food reviews

1 Comment Posted on November 2, 2015November 24, 2015 food reviews, Health, Uncategorized, vegan

Jill Shell’s Favorite Year-Round Vegan/Vegetarian Chili Recipe: Family Friendly (Mommy) Blog

As promised, I write today to share with you my scrumptious recipe for some vegan/vegetarian chili. I mentioned before that I look for recipes that are quick and simple, but I forgot to mention that I really try to make an effort to make things healthy and add in veggies where I can (because, let’s face it, I am horrible at eating veggies and fruits throughout the day . . . even though I am a vegetarian).

In addition to this, I am budget conscious and try to keep that into consideration when preparing meals. I have to admit that we do tend to shop at Whole Foods and try to purchase organic when feasible, but I mostly buy produce that is on sale (for example, if I need tomatoes, I look for the cheapest organic ones that I can get and buy those) and we often choose the Whole Foods 365 brand over the others as it is more budget friendly for our pocket books.

A few disclaimers before we begin:

· I am not a perfectionist, so often times I have slightly different amounts of ingredients (I sometimes throw in additional ingredients that are in the fridge that need to be used up).

· This recipe is adapted from multiple chili recipes we have used in the past so it has not been directly taken from any particular website or cook book.

· You can expect that this recipe yields about 6 adult-sized bowls of chili. Need more? Just double the recipe. (If you are making this for more than 2 adults and a small child, definitely double the recipe.)

To start, I want to give you the shopping/ingredient list that you will need to make this dish. I would also like to preface this post by saying, if you like meat in your chili, go ahead and prepare your meat as you would normally and add it to the dish. Or if you are vegetarian and not vegan, feel free to top off your chili in the end with some cheese or sour cream. I’m not biased; I just want you to enjoy a good bowl of chili!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped

3-4 carrots, chopped

1-2 bell peppers (you can use any color or do a combo of each), chopped

1 can of tomatoes (diced w/chilis) or 1-2 small, freshly diced tomatoes & 1 small can of tomato sauce

2 cans of 365 Ranchero Beans

1-1 ½ teaspoons chili powder

1-1 ½ teaspoons cumin

1-1 ½ teaspoons oregano

Salt and Cracked pepper

½ box of 365 Cavatelli Pasta Shells

(Vegan) Butter

Now that we have the ingredients set aside, let’s get to putting this dish together. I use my food processor to chop my onion, carrots and bell peppers, but if you don’t have one or prefer to cut by hand, I would chop everything into really small pieces (a.k.a. dice ‘em). As you prepare the veggies, you can just throw them into the crock pot.

Next, I add my cans of chili and tomatoes (if you are chopping fresh tomatoes, I dice them into small chunks for a thicker consistency).

Then add your seasonings: chili powder, cumin, oregano, a splash of salt and a few cracks of pepper.

Stir well and set your crock pot to High. You can leave the chili in there for about 4-5 hours to cook and occasionally, I come back to stir and let the savory aromas fill the house.

Alternatively, if you are afraid of using crock pots or don’t have the time to deal with it, you can easily prepare this on the stove. I must admit that I ran out of time this weekend to prepare it in the crock pot and threw this together on the stove. To prepare on the stove, start by heating a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a pot and then add the onions. Sautee the onions for a few minutes, then add the carrots and bell peppers. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on these sautéing veggies and after a few minutes, toss in the beans and tomatoes. Follow that up with the spices and let it stew at a low-medium heat for about 30 minutes. It’s that easy and whether you use a crock pot or a pot on the stove, the chili is delicious.

About 20 minutes before we serve, I put on a pot of water and boil our pasta shells until they are al dente (perfect . . . which for us means, really soft).

When the chili and pasta shells are ready, we each grab a bowl and begin by spooning the shells into our bowl (I usually put in a few spoonfuls to cover about 1/8-1/4 of the bottom of the bowl). Now please do not miss this next step . . . grab the butter (we use the vegan Earth Balance brand, but whatever brand you have in the house, be sure to use) and add a teaspoon full, then mix it around so that it melts amongst your shells. Ladle as much chili as you like on top of the noodles for the perfect bowl of chili.

To top it off, you can add whatever fixings you like such as cheese, sour cream, chives, or whatever floats your boat. On occasion, I like to add cheese, but most nights I enjoy it as it is. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about the melted butter over the noodles mixed with the goodness of the chili that is really unbeatable.

And that’s how you make an easy vegan/vegetarian chili dish.

Enjoy!

Source: PartSelect.com

2 Comments Posted on November 2, 2015 food reviews, funny, Health, Nostalgia, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized, vegan

Dear Jack: Using Halloween Candy for Science Experiments Instead of Eating It

4 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack,

Being the daddy blogger who denounces artificial food dyes in food, I must admit it is quite convenient that my almost 5 year-old son has willingly chosen to use his Halloween candy for science experiments, as opposed to actually eating it.

This was completely your idea. It was the convenient timing of you rediscovering your Magic Science kit that Mommy and I got you’re a year ago for your 4^th birthday.

Saturday morning, which was Halloween, you and I took a walk at the park and you found a green acorn; which you referred to as a coconut.

You announced to me: “Daddy, when we get home, I’m going to put this coconut in the water with peanut butter!”

That’s exactly what we did. (Featured in the collage below.)

I supervised as you randomly mixed the ingredients included in the kit, with the “coconut” as well as some peanut butter. Needless to say, you weren’t following the instructions included in the kit at all. Fortunately, no explosions occurred…

Even during dinner, as you ate the pizza Mommy made, you were constantly checking on the progress of your science experiments. (Not to mention, you had previously dunked some of the uncooked pizza dough into some chemicals as well; as part of its own experiment; as seen below.)

We then took about a 90 minute break to actually, you know… go trick-or-treating.

It meant so much to me to finally go trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood; since we moved in our new home back in January. When we lived in the townhouse community before, it just wasn’t the ideal environment like our neighborhood is now, for something like this.

Needless to say, after we got home from church on Sunday, you spent all of your time testing all types of the candy you earned the night before.

I think you favorite to dissolve were the Nerds. You explained to me:

“Daddy, the Nerds turn in to crystals!” You scooped them out from the bottom of the cup, using a plastic spoon; revealing the now colorless pieces of sugar.

It was also interesting to see Runts without their coloring as well. And the Laffy Taffy looked like a brain.

A dentist in our neighborhood is buying back Halloween candy; paying $1 per pound, then sending the candy overseas the U.S. troops.

You were planning on selling most of your candy so you could use the money to buy a toy.

Instead, it looks like you’d rather use the candy for scientist experiments; as opposed to selling it, or even crazier… actually eating it.

Love,

Daddy

3 Comments Posted on November 1, 2015 food reviews, Health, Uncategorized, vegan

I Invented the Vegan Frosted Chocolate Coffee Cake at the Whole Foods in Franklin, Tennessee

If you ever visit the Whole Foods in Cool Springs (Franklin, Tennessee), just turn to the right as soon as you walk in, and go all the way to the back of the store, where you’ll discover their bakery department; which is where I ordered my son’s vegan birthday cake a year ago when he turned 4.

Once you are standing there in front of their bakery display, you’ll notice a few containers of chocolate coffee cake, marked “VEGAN”.

That’s because of me. You’re welcome.

I invented the vegan frosted chocolate coffee cake about a year ago.

After we had bought my son’s birthday cake last year, I then specifically looked in the Whole Foods bakery to see if they already make some kind of vegan cake on a daily basis for my wife and I to casually enjoy.

Turns out, they did: For about 2 bucks, I could get a small vegan chocolate coffee cake; which serves about 4 people.

But there was no icing.

So I asked the baker if they had any vegan icing they could put on there for me, being familiar with the fact they indeed make vegan icing because of my son’s birthday cake.

The baker went to the back, and returned with my piece of vegan chocolate coffee cake; this time with icing.

To get the icing, it does cost around a dollar more, since they charge you by weight; but it’s worth it.

I made a habit of having them frost it for me and it wasn’t before long that they just began including the icing on those cakes anyway; keeping them in stock not only for me, but for the general public.

Therefore, I take credit for making it possible for vegans in to walk in to the Cool Springs Whole Foods and pick up a vegan treat.

My name shall go down in history.

Leave a comment Posted on October 10, 2015 food reviews, Health, Storytelling, Uncategorized, vegan

Annie’s Vegan Organic Pasta Dinners (Vegan Mac and Cheese)

Thursday evening I came home from work, anxious to see the responses I had received after officially announcing just that morning that our family will have a new addition scheduled to arrive in April 2016.

(Take a moment to process that fact if you didn’t already know. That just happened this week.)

But before I could make it to the laptop, my wife informed me that we had received a package from Annie’s Homegrown!

It’s funny because before I even opened the box, I sensed what was inside, and I was indeed correct.

No one from Annie’s had ever told me they were working on “vegan mac and cheese” but I had a feeling they were; as they are keen to cater to organic, plant-based demographics like my family.

When I opened the box, there was a potato and a pumpkin with special messages for me.

Then I saw the brand-new product:

A box of Annie’s “Organic Vegan Shells & Creamy Sauce”, as well as their “Organic Vegan Elbows & Creamy Sauce”, which is made from rice.

Both options are made with pumpkin and sweet potato.

Here’s a reminder about vegan food: It contains no cholesterol. It may contain fat, but when you look at the cholesterol percentage, you’ll never see more than 0% on the label.

Some other things that make Annie’s vegan organic pasta dinners special compared to the average “mac and cheese” dinners is that these contain no artificial flavors, synthetic colors or preservatives.

I’m the vegan of our family (my wife and son are vegetarians) and I must say it sure was nice being able to eat mac and cheese for both dinner Thursday night and lunch on Friday.

Consider this: I’ve been a vegan for exactly 2 and a half years as of this week. That means no mac-and-cheese for that whole time for me… until now.

My wife was very delighted to see Annie’s had also sent a very nice vegan cookbook; as my wife is by default, a vegan chef. After all, she’s now exclusively been making vegan meals every day for our family for the past 2 and a half years.

It just so happens we are planning to launch a spin-off of Family Friendly Daddy Blog, which will feature my wife’s journey of “baby #2”, who is currently 12 weeks old inside the womb. My wife plans to also focus on cooking vegan meals as well.

Our son Jack was happy because he took it upon himself to decorate the pumpkin that Annie’s sent us.

So there, you heard it first from me: Annie’s now carries “vegan mac and cheese.”

1 Comment Posted on September 5, 2015September 5, 2015 car reviews, food reviews, parenting, Storytelling

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

4 years, 9 months.

Dear Jack,

This is the 1^st of several entries in my new miniseries, Family in a Camry. In August while on our annual family vacation, Toyota loaned us a 2015 Camry for our road trips around California.

So I decided to compile all our video footage and photos into a narrative to remember our trip.

After a day of flying from Nashville to Sacramento, you and I set aside a day to spend together; just father and son.

I struggle for a relevant phrase to describe a fun father and son day of activities. In the past I’ve referred to it as a “dadventure,” but “daddy date” is the phrase most people identify.

However, that’s a tricky phrase because it typically refers to father and daughter dates. When you talk about a father and son having a “date,” it does sound kind of weird.

Oh well, I’m committing to the phrase. I don’t care.

But I should also acknowledge there are critics out there who would say, “Why do you have to call it anything at all? Why can’t a father and his son hang out without it having to be a big deal as compared to if a mother spends time with her child? That’s like when people say a dad is babysitting.”

My reasoning is this: Mommy and I both work full time. It can be challenging enough for us all 3 to have good quality time together; much less just 2 of us at a time.

Therefore, it’s worth celebrating when I can spend a whole day with you. I am very aware of the unique dynamics that occur when you and I get to hang out together doing fun stuff.

So with that being said, once we settled in, you and I had some good times together at the Elk Grove Park; in the midst of a family reunion. We discovered that you and your cousin Scarlet have the same owl toy; you got yours in the Nashville airport on the way there.

You and I went fishing. It was something you had been looking forward to for weeks. You even especially packed your bug catching net for the event.

Yes, you are a vegetarian and I am a vegan, but we still made it work…

We didn’t have much luck with the fish in the pond there at the park, but you were very successful at “catching snails.”

For some reason, there were large, vacated snail shells all around the edge of the pond. So you filled your net with them and you were quite proud of your catch.

Later we went to go a see a movie together. While you were set on going to see Minions, for some reason you changed your mind on the drive there. Actually, I’m glad you did, because we loved Disney Pixar’s Inside Out. I’ve written a couple of blog posts about it, too:

5 Reasons Why Inside Out is the More Feminine Version of Big Hero 6

Who Is the Real Villain in Disney Pixar’s Inside Out?

I thought it was funny how you told me your favorite part of the movie was the female character, Sadness, who you told me is “a boy with long hair.”

For lunch we went to a vegan restaurant, which is a franchise, called The Loving Hut. I let you choose what we’d have for dessert. You chose the orange vanilla cake; we split it 50/50.

I was happy that successfully shot you with the straw wrapper.

Of course, I created a 2 minute video that features everything I just told you. So here it is: