Test drives: Two vegan recipes and coconut milk creamer

The vegan recipes and coconut milk creamer actually have nothing to do with each other aside from the fact that they're all things we've tried recently. But, one of these things is not like the others . . . two of these things are kinda the same. (When did they stop doing that on Sesame Street? I haven't seen it since I had kids. Then again, we're pretty much a Dora household. Elmo's got nothin' on that spunky little Boots.)

Last night's dinner. Aack.
What a big, fat disaster. Actually, it was a big, fat-free disaster. I was so disappointed! I mean, I spent an entire afternoon nap period on this casserole, people! No takin' a load off for this old gal. I was in there chopping and rinsing and layering to the point of exhaustion (that's a total exaggeration, but there was a lot of prep). But I kept thinking how worthwhile it would be when I had a huge pan of Mexican goodness to serve up for not just one dinner, but probably a second dinner and a lunch, too.

So imagine my reaction when I saw that not only was Eloise refusing to put one bite past her lips (not a huge surprise from this particular 2.5-year old), but that Paul wasn't exactly devouring his either. I know -- not every recipe can be a winner. But we made this unbelievably low-fat Chili Mac last weekend, and it was a hit. Paul even took it for lunch for a couple of days. I guess I was expecting continued fat-free success. However, not even my constant reminders of how I used an entire afternoon nap time to prepare it could convince my family that if they really loved me, they would eat this dish. They weren't buying it.

I'm not sure where things went awry with the Mexican lasagna. I did like it (so I'll be the sole recipient of six servings we divvied up and froze individually), but not nearly as much as the online reviewers seemed to. It did seem to be missing something . . . um, fat? That said, I do think you should consider trying it. Especially if your family is a little more accustomed to low-fat dining than mine appears to be.

Coconut milk creamer. Capital D-E-licious!
I've been using the French Vanilla flavor, but they also have Original and Hazelnut. Now. For those of you drinking your coffee with traditional half and half, you're going to notice the difference in taste, of course. However, I like the taste so much more than soy creamers I've tried, and I found my tastebuds acclimated to it really quickly.

In addition to being dairy free, I feel it's a benefit that this creamer is soy free. I read here that some people may want to steer clear of too many soy products because of soy's affect on the thyroid. As someone who deals with an underactive thyroid, this recommendation was not lost on me. Plus it has a short list of ingredients -- much better than off-the-shelf non-dairy creamers I've considered before.

Let me know if you try the recipes or the creamer!

Anyone wanna come by for lunch? I'm serving up Mexican lasagna!