Foodie Firsts: Beluga Lentils (With Recipe for Black Lentil and Edamame Patties)

May23

Foodie Firsts is a Move Eat Create weekly feature focusing on my adventures in the world of food. Over the course of a few short years, I have transformed from a picky, fearful eater to a curious and open-minded foodie. In a commitment to continue to expand my culinary experiences, I have started Foodie Firsts. Each week I will commit to trying something new and sharing that experience with you. My endeavors may include experimenting with cooking techniques I’ve never tried before, testing a single new ingredient, or drawing upon my creativity to combine foods in ways I never imagined. Whatever it is, I will eat (or maybe drink) it and share it all with you. You can decide for yourself whether you, too, would like to try. Let’s be bold and eat good food!

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You may think that because you’re vegetarian, simply don’t eat seafood, or, you know, not wealthy, that caviar is out of your reach. But, let me tell you something I recently learned.

It’s not.

It’s not, because you can still have the caviar of lentils! Yes, I am serious.

Black lentils, also known as beluga lentils, are called such because they glisten like caviar. Or so the internet tells me, at least. I suppose I see it, though I’ve never actually been around caviar up close and personal, so I’ll take the internet’s word for it.

What I do know first hand is that these little legumes are delightful. Who needs caviar?! Not I, my friends, not I.

Now, being a HUGE fan of lentils, I have had green lentils, brown lentils, French lentils, and red lentils in a myriad of preparations, but this particular variety was new to me. I snagged a bag a couple of weeks ago when I saw them on a shelf at a local specialty market and they seemed to call my name. They were so pretty, so appealing, and just shouted out to come home with me.

So they did.

And a new saga in my lentil love affair was born.

I wasn’t quite sure how to best use them, so I did some perusing to see what others were whipping up with their black lentils. I found loads of salad recipes, some very tempting braised lentil creations, and a few soups, but when I came across the idea for lentils combined with edamame in a patty, I was sold.

The recipe required me to boil the lentils first, without any seasoning or other elements to start, which was perfect because it gave me a chance to see how they cooked up in their pure state. I was really VERY pleased with how this process went. They cooked quickly (20 minutes), but what was most remarkable to me was the final texture of these lentils when they were done. While red lentils can be quick to sort of fall apart during cooking (making them perfect for dal, in my opinion) and green or brown lentils can appear firm, but actually be a bit mushy to the touch if you don’t watch them carefully, these little gems held their texture amazingly well. They were still perfectly shaped when I drained them, and when I took a spoonful to taste they seemed to melt in my mouth. Absolutely dreamy, these lentils are. The taste sans seasoning was savory and earthy, as a good lentil should be.

Part of me was quite sad that I was about to toss them into a food processor and obliterate the sublime texture of the belugas. . . but I did it anyway.

As it turns out, they also make a mean patty. The patties I made held together well, were incredibly easy to prepare, shape, and bake and did a nice job at offering an eating experience that could best be compared to a falafel, I think, just . . . different. I personally would not call these a burger. The texture and overall experience is not one of a veggie burger to me, but definitely more of a falafel-like patty. The seasoning could be changed to suite your desired flavor profile, for sure, and they can be eaten as part of sandwich or wrap (others with me ate them in pitas) or sans bread on top of vegetables (as I did). And, while they held their shape and consistency really well, they crumble nicely, too, so that’s a whole other world of possibilities.

In this meal the lentils definitely melded into the other ingredients and simply became part of an overall dish, so I am actually looking forward to making them again when they can stand on their own and I can enjoy their nicely cooked texture once again. I’m thinking served on top of some rice and seasoned generously with spicy flavors.

This was a truly exciting find for me. While many of the things I have tried so far in my Foodie Firsts adventures will be eaten again from time to time, I foresee these becoming a regular event.

Notes & Final Thoughts:

Serving Suggestions: As you can likely tell, I recommend the recipe below for black lentil & edamame patties. In addition to that, though, I really think these would be fantastic boiled for 20 minutes to soften and then added to some sautéed veggies (onion, garlic, peppers, maybe carrot) with some of your favorite herbs & spices tossed in. This preparation would allow you to experience them in more of a pure state.

Lessons Learned: I love how just when you’ve think you’ve got something figured out (in this case, the humble lentil), you can always discover there is more to learn. This week’s venture reminded me that the world of food is truly limitless when it comes to options and varieties. While I could have happily gone the rest of my days with the standard green, brown, and red lentils filling my plate, discovering this other variety with a personality all its own was a lesson to me to continue looking for new experiences and not to just move through my cooking and eating life with a narrow focus on what I already know. This is one lesson that I will surely be keeping with me beyond the kitchen as well.

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Black Lentil & Edamame Patties

Adapted from Quiche-A-Week

Makes 12 small patties

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of black lentils, cooked and drained (about ¾ cup dry)

1 ½ cups shelled edamame, defrosted

1 cup finely ground corn meal

3 tblspns nutritional yeast

1 ½ tblspn Ener-G egg replacer + 6 tblspns water (or the equivalent egg/egg replacement option for 3 large eggs)

1 tspn chili powder

½ tspn kosher salt

½ tspn onion powder

½ tspn garlic powder

¼ tspn black pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees & prepare your baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.
Combine cornmeal and nutritional yeast in a small bowl and toss together until well combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, prepare your egg replacer and set aside.
In a food processor, combine defrosted edamame, cooked lentils, salt, pepper, chili, onion, and garlic powders. Pulse until ingredients are broken down and combined. You can leave some chunks of edamame and lentils if you like them for texture or puree until mostly smooth.
Remove lentil mixture from food processor and combine with the prepared egg replacer in the large bowl. Work the egg replacer into the mixture with your hands (you could use a spoon, it’s just not quite as efficient). Then, in batches, pour in the combined cornmeal and nutritional yeast and work that into the mix. ** I recommend adding this in batches because you may find you don’t need as much of it as I did (it may vary depending how much moisture came out of your lentils and edamame). Add and incorporate until the moisture is well absorbed and the mixture will hold together.
To form 12 small patties, scoop a ¼ cup of the mix into your hands, squeeze/pat together to form a patty and place onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

** We ate these with a variety of sauce toppings, too. I enjoyed Annie’s barbecue sauce, garlic sauce was also a hit, and mustard wasn’t bad, either!

And So The Taper Begins . . .

May21

Newport is now less than two weeks away. So I am officially tapering. I’ve read many runners write about their experiences with tapering. Some enjoy the rest and some feel like they’re going mad.

I’m more in the latter category for sure. The funny (and by funny I mean anxiety inducing, awful, & crummy) thing is that tapering right now at this very time while still dealing with the new life changes I implemented last week due to health issues (which, trust me, has NOT been easy).

I’m a wee bit stressed.

But . . . it’ll be okay. It will.

I know it will be okay because I am also incredibly excited and somewhat amazed at how quickly the past 18 weeks of training have gone by. I know logically that I have trained and prepared as best as I could have and now it’s just up to me to deliver on what I’ve been training for. I will try my best to keep that logic present with me for the next two weeks.

I received an updated confirmation email from the Newport race director last week with my bib number. So it’s official that on June 1st, I will be runner #379, looking to finish my first marathon. While I know anything can happen, I will say that I have confidence in myself.

For once.

It’s nice.

Go me.

Foodie Firsts: Trying To Catch a Curveball

May16

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I had a whole Foodie First column planned for today. I also had a post about creativity and confidence planned for earlier this week. Neither has happened as planned and I want to explain why.

Life threw me a curveball this week. A super curvy-curveball that I’ve been fumbling around trying to manage (yes, I did just mix those sports metaphors). For the past couple of years, I have experienced a variety of health problems that, while not dire or life-threatening, have been persistent, problematic, and caused quite a bit of pain and discomfort. I’ve gone through a series of frustrating tests and medical consultations without any answers or much concern given by the professionals I’ve seen. I sought out a new doctor recently (a doctor of Naturopathic medicine) and am starting to get some answers. They just weren’t the ones I was expecting.

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I thought I had a pretty good idea of what might be the culprit and she agreed it was very possible. In this vain, we decided to do some more tests and she also offered up another possibility that no one else had suggested in my medical visits: a food reactivity test. I agreed, thinking it would be interesting and potentially helpful, but I didn’t really think it would be quite the game changer that it was.

The results came back on Saturday and they were pretty startling. In a nutshell, I have been eating foods that my particular body is unable to handle properly, likely resulting in significant inflammation and a wide variety of painful and uncomfortable symptoms. There are basically two categories that popped up that I have classified as: The Super Big Bads that I will likely have to remove from my diet pretty much forever, and the Maybe-Possibly Big Bads that are causing reactions for sure (so they are off the table for a month or so) but may be able to be eaten occasionally once I’ve had a chance to get the current inflammatory damage under control.

So I have started an elimination diet. All the Super Big Bads are gone for good, and the Possibly Big Bads are gone for the time being. What are these foods? Why did they completely derail my week and send me into a bit of a tailspin? Here you go:

Category 1: The Super Big Bads

Kamut
Rye
Spelt
Wheat, Gliadin
Wheat, Gluten
Wheat, Whole
Yeast, Baker’s
Yeast, Brewer’s

(I’m still waiting for further tests to determine whether my gluten issue is in the category of gluten-sensitivity or Celiac’s Disease. Either way, no more gluten for me.)

Category 2: The Maybe-Possibly Big Bads

Almonds
Bananas
Chickpeas
Coffee Beans
Cranberries
Eggs
Green Peas
Milk (Dairy Variety)
Pecans
Pineapple
Sesame Seed
Sugar Cane
Whey
Yogurt (Dairy Variety)

It’s a grim list. It’s very, very grim.

An example of how grim?

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Most mornings this is my breakfast:

Two slices Dave’s 21 Grain Killer Bread
1 tablespoon or so almond butter
1 cup organic Greek yogurt
Coffee
Followed later by a mid-morning snack of a banana.

The rest of my day follows suit.

Since getting this information, I’ve been a bit of a mess. I’ve had lots of emotions and am basically going through the stages of grief. To some, this may sound over the top, but to me, it’s not. As I’ve talked about on this blog, my love of healthy eating, cooking, and baking was only discovered in the last couple of years. I’ve fallen in love with whole, real foods and finding new ways to prepare them. I’ve discovered things I had never eaten before and was looking forward to eating lots more of. Things like spelt muffins and scones (my absolute favorite flour to bake with these days), whole wheat grainy breads and cookies, almonds in just about every way you can imagine (almond butter, almond/fruit snack bars in the afternoons, almond flour, almonds in desserts, almond milk, almond yogurt), hummingbird cake with pineapples, and bananas eaten raw, used as sweetener in baked goods, and combined with dark chocolate.

Now these things are off limits and I don’t really know what to do. Yes, it’s an opportunity to try more new things and yes, it’s a chance to get even more creative with my cooking, but right now I just want a slice of healthy, grainy toast with almond butter and a good, strong cup of coffee.

I don’t really think that’s too much to ask.

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So my last few days have been spent purging my pantry and kitchen, carefully reading ingredient labels, spending hours (and lots of money) at the markets, and just figuring out what is safe and what is not. Hence, the lack of blogging this week. Do you have any idea how many foods contain gluten, yeast, and/or almonds? Forget about the fact that cane sugar is on the list – it’s in nearly everything.

I realize that was a long explanation for my absence and I could have just said ‘sorry’ for dropping the ball this week, but I wanted to share some information about what’s going in. I’ll be back next week with regular posts and I’ve no doubt that this new part of my life will be included, as it will surely impact those topics that near and dear to me here on this blog: healthy living, running, cooking, and overall brain and body wellness.

Also, in my absence this week, I failed to post that Monday marked my one-year anniversary with this blog. I was sorry to have missed honoring that day and saying thank you to everyone who has stopped by, tried a recipe, took a running tip, left their own advice and input, and generally joined me in my little space on the Internet. You all are fantastic and I have loved putting Move Eat Create together over this past year. I have a lot more planned for year two!

Virtual Vegan Potluck: Yellow Curry Vegetable Stuffed Burritos

May10

Its Virtual Vegan Potluck time, people!

A whole day where the blogging world is flooded with a variety of delicious vegan recipes is one of the best days ever. This is my first time participating and I am thrilled to be able to share this recipe.

I put quite a lot of thought into what I would contribute to the potluck. I knew that I wanted to create something different from recipes I’ve featured on the blog in the past and I also knew I wanted something that would really represent who I am as a foodie. It would be a tall order to find the perfect representation of my food tastes, as I like a lot of different things for a variety of reasons, but I do feel that in many ways, this meal does it. It is full of veggies, packs layers of flavor, includes potatoes (one of the foods I find most satisfying to eat), allows for some flexibility and personal twists to be made, and it gets rolled up in a tortilla.

I love anything that can be rolled up in a tortilla. Tortillas make life better. Period.

I stand by that broad, sweeping claim. (I <3 tortillas.)

I made my own curry powder for this, which I highly recommend. It can seem daunting when you look at the long list of ingredients, but the process itself is straightforward. If you have access to a bulk spice and herb shop, consider paying them a visit. You certainly can use a pre-mixed curry powder, too, if blending your own powder isn’t your thing.

You’ll also notice that I cook the potatoes separately from the other ingredients. There is a reason for this extra step, my friends, and that is to give the potatoes a slightly crisp outside, which will lend to textural variety in the burrito itself. You could cook the potatoes differently. You could do so. BUT, you would lose the slightly crunchy, delicious potato magic that happens when you roast them in this way and who wants to lose that?

I served my burritos with a side of snap peas sautéed up with some Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, garlic, ginger, a dash of sesame oil, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I also took leftover burritos for lunch (as I tend to do with leftovers) and they held up nicely. I would venture to say that the curry flavors may have even deepened upon sitting overnight.

I hope you try them. I hope you love them. And, I hope you find lots of goodies visiting all the Virtual Vegan Potluck dishes!

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Yellow Curry Vegetable Stuffed Burritos

Makes 10 burritos

Ingredients:

For the curry powder:

½ tblspn coriander seed
1/2 tblpsn white peppercorns
1 tspn yellow mustard seed
1 tspn cumin seed
¼ tspn fennel seed
1 tblspn ground turmeric
1 tspn red pepper flakes
1 tspn ground ginger
¼ tspn ground fenugreek
Pinch of ground cloves
4 curry leaves, minced (optional)

For the burritos:

1 cup yellow onion (about ½ large onion), diced
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium head of cauliflower, chopped small
2 large russet potatoes, chopped into ½ inch cubes
1 ½ tblspn olive or canola oil, divided
2 tblspns curry powder (above recipe or pre-mixed), plus more for sprinkling on potatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tblspn fresh ginger, minced
3 tblspns vegetarian fish oil (if you can’t find this ingredient, vegetable stock may be substituted)
10 soft burrito-sized tortillas
Salt and pepper
Fistful cilantro, chopped

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment.
To make the curry powder, place first 5 ingredients (all the seeds) into a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Toast the spices, shaking and stirring seeds often, until they start to pop and become fragrant. Remove from heat and grind into a fine powder. I used a coffee grinder for this, but you can use a mortar and pestle if needed. When ground, add all other curry ingredients and stir together to combine well. Set aside.
Place chopped potatoes into a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the oil and a hearty sprinkling of curry powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine and coat potatoes well. Spread potatoes out onto parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 25 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Remove from oven and set aside.
While potatoes are cooking, make the rest of the filling. Heat ½ tablespoon oil over medium heat in a large non-stick sauté pan or cast iron skillet. Add onions and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes, until starting to soften.
Add bell pepper, cauliflower, garlic, ginger, and 2 tablespoons of the curry powder to the pan, stir so all ingredients are coated with the curry powder, and sauté for 3-4 minutes this way.
To finish cooking the vegetables, add the vegetarian fish oil to the pan, stir, and cover. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes over medium heat. You may want to stir once or twice during this time to prevent any items from burning, but keep covered when not stirring.
Turn off heat and add cooked potatoes to the pan with the rest of the vegetables. Combine well.
To make burritos, fill each tortilla with ¾ cup – 1 cup of the filling, sprinkle with cilantro, and roll up.

*** Note: If you want to keep burritos warm while you eat an appetizer or finish any side dish preparations, you can place rolled burritos onto a baking sheet and into an oven heated to 200 degrees until ready to serve.

Click here to see the tasty dish that preceded mine in the Potluck (@ vegan miam):

Click here to check out the next goodie in the line up (@ Honk If You’re Vegan):

Foodie Firsts: Making Friends with Mushrooms – Part 1 (with Recipe for Italian Vegetable Pie)

May9

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You know how people often say they have a love/hate relationship with something? How they lament about being torn between the benefits and satisfaction of something and the pain or challenges that very thing may cause them? You know that, right?

Well, I have had a hate/hate relationship with mushrooms for as long as I can remember. There’s been no love. None.

Not. One. Ounce.

To be fair, I haven’t eaten a lot of mushrooms in my life, but, really, it didn’t take me long to develop a belief they were the worst food ever. They were slimy. Or mealy. Or slimy AND mealy. They were overcooked or undercooked. They tasted sort of like dirt and they took up large portions of ingredient real estate that could have been used for other, less offensive items.

I guess this is the post where I tell you how I REALLY feel.

Here’s the catch, though, I know how good they are for me. I know that they bring an incredible amount of nutrition to any meal and I’m on board with that. After I read Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman (LOVE this book, by the way), I was convinced I needed to figure out a way to start over with mushrooms. Fuhrman is a big fan of what mushrooms can do for our health and I’m a big of Furhman, so I decided that we needed to make amends, mushrooms and I. I thought maybe it was time I give them another chance.

It was going to be tricky, as I was still holding a bit of a grudge against them. But, here’s where my Foodie Firsts column came in to play. I had NEVER cooked with mushrooms and I had NEVER eaten a mushroom I liked. I had the opportunity for two firsts and decided to view that a challenge to take on. I had to start by considering my mushroom options. After some discussion, I was able to discern I would be best to avoid button mushrooms. A friend let me know that it was likely these types of mushrooms I had generally been served in restaurants and had spit out in slimy horror. This was helpful information. Button mushrooms were flagged as off limits for now. I was also gently steered away from Portobellos for the time being; it being suggested those might be best left for after developing a bit more mushroom tolerance.

So I knew what to avoid. Excellent. Next, I needed to know what to make. I wanted to try something that would definitely feature a hefty dose of these little fungi, but would also have familiar and likeable components. I didn’t want to just dive right into a plate of cooked mushrooms with no other food around, if you know what I mean.

I decided on Italian. Specifically, I decided on an Italian vegetable pie. This vegetable pie would have many items I love (onions, tomato sauce, garlic, bell peppers) along with a hearty portion of mushrooms.

My course was set.

Knowing what kind of mushrooms NOT to get helped guide me at the store and I settled upon a bag of crimini mushrooms to feature in my vegetable pie. Italian mushrooms for Italian pie. Perfect.

The criminis that I bought were pre-sliced (fancy), but I wanted them chopped a bit smaller, so I took care of that at home. I will say, as someone who finds chopping vegetables thoroughly pleasant and at times even therapeutic, going to work on these mushrooms was very enjoyable. The ease at which my chef’s knife moved through them was quite satisfying.

The mushrooms were cooked briefly with other filling ingredients for the pie, layered up with the noodles and sauce, and baked for a short while. When the pie was ready, I was nervous. I wanted to love it. I wanted to love THEM. But I was totally unsure of how it was going to turn out.

Onward I went.

Slicing up the Italian pie, I dove in with gusto. I decided to just take a leap of faith in regards to this meal and tried to eat without the memory of past experiences coloring my tastebuds.

And?

I was rewarded.

It was GREAT. It was REALLY GREAT.

This was a perfect re-introduction to mushrooms, as I certainly did know they were on my plate, but they held their texture quite well and I ate them in forkfuls with other familiar and delicious ingredients, not having to be the only thing I tasted in each bite.

You may have noticed that I titled this post ‘Making Friends with Mushrooms – Part 1’. Because there are so many varieties of mushrooms, as well as an abundance of preparation options for them, I have decided I will do another post or two featuring the mushroom family. And, I’m actually looking forward to it, which is nice.

Notes & Final Thoughts:

Serving Suggestions: I have to say the Italian Vegetable Pie I made was quite good. It hit all the right notes for those who love lasagna or Italian casseroles, but provided a new twist on these old favorites. The recipe is below if you, too, want to give it a try. It’s filling, produces an enticing aroma while it cooks, and makes a lovely presentation, in addition to just tasting really good.

Lessons Learned: Be flexible and creative when trying to incorporate ingredients that may not initially appeal to you. Once I stopped my rigid thinking about mushrooms (ALL mushrooms are bad) and considered that maybe the types or preparations I had experienced in the past just weren’t the best ones for my particular tastes, I was able to think about this ingredient in new ways. Drawing upon positive food experiences as a base and finding ways to incorporate mushrooms into food I already knew I would enjoy has opened up new cooking doors for me.

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Italian Vegetable Pie

Adapted from Cooking Light

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
10 oz crimini mushrooms, chopped
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
10 oz firm tofu, drained, pressed, and crumbled
3 tblspns tomato paste
1/2 tspn dried oregano
1/4 tspn crushed fennel
1 tspn crushed red pepper flakes
1 tspn salt
1/2 tspn black pepper
28 oz marina sauce of your choice
8 lasagna noodles
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 tblspns vegan Parmesan

Method:

Boil lasagna noodles according to package directions, set aside when done, and preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Coat a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. When warmed, add bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, 4-5 minutes until softened.
Add mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and crumbled tofu. Stir to mix all ingredients and cook 3-4 more minutes.
Add tomato paste, oregano, fennel, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, Stir to coat vegetables with seasonings and then add marinara sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and vegan Parmesan and set aside.
Coat a 9-10 inch pan or cast iron skillet with cooking spray. Arrange cooked lasagna noodles in a circular pattern around the pan, so that they line the bottom of the pan, with half of the noodles hanging over the edge. Spoon half of the vegetable-marinara mixture onto the noodles. Fold the hanging edges of the noodles over to cover this part of the filling, then spoon the rest of the vegetable-marinara mixture on top. Sprinkle bread crumb and vegan Parmesan mixture evenly over the top. Bake for 20 minutes.

Just A Quick Reminder – Vegan Cuts Giveaway Ends Tonight!

May8

If you want to be eligible for a free Vegan Cuts snack box, filled with goodies such as these:

head over to my previous post here and leave a comment by midnight PST tonight.

Good luck, everyone!

P.S. The marathon is T-minus 23 days ( I think I did that right. If anyone has countdown expertise, feel free to correct me.)

Vegan Cuts: In Which I Tell You How Much I Love Them and Then Host A Giveaway!

May5

If you spend much time poking around the internet, you may have noticed that there are loads of companies these days cashing in on the monthly subscription box concept. The idea behind this is basically that you (the consumer) pay a monthly fee to be shipped a box full of mystery products once per month to sample. It gives the consumer a sense of surprise and fun, plus the ability to try new things. I liked this idea for a long time, but wanted to be sure that I found a subscription club that I could trust to not let me down. Even though unsubscribing is always an option at any time, I still wanted to find something to enjoy for a while. It is truly disappointing to wait to get your package in the mail, open it up with excitement and then see little in it that interests you. That is not a good time.

But, I’ve found Vegan Cuts and Vegan Cuts IS a good time.

They have totally made me a believer in the genius of the monthly subscription mystery box process. I had tried another very popular program and was disappointed, but wanted to give it another try with someone else and I’m so glad I did. I have received 3 boxes from Vegan Cuts so far and have been delighted with each one. They have been filled with quality products, suiting my lifestyle and dietary preferences by the nature of the products they carry, and I have discovered some really fantastic items that I doubt I would have before.

Plus, it’s just plain fun. I’ve always been the type of person that loves getting mail (when it’s not a bill or a jury summons, that is). It really is like getting a little present sent to me each month and seeing it on my doorstep is always a bright spot in my day. The majority of the items are food products, but I’ve also received body and skin care items, which is an extra special indulgence.

benefitfoods.com

My favorite discovery so far has been Vbars. I am a BIG fan of nutritious, minimally processed snack bars. I made a list a while back of some of my favorites, which you can see here, though if I was going to make this list again today, Vbars would definitely be on it. They are unbelievably tasty, hit the right nutritional notes for me, and have a slightly crunchy texture that I love. YUM. I was also was excited to try the Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips that came in my most recent package. Sweet potatoes aren’t normally my favorite, but clearly I have been eating them wrong, because these are fantastic.

One of the things I particularly like about Vegan Cuts is that they have an online storefront where items received in your box can be purchased individually if you find something you love. I jumped on this opportunity with the Vbars and have already ordered two boxes of them. It is nice to get to experiment with these products and then have immediate access to get the items that stand out to you.

Clearly, I’m a fan of this company.

I became even a bigger fan when they generously agreed to give away one Vegan Cuts box to a reader! I’m delighted to be able to share the love with one of you and hope that someone else will have as much fun with this as I am having. The winner will be selected at random and will be shipped their very own Vegan Cuts box for one month.

To enter to win your Vegan Cuts box, simply leave a comment below telling me what kind of treat you would hope to find in your mystery box. You can check out their partner companies at the website here for more ideas on what they may send. This giveaway will close at midnight (PST) on Wednesday May 8th, and I will announce the winner later in the week.

***** UPDATE: This giveaway has closed. Congratulations to Brooke who won the Vegan Cuts box. Thank you to everyone who participated! *****

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