Trader Joe's Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds (plus John's Laziest Pizza)

Trader Joe's has a new Vegan cheese and it's not Daiya! Trader Joes's Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds are basically Galaxy Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds, which I've never had before. Since it's Mozzarella, I thought I would put it to the true test and try it on a pizza. Lazy pizza anyone???  

I keep my pizzas pretty simple. First, I procured some Whole Foods pre-made dough and marinara sauce. Both are super tasty and obviously very easy to work with. For toppings, I grabbed Tofurky Pepperoni Slices and some black olives. The Tofurky Pepperoni Slices are great if you miss that old pepperoni flavor. I normally would do green pepper with the olives but I totally forgot. Now let's see how the cheese and pizza turned out!

The Trader Joe's Mozzarella was really interesting. If you eat it raw, it honestly doesn't taste very good. But when I melted it all over the pizza, I found it to be quite good! When it melts (and it does melt), the mozzarella gets a bit gloopy almost like a glaze. It's definitely a different beast than Daiya. So if love Daiya and think it has no faults whatsoever, this probably isn't the cheese for you. I like Daiya too, but I find it to be too rich in large quantities, the flavor taking over whatever you put it on. It's just nice to have another option out there. This cheese is pretty mild and didn't overwhelm the other flavors. The pizza itself was great and I really love those Tofurky Pepperonis.

In closing, I'm always happy to see new Vegan products, especially cheese. I thought the Trader Joe's Mozzarella tasted great when melted and had a nice neutral flavor. It is almost an anti-Daiya cheese, which I feel the world needs.

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!

Vegan Cuts Snack Box

Vegan Cuts is a Vegan deal site that sells a wide array of products. One of their new programs is the Vegan Cuts Snack Box. Every month for $19, you get 5 to 8 Vegan products that can range from edibles to household products. As you can see, I recieved a wide variety of food stuffs that varied from candy to savory treats (plus I got a mini laundry detergent, but I didn't put it in the picture because you'll blame me when you accidentally eat it.) A couple of the items I've eaten before, like Surf Sweets Sour Berry Bears, Wayfare Pig Out and The Simple Bar. New to me were Seasnax, Betty Lou's Cashew Pecan Nut Butter Balls, Delights Brownie, Veggie-Go's Mountain Berry Spinach Bar and New Tree Chocolates.

The appeal is that for $19, you can get a bunch of Vegan products you've never tried before delivered right to your door. Now is it $19 worth of products? It's debatable, but you have to remember the cost of shipping, too. In my eyes you are paying for the convenience of having new products sent to you every month like clockwork. I think folks who don't live near a Whole Foods or people in the middle of nowhere will get the most out of this program.

So, overall I'm pretty pleased with the Vegan Cuts Snack Box. As long as they introduce new products every month, I think the premium price is more than worth it.

Go Max Go Thumbs Up Candy Bar

Every year there are a couple Vegan products that I eagerly anticipate. Obviously, candy is going to be high on my list of must-haves. Because if you can have excellent Vegan candy, it's just a matter of time before the world turns Vegan. Last year I went gaga over the Go Max Go Foods Cleo's and Snap! Bars, which are the Vegan versions of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Nestle Crunch. And earlier this year I heard rumblings of a Vegan Butterfinger and I've kept my eyes peeled ever since. Well, just the other day, Vegan Essentials finally put them up for sale and I bought 100 (not really). So, what do I think?  

As you can see, the Thumbs Up is round like a cigar (or a thumb!) It definitely has the "Butterfinger crunch" that you remember. You know, the peanut buttery part that gets stuck to your back teeth? It has been reproduced faithfully. What I noticed taste-wise was the strong peanut butter flavor and a resounding sweetness. I personally would have liked it a little less sweet. I never thought I would say this, but it seems the excessive sugar takes away from the chocolate. I also would have liked to see a thicker chocolate coating.

Overall I enjoyed the Thumbs Up Candy Bar. It seems a little too sweet for me but I love how crunchy it is and the rounded shape is cute. If you miss Butterfingers, you should definitely give it a try. Now do Go Max Go a favor and tell them in the comments what candy you would like to see them Veganize next! Vegan Kit Kat anyone?

Nature's Path Organic Coconut Chia Granola

I remember the first time I saw Nature's Path Hemp Plus Granola cereal, my mind was blown. A.) How do you eat hemp? and B.) How do you make it taste good? Ultimately I discovered that it's an awesome cereal and really put Nature's Gate on the map for me. So you can say my eyes widened a bit when I saw this new Coconut Chia Granola the other day. Actual flakes of coconut in the cereal? Too cool! You know I gotta try that.

From the first spoonful, I was in love. It's like you're eating a rich coconut cookie. Amazing crunch and sweetness. Not low fat by any means, but it's good fat. A great source of Omega-3's and whole grains. And of course, it's Non-GMO and Organic. In fact, it's worth noting that Nature's Path is the only certified Non-GMO cereal brand on the market right now. So it's an all-around healthy and nutritious cereal that you can feel comfortable eating.

The best part of course is that it says VEGAN on the box. You make my job so easy, Nature's Path! I love it. So go out and get a box of Coconut Chai Granola and tell me what you think!

Tofurky Vegetarian Feast

I've finally come to the end of my faux turkey/roast taste test. So far I've tried the Gardein Holiday Roast and the Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast. So that leaves the one and only legend: The Tofurky Vegetarian Feast. It's been around since 1995 (respect goes out to all you Vegans who were around back then) and almost everyone knows about Tofurky. 

So let's get down to brass tacks. The Tofurky roast is stout, compact and pleasantly plump, but big enough to feed six. One difference between the roasts is that the Tofurky Roast requires basting, which wasn't hard, but necessary.  The taste of the roast is good and smoky, reminiscent of Tofurky lunch slices. The middle part with the stuffing was also delicious. Unfortunately, I wasn't as enthusiastic about the texture. It was a little rubbery and should definitely be sliced thin. The gravy was smoky and flavorful, I can see why they sell it separate.    

As an added bonus, Tofurky put an Amy's Chocolate Cake in the package. It's simple to serve, all you have to do is thaw it out. I've reviewed it in the past and while I'm not "Mr. Chocolate Lover", it is a solid dessert.   

So you've already ate the Tofurky Roast and the Amy's Chocolate Cake, but there's still more! You get two Tofuky Wishstix (make a wish and eat), a nifty Tofurky Land postcard that you can send to your favorite meat eater and a coupon book full of your favorite veg companies.

In the end, Tofurky puts together one heck of a feast. A meal for six, dessert and extra treats/bonuses make this the package to beat. My only concern is the texture and elasticity of the roast, but overall if you've never had a Tofurky Roast you should definitely get one. It's been around for 17 years so they must be doing something right!

Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast

Next up on my faux turkey conquest, is the Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast. I've seen these in the store for the last couple years and I've been dying to try them. One thing that sets this roast apart from the others is the fact that there's no soy. Perfect for you soy sensitive people. Ok, I'm starving! Let's warm up the oven and make dinner.     

While taking the roast out of the box, I noticed there was no gravy. It's not the biggest deal in the world but the other two brands of roasts do come with gravy. I popped the roast in the oven and went about my business. The cranberries, hazelnuts and whatever else in the roast made the kitchen smell good! A little over a hour in the oven and the roast is ready to eat.

My favorite aspect of the roast was the flaky crusty pastry outside (I guess that's what "en croute" means.) It reminded me a little bit of a pot pie. The meaty part was also a winner, typical Field Roast gourmet wheat meat with a hazelnut twist. The inside is a mix of cranberry, ginger, apple and sausage. Overall I enjoyed it, but after my second and third piece, I felt the cranberry flavor was a little too overpowering. Good news for you cranberry lovers, cause you will be in heaven. I guess I'm just not a huge cranberry fan.

For the most part I was happy with the Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast. Minor things like the lack of gravy (Tofurky does sell an individual gravy if you are as lazy as me) and the overpowering cranberry flavor couldn't hinder the fact that this roast is a high quality product and an excellent option in the wide world of Vegan holiday centerpieces.