Halloween 2019 at Trader Joe's

One of the things I look forward to the most every autumn is the release of Trader Joe's Halloween food! They always have the ghoulest snacks and I stock up on their frightful food every fall. And their vegan options are always to die for (though I wish a few more of their items were vegan - I'm looking at you, pumpkin spice cream cheese!).

Unfortunately for me, I'm hundreds of miles away from a Trader Joe's at the moment. However, I took a recent trip up to Oregon and Washington and made it my mission to seek out Trader Joe's stores up there so I could indulge in some of my favorite fall foods! I got lucky and the Trader Joe's I visited were already filling their shelves with Halloween treats, so I snapped a few pics so I could share all the vegan goodies they have this year.

Take a look at their vegan Halloween food below:

Vegan Beyond Famous Star Burger at Carl's Jr.

Whoa, vegan burger and fries at Carl's Jr.!

This past weekend I finally got around to trying the new Beyond Famous Star burger at Carl's Jr. This plant-based burger featuring a Beyond Meat vegan patty debuted at over 1,000 Carl's Jr. locations at the beginning of January and seems to be a big hit with vegans and carnivores alike! I recently tried the vegan Beyond Avocado Tacos at Del Taco that are being tested in certain markets in SoCal, and I was stoked to try this new option at Carl's Jr., especially since it would be the first time in a long time that I would be able to order a vegan burger at a traditional fast food joint (though the vegetarian fast food restaurant Amy's up in the Bay Area will always have my heart!).

Vegan Beyond Avocado Taco from Del Taco

Beyond Avocado Taco and fries at Del Taco

This past December, Del Taco unveiled Beyond Meat at a select few of their locations in Southern California to test out the plant-based meat alternative before hopefully expanding nationwide. This is a HUGE deal and if it is successful, would give so many people access to try vegan food. It means that people want more vegan options and that companies are listening to them. It also means that more people will be exposed to vegan options, and that vegan food is becoming more and more mainstream! I am so, so stoked on this, and couldn't be more excited about Beyond Meat being available at select Del Taco fast food restaurants. Check out my review of their Beyond Avocado Taco below...

27 Must-Have Vegan Holiday Finds at Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe's has so many festively fun vegan holiday items this year, including new ones as well as returning favorites! Each year Trader Joe's unveils more and more vegan products, and I always look forward to seeing what treats they bring us during the holidays. Plus, many of Trader Joe's holiday items make great gifts or fun foodie stocking stuffers, so keep that it mind next time you're browsing the aisles of your local Trader Joe's.

I spent my grocery trip to Trader Joe's this past weekend scouting out all the new and returning vegan holiday products, and wanted to share my finds with you! Please note, all of these items are from Trader Joe's stores located in Orange County, California, so stock and prices may vary by region. Many of these items are seasonal and only available for a limited time, so be sure to grab them while you can!

Below find my 27 Must-Have Vegan Holiday Finds From Trader Joe's:

10 Spooktacular Vegan Recipes For Halloween

I haven't had a chance to do that much cooking or baking this Halloween season, so I thought it would be fun to revisit some of my Halloween recipes from the past ten years (wow, I can't believe it's been 10 years since I started this blog!!). I am by no means a pro at baking or cooking, but I always love putting a spooky spin on recipes - it is so much more fun to eat Halloweenized food, am I right?!

Below you'll find some of my fave past recipes, from eerie appetizers to creepy cookies! All recipes are vegan and contain no animal ingredients, because no one wants that trick for Halloween.

10 Spooktacular Halloween Recipes to make this Halloween season:

The Curious Confectionery's Pumpkin Spice Popcorn Balls

Popcorn balls are a timeless treat that we don't see enough of nowadays! They always remind me of autumn and Halloween, so I was extremely excited when The Curious Confectionery released their limited-edition Pumpkin Spice flavor this year. I was lucky enough to receive this flavor for review, and I couldn't be more pumped! First, a little more about the delightful duo who run The Curious Confectionery...

Food Review: The Curious Confectionery Popcorn Balls

The Curious Confectionery creates handcrafted artisan popcorn balls to tickle your tastebuds and satisfy your sweet tooth. All of their creations are crafted without animal products and made with incredible ingredients. The company was started by its founder when she realized there was no tasty treat that was both sweet, crunchy and salty. That's when she realized that old-fashioned popcorn balls were what she craved! She started making these for her friends, who urged her to start selling them. Thus, The Curious Confectionery was born!

17 Vegan Holiday Finds at Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's has a variety of vegan holiday goodies that make it easy to get into the festive spirit. Many old favorites have returned (Candy Cane Joe Joe's! Chocolate Peppermint Almond Drink!), and a few new vegan goodies have popped up on shelves.

While I get much more excited for their bounty of autumn vegan items I still love seeing so many winter holiday treats that vegans can enjoy, bring to holiday get-togethers, and share with friends and family!

Below you'll find the vegan holiday food that I saw on shelves at Trader Joe's - remember that most of these are seasonal products that are available for only a limited time, so grab them while you can!

Trader Joe's 2017 Seasonal Pumpkin Items

I look forward to Trader Joe's seasonal pumpkin food items every autumn, and they rarely disappoint! They have a great selection of pumpkin and autumn food, many of which are vegan. I start stalking their stores for pumpkin items in mid-September, and when I finally find all their seasonal stuff out, I go a little nuts buying all my faves!

My local Trader Joe's finally put out most of their autumn food items, and while there aren't many new items, I was stoked to be able to stock up on my old favorites. Check out all the vegan pumpkin foods and other fun autumn items I found at Trader Joe's this year below:

Spooky Travels: San Diego Mini Get-Away

San Diego's Museum of Man at Balboa Park

Apologies that I have not been updating as much as I would like here, but things have been so busy lately (in a good way) that I haven't had much spare time to do things I enjoy, like write here! I did want to share with you a mini get-away I was able to take last month. I recently got promoted at work, so I decided to treat myself to a quick weekend get-away in San Diego. San Diego isn't very far from me (about an hour and a half to two hours), but I hardly ever get down there. I had been wanting to try some new vegan restaurants down there, so I booked an AirBnB for Mister Spooky and I and we took a Friday off to visit SD.

15 Vegan Holiday Finds at Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's holiday products are now available and I recently took a spin through my local store to see what items were vegan. Unlike their bounty of autumn vegan items (covered HERE), it seems like their winter vegan offerings are a little lacking. However, I was still able to find a bunch of delicious vegan options for the holidays. Some of these are new, others are old favorites, but all of them are only available for a limited time this holiday season, so grab them while you can!

Boulder Organic Garden Minestrone Soup

Boulder Organic Garden Minestrone Soup

At the beginning of summer, Boulder Organic was kind enough to send me some coupons to try their pre-prepared soups, of which they have a few hearty vegan options. However, since it was summertime and hot I was in no mood for soup (unless it was ice cream soup, had a lot of that over the summer!). Luckily, the weather FINALLY seems to have cooled down here in SoCal and I excitedly busted out these coupons when I felt the chill in the air.

Hugo's Tacos in Los Angeles, CA

Churros and crispy soy chorizo tacos

Hugo's Tacos is a small walk-up taco stand in the Atwater Village area of Los Angeles (they have other locations as well) with clearly marked vegan options. I have been dying to check this place out, and since I spent a weekend not to far from this location in October I was able to visit twice! Cuz we all know you can never have enough tacos, right?!

Their menu is pretty big, and most of their items are veganizable (or already vegan). They have tacos, burritos, nachos, burgers, tamales, tortas, breakfast burritos, and even churros and soft serve, all of which can be made vegan! Everything on their menu is clearly marked as vegan or items which can be made vegan. They also have clear distinctions for items that are or can be made gluten-free and vegetarian. I really appreciated how easy their menu was to read and how easy they make it to order vegan items!

Vegetable in Studio City, CA

There are so many vegan or vegan-friendly restaurants in Southern California that I have a running wish list of those I haven't been able to get to yet. There are SO MANY I haven't visited yet, and Vegetable used to be one of them, despite rave reviews I've heard about it.

The restaurant is tucked away in Studio City, right below Universal Studios. It is located where SunCafe used to be, and I have to say I love what they have done with the space! The ambiance is cozy, even though I feel like they were able to squeeze more tables in. I also love the black chalkboard wall on one side and a brick wall on the other side. It feels modern and retro at the same time, if that makes sense.

Trader Joe's 2016 Seasonal Pumpkin Items

I LOVE how Trader Joe's goes all-out during autumn and makes pumpkin EVERYTHING! I haunt their stores all September waiting for their seasonal pumpkin items to hit the shelves, and when they do I go a little crazy trying all their vegan pumpkin options! 

I feel like this year is better than ever, with tons of new pumpkin food and old favorites returning! I took pics in-store of all the vegan options I found and I'm sharing this year's Trader Joe's pumpkin extravaganza below:

What I Ate: July Junk Food Edition

Tex Mex Taco Fries - made with Trader Joe's shoestring fries, Trader Joe's Soy

Chorizo, a cilantro pesto sauce and creamy garlic Alfredo crema (recipes in

the June edition of VegNews), tomatoes, jalapenos, onions.

From the pics below, it looks like I have subsisted on a diet of only vegan donuts, pizza, and sweets this July! Well, maybe that isn't too far from the truth, haha, but perhaps in the future I'll take pics of healthier meals (and try to eat healthier more often...maybe?). All the glorious food in this post is, as always, vegan, and I love sharing these posts with readers so they can see that vegans don't only eat salads.

So here is some of the delicious vegan junk food that I enjoyed this July!

Restaurant Review: By Chloe in Los Angeles, CA

I finally got to try the brand new By Chloe that opened recently in the new 365 by Whole Foods market up in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles. Of course, I have been drooling over the original By Chloe restaurants that opened in New York City, so you can imagine how excited I was that we got our very own version here in SoCal!! Since this version of By Chloe is attached to the Whole Foods store, it is a little small, but I think they did a great job with utilizing the space, and there is a variety of seating, from a larger communal-style table, to bistro-type seating and even a few little booths. The design itself mirrors that of the NYC By Chloe restaurant and is fresh, airy, and adorable.

Recap: Eat Drink Vegan Festival 2016 (formerly LA Vegan Beer + Food Fest)

Eat Drink Vegan!

This past Saturday saw record temperatures in the high 90s and low 100s, but that certainly didn't stop folks from heading out in droves to Eat Drink Vegan, or the festival formerly known as the Los Angeles Vegan Beer and Food Fest! In spite of the heat, it was an incredible event filled with tons of vegan food, beverages, products, and lots of good cheer from those attending! I had a blast, and wanted to share a recap of the fest with you!

10 Must-Try Eats at the LA Vegan Beer + Food Fest

The Los Angeles Vegan Beer and Food Festival is almost here and I cannot wait! This Saturday, June 18th hordes of vegan and veg-curious folks will descend upon the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to eat and drink all the vegan things! I have been drooling over all the photos from last weekend's Portland Vegan Beer and Food Fest (I MUST go next year), and I am so, so excited for this weekend to get here! I've been stalking a lot of the restaurants that will be serving up delicious food in just a few days, and a few have really popped out at me as being "must-try" eats! FYI - I'm in it for the food rather than the booze, so I don't have any beverage recommendations for you (though I am looking forward to kombucha and cold brew!).

Recipe: Vegan BBQ Chick'n Pizza

Pizza is my fave food group and I'll pretty much demolish any vegan pizza put in front of me. Recently I was craving a BBQ chick'n pizza, and realized I hadn't enjoyed one in quite some time! I drool over a zesty BBQ chick'n pizza, and once I whipped up this quick and easy recipe it made me question why I don't make this type of pizza more often!

This pizza is super simple, and with the help of of few pre-prepared ingredients it comes together in less than 20 minutes - that's prep and cooking time combined! This pizza doesn't require too many ingredients and is very tasty! It's so easy to throw together that I kinda feel silly sharing it here, but I thought, what the heck, everyone needs more vegan BBQ chick'n pizza in their life!