This was actually a few days ago, but I am really hyped about this product: Tuno made by Loma Linda. It's a vegan tuna that I had never even seen nor read about before shopping at Food Lion in New Bern, NC about 2 or 3 weeks ago. I bought two different options of how it's packed: Spring Water, and the other option was Lemon & Pepper (I think in oil, because it has a bit of an oily residue.) I like the latter a bit better, but was happy with the plain in Spring Water as well. I used the first can to create my old standby tuna salad with chopped dill pickle bits & Mayo to make my first sandwich with the product. Sure it's been so long since I actually ate real tuna, that I doubt I really remember the actual taste, but it certainly did not smell fishy and smell is a big part of taste. But do I care that a perfect flavor substitute for tuna be in my vegan tuno sandwich? Not really, so I was happy with the result.
Next, about a two weeks later, I realized I still had the lemon pepper Tuno can, so made another Tuno salad. This time adding only the mayo to get a true taste of the product. It's even better with the lemon & pepper flavor. Then yesterday I added some red onion & celery to give it more of a crunch as a Tuno salad sandwich (yes, I am eating bread again, but in limited amounts). Then this morning I added some chopped jalapeño pepper bits for a bit more color & pep, which I'll either try today or tomorrow. Even though the can says servings per container are only 1 or 2, for me it's more like 4 because I don't eat huge portions.
I also made some jalapeño cream cheese this morning because the little grocery store nearby does not carry that flavor of cream cheese, so I had to buy the plain + a jalapeño pepper to make my own. I like it as a snack with fresh celery to scoop a bit out like a dip.
Back to Tuno... Since none of the stores near where I live carry this product, I looked it up online and found a couple of sources for purchasing for home delivery at the most reasonable price point (which was about the same price as at the Food Lion). Some physical & online stores that carry it, charge exorbitant prices for a can, which is about the same size as normal cans of tuna, so I was at first alarmed until I found others, including Loma Linda itself, who charge much more reasonable prices. So I'll be ordering some soon. I do have to wait until we are closer to home so a delivery does not show up on our doorstep to sit out to be rained on or get overheated sitting in the Illinois heat before we arrive back home. And there are other 'flavor' packings that the two I have tried so far, so I'm going to order some of the others to give them a try.
A few nights ago at a restaurant in Crossville, Tennessee, I had a giant sized slice of spanokopita that shocked me with its huge portion size. It was so huge I would call it 4 portions had I cut it into equal sized portions. I still have some left in the fridge here & have been using small slices of it as a side to other meals. I love spanokopita, btw, so it was definitely a good choice on the menu at the Vegas Steakhouse in Crossville, even though the philo dough could have been handled a bit better when the chef built the bottom & top crusts. Normally philo is quite flaky when handled properly and this was not as flakey as I prefer.