Meal Ideas: Vegan Fajita Quesadilla

 

I love quesadilla. Not only does it taste like heaven, it got me through my poor busy college years. I probably have made about a hundred of quesadillas in my life, and it was time to make another hundred or more in vegan style.

First, grill your veggies (I used red and yellow bell peppers and onions) in a pan with olive oil until they're soft. Set them aside in a bowl. Add some vegan cheese (I used Daiya chedder cheese) to your bowl of hot veggies and mix well. 

Place your veggies/cheese mixture in a tortilla and fold them in half. Place the tortilla on a pan and grill until your cheese is melted well. 

To upgrade your quesadilla, top it off with some avocado, sauce of your choice (my sauce is a mixture of veganaise, sriracha and ketchup), and cilantro. 

Now you have a beautiful quesadilla that you can bring to parties and impress your non-vegan friends! Or if you're like me, you can just eat the whole thing by yourself.

Enjoy!

Product Review: Gardein Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Wings

Brand: Gardein

Product: Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Wings

Price: $4.19

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

This is another product that I had picked up during my last trip to Target (see my previous Product Review: Simply Balanced Korean BBQ Chicken). Gardein? Sounds like they know what they're doing! Let's try it.

First of all, they had 10 "wings" in there. 10!! That is equivalent to about 42 cents per wing, not including the tax. I don't know about you, but that seems a bit too expensive. I know all meatless products tend to be expensive though... Good thing I don't buy these often. 

In a bag, there are "wings" as well as a sauce packet. Depending on the cooking method (stovetop, conventional oven, or toaster oven) you put the sauce before or after cooking the "wings." It was very easy too prepare and takes less than 10 minutes. I used the stove top to make them, and I advise you not to put too much cooking oil for the product is pretty oily itself. 

I cooked the entire bag, and the result looks like the picture below. And no green onions are not included. 

Let's talk about the taste. It's a bit too salty for my taste, but it is as they described it: sweet and tangy barbecue.  You can't expect them to taste exactly like chicken wings (because they don't) but they have charm of their own. 

I am not the type to count calories, but in case you are, a serving (4 wings per serving) of this is 120 calories. Meaning, if you were to eat the entire bag in one sitting, you will be consuming 300 calories from this product. I'm not sure if that's going to help you decide whether or not to try this product, but there you go.

I also tried wrapping them in a taco shell just for fun. I liked it; I just wish I had more veggies inside the taco.

So overall, this is not a bad product. This delivers what the package promises. Too expensive and processed for everyday meal, but once in awhile seems okay. Will I purchase this product again? I'm not too sure. Maybe it will depend on the day's mood.

Product Review: Simply Balanced Korean Barbecue Meatless Chicken

Brand: Simply Balanced

Product: Korean Barbecue Meatless Chicken

Price: $3.99

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

 

Before I start, I must say how happy I was to see a fridge dedicated to vegetarian/ vegan "meat" options at Target in Brea! It's not a big section, but I really do appreciate it. As always, I love you, Target!

Okay. Moving on. I discovered this during my last trip to Target and thought, "Oooh Korean BBQ! I must try this!" I thought this would be a great product to share with my boyfriend, who is a total meat lover.

Inside you will see about 2 handful of "chicken strips" and 2 packets of "Korean BBQ sauce." To prepare, you cook the "chicken strips" in a microwave oven or stovetop then just mix in the sauce. Simple to make and doesn't take long to cook at all. 

The chicken strips are made of soy products. It's very chewy and reminds me of fish cakes. I didn't mind them too much. It wasn't anything special, and I don't have much to say about it. 

The sauce on the other hand, I was very disappointed. It's not a bad sauce, but it reminded me of more Chinese American (i.e. Panda Express) type of sweet spicy tangy sauce rather than a Korean BBQ sauce. I am not sure what I was expecting, but it did not remind me of Korean BBQ at all. Did they even use gochujang? I don't even know.

Lastly, let's just say they are not so generous with the quantity. I used about half of the bag to make my snack (see picture below; bottom left) and it really isn't much. Boo.

 

Perhaps I had way too much expectations about this product? Anyways, I personally don't recommend it mainly because of its sauce and quantity. Maybe if you weren't looking for a Korean BBQ flavor, this might work for you. If you try this, let me know!