Louisville Vegan Jerky Co. Gluten Free Jerky

You may remember a couple years ago when I reviewed some outstanding Vegan Jerky from Morels. It was easily the best jerky I've ever had. Well, Morels has become Louisville Vegan Jerky Co. and they have some new flavors! It's still the best jerky I've ever had. The consistency is soft but chewy and the flavors are rich and mouth watering. And since they use soy protein, all of the flavors are gluten-free. LVJC was kind enough to send me some samples to try out and review. So right now there are three flavors, but you can participate in the Indiegogo and get their fourth flavor before everyone else does! But first, let's talk about these three.  

Out of the three flavors, Bourbon Smoked Black Pepper was my favorite. Sweet but with a tiny bit of pepper kick, I'm totally addicted! It goes down so smooth, next thing you know, the bag is empty. Yum City. My next favorite was the Sriracha Maple Jerky. I'm not a huge Sriracha fan, but mixed with maple, it's heavenly. Not very spicy, but it has a hint of warmth. And last of the jerkies was the Bourbon Smoked Spicy Chipotle Jerky. Now this one is spicy! Not too much, but you'll definitely taste those chipotles. I'm not a spice person, but these are still high on my nom factor.

So that brings us to their new flavor, Sesame Teriyaki! The only way to get it is to purchase it through their Indiegogo. There are different price levels, but I would advise getting all four flavors. LVJC is seriously the best jerky I've ever had and I hope you get to snarf it down like I did!

Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Squares

One of this years most anticipated Vegan products has finally landed at my local Whole Foods. Yes, Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Squares are out and about in the world. The Vegan version of Cheez-its has Vegans losing their minds. Earth Balance has been on a streak lately, releasing anticipated products like Sour Cream and Onion Kettle Chips, Cheddar Puffs and P.B. Popps. I've been excited to try the Cheddar Squares from a blogging perspective, but growing up I was definitely more of a Ritz cracker person. So, do the Vegan Cheddar Squares warrant the hype?

The answer is absolutely yes! These are the real deal. The flavor is everything you could want from a Cheez-it type cracker. Strong "cheddar" flavor in a little bite size cracker. And these really are bite sized! No dipping them in your homemade Vegan dips but they would be great to crush up over your salad. My only complaint is that there is a bit of an aftertaste, but it's not unpleasant, just noticeable. So go get a box and let me know what you think (some of you already have on Facebook.) Find them at your local Whole Foods or online at Rabbit Food Grocery and Vegan Essentials.

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!

Tofurky Pepperoni Pizza Pockets

If you were alive in the 90's, you know what a Hot Pocket is..... a microwavable bun stuffed with assorted fillings. I was more of a Totino's pizza guy myself, but I've had my fair share of Hot Pockets. They were super convenient and perfect to eat on the go. Last year, Tofurky introduced three different kinds of Vegan Pockets: Turk'y Broccoli Cheddar, BBQ Chick'n and Pepperoni Pizza. Tofurky was gracious enough to send me all three Pockets to try. My favorite, of course, was the Pepperoni Pizza and that is the one I'm reviewing today.

OMG! These are seriously addicting. With two in a box, I dare you to just eat one. The Pepperoni Pocket filling is straight up old school. It actually reminded me of a pepperoni pizza from my childhood neighborhood arcade. Super flavorful with a sweet zing and perfectly melted cheese. The dough was a surprise, because it isn't the traditional white bread you would get in an a Hot Pocket. Thankfully, I thought the whole wheat pocket complemented the filling perfectly. One word of warning though, the pocket gets HOT! After you microwave it, let it cool for a couple minutes. Better yet, cut it open to let some of the heat out. I might have burned my mouth a couple time because of my lack of patience, wink wink.

So if you love pizza, you're gonna go gaga over these. The only problem is that they are a little hard to find right now. Do yourself a favor and contact your grocery store and request them. You'll be so happy you did!

Premium Chocolatiers No No's

A while back, Premium Chocolatiers had a Kickstarter for No No's, a Vegan chocolate similar to a M&M but with a Vegan marshmallow inside. No No's met their Kickstarter goal and are now available on their website. I put in a little cash and got four bags of No No's in return. It seemed like a candy I would like to try, like duh. Well, I'm here to tell you those bags disappeared in one day....

The No No's recall a flavor and colorful look of Easter candy. Kinda like malted Easter Eggs, but with marshmallows. I was really digging the flavor and can't totally describe them. Sure, they're somewhat similar to M&M's but not really. Sweet, chocolatey and marshmallowy; they melt in your mouth! And then there's the texture.... some people have complained about the bizarre shape and appearance. Premium Chocolatiers has said that they are still tweaking the shape and I'm ok with that. I think it's fun that the shapes are so random, it doesn't bother me in the least. But they may want to change the picture on the front of the packaging so people don't freak out. Bottom line: taste great, look weird, go buy them!

Beyond Meat Feisty Beef-Free Crumble

Growing up in the McDevitt household, tacos were a weekly dinner item: simple to make and always amazing tasting. As I got older and started "cooking" on my own, tacos continued to be a mainstay. That is until I gave up on tacos and went 100% nachos, 'cause I'm lazy. When I stopped eating meat, I tried all of the popular meatless crumbles of the day. Everything from Morningstar to Boca. After a couple years, I decided the crumbles were not that great, and actually unnecessary when you have a quality refried bean. That is until now! The new Beyond Meat Feisty Beef-Free Crumbles are a revelation. I got to try them at Expo West and I recently gave them the true test, on my nachos.  

Let me start off with the flavor. Holy smokes! Straight up Taco Bell meat. Spicy, but not burningly so. This stuff is gold! I'm serious when I say that if Taco Bell replaced their taco meat with Beyond Meat, very few people would notice. And honestly, most people would prefer Beyond Meat once they see the nutritional and ethical differences.

Also the Beef-Free Crumbles are super easy to prepare. You can use the microwave or a skillet. I've been using a cast-iron skillet and the Crumbles warm up perfectly. The instructions say to warm them up, but if you like your beef crispy, you can cook them a little bit longer with some oil. I'm seriously on my fourth bag of crumbles since Expo West and I'm still hooked. If you're not convinced, please print this free coupon for a bag of Beef-Free Crumbles and try them for yourself. I think you'll love them as much as me.

Sjaak's Vegan Easter Organic Chocolate Bunny & Basket

What's Easter without a giant chocolate bunny? Exactly. So I went to go find one. But that wasn't enough, I found a chocolate bunny filled with gummy bears. And on top of that, I found a dark chocolate basket with a tiny bunny in it. Does it get any cuter than that? As it turns out, Sjaak's has a ton of awesome Vegan Easter stuff.

The Organic Chocolate Easter Basket with Bunny and Eggs is adorable. Everything is edible except for the green "grass" and the egg wrappers. You can get it in dark or "milk" chocolate. Buy two so the bunny can have a friend.

Now for the greatest invention ever, the Organic Chocolate Bunny Filled with Gummy Bears. You're like, how is that even possible? But it is. Crack that sucker open and gummy bears come out. And they say Veganism is boring. Yeah right, thanks Sjaak's!