Whole Vegetarian Food

I recently discovered this store while on my way to Padmanadi Restaurant. I was intrigued to see the sign Whole Vegetarian Food and of course could not help myself from pulling over to see what kind of vegetarian food would be inside. It's mostly freezers lined up around the walls containing every possible kind of faux meat product you can imagine and can't! There are a couple of shelves stocked with some unusual and interesting things such as instant drinks, soups and noodles in varieties (such as Royal Jelly Fungus Almond Powder) that I've never heard of before. I will have to go back for a container of oat milk powder as I want to try to make a vegan condensed milk for my xmas baking and I didn't have any luck the other day finding an instant soy or oat milk powder at Planet Organic.

The clerk running Whole Vegetarian Food was very friendly and helpful. A few items I did recognize were veggie fish ham, veggie smoked drumsticks and citrus ribs. They do have a web site so you can peruse to your hearts' content in the privacy of your own home and that way you won't have to go through each and every freezer wondering what's what! It will save you lots of time too if you know exactly what you want to purchase. I picked up some veggie fish & chicken pieces -- the photo above will give you a good idea of what it looks like. The veggie fish was very easy to prepare -- just steam in a shallow saucepan with a bit of veggie broth powder and it's ready in under 10 minutes. The chicken pieces were just as easy -- stir fry in a pan with a bit of olive oil until browned. A note of caution to vegans -- make sure you read the labels carefully -- a lot of products do contain whey protein.

The store, located at 9738 - 107 Avenue is open Monday to Sunday 10:30am to 6:30pm. It's definitely a nice addition to the vegetarian scene in Edmonton as previously it would be difficult to find such products let alone such a wide selection. There are stores in Vancouver and Calgary as well. Go check out their website make a list, go visit the store and pick up something new to try for dinner. If you want to call ahead to confirm that what you want is in stock at Whole Vegetarian Food and/or that their hours are still the same call 780-756-6186.

And since you're in the neighborhood you might as well stop by Padmanadi Restaurant - 10626 - 97th Street  for a bite to eat since it's so close. One of our new personal favorites right now is their ginger beef and if you've never tried it you're in for a treat -- it's divine. Also on the 4th, 11th, and 18th of December (all Fridays), Padmanadi will be having a buffet from noon until 10pm. If you have never been before it's a great opportunity to sample all kinds of dishes for a very low cost ($15).

Veggie Prairie Girl Rambles
I'm trying to create a tasty vegan strata and did put together one last night. I'll give you the photo here but no recipe yet as it's a work in progress. I'm not satisfied with it so I'm going to give it another attempt.


Thanks goodness it wasn't a total inedible mess and I was able to eat it for lunch and will be having more for dinner tonight :) For tomorrow's lunch I have plans to transform the remainder into a cream of veggie strata soup in the blender with 2-3 cups of soy milk and a few tablespoons of flour. I have some good ideas for revamping this dish and hopefully I'll be able to share a much improved recipe in the near future. The first layer of broccoli and a bit of cheesy sauce was perfect but the 2nd layer needs to be replaced with mashed sweet potatoes/red potatoes. The 3rd layer needs to be double the volume and the spinach needs to be replaced with bread cubes. I'm looking forward to trying it again with those modifications as I think this has the potential to be a real showpiece for special occasions.