Food Review: Gardein Pizza Pockets

Gardein Meatless Pepperoni Pizza Pockets

Helloooooo tasty convenience...these new Meatless Pepperoni Pizza Pockets from the lovely folks at Gardein hit stores in the last few months. I tried them at Expo West in March, and had picked up a box in a grocery store soon after that, but somehow these Pizza Pockets got buried in my freezer (behind the wall of other Gardein products, haha). I chanced upon them in the depths of my freezer a few days ago and it was quite a nice surprise, especially since it was one of those days where I was looking for something quick and easy to eat.

These beauties are shaped like buns, about 2 inches in diameter, and are stuffed full of yummy goodness, including pepperoni and mozzarella. Like all other Gardein products, they are vegan and contain non-GMO ingredients. I was curious to try them, since they seem so similar to Tofurky's Pepperoni Pizza Pockets that came out a few years ago (my review) as well as Gardein's own Pocket Meals that I had tried last year (my review). I enjoy most vegan foods that are fast, convenient, delicious, and come encased in a bun, so I hoped to add these Pizza Pockets to my arsenal of go-to on-the-go vegan products!

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: Gardein Sweet and Sour Porkless Bites

It is just so darn cool how easy being vegan has become! Pretty much any kind of food is available in a vegan version nowadays, and more and more people are choosing compassionate meals! Gardein is a huge contributor to making being vegan so easy with their plant-based, protein-packed vegan meats! Gardein has been a favorite ever since they hit the market a few short years ago, and they keep amazing me with their products. Their newest product, along with their Crabless Cakes [review] is their Sweet and Sour Porkless Bites.

I have tried these before at Expo West (where they made my top 10 list!), and have been impatiently waiting for them to hit stores. I finally found them at Ralph's grocery store (they also are carrying the new Crabless Cakes!) this past October and did a happy dance! I loved these at Expo, and couldn't wait to sink my teeth into these cruelty-free bites again!

Food Review: Gardein Mini Crispy Crabless Cakes

Earlier this year at Expo West, I remember trying Gardein's new Mini Crispy Crabless Cakes and thinking that I couldn't wait for them to be available in stores! Well, I after many months of dreaming about them, I finally found them for sale at Fresh and Easy! I remember their texture and flavor being really great, so I couldn't wait to make them at home to see if they were as good as I remember them tasting.

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: Gardein Pocket Meals

Gardein Pocket Meals in Italian Meatless Sausage

 with Roasted Red Peppers and Spinach

The Gardein Pocket Meals debuted recently, and I picked some up at Whole Foods in early February. They are shaped like little buns (or dinner rolls, as described on the package) and stuffed full of delicious vegan ingredients. The varieties I picked up were the Italian Meatless Sausage with Roasted Red Peppers and Spinach and the BBQ Pulled Porkless Shreds. These are convenience meals, so don't expect them to be too healthy, however they pack between 6 to 10 grams of protein, and do not contain genetically modified soy, wheat, or canola.

Tricks and Treats to Beat the Heat (Guest Blog on Cowgirls and Collard Greens Site)

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

When the adorable vegan cowgirl Kayle Martin of Cowgirls and Collard Greens asked me to guest blog on her site, I jumped at the chance! I have been a long-time admirer of Kayle, adore her site, and even got to meet her in person at Expo West (yes, she is as sweet in person as she is online!). I was truly honored/excited to guest blog on her site, so please giddy-up on over to Cowgirls and Collard Greens to read about my tricks and treats to beat the summer heat.  

Please check out my article on Cowgirls and Collard Greens or continue reading below. And in the immortal words of the vegan cowgirl herself, Yeehaw!!  

Food Review: Gardein Golden Fishless Filets

Gardein's Fishless Filets

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

Do you remember how I (and so many others) raved about Gardein’s new Golden Fishless Filets when they debuted at Expo West (if not, here is a refresher!)? Well, I have been anxiously awaiting these golden nuggets of goodness to turn up in stores, and at the beginning of July Fresh and Easy started carrying them! I had already stocked up on Follow Your Heart’s Vegan Tartar Sauce (it was already anxiously awaiting the arrival of the filets at home), so I was all ready to have these little pieces of heaven back in my mouth again…I just hoped that they tasted as good as I remember them tasting.

My Top 10 Vegan Products at Natural Products Expo West

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

This year was the first time I attended the Natural Products Expo West, held every year at the Anaheim Convention Center, which is only about 20 minutes from my house. I was super-excited to be able to attend the Expo, where companies show off their latest and greatest products. Lots of vegan companies were in attendance (represent!), so I was able to check out many, many new products as well as stuffing my face with samples of my favorite vegan foods. Yes, I ate LOTS and LOTS of samples, but it was all for you, dear readers! I just HAD to eat every vegan thing in sight so I could dutifully report my findings to you, right? Righhhhhtttt...

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!

Food Review: Gardein Slow Cooked Barbecue Riblets

My local Fresh n Easy store is pretty awesome...it carries loads of vegan goodies like Daiya cheese, So Delicious ice cream and Gardein products! They added quite a few Gardein products lately, and the other day I was delighted to find Gardein's vegan Slow Cooked Barbecue Riblets!

Do you remember when Gardenburger used to make THE vegan riblet a few years back? I was sooooo pissed when they stopped making those! Of course, we have Morningstar's version of riblets, but they just seemed pricier than what Gardenburger used to charge, so I have gone without vegan riblets for a long time.

So, you can imagine my glee when I saw that riblets from Gardein were available! Now, I'm not sure how long these have been on the market, but since I haven't seen them available before I imagine they must be relatively new.

There are two riblets per pack and I paid either $3.99 or $4.99 for them (apologies for not having the exact amount...I was too excited to try these and didn't pay that much attention to prices!). You prepare them by taking them and all their lovely BBQ sauce out of their packets and sticking them in the microwave for a few minutes. The scent that fills the kitchen while you are making these will definitely get your mouth watering!

I served my riblets on some hamburger buns, but there are tons of different ways to enjoy these, such as over rice with some veggies. I wanted something summer-y, though, so on a bun it went!

It was love at first bite! The riblet is tender, flavorful and is a delicious, cruelty-free substitute! I loved the tangy yet sweet BBQ sauce and the texture was just spot-on. It was filling without being heavy and left me feeling happy and satisfied!

Bravo (again) to Gardein for creating another outstanding faux meat dish! With products like these, I don't understand while people still choose to eat dead animal flesh!

For more info on Gardein and where to find their products (even major grocery stores are carrying their products now), please visit their website!

Gardein Vegan BBQ Pulled Shreds

I recently picked up my first Gardein product, their Meat-Free BBQ Pulled Shreds! I've been dying to try a Gardein product and while on vacation I decided to try these tasty looking "shreds".

The shreds are super easy to prepare - just pierce the bag they come in, pop them in the microwave for 2 minutes and they are ready to go! I piled mine on slices of bread and made a tasty sandwich. I didn't even need any other condiments because the BBQ marinate on the shreds was so hearty.

I took my first bite and found the shreds to be really flavorful! I don't know how Gardein did it, but even the texture mimicked that of pulled pork. Kinda disturbing, to tell the truth. Still, it was very good and surprisingly filling. I was stuffed after one sandwich.

Gardein makes many different kinds of meat-free "mock meats", from Buffalo Wings to Chick'n Scallopini, and I can't wait to try more of their products!! Not only are they good for you, but they are also good for the planet! Read all about it on Gardein's site.

These Meat-Free BBQ Pulled Shreds are so close to the real thing that I'm surprised people still insist on murdering animals to satisfy their flesh cravings instead of sticking to these meat-free alternatives. Hopefully people will begin to see the health, environmental and ethical benefits in switching to plant-based alternatives like Gardein products and will leave the flesh-eating to the zombies!!

For more info and a complete list of products and where to find them, visit Gardein's site!