Product Review - Field Roast: Chao Slices...

Field Roast is by far one of my favorite vegan companies, and they have been for some time now. All of their products are delicious, and not a one of them has let me down yet. They make some of the best vegan sausages on the market - and certainly THE BEST veggie dogs. - They also make killer deli slices, and burgers and now they’re tossing their hat into the ring and have begun making Vegan Cheese. Oh yeah, you heard that right, another vegan cheese!

Vegan cheese has come a long way in recent years, I know long-time vegans who say the vegan cheese now is light-years more advanced then what they had back in the day, but to tell the truth vegan cheese has even improved significantly from when I first went vegan five years ago. As far as I’m concerned the best on the market is Daiya, but Field Roast is definitely giving them a run for their money with their new Chao slices.

The new slices are made from Chao tofu which is a fermented soybean curd popular in Asia, and according to their website they make their Chao slices in a way similar to the way dairy cheese is traditionally made. Each flavor also contains coconut oil, as well as a variety of spices. They are Non-GMO, and roughly 60 calories per slice. They come in three awesome flavors such as Creamy Original, Coconut Herb, and Tomato Cayenne.  If you want my opinion each flavor has it’s virtues but I think I liked the coconut herb the best, it reminded me a bit of dairy goat cheese. Tomato Cayenne was probably my second favorite and reminded me a bit of cheddar though I really appreciate that Field Roast has attempted something different with their flavors rather then just try to mimic the same basic flavors of cheddar, mozzarella, and jack. Vegan’s need variety too and if you ask me there enough vegan cheddar and mozzarella substitutes on the market as it is. I love creativity.

All three flavors melt, and they’re particularly good for putting on burgers, sandwiches, grilled cheese, or any other thing you can think of. They’re even good eaten straight out of the package or is that just me? I have to say even my husband was impressed by Chao and normally he doesn’t particularly care for vegan cheese, so that’s saying something.

Field Roast made their Chao slices available sometime at the end of last year and so by now they should be easily available in most Whole Foods or health food stores, so next time you want a veggie burger grab up a pack of these slices to top it off with, you won’t be sorry.

If you want to learn more about Field Roast or their Chao Slices you can do so here

Product Review - Sophie's Kitchen: Vegan Toona...

Another vegan product I’ve been wanting to share with you for a while is Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Toona. Yeah, you read that right, Vegan Canned Tuna, how cool is that? For a while now Sophie’s Kitchen has been the leader in producing vegan seafood products, in fact I think they may be one of the only companies focusing solely on vegan fish-friendly alternatives. Other companies make things like vegan fish sticks and vegan crab cakes but Sophie’s Kitchen has Vegan Calamari, Vegan Shrimp, Vegan Fish Filets, Vegan Scallops and now Vegan Tuna.

So far the Toona comes in two flavors, Seat Salt, and Black Pepper. Both are really good flavor wise though I don’t think they taste anywhere near as fishy as actual tuna - probably a good thing anyway! They have amazing mouth-feel and texture though. The ‘meat’ flakes like fish tuna does and it shreds super easy so you can use it in a vegan tuna sandwich or tuna salad. Though I really liked both flavors I think I preferred the Black Pepper, I’m not sure why but to me it tasted slightly more tuna like, and it was really so good I could have eaten it straight out of the can. So far the only application I’ve used the Toona in is to make a Tuna Noodle Casserole for my husband - who used to love that sort of thing in his pre-vegan days. It worked really well, and the casserole tasted amazing. I myself have never eaten tuna noodle casserole so I can’t say whether it tasted like the fish-unfriendly kind or not, but my husband seemed to think it was a pretty spot-on replication.

I imagine Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Toona would be good in any dish calling for Tuna, and I’m actually really interested to try using it to make a spicy tuna sushi, as well as a traditional tuna salad. When I get around to doing either I’ll let you know how it turns out.

For now, the practicalities. Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Toona in Seat Salt Flavor is both Gluten and Soy free, made with Pea Protein - like Beyond Meat - which is probably why it has such excellent texture. There are no preservatives, artificial colors or MSG. A single serving contains about 100 calories, 12% Fiber, 18% Protein, 4% Calcium and Iron and only 1g of sugar. The Black Pepper Flavor is Gluten Free but contains both soy protein and pea protein so it’s not soy free. It is also free of preservatives, artificial colors and MSG though. It’s about 90 Calories per serving and contains 12% Fiber and Protein, 4% Iron and Calcium.

So if you’re looking for a good tuna substitute keep a look out at your local heath food store for Sophie’s Kitchen and if you want to learn more about them you can do that here

Product Review - Beyond Meat: Beefy Crumbles...

Jeeze, I can’t believe how behind I’ve gotten on both my product reviews and restaurant reviews. I love to try all the new vegan products that come out - you know for the novelty and curiosity too - and I like to tell you about all the best ones because for some people veganism can be a challenge - though a good one! - and sometimes these innovative products can be helpful.

By now I’m sure you’ve all heard about Beyond Meat. They are the newest vegan meat company on the market, and probably the best. Certainly they come the closest as far as mimicking texture is concerned. I talked about their Vegan Chicken Strips before, but they also make vegan beef now. Well, their beef crumbles have been out for about a year or so now - did I mention how behind I was?  - My husband and I were so excited to find their Fiesty Crumbles and their Beefy Crumbles in our local health food store and we eagerly picked up a bag of each. Since our initial discovery of the beefy crumbles I’ve purchased them a couple of times and used them in a few different applications. I’ve used the Fiesty Crumbles in Lasagna , the Beefy Crumbles in Tacos, and I even made this killer Italian Wedding Soup from Annie and Dan Shannon’s book “Betty Goes Vegan.”

Now, as much as I like these crumbles I can’t say they taste exactly what I remember beef to taste like, but they also don’t have that weird aftertaste that a lot of vegan meats have. They have a smooth ‘meaty’ flavor, but what I noticed the most is that the mouth-feel and texture of these crumbles quite resembles ground beef. They also ‘sweat’ or ‘grease’ a little when you cook them in a pan, like real beef would. That’s both slightly disturbing and completely fascinating to me! The progression of technology in all fields continues to astound.

As for practicalities, Beyond Meat - to my knowledge - is the only Gluten and Soy Free vegan meat product currently on the market. They make their products with pea protein, and they’re non-GMO. As for the Crumbles a ½ cup is about 100 Calories, with 0% Saturated Fat and 0% Cholesterol - can’t say that about animal meat now can you? That same ½ Cup also has about 4% Fiber, 20% Protein, 10% Calcium, 2% Iron and Vitamin C and only 1g of sugar.

So if you’re in the market for a good vegan beef, check out Beyond Meat. Oh, and if you’re lucky enough to find it they’ve also started making some bomb-ass Meatballs. Which I’ll have to review at another time, since I forgot to take pictures last time I bought them. Bad blogger!

To learn more about Beyond Meat check them out Here

Product Review - So Delicious: CocoWhip Whipped Topping...

Full-Fat CocoWhip

Oh my goddess, have you heard about So Delicious's new product? CocoWhip - Coconut Whipped Topping? This stuff is amazing, AH-MAZING! Seriously, Vegan Cool Whip, that's all you really need to know.

No, but seriously, when it comes to making amazing vegan dairy products So Delicious has always been in the lead. Their Creamers, their Holiday Beverages, and their Cultured yogurts are all unmatched, and their ice cream is out of this world, but their new CocoWhip may just be the best thing they've ever made.

Vegans everywhere have been waiting a long time for vegan whip cream, and yes, we do have vegan whip in cans, a Rice Whip - which I particularly like, - and a Soy Whip, but the truth is these two whips are kind of a pain in the ass. You need to leave them at room temp for 15-20 minutes to soften so that they can be applied to desserts, and very often I find that the lever that releases the whip breaks, causing the whip to become stuck inside and therefore useless. Both of these products also contain ingredients which I consider to be questionable, but they work in a pinch. Of course, you can make your own coconut whip at home too, and I've done so many times but I'll be honest, when you're planning a big dinner and you have countless dishes to prepare sometimes making your own whip is the last thing on your mind. In times like these convenience is essential for piece of mind.

Full Fat CocoWhip
An Inside Shot, see, look how fluffy! 

So, what makes So Delicious's CocoWhip so great? First of all it's delicious! Really it is. I mean it's been years since I had Cool Whip but this tastes exactly like I remember Cool Whip to be like. Or maybe 'exactly' is doing a disservice to So Delicious, because their CocoWhip is actually better then Cool Whip. It's fluffy, creamy, and decadent and doesn't melt when you scoop it atop a dessert and let it sit for a few. Other Whips tend to go runny if refrigerated for even short periods. So, flavor wise this stuff is dead on, there is NO comparison. I love that CocoWhip comes in a tub so you can easily scoop it out and plop it on desserts. No more fiddling with frustrating cans.

Lite CocoWhip

The other thing I really like about this product is the ingredient list. As I said the other whips on the market have some questionable ingredients but Coco Whip keeps things simple. Both the Full-Fat and the Lite Versions of CocoWhip contain Coconut Oil, water, Tapioca Syrup, Cane Syrup, Pea Protein, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum and Sunflower Lecithin. Most of these are organic, and the product itself Non-GMO verified. Another cool thing about CocoWhip is that it's pretty allergen friendly. It's soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, and nut-free. It's also Kosher.

I really can't say enough good things about this product. The first tub I bought we went through in less then a few days. I am officially addicted to this stuff! Although it must be said that while the full-fat version has a higher calorie count it also has the better texture. The Lite Whip is really rather runny, it doesn't firm up or fluff the way that the full fat version does. Taste wise it's still great, but if you're looking for fluffy whip go with full-fat. If you're looking to make a presentation, go with full-fat. If you don't care about any of that and are only concerned with calories then buy the lite, as I said it also tastes great, it just doesn't look as pretty.

You can learn more about So Delicious products here, but I don't think they have CocoWhip listed on their website yet as it just came out in November.

Product Review - Almond Dream: Pumpkin Spice Almond Drink...

Fall is by far my favorite season. I love the weather; love the feel of the cool breeze on my face, love the smell of decaying leaves as they flutter from the trees. I love the howling nights, and the wet afternoons. I especially love fall food. Stews, one-pot meals, casseroles, scones, pies, lots and lots of coffee and tea. These things are comforting, warming, soul-soothing. I especially love pumpkin favored goodies, cinnamon spiked treats, and nutmeg spiked drinks. I love the culture of fall, I love dressing in layers, I love spending time in nature to witness the changing beauty, I love giant pumpkins, and I love Halloween. As October crosses into November many people get sick of the typical fall foods like Apple Pies and Pumpkin everything, they’re ready to move onto stuffing and cranberries, and spinach salads that have walnuts and pears. Not me, I’m quite happy that pumpkin is a fall-winter cross-over food.

You may recall my post about Califia Farms  new Pumpkin Spice Latte from a few weeks ago. Well, I discovered yet ANOTHER pumpkin flavored beverage This one is Almond Dreams, Pumpkin Spice with Cinnamon nondairy beverage. I was super excited to discover this because almond milk probably tops my list of favorite non-dairy milks, yet aside from the awesome Califia Farms line of almond based drinks, most almond milks lack inspiration. Don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate and vanilla almond milk, but where’s the flurry of holiday almond based beverages? Where’s the Chocolate Peppermint Almond Milk? Where’s the Gingerbread Almond Milk? Know what I’m saying?

Anyway, I very excitedly scooped up a carton of this the minute I saw it on the shelf and I couldn’t even wait to get home to try it. I cracked this baby open in the car and took a long hearty swig, much to my husband’s amusement. Unfortunately, Almond Dream’s Pumpkin Spice didn’t blow my socks off. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a rather tasty drink, it’s just not what I was hoping for. It didn’t tickle my tastebuds the way other pumpkin flavored drinks do. It didn’t wow me. As much as I like nutmeg, I find it to be an acquired taste and for me the line between just enough and too much is a very fine one. In the end I just thought the spiciness of this drink was not to my liking, and this particular pumpkin spice was somewhat thinner then I would have liked. Thicker then rice milk mind you, but a little thinner then your average almond milk. I did like that it wasn’t overly sweet, and that it’s lower in calories then many other holiday beverages. Although I found that the spices kind of muted the pumpkin flavor in this drink, and that it ended up tasting more like an eggnog then a pumpkin spice beverage.

So in the end, my conclusion is that if you really love pumpkin this drink may be worth giving a try. Certainly if you have allergies to soy, or coconut, or simply don’t like coffee this is a good option for you to meet your pumpkin needs. If however you’re somewhat picky like me when it comes to fall spices this may not be the right drink for you. Though, you never know until you try and I urge you to test it yourself and make your own decision.

As far as the practicalities are concerned Almond Dream’s Pumpkin Spice is soy, gluten, and dairy free, and contains 50 calories per serving. It has 2% sodium, 1g Protein, 7g sugar, 10% Vitamin A and Calcium, 25% Vitamin D, 30% Vitamin E, and 50% Vitamin B12.

You can learn more here Almond Dream

Product Review - Sweet Earth: Hickory and Sage Smoked Seitan Bacon...

Look out folks there’s a new vegan bacon in town! Sweet Earth Natural Foods has just come out with a Hickory and Sage Smoked Seitan Bacon, that’s pretty darn good. I don’t normally buy pre-packaged vegan bacon as I prefer to make it at home myself but you know how the novelty of a new item always makes me want to try it at least once.

Personally I think seitan is probably the best candidate for making the most realistic vegan bacon. Of course that doesn’t do much to help those who follow a gluten-free diet, but for the rest of us I think seitan makes for the closest and most accurate bacon texture. If you like soft - think wilted - chewy bacon, seitan can do it, if you like crispy hard bacon, seitan can do it, if you like something a little in-between seitan can do it. Where as Tempeh doesn’t really do ‘soft’ and tofu never does crispy without becoming super chewy. Shiitake, coconut, and eggplant bacon are all great as well, but none of them ever stack up texture wise. So Sweet Earth has really achieved something unique with their seitan bacon, the texture is fantastic, and the flavor is pretty darn good too. When they say smokey they mean smokey for sure! Though I didn’t taste much sage. Overall this is a very savory product and satisfying to the palate, although I think - since I like a bit of sweetness with my bacon - next time I’d drizzle a bit of maple syrup over the strips as they’re cooking.

Now the nitty-gritty nutritional details. For 2 slices of seitan bacon it’s 90 calories, 30 calories from fat. 7% sodium, 2% carbohydrates, 1 g sugar, 1g fiber, 10g protein, 8% Vitamin A, 2% Vitamin C, Iron and Calcium, 50% Vitamin E and also contains several B vitamins in varying percentages. Unfortunately this is not the most allergy-friendly product out there as it contains wheat, soy, and coconut, however the only soy listed on the ingredients list is soy sauce. The ingredients are pretty basic, mostly spices, maple syrup, a bit of sugar, wheat gluten, red beans, and buckwheat groats, and the product is non-gmo, with no nitrates. According to their website Sweet Earth also works hard to ensure their products are sustainable so you can feel good knowing that too.

For all the vegan bacon lovers out there, this is a nice addition to the vegan bacon market, and tastes great served up alongside a tasty tofu scramble. I enjoyed it drizzled in a bit of maple syrup served with the Tuscan Tofu Scramble from Chloe Coscarelli’s latest book “Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen.” My husband loved it too, saying it’s one of the best commercial vegan bacon’s he’s tried, and I’d have to agree. Though honestly when it comes to any commercial vegan bacon I prefer my own homemade stuff, but this is a nice change of pace once in a while or great if you don’t want to go to the trouble of DIY.

My only real complaint is the packaging is horrible to open. It's like opening a tempeh package. You need to get our your scissors and because of all the marinade it just makes a freaking mess. So be warned.

If you want to learn more about Sweet Earth you can check them out Here.

PS: One of the craziest things about this bacon is that when you cook it, it actually smells like bacon. It’s not like when you cook tofu and tempeh or other vegan bacon’s and you just smell that salty, blackening smell. This actually smelled like bacon - but without the grease. Weird.

Product Review - Califia Farms: Pumpkin Spiced Latte Flavored Cold Brewed Coffee with Almond Milk...

You know it’s fall, not only when the leaves begin to yellow and the weather grows chill, but when you can’t seem to throw a rock without hitting something that’s ‘pumpkin spice.’ The words Pumpkin Spice are now synonymous with fall;  it’s the kind of winning, warming, comforting combination that almost everyone loves. Pumpkin Spice Scones, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Spice Cake, Pumpkin Spice tats, and perhaps most famous - and most beloved - pumpkin spice coffee. Of course, pumpkin spice is not always easy for us vegans to come by because so many of these delicious fall treats are loaded with dairy, but fret no more as the world of vegan holiday drinks has recently been expanded!

That’s right, Califia Farms - who I’ve posted about before, Here and Here - have tossed their hat into the ring once more and developed a Pumpkin Spiced Latte Flavored Cold Brewed Coffee with Almond Milk. As far as I know there’s two other vegan pumpkin spice beverage on the market, and they’re made by Silk, and So Delicious, of course these are both pumpkin flavored beverages sans Coffee. So Califia is unique in that respect since as far as I know it is the only Vegan Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Beverage on the market.

So lets get down to the nitty-gritty stats. For an 8oz serving this Pumpkin Spice Latte is 100 calories, 35 of which come from fat, 17g carbohydrates, 1g protein, 1g Fiber, 14g sugar, and 50% of your daily calcium. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO, Kosher, and the bottle is BPA-Free. The only allergens are almonds, and coconut. It is a little high in sugar though which may be a turn off for some people.

How does it taste? Pretty decent. However in my opinion the spices are a little heavy, and the pumpkin is hard to distinguish. It gets a little drowned out by the nutmeg, and the nutmeg makes this taste a lot like eggnog. I respect the effort that Califia Farms put into making this product for all of us pumpkin spice lovers out there, but I think I’ll probably stick with their regular cold brewed coffee. Of course, who knows, you might love nutmeg, or you might not love an overwhelming pumpkin flavor and so this would be right up your alley. Or maybe you’ll just love it regardless. I actually think this would be great used as a creamer in a cup of strong coffee but I haven’t gotten around to trying that yet.

However you decided to use it, I hope you enjoy it, and regardless of my own feelings it’s always nice to have someone out there ‘vegan representing’ you know?

You can learn more about Califia and their products Here

Happy Fall!

Product Review: Endangered Species Creme Filled Chocolate...

Who doesn’t like chocolate? Okay, truth is I never liked chocolate - not really - until I went vegan. I mean, I thought it was alright, but nothing special. Sitting down and eating a chocolate bar never used to be my idea of a good time. These days I feel differently though. I love chocolate now, far more then I ever imagined I would, and Endangered Species Brand is one of my favorites!  I mean what’s not to like? Great tasting cacao, great flavor combinations, tons of vegan options, and not to mention they’re fair trade, Non-GMO certified, and Rainforest Alliance Certified. However my favorite part about them is that every time you buy one of their chocolate bars your money is going towards animal and wildlife conservation. At the end of each year Endangered Species donates 10% of their net profits to environmental non-profits focused on wildlife conservation and habitat preservation. The animals featured on each Endangered Species wrapper aren’t just there to be cute selling points, these are just some of the animals that benefit from your purchases. Right now Endangered Species is partnered with The African Wildlife Foundation , and The Xerces Society  - but past partners have included SEE Turtles , Chimp Haven, The Ocean Conservancy, and The National Wildlife Federation .

But enough about the company, lets talk about the chocolate - specifically their new line of creme filled chocolate bars all six flavors of which just so happen to be vegan, how awesome is that? I first heard about these magical bars a few months ago when they were debuted at an expo in California, and I’ve been patiently waiting for them to pop up in any of my local retailers. Just before Easter my husband and I discovered them in our local natural foods store and very excitedly bought one of each flavor to test out, all of which were to die for, but of course I had my favorites.

I think the Sea Salt and Lime flavor was probably our favorite. The flavor of this bar really exceeded expectation, and I loved that luscious bold lime flavor mixed in with the richness of the chocolate and the hint of sea salt. Flavor perfection.

Raspberry Orange is probably second for me because what goes better with creamy dark chocolate then sweet, tart, and citrusy fruits? This bar is a perfect marriage of all three flavors, they work in harmony together and do not overpower one another. You can a bit of each flavor in each bite.

The Almond Butter was perhaps the most surprising flavor. I love me some almond butter and I LOVE the combo of nut butter and chocolate - I’m a totally peanut butter/almond butter cup fiend - but I wasn’t expecting it to win me over as much as it did. The creme was so - well, creamy and it had a wonderful almond butter flavor, that was rich enough not to be drowned out by the dark chocolate.

The Coconut Creme and Lavender Mint were both wonderful too, only I didn’t think that the coconut creme had a strong enough coconut flavor. I was expecting something more in your face, and felt it was a bit muted alongside the strength of the chocolate. My husband disagreed however and thought the coconut flavor was fine. As for the Lavender Mint I was really expecting this one to be my favorite since I love the marriage of lavender and chocolate and Mint and Chocolate separately I thought they’d be brilliant together. While the bar was delicious overall I found that the mint flavor was somewhat overshadowed both by the chocolate and the lavender. Perhaps this is just me because I’m used to a very strong mint chocolate or maybe it just wasn’t the best idea to marry two very strong herbs together. I suppose one was bound to be over shadowed.

Lastly the Blueberry Vanilla which was also excellent. Few things in life go together better then dark chocolate and blueberries, or chocolate and vanilla for that matter and this bar is no exception. The berries lend a real sweetness to the bar that works well against the bitter chocolate. I did not however taste an overwhelming amount of vanilla.

So there you have it, the new Endangered Species Creme Filled Chocolate Bars are delicious! Keep your eyes open for them the next time you’re at your market or health food store and give them a try. If you love good quality chocolate you won’t be disappointed. Promise.

You can learn more about the company and their products here - Endangered Species Chocolate

Product Review: Silk - Seasonal Nog...

Alright, this is it, my last Holiday Nog review! I’ve tried them all now and though my favorite is the So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog - Silk’s Seasonal Nog is the only other Nog that even comes close to beating it. Silk’s Nog is fantastic, and it still holds a special place in my heart because it was the first non-dairy Nog I ever tried and it literally blew me away. I thought for sure nog couldn’t be recreated vegan, and when I took my first stip of Silk I realized how wrong I was.  I think that this nog actually comes the closest to tasting like actual dairy nog. The flavor is spot on, the texture is great, it’s rich, thick, and creamy, and it’s sweet but not overpowering. By comparison So Delicious Coconut Nog is a tad sweeter a tad thicker, and has a subtle sweet of coconut about it. It’s that hint of coconut that would tip someone off to the fact that it isn’t a dairy nog, but Silk’s Nog I think could fool just about anyone in a blind taste-test. It’s really that good.

Nutrition wise it’s pretty comparable to the other brands of nog. 90 calories for half a cup, 2g of fat, 12g of sugar, and 3g of protein. It also has 2% Calcium and Iron.  The ingredients are pretty standard - Soy Milk, cane sugar, carrageenan, sea salt, natural flavors, turmeric - weird - and Annatto. Though this nog isn’t certified organic it is certified Non-GMO by the Non-GMO project, so you can feel confident about drinking it.

This is definitely a nog I can recommend, so if you see it around pick up a carton or two and enjoy some spiced nog while sitting in front of your Christmas tree this year!

Product Review: Rice Dream - Rice Nog...

As much as it pains me to say this, not all Nogs are created equal. It sounds like blasphemy I know, but as much as I love Rice Dream their nog just doesn’t stand up in my opinion. It’s not that it isn’t delicious - because it is - but to me it tastes almost exactly like their Horchata. Now I love me some Horchata, not going to lie about that, but Horchata is not Nog. Am I right?

I think this was actually one of the first non-dairy nogs around, and it shows. This is more of a primer for the greatness that would come, rather then a grand finale. You can taste hints of Cinnamon and Nutmeg and other winter spices but the consistency is pretty thin - like a regular rice milk - and the richness just isn’t there. This nog also has a strange and somewhat off-putting pink hue, I’m not sure why but annatto is listed under the ingredients so I’m assuming that’s the cause. Why there is annatto in Nog, I have no idea - but I’ll be honest - the slight pink tinge disturbed me.

So some practical information for those curious minds. A half cup is roughly about 80 calories so it’s rather calorie dense considering it isn’t all that rich - go figure - and it has about 11g of sugar per serving so not quite as much as a few other brands. It also isn’t organic which may be a concern for you considering canola is an ingredient, and it also contains carrageenan which I know concerns some people.

All and all I’d say that as a drink this tastes just fine, but as a Nog it has some explaining to do. If you really want a great Nog to make your Christmas celebrations extra festive I would highly recommend either the So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog or the Silk Nog - (review to come.) Or Califa Farms Holiday Nog if you can find it!

But whichever brand or flavor you choose drink Nog and be Merry!

Product Review - WestSoy: Chocolate Peppermint Stick Soy Beverage...

I can’t believe I haven’t posted in a week - uh - well, lets chalk it up to holiday madness and laziness. I don’t know about you but it’s damn cold here in Chicago (1'F, or -17'C) and that’s put me in something of a hibernation mode.  The holidays, writing, work, and school projects have got me kind of down and tired lately. Bad weather typically makes me feel this way, and the first week after a big holiday I’m always a bit spent. Since our epic Thanksgiving brunch I’ve hardly done any cooking - at least none that’s very interesting. We’ve been eating simply - bowls of rice and steamed vegetables, or pasta, or salad. All of which are delicious but none to creative.

But, even though I haven’t any recipes to share with you today there is one thing I’ve been wanting to tell you about for some time now, and that’s WestSoy’s Chocolate Peppermint Stick Soy Beverage. I”ve seen this in the stores for a couple of years now, and I never buy it. I don’t know why, I love chocolate and I love peppermint and I’m crazy for the two together. Maybe it’s because I never buy WestSoy products - brand loyalty is a weird thing yo. - but whatever the reason I always passed up this interesting holiday beverage at the store. Then a couple of weeks ago I saw it on sale, and thought “Why not give it a try?” I figured even if I didn’t like it, at the very least I could tell all of you about it.

Well, as it turns out this stuff is amazing. Seriously, it’s like crack folks. One sip and you’re hooked. It tastes just like a cold peppermint mocha from the evil coffee corporation that shall not be named. I really can’t get over the perfectly delicious blend of rich chocolate and cool peppermint. A winning combination no matter what. A couple of years ago I reviewed the So Delicious Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk which I loved, but I think if push comes to shove I’ll have to say that I like WestSoy just a little bit better. For me the difference is the mint vs the peppermint. This may be such a subtle difference to most people but to me it’s another world entirely. Mint and Peppermint just aren’t the same, and Peppermint is by far my favorite, it’s got that subtle sweetness that plain mint just doesn’t have, and it works holiday magic when combined with chocolate.

It is a little calorie dense at 180 calories per cup and contains 25g of sugar per serving but it’s so damn delicious! Seriously, if I could mainline it I would! Now, in all seriousness I obviously wouldn’t recommend buying and drinking this all of the time, but for a holiday treat to add a little pizzaz to your life, why not? There are worse things you could be drinking - include a little this holiday season. WestSoy is also made with organic soy milk and is Non-GMO Verified which is pretty awesome.

This is definitely my new favorite holiday beverage - and apparently you can drink it warm too, though I haven’t tried that yet, but I can’t wait to! If you try it I hope you enjoy it, and if you like the chocolate peppermint combination as much as I do I’m sure you’ll love it!

The Art of Making Soy Milk: Product Review - Soyajoy G4 Soymilk Maker...

I love DIY. Some people don’t. Some people prefer to buy everything pre-made at the store for convenience, but not me. Cooking for me is a fun activity, it’s therapeutic, it helps me relax, and helps me to clear my mind. There are few things better then putting on some good music, playing it loud, and setting in on some new culinary adventure. I love to bake bread, both in my bread machine and by hand. I love to make homemade seitan - it’s the only kind I ever eat - I love to make my own veggie burgers, my own sauces, my own condiments, I’ve even made my own peanut butter, but one of my latest interests has been making my own soy milk.

Back in July I was given some Amazon gift cards from my In-Laws for my birthday. At the time there weren’t any cookbooks that I was dying to have and so I racked my brain trying to figure out what I wanted. For some time I’d been interested in - and eyeing - various soymilk makers, and so after reading hundreds of reviews I finally took the plunge and settled on one.

I bought the Soyajoy G4 which is a really cool little machine that’s super easy to use. It comes with a measuring cup for your soybeans, a packet of non-GMO soybeans for your first batch of milk, a pitcher to pour the milk into and a fine mesh sieve for straining. The machine itself is stainless steel inside and out, which makes it look very sleek. The gripping handle and the lid are made from plastic but these features are on the outside, and do not touch the milk so you don’t have to worry about the plastic leaching into your soy milk. There are also several function buttons. The machine can make soy milk, nut milk, raw milks, grain milks, and even soup. It’s pretty much a miracle worker!

Of course you can totally make your own soy milk at home without a machine. You can do it the old fashioned way with pots, and your hands, but I as much as I love DIY that’s a bit much for me. I don’t fancy sitting around squishing my own soybeans all morning when something else can do it for me a lot faster, and a lot better. The Soyajoy will get you fresh hot smooth soymilk in under half an hour, and the best part of it is that it doesn’t contain a bunch of additives or nefarious ingredients. It’s just straight up soymilk.

Now to be honest if you drink it right from the machine it doesn’t taste wonderful. It has a much stronger soy taste then commercial soy milk - which is severely watered down - and there’s no sweetness, but this isn’t really a big deal. You can easily season your soymilk any way you like with different sweeteners or flavorings. I personally like to use Barley Malt Syrup and Stevia, vanilla stevia if I’m making vanilla soy milk, but you could just use regular old cane sugar or agave too.

Typically once I’ve made a batch os soymilk I bottle it just the way it is - Unflavored and unseasoned. I use old Kombucha and Kevita bottles that I’ve saved especially for this purpose - and to use as salad dressing containers. They make the perfect vessel as they’re 12oz bottles. Since I mostly use my homemade soy milk for cooking, baking, or to use in smoothies or sometimes cereal I prefer to sweeten the overall dish rather then the individual bottle of soy milk, unless I’m making a particular flavor - such as vanilla.

I’ve been doing this roughly once a week since July and it’s been a really fun process. The soyajoy made great milk right out of the gate, and it’s easy to use, but with a little tinkering I’ve managed to get the texture and flavoring perfect for my palate. I make an expert batch every time now. One of the great things about making your own soymilk is the cost. It’s so much cheaper to do it yourself then to buy a carton at the store. A carton usually goes for $2.99-$5.99 but you can easily make 32oz yourself for under $1. I bought a pound and a half of soybeans back in July and I’m still using the same batch! It doesn’t take a lot of beans to produce 32oz, so you really do save yourself a lot of money in the long-run.

Some people complain that the soyajoy is loud, and it can be, but it’s not loud the entire time it’s on. The grinding process is loud, but the boiling, and cooking process isn’t. I also love that this machine only has two parts and is super easy to clean, and the straining process isn’t as hard as you might think. Once your milk is done you put the sieve over the pitcher pour the milk through and what you’re left with is Okara - the pulp. Squeeze a little more milk out of that and then you can either discard the Okara or use it in some other dish. Simple as that.

This is a really great machine, and it’s not very expensive compared to a lot of other kitchen appliances. I got mine on sale and paid around $110 for it. Every penny was worth it I think because I absolutely love having fresh homemade soy milk. I love knowing exactly what’s in my milk, saving money, and not having to worry about GMO’s or crazy additives. You know what else is really cool? You can use your homemade soymilk to make homemade soy yogurt! This is one of my new favorite activities but I’ll talk about it more next week so stay tuned!

Product Review - Califa Farms: Holiday Nog...

A couple of days ago I posted about Califa Farms new Iced Coffee Almond Milks. I also mentioned in that post that they have begun making a Holiday Nog, but I didn’t go into too much detail about that because I thought their new nog deserved it’s own post.

Eggnog - or just Nog as I prefer to call it now - is so connected with the holiday season for most of us. Like many people I used to love nog when I was a kid, I would drink cartons of the stuff. It just wasn’t Christmas without a glass of nog you know? When I entered my twenties I realized my taste for it had changed and even though I still liked it I noticed that drinking a full glass of it made me sick. I began drinking it less frequently, until I gave it up for good when I went vegan. This wasn’t a big loss mind you, but something about the holidays always makes me want a cool glass of nog. It kind of makes you all warm and fuzzy inside you know?

Well, there are several great vegan nog options for offer these days. So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog  is by far my favorite, but when I saw Califa Farms almond milk nog I just knew I’d have to try it. I love the cute holiday design on the bottle - though as I mentioned in my earlier review of Califa I wish the bottles were glass.

I also love that this nog is made with almond milk rather then soy. Not that I have anything against soy mind you but almond milk is my favorite. I really love that this particular nog isn’t overly sweet. In fact compared to virtually all of the other nogs I’ve tried - dairy and non-dairy - this is probably the least sweet tasting. Calorie wise this is about 100 calories per 8oz which keeps it on par with everyone else. Though the bottle says it’s 50 calories per serving they list a serving size as 4oz which translates to a half glass. Unless you have very small glasses!  I also love the taste, it’s got a very nog-like flavor. In fact I think this is possibly the closest to actual dairy nog, that I’ve tried. I know it’s been years since I’ve had actual dairy nog but I think it would be very difficult for a person to tell the difference.

Having said all that however I think the texture is just slightly thin for nog. I also detect just the slightest hint of almond flavor. This is not a bad thing if you like almond milk as much as I do, but some people might not like ir. Lastly I don’t think that this nog is quite as rich as dairy nog, nor do I think it’s as rich as the coconut milk nog. This may not be a big deal for some people, and certainly the flavor is definitely there, but If I’m being honest I did kind of miss that richness, and thick texture.

Overall I would say this is a really good holiday nog though, and I really recommend it to all you vegan nog lovers out there. The coconut milk nog remains my favorite but this is a close runner-up, and I will most likely buy another bottle before the holiday season ends.

Product Review - Califa Farms: Pure Iced Coffee with Almond Milk...

A few weeks ago my husband discovered something amazing. Almond milk iced coffee!  It’s made by Califa Farms and comes in three flavors - Mocha, Double Espresso, and Café Latte. We were so excited by this incredible revelation that we bought all three and not a single bottle lasted through the weekend. We sucked it back like crack.

My husband is the real coffee drinker in our marriage, which is funny because when we first met he never touched the stuff and I was a hard-core latte addict. Somehow over the years we’ve been together these roles have reversed and now he’s the hard-core caffeine user while I mostly ignore the stuff. Of course I enjoy a latte or a mocha, or a cappuccino now and then, but mostly I try not to drink it, and typically only allow myself the pleasure about once every few weeks or months, or when I’m on holiday. Since getting back from Montreal however I’ve had some difficulty kicking the caffeine monster and so it’s been something of a weekly, twice weekly, or even thrice weekly event as of late, but I digress.

Even though I’m not the coffee lover/drinker I used to be, there is just something so fantastic about being able to walk into a grocery store and pick up a bottle of pre-made vegan iced coffee. Pre-made iced coffee in a bottle is not something we as vegans typically get to enjoy because they’re all contaminated with milk. The only other company I know of who’s making a vegan iced coffee for sale is Silk, but I’m not sure how widely available it is. I’ve only ever seen it in one store in my area, and it’s not always in-stock. 

Califa Farms on the other hand seems to be gaining in popularity and it’s being carried in Whole Foods, which means it might just stick around for a while. The company is California based - as their name suggests - and is committed on working with local California ingredients, as well as making their farming practices and company as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible. They also make sure to only use coffee grown on Rainforest Alliance Certified Farms. Which means that the farmers growing the coffee beans do so without harming rainforest, rivers, soil, or wildlife. The Rainforest Alliance Seal also ensures that farmers are paid a just wage, and have access to healthcare, and education. All great things.

Currently Califa Farms makes three flavors of iced coffee - the aforementioned Café Latte, Double Espresso, and Mocha, - as well as Five flavors of almond milk - Unsweetened, Original, Vanilla, Toasted Coconut Almond, and Holiday Nog, - and three flavors of citrus juice - Lemonade, Lemon Limeade, and Orange Juice. However since this is a post about their iced coffee flavors I’ll stick to that.

Of the three coffee flavors I have to say that I love them all, but Mocha might be my favorite followed closely by Double Espresso. What I like about these drinks is that they’re only 90 calories per serving, have a very nice and mellow coffee flavor without any real almond taste, and are not overly sweet. The double espresso has 10g of Sugar per serving, with the other two flavors have 13g of sugar per serving. The texture is smooth, not watery, perfectly creamy, and is just all around delicious. They also have a nice dose of vitamins, and are NON-GMO certified - though not organic.

The ingredients list is pretty straight forward, most of the standard things we’ve all come to expect in our non-dairy milk. Cane sugar is used as the sweetener, and there are no artificial flavors. These drinks do use Carrageenan however if that’s a concern to you.

The only thing I don’t like is that these milks come in plastic bottles. I realize that the plastic is made from recycled material, which is entirely commendable but even still I prefer non-plastic packaging as much as possible, but that’s my only real gripe. Though I would point out that as delicious as these iced coffees are they are a little pricier then your average carton of almond milk, selling for about $5 a bottle. That may seem a bit steep to some but for an occasional ‘splurge’ item it seems alright. I certainty wouldn’t buy these iced coffee drinks every week but they sure are a nice treat when you’re in the mood for it.

So if you liked iced coffee as much as my husband and I do, and don’t feel like making your own, check out Califa Farms. But be warned, it really is hard to just have one glass! If you’re not careful the entire bottle might disappear before you even know it!

For more information check out,

Califa Farms

Product Review - Beyond Meat: Chicken-Free Strips...

Okay, so I totally intended to review Beyond Meat way back in Spring when I first tried it, but things get away from you and now I’m a little late to the game. Does everyone know about Beyond Meat already? Well, in case you don’t Beyond Meat is the latest Vegan Meat on the scene. This stuff is really cutting edge, it looks like chicken, it feels like chicken, and it tastes like what I remember chicken to taste like. I’ve tried quite a few of the vegan meats on the market, and though I don’t hate any of them I have to admit that some are better then others, and Beyond Meat is definitely the best. It’s better and more realistic then any other vegan meat product out there, it doesn’t have that seitan aftertaste that a lot of vegan wheat meats have, nor does it have that tofu aftertaste that a lot of soy based vegan meats have. Beyond meat isn’t grainy, it isn’t mushy, it doesn’t taste like dough, or soy, it’s not too soft, nor too firm, it’s perfect. In fact it’s so realistic that I have successfully fooled the most ‘die-hard’ omnivores into believing that it’s actually chicken.

Now I’m not the sort of person who promotes using store-bought vegan meats regularly, they shouldn’t be the staple of anyone’s diet, but every now and then it’s nice to kick things up a notch, and if you like vegan meat then you’re gonna love this one. Hell, even if you don’t like vegan meat - or think you don’t - you might really come around if you give Beyond Meat a try. Certainly it’s worth trying once just for the sheer novelty factor alone, although I have had vegans tell me that it’s actually too realistic, so much so that it discomforts them.

BBQ Beyond Meat Wraps 

Currently Beyond Meat only offers Chicken-Free Strips in three flavors, Lightly Seasoned, Grilled, and Southwest. I’ve tried all three and I liked them all, but Grilled is maybe my favorite, closely followed by Southwest. The strips are Gluten-Free, and are made primarily of Non-GMO soy, Pea Protein, Amaranth, Carrot fiber and spices.  The first time I tried Beyond Meat I made BBQ Chicken wraps to go along with some vegan poutine that I made. The second time I used them in a standard chicken salad with red grapes, walnuts, green onion, and vegan mayo. The third time I used them in a broccoli carrot stir-fry, and each time they were out-of-this-world delicious.

From what I hear the peeps at Beyond Meat would like to develop a number of meat-free products. It’s their goal to be the leader in this industry, and to always be on the cutting edge of vegan food technology. I read an article about Beyond Meat Last year that had some quotes from Ethan Brown the Beyond Meat Founder in which he stated that he wants to ‘redefine the category.’ Rather then call meat or vegan meat, meat he wants them to be called protein. His goal - a hugely ambitious one - is to make his vegan meat - or vegan protein - products so realistic that they will be sold in the Meat counter at grocery stores rather then next to the tofu. Certainly an interesting concept, and probably the first time anyone’s thought to try it, or the first time anyone thought it was possible.

Here's a shot of that delicious poutine.
The Recipe is from Bryanna Clark Grogan's book
"World Vegan Feast"

I am definitely interested in seeing where this company goes next, and I’m eagerly waiting to see what their next vegan meat product might be, and when it will drop. This is definitely a company to keep your eyes on, and if you're interested in learning more about the company and the products you can check out their website.

Beyond Meat

Vegan Mofo #36 - Mark’s Linguine With Clam Free Sauce & Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Scallops...

Vegan Mofo #36 - Mark’s Linguine With Clam Free Sauce & Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Scallops 

The Region - Italy
The Book - The 30 Minute Vegan’s Taste of Europe
The Author - Mark Rienfeld
The Recipe - Linguine With Clam Free Sauce
Page #23
Difficulty - Easy
Duration - Roughly 35-40 minutes

And now we’ve reached the end. It’s a bitter sweet end for me, because on one hand I hate to see Mofo end, it’s been so much fun, but on the other I’m finally starting to feel burned out. Not burned out with cooking but burned out because I always have to make sure my camera is handy. Then there’s uploading photos, editing photos, writing daily - sometimes twice and thrice daily - posts and getting everything organized. I love it, but to keep that pace consistently when I have so much else going on is draining too. I’ve loved and enjoyed every minute of mofo, loved reading everyone’s blogs, seeing everyone’s creations, it’s been an inspiration and so I close this mofo with an unexpected dish.

Unexpected because I hadn’t intended to make this for mofo at all. Then last night I came across a box of Sophie’s Kitchen vegan scallops in my local grocery and knew I had to try them. I’ve been hearing great things about this brand for a while now but had never gotten the chance to try it, so I excitedly picked up a box upon making the discovery that it was now being sold in my area. Problem is, I never liked scallops, as I mentioned in my post about the tofu scallops, and short of serving them as I had the Mark Reinfeld way a few days ago I didn’t know what else to do with them. But then, scallops in my mind seem to go with Alfredo, and once I had that idea in my head I remembered Reinfeld’s recipe for Clam Free Sauce and thought why couldn’t vegan scallops work in that dish too?

So tonight, after a busy day, needing something quick and easy for dinner that’s exactly what I decided to do. I made the recipe as pretty well as stated, except I used only a 1/4 pound of shiitake’s instead of three cups since I used a box of scallops as well. The sauce is made of garlic, oil, shiitake mushrooms, arame, vegan butter, non-dairy milk, cashews - which are listed as optional but I used them - lemon juice, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, parsley - I didn’t have any and so I used some basil instead - white wine, and nutritional yeast. I left the pine nuts out too. I decided to cook the thawed scallops in the pan right along with the garlic and mushrooms rather then cook them separate and I’m not sure if this made any kind of difference in taste or texture but I think it worked fine.

Once the sauce is finished you add it to your linguine except I didn’t have any and so I used Angel Hair pasta instead. No biggie. Overall I thought the sauce was great, rich and creamy. It wasn’t overly seafoody and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I don’t like an overwhelming fish flavor but a little more sea would have been nice. I would definitely make this again and maybe add in some crumbled nori sheets too. Now whether or not this sauce tastes like clams I can’t say, I’ve never in my life eaten a clam and I’m glad of that. Clams to me were always a disgusting culinary oddity, so if you’ve tried this dish and you’ve eaten clams before let me know what you think.

As for the Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Scallops - well, it’s been so long since I’ve eaten a real scallop I can’t really comment on similarity. The vegan scallops were mild in flavor, and not fishy. I think a stronger flavor would have been better, but texture wise they seemed pretty dead on as far as I can remember. Since scallops were not my favorite thing to begin with I’m not sure I would buy these vegan scallops again myself, but my husband loved them. I suppose scallops, vegan or otherwise just might not be my thing, so in the future I suppose I’ll stick with the tofu version.

And that my friends concludes this years Vegan Mofo. Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting and thanks for participating. It’s been a blast. Stay tuned tomorrow for my Vegan Mofo 2013 Recipe Round-up of my top 10 Favorite dishes from this year’s mofo event!