It’s getting to the point where making my meals are almost Top Chef challenges. The fridge is nearly bare, save for some lingering leftovers and oddities that have been hiding in the back for quite some time.
Case in point, this yves veggie cuisine meatless deli turkey.
When I first went vegan, I used to make sandos out of this stuff (or some similar brand) all the time. I had completely forgotten about it until I discovered it the other day.
Since I haven’t had real deli meat in years, this mock meat version was way less appealing than when I was a newbie and still in the weaning phases.
I was at a loss for other lunch ideas, though, so I decided to make myself a traditional turkey sandwich…minus the traditional turkey part.
The first layers were avocado and stone ground mustard (on WF bread).
I was hesitant to mix wheat and processed soy because that’s a large FODMAPS load for my gut, but I knew I wasn’t working the next day, so my digestive system could rest and recover.
Next up, spinach and “turkey.”
And that was that.
Here’s the rest of my pre-packed work food, including carrots, corn nuts, oatmeal, and banana, and a dried fruit/nut mix. The snacks are self explanatory (I hope).
The oats were a standard combo of peanut flour, chia seeds, and raisins.
It may look like soup there, but the next morning it was thicke like robin.
See?
Another hugely bizarre, but ultimately successful dish was also born from the aforementioned barren fridge sitch.
Can you guess what this is? [I hope not]
Here’s a hint.
Yup, it’s what you get when you boil 1/2 cup oats with 2 cups of cereal. This dish was actually not so much the result of my fridge scraping, but more due to the fact that I like the flavor (but not the texture) of these GF honey rice puffins. They hurt the roof of my mouth when I eat them cold with milk, but they tasted good and I don’t like wasting food. So I made them into a hot cereal dish instead! I also added GF chocolate rice crispies into the mix.
The result was a hideous, but delicious, bowl of oats. It was chocolate-y, it was rice-y, and it was texturally one of the oddest things I have even consumed. I made it the day before work and stored it in the tupperware overnight. The next day the cereal had a glue-like quality, and had I turned the tupperware upside down, it would have come out in one big mold like a blob of jello. My coworkers were probably eyeing this one with eyebrows raised.
If you’re tired of staring at carrots, corn nuts, and bananas, think how I feel. Actually, that’s a lie, I could eat corn nuts all day every day.
teriyaki roasted brussels sprouts + scrambled eggs + spinach <— hi, I’m random
You see, I had these brussels sprouts hiding in the back of the produce drawer.
They were basically on their death bed. So then I put them on their actual deathbed – a baking sheet – after coating them in oil.
As an afterthought I drizzled teriyaki sauce over them. I just felt like something different.
I baked them for 30 minutes on 350.
Good thing we are only in town for another few days because as you can see, things are getting…interesting.
Any random winners you’ve ever created out of necessity desperation?
Question/jealousy: Are you still making your way through some hoarded leftover peanut flour from TJs or is there some place where this is for sale online that I simply don’t know about? So much jealousy! I miss my peanut sauce.
“It’s getting to the point where making my meals are almost Top Chef challenges.”– lol. So true with me sometimes too!
dont be jealous but my mom bought me 10 packages when i told her they were going to stop carrying them. she bought out the TJs in my home town bc i told her to.
I was trying to clean out my fridge one time before a break in college and had a tub of cottage cheese and a can of tuna fish- it turned out fabulously on top of a salad mess 😀
P.S. I’ve topped my oats with cereal before but never mixed it in during the cooking process- will have to try!
*DON’T* be jealous!? hahaha impossible!
but the thing is, my mom kinda did the same thing for me, only my surplus is long-gone. why does trader joe’s always get rid of stuff? i feel like we need to petition or something. bloggers unite for peanut flour. we can get t-shirts and everything.
its a TJs thing. kyle explained the business model to me once but i have long since forgotten it.
Haha I totally get the top-chef feeling. But I think the best meals are definitely made when you have to be creative with whatcha got!
Love your creativity! 🙂 I especially want that bowl of peanut flour, raisins, and oats!
Is there anything more beautiful than a giant pan of roasted brussels sprouts? I think not. I could seriously sit and eat a whole stalk of those little beauts. Hmm, probably why I don’t have many friends. Apparently cabbages make one quite gassy.
I’ve never tried that brand of faux lunch meat before but I’ve always been curious. Is this one you would recommend or is there a better brand out there that you think would be better?
I’ve definitely been there, done that! Last month, right before I moved, I had a lot of random pastas with random cans of beans, and near death veggies roasted.
TJ’s getting rid of their peanut flour was so, so sad. 🙁
The oats sound amazing and I agree I fake meat, I used to have it more in my early vegan days.
Theres a product called “pb2” that is basically the same thing, im sure iherb.com has it- but honestly i got hooked on tj’s new almond meal and now i use that for uh, everything- literally everything from oats to salads!
I think you and I should have a “creative cook off” with seeing who can come up with the most ridiculous recipes before leaving for vacation. I swear some of your meals look like mine, when I’m coming down to the bottom of the barrel. HA! Speaking of which I need to roast up a head of cauliflower and brussel sprouts….
doesn’t matter if it’s ugly, as long as it tastes good is my motto.
i order peanut flour from http://www.southerngracefarms.com/
Ive come up with some weird ass creations at times. But hey, if it tastes good thats all that matters!
My extensive meal planning leaves me with very few unaccounted for items. Perhaps I should plan less and create more!
Roasted brussels sprouts are delicious! I’ve been munching on them all this week. 🙂 I used the browned spaghetti squash juice to roast them, so here’s for odd! I made spaghetti squash and just kept rollin with it. I think it helps when the stuff you’re cleaning out is stuff you like! 🙂