These posts are quickly becoming one of my favourite to put together. I love sharing new-to-me foods as well as old favourites that have returned to my life.
So far we’ve seen:
- 7 Foods I’m loving right now – March
- 14 Foods I’m loving lately – April
- 12 things I’m loving lately – July
Don’t forget to tell me about your current food obsessions in the comments below!
Note: I purposely left all forms of squash, pumpkin butter, and apple butter off my list because that all goes without saying for this girl.
Ready….set….go!
1. Pomegranates
This is the time of the year when I mourn summer berries being out of season. To console myself, I like to think of pomegranates as off-season berries because they are so rich in antioxidants. Yes, I know they aren’t berries, but let’s pretend. Toss these little guys on salads to add a fun crunch and burst of antioxidant power. Just don’t try blending them in a smoothie without straining….that little experiment of mine, was…grainy to say the least. Apparently there are some things a Vitamix cannot pulverize!
2. Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Vegan Sausage
There are simply no words for how much I adore this Field Roast grain and veggie based sausage. I finally tracked it down at Organic Garage and sampled all three flavours this summer. The apple sage flavour is by far my favourite. I like to pan fry it and throw it into quinoa salads or just stuff it in a bun with a little BBQ sauce and apple butter. Eric is a huge fan and even said he would eat this over a meat sausage any day. Each sausage has 26 grams of protein, zero trans fat and cholesterol, and just 1 gram of sat. fat.
3. Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Pre-ground nutmeg doesn’t hold a candle to freshly grated nutmeg; I’ve known this all along. Then why has it been so long since I grated the fresh stuff? Have you ever compared the two? It’s unreal. I sometimes forget this little fact and when I do go back to the fresh stuff I’m quickly reminded just how amazing the fresh stuff is (this is true for all spices really!). Plus, grating nutmeg take seconds and the aroma that fills the air is so comforting. If you’re like me you get a free nail filing at the same time.
4. Adzuki Bean Tabbouleh
I’m so over rainy fall weather. Give me sunshine in the fall and I’m a happy camper. Give me rain, doom, and gloom and I suddenly wish fall never existed. My relationship with fall is complicated. Anyway, this salad brings me a small dose of summer and sunshine back to my life, which is why I made it over the rainy weekend. You can’t help but feel happy when you eat quinoa tabbouleh served on top of kale!
5. Coconut Jam by Cocovie
Umm, say what? I know. Have you ever heard of coconut jam? This world keeps getting crazier. When I spotted this in Organic Garage a couple months ago, it was thrown into my cart so fast your head would spin. It’s made with just coconut milk and raw coconut sugar. Much like coconut oil, when it’s chilled it firms up and when it’s at room temp or warmed, it softens. You can use it as a spread or topping on all kinds of foods. Perhaps with a few tweaks to my coconut milk condensed milk, I might be able to make this jam at home. Hrrrmm…the wheels are spinning.
6. Edamame
Looking for a fun high-protein snack to throw into packed lunches? Meet edamame. I love to top salads with edamame or enjoy some for an afternoon snack. I could seriously eat an entire bag of this stuff in one sitting. It has a strange power over me. Don’t even tell me to remove the skins either…I love it all.
7. Whole Grain Mustard
For a long time, I only bought regular mustard and Dijon mustard. Yawn. Well recently, my wild child came out and I gave whole grain mustard a try. Whoa. How did I not try this before? It’s amazing in dressings and sauces and I just love the hearty, crunchy texture of the seeds. New kitchen staple, hello!
8. Sunwarrior Warrior Blend Raw Protein
I tried a sample of this protein powder a month ago and loved it so much I bought a bag of it. This Warrior Blend is a non-rice protein powder featuring a mix of easy-to-digest pea, cranberry, and hemp proteins. It’s easily the best protein powder I’ve tried to date and isn’t chalky like some protein powders can be. The downside is that it’s priced like gold, so try to buy it on sale to get the biggest bang for your buck. I justified my purchase because I go through protein powder very, very slowly – a bag will easily last me 3-4 months. They also have a chocolate flavour which I will be sampling soon!
9. Acetaia La Bonissima Balsamic Vinegar
It’s really sad to think how long I stared at this bottle in the grocery store to make sure it was actually balsamic vinegar. Darn you, label. Thankfully, it was worth it. This stuff is the real deal. I use it for salad dressings, roasting veggies, balsamic reductions, etc.
10. Allegro Ready, Set, Go! Tea
I purchased this tea on our trip in B.C. when I was running on about 4 hours sleep many nights (as you can see it got a bit busted in my suitcase!). This tea brought me back to life in the morning. It’s described as “assertive, yet balanced, with a hint of cinnamon”. I’ll take 743 please. I’d like to think it rubbed off on me too. Next time someone asks you what your personality traits are, you can end your description saying, “with a hint of cinnamon”.
Now my favourite part – let me know below what foods you can’t get enough of right now!
I have those Apple Sage Field Roast Sausages in my freezer and haven’t tried them yet. Now I’m even more excited to! And I have been looking for fresh nutmeg for what seems like forever! But I can’t find it anywhere! Total bummer, I LOVE nutmeg. I, too, love those little candle holders in the first picture. So fall-esque. :) Something I can’t get enough of lately is cereal… I really just can’t stop eating it! I’m really into trying all different kinds right now. I know it’s not the healthiest, but I don’t regularly eat cereal, so I’m making an exception for now :)
I also recently got a back of the SunWarrior protein powder and it’s absolutely fantastic!!! I’ve struggled for awhile now to find something my son (the picky eater) wouldn’t notice. And this???? I’m throwing it in his pancakes, oatmeal, smoothies, almond milk… you name it. It’s by far the best I’ve ever tasted and we’d tried lots lately.
I can’t wait to try those Field Roast. I heard they got to Ottawa a couple of months ago… Read only great things about them.
Hi Angela,
Have you tried the original SunWarrior Brown Rice Protein? If so, would you mind sharing how they compare in terms of taste? Thank you!
Hey Sheena, Im sorry I don’t think I have had the original before.
Sheena, I have the original one. Can’t compare them, as I haven’t tried the other, but I love the one we have :)
Oh please do spin those wheels and create a recipe for coconut jam! I love the flavor and aroma of coconut. I just started doing coconut oil and jam on toast and I’m thinking coconut jam would be even better!
My current favorite food items:
ume plum vinegar (perfect with nearly everything!)
gomasio (a very versatile Japanese condiment made from sesame seeds, seaweed, and sea salt)
Trader Joe’s peppermint green tea
roasted butternut squash with lentils
GM with kale, mango, pineapple, banana, flaxseed meal, and unsweetened almond milk (yeah Green Monster Movement!)
Sitting here on a chilly spring afternoon and up pops this post and I know exactly what I am cooking up for dinner tonight :) That quinoa tabbouleh with adzuki beans looks like a perfect way to satisfy my cravings for quinoa and new season tomatoes! Thanks Angela :)
Hi Angela!
Just dropped by to say thank you for giving us the idea of roasting brussels sprouts.. my three-year-old son loved it so much! I think that would be one of our favorites for this month.
Love this kind of lists as I am always looking for new things to try out! Would you think that the neutral version of the Sun Warrior blend is any good? Just think it might be easier to adjust the sweetness to my taste if I go for neutral…. Also I have noticed that you put other protein powder in your Mint Patty Bars (wich I LOVE), and thought maybe this will work. Hope to get a tip or two from you on this protein-dilemma.. ;)
I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure it would be fine if you are adding your own sweet things :)
While not freshly ground, I’ve brought nutmeg back to the front of my spice cabinet. Lately I’m enjoying roasted butternut squash seasoned with ginger, nutmeg, cloves.
The tea sounds delicious. There’s a local Wisconsin company called Rishi Tea that has a lot of delicious tea varieties – I drink a tall mug of their peppermint tea every morning during Fall/Winter.
Oh! Roasted butternut squash with ginger, nutmeg, and cloves sounds AMAZING. Thanks for the idea!
Oh man, yes. Freshly grated nutmeg for the first time was a revelation! It’s completely different from the pre-ground stuff.
I’ve been loving hemp hearts lately! At first I didn’t like their unique taste, but now I can’t get enough!
So many great suggestions! How does the coconut jam differ from coconut butter? I have discovered the butter and love it! There is also a cinnamon tea I was obsessed with last year – i had to stop drinking it b/c it was black tea and I think it was giving me cold sores :(. Your tea makes me want more of that!!!
What I am obsessed with…anything pumpkin, apple, blueberry, vanilla or cinnamon!!! Healthy, vegan chocolate chip cookies (keep wanting to make other treats and make them instead!), stonyfield farms vanilla soy yogurt, morning green smoothies with any of the 5 above ingredients, sauteed kale with mushroom, peppers, your pumpkin/squash cheese sauce…..Tried your apple butter and the mix with PB – sooooo good! A new obsession to be sure :)
BTW – I use the sun warrior every morning in our smoothies- and the chocolate is great too! Unfortunately I go thru a lot of it making smoothies for 5 every day – yikes!
Yes I can imagine you’d go through a ton of it making smoothies for 5!! Lucky family :)
The coconut jam is made from coconut milk and sugar, whereas coconut butter is simply the fat from the flesh of the coconut (meat) I believe.
Thanks Angela – I appreciate the clarification- coconut milk and sugar ..mmmmm
First time commenter here, love your blog; recipes, beautiful photography and genuine voice :-) aaahh!!!! this list had me drooling at my desk! not pretty! I live in Ireland so access to some seriously awesome looking “different” products can be a nightmare (my friends and family routinely ask me what the hell I’m eating! haha!) As I’ve never heard of nor seen coconut jam this is TOTALLY going to be my next kitchen experiment, thinking it might be a sort of vegan coconut milk version of a dairy “condensed milk” sort of procedure…..
Aw thank you Kerry! That makes me so happy to hear. :) I too think it can be made by condensing the coconut milk and sugar. I made the condensedmilk last year when I made vegan baileys – worked so well. I wonder if it wouldve solidified had it been chilled on its own?
Hey. In regards to the sunwarrior protein. If you buy three bags at once on their site you get something like 20% off and free shipping. Great protein.
Oh I didnt know that Jon, thanks for the [email protected]
I live in New England and this time of year I buy up all the fresh cranberries I can get my hands on. I just toss them in the freezer and take what I need for each recipe. Cranberries are the one fruit I miss during the summer months!
Toasted ezekiel bread slathered with earth balance and a cup of homemade hot cocoa on a cold fall night … soo yummy!!
Not sure which of the Field Roast sausages I like the most. Really enjoying farmers market tomatoes lately – Orange Cherry, Yellow Pear, and a variety of regular size heirlooms. Been dehydrating them to have a taste of summer when the cold winds blow and the rain won’t let us this winter, creating sauces with a variety of spices (with a hope of freezing them, but they’ve been disappearing before they can make it to the freezer), and adding whole them to salads, pastas, etc. Winter rains predicted to start this weekend so it’ll be the end of these FM treasurers. Sure have enjoyed them. Planting my own next spring!
Hm, I have been thinking about getting myself a bag of SunWarrior protein powder, too. I did only ever try the one you’re showing in this post (SunWarrior Blend vanilla) and don’t know what the “regular” rice protein tastes like. Did you try both? Is there a huge flavour difference and is one of them less gritty than the other? Sorry for the questions – I’m really bad at making decisions …
I havent tried the rice based one, but I heard from someone else that this version in my post is less chalky than Sunwarrior rice protein powder. Either way you probably cant go wrong! Goodluck
Oh wow you make me want to go out and buy all of these! Except for the Sun Warrior and pomegranates, both of which I keep and endless supply.
Whole grain mustard is ridiculously easy to make, and easy to customize. I buy mustard powder and mustard seeds at Bulk Barn, soak them overnight in water, then add your vinegar of choice, maybe some beer, any other flavors (chipotle, honey, lime, etc.) and waz in the food processor. The only hard thing about mustard is you must give it time for the flavors to marry. If you taste it right away, it will be harsh and bitter. Give it at least a week.
I am excited to see your coconut jam attempts! Googling reveals others recipes, but none look as deep golden brown as the jar in your picture.
I drink the Sunwarrior protein to..Vanilla was my fav then I tried the chocolate oh my goodness the chocolate is so DELISH!
Awesome finds! I’ve never tried peeling my own pomegranate seeds, grinding my own nutmeg, or nor have I found a protein powder that I like- I wanna try them all now!
hi Angela! I recently bought that same sun warrior protein powder but I’m having a hard time finding a way to drink it that tastes good. how do you usely use it?
Hey Samantha, I just add a scoop to my smoothies. :)
Lately I’ve been loving:
-celery sticks with nut butter (especially maple peanut butter–so good)
-unsweetened vanilla almond milk (though sometimes I’ll cheat and put a little maple syrup in it)
-crunchy seaweed snacks
-soups! Lots of soups! I think I’ve only cooked soup for the past month or so.
-raw cabbage salads with a few drops of sesame oil, some rice vinegar, and sesame seeds–delicious and travels well for lunches since cabbage is so crunchy
I am loving This Can’t Be Vegan’s Pumpkin Sage Pasta! I eat this at least once every two weeks!
coconut jam is reaaaally common here in singapore ^^ we call it kaya! :D kaya toast (which is basically toast slathered with butter and then kaya) is considered a singaporean breakfast delicacy, haha (: especially when dipping it in soft boiled eggs!
wow good to know! Thanks for sharing. :)
I just have to share this YouTube video titled “how to eat a pomegranate ( no bowl of water)”. It will change your life (unless you like wrestling pomegranates, which I would understand ;)
Link to said awesome pomegranate video (oops)
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ7dk9nDR-k
We first found out about Field Roast a few years ago during a trip to Washington. A hot dog shack in Port Townsend advertised “the best veggie dogs ever!”. So we stopped and fell in love :-). I actually hunted down the owner via her real estate website to ask here where she got the amazing dogs, and she responded while on vacation in Hawaii with the name of the company. Since then, we enjoy their Apple Sage as well as their Italian sausages. The Chipotles are good but a bit hot for us. But the Frankfurters continue to be the best! I chop them up, sauté and the add shredded cabbage and onion, continue sautéing until it’s a tender mess! A little malt vinegar adds some zing. Best veggie dogs ever!
Help! I want these Field Roast Sausages that you are all talking about, but I live in Ireland and cannot find them anywhere! Can anyone suggest an alternative? Perhaps if I knew the ingredients, I could possibly try to duplicate them? Any thoughts?