Trader Joe's Fusilli with Vegetables & Basil Pesto

Hey everyone! Today I have a scheduled post as I am currently in Pennsylvania loading up the moving truck with the things in Ben's house. I can't believe that tomorrow we are finally moving in together and I will be living on my own for the first time! Its a big step, but I'm ready for it!

Today I have a Trader Joe's meal that I recently tried for the first time.



Trader Joe's Fusilli with Vegetables & Basil Pesto was filled with perfectly cooked pasta, tasty pesto, and tomatoes, zucchini, and pesto.



I loved the description on the side of the box! I don't think I could have said it better myself!



As this was cooking, my whole kitchen smelled like a vegetable garden! These veggies smelled and tasted so fresh.



When I mixed it up I found the pesto hiding at the bottom, that sneaky devil! It was so delicious and the Italian flavor went perfectly with the veggies.  The zucchini was so crunchy and the hot tomato juice burst in my mouth with each bite. This dish tasted like it came from a restaurant, and I made it in my microwave in 5 minutes!

This was such a light and tasty meal. I am glad I tried it, I will definitely get this again!

Have you tried this Trader Joe's pasta dish?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Trader Joe's Creamy Polenta

Hello everyone!  Today I have another frozen option from the awesome Trader Joe's!  I love Trader Joe's.  There is such an amazing verity of foods for everyone whether you are a vegetarian or vegan, or even have food allergies like to lactose or gluten.  Everything is all natural and most things are organic.  I have never tried polenta in my in my life, but on a routine Trader Joe's trip, they were giving away free samples of their spinach and carrot polenta.  It was AMAZING! So creamy and flavorful and filled with two of my favorite veggies.  Can't go wrong with that!  It has turned me into a polenta lover!









This is what the polenta looks frozen, right out of the bag.  You can see all the frozen spinach and carrots.  The yellow Hershey Kiss shaped things are the frozen polenta.  All you have to do is microwave it and mix it all up for a perfect meal or a side for dinner!






I can sit here and tell you how amazing this stuff is, but really you need to just get off you computer right now, head to Trader Joe's and try it for yourself!  I know it will win you over!

Have you tried Trader Joe's Creamy Polenta? Will you be picking some up?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Super Easy Meat-Free Nachos

Hey everyone!  Today I have a simple recipe that my mom makes for me: vegetarian nachos. It doesn't take much cooking or skill, but it is so delicious and fun to eat!

What you will need:

White corn tortilla chips

1 tomato

1 Avocado

Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs

Salsa con queso

Sour cream

What to do:

1. Pour the tortilla chips in a large microwave safe bowl and spread out evenly

2. Pour salsa on queso on top of all the chips, more if you like it really cheesy, less if not

3. Microwave until warm.  Try 1 minute then add extra time to make it warmer

4. Cut up tomato and avocado in bite sided pieces and sprinkle on top

5. Cook Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs according to package.  Cut in pieces and sprinkle on top

6. Top with a dollop of sour cream

These nachos are super tasty and really fast and easy to make! Great for a quick meal or to bring to a party.

Will you be trying out these vegetarian nachos?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip and Chips!

Good morning everyone! 

How many of you love artichoke spinach dip?  I remember the first time I tried it I loved it, and now it can be found at almost every restaurant!  It is so creamy and cheesy, you almost forget it is full of veggies!  I found a great frozen dip at Trader Joe's and I had to pick it up!  You just pop it in the microwave and you make a perfect little meal for one, or a restaurant worthy appetizer!

I paired this with some great simple tortilla chips that I also picked up at Trader Joe's.

Look how simple those ingredients are! Gotta love it!

This was definitely a great find and I will be purchasing it again!

Do you guys like spinach and artichoke dip as much as I do? Have you tried this delicious one from Trader Joe's yet?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Awareness Wednesdays. Jello. It's Alive.

Jello all!  Today's awareness Wednesday food is Jello.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jell-O

 Of course Jello is a brand name, the actual food is called gelatin dessert or gelatin snack. Ding there goes the red flag, gelatin!  In last weeks post I discussed what is in gelatin and why it is not vegetarian friendly.  But to recap, it is made of out the bones and connective tissues of animals.  Jello is the most popular brand of gelatin snacks and most people just call all gelatin snacks by the name "Jello."  These gelatin snacks are just pure gelatin with some sugar, color, and flavor. The problem with that is it masks the reality of what you are eating.  Steak is called "steak" and not "dead cow muscle" for a reason, the latter sounds less appetizing.   So everyone is walking around eating their Jello fruit snack without even knowing what they are putting into their bodies.  And I will admit that for the first year or two after becoming a vegetarian I too ate Jello out of sheer ignorance.  But all that stopped as soon as I learned about gelatin.

But alas, all hope it not gone for those Jello lovers!  There are food brands out there that do make vegetarian and vegan "gelatin" snacks.  My favorite is Trader Joe's Natural Gel Cups.

http://www.eateryoutlet.com/?p=564

Like Jello, they come in the small plastic cups with the peal back foil top which made me feel like a kid again.  They come in two flavors: Black Cherry, and Peach Mango.  I only tried the Black Cherry flavor, but it was really reminiscent of the classic Jello flavor.  There are also loads of vegan gelatin recipes online.

I will end this awardness wednesday with a story.  I took AP biology my senior year in high school.  A very common (and easy) method of separating and observing DNA is Gel Electrophoresis.  The gel part, meaning gelatin.  So I am in the lab making and pouring my gelatin so I can do the procedure, and our teacher is walking around making sure we are all doing it right.  He stopped at my table and watched for a bit and then said "Mmmm, doesn't this make you hungry for Jello?"  Which I replied "No, I am a vegetarian."  He just walked away in silence.

Will you be trying out vegan gelatin snacks?

Bye from the veggie side!