review : Cook. Vegan. Lover.

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Product Review: Pirate’s Booty

April 6th 2010 Posted at Uncategorized, review
7 Comments

Ahoy! As as kid I remember I always wanted those electric orange cheese puffs, you know the ones that were horrible and looked radioactive? Well as an adult I have come to realize that things that are florescent colors are probably not that great for you, okay they are horrible for you. No don’t fret there is an alternative to those nasty finger staining “cheese” puffs because Pirates Brand has come out with a variety of yummy snacks that are all-natural and low calorie.

Pirates Brand sent me a bunch of their Booty and some Tings to try and I was pumped when I saw the Barbeque however to my disappointment I read the ingredients and saw that honey was listed, boo! They also sent me some of the Aged White Cheddar Pirate’s Booty, which I can tell you was a favorite of mine when I was a vegetarian but of course they are not vegan so I gave them to my parents who loved them. As for the other two flavors that were vegan: Pirate’s Booty Veggie and Original Tings I loved them both. Now with the veggie booty how can you NOT love it? It’s green which is fun and is crafted from puffed rice, corn and a medley of veggies including spinach, kale, carrots and parsley. Lastly there are the Tings which are crunchy, salty and the perfect snack to munch on.

Now for those of you who didn’t know Pirates Brand has a bunch of new flavors (since I last checked there site like a year ago) which I am really excited about. As for vegan treats they have:

Pirate’s Booty- Veggie
Potato Flyers- Original
Potato Flyers- Homestyle Barbeque (I wish they had sent these I heart BBQ)
Original Tings

What is your favorite product from Pirates Brand?

Disclaimer: Pirates Brand provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Product Review: Lucy’s Cookies

April 3rd 2010 Posted at Uncategorized, review
4 Comments

"Dr. Lucy’s gluten-free cookies are made without milk, eggs, peanuts or tree nuts, but you’d never know it. They taste delicious! We use only high quality ingredients in our carefully controlled bakery to ensure our products meet our tight allergen testing criteria. And with 0mg cholesterol and 0g trans fat you can feel guilt-free about making them part of your healthy, balanced diet." Click Photo for Source

The hubby and I have been snacking on these bad boys over the past month and they are yummy! I have also given some to friends and family to try and everyone has come back telling me how much they enjoyed them. There are 4 types of cookies: Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Cookie, Cinnamon Thin and Sugar Cookie. The great thing about these cookies is that you can find them in stores and Starbucks in individual sized packages. You can also get small boxes of these cookies to share with the whole family.

The Chocolate Chip cookies are so delicious and are great for vegans as well as people with nut allergies as all of Lucy’s Cookies are nut free! I really enjoyed these cookies because there was just the right amount of chocolate in every bite. Now my husband’s favorite is the Cinnamon Thin which is inspired by the snickerdoodle. These cookies are filled with cinnamon and have a great crisp.

The Oatmeal Cookie was a favorite of mine because they were light and airy and reminiscent of childhood oatmeal cookies. I also love that these ones are low in calories so they don’t disrupt my (usually) balanced diet. Lastly, the Sugar Cookies are just like they say SUGAR- I found these ones to be the sweetest and a little too much for me but once I paired them with a cup of coffee it was a great balance of sweet and bitter.

Which of these cookies are calling your name? Have you tried any of Lucy’s cookies yet?

Disclaimer: Lucy’s Cookies provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Let’s Wrap It Up!

March 27th 2010 Posted at review
0 Comments

I recently received some samples of Maria and Ricardo’sTortillas so Neil and I have been on a wrapping frenzy! These wraps are so yummy and come in a variety of flavors. We tried the 12″ Chili Wraps, 10″ Spinach Tortillas, a low carb Tortillas, and gluten free tortillas. These wraps have no cholesterol, are vegan and kosher and have no trans fats! We have had a good time making some wraps and tacos with these tortillas.

The chili wraps are great when you your entire meal rolled up into one hand held meal. You can really fill them with anything and if you want you can bake or grill them. The spinach tortillas were yummy and we had them stuffed with tofu scramble the other day for lunch. Our favorite was the low carb tortillas however which with only 45 calories per tortillas made them feel a little more guilt free. We ate them with yummy homemade refried black beans. Lastly were the gluten free tortillas which i used to make soft tacos- honestly we hated these they tasted like cardboard. So sorry gluten free friends I would not recommend these gluten free tortillas. However all of then non-GF ones that we tried were delicious!

Black Bean salad with Low Carb Tortillas

Spinach Wrap stuffed with tofu scramble and grilled

Disclaimer: Maria and Ricardo’s Tortillas provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Product Review & Giveaway: Coach’s Oats

March 22nd 2010 Posted at Uncategorized, giveaway, review
12 Comments

The Winners are:

Jenna- “My absolute fav.. pumpkin oats with banana, pb, flax seeds, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. I could eat it every day and not get sick of it!”

And

Regina “I like mine with vanilla soy milk chocolate PB, banana’s, and flaxseeds.”

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As many of you know I am a huge fan of oatmeal and eat it most mornings with banana, cinnamon and stevia. So you can imagine that I was delighted to have a chance to try a new kind of oats. Coach’s Oats sent me a few packages of their oats to try. Their oats are prepared a different way than steel cut and rolled oats. ”The groats are toasted to bring natural sugars to the surface of the oat then cracked into small pieces.” (source)

The oatmeal cooks up in only 5 minutes so it is a quick nutritious breakfast when you are short on time. Unlike other oats these get so creamy and delicious, I loved them. These were also super filling along with my traditional fixings. Since Coach’s Oats sent a long a number of packets for me to sample I would love to get 2 readers a chance to win 2 packets to try themselves. If you would like a chance to win enter By March 24nd, 2010 at 8am leaving a comment letting me know what your favorite oatmeal creation is.

Disclaimer: Coach’s Oats provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Institute for Integrative Nutrition & a Pizza Party

March 21st 2010 Posted at pizza, review
0 Comments

Yesterday started out so nice and ended up with big clouds in the sky so instead of spending the remainder of our day outside we picked up some fixings for a pizza and relaxed around the house. To my delight my iPod from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition came today however to my disappointment the iPod can not be reloaded with any other material. Oh well I guess a new iPod stays on my list of desired items, especially since I haven’t gotten a new one since the Mini iPod back in 2005. Also many of you have inquired about whether I will be posting about my journey to become a Certified Health Counselor and I plan to. Right now I am working on warm-up classes for my program which starts on May 1st. These warm-up classes teach fundamentals that are helpful to understand prior to starting classes; such as Nutrition, Primary Foods, and Food Cravings. So far I am loving being back in school and learning new things, this will be an exciting year.

Isn't it pretty?

A few other fun things came in the mail yesterday as well:

These bags from ChicoBag are great for taking on the go. They fold right up into their own little carrying case and have a clip on them so you can clip it on your key chain, purse, or bag. I like to throw them in my hand bag so that whenever I am out whether it’s picking up a few groceries, books or other things I have a a reusable bag to throw everything in. These are especially good when I travel because I hate when I go shopping and have to carry around a bunch of plastic/paper bags, with these you can throw anything in them and they are super cute!

These yummy cookies from Kookie Karma came yesterday and I can’t wait to try them, I will report back on how they are. Update: Hubby and my dad loved the Holsitic Chocolate Chip. My dad wants to know where he can get more of these cookies!

After spending the afternoon relaxing i.e. Neil playing baseball on the Wii and I did some work on my Fundamentals #5 Nutrition 102: Vitamins and Minerals we finally sat down together and watched a show. I then sent Neil off to the kitchen to make the pizza dough, we used Bob’s Red Mill GF Pizza Crust Mix. The dough was kind of sticky and soft but we made it work and topped our pizza with jerusalem artichokes (aka sunchokes), mushrooms, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, sauteed onions and tomato sauce. Once it came out of the oven I finished it with some sunflower sprouts tossed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The GF crust turned out to be delicious and we overindulged a bit on pizza.

Alright bloggies, hubz and I are off to hike/walk the loop and then will do The Breakfast Challenge Day 3 Day 2. Then we are off to spend some time with the ‘rents and G-Ma.

Also if you have any questions about Institute for Integrative Nutrition or myself you can ask anonymously on Ask me anything http://formspring.me/cookveganlover

Product Review: Primal Strips

March 21st 2010 Posted at review
2 Comments

Finally a vegan jerky that I love, PRIMAL STRIPS! This low calorie, non-gmo, no preservative, all natural snacks are great especially on the go, however don’t forget a napkin because they are sticky! Primal Strips sent me two of each of their jerky flavors a good thing because hubby gets his own to try.

The Primal Strips jerky flavors:

Thai Peanut: This jerky is made from seitan and has a great thai peanut flavor. Hubz liked this one for me it wasn’t a favorite.
Mesquite Lime: This jerky is made from seitan and is my husband’s absolute favorite. It has a great mesquite flavor with a nice light hint of lime.
Teriyaki: This jerky is also a seitan and is so delicious! Both hubby and I liked this one.
Hot & Spicy: This jerky is made from shiitake mushrooms and has a different texture than all of the others. This one is much drier and has the most “jerky” texture. It is spicy and I really enjoyed this one.
Hickory Smoked: Now this is one of my favorites; made from soy it has a great BBQ flavor and is finger lickin’ good!
Texas BBQ: this one is very similar to the hickory smoked but instead of being smokey it is a bit sweeter and just like the Hickory Smoked you’re going to wanna lick the package clean.

Disclaimer: Primal Strips provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Product Review: The Tea Spot

March 20th 2010 Posted at review
1 Comment

The Tea Spot has “modernized the loose tea experience. Infusing tea traditions with modern design, our eco-ethical STEEPWARE® offers unique loose tea steepers that make tea brewing simple & stylish. Our full leaf teas include organic and Fair-Trade Certified™ estate teas & signature blends. Committed to giving as we grow, 10% of each sale is donated in-kind to cancer wellness & community programs. So drink up & feel good about it!” (source)

The Tea Spot sent me a great steeper called the Tuffy Steeper. It is a collapsible silicone steeping basket. I love that it folds right up and I can take it anywhere.

They also sent me some teas to test out in my Tuffy Steeper:

Green Roasted Mint: I loved this tea! This tea is warming and not just because it was hot. The mint is delicious and so much better than those other mint teas.

Monkey-Picked White: This tea has a great hint of apricot and a light buttery taste. It is great in the morning with some toast and jam. I bet it would be great iced as well.

Boulder Blues: I really enjoyed this as a dessert tea. This green tea is combined with strawberry and rhubarb flavors. This would be great in the summer warm for breakfast or a nice refreshing iced tea on a hot afternoon.

Meditative Mind: This is the The Tea Spots best seller. I really wanted to like this tea but the hint of rosebuds was a bit too floral for me, however it did smell great!

Disclaimer: The Tea Spot provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Product Review: Danielle Crispy Fruit Chip

March 19th 2010 Posted at review
4 Comments

Danielle Crispy Fruit Chips are my new obsession. I recently saw these at Whole Foods and was tempted to try them but talked myself out of it. So when Neherbal Foods said they world send me samples I was delight to try them. Now that I have tried them I am addicted and can’t wait to get my hands on more.

Danielle Crispy Fruit Chips have a number of flavors and I tried 5 of them:

Wild Taro Chips
Sweet Jackfruit Chips
Roasted Coconut Chips
Sweet Mango Chips
Tangy Pineapple Chips

All of these chips were amazing and are a great snack when you are looking for something sweet and crunchy. The Sweet Mango Chips and the Sweet Jackfruit where my two favorites, however I enjoyed all of them. I was pleasantly surprise to find that the Roasted Coconut Chips were creamy and sweet.

They are All Natural, have No Preservatives and No Trans Fat; the fruits and veggies are then sprayed with nonhydrogenated palm oil and “vacuum fried,” a method that, according to the company, allows the products to retain their flavor and absorb little oil. A 28 gram serving there are about (depending on fruit/veggie you get) 120 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 5 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of protein.

Disclaimer: Neherbal Foods provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Product Review & Giveaway: Namaste Foods

March 18th 2010 Posted at giveaway, review
21 Comments

The winner is: Ashlei

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Namaste Foods small manufacturer of fine foods that contain no wheat, gluten, corn, soy, potato, dairy, casein or nuts. Most gluten free products can be pretty expensive however Namaste Foods has created a number of meals and mixes that are GF and inexpensive. Their products include mixes for muffins, waffles & pancakes, flour mixes, cookies, cakes & desserts, pastas, bread & pizzas. As you can see there are a number of great products for anyone who is looking for GF products.

Namaste Foods sent me a sample package of their Pasta Pisavera Pasta Meal to try. This product is easy to make in ready in about 15 minutes. Just boil this veggie brown rice pasta, drain, and add the delicious Italian Seasoning packet to make 4 side portions. I decided that I wanted to make 4 entree portions from this so that we could have dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. I added steamed cauliflower, black beans, onions, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts to make it a hearty meal.

Namaste Foods has decided to give you all a chance to try their products. You can enter to win a “Namaste Tote with perhaps a pasta mix and a Pizza crust which may be better for the vegan diet, along with a Living Without magazine, recipe cards, coupons and assorted goodies!” If you would like to enter please visit the Namaste Foods Website and let me know which product you are interested in trying. Please enter by March 22nd at 8am. (Sorry this is open to US residence only.)

For Additional Chances to win:

1. Follow me on twitter @cookveganlover (come back and leave a separate comment)

2. Tweet “I want to win the Namaste Foods Giveaway @cookveganlover http://wp.me/pFVWo-zk” (come back and leave a separate comment)

Disclaimer: Namaste Foods provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Product Review: Panda Licorice

March 18th 2010 Posted at review
2 Comments

I am a huge fan of licorice and was delighted when Panda decided they would send me a few samples to try. They sent me Panda Licorice Creams which are filled with chocolate, caramel & strawberry. The caramel was delicious. The hubz even didn’t mind these and he is not much of a licorice fan. Along with these I tired the raspberry licorice which is so hard to stop eating especially when it is in the box and you just keep popping the bite sized pieces. Lastly my absolute favorite the black licorice bar which is chewy and delicious. Panda licorice is all natural and not filled with wax and artificial flavors like those other “licorices”.

Disclaimer: Panda Licorice USA provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.