See What I Mean?!

It always seems that as soon as I start to notice something, I start to see it everywhere!

This has definitely been the case with the rise in corn allergy coverage. As I spoke of in my post this Monday, recently I have been seeing an exponential increase in mentions of corn allergies and of products being labeled "corn-free."

Then, almost as if someone wanted to prove my point, I was at PCC on Tuesday and what do I see? Veggie patties labeled "Vegan. Gluten-free. Corn-free. Soy-free." Whaaat??? It's like I didn't even have to check the ingredients! I of course did anyway, because well when don't I check the ingredients, and yes indeed no corn, gluten, soy, or animal products! I knew I had to give them a try!

The first time I made these patties I pan fried one with some caramelized onions and served it over mac and cheese.

"Mac & Chreese" by Road's End Organics

Yummy yummy! (And yes I did add kale to my pasta)

The second time I made these I baked a patty and served it with cauliflower (which I gobbled up before I could get a picture) and baked yam fries.

I preferred the stove top preparation compared to the oven since it left the patty with a much crunchier and crispy texture, which I thought was pretty fun. However, either way these patties are really quite tasty! It's actually recommended to make these in the toaster, which I did not do since our toaster is full of potentially poisonous ingredients for me, but I would expect that's a really good way to make them.

Oddly enough I cannot say that I have ever had a veggie burger. This mostly stems from the fact I have not found a bun I can eat to put the patty on, which really prevents any sort of "burger" experience from happening, and up until now I have not found a patty I wanted, or could, try! So, while I do not have much of a reference point I thought these were good!

I purchased the "Wholesome Harvest" flavor but the other vegan options (two of their flavors are vegetarian) were "Spicy Bean" and "Hearty Hemp Seed" and I would definitely be interested trying these to see how they compare. The type I tried has both sweet potatoes and maple syrup in the ingredients making it more of a sweet patty, perhaps not the most traditional style for veggie burgers (although really what do I know?!). These did have the trouble of falling apart a bit, which based on my understanding is a common problem with veggie patties, but this wasn't an issue for me because of how I was eating them. All and all a tasty addition to my meals and a handy thing to keep in the freezer for those days when I don't have too much time or energy to worry about my meal.

If you want to check this product out you can find it here! I'm so glad to see more products being labeled as corn-free (as well as vegan) and I hope this trend continues to grow!

Today also marks the start of my summer vacation, which started after my 8:00am chemistry final this morning. While it has not been the most summery of days I have managed to have a great day napping, visiting a coffee shop with a friend, and enjoying some Firefly with chocolate and tea. That all works for me!

Since I have a break for almost six weeks I hope to be blogging more frequently and look forward to taking on the "Vegan Month of Food" or Vegan MoFo challenge in September!

I'll be back soon, until then, enjoy this song that I've been loving lately! Happy Thursday!