I Love Trader Joe's

I really do. Today I braved the snow and the wind to get a bagful of lovely vegetables (including romaine lettuce, sweet  potatoes, and red peppers). I also ended up with a few extras in my cart, like these beauties:

Wow. This is one of the best salsas I've ever had. And the fresh is in the description is not a lie -- it tastes like it was made this morning. The guacamole was also out of this world. Both the guacamole and salsa were very reasonably priced, at least two dollars cheaper than what I could get at the other grocery stores. 

Going back in time ... want to know what J and I had for dinner last night? We had this:

It's Skillet Spanish Beef 'N Rice from Pillsbury's Hamburger magazine. This is a dish I used it to make all the time before I changed my diet. J mentioned how much he missed it the other day, and I thought to myself: I can veganize that.

I used Trader Joe's meatless ground beef instead of real hamburger, and added a few chipotles and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper to liven up the taste. It's shocking how easy this recipe is, and how, just a few years ago, I thought it was challenging. All in all, it tasted just as I remembered it. J had two helpings! 

Since I'm all about the food (or in this case, the drinks) today, I just wanted to mention that Good Belly, a vegan probiotic drink company, has a 12 Day Challenge on their website. If you sign up, they'll send you coupons! I haven't tried any of their products yet, but the next time I'm at Whole Foods I'll definitely pick up a bottle.