Sunday, February 24, 2013

Happy 3rd Birthday, Laziest Vegans in the World!

I don't like to toot my horn too much, but I did just noticed that The Laziest Vegans in the World is three years old! What started out as a Facebook Group in 2009 morphed into a full-blown blog in 2010. The reason I started it is the same reason that I still do it: just for fun. If it ever stops being fun, I'll stop doing it. What keeps me going (despite not being a very good writer) is the excitement of when someone discovers a new product because of the my blog, Facebook Page or Twitter.

I'm also celebrating my 10th year of Veganism, so in a sense I'm re-energized. I like helping those people who are newly Vegan or are thinking about make the jump. The people who aren't very good cooks but still wish to be Vegan and need all the help they can get. I hope my blog is a non-judgmental place where people can go for info on Vegan convenience food.

To celebrate my 3rd year blogging, I picked a few past blogs that were fun to write and, I think, worth revisiting.

Daiya Day! (April 1st, 2010)

This blog post was basically celebrating that fact that Daiya was finally available in retail packages. You newbies may not know, but the only way to get Daiya prior to April 1st 2010 was to get it by the pound at your Whole Foods deli (if you were lucky) or to buy it in bulk online. So it was a freakin' revelation to be able to buy Daiya in little baggies. Boy, we've come a long way.


Amy's Proof of Purchase Gift Box! (January 24th, 2011)

After FINALLY getting to the bottom of the whole Amy's Proof of Purchase dilemma (it was keeping me up at night), I redeemed my 25 Amy's points and got this amazing box with a ton cool stuff in it. Although the gift box is no longer available, there is still a program in place to get your Amy's points redeemed for cool swag. Lesson learned, don't throw away those Amy's points!


The Laziest Vegans Top Ten Asks Moby (July 6th, 2011)

I've always been a big fan of Moby, so it was a no-brainer to ask him if he was interested in taking my questionnaire, The Laziest Vegans Top Ten. Luckily, I met him (formally) the year before and I was hoping he would say yes. Amazingly, he did! I think the reason he chose to do it is so he could show that even famous people eat Amy's Enchilada frozen dinners. And for that, I'll be forever grateful.


Vega One All-In-One Nutritional Shakes (March 5th 2012)

In what has become my most popular blog post ever, I introduced the new Vega One to my readers. I had been skeptical up until this point because the original Vega was loved and revered. It seemed insane to mess with such a sure thing. Luckily for the entire world, Vega made the right decision. Now more popular than ever, Vega has gone beyond Vegan athletes and has made its way to everyday people looking for a quick, nutritionally dense fix.


Teal Cat Project Valentine's Day Sampler from Obsessive Confection Disorder (January 20th, 2013) and Lagusta's Lucious Tabby Toffees For The Teal Cat Project (March 13th, 2012)

I know, I know. You're like, "you just posted this!" True, it was only a month ago, but I felt like it was worth revisiting. When Isa first come up with the idea for Teal Cat Project back in '10, I thought she was crazy. It sounded like too much work and not very appealing to me at the time. Luckily she didn't listen to me and soldiered on. It taught me two things: 1.) never underestimate Isa and 2.) it feels good to donate your time and energy to a worthwhile cause. Almost two years later, Lagusta's Lucious Bonbons and Obsessive Confection Disorder have donated their time, resources, talent and money in the name of the Teal Cat Project. Fortunately I have a Vegan food blog I can use to promote such wonderful candies. These were amazing and I look forward to new delectable collaborations in the future.

So that's three years in a nutshell. Hope you enjoyed it, and here's to three more!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Girl Scout Thin Mints and Thanks-A-Lot Cookies

If you're American, I'm sure you're just like me and you grew up with Girl Scout Cookies. It was a once a year event that you anticipated for months. Looking though the order form, picking your favorites -- it was a ritual. Recently, the Girl Scouts have introduced a couple of Vegan cookies (depending on your location) so that we can continue to partake in this annual tradition. The two Vegan options that were available in the Omaha area were the Thin Mints and the Thanks-A-Lots.

I always get a kick when I see the word Vegan out in the non-Vegan world. It normalizes the word and makes it a lot less threatening. So chances are your mom or grandma saw the word Vegan and automatically thought of you! But anyway, on to the cookies...

Good ol' Thin Mints! Yes, these were my favorites growing up, hands down. I remember demolishing rows of these. But what do I think now? They're still minty! As far as I can tell, the taste remains the same. They obviously didn't need the dairy ingredients to taste good. If you've been waiting for a Vegan Thin Mint, your dreams have come true!

I have no idea if Thanks-A-Lots were around when I was young, but I don't remember them. Thanks-A-Lot is a gingerbread cookie with the bottom dipped in chocolate. It's a nice contrast and perfect for someone who doesn't want a totally chocolate cookie, but wouldn't mind a dab. I thought they were good! They didn't have the emotional ties the Thin Mints had, but it's still a cute little cookie none the less.

So the good news is it's 2013 and the Girl Scouts are promoting Vegan cookies. And one of those cookies is their best seller, the Thin Mint! What amazing times we live in.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Kopali Organic Chocolate Cacao Nibs & Espresso Beans

Back in October, I spotlighted a bunch of Fair Trade products. One of my favorites of the bunch was the Kopali Organic Chocolate Covered Bananas. Well, word got back to Kopali and they contacted me to see if I would be interested in reviewing two of their other products, Organic Chocolate Covered Cacao Nibs and Organic Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean. And of course I said yes!

I gave the Cacao Nibs a whirl first. Basically you are eating chocolate covered cocoa, a chocolate lover's dream. I liked that they were nice and tiny, like little pebbles. Unsurprisingly, I ate them all within minutes. Definitely something I would buy again. Next was the Espresso Beans. I'm admittedly not a coffee lover, but I have had chocolate covered beans before and enjoyed them. These were no different! Granted, I didn't eat the whole bag right away like the Cacao Nibs, but there was a nice balance between the chocolate and the coffee bean. Which begs the question, is there anything that tastes bad dipped in chocolate?

So if you are looking for a little bit more punch to your chocolate obsession, take a look at Kopali Organic Chocolate Cacao Nibs or Espresso Beans. You can find them at you local Whole Foods.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Alternative Baking Company Colossal Chocolate Chip Cookie

You would think that after doing this blog for 3 years now, there would be a post or two about Alternative Backing Company (or as I lovingly refer to them as, ABC) Cookies. Shockingly, there isn't. I really don't know why, because ABC Cookies were there at the beginning of my Veganism. You can always count on them to be at mainstream places like coffee shops or the airport. They've definitely saved my life a time or two! It's hard to pin down a favorite flavor, I mean off the top of my head I would say Simply Vanilla Bean (which is unfortunately discontinued at this time) but I also love Phenomenal Pumpkin Spice, Luscious Lemon Poppyseed, Peanut Butter Persuasion and of course old school Colossal Chocolate Chip.

Colossal Chocolate Chip is about as classic as you can get. A big ole' honking chocolate chip cookie! I think the secret to ABC's success is that their cookies don't taste healthy or, god forbid, "Vegan." For example, if my Dad were to have a bite of this cookie, he would be none the wiser to it's Veganness. It's just a good-ass cookie that everyone can enjoy. It's not low-fat or particularity healthy, but it's cholesterol free, you can pronounce all of the ingredients and it has zero trans fats, which is more than you can say for a typical chocolate chip cookie. If someone reads this and has yet to eat an ABC Cookie (doubtful, but possible) please make your way to the nearest ABC Cookie retailer and buy the whole collection. And don't forget to yell at me because you now have a cookie belly.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Earth Balance P.B. Popps

I love it when a product just appears on the shelf with very little fanfare or anticipation. Such was the case about a month ago, when a trusty Whole Foods employee pointed out these new P.B. Popps from Earth Balance. Now, I have been hearing rumblings of their new cheddar popcorn, but not a peep about these P.B.Popps. So of course I had to give 'em a whirl.

My first reaction is that this is a more peanut buttery version of Cracker Jacks. Popcorn, peanuts and oats round out the main ingredients. I'm a sucker for peanut butter, so it wasn't hard to win me over. My only complaint (and it's minor) is that the peanuts settle at the bottom of the bag and you are left with a bag full of peanuts and nothing else. So I suggest you shake the bag a bit or pour it in a bowl. Or just enjoy the peanuts at the end! Congrats to Earth Balance for creating a new snack I didn't know I needed.

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