Product Review: Goody Good Stuff

Goody Good Stuff was kind enough to send me four sample bags of their vegan candies (not all are vegan - just these guys - but the rest are vegetarian).

Before I start my review, I'd like to point out all the great things this product has to offer! They are: fat free, soy free, nut free, kosher, meat free, dairy free, egg free, halal, alcohol free, gelatine free, gluten free, lactose free, GMO free, wheat free, cassein free, and tree nut free.

The varieties that are not vegan, but vegetarian, contain wax in them. The candies have a 24 month shelf life.

Sour Mix and Match: There are a couple of flavors in this bag including grapefruit, lemon, and raspberry. They kind of have the texture of a candy drop with sour mix on top. I didn't care for the grapefruit, but loved the lemon!

Sour Fruit Salad: These have the consistency of like peach slice candies - that gummy sort of quality. I really liked the lemon in these too.

Cola Breeze: These guy have a cinnamon hint to them. They are similar to Coke bottle candies with the sour mix on top. Definitely my favorite!

Summer Peaches: This candy seemed artificially peachy in flavor. They weren't bad, but not my flavor!

Out of the four vegan varieties, my favorite was the Cola Breeze, followed by the Sour Mix and Match, then Sour Fruit Salad, and lastly the Summer Peaches.

You can buy these candies online on Amazon or in Whole Foods. Check it out for a taste of childhood again (that's vegan)!

Product Review: PureFit Bars + Raffle!

A few weeks back, PureFit nutrition bars approached me to review their line of vegan protein bars. I was very much obliged! I tried all five of their flavors for breakfast over the last week or so. 

Before I talk about each bar, I'd like to point out all the great things that each of the nutrition bars offer: high in protein, will not melt, no wheat, diabetic friendly, non-GMO soy used, gluten-free, all natural, kosher, vegan, nondairy, low glycemic, no hidden carbohydrates, no artificial sweeteners, no trans fatty acids, and no hydrogenated oils used.

Personally, I thought this product was absolutely perfect for a quick boost before working out. I had one before going to the gym one morning and it was awesome! If you are in a rush in the morning and can't sit down for breakfast, PureFit nutrition bars are a lovely to-go meal as well. The texture of all these bars isn't like say a granola bar where it is crumbly or mealy, but more cohesive and like your general protein bar.

Almond Crunch: This bar tasted a lot like almond extract to me in a way. If you really love that strong almond-y taste, this is your bar. It was probably my second favorite of the bunch. 

Berry Almond Crunch: If you are a fan of that tart berry taste, this would be your bar. I think I liked this bar the best. I'm one of those berry folks! 

Chocolate Brownie: Now, if you want to sneak some chocolate into your protein bar, this one is for you. I'm not a huge chocolate or sweets person to begin with, so the whole bar was a bit much for me. I had to save half for later!

Granola Crunch: If you are thinking this bar is like a granola bar, you're wrong. It's still definitely not grainy. You can still taste that nutty, oat-y flavor, though!

Peanut Butter Crunch: For you peanut butter fans out there, this one is for you! This is like a peanut butter explosion. I liked this bar a lot. Definitely a great one before your work out!

For a complete nutritional guide to each bar with ingredients, please see the PureFit website.

Vegan Miss readers!: You can use the code VEGANMISS during checkout when you purchase PureFit Bars online and receive 25% off!

Raffle: Enter in this raffle and receive a 15 count box of any flavor of PureFit bars of your choice!

How to enter:

• Leave a comment on this blog post with which flavor you'd like and your email address
• Like PureFit on Facebook
• Follow PureFit on Twitter 

Winner will be announced on Monday of next week (6/11/12). Please leave me a way to contact you in order to receive the box of goodies!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Beefless Beef Stroganoff

As I mentioned in my recipe post of country fried steak with gravy, I only used half a can of Worthington Multigrain Cutlets for that recipe. The other half I saved in the fridge and made this recipe with a few days later. I didn't want to just coat and fry the cutlets, so I thought the seitan steaks chopped up would be good in a beefless beef stroganoff.

Again, I'm not aware of any seitan steak products like these. Most seem to be made like crumbles or pieces. For this recipe, you could easily use West Soy seitan pieces. You could make your own seitan cutlets to achieve the same results in this recipe (and you would have leftover seitan for something else). Here is my seitan cutlet recipe.

Beefless Beef Stroganoff

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1/2 can (4) multigrain cutlets, drained, cut into bite size pieces
• 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1 cup vegan sour cream*
• 1 cup non-dairy milk*
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp paprika
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 package (8 oz.) ribbon noodles* 

* Recipe:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, add noodles and cook until slightly al dente (around 8-10 minutes).
2. In a large frying pan, heat oil and saute onions and seitan until the seitan starts to brown.
3. Add the mushrooms and sautee until soft.
4. Combine the milk and cornstarch.
5. Add half the green onions and cook until soft. Once soft, add sour cream and milk mixture.
6. Season with paprika, salt, and pepper. Reduce to low heat and allow to simmer until thick.
7. Add noodles directly from the boiling water to the stroganoff. Stir until completely coated. 
8. Garnish with the remaining green onions and serve.

* Note: For vegan sour cream, I used Tofutti. I like almond milk, but feel free to use whatever non-dairy milk you enjoy. For ribbon noodles, I used Eden Foods Organic Spinach Pasta Ribbons. Traditionally, stroganoff is made with egg noodles and these are somewhat similar.

Country Fried Steak with Gravy

As I mentioned in my review of Chicago Health Foods store, I go there somewhat frequently. Worthington brand vegetarian foods is kind of a retro company... it's been around for decades and is owned by Loma Linda Foods. A lot of their products are not vegan and you usually just don't see them in stores. Chicago Health Foods store carries a few of their canned items and several frozen items. The multigrain cutlets are vegan, so I thought I would check it out. First, these are basically seitan steaks in a can. Second, canned seitan? Yeah... I mean, I guess it could be worse! So, I thought the best way to tackle canned seitan would be by making a country fried steak and breading it. I will also be posting a recipe for beefless beef stroganoff that I made with these multi-grain cutlets too. Now, I have to say, as far as canned seitan goes, this is really good! It was awesome in both dishes I made (I used half a can per dish). So, breaded or non-breaded, I enjoyed it. I imagine it would be really good breaded sort of like katsu or pork tenderloin and put in a sandwich too. Oh, and despite in the picture on the can the cutlet is breaded, it is not. It is seitan steaks in juice. Just FYI.

As a note, I'm not sure what you could use to replace these Worthington cutlets. I'm not aware of anything quite like them that isn't something like a Gardein chick'n patty. All seitan products I know of are crumbles and pieces, not cutlets. You could do this if you make your own seitan, though! Here is my recipe of cutlet-style seitan.

Country Fried Steak with Gravy 

* Prep Time: 1 hour
* Cook Time: 20 minutes
* Ingredients (for country fried steak):

• 1/2 can (4) multigrain cutlets, drained
• 1 cup non-dairy milk*
• 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
• 1-2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-2 tsp paprika
• 1-2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 egg replacers, follow box directions*
• peanut oil, for frying*

* Ingredients (for gravy):

• 2 tbsp peanut oil, from frying cutlets
• 2-3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp soy butter*
• 3/4th cup non-dairy milk
• salt and pepper, to taste 

* Recipe (for country fried steak):

1. Prepare butter milk by combining the milk with vinegar. Let stand in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. Soak the cutlets in the butter milk for a minimum of an hour, the longer the better. 
2. Using 2 bowls, add half of the flour and spices to each. In a third bowl, mix the eggs according to box directions. Set up bowls in a line: flour, eggs, flour.  
3. Add enough oil to a frying pan to come up half an inch and bring to medium to high heat.  
4. Once oil is hot, place cutlet in first flour bowl and coat completely, shaking off excess. Then place it in the egg bowl, again coating completely and shaking excess. Place in final flour bowl, once coated, shake excess and place in oil. Repeat for each cutlet. If the egg mixture seems too thick, add a little extra water to thin it out. 
5. Cook until each cutlet is golden brown. Place on a wire rack with a paper underneath it to catch excess oil (or place on plate with paper towels to drain oil). 
6. Reserve about 2 tbsp of oil for gravy, keeping the dripping from the dredge. 

* Recipe (for gravy): 

1. In the frying pan you used to make the country fried steak, add the flour to reserved oil from frying and whisk together until slightly thick. It should be a pudding consistency. If it is too thin, add more flour a teaspoon at a time until thick.  
2. Add butter and allow to melt.  
3. Whisk in milk. Add salt and pepper. Reduce heat and allow to thicken. If too thick, add more milk, constantly whisking until the gravy is slightly thinner than desired. Do this because it will thicken as it cools. 
4. Pour over mashed potatoes and country fried steaks. Serve with greens.

* Note: For non-dairy milk, I used almond milk. Feel free to use whatever kind you wish. For egg replacer, I used Enger-G. Peanut oil has a high heat capacity and it is really great for frying things. If you have a nut allergy, you could still use regular vegetable oil. For soy butter, I used Earth Balance with olive oil.

For sides to this recipe, I made mashed potatoes and greens. I have recipes for these on Vegan Miss: mashed potatoes & greens.

Product Review: Follow Your Heart Tartar Sauce, Horseradish Sauce, Caesar Dressing, & Citrus Poppy Seed Dressing

Follow Your Heart has come out with a bunch of new products lately including a variety of salad dressings like creamy garlic, honey mustard, lemon herb, Caesar, sesame dijon, sesame miso, thousand island, oil-free French dijon, oil-free citrus poppy seed, oil-free tamari miso, and the list just keeps going on. They now also have sauces and marinades like barbeque sauce and balsamic vinaigrette sauce. Also new is their own sour cream and cream cheese. Of course, there is always their line of cheeses and vegan mayonnaise varieties.

From Vegenaise, they have made a variety of different sauce like the tartar sauce, horseradish sauce, and pesto mayonnaise. I have to admit, I fan girl-ed a bit when I heard and saw Follow Your Heart come out with so many new products at once (so awesome). I found the tartar sauce, horseradish sauce, and a bunch of their salad dressing at my local grocery store in Chicago, Treasure Island. I'm sure they are at health food stores and Whole Foods around the nation by now. 

The tartar sauce is not bad. It's not as good as the horseradish sauce, but it isn't anything I would say is super special. If you want convenience, this is your sauce for vegan seafood-y type things like my tempeh crab cakes. I liked my lemon dill tartar sauce better. You could easily make it with Vegenaise too.

The horseradish sauce is pretty tasty. I'm a fan. Once again, this is purely for convenience I would imagine because you could just make this yourself with some vegan mayo and horseradish. Out of these two sauces, if you are going to try one, I recommend picking up this one. It's tangy and delicious.

Now, I've tried two of their new salad dressings, the Caesar and the citrus poppy seed. I really enjoyed the Caesar. I'm not sure if there are even other vegan Caesar dressing on the market, but this did not disappoint. I would most definitely buy this dressing again. I have my own Caesar dressing, but this is a quicky solution. The citrus poppy seed was kind of your run of the mill poppy seed dressing. Nothing too special. It is nice that it is oil-free. I wasn't over the moon about this dressing and probably wouldn't buy it again in order to try one of the others Follow Your Heart just came out with.

Product Review: Daiya Jack Style Wedge Cheese

Daiya, the vegan shredded cheese geniuses, came out with a new line of wedge style cheeses not too long ago. I got the jack style wedge from Vegan Essentials. Honestly, I was never a fan of jack cheeses when I ate dairy, but I thought I'd give this vegan version a try. I tried a piece raw and it had a really strong flavor that hit my tongue. I wouldn't recommend just slicing off a piece and eating it. I melted some on a Boca patty the other day for lunch and I really enjoyed that. Much better when melted. It melted really well - much, much better than some vegan cheeses tend to do. That strong flavor subdued a bit once it was melted too. Also, I freeze most of my vegan cheeses because I don't get around to using them quick enough usually, and the Daiya wedge freezes nicely just like their shredded varieties. Freezing it didn't effect its taste or melting capabilities. Overall, I'd be open to try the chedder wedge for things like sandwiches. Not sure if I would personally like the havarti style. The new wedges are nothing too ground breaking, but it's always nice to see new vegan products coming out.

Pampering in the City [Vegan Style]

What girl doesn't love pampering? This vegan chick certainly does. There are two places I regularly go for my primping. For my hair, I go to L'Etoile Salon on Broadway near Diversey. I get my hair dyed with their organic, vegan, herbal hair line, Colour Herbe. It's ammonia-free and feels great on your hair. I've never had a burning sensation or any problems with using this herbal hair dye. It does wash out more quickly than normal hair dye as it is vegetable based. Small price to pay for having your hair still look lovely and not dead in 50 years. The products they use in-house on hair are organic too. They also carry organic makeup and hair products for sale. I buy a red shampoo and conditioner to have the life of my dye last a wee bit longer. They also do facials, peels, and waxing. I've never had any of those things done, though.

For my spa services, I go to Allyu Spa Chicago. This place is fantastic. I'm a member which allows you to get discounts on services, birthday gift certificates, free sauna time, and discounts on merchandise amongst other benefits. I go here to get my nails done. They use vegan nail polish brand, Zoya. VegNews Magazine just had a great article in one of their recent editions that talked about vegan nail polish (regular nail polish has toxins in it usually and some companies test on animals). During your manicure or pedicure, they do scrubs which sometimes contain honey (they change it up by season - but they make all the scrubs themselves). You could ask for a different scrub or something else instead. I get my eyebrow threading services done here too. They do a perfect job on my eyebrows! I've also had a hot stone massage which was so relaxing, I literally fell asleep. It felt amazing after coming in from the bitter Chicago cold. If you want a day with your girlfriends or some quality "me" time, I recommend checking out Allyu. Beyond normal spa services, they also specialize in reflexology and chakra balancing. As far as facials go, I've never had one here yet, but I've been meaning to check it out. The place I used to go for organic facials does not do them anymore, so I'm going between both L'Etoile and Allyu now. We shall see which I end up checking out!

To my knowledge, Aveda is vegan-friendly and there are a couple places in the city that specialize in Aveda products and services. 

If you get your vegan pampering on in Chicago, let your blog doll know where you go as she's mighty curious of the other options out there. :]

Product Review: Soyatoo Extra Creamy Whip

Soyatoo has done it again. I'm a huge fan of their products. The regular Soy Whip is a great alternative for whipped cream. I have not had the Rice Whip, but next time I'm in need of vegan whipped cream, it is on my list to check off to try. There is another vegan whipped cream that I'm familiar with, but have never tried, Healthy Top. I've used Soyatoo's regular Soy Whip (the kind you have to whip by hand) in recipes before as a replacement for heavy cream. Check out my Chick'n Divan recipe to see what I mean.

I had forgotten what normal whipped cream looks like and how thick it is until recently when I went out to eat and someone got a dessert with it. This Extra Creamy Whip is thicker and creamier than the regular Soy Whip. Soy Whip has that light airiness too reminiscent of Reddi-wip. The Extra Creamy Whip is more like hand whipped cream where you see the heavier texture and feel the "dairy" more, if you will. I really recommend this one over the Soy Whip. I loved it!

You can find Soyatoo at the Whole Foods near me, but otherwise, it is online at Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe and VeganEssentials.com.

Product Review: Sophie's Kitchen Vegan Seafood + Sauce Recipes

Hidden within the vegetarian section of the freezer aisle of my local health food store, I found Sophie's Kitchen mock seafood. I was surprised by the fact that they make vegan calamari and fish fillets, but also that it was randomly at this health food store! You can't blame me for being skeptical. But, I thought I would give this stuff a shot, if not just to purely say I've tried vegan calamari. I'm pretty open to crazy veg food, but there are some things that should be left not re-made cruelty-free (like vegan haggis [if you don't know what haggis is, please Google it] or mutton, anyone?). Once upon a time, I made a retro vegan salmon mousse mold. To the horror of everyone, it... turned out a lot like salmon mousse mold. Scary recipe best used for Halloween gags. 

Now, I know Sophie's Kitchen is a legit brand, so I had some hope. The calamari was really impressive mostly because it had the same chewy consistency of real calamari. Weird. I hated the real thing prior to being vegan, so it doesn't surprise me that I did not like it at all. But, if you liked calamari before, this is definitely worth trying. I sort of thought it might be like an onion ring, but nope, very chewy. The fish fillets were quite a bit better. It was flakey and would have been good to make a sandwich out of. I made various sauces for each, so below are the recipes. For the mock seafood, just follow box instructions to cook.

For the calamari, I made an aioli and a remoulade. For the fish fillets, I made a lemon dill tartar sauce. These all came out great. I would recommend on something other than mock seafood, though. The tartar sauce would be good for mock crabcakes (with tofu or otherwise), the aioli would be good with a veggie burger, and the remoulade good with fried green tomatoes.


Aioli

* Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
* Cook Time: n/a
* Ingredient:

• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise*
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp olive oil

* Recipe:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.

* Note: For vegan mayonnaise, I used Earth Balance olive oil based brand.


Remoulade

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: n/a
* Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup spicy mustard
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt, to taste
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup celery, minced
• 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tbsp white onion, diced
• 1/2 tbsp green onion, minced
• 1 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp capers

* Recipe:

1. Combine all ingredients well.

Lemon Dill Tartar Sauce

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: n/a
* Ingredients:

• 1 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp dill pickle relish
• 1 tbsp white onion, minced
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp capers
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

* Recipe:

1. Combine all ingredients. Mix well. 

Happy sauce making!

Product Review: Rawtella Stuffed French Toast

A vegan coffee shop here in Chicago sells rawtella in their cafe. I've heard about this product before so I thought I would try it out. I don't have much to compare it too, though, because I've never had Nutella before (shocking, I know)! Of course, one could always makes their own vegan Nutella. There are several recipes floating around out there that I hear are pretty delicious.

The flavor I tried out was the original chocolate hazelnut. I completely understand why people put this on toast now or with bananas. It's good! I imagine rawtella is similar to Nutella and making it would be pretty fun. If you're feeling lazy, though, this is a neat product to have in your cupboard.


Speaking of things I have never tried... I've never had a meal of "real" french toast either! I was never fond of the prominent taste of egg and french toast was always too egg-y for me. The Chicago Diner has vegan french toast which I've had there. With this rawtella, I decided to make a vegan stuffed french toast. It was really tasty! It definitely is missing a certain taste of that egg wash feel, but it's a pretty good replacement.

Rawtella Stuffed French Toast

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp vegan butter*
• 4 tbsp corn starch
• 1 cup non-dairy milk*
• 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp sugar*
• 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
• pinch salt
• 2 slices vegan challah bread, cut in 1-1.5 in. slices*
• 2-3 tbsp rawtella or vegan nutella
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• powdered sugar, to taste
• maple syrup, to taste
• vegan whipped cream, to taste*

* Recipe:

1. Heat the vegan butter in a medium sized skillet over low-medium heat.
2. In a bowl, combine the cornstarch and non-dairy milk well until all clumps are gone. Add the vanilla extract, sugar, flour, and salt. Combine until a smooth batter is formed.
3. Spread rawtella on one side of each piece of bread. Press together to form a sandwich with the rawtella on the inside.
4. Coat one side of the sandwich with the batter. Fry in the skillet until golden brown.
5. Pour batter over the other side of the sandwich and flip over. Allow to fry until golden brown.
6. Dust with powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Serve with maple syrup and vegan whipped cream.

* Note: I used Earth Balance for vegan butter. For non-dairy milk, I used hemp milk as that's what I had. Feel free to use whatever you like. Make sure your sugar is vegan! I found vegan challah bread at the store (which really surprised me). Use any sort of thick, fluffy bread you can find. You want it to be similar to brioche (sans all the eggs in the bread). Soyatoo makes a canned vegan whipped cream that's pretty awesome. They carry it at the Whole Foods near me, but you can order it online too.

Product Review: Starbucks Sesame Noodle Bistro Box

A few months ago, Starbucks released a new line of lunch options including an all vegan sesame noodle bistro box. Until a few years ago, us vegans only had a latte with soy milk as an option at this coffee chain. Since then, Starbucks has added dried fruit, nuts, vegan cookies, sweet potato chips, and vegan frappaccino's (my favorite). But, if you wanted something substantial to eat, vegans were out of luck (if you are a vegetarian, they have had a protein plate of an egg, cheese, and fruit). From Starbucks description online:  

"Sesame noodle salad tossed with broccoli florets, carrots, red peppers, sugar snap peas and a creamy peanut dressing is served with a cucumber carrot salad, crunchy sesame peanuts and baked tofu with lightly spiced lime glaze. For dessert, a premium Starbucks dark chocolate."

As you can imagine, I was very excited to try this. Sadly, I was incredibly disappointed. It has a odd taste of preserves. I understand it has to stay good for a bit, but the whole taste was off. The veggies were far from fresh which is I suppose is to be expected. The best part was probably the sesame crackers and chocolate, honestly. I would only buy this again (especially for how much they are asking for it - around $7) if I was desperate. I would recommend trying this for the sake of trying it, but otherwise, don't buy it. Not worth it, tastes average to below average, and overpriced. Shame. Get a vegan frappaccino instead!

Product Review: Candle Cafe Frozen Meals

Candle Cafe is a well-known vegan restaurant chain in NYC. I've been hearing rave reviews about this place for years, but I've only been to NYC very briefly. When I first heard they were releasing their new line of vegan frozen meals, I was pretty excited. Amy's, Kashi, and other brands only go so far after you've had them a few times. As a student, I live off a lot of frozen food (hellloo Gardein and Boca). My local Whole Foods had all 4 types they have released: Seitan Piccata with Lemon Caper Suace, Macaroni & Vegan Cheese, Tofu Spinach Ravioli, and Ginger Miso Stir-Fry. 

The first meal I tried was the Ginger Miso Stir-Fry. It was just kind of your average frozen stir-fry. I wouldn't call it anything terribly special. I enjoyed the tofu that was added to it so it wasn't just all vegetables and rice. The portion is rather small, so I would say if you are having this for dinner, to eat something else with it or have it as a light lunch.

Next, I tried the Seitan Piccata with Lemon Caper Sauce. I really enjoyed this one. The lemon caper sauce is fantastic with a great lemony, tang taste. It compliments the rice and seitan very well. The seitan reminded me a lot of Match Meats, though. If you've ever had their chick'n or crab and you try this frozen meal, you'll see what I mean. That would be my only complaint for this one.

I split the Macaroni & Vegan Cheese with a friend one night as a snack. I was very surprised to see what looked like to me as Daiya on it. I checked the ingredients and then read the ingredients on my bag of mozzarella Daiya and found they were the same. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it is Daiya. This was really disappointing for me because I was excited to try a "new" product. It was good, don't get me wrong, but it melted kind of the way Daiya does too - not in a "creamy" fashion, but more of a lumpy fashion when you just pour some shreds over whatever you are cooking. This really isn't the most desired effect you want for mac 'n cheese. My opinion is just go for Amy's vegan mac 'n cheese if you are going to buy a frozen variety. For me, Amy's has a more creamy taste and despite it also has Daiya in it, it works better. If you are concerned about calories, though, Amy's does have more so opt for Candle Cafe.

Lastly, there is the Tofu Spinach Ravioli. I loved this one too. It also has what looks like to be Daiya on it, but that's okay as it is not meant to be creamy like a mac 'n cheese. The ravioli's were tasty and the marinara with cheese complimented them very well. I would definitely pick this one up again for a light dinner.

Overall, I enjoyed the Seitan Piccata and the Tofu Spinach Ravioli the most. I would buy these guys again. The other two, I was not that impressed by. Also, all three are pretty low in calorie content (200-300 calories) so they do make for a good lunch or small dinner.

Product Review: Earth Balance Original Mayo

Earth Balance released their new vegan mayonnaise lines recently. The company is mostly popular for their array of vegan butters. With other products such as Vegenaise and Nayonaise out there, it didn't surprise me that the company wanted to add more products. Personally, I hate Nayonaise. It has an awful aftertaste. I refuse to use it unless I can mask the taste of it somehow (then what is the point of really using that brand, right?). So, for many years now, I have sworn by Vegenaise.

To keep pledging my allegiance to Vegenaise or to branch out and try a new vegan mayonnaise? Well, I can't resist new vegan products. I'm like a very excited child when I get to the grocery store and I find a company has released something new.

Nutritionally speaking, Vegenaise and Earth Balance match up. For one serving, 14 oz., each is 90 calories. The total fat is also the same. Earth Balance does have a little less sodium, 70 mg versus Vegenaise's 85 mg. The only real difference in the ingredients is that Earth Balance uses "pea protein" while Vegenaise uses "non-GMO soy protein".

Overall, I found out that I enjoyed Earth Balance's original mayonnaise very much. Even better that Vegenaise (shock and horrors!). It has a tangy taste (which I prefer - I have a very sour taste palate). I think this would be great for dressings like making homemade ranch or caesar dressing. If you want a more plain taste of "mayonnaise", I would still go for Vegenaise. I haven't tried the Earth Balance on a sandwich or bread yet, but some people may not care for the tangy taste it holds. I give the Earth Balance mayo a 4.5/5 stars! I leave off half a point just in case someone doesn't care for the tang. 

Product Review: Nacho Mom vs. Food For Lovers Queso's

I've been hearing a lot of buzz regarding vegan queso lately. So, I ordered both Nacho Mom's Ultimate Vegan Queso and Food for Lovers to try them both! I've heard rave reviews for each, so I wanted to see which I thought was better. They both boast soy-free, dairy-free, nut-free, cholesterol-free benefits too.

I found Nacho Mom to not have that much of a "cheesy" taste. It was sort of bland. It was not my favorite. I would give it a 2.5/5 stars.

Food for Lovers, on the other hand, was much better. It had a more "cheesy" feel and a kick to boot (no pun intended, heh), Overall, I would give this a 4/5 stars. If you are going to buy some vegan queso, I'd certainly go for Food for Lovers!