Earth Balance Vegan Mac & Cheese

I'm sure most of you grew up on Kraft Mac & Cheese or the generic equivalent. It was super easy to make. Boil the noodles, add butter, milk and the packet of "cheese." It was definitely one of my favorite summer meals when my parents were at work. Well good news! Earth Balance just released two brand new boxed mac & cheeses, Vegan Cheddar Mac & Cheese and Vegan White Cheddar Mac & Cheese. The hype is real and Vegans are EXCITED. I got a couple boxes and I made them with the quickness. Here are the results!

First was the Cheddar. You make it essentially the same way as the Kraft Mac & Cheese. Water to boil the noodles, Earth Balance Buttery Spread, your favorite non-dairy milk and the "cheese" packet. Quick to make and super tasty, I was impressed! The cheddar flavor was amazing. Creamy, zesty, tangy and quite honestly, pretty similar to Kraft. A total home run!

The White Cheddar was similar in the taste department, maybe with less tanginess. Some people have complained that they hate one flavor or the other, but I'm pretty happy with both. I may give the Cheddar a slight edge, but very slight. So all in all, I think Earth Balance has produced an amazing product that a majority of Vegans will enjoy.

My only complaint is that the nutritional info is misleading. It doesn't include the fat or calorie content from the Earth Balance Buttery Spread or the non-dairy milk. Without that data, the Mac & Cheese looks low fat, which is misleading. Hopefully Earth Balance adjusts the data so it makes a fair representative of the fat content. Besides that, it's great!

Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Squares

One of this years most anticipated Vegan products has finally landed at my local Whole Foods. Yes, Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Squares are out and about in the world. The Vegan version of Cheez-its has Vegans losing their minds. Earth Balance has been on a streak lately, releasing anticipated products like Sour Cream and Onion Kettle Chips, Cheddar Puffs and P.B. Popps. I've been excited to try the Cheddar Squares from a blogging perspective, but growing up I was definitely more of a Ritz cracker person. So, do the Vegan Cheddar Squares warrant the hype?

The answer is absolutely yes! These are the real deal. The flavor is everything you could want from a Cheez-it type cracker. Strong "cheddar" flavor in a little bite size cracker. And these really are bite sized! No dipping them in your homemade Vegan dips but they would be great to crush up over your salad. My only complaint is that there is a bit of an aftertaste, but it's not unpleasant, just noticeable. So go get a box and let me know what you think (some of you already have on Facebook.) Find them at your local Whole Foods or online at Rabbit Food Grocery and Vegan Essentials.

Earth Balance Vegan Sour Cream & Onion Kettle Chips

I'm an unapologetic chip lover. I'm not saying to eat chips for every meal of the day, but if you think chips will ruin your life or your diet, you have other issues going on. One variety of chips I haven't had since going Vegan are sour cream & onion. I always liked them, but I thought a Vegan version would be close to impossible. Well, I'm happy to report that Earth Balance has made an excellent Sour Cream & Onion Kettle Chip that might even fool non-Vegans!

The Kettle chip is a harder chip, which I can either take or leave. The flavor on the other hand is 100% zesty tang. They actually used Vegan sour cream which is awesome! It tastes like the real thing to me. I'm also happy to report that they are Gluten-free, Non-GMO and Kosher. So score another one for the Vegans, we finally have a sour cream & onion chip! So what's next?

Hampton Creek Just Mayo Vegan Mayonnaise

I've been hearing the hype about Hampton Creek's Just Mayo Vegan Mayonnaise for some time. While I'm a big fan of Vegenaise and I find Earth Balance Mindful Mayo enjoyable, I think it's great that there is another option. To test out Just Mayo, I decided to use it in Isa's Chickpea Salad Sammiches recipe. If you are ever looking for an easy hearty meal, you really can't beat it. So let's open this jar of Just Mayo and see if it has that zing.

I tried the mayo by itself and in the sandwich. By itself, it did have a little zing, but I wouldn't compare it to Miracle Whip (which I did adore as a kid.) The consistency was a little oily even after stirring, which was a little strange. To be honest, it didn't blow me away, but it was good. In the sandwich, I really couldn't tell one way or another. It did its job in the recipe and tasted great. If there is someone out there that hates all other Vegan mayos, give this one a try. Personally, I think I'm just a Vegenaise person and it gets the automatic buy. I'm very happy this exists though!

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.

Rudi's Organic Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I picked up a loaf of Rudi's Organic Cinnamon Raisin Bread to check the ingredients, fully expecting it to have dairy. It's true that Rudi's is very Vegan friendly and they even label it as such, but I seriously had my doubts. Well, I was excited to be wrong and thus the loaf went right from my hand straight to the grocery cart. When was the last time you saw Vegan Cinnamon Raisin Bread at the store? Um, never!

I'm not sure how you eat your Cinnamon Raisin Bread, but mine goes in the toaster. Lightly toasted with some Earth Balance Coconut Spread. Delicious! Just the right amount of cinnamon and raisins make this the perfect sweet snack. And I can't emphasize enough how much the Coconut Spread enhances the experience. If I were you, I'd leave the loaf in the freezer to keep it fresh, and just take out and toast what you need. Shout out to Rudi's for make some amazing Vegan bread that fills a void!

Earth Balance Organic Coconut Spread

When I was at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival this year, one of the samples I got to try was the Earth Balance Organic Coconut Spread. I've seen it in the store before, but I'm not a huge Earth Balance/ Margarine person. The sample I had in Toronto really blew me away! When I got back to Omaha I bought a tub because I was so impressed. 

As you can see, the spread is white as snow. The flavor is obviously heavy on the coconut, which is good as long as you like coconut. It melts in your mouth!

You can use the Coconut Spread for many things, but my personal favorite has been on toast. Eventually I'd like to use it on something sweet. Cornbread, pancakes, banana bread? I think the sweetness plus the coconut flavor would be divine. I makes you wonder what new coconut product will they come up with next? 

Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival 2012

A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend the 28th Annual Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival. It is without a doubt one of the most successful Veg Fests in North America, if not the world. The impressive Toronto Vegetarian Society is the driving force behind this yearly mecca. My first visit to Toronto just happened to be during the 24th Annual Veg Fest four long years ago and I was really excited to return and check out all of the venders and speakers. Oh, and did I mention it's free?  
   

One of the first places I had to stop was the Field Roast table. Field Roast is one of my all-time favorite companies.  I've never eaten something of theirs I didn't love. I was told that Field Roast distribution is a little wonky at the moment in Canada, but keep asking your local stores to carry it. Their table was packed with people all weekend!

Apiecalypse Bakery, located straight outta Toronto, was a pleasant surprise. Not only did they have Vegan Marshmallows out the yin yan, they also had S'more Pie! Really nice people who rock!

You know I had to stop by the Vega table! It was crazy packed most of the weekend, which is awesome. I've been using Vega products for 5 years now and it's amazing to see how much the company has grown in that time. I guess if you have a great product it's going to be successful.  

A couple products from Bio, MozzaRisella and Muscolo De Grano that looked interesting to me. I'm not sure if I'll ever see these in the states, but you Canadians can gloat that you have something we don't!

Of course, a lot of the heavy hitters were in Toronto, too. I had my first taste of the Jalapeno Garlic Havarti Style Wedge from Daiya and I liked it! Gardein brought some Teriyaki Chick'n Strips that I thought were amazing. But the Coconut Earth Balance is freakin' out of this world! I've never been an Earth Balance connoisseur, but you gotta' try this stuff.

But  the greatest product of the entire Veg Fest, by a long shot, was this Aureeva Creamsicle Soya Beverage. It was liquid gold, I swear to god. If anyone can get this imported to the US, I will love you forever. It seriously tastes like creamsicle, kids will love this stuff!

I wasn't able to see most of the speakers, but I did get to go to most of the cooking demos. Strangely, even though I don't like to cook, I find cooking demos entertaining and informative. The genius known as Isa Chandra Moskowitz (no, she didn't make me say that) was funny as usual. Terry Hope Romero made Seitan Gyros and won the crowd over. Taymer Mason introduced everyone (especially me) to Carribbean cuisine. I found out Taymer is a fan of my blog which is totally awesome and unexpected!

So that was a little snapshot of my experience at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival. I barely scratched the surface because there is so much going on. If you've always wanted to go to Toronto, you should totally go during the Veg Fest. It's a humbling experience that will reinforce your choice of going Vegan or Vegetarian.

Kroger Everything Bagels

I spent New Years in Columbus, Ohio with my girlfriend's family. It was a good time and a great way to start 2012. One of our nightly activities was eating bagels and ice cream at midnight. Admittedly, the ice cream consumption was mostly by me, but everyone ate bagels. It was decadent and fun! While eating the bagels and ice cream we watched The Golden Girls, Law & Order and tons of the I.D. Channel.

I became addicted to bagels and now it's all I ever think about. A bagel with Earth Balance or a bagel with Tofutti Cream Cheese. Or shoot, even a plain toasted bagel. Everything Bagels from Kroger was the bagel of choice. They were amazing toasted and had great flavor. Plenty of poppy seeds and dried onion. I think we went through three bags!

And the coolest part about these bagels is that they say Vegan right on the package. How awesome is that! I wish every grocery store in America would start labeling like this. Maybe in 5 to 10 years? I hope soon.

Earth Balance Organic Soy Nog

This season brings us a new soy nog from Vegan mainstay, Earth Balance. Yeah I know, I did a double take too when I saw EB branch out to soy milk and now nog. Like I've always said, the more Vegan options, the better. So let's get down to the nog!

At first taste I noticed that the spices in this Organic Soy Nog are very pronounced. You'll know right away you are drinking nog. The next thing I noticed is how thin it is. This is just a preference but I like my nog thicker, however that didn't stop me from downing the whole carton in one day.

It's been a year since I've had the Silk Nog for comparison so I can't say which soy nog is the best. Honestly, you should try all of the nogs and tell me what you think. Opinions are like...

Over all I enjoyed it and I'm happy to see another Vegan nog out there!