Almond Dream Lil' Dreamers

Being so impressed with the Rice Dream Bites, I've made it a point not to overlook the "Dream" brand as I have in the past. My next conquest is Almond Dream Lil' Dreamers. I've always had mad love for ice cream sandwiches, so I was hoping they wouldn't disappoint. There is just something special about ice cream sandwiches to me.

They're delicious! My first impression was that they're very rich. The cookie part was nice and soft and the almond ice cream was a pleasant surprise. I wouldn't mind more Almond Dream stuff in the future. Lil' Dreamers are obviously small, which is good if you want a quick dessert. But a word of warning, you're gonna eat the whole box. So if you love ice cream sandwiches like I do, then pick up some Almond Dream Lil' Dreamers!

Trader Joe's Vegan Chips Galore!

The thing I love about Trader Joe's is that you never know what you are going to find. On a recent trip I found three bags of chips that had the magical "V" on the packaging. It seems a lot of Trader Joe's products are seasonal, so get them while you can. Let's see what I found!

Trader Joe's Popped Potato Chips are a nice light potato chip. I'm going to take a huge guess and say they are basically Popchips. I found them to be a decent dipping chip but great out of the bag, too.

Pita Puffs are cute little puffed pita chips. Thin and light, they kind of melt in your mouth. There's not much to them but they sure are tasty! Great for soups and chili.

Whoa! When I picked up these Rice & Bean Chips I really didn't think I would like them. I saw that they were Vegan so I felt obligated to buy them. When I finally had a chance to try them I was blown away. I guess it must be the power of Adzuki because I ate the bag in one sitting. They are a tad salty but I think they are delicious.

So three thumbs up for Trader Joe's Vegan Chips!

The Laziest Vegans Top Ten Asks Laura Beck

Laura Beck is the spitfire behind Vegansaurus, the Bay Area based Vegan super blog. When she's not running the streets with the magical pink dinosaur, Laura also writes for VegNews, The Huffington Post and SF Weekly. I was honored to meet Laura last month at Vida Vegan Con where she gave the opening address. It goes without saying that she is super nice in person and I can't wait to visit her the next time I go to see my beloved Oakland A's. So now I bring you the one and only Laura Beck!

What is your favorite store-bought veggie burger?
Boca burgers are pretty much my first, my last, my everything. The new Gardein burger tastes JUST like a bb, it's true.

What is you favorite frozen dinner?
Amy's frozen breakfast burrito topped with guacamole and salsa.

What is your favorite ice cream?
So Delicious Coconut Turtle Trails.

What is your favorite chip or cracker?
Kettle Brand Tias in Salsa Picante. They're vegan Doritos!!

What is your favorite cereal?
Kix and/or Wheatabix. I say and/or because they're really good mixed up with some frozen berries and almond milk. I'm fancy.

What is your favorite candy?
I'm recently into Sjaak's Eli bars. HOLY CRAP, they are magical. They taste like good quality versions of delicious junky candy bars. Also, I love those boom CHOCO boom rice milk bars
because they taste like really cheap waxy milk chocolate, and I used to love that stuff. Screw Godiva, get me a Palmer's Chocolate Easter Bunny and I'm in heaven. If someone makes a vegan version of that, I will buy a million. Or at least ten.

What is your favorite cookie?
I love Liz Lovely everything, because you're eating cookie dough but it's in cookie form! Genius! I also love Eat Pastry cookie dough in all flavors, and the vegan chocolate chip cookies at Trader Joe's. I think they're actually Uncle Eddie's maybe?? Anyway, they taste like chewy Chips Ahoy. So good!

What three pre-packaged food items would you take to a desert island?
It really depends on where the island is and if they have fruit bearing trees and kale sprouting from the sand and shit. Okay, probably not. If I could REALLY choose, I'd take veganized Twinkies, Ho Ho's, and Ding Dong's. I am not going down skinny! Since that's probably cheating, I'll say Follow Your Heart Mozzarella (I really like that stuff, not to melt, but to cut up and eat on crackers, so good!), Uh, I guess crackers then, probably Dr. Krackers, and... Nacheez. It's my current infatuation.

Name a product you would like Veganized?
I'd love to be able to go to Denny's and get pie. Preferably Coconut Cream or Lemon Meringue, but I'd be happy with pretty much any kind... just to have pie availability at 3 a.m. would be the best ever.

What are your favorite local and/or online stores for Vegan products?
Rainbow Grocery, Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, Food Fight Grocery, and Vegan Essentials. And Natural Candy Store! CANDY.

And that concludes The Laziest Vegans Top Ten. Thanks Laura!

Amy's Vegan Margherita Pizza

A couple weeks ago Amy's contacted me to try one of their new pizzas. As you can imagine, I freaked out and did a robot dance. When I started this silly blog over a year ago I never imagined that I would get the chance to try something before it actually came out. And this isn't just some minor modification, this pizza has a brand new crust and is sporting Daiya cheeze. So did Amy's pull it off? Let's take a look!

The first thing I noticed is that the Daiya is sparse. I think that was a wise decision because I feel the Daiya taste can overpower the rest of the toppings. The sweet sauce and basil really popped for me. I feel like I've had this pizza before and I really can't put my finger on it. Almost like Fazoli's pizza, which I miss immensely. The crust is puffy and moist, way different then the Roasted Vegetable Pizza. So the bottom line is that I have a new favorite pizza. It's going to win you over, even you Daiya haters! It's the pizza Vegans have always wanted but didn't think they would get. I hope it comes out soon because I'm already fiendin'.

Return to Portland: Vida Vegan Con Bound!

This weekend is finally the Vida Vegan Con in Portland, Oregon! It's been about a year since it was announced and I was kindly asked to participate in it. First on Saturday is the panel Small Town Represent! which also includes Lauren from Whoa Wren, Ryan from T.O.F.U. Magazine, Bianca from Vegan Crunk and moderated by Elizabeth Castoria, Managing Editor of VegNews. Then Sunday is the presentation Product Reviews and Ethics. Joining me is Kyle from Vegan Vagrant, MeShell from Prarie Vegan and once again the Queen of Vegan Crunk, Bianca!

When I'm not busy from all the Vida Vegan awesomeness, I'd like to hit up some of my favorite Portland hot spots. On the food side of things, the must do's for me are Portabello, VooDoo Doughnut (must. have. grape. donut.), Vita Cafe, Food Fight Grocery, Native Bowl, Paradox Cafe and Homegrown Smoker. For fun I want to hang out at 2nd Avenue Records, Ground Kontrol and Powell's Books.

For those of you who have not been to Portland, make sure you get there one of these days! For someone like me who lives in the most meat-centric part of the country it definitely gave me hope. Maybe someday in the future you will be able to walk into any restaurant or convenience store and there will be tons of Vegan items. But in the meantime, come to Portland, check out Stumptown Vegans and CHOWDOWN!

Candle Cafe Frozen Foods

When I first heard Candle Cafe was going to create their own frozen dinners my ears perked up. I've been to Candle 79 and I have to say they make some of the most amazing food in the world. How that would translate to the frozen world I wasn't sure. So over the course of four days I tried each of the new dinners: Macaroni & Vegan Cheese, Tofu Spinach Ravioli, Seitan Piccata with Lemon Caper Sauce and Ginger Miso Stir-Fry. These can only be found at Whole Foods as they are the exclusive retailer. Well, let's get down to it!

Macaroni & Vegan Cheese- I liked it! If you know Daiya (pronounced DAY-YA, git with it people!!!) like I do, then you'd know instantaneously that the cheese is Daiya. It's not a problem for me, but it is interesting that they don't mention it on the package. I did have a problem with the fact that it was creamy on one side and liquidy on the other (*probably due to the fact I didn't stir the dinner as instructed). I'm not sure if it's like that in all the Mac dinners but it was a tad weird. What I loved was the spiral noodles and the flavor. I guess it depends on how you feel about Daiya. If you don't like it, this is a no-go, if you do then you'll probably like this dinner.

Tofu Spinach Ravioli- Again, the first thing you'll notice is the Daiya sprinkled on top of the ravioli. What I enjoyed about this dinner is that the ravioli was nice and tender. I also enjoyed the taste of the raviolis mixed with the red sauce and cheese. It's a nice change of pace from your typical frozen dinner. I'd totally buy this one again.

Seitan Piccata with Lemon Caper Sauce- I wasn't feeling the Seitan Piccata at all. The seitan was a little rubbery and the rice was dry. (*The rice was probably dry because I didn't stir the dinner as instructed). The sauce was overpoweringly lemony and oddly sweet. I actually had this dish at Candle 79 so this was really disappointing.

Ginger Miso Stir-Fry- I don't love strong ginger flavors, but despite that, I thought this dinner was ok. The tofu was tasty and the rice was moist. Would I ever buy it again, though? Probably not.

Candle Cafe has the impossible task of making these frozen dinners live up to their reputation. I enjoyed the cheesy dinners but the inclusion of Daiya is an interesting and possible controversial choice. The portions seem smaller than other frozen dinners and the meals seem to be directed at health conscious buyers. So bottom line, I think if you are on a diet and you want a good tasting Vegan meal, these Candle Cafe dinners are a decent choice. But if you are hoping these dinners are going to save you a trip to Candle Cafe or Candle 79, you are sadly mistaken.

* I'm lazy.

Smooze Fruit Ice

This summer was a hot one! I know that's kinda of a given here in Nebraska but I don't know if you ever get used to it. For me, the best way to combat the heat is air conditioning, shorts and popsicles! Earlier this summer I spotted these Smooze Fruit Ice Pops at Vegan Essentials. Not really knowing what to expect, I got two flavors, Pink Guava and Pineapple.

What's great about these Smooze Fruit Ices is that they are coconut milk/fruit juice based instead of water. So they are creamier than your run of the mill popcicle. They come in a little triangle that you freeze and then cut the top off to eat. 10 in a pack, they actually lasted me a while.

My favorite of the two was the Pink Guava. The flavor is amazing! If you've had guava juice before, you know what you are in for. If I had to describe it, I guess I would say it has a peachy-like floral taste. The pineapple on the other hand wasn't tasty to me. I just wasn't feeling the pineapple and coconut milk mix. Oh well, finding the Pink Guava more than made up for it. I'm hoping to try the other two flavors, Mango and Passion Fruit soon. Enjoy the rest of your summer!