Vegetarian Reuben's

After watching the documentary, "Vegucated"(watch it...with a box of tissues for the tender hearted), my friend and I decided to try out the vegan approach to life. If you want to watch said documentary, it's on Netflix! Anyway, back to the Reuben's!!! I was looking for a corned beef substitute and the only two I know of are from Heritage and Cedar Lake, both of which I discovered had Red #3 and Blue #1...I don't know about you, but I have never felt comfortable with coloring in my food. If it's not meant to be that color, don't mess with it. I like the company Field Roast and decided to give their Celebration Roast a try. It's vegan and delicious.

Vegetarian Reuben's:

* Rudi's Jewish Rye
* Annie's Thousand Island Dressing (vegetarian) I prefer to use a mixture of Dill Relish, Vegenaise, &     Ketchup - it's vegan & I like the taste. 
* Eden Organic Sauerkraut - apparently this is not vegan because of the way it is fermented. Correct me if I am wrong...
* Field Roast - Vegan Celebration Roast - I cut quarter inch slices and pan fried them until nicely browned (makes the cheese melt easier too if the roast is warm)
* Daiya Swiss Cheese - this is my first time eating this cheese, and I have to say, not bad! It melts really easily and stays melted. I think this is the best melting cheese alternative I have tried. The shredded kinds are pretty good too, if you want to make nachos (but that's a whole different recipe).  ;)

I buttered the outside of the bread with Earth Balance Vegan Margarin (I used the soy free one (red tub) and it tastes really good and pretty close to the real thing) and pan fried the Reuben until golden brown....some got a little bit darker but fortunately, nothing burnt! 

I love chunky soup, so I took Pacific Organic Tomato soup and cut up 1 and 1/2 of medium sized tomatoes and three cloves of garlic and tossed it all into the pot with a little bit of black pepper, onion powder, Himalayan Sea Salt (pink and the smoked black one), pepper flakes, paprika, and Sriracha for taste. I like things a little spicy and with a kick, I would've loved to throw in some basil but I realized I had forgotten it at my local Health Food store....maybe I should've picked up some Ginko Biloba! ;)

I could only fit one Reuben in my stomach but I think that was also due to the fact I had two bowls of soup and a side of cut up cucumbers and red bell peppers for a refreshing side. 

Over all I spent $24.06 on all the fixings and used almost the whole loaf of Rye and half the jar of sauerkraut but made 6 Reuben sandwiches...dinner and lunch for the next day! 

I have been a vegetarian my whole life and I am excited to see what I can do with foods that are staples in many people's lives that are meat based and make them with meat alternatives. I give this try, two thumbs up!! :)