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!

Amy's Vegan Veggie Loaf

Ok, let's go back to the year 2000. I was on the verge of going Vegetarian, I was trying new foods like meat-analogs and dairy-free milks and I was getting tempeh and hummus mixed up (I'm from Nebraska, cut me some slack.) Tofu seemed like this wonderful protein that I had no idea what to do with. Organic produce had more flavor and I consumed more veggies than I ever had before.

But one thing I really appreciated was Amy's frozen dinners. They were on the natural side of things, with great ingredients, but the food didn't seem super alien to me. I could relate to a frozen dinner, it wasn't intimidating. Anyway, my first Amy's frozen dinner was the Veggie Loaf. I was blown away by the flavor and the texture and I knew I was on the right path. It was my favorite frozen dinner up until I went Vegan in 2003. You see, the Veggie Loaf had honey and all these years I've been upset that honey was the only thing keeping me from eating it. Like, change the one ingredient and so many more people can enjoy the dinner. Well, to my surprise, Amy's finally got rid of the honey and now I can once again enjoy some delicious Veggie Loaf!

So after all these years, I finally have a Vegan Amy's Veggie Loaf in front my face. I'm trying to remember what the old Veggie Loaf was like. As I recall, the loaf itself was denser and the tray had separate compartments for the sides. I kinda remember a dessert of some type? Also, I'm pretty sure the original wasn't gluten-free. Anyway, this is a totally different meal and I'm ok with that.

The new loaf is tasty, something that would be an excellent gateway food for a veg interested person. It's familiar enough while still having some of the characteristics of meat. The veggies, mashed potatoes and gravy were good as well. Everything cooked evenly in the microwave and was delicious. My only complaint would be that it seems like less food than it used to be. I know it's not the year 2000 anymore, so that's just wishful thinking. But you know me, I could easily eat two of these dinners.

I'm happy Amy's finally made their Veggie Loaf Vegan, and it's definitely back on my list of favorites. Thinking about the old Veggie Loaf made me nostalgic and it really got me to think about my long and windy road to Veganism. I'm glad Amy's was there at that transitional time in my life and it's exciting to relive that again.  

Amy's Light & Lean Spaghetti Italiano Dinner

I've always thought that Amy's had the best Vegan frozen dinners overall. Do I need to list them? From the Black Bean Enchilada Dinner, to the Dairy Free Rice Macaroni & Cheeze, the Roasted Vegetable Tamale and last but not least, the Tofu Scramble. Now comes their new line of  Light & Lean frozen dinners, and I started my taste test with the Spaghetti Italiano Dinner. I love spaghetti, so I'm all about it. My only concern is the "Light & Lean" tag. Would the reduced fat/calories be a taste killer? Would I turn into a new-age health foodie? Good questions!    

Well, not shockingly, the Light & Lean Spaghetti Italiano Dinner is excellent. Maybe I'm drinking the Amy's Kool-Aid, but I can barely notice that the dinner is low fat/reduced calorie. Everything is tasty and satisfying. The "meatballs" were especially a surprise. Made out of lentils, tofu and quinoa, the meatless meatball were very filling. The sauce was tangy and the pasta was nice and firm. Even the broccoli was good for a frozen dinner. I think it's fair to add the Spaghetti Italiano Dinner to the exclusive list of Amy's best frozen dinners. What is your favorite Amy's dinner?  

Amy's Kitchen Proof of Purchase Giveaway 2013

Most of you know what the deal is with Amy's Kitchen Proof of Purchase Program. I've blogged about it a few times: here, here and here. Those little squares are worth something! If you go through Amy's products like I do, then you'll be able to get some cool swag. It would be nice if more companies had a program like this! I recently redeemed a TON of points and I thought I would share my winnings with you...literally! With a giveaway.
  

 

All you have to do is tell me your favorite Amy's product and if you would rather have the pizza board or the soup bowls. That's it! It doesn't get any lazier than that. Well, you have to fight past the captcha, but then I know you REALLY wanna win. The giveaway ends Wednesday, January 16th at 7pm CST. Good luck!

Tofurky Vegetarian Feast

I've finally come to the end of my faux turkey/roast taste test. So far I've tried the Gardein Holiday Roast and the Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast. So that leaves the one and only legend: The Tofurky Vegetarian Feast. It's been around since 1995 (respect goes out to all you Vegans who were around back then) and almost everyone knows about Tofurky. 

So let's get down to brass tacks. The Tofurky roast is stout, compact and pleasantly plump, but big enough to feed six. One difference between the roasts is that the Tofurky Roast requires basting, which wasn't hard, but necessary.  The taste of the roast is good and smoky, reminiscent of Tofurky lunch slices. The middle part with the stuffing was also delicious. Unfortunately, I wasn't as enthusiastic about the texture. It was a little rubbery and should definitely be sliced thin. The gravy was smoky and flavorful, I can see why they sell it separate.    

As an added bonus, Tofurky put an Amy's Chocolate Cake in the package. It's simple to serve, all you have to do is thaw it out. I've reviewed it in the past and while I'm not "Mr. Chocolate Lover", it is a solid dessert.   

So you've already ate the Tofurky Roast and the Amy's Chocolate Cake, but there's still more! You get two Tofuky Wishstix (make a wish and eat), a nifty Tofurky Land postcard that you can send to your favorite meat eater and a coupon book full of your favorite veg companies.

In the end, Tofurky puts together one heck of a feast. A meal for six, dessert and extra treats/bonuses make this the package to beat. My only concern is the texture and elasticity of the roast, but overall if you've never had a Tofurky Roast you should definitely get one. It's been around for 17 years so they must be doing something right!

Amy's Organic Beans & Rice Burrito

In the last three years, I feel like I've represented all of my favorite Vegan convenience foods. From Uncle Eddie's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, to Upton's Seitan Tamales to So Delicious Almond Milk Ice Cream Minis, I feel like I've been covering my bases. Well, shockingly, there was one glaring omission. Amy's Organic Beans & Rice Burrito! For real, I eat that thing all the freakin' time. How have I not blogged it yet? Maybe I take it for granted? I have no idea, but I'm glad to finally show my love for one of the best Vegan convenience foods EVER.

So, there are many way to eat an Amy's Beans & Rice Burrito. My favorite way right now is to simply douse the burrito with Frank's Red Hot. I also love it with Food For Lover's Queso on top with lettuce and tomato. To those who have never had the pleasure of eating a Beans & Rice Burrito, it's got lots of flavorful refried pinto beans and yummy brown rice. Not spicy at all, which is great because you can dress it up how ever you want. On the nutritional tip, you are looking at 10 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber. A pretty nice meal when you're in a jam. And don't forget to save those burrito wrappers for Amy's Points! Thank you to Amy's for creating one of my all time favorites.

Amy's California Veggie Burger

If you haven't noticed, I started a Pinterest. When scanning through all of the categories I noticed the Vegan Burger Board was a little bare. And not only that, I was missing my favorite veggie burger of all time, Amy's California Burger. So I figured enough is enough, time to share my love of the California Burger!

When I first went Vegetarian (oh, you know, 11 years ago, holy crap!) I was really dependent on fake meats like Boca Burgers and Morningstar Foods Crumbles. One day I tried a California Burger because I enjoyed Amy's Veggie Loaf frozen dinner so much (ps Amy's- please dump the honey so I can buy it again, pretty please). From that day on, I have been a militant California Burger supporter. If you don't see in my hamburger bun, you'll see it crumbled up in my spaghetti sauce. I find it really versatile and it doesn't have that fake meat taste.

It's nice that Cali Burger isn't trying to be something it's not. What it is though, is pure brilliance: organic mushrooms, organic onions, organic bulgar wheat, organic celery, organic carrots, organic oats, filtered water, organic walnuts, wheat gluten, organic potatoes, sea salt, sunflower oil and organic garlic. DELICIOUS! Like, I could eat this thing plain with no condiments, no bun. It's that good! And only one minute in the microwave!

So in closing, maybe now you'll know why I have such admiration for Amy's as a company. Yes, sometimes their stuff is more expensive, but I truly feel like you get what you pay for. You can get organic mushrooms as an ingredient or you can get something not so natural. And while we are at it, please sign the petition at Just Label It to force the FDA to label GMO foods. Who the hell is for GMO foods anyway? Satan?

Bottom line: if you've never had an Amy's California Burger please give it a try. It may very well become you favorite veggie burger too.

Amy's Vegan Margherita Pizza

A couple weeks ago Amy's contacted me to try one of their new pizzas. As you can imagine, I freaked out and did a robot dance. When I started this silly blog over a year ago I never imagined that I would get the chance to try something before it actually came out. And this isn't just some minor modification, this pizza has a brand new crust and is sporting Daiya cheeze. So did Amy's pull it off? Let's take a look!

The first thing I noticed is that the Daiya is sparse. I think that was a wise decision because I feel the Daiya taste can overpower the rest of the toppings. The sweet sauce and basil really popped for me. I feel like I've had this pizza before and I really can't put my finger on it. Almost like Fazoli's pizza, which I miss immensely. The crust is puffy and moist, way different then the Roasted Vegetable Pizza. So the bottom line is that I have a new favorite pizza. It's going to win you over, even you Daiya haters! It's the pizza Vegans have always wanted but didn't think they would get. I hope it comes out soon because I'm already fiendin'.

Lazy Vegan Breakfast

I'm going to be completely honest and tell you that I hate breakfast. For some reason I have no appetite in the morning (or whenever I choose to wake up). But that doesn't mean I don't like breakfast foods! Pancakes and waffles are wonderful and I love to eat them at all other times of the day. Here are a couple breakfast foods that fill a void if you are a lazy one.

I was pretty excited the first time I saw Ian's French Toast Sticks. I love the way French Toast tastes plus it's kind of a pain in the butt to make from scratch. Last week I bought my first box and gave 'em a shot. The French Toast sticks were good but they didn't blow me away. Perhaps I set my expectations too high. I felt the taste was a bit muted and the oven-only cooking directions were tedious. If you are Gluten Free and Vegan, give them a shot...you might appreciate them more than I.

Nature's Path Hemp Waffles are like tradition waffles except for the whole hemp thing. Odds are you won't notice the hemp in the waffle but you'll enjoy the nutritional benefits. Super easy to make via toaster or toaster oven. Just don't forget the maple syrup and Earth Balance!!!

Remember when these were 6 in a pack? The good old days. Amy's Toaster Pops have been in my freezer for eons. The way I like to do it, is to buy one flavor for awhile until I get sick of it, then I switch to the other flavor. Right now I'm in apple mode. The toaster pop is full of fruit and sweet filling, great for when you are on the go. Maybe Amy's can come up with some new flavors? Maybe blueberry? Banana? Raspberry?

Amy's Gluten Free Bistro Burger

I had a grillout/picnic recently at my house and two of the guests were Celiacs. Knowing this, I had to find a gluten free veggie burger. I've heard of Amy's Bistro Burgers before, but I wasn't sure if I could find them here in town. Luckily my Whole Foods had them in stock so I got some along with a box of my favorite veggie burger in the world, Amy's California Burger. So everyone wins but I was dying to know, how good is this gluten free burger?

The Bistro burgers were on the grill first so there wouldn't be any cross contamination. Once they were done, I put them to the side and fired up the Cali burgers. Now it's time for a little taste assessment. I dressed up the Bistro burger first in lettuce, mustard, Veganaise and ketchup. With the first bite I was in love. I couldn't believe how delicious it was! Yeah, cooking on the grill enhances the flavor quite a bit, but wow was it ever good. I did notice more of a crisp texture compared to the Cali burger but I felt that was a positive thing. I've noticed things sometimes have a "Gluten-Free taste" but the Bistro totally didn't. The Bistro's ingredients include brown rice, pinto beans and mushrooms, which turned out to be a brilliant combination. I'm super loyal to my California burger but I wouldn't mind a Bistro burger every once in a while.

John's Macho Nachos

If you went to Omaha Public Schools in the 1980's or 1990's you most likely remember Macho Nachos. Every week the lunch schedule was printed in the newspaper and I would count down the days till Macho Nacho day. It was my favorite lunch meal next to the cheese pizza with French fries. While I can't remember exactly what was on the nachos, I feel like I've been able to reproduce the spirit. So here is my version of the Macho Nacho!

As you can see it's pretty loaded. Sometimes I add more ingredients and sometimes I add less. Things I left out this time are black olives, green onions and salsa. And you may be thinking, "John, where is the the Frank's Red Hot?" Well, I did put it on but it was after I took the photo. Now let's check out the other ingredients.

I decided to go with Nacho Teese and I'm glad I did. Out of all of the Vegan cheeses I believe this is the most like old school nacho cheese because it's oozy and melty.

Uptons Chorizo-Style Seitan is the jam! If you've had the Uptons Seitan Tamales then you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's spicy and easy to make, total Laziest Vegans material. If you have this stuff in your area, try it, you'll love it.

And in the same breath, Amy's Traditional Refried Beans are the best refried beans I've ever had (in a can anyway). These aren't your old bland refried beans. I love 'em!

Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream is the only Vegan sour cream I've enjoyed. The only downside is that is goes bad fairly quickly. In the future I hope Follow Your Heart can sell it in smaller portions.

Garden of Eatin' Blue Corn Tortilla Chips are my gold standard. So that's my version of the Macho Nacho! How do you fix your nachos?

Amy's Gluten Free Baked Ziti Kids Meal

I think it's fair to say that I'm an Amy's Kitchen fan. Except for their new-new stuff, I've had all of their Vegan offerings. The one thing I know I've never had is their Baked Ziti Kids Meal. My local Whole Foods has had them for a while so I decided enough is enough. After all, I'm a kid in a 32 year old's body.

So you may already be familiar with the Baked Ziti from the grown up version. It's just as good here with its Vegan mozzarella, sweet red sauce and tasty noodles. Joining the ziti is broccoli, rice focaccia (aka bread) and apple crisp. While the apple crisp was delicious, the bread and broccoli were just ok. This is most likely due to my dinner being a tad overcooked. That's because I used the oven when I would normally use the microwave. For a Kid's Meal I found it a little complicated to cook the bread separate. Maybe it's me just being lazy, but I can't imagine a kid microwaving the dinner according to the directions. Barring the harder than usual directions, the Amy's Baked Ziti Kids Meal is an excellent Vegan choice for your little munchkin.

And I saved the best part for last! Look at the inside of the box and you'll find a coloring page. In my case, there was a scarecrow. Watch out for brown and pink squirrels raiding your garden, for real.

Frank's Red Hot Sauce: An Addiction

I've never had a taste for hot, tear inducing food. Some might even accuse me of having a farmer's palate (you know who you are). My brother Doug for example loves to eat hot sauces and hot peppers for fun. I never wanted any part of it, mild is fine with me, thanks. But something odd happened about 2 months ago. While making some nachos with Amy's Traditional Refried Beans I noticed I was out of salsa. I was pretty bummed as I usually enjoy some salsa or taco sauce on top of my nachos. While looking in the cabinet I noticed an unopened bottle of Frank's Red Hot and that's when everything changed.

So I opened the bottle just hoping it wasn't too hot or gross. I put on a couple drops for a test taste. My first reaction is that it's hotter than what I'm used to but it wasn't so unbelievably hot that I couldn't eat it. I put a couple more drops on my nachos and I went to go eat. While eating the nachos I noticed that the taste of the hot sauce was actually addicting. I went back into the kitchen and checked the label for ingredients and was shocked that there were only 5 (Aged Cayenne Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Salt and Garlic Powder) and they were all natural! Needless to say I grabbed the bottle and dumped Frank's at will. The sauce encouraged me to eat more nachos until the whole can of beans were gone and half of the bottle disappeared.

2 months later I'm even more addicted than ever. I take a small bottle to work in my lunchbox in case I have the urge to dump it on something. My favorite thing to put it on besides nachos is Amy's Roasted Vegetable Pizza. I also sprinkle Frank's on tortilla chips, which is a nice snack. And don't tell anyone but I put a little on a gingerbread cookie (wow, I'm bearing my soul aren't I?). So I admit I have a problem, but I'm not hurting anyone else. Frank's has became a guilty pleasure that I never would have been able to predict and if nothing else, it really clears my sinuses! Stock up on Frank's Red Hot today!

Quick Spaghetti Dinner!

I saw these Tofu Shirataki Noodles from House Foods at Whole Foods the other day. Tofu noodles? How good can they be? Curiosity got the best of me so I bought a package to test out. I got it home and cut open the package. The first thing you will notice is that it smells FUNKY. Wow. Once you rinse and drain the noodles the smell goes away. Microwave the noodles for a minute and then you are ready for the sauce!

Muir Glen has been my pasta sauce of choice ever since I went Vegan. When I was growing up, my Mom would always buy Ragu. While talking about this with Veganette, we decided you were either in a Ragu or Prego household. As a kid I was told Prego was too runny and Ragu was thicker. So anyways, I still have a Ragu state of mind even though I don't buy it.

So here is the end result! I added one Amy's California Veggie Burger patty, which I crumbled up into the sauce. And for bonus points, I added a couple dashes of Parmazano on top. I thought it was delicious! The noodles were nice and moist and the sauce was wonderful as usual. All in all it was a very filling meal for a lazy one.

Amy's Proof of Purchase Gift Box!

**Update 9/1/11** Amy's has changed the program a bit. You now get to pick what item you want in exchange for your UPCs. http://www.amys.com/community/proof-of-purchase

About a week ago I finally got around to sending off the 25 Amy's Proof of Purchases. Well surprise, surprise! Look what I got in the mail!!!

I was thinking the gift box would be small! What could possibly be inside???

An awesome Amy's cooler bag to take home your frozen Amy's goodies!

Amy's bag for some casual shopping.

Nifty Amy's thermos for your agua.

A super cute notebook and an Amy's product guide!

Various Amy's magnets and a pen.

And the best part...tons of Amy's coupons!

I can't help but mention that Amy's frozen foods were one of the reasons I was able to go Vegan and stay Vegan. So maybe this gift box means a little more to me than the average person. Thank you Amy's for having this proof of purchase program! Hopefully other companies will take your lead and reward their loyal customers.