Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips at Tropical Smoothie Cafe!

Last month, at the Vida Vegan Conference in Portland, Oregon, I was introduced to Kedar, a representative for Beyond Meat. He happened to mention to me that there was a Tropical Smoothie Cafe in the Omaha area and that they carried Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips for sandwiches, wraps or salads! I've heard rumblings of Vegan options at Tropical Smoothie Cafes across the country, but I had no idea Omaha had one (technically it's in Papillion, but whatever.) Kedar provided me with a Vegan cheat sheet that really comes in handy once you're ready to order. It goes like this:

Vegan Breads:
Flour Tortilla
Garlic Tortilla
Ciabatta Flatbread

Vegan Sauces/Toppings:
Jerk Sauce
Thai Peanut Dressing
Buffalo Sauce
Guacamole
Hummus
Salsa
Southwest Rice
Wontons

Suggested Vegan items with Beyond Meat:

Wraps:
Buffalo Chicken Wrap (without cheese)
Thai Chicken
Southwest Chicken (without ranch)
Hummus Veggie (without pepper jack, doesn’t normally have meat, so add Beyond Meat)

Sandwiches:
Turkey Guacamole (With Ciabatta bread instead of 9-Grain)
Build your own? (Chicken, Hummus, Guac with Lettuce & Tomato on Ciabatta)

Flatbreads:
Baja Chicken (without cheese and ranch)
Caribbean Luau (without cheese)

It also turns out that many of the smoothies are Vegan, too. They use Turbinado sugar, which is completely Vegan, plus tons of fruits and veggies. So now you can get some great food and a smoothie. My kind of fast food joint! Everything was pretty easy to order. Just remember that most things come with cheese, so just ask for no cheese and Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips in place of the chicken. Here's what I tried:

Looking at the cheat sheet, I knew I wanted the Buffalo Wrap. I love that buffalo tang and I knew it would taste great with the Chicken-Free Strips. Boy was I right, these are dynamite! Probably my favorite of the three food items I tried. For real, I could eat these everyday.

Next is the Caribbean Luau Flatbread. A very flavorful, sweet, hearty creation that's a little different than your typical sandwich fare. I have to add that the Chicken-Free Strips taste great! I believe they serve the Grilled Chicken-Free Strips. I'm not sure of their cooking method, but they are warm and delicious.

And finally we have the Hummus Veggie Wrap. Now, this wrap is normally Vegan (minus the cheese) but I tried it with and without Chicken-Free Strips (yes, I'm pretty thorough.) I loved it both ways! The strips add a lot of sustenance to the wrap, but it was also excellent without.

Unfortunately, there was only one bag of chips that were Vegan. They were Miss Vickie's Simply Salt Chips. I liked them but I would love to see more Vegan options. Hopefully Tropical Smoothie Cafe can rectify that in the future.

I also want to mention how impressed I was by the smoothies. If you follow me on twitter or know me in real life, you know I'm a sucker for shakes and smoothies. The two I tried were simply amazing: Island Green and Caribbean Carrot. They were refreshing AND came in very handy during this hot Nebraska month of June. Can't wait to try some of the other varieties!

It's always been a dream of mine for fast food restaurants to offer Vegan options. I know it happens on the coasts with Chipotle and Subway, but nothing like that ever happens in Omaha. I'm really excited and I hope people come (I'm talking to the whole city of Omaha) and try all of the different varieties of Vegan eats.

Special thanks to Kedar from Beyond Meat for telling me all about this. I was half drunk when he told me (we were at party, I'm not always drunk) and I didn't believe him. I'm so happy he was right! Find a Tropical Smoothie Cafe location near you here.

Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella Cheese Shreds

I don't know about you, but Follow Your Heart Cheese was the first Vegan cheese that I really liked. Before that, there were numerous blocks of orange-ish clay that called themselves "cheese" but tasted like salted play-doh. Vegans at the time just accepted that Vegan cheese would taste a little funky. Follow Your Heart cheese really changed that (it melted!) and I'm forever thankful. In the last five years though, brands like Daiya and Teese have taken away some of Follow Your Heart's shine. So for me, it's exciting that Follow Your Heart has introduced three new shredded cheese products. For this review, I'm only sampling the Mozzarella, but the other two flavors are Cheddar and Fiesta Blend. And the best test for mozzarella is pizza, right? I think so!        

I've got the cheese all ready to go, but now I need a couple toppings. One of my favorite faux meats is Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Sausages. If you've never had it, you're missing out big time 'cause it's tasty as heck. As for a veggie topping, I'm gonna be lazy and throw some black olives on this thing. I love my black olives. In a perfect world I would have had green pepper on hand, but alas...

As you can see the cheese melted nicely. I used the broiler for a couple minutes after the pizza was done to melt whatever cheese hadn't already melted. Texture-wise, I liked it more than the recently reviewed Trader Joe's Mozzarella Style Shreds. This was thicker and more cheese-like. It doesn't have the elasticity that Daiya does, which  I don't mind, but some of you might. Taste-wise, it was richer than I thought it would be. Not as rich as Daiya, but not as mild as the Trader Joe's. It has nice mozzarella flavor, maybe a hair salty, but still good. I liked that the flavor didn't overpower the pizza, kinda like Daiya sometimes does. But even though it was a dream melted on the pizza, eaten straight out of the bag it was a little blah. And I know you might be curious, yes it does have palm oil, but thankfully it has been sustainably sourced and bears the Rainforest Alliance certified logo on the packaging.

Overall, I was very satisfied with the mozzarella and I'm excited that Follow Your Heart finally has a shredded cheese on the market. It's a nice alternative to the other Vegan shredded cheeses out there.

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!

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!