The New Beyond Burger from Beyond Meat

I have been intrigued with the new Beyond Burger (the vegan burger that the media has dubbed "the burger that bleeds" due to its juiciness and use of beet juice as food coloring) ever since I first heard about it earlier this year. It is an all-vegan burger that is very close in appearance, texture and taste to the "real" thing. To be honest, the concept freaked me out a little and I wondered if I would be able to handle such a "meaty" vegan burger! This vegan burger REALLY blends into the meat section of the grocery store, and without its packaging in a side by side comparison I bet most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the Beyond Burger and a beef burger.

Hangar Bar at Whole Foods Market in Tustin, CA

Hangar Bar's vegan Cauliflower Nachos and Beast Burger with fries!

Whole Foods Market at The District in Tustin, California just got a major overhaul that included the additions of a brand new Mendocino Farms and Hangar Bar inside the store! This is the Whole Foods I frequent the most, so I am ecstatic to have two new restaurants inside the store that offer lots of vegan options! Now I can grab a bite before shopping, because we all know shopping hungry at Whole Foods just leads to trouble.

I've already had Mendocino Farms, so I decided to try some of the vegan options at Hangar Bar, which of course also has a full bar serving lots of beer on tap as well as specialty drinks. Since I'm not much of a drinker, I went straight for the food! I was surprised at how many vegan options they did offer, each of which was clearly marked with a green circle with the world "vegan" inside it (just be careful since the vegetarian options are also marked with a green circle - the only difference is that they say "veg").

Food Review: I Heart Keenwah Quinoa Puffs

I had my first taste of I Heart Keenwah's Quinoa Puffs at last month's Expo West, where they were one of the best things I sampled (you can read about my top 10 picks from Expo HERE!). I have been craving these delightfully crunchy snacks, in both sweet and savory varieties, ever since then! Their vegan flavors of savory quinoa puffs include Sea Salt Truffle, Sweet Chili, and Herbes de Provence. These are like cheesy puffs all grown up, with refined flavors and crunchy texture! Their chocolate puffs come in two flavors (both vegan!), Dark Chocolate Himalayan Pink Salt and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter, and taste like vegan malt balls! Are you drooling yet? 

Food Review: Sweet Earth's Farmstand Flaxbread Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

Sweet Earth Foods Farmstand Flaxbread Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

Sweet Earth Natural Foods makes some of my favorite vegan products, from their Benevolent Bacon to their Big Sur breakfast burrito to their veggie burgers! They are not a strictly vegan company (though all their vegan products are clearly labeled as "vegan"), but their vegan options are high quality and delicious, and I've never had a vegan product of theirs I didn't like!

I recently tried one of their newest products, their Farmstand Flaxbread Vegan Breakfast Sandwich. It's made with their Harmless Ham, a spicy chickpea patty, and topped with a sundried tomato spread, all cushioned between two fluffy pieces of bread. I found it in the freezer section of Whole Foods. There are two sandwiches per package, which will set you back about $5.50. They are the easiest breakfast sammies to make - you just take them out of their wrappers, stick them in the microwave for about a minute and a half, and enjoy!

Food Review: Neat Meat Replacement Mixes

Neat booth at Expo West 2015

While covering the Natural Products Expo West last month (read my recap here!), I was lucky enough to stop by the Neat booth, where I sampled their breakfast mix and was blown away at the how good it tasted! I knew that I needed to try ALL of their mix flavors and the kind folks at the family-owned Neat were kind enough to send me all their products for review.

Neat offers meat replacements that come in a dry mix, and you just need to add water and an egg replacer (like their Neat Egg, made from chia seeds and garbanzo beans) to make them! They offer a variety of flavors to suit any occasion! They have an Italian Mix, perfect for pastas and lasagna, a Mexican Mix, great for tacos and nachos, an Original Mix, awesome for burgers and chili, and a Breakfast Mix, ideal for sausages and quiches.

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!

Food Review: Barre Bar - Ballerina Spirulina

In my vegan Conscious Box last month I received a rather intriguing-looking food bar called Barre, which is marketed as “a real food bar developed by two professional dancers (made with whole foods for real athletes)”. To be honest, I was sold on the cute name of the particular bar I received, which was “Ballerina Spirulina”!

I have always wanted to try spirulina, a superfood packed with awesome nutrients, so I figured this bar was a good start! I had it for breakfast during a hectic work morning in hopes that the natural and good for you ingredients would power me through ‘til lunch.

I was struck by the purity of the ingredients, which included dates, walnuts, agave, hemp seed, rolled oats, hemp protein, ground flax seed, coconut flakes, brown rice protein, spirulina, vanilla, sea salt and peanuts! No weird unpronounceable ingredients here and it contains all whole food ingredients, no refined sugars and is high in omega-3s.

The initial taste of the bar was pretty good, and it had a nutty, slightly coconut-like taste. However, the spirulina aftertaste was a little too strong for my liking, especially since I had never had spirulina before and wasn't quite sure what to expect! Although the aftertaste was a bit off-putting, I finished the whole bar and it actually filled me up and kept me full until lunch (about 3 – 3.5 hours). I usually have Luna or Larabars, and while I love them both, they usually don’t keep me full all morning. I gotta give props to the Barre bar for keeping me going through a busy morning!

The nutritional value of the bar is pretty impressive. One bar contains 210 calories, 11 grams of total fat (1 gram saturated fat and 0 grams trans fat) and 25 grams of carbohydrates, with 4 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein. I also liked how the bar incorporates hemp, flax, oats, brown rice protein and spirulina along with the nuts and coconut, making it nutritious and wholesome.

If spirulina isn't your bag (and I’m not sure it is mine), there are other flavors to try, like Black Swan Chocolate Berry and Pirouette Cinnamon Pecan (dying to try that one!). I would definitely buy the Barre Bar again (just maybe not in the Ballerina Spirulina flavor) and recommend it for its whole food ingredients and how long it keeps you full and satisfied.

Find more info at realfoodbarre.com!

Spicy Tofu Tacos

My boyfriend made the yummiest spicy tofu tacos the other night and I just couldn't wait to share the recipe with you all!

Doesn't this just make you salivate:

The picture doesn't really do it justice!

Ingredients:

1 package extra firm tofu
1 small can Mexican hot style tomato sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced
1 green jalapeño, chopped
1/2 cup cooked black beans

Drain tofu and press it for a few hours. We usually wrap drained tofu in paper towels, place it on a plate and stack a heavy bookend on it to expel as much water as possible out of it.

When you are done pressing the tofu, crumble it into chunks and marinate it in the hot tomato sauce for as long as possible (up to 24 hours) to give the tofu a chance to absorb all the flavors.

 We use El Pato Mexican Hot Style Tomato Sauce

Bonus: It's only about 50 cents a can!

Heat the olive oil in a pan, then lightly saute the diced onion and chopped up jalapeño until slightly cooked (do not brown). Toss in black beans and tofu, including any leftover marinade; cook until heated through, about 8 - 10 minutes.

Serve on a bed of romaine lettuce on corn tortillas and top with fresh tomatoes and salsa or hot sauce, if desired.

Gratuitous close up:

Food Review: Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer - Mixed Berry Complex

Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer is a meal replacement shake I've been taking for about 2 months now. According to their official site, Vega is:

Formulated by Brendan Brazier, vegan, professional Ironman triathlete and best-selling author on performance nutrition, Vega is made exclusively from natural plant-based whole foods.

A synergistic collection of Brendan's favorite plant-based superfoods, Vega is not only a complete meal replacement, but also an ideal daily health-optimizing supplement.