#BeyondMeat Vegan Lettuce Tacos + Giveaway!


vegan-lettuce-tacosm

I am excited to have the opportunity to cook with and talk about the Beyond Meat line of vegan beef crumbles.

You all know that I’m a fan of the various vegan meat products out there. Whenever a new product is released, I’m first in line to try it. So I’ve definitely been watching Beyond Meat. Ever since they showed up at Whole Foods, I was there. First their mock chicken products, and now the beef crumbles. They’re not only vegan, they are also kosher and gluten free. It’s the absolute trifecta in my book. The fact that they taste good. Perfecto!

I’d already tried the beefy variety of the crumbles, so I decided to get a little crazy and try their Feisty crumbles.

vegan feisty crumbles

An idea immediately popped in to my head. I some amazing fresh lettuce and corn from my CSA. I decided I needed to make tacos out of these Feisty crumbles. It would be a perfect light, vegan and gluten free dinner. Since the Feisty crumbles already had some seasoning in there, I had a hunch that with just a bit of adaptation, they would be perfect for my tacos.

I chopped up some onion and garlic and added it to a hot pan. I added the frozen Beyond Meat crumbles to the pan and cooked for a few minutes, breaking up the pieces. I added some cumin, salt and pepper to the mix. I then added some corn that I cut off the cob. I cooked another five minutes.

cooking-crumbles

I washed and prepped some lettuce leaves. Romaine or Butter Lettuce are perfect for this. I also chopped up some peppers and avocado.

I scooped some of the meat mixture in to the lettuce pieces and then sprinkled over some peppers and avocado. You could also add some cheddar cheese for the ultimate taco experience.

This was the perfect summer dinner!

Don’t forget to enter the amazing giveaway below!

*Please note that this was a sponsored post. While the product was provided to me, the recipe and opinions are my own.



 

Vegan Lettuce Tacos
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 package of Beyond Meat Feisty Crumbles
  • 1 tbsp. cumin
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • Corn from 2 ears of corn
  • Lettuce Leaves
  • 1 Red pepper, chopped
  • 1 Avocado, diced
  • Vegan or Dairy Cheddar (optional)
  • Additional salt and pepper as necessary
Instructions
  1. Heat up the olive oil in a large pan
  2. Add in the onions, garlic and spices. Cook for a few minutes.
  3. Add in the vegan beef crumbles and the corn. Cook for about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat.
  4. Clean the lettuce leaves.
  5. Scoop the meat mixture in to the lettuce leaves and garnish with the remaining chopped veggies and optional cheese.
  6. Serve and enjoy!

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Yoplait vs. Chobani 100 Calorie Strawberry Greek Yogurt Taste Off

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The fine folks at Yoplait are convinced that their new 100-calorie line of Greek yogurts is so amazing and awesome that they asked me to do a taste-off with Chobani to see which yogurt came out ahead.

I have to admit that I was pretty skeptical from the get-go. Im typically a Fage or Chobani girl, with the occasional Trader Joe’s Greek yogurt thrown in here or there. Yoplait is usually for the kids or something that I grew up with. I just don’t think of Yoplait on a typical day. I was totally curious though.

I’m  a huge Greek yogurt fan. I love the creamy and rich taste of the yogurt and the huge protein burst it gives me. It gives me the energy I need for the day until I break for lunch. I have never had the 100-calorie yogurt options and wasn’t sure what to expect. I was on a business trip recently and they had the regular Yoplait Greek yogurt (not low-calorie) and I wasn’t too impressed. I found it too sweet and not creamy enough. So I went in to this experiment a bit jaded and not so trusting. Could Yoplait make friends with me? Would my longstanding love for Chobani live on?

I bought the strawberry flavor of both brands. I bought a few of each so I could test on the whole family. I had to put the two yogurts side-by-side for the full effect and proceed with the test. Physically, the containers are the same size and shape. No big surprise there. Yogurt containers seem to come in just a few models.

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When I opened the package, I peeked in and stirred up the contents. The Yoplait Greek 100 Strawberry seemed to have less in the container, and had settled a bit. It certainly looked creamier and pinker than the Chobani Simply 100 Strawberry. The fruit in the Chobani was on the bottom and had to be stirred up. No surprise there. They are typically fruit on the bottom, while Yoplait tends to often be all mixed up. Based on the color, I actually had to check the ingredient panel right then and there. I’m not a fan of fake food colorings, so I was ready to seethe. My nerves calmed, when I saw that both yogurts used beta carotene and vegetable juice for coloring. No red # whatever. Phewsh!

 

I took a spoonful of each yogurt. I was expecting a sugar bomb from Yoplait and a natural tart and creamy effect from Chobani.

My mind was blown. My expectations were blown up!

I was actually bothered by the taste in the Chobani. It had a funky off-set taste. I couldside by sode yogurts.jpgn’t quite place it, but I was missing my creaminess. What happened, Chobani? Why have you forsaken me?

Yoplait had the right texture I was seeking in a Greek yogurt. The creamy factor hit me right where it needed to be. The yogurt wasn’t too sweet. It had the right amount of tartness that I’ve come to expect from my Greek yogurts. Yoplait totally blew me away! They were the winner on every aspect that I judge a yogurt by. Whoa!

Mind blown, I sought my family’s judgement. Four out of four panelists agreed. Yoplait was the clear winner! Are you interested in participating in this awesome #tasteoff? Check it out here!

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*This taste test was sponsored by Yoplait, but I was given the creative freedom to honestly express my opinions.

 

 

 

Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars

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Did you know that Pillsbury has recently come out with a line of gluten free doughs? I recently came across their new line of doughs in the supermarket. I’m so glad that companies like Pillsbury have expanded to the gluten free market and their products are widely available.

Thanks to Pillsbury, I have just had the opportunity to try some of their Chocolate Chip Gluten Free Cookie Dough. I was so excited to try it! I knew that I couldn’t just roll them in to balls and pop them in to the oven. I had to do something fun with this new product.

My favorite kind of cookie is a cookie bar. Something about them just allows for more amazing things to happen. You can layer them. You can stuff them. You can add all sorts of yummy stuff to them. A cookie bar is always the way to go. My favorite cookie is typically an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. I knew I had to do some sort of mash-up. That lightbulb moment happened where I decided to make a layered oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bar. Right away, I knew what would go in the middle of the two gluten free cookie doughs. The only option in my mind was caramel. Gooey and creamy caramel. My mouth is watering thinking about it!

I first mixed up my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough. I used gluten free oats along with a gluten free flour blend. I slightly adapted the recipe that is on the Quaker Oats canister.

mixing-the-dough

I pressed the mixture in to a sprayed 9×13 baking pan.

oatmeal-layer

Next, I melted caramel bits along with a few tablespoons of heavy cream. I love the caramel bits because they melt faster than the squares and there is no unwrapping to do.

caramel

I poured the caramel over the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough mixture.

pouring-caramel

Next, I used my cookie dough scoop to spoon out even balls of the Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough. I placed them over the caramel.

cookie-balls-pre-baked

I then baked everything at 350 for around 26-27 minutes. I kept my eye on the cookie bars for even browning. The cookie bars couldn’t cool fast enough. I let them cool completely before cutting.

cookie-bars-out-of-the-oven

Holy moly. These cookies bars are amazing. They are the perfect indulgent dessert for a crowd. I hope you enjoy!

**This article is sponsored by Pillsbury. The recipe and content is my own. To check out some other gluten free recipes featuring the line of Pillsbury doughs, go here!


Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars
 
Author:
Recipe type: Drinks
Cuisine: gluten free
Ingredients
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer - slightly adapted from Quaker Oats
  • 1 stick plus 6 Tbsp. softened butter
  • ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1.5 cups Gluten Free Flour Blend (use one that includes xanthan gum in the ingredients)
  • 1 tsp. gluten free Baking Soda
  • 2 tsp. Cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 3 cups Gluten Free oats
  • 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Caramel Layer
  • 1.5 cups Caramel Bits
  • 3 Tbsp. Heavy Cream
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer
  • 1 tub of Pillsbury Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Layer
  1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together. Bean in the eggs and vanilla.
  2. In a smaller bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together.
  3. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter.
  4. Stir in the chocolate chips and the oats until well incorporated.
  5. Spray a 9x13 pan and press the oatmeal chocolate chip mixture in to the pan.
Caramel and Cookie Layers
  1. Place the caramel bits and the heavy cream in a small sauce pan. Heat the pan to medium-high and stir frequently until well melted.
  2. Once everything is melted and mix well, remove from heat.
  3. Pour the caramel over the oatmeal chocolate chip mixture.
  4. Using a cookie scoop, spoon the chocolate chip cookie dough over the caramel layer.
  5. Bake in oven for around 27 minutes, until the top has an even brown tone.
  6. Cool completely before cutting. The bars will be gooey from the caramel.
  7. Enjoy!

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