Hey y’all! So who besides me is so glad we’re finally on the downhill of the week? I woke up this morning (in 10 minute cycles starting at 4:30…why?!?) and I was having the hardest time believing it was Wednesday and not Thursday. It still feels like a Thursday! Maybe it’s because I don’t have work on Friday so today is kind of the Thursday of my work week?
Well, regardless, I had lots of stuff to do this morning and today so I needed a quick breakfast: generic raisin brand with unsweetened almond milk. Who all besides me drowns their cereal in milk? Ironic, because I detest soggy cereal with all my soul, too.
I packed a lunch to take to work, since I knew work was going to be crazy and I had two errands to run right after work, and then I wanted to head straight to the apartment gym when I got home. Quick and easy salad to the rescue! This bad johnny featured romaine (about half a head), a quarter of an avocado, 1/3 of a cucumber, a quarter of a red bell pepper, spicy salsa and a some garbanzo beans.
Post-errands I headed to the gym with my Nutrition textbook to knock out some reading and studying in preparation for my first exam on Friday! The stationary bike is the only machine I can exercise on while reading, so I plopped down for 60 minutes (13.78 miles). I managed to get some sweet studying done, too! No one else was there, so it was sweet, quiet gym bliss. 
I was starving when I got home so I made a smoothie to hold me over to dinner. A frozen banana, a scoop of brown rice chocolate protein powder, spinach and a cup of unsweetened almond milk.
I also snacked on some Stacy’s Multigrain Pita Chips while I was waiting for Ross to come. These are great, but 1000 times better with garlicky hummus. Guess I better make some!
Dinner tonight featured a new product I was recently sent to sample and review: Tribal Moose Cranberry Ketchup and Original Cranberry BBQ Sauce.
On so many levels, my favorite was the cranberry ketchup.
I love that the ketchup ingredients feature a lot of fruit products (cherry, plum, cranberry fruit juice concentrate; pear, apple, peach fruit concentrate; pineapple syrup; peach puree). I love that it’s missing High Fructose Corn Syrup, something that is in almost every commercial ketchup out there. I liked the contrast between sweet and spicy, both of which complement the tomato flavor of ketchup well.
The nutrition facts aren’t the worst, but honestly they really aren’t the best either. It’s a little higher in calories per tablespoon than the organic ketchup we have in our fridge, and the sodium is a little higher, too. However, I have seen worse, so take it or leave it!
The thing I loved most about the cranberry ketchup? 100% of the proceeds from the cranberry ketchup sales go to the Salvation Army. There’s something to be said about an organization that gives back to the community. You all know I work for a non-profit homeless medical clinic, so I really appreciate any efforts to help those who need it most.
I was also sent the Original Cranberry BBQ Sauce. I was looking forward to this the most because I have been looking forward to some BBQ tofu for a little while now.
Very convenient ideas on the side for their best BBQ tips with their Cranberry BBQ Sauce.
Decent nutritional stats, pretty similar to the Cranberry Ketchup. (I was happy to see the sodium content reduced in the BBQ Sauce!)
And unfortunately, as much as I loved the product I was disappointed to see High Fructose Corn Syrup (among other sugas including brown sugar, molasses, and corn syrup). I think the reason it was particularly disappointing was because I suppose I was expecting it to be without, since the ketchup was without HFCS.
OH CRAP: Major vegan fail. I took this picture after we ate dinner tonight, and (as it’s rather small) I blew it up as I was editing it to make the image clearer for y’all. As I enlarged the image I just noticed the third to last ingredient: Anchovy Extract! 
Ugh! Apparently just because a company sends you an email saying they admire your “discerning, vegan palate” and wants to send you samples doesn’t mean their products will be vegan, too. I just confirmed my suspicions: there is no nutrition facts/ ingredient lists on their website. A must!
I apologize to my vegan readers – had I known this product was not vegan, I would not have agreed to review it.
Anyway, I cooked my now apparently non-vegan tofu (:( ) by searing it with ginger and garlic and then brushing the sauce on top.
It’s a rather mute point since I won’t be eating this anymore, but I did like the very tiny cranberry pieces in the sauce.
Finished product:
We also had sweet potato fries (cooked with my “classic” seasoning of garlic powder, chili powder, cinnamon and kosher salt) that we enjoyed with the cranberry ketchup.
All together!
I really, really hate to write a “bad” review. Truthfully, these products are not “bad”, it’s just that the BBQ sauce is not vegan and therefore isn’t for me. I’m disappointed that I didn’t read the BBQ sauce ingredients more thoroughly before I used it. It’s not the end of the world. I went vegan for health-reasons, and a minuscule amount of anchovy paste won’t kill me. (Just may make me a bit nauseas/ disgusted, as I’ve never been a fan of anchovies, particularly since I went vegan). On the plus side, my non-vegan husband was a fan! 
Wow, that brought down the optimism of this post real fast, didn’t it? To end on a happy note I’ll share a couple fun pictures Ross and I snapped tonight with my new POM apron.
(Pardon the sweaty, post-workout nastiness – I’m trying to make up for a bad review, here!)
Ross’ poms are lopsided.
What’s he doing, you may wonder? He’s been on Mission: Arizona lately. Complete with timers, thermometers, MY juicer , excel sheets and more, Ross has been trying to replicate an at home version of one of his favorite Arizona iced teas, complete with pear and apple juice and more!
How adorable. Time to go spend some time with that man!
Awww, don’t worry hon! You can’t stress about something you didn’t see coming. Way to be conscious!
Aww, sorry about your unfortunate bbq sauce mishap. Please don’t feel bad.
My husband drowns his cereal in milk. I prefer just a little bit to make sure it stays crunchy.
Love the apron!
Honestly, on my new quest toward veganism, I’ve made that mishap a few times, and can totally sympathize with the utter disappointment of “how could i not have realized??”. It happens! The worst is when it’s pointed out at a dinner table with 8-people, talk about a cringe worthy moment.
My POM apron JUST came in the mail today. Love it!
Aww, that’s too bad about the BBQ sauce. I’ve been wanting to try it because my husband loves moose.
I’m not a vegan, but I am anti-HFCS. Love the aprons, POM really is wonderful!!
Jenn
I really wish someone would explain WHY those stupid sleep/wake-up cycles happen…it’s the most unsatisfying way to sleep!
I appreciate you doing the review, even though the sauce was a “vegan fail”
My husband is the exact opposite with cereal – he fills his bowl and keeps the milk next to himoro he can add a splash at a time. To avoid soggy cereal but still get milk drowny quality you could experiment with the opposite technique – bowl of milk that you add splashes of cereal too as you eat it.
I hate it when my REM cycles get whackadoodle – not the best way to start the day. But you’re right, at least it’s the end of the week.
Guy Fieri would love that “bark” on your tofu!
[...] Tribal Moose [...]
Just FYI, technically honey isn’t vegan either since it comes from bees… my uber vegan cousin taught me that!
I realize it’s not technically vegan, but as I’ve shared multiple times on the blog, honey isn’t a big deal for me (or lots of other vegans, too). While if I have the choice I use raw agave or honey, I’m not going to refrain from eating a product that has honey in it.
I said it here, too, but I went vegan for health reasons. Honey, particularly local honey, can have health benefits for allergies, so I don’t have a problem with it. Plus, there’s lots of conflicting research over the “treatment of bees” and if it’s really so “dangerous” to the bees after all.
Besides, I’d rather not be an uber vegan, because I’d much rather have a product made with honey over HFCS any day.
Chef Hymie Grande (www.chefhymiegrande.com ) is the first and only bottled BBQ sauce to carry the seal of the American Diabetes Association on the label. It has no high fructose corn syrup, no processed sugar, it is all natural and vegan friendly. It is produced at the Rutgers Food Innovation Center in Bridgton, NJ by Jamie Failtelson, a.k.a. Chef Hymie Grande of Carlstadt, NJ. 5% of proceeds go to the American Diabetes Association.
eeeeewwwww! anchovy extract! I can’t believe that – it does seem odd that they put anchovy extract in BBQ sauce – I would have never though!
Well, part of the reason it has anchovy in the BBQ sauce is because they use the best os the best Worcestershire sauce in it which includes anchove. Also the HFCS has been taken out and is now all natural.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Gena Hamshaw, HowToGrill. HowToGrill said: Tribal Moose | Sound Eats: Very convenient ideas on the side for their best BBQ tips with their Cranb… http://bit.ly/ajrs9r #BBQ #BBQTips [...]