So Delicious Coco Whip!

I've been anticipating Vegan whipped cream in a tub for as long as I've been Vegan. I grew up in a household where Cool Whip was always around. Half the time there was no actual dessert to put the Cool Whip on, so you would just sneak a scoop or two. Thankfully, Vegan dessert powerhouse So Delicious has created their own version of the modern classic. It's called Coco Whip! I realize there have been other Vegan whipped creams on the market, but the fact that Coco Whip comes in a tub is a sentimental plus. It also doesn't hurt that the packaging is super cute and reusable. So Delicious has been kind enough to send some samples for me to review!

As you can see from the picture, it's fluffy and decadent, just as whipped cream should be. There's a normal Coco Whip and a Light Coco Whip. The Light has 50% less fat and is just as amazing. It's less dense then the regular, which can be a plus depending on what you are putting it on.

But do they taste good? Heck yes it does! Sweet and coconutty goodness. The only caveat is since Coco Whip is made from coconuts, I guess you have to like coconuts. I know there's some coconut fatigue out there, so if coconut isn't your thing, I guess you'll have to stick with Soyatoo for now. Hopefully So Delicious considers an alternative main ingredient in the future. And all you carrageenan haters will be happy to know both Coco Whips are carrageenan-free.

So the hardest part of this blog post was what I would test the Coco Whip on. I thought about hot cocoa, but that didn't seem very photogenic. As some of you know, Isa Chandra Moskowitz just opened up a Vegan restaurant here in Omaha, Nebraska called Modern Love and they have amazing pie and cheesecakes. So I thought, "Why not test the Coco Whip on one of the Modern Love desserts?" Enter the Modern Love Blueberry Cheesecake! Normally it comes with homemade whipped cream, but for this one and only time, it has been Coco Whipped.

It tasted amazing! I used the regular Coco Whip and the texture was spot on. The perfect enhancer to any dessert. I also tested the Coco Whip by the spoonful, which I can also recommend. Unless you have an aversion to coconuts, this is the whip you've been waiting for!
 

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!

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!

Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival 2012

A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend the 28th Annual Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival. It is without a doubt one of the most successful Veg Fests in North America, if not the world. The impressive Toronto Vegetarian Society is the driving force behind this yearly mecca. My first visit to Toronto just happened to be during the 24th Annual Veg Fest four long years ago and I was really excited to return and check out all of the venders and speakers. Oh, and did I mention it's free?  
   

One of the first places I had to stop was the Field Roast table. Field Roast is one of my all-time favorite companies.  I've never eaten something of theirs I didn't love. I was told that Field Roast distribution is a little wonky at the moment in Canada, but keep asking your local stores to carry it. Their table was packed with people all weekend!

Apiecalypse Bakery, located straight outta Toronto, was a pleasant surprise. Not only did they have Vegan Marshmallows out the yin yan, they also had S'more Pie! Really nice people who rock!

You know I had to stop by the Vega table! It was crazy packed most of the weekend, which is awesome. I've been using Vega products for 5 years now and it's amazing to see how much the company has grown in that time. I guess if you have a great product it's going to be successful.  

A couple products from Bio, MozzaRisella and Muscolo De Grano that looked interesting to me. I'm not sure if I'll ever see these in the states, but you Canadians can gloat that you have something we don't!

Of course, a lot of the heavy hitters were in Toronto, too. I had my first taste of the Jalapeno Garlic Havarti Style Wedge from Daiya and I liked it! Gardein brought some Teriyaki Chick'n Strips that I thought were amazing. But the Coconut Earth Balance is freakin' out of this world! I've never been an Earth Balance connoisseur, but you gotta' try this stuff.

But  the greatest product of the entire Veg Fest, by a long shot, was this Aureeva Creamsicle Soya Beverage. It was liquid gold, I swear to god. If anyone can get this imported to the US, I will love you forever. It seriously tastes like creamsicle, kids will love this stuff!

I wasn't able to see most of the speakers, but I did get to go to most of the cooking demos. Strangely, even though I don't like to cook, I find cooking demos entertaining and informative. The genius known as Isa Chandra Moskowitz (no, she didn't make me say that) was funny as usual. Terry Hope Romero made Seitan Gyros and won the crowd over. Taymer Mason introduced everyone (especially me) to Carribbean cuisine. I found out Taymer is a fan of my blog which is totally awesome and unexpected!

So that was a little snapshot of my experience at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival. I barely scratched the surface because there is so much going on. If you've always wanted to go to Toronto, you should totally go during the Veg Fest. It's a humbling experience that will reinforce your choice of going Vegan or Vegetarian.

The Laziest Vegans in the World Cookbook!

For the last three years or so, I have been compiling my favorite Laziest Vegans modifications, tricks and secrets, in the hopes of someday sharing them with the world. It's been my dream to create a new genre of Vegan cooking for us lazies. Well that day is finally here. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you, The Laziest Vegans in the World Cookbook!

Over 150 of the laziest recipes that use your favorite Vegan convenience foods in creative new ways! Recipes include Amy's Roasted Vegetable Pizza w/ Frank's Red Hot, Vega One Chocolate Ice Cream, Sweet & Sara Peanut Butter S'more Cereal, Tings Burger, Double Fried Twilight Bar, Upton's Carrot Seitan Sandwich and much, much more!!! Veganism doesn't need to be time-consuming or healthy. Press a button on the microwave and you're minutes away from cooking the easiest, laziest Vegan meals in the world. Fun for the whole family!

Inside you'll find 50 amazing photos by Kelly Peloza that will have you warming up that microwave oven right away. Isa Chandra Moskowitz, gives the foreword of her life, sure to move and inspire the entire laziest vegan population. This amazing book will be available on August 19, which is also my birthday! Pre-order now and you will receive the Kelly Peloza arm wrestling DVD free of charge!

Become part of the Laziest Vegans movement today!

Here's what people are saying about The Laziest Vegans in the World Cookbook:

"Who knew you could microwave a burrito? This book will change your life!" -Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of Vegan With A Vengeance

"John seamlessly transforms vegan convenience foods into pseudo-gourmet fare that will fool even the most staunch advocate of healthy, whole foods cooking. I had the pleasure of sampling the Amy's Roasted Vegetable Pizza with Frank's Red Hot made artfully by the man himself and can wholeheartedly recommend John's take on the lazy culinary lifestyle. Every vegan and their microwave needs this companion book of genius. Swoon." -Kelly Peloza, author of The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur

"What is this shit?" -Bobby Flay, world famous chef and television personality

Lagusta's Luscious Tabby Toffees For The Teal Cat Project

As you may have noticed, I have a Teal Cat Project link on my blog. Isa Chandra Moskowitz started the Teal Cat Project last year to help the feral cat population across the country. Cats are near and dear to my heart so it was a no-brainier to volunteer for the project. One of Teal Cats newest fundraisers is the Tabby Toffee Chocolate Box from Lagusta's Luscious. As you can see, they are super adorable, organic and fair trade! The Tabby Toffees are $20, with $10 going directly to the TCP.

What a cute box! Isn't the Teal Cat Logo by Anna Dorfman adorable?

You get four Tabby Toffies and three Solid Birds. The Tabbies are delicious! The chocolate exterior is phenomenal. Dark, rich and bittersweet, it's the perfect contrast for the sweet caramelly filling.

You can see the gooey butterscotch and milk chocolate ganache inside. So do yourself a favor and buy a box of Tabby Toffees and while you are at it, check out Lagusta's AMAZING Smoky Corn on the Cob Chocolate Bar, it's heavenly!

The Laziest Vegans Top Ten Asks Lauren Marie

For this month's Laziest Vegans Top Ten I'm keeping it in the family, so to speak. Lauren Marie and I met on January 18, 2008 at my first Vegan Omaha Meetup. Lauren, Jessie "I love to jump out of planes" Schnieder and I rounded out the awesome attendance of three. As I was talking with my new Vegan friends, Lauren mentioned that she knew a certain Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Well you can say the rest is history and I have quite a bit of gratitude for Lauren.

You should follow Lauren at her blog Whoa Wren because she knows what Vegans like. At Vida Vegan Con, Lauren had some amazing presentations, one of them being about Small Town Vegans. Also Lauren recently relocated to Denver and is already kicking butt with Abbie Ray Harris at Vegan Coloradical. Oh, and she is the biggest Hanson fan in the world! But what kind of candy does she like?

What is your favorite store-bought veggie burger?
Veggie burgers aren't really my jam. Give me Gardein chicken tenders over a veggie burger any day!

What is you favorite frozen dinner?
I love love love Amy's vegan mac and cheese, it is compact portion of creamy deliciousness!

What is your favorite ice cream?
Nada Moo's mint chip owns my heart.

What is your favorite chip or cracker?
My favorite crackers, hands down, are the Eco-Planet vegan cheddar crackers.

What is your favorite cereal?
The fake, vegan frosted mini-wheats from Whole Foods. I can't even trust myself with buying my own box.

What is your favorite candy?
Sour Patch Kids 4ever.

What is your favorite cookie?
My favorite cookies are the black and white cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, when my mom makes them.

What three pre-packaged food items would you take to a desert island?
1) Any hot sauce but Tabasco
2) Chocolate Booty
3) An endless supply of Amy's tofu scramble wraps

Name a product you would like Veganized?
Bonne Belle Lipsmackers in Dr Pepper or Pink Lemonade. Was this supposed to be a food? I want easily accessible vegan chapstick!

What are your favorite local and/or online stores for Vegan products?
I love Cosmo's and Food Fight for food (and chapstick) and Herbivore for comfy, sassy clothing.

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

Daiya Day!

Quite possibly the biggest story of the year for Vegans, Daiya Cheese becomes widely available at Whole Foods Markets nationwide today. Why all the hype? Well Daiya is unlike any other Vegan cheese. First of all it has no soy which is pretty rare for Vegan cheese. Second of all it melts as if it were real cheese. I have a feeling that non Vegans looking for a cheese alternative will jump all over this. Third of all it tastes amazing! So the bottom line is Vegans now have a easier way to get Daiya and non Vegans will now have another option to try. In the end the cows win!

To celebrate this glorious day I decided to cook with Daiya! I know, I know, Laziest Vegans is all about not cooking. This will be one of the few times I cook for this blog so don't get used to it. Basically I whipped up some of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Chickpea-Hijiki Salad Sammiches and topped them with Mozzarella Style Daiya. For the last step I broiled them in the oven for 5 minutes.

As you can see, the Daiya melts and browns as if it were dairy cheese. If you want to get REALLY lazy you could buy some English muffins and spaghetti sauce and make mini pizzas. And if you are REALLY REALLY lazy, Daiya is already in some prepackaged Vegan foods.

Amy's Rice Macaroni with Daiya

Gardein Marinara Chick'n Good Stuff with Daiya

The Higher Taste Vegan Supreme Burrito with Daiya

Out of these three the only one I've had is The Higher Taste Burrito. It was amazing as I'm sure the others are.