Target Vegan & Olive Garden Lunch

Mission 1: Check out Target Vegan Options!

I was on a mission today to check out Tabitha Brown's new Vegan line at Target. Success! I purchased the Vegan Truffle Garlic and Vegan Cilantro Lime Aioli Spreads (currently $4.99).

Tabitha Brown spreads - perfect for sandwiches, bowls or roasted vegetables *and great chip dips ;)

Both are great tasting and one positive is that in shelf stable jars, they can be kept in the cupboard instead of other spreads that need refrigeration. I also picked up Gardein Chik'n Filets to test out with both spreads on a sandwich tonight.

These filets are my (and my non-vegan fiancé's) favorite as they have 22 grams of protein, are meaty, have great taste, texture, coating and are perfect when you want to make a hearty restaurant quality chik'n sandwich at home. For a twist, we like to have them with BBQ sauce, fried onions and lettuce - so good! They can be found at most grocery stores (Walmart, HyVee and some versions at Cub) too. They crisp up great in the oven and are good as a sandwich, in strips on salad and any way you would eat a patty, even on mashed potatoes with gravy!

Target has quite a few ready-made vegan options when you need something in a hurry and their prices are competitive with other stores in town. The filets were $.86 off today.

Gardein Chik'n Filet Sandwich with Tabitha Brown's Truffle Garlic Spread

*I did get a picture before I ate it ;) Tonight I choose the Truffle Garlic spread for it and it was amazing!

Olive Garden Vegan Lunch Options

Mission 2: We had an Olive Garden gift card to use, so thought today would be a good day to have lunch together. I had a wonderful server Kelly, who was happy to find out what was vegan and what was only vegetarian on the menu for me. I did the Endless Salad, Breadsticks & Soup.

• Breadsticks - the butter they use is not vegan, so I got mine plain, though they were still hot and wonderful

• Italian Dressing - has egg in it, so she brought me balsamic vinegar & oil

• Croutons - theirs are made with butter, so she left them out

• Minestrone - is the only soup that is vegan

• Any Pasta with Marinara sauce would have been another option It was a filling lunch even though I only got one helping of everything ;) If you are wondering, the best advice is to always ask WHAT is in the item you are ordering if you are in doubt or, like I did, narrow choices down and ask which items are vegetarian or vegan (you may need to explain to them if they are not familiar, that means nothing with a face :), no egg, no dairy, no fish). Some people who are not familiar with the terms, are may assume that gluten free and vegan are the same things. I have had that happen MANY times!