Extreme Groupon-ing

So, it might be common to worry about clearing out your fridge or your pantry or your freezer before moving, but in these times of internet deals and spending money to make money, there is a new situation that arises when you move to a new city: using up your Groupons.

This past week, however, I’ve taken the Groupon and voucher and giftcard usage to the extreme…a new ‘sport’ I like to call Extreme Grouponing.

It started at a trailer called Biscuits & Groovy.

Clearly, I chose to buy this based solely on the name, as on a normal day, the thought of eating a huge plate of biscuits and gravy* would not be my (or my stomach’s) idea of a good time.
*and bacon, and sausage, and cheese, and chorizo, and potatoes, and eggs…

Turns out, this was exactly my kind of trailer.Why?

Because everything can be made vegan.

Yes, y’all: vegan biscuits and gravy, covered in vegan bacon. vegan sausage, and vegan ‘cheese.’The cheese might not have melted, but the black pepper made my mouth sing with excitement.

(Seriously, black pepper on the right dish is heavenly.)But don’t think I ate it all at once. Just because it’s vegan, doesn’t mean it’s good for you.*

*See: Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs

As I still had money left over, I asked if I could have a burrito, which, being the item on the menu described simply as “whatever you want in it” sounded like the best deal for my money. Sadly, there were no tortillas….so I ordered “a burrito without the burrito.”*
*and only received a slightly confused look

Essentially, I ended up with a tofu scramble featuring black and pinto beans, salsa, and chives. I’ve never had a tofu scramble before, but this was phenomenal. I think I even liked it more than the biscuits. [And the remnants made a great 'leftovers for lunch'...even cold.]Before this whole vegan (or vegetarian without dairy…or ‘plant based diet’) ‘thing‘ happened, you might recall my minor obsession with yogurt. Frozen yogurt. It should come as no surprise, then, that I would have snapped up not one, but two, Groupons for Menchie’s when they came available. What is surprising is that I didn’t use them right away.

Yes, when I went in there, the girl working said,
“Normally this Groupon is for you and a friend…”

And no, I could not resist getting pumpkin and apple pie frozen yogurt. I considered the one on the left to be the “will not make me feel ill” tub of guava lime and wild berry sorbet…and the other to be the “yes, I might knowingly die” tub of creamy goodness.

I nibbled on both, but after the fro yo unsettled my stomach, I decided for my second go-round to get just sorbet: delicious ginger lemonade sorbet (and little more guava lime).

I have not eaten all of this.
Yet.

You would think I would have learned my lesson with the pumpkin frozen yogurt, but I couldn’t help that two more of my Groupons were for MamboBerry, a sandwich and frozen yogurt trailer.
Sadly, I couldn’t use the Groupon for the vegan tamales…

…but one of the two was for a crossaint sandwich, which I turned into a vegan wrap featuring eggless egg salad.

(Nothing special, but filling…and the black pepper added just the right bit of zing.)

Also delicious was the blueberry and tart yogurt I received using my second Groupon deal.
I, of course, am now terrified of dairy, and ate all of the fruit off and froze the rest. [Good plan, as I indulged in a bit of it last night and paid for it this morning...]
Just when you thought there was no way I could possibly have any more Groupons to use…out come the giftcards!
I had about $15 left on this card, so I placed an order to go.
A vegetable burrito (hold the cheese), smothered in chipotle sauce. [There was also a Diet Coke involved.]
Stuffed inside were (not nearly enough) zucchini, corn, carrots, and onions.
There was Spanish rice with lettuce and tomato on the side.Sounds like a giant delicious mess to me!Considering the way I inhaled what you saw above* (except the rice…I managed to save that), I kept the salsa and extra tortillas…and plan to use them…reinvented.
*Packing makes you hungry!

Last (and BEST) came two shopping deals. The first was a Living Social deal that Whole Foods had put out, whereby you paid $10 and were able to spend $20 on groceries. That sounds like a good plan in general, but proceeds went to the Whole Kids Foundation, so you felt extra virtuous while shopping.

[Source]

I figured I could buy myself dinner…or stock up on essentials for my road trip [slash] move (and beyond!).Yes, some people consider hamburgers to be quintessential road trip food. I, on the other hand, believe in lettuce, peanut butter, and Sweetango apples!*
*Best. Apples. EVER. (And cheaper than we sold them at my store…)I also had to get not one, but two, of my beloved (local) Baby Zach’s hummus: my favorite Spicy Smoked BBQ and–one I can’t find anywhere but Whole Foods ATX–Smoked Thai Curry.
I don’t care if you don’t think it will survive the trip. I must have it. (And I’ve transported crazier things before…) And finally, I was able to take a little shopping trip through my store. Having won “Safety Partner” of September, I received a $25 gift card to use at HEB or Central Market.
I took this as an opportunity to stock up on some of our store’s best spice blends…*
*I mean, what if I never find this amazing apple pie spice again?!?!…and a bunch of random. Because random is fun.

[Do you think I could make a dish that uses all of this? Tamarind concentrate, pomegranate molasses, PB2, harissa, and a lil' bit of both almond and cashew butter from the bulk bins....I just don't know about that...]