The best bean to bar

You know how I’ve been making an extra effort to use up things stashed away in our pantry/freezer for the past few weeks/months?  Apparently that’s a new trend that’s gaining popularity.  It’s called shelf cooking and there’s a whole hashtag devoted to the #shelfcookingchallenge.  Who knew!?!  I’m game!!  I love the feeling of using things up, plus it is in alignment with my efforts to reduce waste.  Not that I waste things in the freezer or pantry.  Throwing them away is not my problem, but rather, collecting things “just in case” to the degree that I am boarding on hoarders status… You guys must think I am a hot mess with how much I talk about my issues here.  I swear I am a normal functional human (with a few quirks).  Most of it stems from a combo of me being frugal, but there’s also a large part of me that’s aware of the hunger epidemic as well as the global impact our diets/consumer tendencies have on the environment.  It’s a lot, but you don’t have to save the world all on your own, because baby steps add up.  I’m just trying to do my tiny part.  So let’s discuss my vegan lunch.  Or you could skip right over this part of the post, since it’s the same as it has been going on three weeks now…

I used up the last of the Kewpie dressing for this, but didn’t restock my favorite Thai dressing from Nugget because I noticed an unopened miso dressing hanging out in the back of the fridge from months ago.  It’s not the same flavor at all, but I still felt the need to use up at least one more dressing before buying a new one.  I have a pair of tessemae creamy Caesar dressing back there too, so it’s a little crowded at the moment.

I did restock our kale and avo stashes though.  Fresh produce is a must, of course.

The peanuts got swapped out for roasted salted almonds (half marcona and half regular).

Tossed altogether for a scrumptious plant based bowl.

I’m cracking up that I don’t have any photos of this night’s dinner because it was SUCH a big deal.

Not the cabbage part…that was just the side dish.  I made a simple slaw to pair with the pork tamales we got.  P had read a book about tamales the week before in school and was interested in trying them after I told him they weren’t tomatoes (tomates y tamales suenan similares).  So we did!  They were a bit spicy so the kids were so-so on them, but Kyle and I enjoyed them.

This chocolate almost ALMOST deserves it’s own post.  Allow me to introduce you all to THE BEST CHOCOLATE I have ever tried.  EVER.

I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s true.  And as you all know I’ve tried a lot of chocolate.  And I have some major faves.  But that was before I had Lucy Meifield chocolate.

It’s bean to bar, but doesn’t have any bitterness that I usually find fancy bean to bar chocolate to have.  It’s texture is soft, but rich with major flavor.  It’s easy to savor small pieces, but not because it’s too dark to eat more at once – rather because it is so good you only need a little to fill your mouth with happy chocolate notes.  It’s insane.  Do I sound insane talking about it??  I’m obsessed.  I need to order more asap.  Unfortunately you can’t get it in stores, but they have a special going on right now that lets you pick any 3 bars for $12.  The Guatemala is my favorite so you MUST promise me you get that one.

Loooooook at that!

And the only ingredients in it are cacao and cane sugar!!!

I posted this on my IG stories a few days ago and got a million questions so I’ll just refer you to the place to buy them now…go forth and make your chocolate dreams come true.