Daiya Pumpkin Spice Cheezecake

Daiya Pumpkin Spice Cheezecake! 

This past March at the Natural Foods Expo I had a chance to try Daiya's Pumpkin Spice Cheezecake, and I've been dreaming about it ever since (it was one of my top 10 picks from Expo!). Fall is finally here, and I was so ecstatic to finally find the seasonal cheezecake at Sprouts Farmers Market (along with a lot of other seasonal pumpkin food items - see more in my roundup)! Check out what I thought of it below!

Top 10 Vegan Products at Natural Products Expo West 2016

This past weekend I attended the Natural Products Expo West at the Anaheim Convention Center to scope out all the new vegan goodies coming out this year! I attended last year (check out my report!) and the year before (read all about it here), and every year has gotten bigger and bigger, with each show having more and more vegan options!

This year I was only able to attend for one day, but I tried to visit as many vegan and vegan-friendly booths as possible. It was fun seeing so many old favorites, seeing new vegan food items, and visiting with many of my favorite vegan people and companies! Though I had a whirlwind day, I feel like I covered a lot of ground in eight hours on the show floors and can bring you my top 10 favorite vegan food products from the Expo, plus some honorable mentions.

What I Ate: Holiday Edition

Vegan Shepard's Pie that Mister Spooky made. It was the perfect

comfort food, filled with veggies, Beyond Meat crumbles, 

mushrooms, and topped with toasted mashed potatoes!

Soooo, the last time I did a What I Ate post was way back in July, and I can assure you, I've eaten LOTS of vegan food since then. However, posting all of it would mean an enormous post, so I decided just to share a few photos from the past couple of months over the holiday season.

These are mostly random food photos, meaning I haven't featured any of these in previous posts, including any recent food reviews. If you follow me on Instagram, though, you are probably familiar with some of the photos below:

Food Review: Daiya Deluxe Cheezy Mac

Daiya Deluxe Cheddar Style Cheezy Mac

Just a year or so ago, vegans didn't have many options for cruelty-free mac and cheese. We had the delicious frozen mac and cheese from Amy's [review], but the first boxed vegan mac and cheese that was decent was Earth Balance's version [review], released just last year in 2014! After that, many new vegan mac and cheese options have hit the market, including Daiya's three different types. I had tried this kind at Expo West (read about my initial thoughts on it HERE), so I was ecstatic when it finally hit shelves.

Daiya's Cheezy Mac is different from other brands' mac and cheeses as it comes with a packet of cheezy sauce and instead of powdered cheese mix, so you don't need to add any non-dairy milk or vegan butter to make it. Everything you need (macaroni pasta and cheezy sauce) are included in the box it comes in. 

Candy Corn Pizza

Ahhhhh how I miss candy corn! The candy corn you find in stores isn't vegan, and I woefully miss it around this time of year (hey vegan companies, how about someone makes a vegan version pretty please??).

I gotta get my candy corn fix somewhere, so that's where this pizza comes in. No, it doesn't taste like candy corn, but its triangular slices sure do look like the sweet stuff! I was inspired to make a vegan version after seeing a recipe in the Ghoulish Goodies cookbook. 

Top 10 Vegan Products at Natural Products Expo West 2015

This past weekend I attended the Natural Products Expo West at the Anaheim Convention Center to scope out all the new vegan goodies coming out this year! I attended last year (check out my report!), but this year was even bigger and better, and I was ecstatic to see so many vegan or vegan-friendly companies rolling out exciting new vegan products!

Over the few days at Expo West, I got to try oodles of vegan food, beauty/health products, drinks, and got to visit with some of my favorite vegan companies as well as discovering new ones! It was a blast, and I already can't wait until next year!

There were SO MANY awesome products launching, so it was really tough to narrow it down to my top 10 favorites. I finally did, sorta, and below you will find my top 10 favorite products from the Expo, plus some honorable mentions. Not all of these are available in stores or available in the US, yet, but most should either be coming soon or already in some stores.

Food Review: Beast Burger by Beyond Meat

The Beast Burger and some oven-baked potatoes for a monster of

a dinner!

UPDATE: The New Beyond Burger from Beyond Meat has arrived! It's a real game-changer, and you can read my review and drool over pictures of it HERE!

Beyond Meat has unleashed its new creation, the Beast Burger, in stores nationwide! I've been excited about this burger since they announced it at the end of 2014, and I finally found the patties in the freezer section of my Whole Foods recently, so huzzah!

What's the big deal about the Beast Burger? Well, it aims to replicate the taste and texture of beef burgers to prove that there is a better, more sustainable, plant-based way to satisfy a burger craving! Beyond Meat shows us that there is no need to ruin the environment, our health, and kill animals for a juicy burger - all we need is a better vegan burger, and they think they have achieved this and even surpassed expectations by creating a more nutritious, more delicious plant-based burger!

Pizza is My Valentine

Pizza is My Valentine by Bare Wolfe

[image source]

Valentine's Day has always left me feeling meh, and I usually don't do much to celebrate (well, except maybe for splurging on the Fatally Yours chocolate box and watching Valentine's Day horror movies). However, since Friday the 13th coincided with Valentine's this year, I was inspired to do a little something special. Last night, I whipped up some killer Valentine's Day pizzas! Check out "The Heartbreaker" and "The Lover" below, plus some perfect pizza-themed Valentine's Day cards!

Restaurant Review: PizzaRev in Santa Ana, CA

PizzaRev in Santa Ana

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

A fellow Orange County vegan clued me in on PizzaRev, a new pizza place that opened up near South Coast Plaza in Orange County. PizzaRev has other restaurants in SoCal (and are planning on expanding to other parts of the nation), but this is the first one I had ever heard of! They have a build-your-own pizza system, with a counter set-up much like Chipotle’s, where you tell your server what kind of crust, sauce, and toppings you want for your pizza. They are not a vegan restaurant, but they do offer vegan options!

Food Review: Parmela Creamery's Creamy Treenut Cheeses

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

There are tons of new artisinal vegan cheeses popping up, much to my delight (and to the delight of other vegans)! These vary from Daiya’s delicious and economical cheese spreads to the pricier Kite Hill, Treeline or Punk Rawk Lab cheeses. I hadn't really had the opportunity to try many of the artisinal cheeses, either due to high price or not being able to find them, but recently I discovered Parmela Creamery’s cashew-based cheeses! I found them at Whole Foods, and since they were only around $6 a tub, decided to splurge a little and have my own cheese and crackers party!

Food Review: Venice Bakery's Vegan and Gluten-Free Pizza Crusts

Venice Bakery's Vegan and Gluten-Free Pizza Crust topped with 

Vegan Bacon, Kale, Avocado and Tomato and Smoky Cheddar Sauce

from The Sexy Vegan's recipe

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

If I had to pick a favorite food, I'm pretty sure it would be pizza. I can eat pizza any time of day, days and days in a row, and pretty much never get sick of it. I usually buy store-made dough and roll it out myself to make pizza, but I was recently sent pizza crusts from Venice Bakery to try out. They make pre-made pizza crusts that are both vegan and gluten-free! Now, I'm not gluten-free, but it is always nice to see another gluten-free option out there that is also vegan. And as long as it's vegan, I'll try it!

Food Review: Daiya's Fire Roasted Vegetable Pizza and Mushroom and Garlic Pizza

Daiya Fire Roasted Vegetable Pizza and Mushroom and Garlic Pizza slices, 

plus some Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale I had been saving for a special occasion

Pizza is my absolute favorite vegan junk food...I love kicking back and enjoying a big pizza pie and a horror movie any day of the week! When that pizza craving hits, I usually go one of three routes: I either make my own pizza with hand-rolled dough topped with tomato sauce, Daiya cheese and pineapple chunks, buy the Amy's Roasted Vegetable Pizza, or, if I'm feeling indulgent, I'll order the Berkeley Vegan from Zpizza.

I was excited to hear Daiya was making their own frozen vegan pizzas, thus giving vegans even more options when it comes to noshing down on some pizza pies!

I was finally able to score some of these new pizzas in the frozen section of Whole Foods (on Vegan Pizza Day no less!!). I took home the Fire Roasted Vegetable Pizza and the Mushroom and Garlic Pizza at the cost of $9.99 each (ouch!). I got home, preheated my oven, and unwrapped my pricey pizzas...only to find they were pretty small compared to the cardboard box they were in. I also noticed they had a pretty thin crust, though I didn't see anything advertising them as such on the box besides that they are gluten-free, so maybe that had something to do with it.

The pizzas crisped up nicely in the oven, and the extra crisp of the thin crust worked well with the subtle flavors. The Fire Roasted Vegetable Pizza was okay, but I prefer the Amy's Roasted Vegetable Pizza, which has more flavor, even without having cheese on it. I liked the Mushroom and Garlic Pizza better as it had more flavor, but it was still lacking. I think both pizzas could have used more sauce, thicker crusts, better flavors and a more even distribution of toppings (see pic above for an idea of clumped together the toppings were).

I also couldn't get over how small these pizzas were. Sure, they run about the same size as the Amy's pizza I am used to buying, but the boxes they come in make it look like the pizzas would be bigger. The price was a bit steep for what you get. Two Daiya pizzas barely fed two people, and that was $20 worth of pizza. It felt more like eating an expensive appetizer than a meal, especially when I can buy an extra large Berkeley Vegan AND have it delivered for around $25 and it feeds more people.

Overall, I was let down with the Daiya pizzas I tried. The flavor was lacking, the size was definitely lacking and they just didn't compare to other pizzas out there or to Daiya's other products. I would probably not buy again unless they were the only vegan pizzas available.

Food Review: Trader Joe's Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds

I have been hearing about Trader Joe's Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds for quite some time now (they were on-shelves at the tail end of last year), but have only now gotten around to trying them! To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about these shreds...I am a big fan of Daiya vegan cheese and I really didn't think Trader Joe's brand could live up to Daiya.

However, while grocery shopping at TJ's the other day, I finally decided to try their vegan cheese since I had a craving for quesadillas and was all out of Daiya. It's funny, I can eat Daiya shreds right out of the bag and think it is pretty tasty (though Mister Spooky begs to differ and gives me such a withering look when I do this, ha!), but when I tried to eat the Trader Joe's vegan shreds "raw" they had an unpleasant taste. This wasn't too big of a deal since I hadn't bought the shreds to eat right out of the bag, so I went ahead and made quesadillas with the TJ's vegan cheese.

The Trader Joe's Vegan Mozzarella melted very quickly into a nice gooey consistency. It didn't take much time or heat to get it nicely and evenly melted. Once cooled, I took a bite and was pretty impressed! The flavor wasn't unpleasant (like when I ate it raw) and was actually quite subtle and delicious. The texture was pretty close to what I remember dairy cheese tasting like and the vegan mozzarella was even stringy and stretchy like dairy cheese.

I liked how it wasn't as rich or heavy like Daiya...I love Daiya but sometimes eating too much of it can leave me feeling kinda icky and bloated. So I really appreciated how the Trader Joe's vegan cheese was much lighter while still retaining a stretchy cheese texture.

Trader Joe's Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds were a big surprise and a big hit. I can't wait to try making a pizza with this product or even trying it in enchiladas or lasagna!

New Vegan Products from Natural Products Expo West and Veganism on SNL!

Bring it on down 2 Veganville!

2013 is shaping up to be the year of the vegan!

First off, there are a ton of new vegan products set to debut this year! This past weekend, Orange County hosted the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim. While I didn't attend, I've been drooling over tons of photos posted by my favorite vegans and vegan companies of new vegan products!

My most anticipated vegan products I've seen from the expo are:

• Tofurky pockets (vegan hot pockets!) and pot pie (swoon!)
• Daiya pizza, cheese slices and cream cheese (om nom nom!)
• Gardein jerky (wooooooo), "chicken" sliders (mmmmm) and GoGo Cuisine meals (yum!)
• Earth Balance P.B. Popps (peanut butter popcorn - OMFG!!!)
• So Delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Coconut Milk Frozen Dessert (drooooooool!)
• Kettle Brand Maple Bacon Potato Chips (yes, they are vegan!)
• Follow Your Heart Bleu Cheese Dressing (vegan bleu cheese...yes please!) 
• Pacifica makeup line (love their vegan perfumes, cannot wait for their new makeup line!!)

I'm sure there were certainly LOTS of other vegan products, but these were the ones that really made me go "WOW!" 

If all the great vegan products weren't awesome enough, last night on SNL Justin Timberlake (who is reportedly a vegetarian) did a skit that WASN'T offensive to veganism! "Bring it On Down 2 Veganville (Vegan Shake)" had Timberlake dressed up as a giant tofu singing about all the benefits of veganism. Check it out below!

Justin Timberlake - Bring It On Down 2... by IdolxMuzic

It is going to be an awesome year for vegans!

Restaurant Review: Tacos Cancun in Costa Mesa, CA

Tacos Cancun - vegan Cancun Combo with 

two tacos, pinto beans and potatoes

This small restaurant is located on the busy hub of Harbor and 19th in Costa Mesa, just a block from the end of the 55 freeway. I discovered it by chance while searching for new food places and since it was so close to our house Mister Spooky and I decided to give it the old college try.

Though the restaurant serves standard meat- and cheese-filled burritos, tacos, etc., I was delighted to find that Tacos Cancun is vegan-friendly and even serves Soyrizo, soy ground “beef” and Daiya cheese! So Mister Spooky (who is not vegan) and I (vegan, obviously), could eat at the same place and both be happy!

One chilly evening we arrived at the cozy restaurant and were greeted like family. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable about the vegan options. Menu items were also marked with a “V” if they could be made vegan. Basically, you could replace the meat protein with a plant-based protein in most of the taco and burrito dishes and the dairy cheese would be substituted with Daiya. They also have the option of subbing veggies or potatoes for the protein. Other veganizable dishes include their enchiladas, tortas, quesadillas and salads.

In chatting up the friendly woman behind the counter I learned that the chef was vegan and insisted on providing vegan-options to his guests. It is so rare to find someone from Central America (where the chef is from) that is vegan so I was mightily impressed and very thankful he decided to open a restaurant with vegan options!

Tacos Cancun's vegan sign

I ended up ordering a Cancun Combo that came with two tacos (I replaced the meat with Soyrizo and the dairy cheese with Daiya cheese), a side of pinto beans (vegan!) and crispy potatoes (the rice is not vegan). The tacos were double-wrapped in tortillas and stacked high with Soyrizo, pico de gallo, lettuce and two types of Daiya. OMG…they were seriously heavenly. The tortillas were warm and soft, and the toppings had just the right amount of spice to them. I also loved the sides of pinto beans (I can’t remember the last time I was able to eat pinto beans in a restaurant…thank goodness Tacos Cancun has some sense and doesn’t use nasty lard!) and the potatoes! I would have been full on one taco plus the sides, but I cleaned my plate – that’s how good it was!

Mister Spooky went a little nuts and ordered the asada fries, cheeseburger, and street tacos. Yes, he is a big dude. The asada fries were HUGE and he could have easily been satisfied with those! He plowed through the fries and loved them! He said the street tacos were also really good. He was so full he had to take the cheeseburger to go. It’s a rare thing he can leave a restaurant completely full and satisfied (and with leftovers!), but Tacos Cancun was able to accomplish this!

One thing to note – space is limited and there are only about five tables in the joint, so keep that in mind if you go during peak hours. Other than that, it is a neat, clean space with an inviting atmosphere and awesome staff!

When we left we profusely thanked the chef and his staff since we had such a great experience here. We will definitely be back…I want to try everything that can be made vegan!

If you are in the Orange County area, I highly recommend checking out Tacos Cancun!

Tacos Cancun - vegan Cancun Torta

UPDATE: I went back and tried the vegan Cancun Torta. I had never had a torta, but it’s kinda like a Mexican sloppy Joe…beans, veggies, Soyrizo, guacamole in a hamburger-like bun. It was only $5, but it was so big I could only eat half of it! Plus, it was delicious!

Happy Vegan Pizza Day!

My vegan pizza noms and Blue Moon beer from last night's

pizza party!

 

Today is Vegan Pizza Day and I couldn't be more excited!! Though, let me be frank, at least one day a week is vegan pizza day for me...yes, I am a vegan pizza addict! Anywho, there are tons of events going on today, including a pizza pub crawl in L.A., restaurants offering pizza specials and a whole lotta happy pizza-lovers sharing recipes, photos and the joy of cruelty-free pizza!

You can find tons of info on today's vegan pizza events and offers via Vegan Pizza Day's Twitter or Facebook, including what restaurants are participating and where to find vegan pizza noms. Even if you aren't vegan/vegetarian, it shouldn't stop you from enjoying some delicious vegan pizza pie!

As for me, I was so excited that there was a whole day devoted to vegan pizza that I celebrated a day early! Last night I had a vegan pizza party and baked my own pie (fresh dough, tomato sauce, Daiya mozzarella vegan cheese and pineapple...my FAVE type of pizza cuz I'm weird like that), drinking a few Barnivore-approved Blue Moon Belgian White beers (I'm not a big beer drinker, but this beer was actually DELISH!) and watching the ultimate pizza-lover movie - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Cowabunga, dudes!

 Awesome TMNT box art by Dave Perillo - source

How will you be celebrating Vegan Pizza Day?

Horror Movie Night Eats: Vegan Spinach Dip and Irish Soda Bread for Leprechaun/April Fool's Day Double Feature

Last night I hosted a horror movie night for some lovely fiends where we watched a double-feature of Leprechaun and April Fool's Day. It was like a post-St. Patty's Day/pre-April Fool's Day themed night!

I wanted to make a green main dish for the night in honor of the theme, so I decided to make vegan spinach dip and some Irish soda bread to go along with it. I had never made either dish before, so I was excited to try them out.

First, I made Irish soda bread, which was super-easy to make! I used the recipe below, which I've had for quite some time and unfortunately don't have the source for. I think it is a pretty generic veganized recipe, though.

Irish Soda Bread

1.5 cups plus a few splashes of unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used rice milk)
1.5 tablespoon apple-cider vinegar
4 cups flour (whole-wheat pastry flour is best, though I used regular "all-purpose" flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

1.    Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.    Combine the non-dairy milk and apple-cider vinegar in a small bowl and set it aside.

3.    Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Form a well in the center, and add the non-dairy/vinegar mix, stirring with a large spoon until the mixture forms a dough firm enough to shape into a ball. If the dough is too dry, add a few extra splashes of non-dairy milk.

4.    Place the dough on the parchment paper and form into a circle 8 inches in diameter and about 1.5 inches thick. Using a knife, make three vertical cuts into the top, .5-inch deep and about 2 inches apart. Then, crisscross with three horizontal cuts abut 2 inches apart.

5.    Bake the bread 40 to 45 minutes or until the bread forms a golden brown, firm top and bottom crust. Best served warm!

Mmmmm this bread was super-easy (no yeast! and it doesn't need to rise!) and super-yummy!! Not only was it delectable with the spinach dip I made, but this morning I had it slathered with blackberry jam and it was nom-a-licious! I will definitely be making it again.

Now, the vegan spinach dip was going to be a real treat...I can't tell you how long it has been since I had spinach dip since going vegan! Luckily, I found a recipe from Healthy Happy Life that resulted in a delicious spinach dip that is also significantly healthier than your non-vegan version.It definitely "fooled" my non-veg friends with its decadent (but still healthy) goodness!

I have slightly altered the recipe, but all credit for the recipe and accompanying photos should go to Healthy Happy Life.

 [source]

Vegan Spinach Dip

16 oz. organic frozen spinach, thawed
4 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup pre-soaked raw cashews
1/2 cup raw parsley
1 cup raw arugula
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 can cannellini beans
1/2 cup shredded Daiya white cheese, plus a handful for topping

Directions:

A few hours before making, pre-soak your cashews in water so they soften up. If you don’t have time, you can do the “quick-soak” method 20 minutes before making – just soak the cashews in hot salted water.

1. Thaw your spinach. Do this quickly by soaking the bag in warm water.

2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Add all your ingredients EXCEPT beans and cheese to a food processor. Blend until smooth. Then pulse in the beans. Do a taste test and adjust seasoning to suit your preferences (Kathy provides lots of optional seasoning “add-ins” on her blog, so check out the original recipe).

4. Pour the spinach dip into a heat-safe serving dish. Fold in the Daiya cheese. Then top with a handful of more Daiya cheese.

5. Pop in your pre-heated, 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Once 15 minutes are up, turn the heat up to “Broil”, place the dish on the top shelf of your oven for 5 minutes so the cheese browns and bubbles and gets to that perfect ooey-gooey consistency.

6. Once the time is up, remove from oven and let it cool for a minute. Serve warm with the Irish Soda Bread (or with chips, crisps or veggies).

This spinach dip is filling, satisfying and oh-so mouthwateringly delicious! I definitely liked "tricking" my non-veg friends with this hearty but healthy spinach dip and serving it with the fresh-baked Irish soda bread. They were a perfect accompaniment to our cheesy horror movie double-feature.

Vegan Breakfast Burrito from Seabirds Truck

To enjoy the gorgeous weather today (high 70's), Mister Spooky and I headed to the SoCo Farmer's Market at the OC Mart Mix for brunch. Besides the beautiful produce from local farmers, there is always a tantalizing selection of gourmet food trucks to choose from! I heard from a little birdie that the awesome vegan food truck Seabirds was going to be in attendance, so I was totally stoked, especially since I've been dying to try their new vegan breakfast burrito!

I got there just in time to snag one of their last brekkie burritos...and now I wish I had ordered as many as possible since it was sooooo yummy! The burrito contained a fresh, flavorful mix of tofu scramble, black beans, kale, bell peppers, hash browns, Daiya cheese and was topped off with a delicious green salsa. Just thinking about it is making me drool! It had a rich, savory flavor and I loved the multi-layered blend of ingredients. It was also on the large size for a food truck burrito and very satisfying. Even the non-veg Mister Spooky enjoyed it (when I let him have a bite).

Seabirds always delivers high-quality, healthy and mouthwatering vegan dishes. I adore their jack fruit tacos,  deep-fried avocado tacos (ok, maybe those aren't that healthy...) and cupcakes (and pretty much everything else I've ever had there), but this breakfast burrito is definitely my new favorite!

Keep up with Seabirds on Twitter and Facebook!

Vegan Pizza Party For One

Hey beautiful party people!

It's pizzzzzzza time! To be precise, vegan pizza time! Join me as I recount my fabulous vegan pizza party (for one)...

While browsing the grocery store, I found some awesome (vegan) personal pizza crusts! I am always down for quick 'n' easy meals and loooove pizza, so picking these babies up was a no-brainer.

After I had the crusts taken care of, all I needed to pick up was some tomato sauce, Daiya mozzarella cheese and veggies for topping! Back home I assembled all my pizza fixin's:

Pizza Party Time!

Once I assembled, I popped my delectable dinner in the over for about eight minutes and prepared myself for the awesomness of vegan pizza! 

Now, I've had Daiya before (I'm a big fan of the cheddar kind for grilled cheese sandwiches and nachos! Super-Yum!), but never of the mozzarella variety so I was excited to try it on my pizza.

Gotta get me some of that!

I couldn't wait to get this pizza pie in my belly, so I took a piping hot bite...of HEAVEN! Oh man, I haven't had pizza this good in forever!! The crust was crispy, the Daiya was melted to "cheesy" perfection and the tomato sauce and mushrooms added that extra zing. I gobbled up the pie in like, seriously, two seconds, and eagerly popped a second one in the oven. Ah, pizza gluttony!

If you're interested in making your own vegan pizza, I HIGHLY suggest you check out both the pizza crusts (I used Kontos Hand-Stretched Pizza Parlour Crusts) and Daiya's Mozzarella Style Shreds! They are the key ingredients to my tasty, tasty pizza experience!

So, what are you waiting for? Have your own pizza party for one (or hey, invite some friends over if you aren't greedy like me) with these delicious personal vegan pizzas!