Natural Products Expo West 2014

I finally decided to stop being jealous of Quarrygirl's Natural Products Expo West blog posts and go visit the mecca for myself. Safe to say, I was blown away by the size and the quality of the Expo. I got to see some great products, meet tons of awesome people and, of course, get my name printed up on a press pass. The Expo is held in Anaheim, which is nice because it's right next to Disneyland, so you can really make a vacation out of it. Also, you're still close to LA (just don't drive there on a Friday night) so you can check out all the Vegan eats and catch a concert.

So, day one of the Expo, I really lucked out and caught Sarah from The Spooky Vegan in the press line. This was the first time at the Expo for both of us, so it really worked out because we didn't know what the hell we were doing. Sarah is the best Expo buddy you could ask for!

Ever since I've been back everyone is like "what was your favorite product???" I had a few that I loved, but the Gardein Golden Fishless Filet was my top pick. I still haven't seen it in Omaha yet, but I can't wait to get reacquainted.

So what else did I love? Well, Amy's Tofu Breakfast Sandwich was killer. Mr. Dewie's Cashew Milk Ice Cream was off the hook amazing. The Field Roast Hand-Formed Burgers (and Apple Maple Breakfast Sausages) were delish. And Phoney Baloney's new Coconut Bacon flavors (especially Apple Fennel) were mouth-watering good!

My favorite moment from the Expo is when I spotted Amy Berliner serving food at the Amy's Kitchen booth. I told Isa "look it's Amy!" and Isa was like "what are you talking about?" and I was like "look, It's AMY!" Isa finalllly got it and we were able to snag a pic. I'm happy to report that Amy is super nice and down to earth. And I finally got to tell her I put her through college. Life complete! Shout out to Allie Drew for making it happen.

And my second favorite moment from the Expo was getting Vega formulator Brendan Brazier and Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness creator Robert Cheeke together for a pic. Two cool dudes doing good things in the Vegan community.

So many awesome booths with great food! The Chicago Vegan Foods peeps brought the nacho cheese pump, so you know this expo is official. Follow Your Heart had yummy grilled cheese sandwiches right off the grill. Team Phoney Baloney was ready to greet the Vegans and all the people who ask "how can coconut be bacon?" One of the Qrunch team members was from Nebraska, gotta love my home state folk!

Sarah and I LOVED the Beyond Meat "Taco Beyond" booth. Their tacos were AMAZING. Cobra Corn is a product you need to try, headquartered in Chicago. The Bombay Seasoning Cobra Corn is worth getting shipped from Vegan Essentials. Daiya had a MASSIVE booth with tons of "Daiya Girls" walking around, giving samples. Mr. Dewie's had some really great ice cream and they entertained the heck out of us bloggers. Cybele from Cybele's Free to Eat told me she appreciated my putting up a pic of her cookies on Facebook. I thought that was pretty cool! And it took all three days of the expo, but I finally caught up with Jackie from Vegan Yack Attack. She's always the life of the party!

Nature's Path had some cool new things to sample and their rep was cracking us up. Dr. McDougall's had some new soups I hope to see soon. Vegetarian Plus had tons of stuff I've never seen before and I got to sample it. Sweet Earth had a sweet new Hickory and Sage Seitan Bacon that I can't wait to try again. Morinaga had a pamphlet with Terry Hope Romero on it, so we had to chat it up with them. And the Hail Merry ladies were super nice and gave us a heads up that Costco carries them now!

Always a treat to see Dan and Nicole from Upton's Naturals. Their Bacon Seitan is in my fridge 24/7. Happy to see the Liz Lovely booth, but they broke my heart by getting rid of the chocolate dipped cookies and pretzels. Wildwood got harassed by Isa about their creamer, I'm sorry. Vega had this nifty dispenser for Vega One. Oddly I didn't take any because it wasn't 6:20 am and I wasn't driving to work. Tofurky had a new gluten-free pizza I'd like to try again. I had a sample, but I need a whole pizza of that stuff. And Peanut Butter & Co. was in the house as they should be.

Sjaak's was very sweet and gave us bloggers a metric ton of candy to split amongst ourselves. I love their chocolates so much! JJ Sweet's Cocomels out of Boulder, Colorado was representing with their amazing caramels. Bee Free Honee gave a taste of everything. The honee is made out of apples, it's really good stuff! Endangered Species Chocolate had this amazing Raspberry Orange Creme Filled Dark Chocolate Bar that was to die for. I can't wait to find it here in Omaha.

So that was Natural Products Expo West 2014 in a nutshell! I didn't post half of what I actually saw, it really is a lot of stimuli. Lots of food, people and more people. Thank you to everyone who hung out with me and made my trip so special. I look forward to 2015!

Vega One All-In-One Nutritional Shake Starter Kit Giveaway

Vega One is one of my favorite products and I pretty much drink it everyday. So when I get the chance to give away some Vega One to the uninitiated, I get excited. It really is the perfect Laziest Vegans supplement! Great for meal replacements, pre/post workout or even as a treat. I'm a realist, I know many of you think Vega is expensive, so here is your chance to try Vega One for FREE.

The new Vega One All-In-One Nutritional Shake Starter Kit has two packets of French Vanilla (my favorite), two Chocolate and one Berry. It also comes with a $5 off coupon off a tub of Vega One! If you don't know what the fuss is about, check out my review from last year.

Vega has kindly given me FIVE boxes of the Starter Kit to giveaway. A Starter Kit retails for $18.99, so you definitely want to win one of these! All you have to do is tell me is which flavor you think you'll like the most in the comments below, and leave your email so I can contact you when you win. Fudge your email if you're worried about spam (example: laziestvegans at gmaildotcom.) Contest ends 9/20, Friday 7pm CST. Good Luck!

Vega One All-In-One Nutrition Bars

New from Vega is the Vega One All-In-One Nutrition Bar. My favorite new product of 2012 was the Vega One Shake, so I was pretty excited to sample these bars. When I heard the name I assumed they would be similar to the shake, but that isn't the case. I would have loved to see a French Vanilla bar, but maybe next time!

Basically, the Vega One Bar is a chocolate covered protein bar designed for pre/during/post workout or whenever you need a shot of dense, Vegan sustenance. Vega has been kind enough to send me some bars to try out. I've been eating them after the gym and I must say they're pretty filling. So I've had a couple weeks with the bars to form my opinions. Are the Vega One Bars right for you?  

Well, I hope you like chocolate! Each of the three bars is covered in chocolate, which makes them seem a little like a candy bar. Being that they are covered in chocolate, you don't want to leave them in your car on a hot day (like I did, whoops!) The three flavor choices are: Chocolate Almond, Double Chocolate and Chocolate Cherry. Chocolate Almond has a nice almond flavor with a little bit of crunch. Double Chocolate is a chocolate lover's dream with chocolate on the inside and outside, giving it a brownie taste. Chocolate Cherry lives up to its name with dried cherries and cherry flavor in the bar. Being that all three bars are basically chocolate, the differences are subtle. My favorite is the Cherry, but any of them would be great after a workout. 

Now, you're not going to mistake these for a Go Max Go Bars, but for the amount of nutrition packed in one bar (15 grams protein, 6 grams fiber and tons of other vitamins) I think they taste pretty darn good. My only complaint would be the lack of a non-chocolate variety. So, if you are looking for a convenient shot of protein and vitamins, take a look at the Vega One Bar!

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!

Vega Cocoa Kissed Savi Seeds

You know that Vega makes some of the most kick-ass supplements out there, but how about snacks? I was a little surprised to see these Cocoa Kissed Savi Seeds, because to me, they look like dessert! And they are, but after learning what Savi Seeds are and the health benefits, I can see why Vega makes them. Savi Seeds are rich in protein, omega 3's, tryptophan and fiber. So you get have your cake and eat it to, so to speak. I know, I know, you wonder if they taste good...

Hell yeah, they taste good! The chocolate is rich and the Savi Seeds are tasty, kind of like an almond. If you need a post work-out replenishment, these are some monsters. Now are they chocolate candy? Not exactly, but you will be more than satisfied nutritionally and it will most definitely cure your sweet tooth. If you are not a chocolate fiend, they also have Natural and Caramelized flavors. Hats off to Vega again for another innovative product that creates it's own niche. Can't wait to see what 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.

Vega One French Vanilla Nutritional Shake

Earlier this year, Vega introduced their new all-in-one nutritional shake, Vega One. Initially, there were four flavors; Vanilla Chai, Berry, Chocolate and Natural. I was pretty happy with the flavor choices and I didn't anticipate a new flavor anytime soon. Well surprise, surprise, Vega contacted me about sampling their new Vega One flavor, French Vanilla. You know I'm not going to turn that down!

As with the other Vega One flavors, French Vanilla is easy to mix and drink. As much as I love the old WFHO, it was gritty and, at times, slimy. I didn't mind it (I'm still drinking it from the massive surplus I bought when Vega One was introduced), but I know a lot of you did and lo and behold Vega responded! Taste-wise, I really dug the French Vanilla. It has a clean, strong vanilla-ly taste, not supplementy like at all. I love vanilla in general so I would totally buy this flavor. It reminds me a bit of the Vanilla Almondilla Energizing Smoothie, not totally, but close enough. I bet this would be great with strawberries if you drink your Vega that way.

So as far as I'm concerned, French Vanilla Vega One is another delicious option for your whole food supplement needs. I can't wait until I finally run out of my WFHO supply so I'm able to start getting some Vega One. When that happens, French Vanilla will be at the top of my list!

Vega Energizing Smoothies

Adding even more awesomeness to their repertoire, Vega has introduced their new supplement, Energizing Smoothies. Available in Vanilla Almondilla, Choc-A-Lot, Bodacious Berry, Oh Natural and Tropical Tango, Vega has kindly sent a sample of each to review and (hopefully) enjoy. I'm approaching these more as dessert drinks even though they are fortified and healthy. So let's see how these smoothies stack up!

My first and favorite of the smoothies is Vanilla Almondilla. For this one I used Almond Milk as the base. Someone on the Laziest Vegans FB page hit it right on the head and said it tastes like marzipan. It has a sweet desserty flavor without all the sugar (only 1 gram!). It says to shake it up to prepare, but honestly, save yourself the time and get a Magic Bullet. It comes out super smooth and fluffy, I love it.

Tropical Tango was my next flavor. For the Tropical Tango, I used water instead of Almond Milk. Having tried both, I would say that Almond Milk was the more enjoyable base. Tropical Tango has a nice tangy flavor, very citrusy.

Now that I know Almond Milk is the best choice for me, the rest of the smoothies are made with it. Bodacious Berry is the next flavor in the Magic Bullet. For some reason it tasted like Cap'n Crunch berries, which isn't a bad thing.

Choc-A-Lot is the home run I thought it would be. Great for chocolate lovers, it has a smooth, almost hot coco taste. Probably the most deserty of the five right next to the Vanilla.

And the last of the samples is the non-flavored Oh Natural. I've had my issues with the natural flavors of Vega in the past, but most of that stems from the fact that I always used water and NEVER mixed anything else in with the powder. So for this Oh Natural taste test, I really wanted to do it right. Staying with the Almond Milk base, I added fresh strawberries from our garden. What came out of the Magic Bullet was more on the protein drink tip, but still enjoyable. Definitely nowhere near the putrid level of natural Vega One with only water, I swear.

So wrapping up, I really enjoyed this Vega Energizing Smoothie experience. Personally, I'll stick to the Vega One for my daily workouts, but I can totally recommend the smoothies for a power dessert or even just a weeknight treat. Keep up the good work Vega!

GT's Synergy Cherry Chia Kombucha

Kombucha is one of those things you either love or hate. Up until yesterday, I dreaded the thought of even trying it. It just has this stigma about it. I've known people who have made Kombucha at their home and the whole process sounded bizarre and gross. Like you have to take this moldy thing and cultivate it, or something. After all that, I couldn't imagine Kombucha tasting good, so I've avoided it at all costs.

That brings us to GT's Synergy Cherry Chia Kombucha. Kelly Peloza, aka The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur dared me to try Kombucha. Kelly just so happens to be in town and pressed the issue, so I agreed to try the Kombucha, but only if she tried Vega. The deal was sealed and the rest is history (video).

Shockingly, I enjoyed it! The consistency was a little slimy, almost like jello. I tried to chew the chia seeds at first and then I realized you are just supposed to drink them. It had a nice smooth cherry flavor, not alcoholic or medicinal like I expected. I would find it a little difficult to eat something while drinking Kombucha, but alone, it's like a self contained meal.

So if you are apprehensive about Kombucha in general, give the GT Synergy Cherry Chia Kombucha a try. It has an easy going cherry taste that most people will enjoy. Once you get past the weirdness of the consistency, you'll be feeling like a champ. Thank you to Kelly for forcing me to drink it!

Vega One All-In-One Nutritional Shakes

When I heard that Vega was changing their Whole Food Health Optimizer to a new product called Vega One, you could say I was a little concerned. You see, I have been a loyal buyer of WFHO for 5 years and it has been very important in my life. Many questions were spinning in my head. What if this new fangled Vega One sucks? Where does that leave me? Is there even another Vegan supplement out there that's half as good? Well, I'm happy to report, it seems Vega has improved its formula and at least from these samples they gave me, I feel confident that I will survive the change.

Lets start with the flavor! As far as I'm concerned all of the flavors have improved. My two favorite WFHO flavors were always Chocolate and Vanilla Chai and that is still the case. They seem to be the same flavors, just a little sweeter with less bitterness. I also found the Berry enjoyable but I don't think I would ever want a whole tub of it. Natural was a little less putrid then it used to be but you'll never see me chugging on it after a workout.

Texture wise, Vega One is a revelation! WFHO always had a grainy, gritty texture but Vega One is super smooth. It's definitely more shake-like than it used to be. I'll probably never do it, but I imagine fruit and juice could be seamlessly integrated with Vega One. With the new flavor and texture I think that some of my friends who have been telling me that Vega tastes like crap will be converted.

The one complaint I have is that it seems Vega One is more expensive. According to my calculations per large jug, WFHO had 30 servings (according to the new serving size) and Vega One has 20. So you lose 10 servings but pay about the same price. While that won't keep me from buying it, I imagine some people might be upset. Is it because it's more expensive to produce than it was 5 years ago? Probably. High quality food isn't cheap as I'm sure you know -- you get what you pay for.

So bottom line is that I love Vega One. I feel that it's an improvement over WFHO and will make Vega accessible to more people. The flavor has been enhanced and the texture is smooth. The price increase will upset some but in the end, Vega is making a better product. Drink up!

Vega Sport Supplement System

So why is John McDevitt, the author of The Laziest Vegans in the World, reviewing a sports supplement? Well, I like to workout! Specifically, I go to the gym to when I want to forget about life's daily stressors. 5 years ago I was introduced to the Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer and I have never looked back. Out of all the products I blog about, the W.F.H.O. is one of my most used. So when Vega contacted me to try their Vega Sport products, I naturally said yes!


Now, the Vega Sport system seems like it's geared towards athletes or people who are hardcore about their workouts but you can break the system up to fit your needs. Every item in the system falls into one of three categories: Prepare, Sustain and Recover. Be it a powder you mix with water, a gel or a snack bar, each item has its place. And best of all, the ingredients are all natural. I know Vega products can be expensive but you definitely get what you pay for.

The Pre-Workout Energizer is a powder that gives you a boost before you hit the elliptical or the weights. The two flavors are Lemon Lime and Acai Berry. The Lemon Lime is a little strong but it does the job 'cause I was ready to rock.

The Electrolyte Hydrator is a powder you mix with water during your workout. Kind of like Gatorade, but actually good for you. You flavor choices on these are Lemon Lime and Pom-Berry. I tried the Pom flavor and it was decent. Nothing I would chug, but not bad.

The Endurance Bar is supposed to give you energy during your workouts. I can't eat during my workouts so I saved it for the drive home. I had the Mocha Bar but there is also Acai Berry. It was a pretty dense fulfilling bar. In this bar alone there are dates, dried apples, sprouted whole grain brown rice protein, pea protein, sacha inchi seeds, sorghum syrup, pumpkin seed butter, sorghum, quinoa, rice, tapioca, grape juice, natural rice dextrins, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, rice crisps, white chia seeds, natural mocha flavor and coffee fines. Pretty wild!

The Endurance Gel is an interesting product. It reminds me of some sort of crazy gel candy from the 80's. While it doesn't taste like candy, it was fun to drink/eat while on the elliptical. I needed a drink of water to wash it down but I'm sure that helps the effect. The flavors on the gel are Orange Zest and Raspberry.

Now to my favorite part of the Vega Sport program, the Performance Protein! This is the stuff you take after your hard workout. There is nothing more satisfying to me than to drink a Vega shake after coming home, tired from a workout. Similar to the Whole Food Health Optimizer, I thought these tasted great! You can find them in Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry.

The Protein Bar was my 2nd favorite part of the system. They almost taste like chocolate dessert bars! These are great for the drive home from the gym but I would also have some on hand when you want a good, nutritious snack. You have a choice between Chocolate Coconut and Chocolate SaviSeed.

The Recovery Accelerator is a recovery drink that you are supposed to take within 20 minutes after your workout. I didn't enjoy it as much as the Protein Bar or Shake but it definitely has its place. Look for Tropical and Apple Berry flavors.

So to wrap up, I think Vega Sport is an excellent supplement program for you hard core athletes out there. For us novices, I think there are parts of the program you can use everyday.

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.