Read the label, don't pay for the label

As I mention in my post, Help! My kid has gone vegan!, I love making big family meals even when dealing with complicated food preferences.  (Maybe even more, since I also enjoy a challenge.)  I have two recipes in mind to make for my son and his wife when they visit, my grandmother's Three-Bean Salad (recipe to come soon) and Ree Drummond's Burgundy Mushrooms.  Both call for Worcestershire Sauce, which surprisingly is not vegan, since most contain anchovies.

I took a look at Trader Joe's, and was surprised not to find it there.  My Facebook friends had helpful suggestions for stores that might carry it, as well as mail-order Worcestershire labeled as vegan.  Since Whole Foods and PCC have yet to open in my middle-class suburb, I hadn't made the trek yet to the wealthier neighborhoods.  But the mail-order bottles were way north of $5, with none of them on Amazon Prime.  

So I started checking our local stores, including Fred Meyer, a chain of grocery/department stores in the Pacific Northwest.   I scoured the organic/vegan/specialty aisle and found a few vegan items, some by the manufacturers recommended to me, but no Worcestershire sauce.  So I went to the Worcesterhire Sauce aisle.  Nothing was labeled "vegan."  However, I read the ingredients on the labels.  Two did not contain anything I recognized as animal products.

The Kroger (store brand) bottle was $1.59 for 10 ounces.  Another was labeled "Louisiana Worcestershire Sauce," but it was actually manufactured in Washington State by Cornet Bay.  The cost was $2.29 for 6 ounces.  I confirmed on a vegan Q&A board that the Kroger is vegan; the Cornet Bay has the same ingredients, but I have sent a message to the manufacturer to confirm.  

The moral of the story:  Don't pay for something labeled "vegan."  Just read the label.  You might save some money.

(Reviews and recipes for the "vegan" Worcestershire sauces to come.) 

Breakfast: Steel-cut oatmeal

My Weight Watchers instructor warns against breakfast ruts, but don't you think it's the one meal that lends itself to routine? I'm a morning person, but still not functioning on all cylinders first thing in the morning for elaborate preparation. Plus who has time?

For several years, my rut was a toasted English muffin, microwaved with an unmeasured slice of Cheddar (or whatever block we had in the fridge) cheese. So any wonder I'm at Weight Watchers now?

Oatmeal is my rut of choice now. Half a cup of regular oatmeal, one cup of water, and a tablespoon or two of raisins (or maybe frozen berries or an apple cut up); microwave for three minutes, and breakfast is ready.

Then my daughter introduced me to steel-cut oatmeal. More filling, more healthy, more interesting to the taste buds. But also more difficult to prepare. It took me a little while to get into a routine.

Fast: There are methods of cooking steel-cut oats in the microwave and crockpot, but my favorite is in the double boiler. I bring 1 1/2 cups of oat and 4-4 1/2 cups of water to boil in the top of a double boiler placed directly on the heat. Meanwhile, bring about an inch of water to boil in a 3-quart saucepan that the boiler fits into. (The amount will vary, according to the capacity of your double boiler. Just use the ratio 3 parts water to 1 part oats.) Cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes. (I use this time to empty or load my dishwasher.) Turn off heat and put over boiling water in the saucepan. Cover and cook for 25 minutes.

You now have enough oats for several servings. At first, I just put the double boiler in the fridge and would serve out of it for several days. But it didn't keep as well, took up valuable refrigerator space, and usually the double boiler hadn't gone through the dishwasher by the time I needed to make the next batch.

So I started freezing it in single serving containers. Small butter tubs are the perfect size. I take one out of the freezer when I get up. By the time I'm done with my morning exercises, it has defrosted enough to easily come out of the tub into a microwave-safe container. Do not microwave in the butter containers. They weren't intended for this use. 2-3 minutes on high should do it. I usually add raisins and a bit of cinnamon when it's done.

Frugal: Finding a regular supply of steel-cut oats has been a challenge. QFC, an upscale supermarket chain in the Northwest, has it, but it can run$5-6 for a can. My Costco had it - once. Haven't seen it since. Fred Meyer, another Northwest grocery chain, also has it, but the best price I've found was at Trader Joe's. Runs about 12 cents a serving.

Fit: 4 Weight Watchers Points Plus per serving, before adding fruit and milk.