salad Recipe

When I buy premade food I always think twice, because I have purchased things that look good

on the package, but taste terrible.

I had a coupon for this product, so I thought next time in the store I would give it a try.

The first thing I did was read the ingredients, I was surprised, it was mostly vegetables,

the first ingredient was carrots, they had very little fillers, which is great.

Some "veggie burgers" are full of fillers, and not much veggies.

They are vegan and gluten free:)

The real test is how they taste!

The first way I made them was in the toaster oven, until lite brown edges. (15 minutes)
The middle stays soft, but the outside gets a lite crust!

They have a nice vegetable flavor, all the vegetables melt together very nicely:)

I did have to add a pinch of sea salt, to the top of the burger.

It just heighten the flavors. 

This burger flavor is something I have never had before, it is very good:)

I would definitively recommend this burger to any one:)

I have eaten this burger several times in different ways.

They always come out delicious. Here is a link, they make many other products! drpraegers.com

Today, I made a salad, so I decided to add a crumbled burger on top.
I cooked it and let it cool, then crumbled it over my salad!
My salad consisted of lettuce, avocado, Follow Your Heart Cheese (vegan)
sprinkling of dill, and parsley, and finally a few dollops of vegan mayo.
I always sprinkle sea salt over my lettuce before adding anything, and
to finish it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil:)
This salad was sooooooo good with the addition of the veggie burger, it combined with the creamy
avocado, and all the other flavors aaammmmmaaaaaaazzzzzzzziiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnggggg!
My best salad to date:)
I would recommend the veggie burgers highly!
I think my next dish with the "burgers" are going to be a avocado veggie burger sandwich:)
                                                                      Birch Life

 

Friday's Picture Update on Baby Birds!!

When I spotted them, they had finished "bathing".

So they were drying themselves off, so cute.

I had noticed they had gotten a lot bigger, and now there were only 9:(

I just love watching them, I can get pretty close without them running away!

The Mom still watches pretty close, and gives you a look when you come to close:)

Enjoy, the cuteness!!!

                                                         Birch Life

Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cereal Clusters only 2 Ingredients

These are so easy to make! You get big cheers for making these:)
I love chocolate, but only dark, if you like milk chocolate make it with that.
You only need 2 ingredients, a crisp puffed cereal, I used Kashi Organic Morning
Indigo Morning, whole corn cereal with dehydrated dark berries.
Find a good crunch cereal that you like.

 It has a nice crunch, even when covered with dark chocolate:)
The second ingredient is chocolate, you can either use dark or milk whatever you like.

 I used chips, but you could use a bar, and chunk into pieces.

Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cereal Clusters
makes 15 pieces

2 cups of a crunch cereal
1 cup chocolate chips or pieces

In a double boiler on medium heat, melt chocolate slowly, when it is fully melted add cereal and mix well.
If you don't have a double boiler, find a heat proof glass bowl or ceramic bowl,
and put on top of a small stock pot with 2 inches of water, you never want the water to touch
the bowl on top.
With a spoon, scoop small balls on a plate to cool!!
These are so good!!!!!!!!
I could have ate them all;)

Put in a cool place, if they are not hardening put into the refrigerator.
They keep well in a air tight container in  the refrigerator!!
Simple recipe, but amazing and delicious flavor:)

                  

Friday's Picture The Sweet Smell of Roses

When growing up I had really only smelled Roses that came from the flower shop.

When I first smelled real growing in the ground Roses, I was hooked:)

There is something really special about the smell, it can be very sweet,

or even smell like a very expensive parfum.

I love to take a large inhale of a rose, and close my eyes to enjoy the moment.

Most people think of rose scent from a fake stand point, and don't like it very much.

When they smell a real rose, they take a inhale relax their shoulders, and become for that minute

relaxed:)

Which flower do you like to take a long inhale from?

                                                                   Birch Life