Sunday, February 28, 2010

Soy Dreams

I can vividly remember the first time I ate fake meat. It was before going Vegetarian but I was at the point where I started thinking about cutting out meat. While in the frozen foods section I noticed a meatless meatloaf. I thought to myself "how the hell is it meatloaf without meat?" It was an Amy's Veggieloaf frozen dinner and it turned out to be one of the most delicious frozen dinners I've ever had. It was one of those a-ha moments where I realized I didn't need meat to have a hearty delicious meal. For a couple years I ate the shit out of those dinners but once I went Vegan I had to stop because it contained honey. I would LOVE it if Amy's could bring out a Vegan version or just get rid of the honey all together (pretty please!!!).

Anyway this brings me to the point of my post. For those of you that think you have to give up all of you meat/dairy convenience foods because you go Vegetarian or Vegan, you are just dead wrong. I'm not going to lie to you and say everything tastes just like the original, but in most cases it tastes better. Down below are a couple of examples where I think someone got it right.

Tofurky Deli Slices by Turtle Island Foods

I never had any desire to try these because I was never a big lunch meat person. Late last year someone very sweet made me a sandwich with Tofurky Deli Slices and it was amazing! Now I buy them fairly often for my sandwich fix.

Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Sausages

These were forced on to me by Whoa Wren. I'm serious, she fixed them in my house! I wanted nothing to do with them because sausage used to make me sick. Amazingly they were delicious and now I keep a couple packs in my refrigerator at all times. I'm also anxious to try Field Roast's other products...all in due time.

Yves Meatless Pepperoni

I don't make pizza that often but when I do I usually go with all veggies. A couple months ago I had a Vegan pizza party at my house and my friend Jenny brought some Yves Vegan pepperoni. I thought it tasted great! If you are really missing that pepperoni flavor this should do the trick.

Teese Mozzarella by Chicago Soydairy

Teese is my favorite pizza-making cheese right now. I agree Daiya is hella good but until I can buy some at the store I'm rollin' with Teese.

Follow Your Heart Sour Cream Alternative

This is a must for nachos! I also enjoy the Follow Your Heart Nacho Cheese, good stuff! Oh and of course Vegenaise, the O.G. of Vegan condiments.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Vega-riffic!

For almost three years now I've been using the supplement Vega religiously. Produced by Sequel Naturals and formulated by Vegan Triathlete Brendan Brazier, Vega is the first all whole food Vegan supplement. Vega is loaded with vitamins, minerals and protein to provide an easy way to get a majority of your nutritional requirements. In a perfect world you would be able to get all of that nutrition from you daily meals, but I just don't have the time to do that. Every day right before I go to work I make sure to whip up a serving. I hate to eat anything when I wake up but I also know that the first meal of the day is the most important. Vega is always my breakfast! FYI- my favorite flavor right now is Vanilla Chai.

I was introduced to Vega by Robert Cheeke, who is a Vegan bodybuilder. Robert produced a documentary called Vegan Fitness Built Naturally. I bought the DVD hoping for some workout tips as I had just started working out at the gym. Watching the documentary made me really proud to be Vegan. The best part is you have three different body types and exercise styles represented in the film. Robert gives you the bodybuilding insight, Tonya Kay dazzles with her aerobic skills and Brendan displays the workout of a Triathlete. You know, we can do anything a meat eater can. Vegans can be ripped, muscular and energetic.

So while Vega might be the norm for the typical fast food Vegan, I would wholeheartedly recommend it for someone always on the go. It's a tad on the expensive side but you have to realize you get what you pay for. Vega can be found online and at almost any Vegan/ Vegetarian supermarket. I'm partial to Vegan Essentials because of their monthly 15% coupons but Vegan Proteins and Food Fight would also be fine choices.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

PDX to HNL

I was lucky enough to make a nice little winter trip to Portland and Honolulu earlier this month. Here are some of my finds...

Sin Dawg from Dave's Killer Bread

I've heard a lot of good things about Dave's Killer Bread so I had try one of his products. I saw this at the New Seasons Market in Portland and I grabbed it right away. Oh my god is it ever good!!! The guy at the checkout was telling me how awesome it was but I had no idea. It's super cinnamony and gooey. If you make it out to Portland you have to try this stuff...amazing.

Spirulina Popcorn from North Shore Naturals

This was a find from the Down to Earth in Honolulu. It wasn't as good as it looks but it wasn't horrible either. Just a little bit more salt or nutritional yeast and it would have been a home run.

Sweet & Sara Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

I'm sure Sweet & Sara is readily available in most major cities but it's pretty much non existent in Omaha. I saw these at Down to Earth so I jumped at the chance to buy them. Needless to say that I ate them in one sitting.

Who? What? Why?

The Laziest Vegans in the World started as a joke Facebook group. I started cooking for the first time in my life last year but I didn't want to forget about my glorious Vegan prepackaged food days. I mean really, if not for Amy's frozen dinners I might not be here right now. So while I don't hammer out the Amy's enchiladas like I used too, I will pick up a new Vegan item to peep it. Every time I go to Whole Foods there seems to be something I've never had before. Also I travel a lot so I can try regional Vegan items and hard to find stuff. I think this will be fun!

John

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