Midweek Munchies

It's Sunday, but these midweek munchies don't obey the laws of time.

The world was abuzz with the news... and by world I mean Brisbane vegans and the news in question was that Totally Vegan By Charlie chocolates were going to be landing at The Green Edge. This South Australian based company had been making vegan versions of some all time favourite chocolate bars. I got Bubbly Jaffa (orange Aero Bar), Fat Cats (KitKat), Slackers (Snickers) and Buggy Wheels (Wagon Wheels). They also have Bubbly Mint (mint Aero) and Choc Deck (Top Deck) that I did not get, and since then they have also released Marsssss, Twicks, and Honeycomb (both explanatory). The chocolate here is kind of mey, it is sweet and kind of thick and soft. So it really relied on the flavours to bring it home. My least favourite was the Bubbly Jaffa, more because a textural issue because while the orange flavour was nice the whole thing was just very soft. Following it up was the Buggy Wheels, which suffered from a too dry biscuit layer and not enough filling. The penultimate flavour was the Fat Cats. This wasn't in two fingers, like a KitKat, it was a block with squares you broke off. But they were filled with delicious crunchy wafer. And finally, the winner of course was Slackers. Peanuts and caramel and nougat.





When you are already buying all this chocolate, what is a few more sweeties?? Both of these flavours are Alter Eco are amazing, I have had them many times before. I also got some Peanut Butter and Berry Jam Jubes by Australian company The Red Balloon. I don't know how they did it, but wow they really got peanut butter flavour into a jube. Though to be honest, this is not my favourite way to have peanut butter and jam. The jubey texture and the flavour just don't really match up in my brain.



From things I bought, to things brought to me! My friend Kim made some homemade vegan soy yoghurt, and delivered some to me at work. It was excellent! Thick and tangy. I took it home and made breakfast with it the next day, just with some berries and pepitas and a drizzle of maple syrup added on top. Yum!



With so many new vegan meats coming out, I picked up these Chicvee and Beefvee strips from V Plant Based on clearance. They freeze great! And they are frequently on sale for half price, which is even less that these ones! Look out for them in some upcoming meals.



Here's a using random stuff up toasted sandwich I made for lunch one day. It had cheese and some leftover vegetable ragu. A fun way to use up those leftovers.



And this lovely sandwich, that had some avocado, smoked Miyoko's cheese, panfried smoked tofu, mayo, and tomato.



Finally, some experiments. As long time readers know, coconut fat is my enemy. I can have a little bit, but I have a low tolerance so I end up feeling really awful if I eat too much. And coconut is such a popular ingredient in vegan dairy foods these days! There are some things I can eat, but I don't know until I try and the cost tends to put me off being willing to take that risk. However, I found some Pana Ice Cream on super clearance sale for AU$4 a tub (normally AU$12), so I thought sure. I'm willing to lost $4 and give this to someone else if it doesn't work out. I am happy to report, it did work out! This joins So Delicious in coconut-based ice creams that I can eat! I still can't eat a heap of it, but I can definitely have a nice little dessert snack bowl. I had the Peanut Butter and Raspberry flavour, which was awesome! I have also since got the Boysenberry Cheezecake flavour.



I had a similar mindset when I got this tub of Nakula Strawberry Yoghurt on clearance for $1. Nakula traditionally has been all coconut based, but this one is a blend of coconut and almond. Alas, it was too coconut fatty for me. But hurrah, it was only $1!