Walgreens Wonders

Topic: Mainstream Snacking

The Dish: I've written about my favorite veg-friendly grocery stores before—Trader Joe's, Aldi, hidden-gem discount shops—and I'm still happily surprised at all of the new great products and deals they offer. But sometimes, I'm not within walking distance of one of these veg havens when hunger strikes, be it when I'm out in the city, in Missouri visiting family, or driving through a random town on a road trip. In those cases, I find a Walgreens.

In San Francisco, there's a Walgreens on pretty much every corner. I'm certain its numbers compete with Starbucks. At first glance, all of the edibles seem frustratingly not vegan, especially when I'm in dire need of a pick-me-up and bags after bags of "cheese"-flavored chips are staring me in the face. After careful perusal of the shelves, I've come up with my favorite snacks under $5. Are these healthy? Um, no. But they're for special occasions! Like, you know, when I'm hungry.

1. Deerfield Farms Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. ($3.49) Holy crap. This delightful off-brand replicates the chewy version of Chips Ahoy!, but leaves out the milk products. The result is a package of accidentally vegan cookies that must be hidden in a cabinet to prevent total annihilation upon opening. If you're not into chewy, the regular, crunchy variety is vegan, too.
2. Walgreens Peanut Butter Bars. ($0.99) These old-fashioned candies are little wrapped bites of happiness. They sort of remind me of the inside of a Butterfinger, but far less gross because they're just peanut butter and sugar. At less than a dollar a package, it's the perfect sweet purchase when you know friends are going to be mooching off of you.
3. Blue Diamond Wasabi and Soy Sauce Almonds. ($1.49) A single-serving of these roasted almonds will completely cure any savory craving you have, thanks to a generous dusting of wasabi powder and a little soy sauce flavoring. And of course almonds are good for you with all of their protein and good fats, et cetera et cetera. More importantly, they're delicious.
4. Original Chex Mix. ($2.49) I'm sorry, didn't Chex Mix used to have whey in it?! I recently discovered that the original party snack either removed the animal products, or I have been mistaken all along. Whatever happened, it's made it possible for me to revel in this childhood favorite.
5. Lindt Excellence 85 percent Cocoa Dark Chocolate. ($2.99) It's dark chocolate. What else can I say? Lindt makes a decent bar, and it's more affordable than a lot of frou-frou brands who ruin a perfectly good chocolate bar with some funky non-vegan filling. It's perfect for my daily 3pm, "Where is the chocolate?" moment.

The Final Word: If junk food isn't your forte, the big W also stocks some healthier veg standbys, such as Odwalla juices, Probars (I'll take a dozen), vegan Clif-brand bars, and fresh, nearly free fruit. Of course besides the snacking, it also has the necessities in life, including BioBag's biodegradable doggie bags, L'Oreal EverPure vegan hair care, and tons of products from the cruelty-free Yes to Carrots line. Keep an eye out for sales, do the vegan label-check, and you'll be good to go.

Cheap Eats: Popcorn!

The Topic: Snack Attack Savvy

The Dish: For me, three square meals a day do not suffice. I need my snacks, but bags of potato chips and Newman O's aren't the healthiest things in the world, nor are they the cheapest. One of my favorite evening snacks growing up was popcorn, but the prepackaged variety is inexplicably overpriced—not to mention, often laced with animal products and mysterious chemicals (my hypochondriac side will never forget the report of toxic chemicals and microwave popcorn). I've ditched the microwave and made a truly amazing (and penny-pinching) discovery—I can pop that stuff on the stove.

With a little bit of oil—whatever I have handy—a touch of heat, and some vigorous shaking, in no time I have an embarrassingly large serving of this movie-time favorite, ready to be covered in Tapatio. Since I'm the queen of condiments, it's easy to vary up the flavor—sea salt, kelp flakes (don't knock it 'til you try it), cinnamon sugar, and homemade fake parmesan rank high on my list. The only combination I'm not willing to try is something equivalent to "popcorn cereal" I discovered on VegWeb, but hey. Never say never.

If you're concerned about using oil, air poppers are an affordable solution at about $10–20 each, although how often you snack on the stuff might determine if it's a necessary purchase (probably not). You already have all the tools you need, so ditch the microwave, grab a pot, and get popping.

Dirt Cheap Popcorn

Serves 1 Abby

What You Need:

1–2 tablespoons oil

1/4 cup popcorn kernels

Hot sauce

Nutritional yeast

What You Do:

1. In a large, heavy pot, heat oil over medium heat. Place a few kernels in pot and cover. Once all kernels have popped, dump in remaining kernels, cover, and begin to lightly shake pot over the burner. Once popping has slowed down to around 5 seconds between pops, remove from heat.
2. Add a generous sprinkling of hot sauce and nutritional yeast, mix, and serve. Enjoy!

The Final Word: An overwhelming trend in my life has become "DIY over store-bought." Seriously, just put in a tiny bit of effort and you'll get so much more for your money. What's your favorite popcorn topper?

Wardrobe Makeover

The Topic: New Clothes for No Cash

The Dish: With May already speeding along, it'll be officially summer in no time. For this lady, that means the Cocktail soundtrack on repeat, extra naps on the beach, and new, summery clothes. While the first two are pleasantly free of charge (because who doesn't own that piece of musical mastery already?), the last bit can take a little work to keep cheap. But guess what? It isn't hard, and I can save some much-needed money—a girl's gotta eat (burritos).

The easiest way to score free clothes—and I know you've heard this before, but seriously—host a clothing swap. Invite your stylish friends over, have them call their stylish friends, and so on, until you have a big game of clothes-swapping telephone going and your apartment is full of people and their fancy duds.

Once everyone shows up, closet rejects in tow, kick off the evening with some cheap snacks. (May I suggest some Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos and a bottle of Charles Shaw Shiraz? Go classier, if you must.) Help organize the articles by clear-cut categories (shirts, jeans, dresses, muumuus—the usual), and finally let the shoppers loose—watch those Doritos-stained hands! From here, it's up to you how to handle it. If it's just a few close friends, take turns picking and choosing favorites. If you've managed to wrangle in 20 style-hungry women and men (you're so popular!), working out a ticket system might be better to avoid wine-fueled fights over last year's designer top.

If there are clothing leftovers, guests can either collectively decide to donate them to a local charity, or each person can take her or his leftovers. If you have extras and want to try and make a little cash, hit up the resale shops in your city, such as Buffalo Exchange, Plato's Closet, and Crossroads. Keeping your earnings as store credit earns a bit more, so if it's truly new clothes you're after, this is a win-win.

The Final Word: Not having any luck with resale shops? Check back for a very special guest post on how to get the most cash for your cast-off clothes!

Cheap Eats: Kale Chips!

The Topic: Replacing the Beloved Potato

The Dish: Lately, my savory-snacking side has trumped the usual gravitation towards sweets, sending me to the likes of my ultimate weakness, Salt & Pepper Baked Kettle Chips (a bag can be considered dinner, right?). Holy crap, those things are good. But, much like vegan cupcakes, they're neither a huge nutritional hero or very budget-friendly. The simple, tasty, two-syllable answer? Kale chips.

I don't know when I first tried a kale chip, but I know kale itself was completely foreign to me before going veg. And now, it's true love for the leafy green in all its forms. These crispy, healthier-than-potato chips are really making themselves known, from VegWeb recipes to retail launches. The VN crew saw a few varieties at Expo West (one of which may have made our list of Best of Show winners), and I loved them. However, the price for prepackaged is definitely steeper than flat-out buying a bunch or two of kale, which is almost all it takes to make your very own at home.

This crunchy, savory, satisfying recipe hails straight from VegWeb, and it just took top honors in the VegWeb Recipe Showdown, winning as the Amazing Appetizer (pick up the May+June issue of VegNews for the rest of the winners!).


Kale Chips
by yesterdaygirl

Serves 4

What You Need:
2 large bunches kale, washed and destemmed
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon oil
Coarse salt, to taste, or seasoning blend

What You Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop or tear kale into chip-size pieces. In a medium bowl, combine kale, apple cider vinegar, oil, and salt or seasoning. Mix to coat.

2. Onto a baking sheet, spread kale and bake for 10 minutes or until crispy. Serve immediately.

The Final Word: My advice? Take the serving size with a grain of salt. Personally, I could take down one—if not both—bunches of kale in one sitting. Again, that's dinner, right? The recipe is too simple not to make, and too freakin' tasty not to become a potato-replacing staple.