Bianca Phillips's Blog, page 65

Burgers & Breakfasts!

I've been on a burger kick lately! Today, I went to Farm Burger in Crosstown Concourse for lunch and got the Housemade Vegan Burger with tahini, caramelized onion, and red cabbage, plus a side of sweet potato fries. They also carry the Beyond Burger now so yay for options!


Speaking of Beyond, I finally tried Simple Truth's Emerge Plant-Based Burger. This Kroger brand vegan patty is cheaper than Beyond but tastes and looks EXACTLY the same. Enjoyed on a whole wheat bun with Chao cheese, vegan mayo, spicy ghost pepper pickles, and dijon. I made sweet potato fries in the air fryer (way healthier than the ones I had at Farm Burger today!).


I've been listening to the Engine 2 Plant-Strong podcast lately on my runs, and host Rip Esselstyn is always talking about his Rip's Big Bowl. You can buy the Rip's Big Bowl cereal at Whole Foods, but on the podcast, he gives the recipe to make it at home. I didn't have all the ingredients, but I made a few substitutions. This has Uncle Sam's wheat flakes (they're in his recipe), rolled oats, chia seeds, ground flax, walnuts, dried cranberries, blueberries, banana, and almond milk. It's really good and very filling! This is a nice rest day (from workouts) breakfast.


When I was in Nashville last weekend, we got a hotel room just for fun! And I brought along my usual travel breakfast of an oat cup and nut butter. I had Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan Oats with 88 Acres Vanilla Sunbutter.


And I picked up this vegan Starbucks Frappucino (made with almondmilk) at a gas station to enjoy with my breakfast. I wouldn't normally drink this since I can save the $4 and make great iced coffee at home. But when you're on the road, it's nice to have a milky iced coffee option that's so widely available!

No Meat Meet-Up #5

We had the fifth No Meat Meet-up Vegan Potluck at the cafe at Crosstown Arts, where I work. I'm so lucky to work in a vegan-supportive workplace, where as part of my job, I'm tasked with organizing a monthly vegan potluck! This time, we even got some press in the Memphis Flyer, thanks to my food-writing friend, Lorna Field. Every month, I'm just amazed at all the new faces who come out for this. I'm making new vegan friends every month!

Since I spent the weekend in Nashville for Valentine's Day, I had to come up with something quick and easy, so I made my Tofu Egg & Olive Salad from my cookbook, Cookin' Crunk. This simple salad is made with crumbled tofu, vegan mayo, green olives, celery, red onion, and spices (lots of black salt!). I brought some melba toast for scooping.


For this potluck, we invited our Crosstown Arts resident artists to join in. We host artists from all over the world for residencies in Crosstown Concourse. Since they don't have kitchens in their small apartments, we asked our chef and sous chef (who cook meals for residents) to make a few potluck dishes. They contributed a Pasta Salad and a Green Salad with Coriander Dressing.

And they also gave us lots of vegan pastries!! Muffins, cookies, scones, and blueberry coffee cake! Susan brought the amazing bundt cake from the Veganomicon (served with Nada Moo ice cream), and that was a big hit.

Nicole made this beautiful Avocado Tartar!

Clarita and James are doing a Forks and Knives meal plan right now, so they brought this hearty and healthy whole foods-based Veggie Stew.

Shay made a yummy throw-everything-in-the-pot Veggie Chili, which she served with corn chips.

This Vegan Caesar Salad with Roasted Chickpeas was fantastic. Loved how many salads we had this time!

And this Rainbow Tofu Noodle Salad was the star of the show! There was also a great polenta dish, a yummy blackeyed pea salad, and several more late additions that I forgot to photograph.


If you live in (or near) Memphis and want to come to the next No Meat Meet-up, we'll be dining at 3 pm on Sunday, March 29 at the cafe at Crosstown Arts.

KFC's Beyond Nuggets!!

KFC is testing Beyond Nuggets, a plant-based alternative to chicken nuggets, at 100 locations in (and around) Nashville, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina through the month of February. Since Paul works in Nashville and stays there part-time, I opted to go there for Valentine's Day rather than have him come to Memphis, so I could try the nuggets! I stopped in Dickson, Tennessee, about a half-hour west of Nashville, to try them.

Y'ALL, THESE NUGGETS ARE AMAZING!! I got a small 4-piece snack, but these are also available as a 6-piece with fries. You can get them undressed or tossed with buffalo or BBQ sauce. I wasn't sure about the vegan-ness of either sauce, so I opted for plain.


Here's an inside look. These seriously look, feel, and taste like chicken. I believe these would fool any meat-eater.

Back in 2004-2005, I spent many weekends with my animal rights group, Memphis Area Animal Rights Activists, outside Memphis KFCs, holding PETA protest signs and spreading the message about KFC cruelty. KFC was (and probably still is) notorious for sourcing their chicken from especially cruel suppliers. But I believe this move to add plant-based chicken is a step in the right direction. PETA's current KFC campaign is focused on getting the chain to roll-out vegan chicken nationwide, and it seems to be working.
I believe in using my vegan dollar to demonstrate demand for plant-based options at mainstream restaurant chains. Even if those chains have plenty of other issues, it's important for us vegans to show them they're moving in the right direction.
Of course these nuggets were fried in the same oil as the chicken. And that's not a problem for me. Avoiding cross-contamination is an issue of personal purity, and that's fine for vegans who can't bear the thought of their food coming into contact with meat. But ethically, I believe it's more important to show support for these options than to avoid them due to potential cross-contamination. No additional animals are harmed from using the same oil or grill to prepare food.
I think KFC's addition of Beyond Nuggets is giant step for animals, and I support that! I hope they'll do a nationwide roll-out soon! 

Valentine's Day Eats!

I took Valentine's Day off work because I had a 20-mile training run to squeeze into a very packed weekend. And who doesn't want a self-care day off work on Valentine's Day? Even though I had no business being in Crosstown Concourse since I was off work, I still came to up the building bright and early to get myself a VEGAN DONUT! Lily from Darling Donuts made a special batch of Valentine's donuts to sell at French Truck Coffee for the occasion, and I had to have one.


I didn't get to eat it right away though. I still had that 20-mile run first, and a donut before a long run sounds like a recipe for a stomachache. So I had a blueberry bagel with nut butter instead and then hit the trails at Shelby Farms. I had a great run and enjoyed my donut after a proper post-run snack of white rice, banana, and protein smoothie.
I had plans to go visit Paul in Nashville on Saturday, and we planned to do our date night then. So on Friday, I stayed home and had a nice dinner of White Bean & Veggie Pasta with salad and wine. Date night with myself! This was perfect because I was truly pooped after that run.

The next day, I got up early, squeezed in an hour-long recovery run, and then hit the road for Nashville. I had a very amazing lunch on the road, but I'm saving that for an entire post tomorrow! I also stopped at KOKOS Plant-Based Ice Cream in Nashville on the way to meet up with Paul. I got to town before he was off work and had some time to kill anyway, so ice cream!!! I got two scoops of Biscoffee Ice Cream (coffee ice cream flecked with bits of Biscoff coffee), and it was seriously the best cone of my life.

I met up with Paul after he got off work, and we headed to dinner at The Smiling Elephant. It's a quaint little Thai place that had super-awesome reviews, and everything I'd read about them said they really understood what it means when someone orders vegan. Paul and I both love Thai, and I knew we could agree on this place. Look at his "Somebody in Memphis Loves Me" tee! I gave him that for V-Day and made him wear it. 

We started with the Fresh Rolls, made with rice noodles, cilantro (Paul picked his out), bean sprouts, and carrots.

For our entrees, we decided to split two dishes so we could try more things! We got the Pad See Ew with tofu. They use bean thread noodles rather than rice noodles, and they really soak up the soy sauce flavor and color. Plus, it has broccolini!! Pad See Ew is my favorite Thai dish, and this one was excellent.

And we got the Panang Curry with tofu. Panang curry is Paul's favorite dish, and he said this one was his second favorite he's ever had (the favorite is from Bhan Thai in Memphis). I really liked it too! Coconutty and spicy with lots of crunchy veggies. I enjoyed my half with brown rice, and Paul had white jasmine rice.

A very lovely two-day Valentine's celebration!

Bowls! Bars! Galentine's!

Happy Galentine's Day! February 13 is just as important as February 14 because it's the day to celebrate with all your female-identifying friends! A few friends and I met up for a Galentine's Day dinner at Imagine Vegan Cafe tonight. I'm doing a 20-mile training run tomorrow, so I figured I should carb load with the Vegan Ravioli with Garlic Bread. I added a side of vegan garlic kale.


My gal Susan left me a vegan Peanut Butter Bar from Muddy's Bake Shop in my mailbox the other day! So I enjoyed it yesterday with some tea in the afternoon.


Here's a yummy bowl I whipped up the other night. All you need is a grain, a green, and a bean for a perfect meal! This has brown rice, roasted brussels sprouts and mushrooms, sauteed kale and chickpeas, and a tahini sauce made with coconut nectar and soy sauce.

Tacos! Nachos! Carrot Dogs!

On Monday night, I had a board meeting at The Doghouzz, the new(ish) hot dog bar across from Crosstown Concourse. I love their carrot dog, which I've ordered before from the build-your-own menu. But this time, I ordered the Crosstown Carrot Dog from their signature menu. This has relish, pickle chips, and Asian slaw, served atop a grilled and braised carrot. I got a side of pinto beans and a Monday Night Brewing (cause hey, it was Monday night!) Blind Pirate Blood Orange IPA.


Last Saturday night, my friend Brandy had a few folks over to celebrate Imbolc (a little late) and help her bless her new house with good energy. She had a nice spread set out when we arrived — vegan chicken salad, olive bread with hummus, chips and salsa. I brought what was supposed to be a vegan cheeseball, but despite having made this recipe a number of times, I forgot that it had to set for four hours in the fridge in order to ball it up. So instead, we had cheese spread! Megan brought some homemade seeded bread and hummus with carrots.

On Sunday night, I made another recipe from last month's Health Made Simple Plan — Baby Bella Tacos! These oil-free, whole food-based tacos are made with black beans, baby bellas, avocado, cilantro, scallion, and red cabbage. I served them with air-fried tortilla chips and Siete Foods cashew queso.

I had taco leftovers the next day, but there was still so much filling left! So on Tuesday for lunch, I made the leftover filling into nachos! It's the same ingredients, but nachos are slightly easier to eat at your desk at work. Slightly! For this, I used homemade air-fried tortilla chips. They're low-oil and so easy to make. I just cut corn tortillas into triangles, spray with a bit of spray oil, dust with salt, and air-fry for about 8 minutes on 350 degrees.

Brekky Sandwiches! Donuts! Indian Food!

On Sunday, my friends from LuLu's hosted a pop-up brunch at the cafe at Crosstown Arts. They had three options — a brekky sandwich, a brekky fried rice bowl, and a brekky plate. I opted for the Brekky Sandwich on their fresh-baked English muffin with tofu egg, beet blackeyed pea sausage, and cashew cheese. Served with a side salad with butter lettuce, smoky pecans, and tahini.


Speaking of LuLu's, I also went by their CY Farmers Market booth on Saturday morning and picked up a Baby Foccacia, which I enjoyed after my 15-mile run! Perfect post-run carbs with a side salad.


I also grabbed a Chocolate Cherry Biscotti from LuLu's. I had this with some herbal tea while watching the Oscars on Sunday. Chocolately cherry crunchy goodness!


Donuts!! My co-worker Lily surprised us at work with more vegan donuts from her company, Darling Donuts, last week!! I had half a glazed and a half a maple stick. There is nothing I love more than a good donut. NOTHING.


And finally, here's some yummy Indian food! I met my friends Mike and Andy for dinner at India Palace on Friday night. I got the Turka Daal (made with yellow split peas) and enjoyed that with basmati rice and pappadum. The crispy pappadum, dipped into tamarind chutney and mint chutney, is my favorite part of any North Indian meal.

Review: Be Leaf Vegan Fried Egg!

My dad ordered me an early Valentine's Day gift from Vegan Essentials — a care package with Sjaak's Melk Truffles AND the new Be Leaf Vegan Fried Egg!!! 

I first saw this awesome yuba skin "egg" on Hillary's blog, My Cat Loves Daiya, and I knew I had to try it! Unfortunately, at $14.99 a package, this six-serving box of eggs isn't really practical as an everyday food item, but it makes a fun gift (especially when dad is buying!).

The eggs come pre-made from a mixture of non-GMO soybean protein, non-GMO soybean skin (yuba), pea fiber, pea starch, sunflower seed oil, yeast, sea salt, brown sugar, paprika extract, and carrot extract. The texture is eerily similar to a chicken egg. The yolk has a mouthfeel that's pretty much the exact same as a cooked egg yolk, rather than a runny one. The sides of the yuba skin get super crispy when fried in a skillet. They taste a little eggy, but I like to add black salt for maximum eggy-ness.
I've been enjoying these on their own with air-fried hash and toast.

And they're also amazing on sandwiches! When I was going vegan way back when, I had a much harder time giving up eggs than I did cheese. And that's because I loved a fried egg sandwich. Like more than pretty much anything in the world. So getting to enjoy a fried egg sandwich (this one has Chao cheese, vegan mayo, and spinach) again was life-changing. 

This morning, I had a vegan fried egg with Chao cheese and mayo on a LuLu's English muffin (scored from the CY Farmers Market this past weekend).

The eggs come frozen, and you have to thaw the entire package to use them since they're stacked together in the box. But I put three eggs back into the freezer to hoard for later! I'll be sad when they're gone!

Burritos and GGB Bowls!

We're coming to the end of the first week off the Health Made Simple meal plan, and I'm feeling great. I'm still focusing on whole foods, but I'm making more space for treats and the occasional processed foods. I'm also still having smoothies for breakfast, fruit for afternoon snacks, and salads before dinner.

On Monday night, my first day back to "real life" eating, I met up with a few friends at Moe's Southwest Grill (the burrito chain) for Veggie Tofu Burritos! I had a race orientation that night for the 50K I'm running in March, so I pretty much just ordered with the friends, and then I had to eat in the car on the drive to my event. But this massive burrito with tofu, black beans, brown rice, corn salsa, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and guac was portable for car eating.


On Tuesday night, I made one of the Health Made Simple recipes I didn't get to make on the plan — Tempeh Rice Gumbo. This isn't real gumbo because you need a roux for that, but since this is oil-free, a roux wasn't possible. But it's still really good with gumbo flavors (from file and paprika)! I made it in my new Instant Pot, and it has brown rice, tempeh bacon, bell pepper, spinach, and tomatoes.


On Wednesday night, I made a fun spin on the GGB Bowl (that stands for grain/green/bean). You can make a GGB bowl with any grain, any green, and any bean. For this, I used whole wheat pasta as the grain, sauteed kale and broccoli for the greens, and chickpeas for the bean. I topped it with the leftover butternut squash cheese sauce from last week's mac and cheese.

Review: Voke Superfood Tablets

I'm a morning person. I wake up at 5 am with pep in my step, ready to take on the day. Okay, real talk, that first 10 minutes after the alarm goes off is rough, but as soon as I've had my morning cuddle with my dog Maynard and my warm lemon water, I'm ready for anything. But come 2 pm, I go a little cross-eyed at my work laptop, and my focus starts to fade.

A few weeks ago, I received a review package of Voke Superfood Tablets to test out and review on Vegan Crunk. These chewable tablets claim to help you stay mentally vigilant, focused, and emotionally upbeat all day.


They contain guarana, acerola cherry, beet, and green tea caffeine. The guarana is said to help improve mood and focus; the cherry is good for immune support and sport recovery; the beetroot helps with cognitive function and is a natural antioxidant; and the green tea helps with mood and energy.


Each packet contains two chewable tablets. You take one in the morning and another mid-afternoon. I've been following this protocol for a couple weeks now, and I'm here to say, "It works!!" I definitely felt a boost immediately after taking them. It's a very similar feeling to a B12 shot or one of those B12 sprays, but I don't think this actually contains B12. The afternoon tablet was especially helpful for getting me through those 2 pm slumps!


My only complaint is the taste. They have a cherry flavor, thanks to the acerola cherries, but there's also a bitterness that I suspect comes from the guarana, which is naturally very bitter. My pro tip would be to always wash the tabs down with a flavored drink (like a smoothie or juice) to mask that lingering taste. But despite the bitterness, I've continued to take Voke tablets because they work!