Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips

Beyond Meat is a new company that recently released a chicken-less protein strip that has been eagerly anticipated for a while. Biz Stone (the Co-founder of Twitter) is an investor, so there has been a lot of hype (even outside of the Vegan community) that Beyond Meat is the next meat alternative game-changer. The first time I tried Beyond Meat was at the Whole Foods salad bar. I really wasn't blown away by it, but I chalked that up to the fact it hadn't been cooked or seasoned. But now that Beyond Meat has graciously sent me all three flavors of their strips, I'm going to cook some up and see if the hype is real.

First off, after eating cooked the cooked Chicken-Free Strips for the first time, I NEVER want to eat them raw again. The cooked version with a little bit of oil is so much better, it's like night and day. I haven't had chicken in over ten years, but as far as I can remember, Beyond Meat tastes eerily similar. Not to the point where I'm weirded out because I think I thought I just ate chicken, but it definitely has those flavors you're going to remember. As for the texture, I thought it was spot on. Now if that's your cup of tea, well, that's up to you.  I love that you can throw them into a salad, pasta, taco or virtually anything.

On the plus side, I think meat eaters will dig this. In fact, I bet a lot of meat eaters would prefer Beyond Meat when cost, social responsibility and health are taken into account. Maybe that's just me being a optimistic Vegan, but I believe people in the end would like to do the right thing. When it comes to the three different flavors, there are subtle differences. I think the Grilled was my favorite -- of course it has grill marks and a smokey flavor. The Southwest Style had some spice to it and the Lightly Seasoned had a bit of a salty flavor. Overall, I think the flavors are subtle enough to put them in any dish you want.  

So, the good news is I think think the hype on Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips is warranted. My only suggestion is to cook it up in a skillet. Will all Vegans like it? No. Will some meat eaters like it? Yes. And to me, that's the most important aspect. If we can get meat eaters to eat less animals, it will make a difference. Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Daiya Mushroom & Roasted Garlic Pizza

The newest entry into the Vegan frozen pizza world is from Daiya. Not content with conquering the Vegan cheese world, Daiya has four new pizzas that have been highly anticipated ever since they were announced. I chose to review the Mushroom & Roasted Garlic Pizza, but you can also get the Cheeze Lover's, Margherita and Fire-Roasted Vegetable. One of the main selling points of these pizzas is that they're gluten-free. While I'm not gluten-free, I think it's exciting Celiacs and wheat-sensitive people have four brand new pizzas to choose from.

Right off the bat, I have to address the cost and size of the pizza. The pizza box gives the illusion that the pizza is bigger than it really is. In reality, the pizza is 12 oz, or the same as an Amy's Pizza. Also, the Daiya Pizza is a little bit pricier compared to Amy's or even Tofurky. In Daiya's defense, I'm sure the gluten-free crust is costlier (the Amy's gluten-free pizza tends to cost more) and therefore, they must charge more. But I think most people will probably complain about the $9.99 price. Ok, but how does it taste?

Well, I was a little disappointed. I felt the flavor was a bit muted. I would have liked some more sauce or something to give it a little zing. Or possibly more toppings. Texture and style-wise, the pizza reminded me of a Tofurky Pizza. The crust is thin and the veggies are diced. You get two styles of Daiya cheese, with the right amount. As for the crust, I thought it was just ok. A little too thin for my taste.

In the end, I'm glad there's another Vegan pizza choice out there, but the price is high and the flavor isn't as compelling as I would like. It's not in my upper echelon of favorite pizzas, but when it goes on sale I'd definitely like to try the other flavors.

Upton's Naturals VeganChicken Salad Sandwich

I made my normal walk to the wall of the refrigerated prepared foods at Whole Foods, because I'm always looking for something new. To my surprise, there was an unfamiliar Upton's Natural sandwich. It's called the VeganChicken Salad Sandwich and it knocked my socks off! Hands down my favorite Upton's sandwich so far. Let's talk a little bit more about this delight stuffed within a pretzel roll.

First off, the bread is completely different. It's labeled as a pretzel roll and I can't think of a better decription. It really tastes like you are biting into a soft pretzel! Absolutely delicious. The "VeganChicken Salad" is Upton's famous seitan mixed with a little mayo, mustard, cranberry and more. Such great flavors; everything from herbiness, sweetness, zestiness and back. The Upton's VeganChicken Salad Sandwich is my new go to sandwich and I hope you get to try one soon!

The Laziest Vegans Top Ten Asks Angela Gossow

I've always been a metalhead at heart. You know, that kid you made fun of in 1993 for wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt in high school? Yeah, that was me. One of my favorite groups at the time was Carcass. I thought it was cool that they used gross/disturbing imagery and lyrics, yet they were self professed Vegetarians. Well, Carcass disbanded a couple years later and I was pretty bummed.

Fast forward to the early 2000's. One of Carcass's former guitarists, Michael Amott, was looking for a new singer for his band, Arch Enemy. Angela Gossow stepped into the role and helped create the classic album Wages of Sin. From that album on, I've been a huge Arch Enemy fan. I finally got to see them live a couple years ago in Denver and they blew the stage away! On their last album, Khaos Legions, Angela penned a song about animal experiments and torture called Cruelty Without Beauty. It has a great message and it's a wicked tune. But what I really wanna know is what kind of cookies does Angela like?

What is your favorite store bought veggie burger? 
I don’t eat veggie burgers. Too industrialized and over processed. I don’t eat any soy products to begin with.. Soy disrupts the natural hormone balance in the body due to its high content of soy-isoflavonoides which are natural estrogen triggers.

What is your favorite frozen dinner?
I love frozen veggies on tour. Easy to heat up and with a few spices you got a healthy, lean dinner.

What is your favorite ice cream?
I don’t eat ice cream as its either made from milk or soy milk and got a lot of sugar in it.

What is your favorite chip or cracker?
I love the veggie chips made from beetroot, parsnip, yakon, etc.. and plain kettle cooked potato chips. Only in small quantities though as chips have a crazy amount of fat!

What is your favorite cereal?
Plain oat meal. I add pumpkin seeds, raisins and a fresh cut apple to it.. and a dash of cinnamon - total comfort food! Great when you are stoned, haha.

What is your favorite candy?
I don’t eat candy.. If any, 80%-90% dark chocolate with no sugar added. Best are raw cocoa nibs.

What is your favorite cookie?
I only eat self-baked space cookies, haha.

What three pre-packaged food items would you take to a desert island?
There, I'd go for high calorie food items in case I get stranded on that island.. I am hoping the island got plenty of wild growing fruits, roots and veggies! I'd bring Nuts, oatmeal and dark chocolate.

Name a product you would like Veganized?
I am not really into processed and artificially created foods. I eat 90% of my food in the raw, untreated state. I think there is already enough food creations out there.. too many actually. People forget how great a simple apple tastes or a mango or grapes. Nature is the best cook! The more natural, the better for the body and for the environment.. The more manufacturing processes a product has to run through, the bigger its CO2 footprint! And we really need to reduce carbon emissions - so start with the food you eat!

What are your favorite local and/or online stores for Vegan products?
I love Whole Foods Market.. A fantastic choice of fresh produce plus a fantastic salad bar. A real treat on tour!

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

So Delicious Coconut Milk & Barista Style Creamers

So Delicious has a couple of new shelf-stable coconut milks out and they've asked me to give them a whirl. Two of the milks are creamers, which puts me in an interesting position because I don't drink coffee. Thankfully, my girlfriend does! Even So Delicious can't get me to drink coffee, crazy huh? So here is what I did with the new coconut milks...   

So I knew I could use one of the creamers for coffee, but what about the other one? I made a vanilla shake! Or technically Isa made the shake and I took the picture. It worked wonderfully using the Barista Style French Vanilla and Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream. The only caveat is that the creamer is pretty sweet, so you don't want to use the same amount as you would a plain milk. Or better yet, mix milks for a unique taste. Or you can just use it for coffee :)

Coffee. I don't know what it is about coffee, it just messes me up. Isa tried the Barista Style Original Creamer in her coffee and liked it. Nuff said. I mean, this stuff is made to be put into coffee.

And last but not least is the Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Milk. I put some into a bowl of Erewhon Strawberry Crisp Cereal. Being a non-sweetened milk was nice because the Strawberry Crisp is pretty sweet on its own.

Having shelf stable milks is convenient because you can hang on to them until you really need them. Having more options out there is great for everyone and you can't go wrong with coconut milk. So Delicious sent me a couple of free coupons to give away! Write below in the comments which of the milks you would like to try. And leave an email so I can contact you if you win. Contest ends 4/2/13 at 6pm CST. Don't forget to like So Delicious on Facebook or follow them on Twitter!

The Original SuperPretzel

One of our local supermarket chains, Hy-Vee, has a "Health Market" in the corner of the store where they sell Vegan and Vegetarian-friendly stuff. So usually when I shop there, I go straight to the Health Market and produce isle and then I jet. On my last shopping Hy-Vee trip, I ventured to the normal part of the store for the hell of it. When I got to the frozen section I noticed a box that was super familiar and instantly brought me back to my teenage years. It was a box of SuperPretzels.

I loved SuperPretzels so much growing up it was unreal. I still knew the instructions by heart: Damp the pretzel with a tiny bit of water, coat with salt and microwave for one minute. It's not that I ever fell out of favor with SuperPretzels, more that I never go to that part of the store anymore and totally forgot about them. So when I looked at the box and all of the ingredients looked legit, I knew....this box was coming home with me!

Right off the bat I notice the pretzel is smaller than the one I remember. After 20 years, I can't be too surprised that it shrunk, what hasn't? But I'm happy to report the flavor of your favorite pretzels is the same. Soft, doughy, pretzely goodness. I like that it still has the salt pack so you can choose you how much or how little salt you want. The best part is where as before I NEVER put anything on my pretzel, now I can put Food For Lovers Queso or something equally as awesome on it. Long live the SuperPretzel!

No Whey! Chocolates Cookies and Cream Truffles

Every once in a while I eat something and it just blows my mind. Well that happened on Christmas of last year when I got a No Whey! Chocolates Holiday Assortment Box as a gift. No Whey! is a little Vegan company out of Cleveland, Ohio. They make super cute chocolates and confections. Everything in the Holiday Box was exceptional, but one thing that really stood out was the Cookies and Cream Truffle.  I'm a sucker for cookies and cream anything. The mixture of chocolate cookie and white frosting always gets me.

Can you imagine an Oreo truffle that melts in your mouth? Because it totally does. The Cookies and Cream Truffle has a homemade filling, dipped in ganache and rolled in cookie crumbles. The truffles were gone minutes after I took these pictures. I'm afraid to see how many of these I could eat at a time. Unlike the Holiday Box, the truffles are available all year round. Enjoy!