Sweet & Sara Halloween Marshmallow Giveaway!

It's that time of year for Sweet & Sara Halloween Marshmallows! I love 'em to death cause they're so cute and tasty. Pictured above are Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows, a Halloween Chocolate Dipped Marshmallow Bat and a Halloween Marshmallow Ghost.  

If you've never had the pleasure of eating a Sweet & Sara Halloween Marshmallow, here's your chance! All you have to do is comment below and tell me your favorite Halloween movie. Make sure to leave a contact email (spam proof it if you like- ex. laziest vegans AT Gmaildotcom) so I can contact the winner. Giveaway ends Saturday at 7pm CST, good luck and Happy Halloween!
 

Mori-Nu Vanilla Pudding Mix

I've seen this Mori-Nu Vanilla Pudding Mix in the stores for years. A part of me has always wanted to try it, but I've honestly been afraid. You see, the main ingredient is a block of silken tofu. While I love tofu, I wasn't sure a dessert made mostly from a block of tofu would be very exciting. But I placed this on my bucket list of pre-package Vegan eats, so bombs away!

Surprisingly, I dig it! Now don't get me wrong, you're going to know you're eating a block of tofu. But there's ways to lighten the tofu taste. One way is to use almond milk (or whatever alternative milk you want) instead of the suggested water. Another tip is to add a little fruit. Also, make sure to chill it once blended, the warm tofu pudding isn't happening. If you wanna' see what it was like to be Vegan in the 90's, here's your chance! Tastier than it sounds, everyone should eat this at least once in their life. Enjoy!

The Laziest Vegans Top Ten Asks Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Isa Chandra Moskowitz is the creator of the Post Punk Kitchen and author of countless Vegan cookbooks. In about a  month, her new book Isa Does It will be released. Most of you know that I'm Isa's friend and I've had the pleasure of taste testing most of the recipes from Isa Does It. Let me tell you that this is her best book to date, hands down. If you are into cooking, this is the book to own. Lots of the recipes are even easy enough for a lazy vegan like me!

I can also reveal that creating The Laziest Vegans in the World blog was a way of impressing Isa. Whether that's worked or not is open to interpretation. But, I can vouch for this list, it is 100% accurate. So, what kind of cookies does Isa really like?

What is your favorite store bought veggie burger? 
I like those fake chicken patties, like Cluckphrey's. With sweet pickles, please.

What is your favorite frozen dinner?
If it weren't for Amy's Frozen Burritos I'd be dead.

What is your favorite ice cream?
Those super old school Rice Dream Nutty Bars and Mint Chocolate Sandwiches.

What is your favorite chip or cracker?
Completely addicted to Kettle Bakes Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips.

What is your favorite cereal?
I like to have a lot of cereals around, like Seinfeld. I don't eat them for breakfast, more for dessert. Let's say right now it's Arrowhead Mills Sweetened Shredded Wheat.

What is your favorite candy?
Caramels from Obsessive Confection Disorder. I really love the seasonal flavors, like apple cider caramels in the fall, or lavender in spring. But you can't go wrong with any of them.

What is your favorite cookie?
Is there another cookie besides Uncle Eddie's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip?

What three pre-packaged food items would you take to a desert island?
How about I take all condiments so that any items I scavenge will be delicious? Sriracha, Reduced Fat Olive Oil Flax Vegenaise, and Wildwood Soy Creamer for my morning salt water coffee.

Name a product you would like Veganized?
I think that every vegan baker in the world is crying out for some peanut butter chips to bake with. Tropical Source used to make PB chips and chocolate mint chips and they cruelly stopped producing them over a decade ago, but my heart still yearns. I'd also love a widely available cultured nut-based cheese. Especially a melty one. Oh, and I wish for the soy yogurt famine to end. Sorry, I have a lot of wants.

What are your favorite local and/or online stores for Vegan products?
My local Asian market is pretty great for really fresh produce, sauces and cool rice paper things. And I have to give props to regional chain, Natural Grocers, because when I fill stuff out on their customer request forms, they actually listen.

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

Annie Chun's Spring Vegetable Ramen Soup

I'm always down for ramen! Be it in soup, salad or entree; I love me some ramen. Annie Chun's newest (well, new to me) instant soup, Spring Vegetable Ramen, is a packet of soft ramen with a flavor packet. To fix, all you have to do is warm up the noodles, drain, add the flavor packet along with water and then microwave. Pretty easy and painless.

So, overall the soup is easy to make. One drawback is that you need your own bowl, which can suck if you are at work or not at home. Taste-wise, I was a little disappointed in the flavor of the flavor packet. It had a very dark taste if that makes any sense. I like my broth a little herbier, and this wasn't it. Thankfully, the soft ramen noodles make up for the off flavor.

In closing, I think this is a decent quick soup assuming you have a bowl. Also, I wasn't very impressed by the broth, but it might be more to your liking. Give it a try!

  

Gardein Lightly Breaded Turk'y Cutlet

I was on the lookout for new Vegan eats, at Target of all places, when I saw the new Gardein Lightly Breaded Turk'y Cutlet. The thought of a Vegan cutlet with gravy made my stomach growl, and I had to have it. A common hot lunch in elementary school was beef cutlet with mashed potatoes and gravy. I still crave it in a weird nostalgic way. So, I thought this would fill that little food void from my childhood. At the very least it looks really good on the package!  

A quick 20 minutes in the toaster oven yielded probably my favorite Gardein meal EVER. I attribute some of that to the emotional connection, but holy crap is this cutlet ever good! Crisp, hearty and tasty; I would take this over any fake turkey roast any day. The cutlet does have a hint of turkey, but topped with the gravy, it just tastes like a damn good cutlet to me. Nicely breaded with four servings in a packet, it feels like a full meal, just add veggies. The gravy packets that come with are super easy to use. Thaw the packets in hot water, empty them and then microwave the gravy for a minute or two. My only complain is that I would have liked more gravy, but wouldn't we all?

So, I give the Gardein Lightly Breaded Turk'y Cutlet the highest recommendation, the Golden Microwave. Actually, I just made the Golden Microwave up, but you get what I mean. If you're looking for something a little different that's more like a meal then just a snack, give the new Gardein Cutlets a whirl.

Jones Halloween Sodas

Growing up, we always had soda available in our house. I thought it was pretty normal to drink soda every night with dinner. But sometime in my early 20's, I had to stay late at work and I ate a boatload of Sweet Tarts and chugged a 24 oz Pepsi. The sickness that resulted still lives with me today. Yes, I'll have a Virgil's Root Beer or Cream Soda once in a while, but that's it. No Pepsi, no Coke, no Mountain Dew...yuck.

So where am I going with this? Well, Dinosaur Dracula, a blog I'm very fond off, posted about the Jones Soda Halloween flavors: Caramel Apple, Candy Corn, Blood Orange and Red Licorice. Matt blogs or vlogs about all kinds of cool stuff (toys, candy, you name it) from the 80's, 90's and all the way to the present. Right now he's doing a Halloween countdown, hence the Jones Sodas. I thought, "Boy, I wish Jones Sodas were Vegan," because I'm really jealous of some of the cool stuff he blogs about plus I love Halloween. How the heck do you NOT drink a soda called Candy Corn? ...Bueller? Bueller?

I know Jones Sodas are one of the more "natural" sodas out there, but I had to double check they were Vegan. After a couple emails to Jones Soda, sure enough, they're Vegan! Well, great, so the hard part is out of the way. I'm going to get my Halloween soda on! But will this soda-hating 35-year old like them?

Unfortunately, the novelty of Halloween sodas could not overcome my soda bias. All of the flavors were really one note. If I had to pick a favorite, I would go with the Candy Corn Soda. To me, it tasted Cream Soda-ish and very sweet. Not something you would want a lot of, but nice as a Halloween treat. Next favorite would be the Caramel Apple Soda. It definitely tastes like apple, not so sure about the caramel. Blood Orange is your typical orange soda, nothing special. And my least favorite was the Red Licorice Soda. Wow. It seemed like a demented bubble gum with the worst aftertaste ever.

In closing, these Jones Halloween Sodas are definitely more of a gimmick that anything else. They might be cool for a Halloween party, but that's about it. BOO.

No Whey! Halloween Chocolates

One of the drawbacks of having Vegan MoFo in September is less Halloween blogging. I'm hoping to remedy that with this No Whey! Chocolates Halloween post. I've known about No Whey! for about a year and I love their seasonal treats. They're straight outta Cleveland, so I can feel the Midwest Vegan love. Here's a few of the Halloween goodies they have to offer this year!

These Spooky's Oh's are Newman O's dipped in light chocolate. On top of the cookie is a little Halloween ghost or bat. As you can see, I had to have a little taste during the photo session. Holy crap are these good! I can't tell you the Weight Watchers points on these, but boy is it ever worth it.

The Nut Butter Crisps are big chocolate bars with a nut toffee added to the bar. I was going to compare it to another candy but I'm at a loss. If you like chocolate and nuts, you'd probably dig these.  

The Rice Crisps remind me of Nestle Crunch bars, only smaller size. Every trick or treaters dream! Do yourself a favor and check out No Whey! Chocolates today!