GoPicnic-On the Go Shelf Stable Food

     I don't normally do this, but I am reviewing a few products from a website.  I got a groupon for www.gopicnic.com for $40 of food for $20.  I checked out the site and quickly snagged my deal.
Honestly, I think it is a little overpriced for the amount of food you get, but with this deal I could not go wrong!

     GoPicnic is a site dedicated to easy, shelf stable, on the go meals and snacks.  They have a variety of different options which will hopefully expand as their business grows.  They have vegan, gluten free, nut free and a few other special diet meals.  Right now, a lot of the different options are sold out thanks to deal seekers everywhere, but I was able to find three that looked interesting to me. I got the hummus and crackers, the Sunbutter and Crackers, and the Black Bean Dip and Plantain Chips.  Each one has the main item listed along with snack mixes and a little dessert.  I have now tried the sunbutter and the black bean meals which were delicious!  I still have yet to try the hummus but I will update when I do.
     I can see breaking up the meals if you just need a little snack or just taking the whole meal.  The meal was enough to satisfy me for hours, but I really don't eat a lot at once.  If you are someone who eats a little more, you might need something on top of this or use it for a snack. :)

Update 2/25/24
I realized I forgot to update about the hummus.  I personally thought it was over flavored and had too much garlic.  I like a more mild hummus.  My brother on the other hand loved it.  I guess it depends on what you like for hummus.

Pizza Dough and Cheeseless Pizza

     My sister and I were home alone for dinner.  She and I were both in the mood for pizza so I started googling.  I found a promising dough recipe even though it would take a while and looked like a bit of work.  We both were not hungry so I got it started at about 5.  This was my first experience making pizza from scratch so it took me until 9 to make it though I should have finished about 8.  Thankfully, it was worth the wait!

     The pizza recipe below can be done with any dough, but I made my own.  Here is the recipe for the dough I made from About.com.

http://americanfood.about.com/od/pizzainsideandout/r/nypd.htm

(The dough just out of the bowl before kneading)

     After the dough is fully done, heat the oven to 425.  Divide the dough into two balls.  If making only one pizza, coat the second ball of dough in a little olive oil and place in a plastic bag for another time.  If not, repeat these steps for both dough balls.

Homemade Cheeseless Pizza

Pizza dough

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove crushed or diced garlic

1/4 tsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp pesto paste

1/2 tsp balsamic glaze

Leftover meat of choice

1/4 tsp fresh chopped or dried basil

     Stretch the dough ball to the desired size for the pizza stone or pizza pan.  Put olive oil in a small bowl with garlic.  Brush the entire pie with the oil and garlic leaving a little of the mixture behind.  Place in the oven for 8 minutes.

     While the crust is in the oven, open and drain the diced tomatoes.  In a small bowl, mix maple syrup, pesto paste, and balsamic glaze.  Dice enough leftover meat to coat the pizza to your liking (I used pork tenderloin cooked with barbecue sauce).

     Once the 8 minutes is up for the crust, remove it from the oven.  Spread the drained diced tomatoes onto the crust and put the meat on top of that.  Brush the outer crust with the remaining oil and garlic.  Use the brush to dab the pizza with the with all the balsamic sauce evenly.  Sprinkle the basal on top and place back in the oven for another 7 minutes.  Remove from oven, cut and enjoy!

Dairy Free Skinny Iced Hot Chocolate

     I was looking for a dairy free frosty recipe when my mom posted one on my facebook wall. It looked just like a real frosty so I got my hopes up!  You might have seen this as well.

     Doesn't it look just like the creamy goodness we all love?  It was made with almond milk, ice, coco powder, vanilla and frozen banana.  I had everything on hand (including the frozen banana from previous milkshakes) so I decided to try it.

     This was the result of the amounts they used in the recipe.  It was not a thick shake but it was a thin and runny chocolate drink with slushy ice in it.  In fact, it was like frozen hot chocolate!  Thankfully, I love frozen hot chocolate so this was a plus for me.  If you were expecting a frosty, you would be disappointed.  Anyways, here is the recipe for frozen hot chocolate! :)

Frozen Hot Chocolate

3/4 cup Almond Milk
about 15 ice cubes
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1-2 Tbsp unsweetened Cocoa powder
1/3 of a Banana
Blend.

Onion and Bacon Pasta Improv

In looking through the fridge I concluded there were no leftovers for a full meal.  The only thing I could eat was some roast beef.  Then, I eyeballed the bacon.

(Photo credit http://bacon.wikia.com/wiki/Bacon)

I have a confession to make, I have an obsession with bacon.  If you are not also obsessed with bacon I believe you cannot be a human. ;)

(Photo credit http://baconnation.net/?tag=art)

While bacon was not the main ingredient in the dish I threw together, it definitely made it great!  My one suggestion would be to replace the roast beef with chicken.  I would have used chicken but as I said before, we only had roast beef.

Onion and Bacon Pasta

1 bag Ronzoni penne pasta portions
Olive oil
1/4 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
Diced pepper (I diced 3 strips)
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
A few shakes of the following dry ingredients
     Dried oregano
     Dried basil
     Dried parsley
     Salt
     Peper
Diced leftover meat of choice (I would use chicken next time)
2 strips precooked bacon, cut into small pieces
Drizzle of balsamic glaze

Put water on to boil for pasta.
In a small pan or skillet coated in olive oil, sauté onions, garlic and diced peppers until softened.  Add more oil, tomato paste, dry ingredients and simmer until the pasta goes into the water.  When the pasta is cooking, add the rest on the ingredients.  Drain pasta and put into skillet.  Heat for a few minutes and then enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Pizza - Trader Joe's

My mom found a delicious cheese free pizza with roasted vegetables at Trader Joe's.

I did doctor it a slight bit, but it was also delicious without any extras.

I cut up a chicken patty (we had no grilled chicken) and put it on the pizza before cooking.

Once the pizza was done, I put some balsamic glaze on top.  The pizza already has a balsamic type sauce but this gave it a little extra flavor.

Gnocchi Improv

      When I was shopping yesterday I found a package of gnocchi.  I had it a few years ago and I remembered liking it.  I had no idea what I would serve it with but I got it anyways.  My parents were going out for dinner so I was in charge of cooking.  I asked my siblings ( aged 23, 12, and 10) if they would like to try gnocchi and they said they would.  Thankfully, I do not have picky eaters in my family so I went to work.

      I did a look around the fridge, pantry and spice cabinet to see what we had.  Took out a few things and put it together.  The only thing I would change is putting the sun dried tomatoes in towards the end since they got a little too dark for my tastes.  Here is the recipe for what I came up with including the change for the sun dried tomatoes.  I'm using guesstimations for the amounts because I didn't use measuring cups or spoons.

Tomato Gnocchi

Serves 3-4

1 package gnocchi

1 medium sized sweet onion

2 cloves garlic

Olive oil

1/8 tsp dried cilantro

A few shakes of dried oregano

1/8 tsp dried basil

2 tbs tomato paste

2 tbs vegan pesto paste

1 8oz can of tomato sauce

Sun dried tomatoes (put in enough for your tastes)

1 8oz package grilled chicken strips

     Put on water to boil in a medium size pot for gnocchi.  Slice onion and put in a large skillet with the bottom coated in olive oil and add garlic on medium-high heat.  Once onions begin to soften, put in cilantro, oregano, basil, tomato paste, and pesto paste with a little more oil.  Let that simmer on low heat until the gnocchi goes in the pot to boil.  Cook gnocchi for the allotted time on the package (mine was 3 minutes).  While gnocchi is cooking, put remaining ingredients in the skillet on medium heat.  Drain gnocchi when the time is up and stir it in the skillet.  Make sure everything is fully heated up by cooking for a few more minutes.  Serve with a salad or your favorite vegetable.

Soy Ice Cream

     I tried many a terrible, icy, watery ice creams before I found Purely Decadent.  Cookie dough was my favorite flavor which made me excited to try it.  Having big chunks of cookie dough (as seen below) and being oh so creamy are definitely a plus.  It doesn't have an overly soy taste and it is made with mostly organic ingredients.

     Obviously since it is ice cream it will have a lot of sugar.  I only have a few spoonfuls before I have satisfied my craving.  This means I usually don't waste a bowl and I eat straight out of the container. ;)  

Reese's Peanut Butter Bars

     Looking for something delicious and easy to make?  Look no further then these Reese's Peanut Butter Bars!  They do not require baking but they do need a stove or microwave to melt some things.  They also need an hour to refrigerate.  If you make your own gram cracker crumbs I would suggest using something other than a mini food processor.  It takes WAY too long to make 2 cups worth with a mini one which I unfortunately know from experience. :P

     I got this recipe third hand from Pinterest.  I believe the original source is this one from Let's Dish.  I switched butter with butter flavored Crisco and I used dairy free chocolate chips.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients
1 cup butter flavored Crisco plus 2 tablespoons water melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (use the boxed kind, or grind them in a food processor. Tiny granules.)
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup + 4 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 cups semisweet dairy free chocolate chips

Directions
In a medium bowl, mix together the melted crisco and water, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners’ sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 inch pan. In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the 4 tablespoons peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

My family loved my dairy free version of these delicious bars, even my dad!

Update- 8pm 2/23/13

I took some bars, cut them in half and brought a container of them to work.  My coworkers ate all of them up very quickly and they couldn't believe were dairy free!

Vegan Pizza!

     I went food shopping for my mom yesterday since she wasn't feeling well.  While shopping, I happened to find a vegan pizza made by American Flatbread in the frozen naturals section.  I have been skeptic about trying dairy free pizza, but it was on sale so I figured I would try it.

     I was not disappointed!  This pizza is made with a vegan cheese that is dairy AND soy free.  The cheese has a great taste but it was a little too sticky.  The crust was a flatbread which was very crispy and delicious.  I enjoyed it, but I was not the only one since my little brother even liked it!

All in all, I was very happy with this pizza and I will definitely buy it again. :)

Sickness Vent

     I had been sick for 4 days on the couch. Once I started feeling better, that cold or whatever I had settled into a cough which has persisted since then. I caved and went to the doctor a week after I started coughing since it had almost taken my voice and I was not getting any better.

     Now I am on meds and I am feeling better, but I have begun to notice how there is a lack of food for me to eat. Sure, we have lots of food in the house but it is either things I can't eat or things I am tired of eating all the time. (If I have to eat another peanut butter sandwich I just might cry)

     I am trying to be more frugal by bringing food with me but I am so done with the things I have at my house and I still don't have the energy to cook. Has anyone else had this problem being the only dairy free one at home? Let me know your thoughts and maybe a few suggestions for a worn out student.

Dairy Conscious or Overly Cautious?

     Even if you do not put a dairy ingredient into a recipe, there can still be "hidden dairy."  This can be milk fat in dark chocolate, buttermilk in bread crumbs, or even powdered nonfat milk in cereals.  It is something to always watch out for when buying things you would normally think would be fine.  I have gotten into the habit of religiously reading labels, even of products I have used before.  You never know when a company will change their recipe so it is important to always check.

     This is one of the problems I am having with my mom.  She has been wonderful with modifying a portion of a meal to meet my needs but she does have her moments with this "hidden dairy."  The most notable was dry stuffing she mixed into a meatloaf that was made with butter, butter milk, and nonfat milk.  Unfortunately, we did not find this out until after I had eaten half of my slice.

     Tonight I was making that same recipe for my mom and I called her to ask if the new stuffing was ok. (She empties the bag of stuffing into a plastic container which means no label.)  She said she checked when she bought it, but if I was still nervous about it to use the breadcrumbs.  It was a good thing I looked up the bread crumbs because they are made with milk and buttermilk.  Turns out these are the same ones she used in a few other recipes where I had some sort of problem after but I couldn't figure out why.

     I don't know if this is only me but I really take this stuff seriously.  I know my mom does as well but I feel I need to double check everything just to be sure.  You are the advocate for your own dietary needs.  This means you can't always depend on others since they might not even think of hidden dairy.

Pesto Almost Fiasco

     Last night my mom asked me to cook what she had planned for dinner.  She was going to head straight to church after my little sisters ballet lesson so I had to cook for the family.  She said it was an easy recipe so I told my mom I would take care of it.  She told me the recipe would be fine for me to eat so I didn't have to modify it and off she went to ballet with my sister.
     I never use pesto so I did not know one of the base ingredients is cheese.  I went through the recipe for Penne Pesto with Chicken and just before I was about to add the pesto I checked the label out of habit.  It was a good thing I did!  Since the pesto was the last step, I took some of the pasta, chicken, and broccoli rabe from the large skillet and put it in a small one.  I then added the pesto to the large skillet and some leftover regular tomato sauce from the fridge to the small one.  Thankfully, the food was delicious anyways and thankfully, dairy free for me! :)

Here is the recipe for the Penne Pesto (or Sauce) with Chicken

• 1 large bunch broccoli rabe, trimmed slightly and cut into 1 1/2" pieces
• 1 box (16oz) penne pasta
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• My family doubles the garlic in almost every recipe so I used 4
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 pkg (9oz) fully cooked grilled chicken strips cut into bite sized pieces.
• 1 container (7oz) basil pesto
• You can sub the pesto for a tomato sauce.  I'm not sure of the amount since I did just for my portion.  Add sauce until the pasta is lightly coated or more if you prefer more sauce and add a little extra olive oil.  Or you could make your own pesto.  I have found many recipes online.

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add broccoli rabe and cook 3 minutes.  
2. Scoop broccoli rabe into a colander with a slotted spoon to drain. 
3. Add pasta to the now empty pot of boiling water and cook for the time on the box of the pasta.
4. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Stir in braccoli rabe and cook for 3 more minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.
5. Drain pasta.  Stir chicken, pasta and pesto (or tomato sauce) into skillet.  Cook 2 minutes to heat through.  Serve warm.

Update- I recently found many pesto pastes are vegan.  They work well, but they are a little pricey.  We used two 2.8oz tubes of Amore Pesto Paste for this recipe and it was delicious!

Butter Spreads

     I have tried different dairy free or vegan butter spreads.  Some were tasteless, some had an odd consistency, and others were just gross.  I found Best Life butter spread which tasted good but didn't melt well.

     Now, I use Earth Balance whipped butter spread.  I like the flavor, consistency and it melts really well on toast!  Even my siblings, who use regular butter, like it.  I finally feel like I am not missing out when people have melted butter dripping off of warm bread because I can now have the same thing.

     I am running low on my first tub so just bought the original version.  I will update this post with my opinions on it when I start using it.

Update 2/7/13
     Started using the original and I still love it!

Dairy Free Mint Chocolate Milkshakes

     Creamy milkshakes that have no milk, can it be too good to be true?  Nope!  Thankfully, I found a milkshake recipe that is not only delicious, but it is better for you than a traditional milkshake.  I was searching online the other day to find some new dairy free recipes and I was very happy to find this gem.

     The site I found it on is Chocolate-Covered Katie, a good blog for healthy deserts.  It is so easy to make but I modified it a little to fit my tastes.  Here is the link to the original post on Katie's blog http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/02/24/raw-mint-chocolate-chip-milkshake/.  I wanted to make it last night but I found out we were out of peppermint extract.  Sadly, I had to wait until today, but it was worth the wait!

Just happened to have one of these glasses
so I could't resist taking a photo :)

• 1 Frozen, under-ripe banana
• A small handful of chocolate chips
• I use Ghiradelli semisweet chocolate chips
• A dribble of pure peppermint extract
• 2/3 cup milk of choice
• I use organic original soy milk or a chocolate peppermint one if I REALLY want some flavor
• 1/8 tsp of coco powder
• Optional green food coloring
• I opted out

     To freeze the banana, I peeled and sliced it, then put it in a bowl in the freezer.  After it was frozen, I transferred it into a sandwich bag until I was ready to make the shake.

     For easier mixing, first put the banana in the blender and blend for a few seconds.  Then add the other ingredients and blend until desired consistency is reached.  If you like larger chocolate chunks like I do, put half the chips in when you first start blending, then add the rest when it is the right consistency and blend for a few more seconds.  Pour into a medium large glass, top with a dairy free whipped topping or chocolate shavings and enjoy!