Heart Thrive & TVP Gravy

Thanks so much for all of your well wishes and tip for finals week!

I took my last final yesterday and now I get to relax and enjoy a four-day weekend. Tuesday I go back and start a new semester with all new classes, I cannot wait! My course load this semester is considerably easier so I will be able to relax a bit and enjoy my senior year. Not that I don’t enjoy being busy but sometimes you can burn yourself out – aka I have a teeny cold. Yuck! I’ll be taking it easy today and drinking lots of tea hoping that I can get over this soon.

A teeny update about work! I’m working again tomorrow at my new job and it will be my third and last day in training. I am learning how to make all kinds of things (me using an expresso machine = scary!), and did I mention that I get a discount in the café and the shop? Literally everyday that I am scheduled to work I can’t stop smiling. Am I a nerd or what? 🙂

Vegan Thursday Week Two!

The other night my mom was in the mood for some biscuits and gravy. In honors of Vegan Thursday I decided to take on the challenge and attempted to make both biscuits and gravy from scratch. They turned out amazing if I do say so myself!

Homestyle Biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons lemon juice

3 tbsp canola oil

2/3 cup soy milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Assembly

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl whisk together your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) until fluffy and let stand. In a small container mix together soy milk, oil and lemon juice and fold into the wet ingredients. Let stand for about three minutes. The mixture should be slightly sticky and not crumbly.

Roll out the dough and shape into biscuits. (to get mine all the same size I used a lightly greased muffin tin.) Bake for 10-14 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Will keep for up to four days in the fridge. You can enjoy these with jelly, peanut butter or a smidge of earth balance.

Southern Style TVP Gravy

Ingredients

1 tbsp earth balance

1/2 cup dark tvp

3 tbsp flour

1 cup water (as needed)

Salt, pepper, cilantro, garlic powder (to taste)

Assembly

In a separate bowl mix 1/2 cup TVP in warm water, cover and let stand five minutes until soft. Season according to your taste. In a skillet melt earth balance, and add 1/2 cup of water. Slowly whisk in flour making sure there are no lumps. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, cilantro and whatever other seasonings your heart desires. Slowly add more water (by the tablespoon) and whisk until desired gravy thickness is reached (more water for a thinner gravy, less for a thicker heartier fare). Break up TVP chunks and add to the skillet, and let simmer for five to ten minutes.

Serve over biscuits, toast, hash browns or whatever you like.

Review Alert!

You all know im a fan of Larabars and Cliff Bars, but the other day I picked up a couple of these bad boys. Heart Thrive nutritious meals on the go made by The Healthy Baking Company. Heart Thrive energy bars are all vegan, made with no GMO’s and offer you 30% of your daily fiber, protein and calcium. They come in seven delicious different flavors including chocolate, poppy, apple and apricot. Each package of heart thrive meal on the go bars contain two bars, or two servings. The raisin spice flavor only has 159 calories per bar.

Its made with…

Oats, brown rice syrup, raisins, brown rice flour, soy protein concentrate, soy flour, rice bean, inulin (chicory root extract), natural fruit juice, dried plums, dried apples, dried pears, calcium citrate, cinnamon and nutmeg.

The verdict?

I really enjoyed these flavors. Each bar was moist, and still crumbly. The flavor was amazing it was perfectly spiced, it reminded me of an oatmeal raisin cookie. One bar kept me full for a couple of hours, and I was able to power through my afternoon workout. If you get a chance to pick one of these up please do , you wont be disappointed! I’m really disappointed that I havent been able to find any of the other flavors to try! Would I buy these again? YES!

To try Heart Thrive “hearts” you can shop here, when you place your first order you will receive six more hearts for free! And if you mention my blog I will get six free… so if your placing an order. 😉

I also have some icky news. My beloved car Elsie is in the shop today in need of major repairs. Once I hear more I’ll let you know – I hope it’s not too expensive to fix her up! Enjoy your friday and take it easy! I know I will be today. 🙂

Maggie over at My Breakfast Blog giveaway baking challenge. Check it out! Ill be whipping up something this weekend.

I was informed that I won the Xagave giveaway over at Gluten Free Gidget. Thank you so much!

Michal ♥