The Laziest Vegans Top Ten Asks Ginny Messina

Ginny Messina is a registered dietitian and is the creator of the website, The Vegan R.D., where she talks about Veganism and how it relates to your health. She is also an author, co-authoring the books Vegan For Life, Vegan For Her and Never Too Late To Go Vegan. I've followed her on Twitter for a while and I like that's she very informative and knows her stuff but still knows how to party. Also, Ginny is a cat lover and volunteers at her local animal shelter and is involved in feral/spay/neutering programs.

So I've always been curious about what kind of Vegan goodies Ginny likes. And now we finally get to know!    

What is your favorite store-bought veggie burger?
I just tried the Gardein sliders (chicken variety) and they are pretty great. But my favorite vegan meat is actually a sausage product—Field Roast Apple and Sage Sausage.

What is you favorite frozen dinner?
Tofurky Chik’n Pot Pies. Comfort food at its best!

What is your favorite ice cream?
I’ve been a Tofutti Cutie fan for a long time and I especially love the mint chocolate chip variety. I like that they are mini ice cream sandwiches, so I can have one for a treat without too much guilt. And they are really good!

What is your favorite chip or cracker?
Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips. Talk about hyper-palatability. I can’t have them around but buy them once or twice a year for parties.

What is your favorite cereal?
I’ve never been a fan of cold cereals, although I occasionally eat them as a snack—never for breakfast. I do eat rolled oats in soy yogurt every day, so guess that’s my current favorite.

What is your favorite candy?
Go Max Go brand Mahalo bars. A decadent, but compassionate alternative to Almond Joy.

What is your favorite cookie?
I love the accidently-vegan Maple Leaf Cookies from Trader Joe’s.

What three pre-packaged food items would you take to a desert island?

Tasty Bite brand Chunky Chickpeas (I buy them at Costco); Trader Joe’s Rice Medley, made with brown rice, red rice, and black barley, and cooks up in 3 minutes in the microwave; Peanut Butter and Company’s Dark Chocolate Dreams.

Name a product you would like Veganized?
It’s been wonderful to see the selection of vegan cheeses growing and improving, through both commercial products and great recipes. But we still don’t have a good vegan brie. I can’t say I actually ate brie that much in my pre-vegan days, so it’s not as though I especially miss it. But it would be great to serve one up for omnivores at a party.

What are your favorite local and/or online stores for Vegan products?
My local food co-op has a reasonable selection of vegan foods even though their philosophy tends toward the “happy meat” perspective. I also find good vegan choices at the local Safeway and at Costco and Trader Joe’s. For harder to find items, I am very grateful for online vegan stores like Pangea and Vegan Essentials.

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

Earth Balance Vegan Sour Cream & Onion Kettle Chips

I'm an unapologetic chip lover. I'm not saying to eat chips for every meal of the day, but if you think chips will ruin your life or your diet, you have other issues going on. One variety of chips I haven't had since going Vegan are sour cream & onion. I always liked them, but I thought a Vegan version would be close to impossible. Well, I'm happy to report that Earth Balance has made an excellent Sour Cream & Onion Kettle Chip that might even fool non-Vegans!

The Kettle chip is a harder chip, which I can either take or leave. The flavor on the other hand is 100% zesty tang. They actually used Vegan sour cream which is awesome! It tastes like the real thing to me. I'm also happy to report that they are Gluten-free, Non-GMO and Kosher. So score another one for the Vegans, we finally have a sour cream & onion chip! So what's next?

Rescue Chocolate Mission Feral Fig Chocolate Bar For The Teal Cat Project

I've been pretty lucky the last couple years helping out with The Teal Cat Project because it means I get first dibs on the special Valentine's Day candy! The first year it was Lagusta's Luscious Tabby Toffees. And last year was the Valentine's Day Sampler from Obsessive Confectionary Disorder. Those are some really awesome all-Vegan companies that you need to be supporting and their products are amazing. This year we teamed with Rescue Chocolate! A great company that donates all of their net proceeds to animal rescue groups. With the Mission Feral Fig bar, all of the money is going straight to TNR programs in Rescue Chocolate's local area. I've had Rescue Chocolate bars in the past and I LOVED them. The Mission Feral Fig is no different.

As you can see, the Mission Feral Fig bar is packed full of figs, almonds and dried cranberries. Quite chock full of goodness!

And if for some reason you are not a fan of figs or nuts, you're in luck! Rescue Chocolate has many different kinds of chocolate bars that are sure to meet your needs. Some of my favorites include the Peanut Butter Pit Bull and the Fakin' Bacon chocolate bars. Thank you again to Rescue Chocolate and thank you for everything you do for the animals!

Hampton Creek Just Mayo Vegan Mayonnaise

I've been hearing the hype about Hampton Creek's Just Mayo Vegan Mayonnaise for some time. While I'm a big fan of Vegenaise and I find Earth Balance Mindful Mayo enjoyable, I think it's great that there is another option. To test out Just Mayo, I decided to use it in Isa's Chickpea Salad Sammiches recipe. If you are ever looking for an easy hearty meal, you really can't beat it. So let's open this jar of Just Mayo and see if it has that zing.

I tried the mayo by itself and in the sandwich. By itself, it did have a little zing, but I wouldn't compare it to Miracle Whip (which I did adore as a kid.) The consistency was a little oily even after stirring, which was a little strange. To be honest, it didn't blow me away, but it was good. In the sandwich, I really couldn't tell one way or another. It did its job in the recipe and tasted great. If there is someone out there that hates all other Vegan mayos, give this one a try. Personally, I think I'm just a Vegenaise person and it gets the automatic buy. I'm very happy this exists though!

Meatless Select Fishless Tuna

I've had this Meatless Select Fishless Tuna from Atlantic Natural Foods on my radar for awhile now, but I was having trouble finding it. I ended up getting a can from Vegan Essentials, but it looks like it is also available from other online and brick & mortar retailers. Tuna was one of the last things I gave up before going Vegetarian and it was one of my favorite meals, totally easy to make and super convenient. So I'm pretty much destined to try faux tuna!

Opening and draining the can definitely brought back memories. It even had a bit of that fishy smell that would cause your cats to go nuts. I drained the liquid out of the can and then mixed the tuna in a bowl with some Vegenaise. Then I lightly toasted some bread, cut some lettuce and put it all together.

So, let's start with the good. Texture-wise, I thought it was similar to real tuna. Perhaps not as dense, but close enough for me. Taste-wise, I thought it was lacking in the tuna tasting department. It needed some brininess, or something to tart it up a bit. Some spices or oil might have helped, but right out of the can it just wasn't the best. I still think it's worth trying, just have your expectations in check.

Tofutti Classic Original Pizza Pizzaz

Tofutti contacted me about trying their new Classic Original Pizza Pizzaz and of course, I'm not one to refuse Vegan pizza. I've actually had Tofutti Pizza before. I enjoyed it, but it's not available at very many stores around Omaha and so I rarely eat it. I always found Tofutti Pizza to be the perfect size for a toaster oven and your tiny college dorm. So it's been a while, how does the "new" Tofutti Pizza hold up?

I'm really confused by the "new" part because it tastes like the same pizza to me. That's not a bad thing, just confusing. Maybe the ingredients changed a bit? If I wasn't so lazy I would go look, but meh. It's basically sweet saucy pizza with cheese... pretty perfect. Some have compared it to cafeteria pizza or cheap 80's pizza. I would have to agree, and again, that's not a bad thing as long as that's what you know you are getting. No-frills Vegan pizza. Also, it's not a pretty pizza. Oddly cut and shaped, I do find it interesting. The packaging reveals some new varieties, which hopefully, I'll be able to try soon.

In closing, if you want some down to earth O.G. Vegan pizza that isn't too big or small, Toffuti Classic Original Pizza Pizzaz is it. If you can find the Classic Original, try it! I think you'll be glad you did.

Califia Farms Almond Milk Holiday Nog

New this year is Califia Farms Almond Milk Holiday Nog. I'm always up for new attempts at dairy-free nog! Most of the other Vegan nogs are soy or coconut based, so I appreciate Califia Farms for creating an almond milk one. So let's have a sip and get in the holiday spirit!

My first thought is that the nog is a bit thinner than others. That can be a good or bad thing, depending on your nog preference. I happen to like my nog on the thicker side. When it comes to the flavor though, I was more impressed. Strong notes of nutmeg definitely sell this as a holiday nog. I thought it was more like a nog-flavored almond milk, and that made it delicious in its own right. It's more of an every day drink than a decadent treat, so you can take a few refreshing swigs anytime and it won't ruin your appetite. So while Califia Farms Almond Milk Holiday Nog may not be my first choice for the holiday table when I want something very thick and creamy, it's definitely a drink I'll keep stocked this season, for every day use.