Couple of Cookies

Date: Wednesday, July 8
The Delivery: Some freshly baked goods from our lovely lunch-guests
Staff Pick: The cookies and cinnamon rolls from Nabolom Bakery

The DL: We welcomed two guests to Café VegNews today, and they were so kind as to bring some treats from this vegan-friendly bakery in Oakland. We have to admit that we've already broken into these sweets, and yes, our sweet-teeth are satisfied.

Freshly Baked

Date: Tuesday, July 7
The Delivery: Two books, Blum Naturals facial towlettes, and fresh baked goods
Staff Pick: A box full of pastries from Violet Sweet Shoppe

The DL: This box of sweet treats was hand-delivered to the office as a lovely afternoon surprise. Inside sit a slice of banana bread, a blueberry-lemon scone, and a piece of cinnamon raisin coffee cake (just to name a few)! We're off to enjoy a pastry-filled high tea...next to our computers.

Color Me Kombucha

Date: Monday, July 6
The Delivery: Several colorful bottles of Kombucha
Staff Pick: Kombucha Botanica

The DL: Though it was the only delivery today, some of us love an afternoon fizzy beverage. And with colors as vibrant as the Pomegranate's pink and the Ginger Tulsi's orange, they aren't too bad to look at, either.

Fruity Friday

Date: Friday, July 3
The Delivery: Some Spa Time Baby products and new snack-bars from PROBAR
Staff Pick: The antioxidant-rich Fruition bars

The DL: PROBAR has gone au naturel with these snack bars, made with fruit and whole grains. If they taste as good as the original bars, then they'll be eaten in record time.

Cooking with a Conscious

Date: Thursday, July 2
The Delivery: A galley copy of a brand new cookbook by Tal Ronnen
Staff Pick: Tal is looking to change the way people eat with his book, The Conscious Cook

The DL: The Old Bay Tofu Cakes alone make us want to dig into this book! And with the author being Tal Ronnen, a 2008 Veggie Award winner, we're sure that this book has tons to offer. Speaking of Veggie Awards, go vote for your favorites in the 2009 survey.

A Very Talented Youngster

Date: Wednesday, July 1
The Delivery: Two books, one vegan, one not-so-vegan
Staff Pick: Generation V by 19-years old Claire Askew

The DL: This book is a guide for teenage vegans, by a teenage vegan, and covers topics from how to tell your parents that you've adopted the lifestyle to how to get out of dissection assignments. There's no doubt that Claire gets the staff-pick award for being such a motivated young adult. Speaking of awards, polls for the 2009 Veggie Awards are now open! Vote for your favorites in nearly 50 categories, and have a chance to win incredible prizes.

Not Your Ordinary Lunch Box

Date: Tuesday, June 30
The Delivery: Two books and some gluten-free tortillas from French Meadow Bakery
Staff Pick: Vegan Lunch Box Around the World by Jennifer McCann

The DL: This new cookbook takes Vegan Lunch Box a step further with lunch recipes from 13 different countries. From Baked Falafel to Vietnamese Salad Rolls, this book looks to satisfy any craving you might have. You just might want to buy a lock for your lunch box!

Get ready! Polls open tomorrow at 9am for the 2009 Veggie Awards. Vote for your favorites in nearly 50 categories, and have a chance to win incredible prizes.

Not Just For Kids

Date: Monday, June 29
The Delivery: A good amount of reading material, Kombucha and Rejuvelac from the Rejuvenation Company, an Anti-Lick Strip from Nurtured Pets, and some new LäraBars
Staff Pick: The Peanut Butter Blisscrisp Jam Frakas

The DL: This bar may say it's for kids, but we're going to eat it anyway. Who says that peanut butter and chocolate-flavored snack bars are only for little ones? Definitely not the VN Staffers!

Update! These bars contain honey and are not vegan. So sorry for the mistake!

Book Worm Weekend

Date: Friday, June 26
The Delivery: Two books to browse
Staff Pick: The Snoring Gourmet: Recipes to Help You Stop Snoring

The DL: With the impending weekend, it's a perfect time to test out snooze-proof recipes on loved ones! The cookbook offers a a natural way to mute the nighttime noise, but we wish it were vegan. Here's to a restful weekend!

Thirsty Thursday

Date: Thursday, June 25
The Delivery: You guessed it—more kombucha
Staff Pick: The Wild Root flavor of High Country kombucha

The DL: We've heard from the grapevine that this flavor tastes similar to root beer. Kombucha floats, anyone?

Get ready! Voting for the 2009 Veggie Awards, the world's largest survey of vegetarian products, people, and places, starts July 1. Vote for your favorites in nearly 50 categories, and have a chance to win incredible prizes.

Dog Day Afternoon

Date: Wednesday, June 24
The Delivery: A crazy amount of G.T.'s Kombucha, a box full of yarns (non-vegan), and a nifty bag by Lazy Dog Designs
Staff Pick: This Farmers Market Bag (modeled here by VN Editorial Assistant Kailey Harless) is not your ordinary reusable-bag

The DL: Designer Barb Frances has farmers market-shopping down to a tee—as shown by this awesome bag. It has separate pockets for fruit, vegetables, and money, and even has an outside pocket for re-used plastic bags. Now that's what we call thrifty shopping!

Jonesing for Java

Date: Tuesday, June 23
The Delivery: The new Moby CD, a book by Janet Chadwick, and an extra-special appliance
Staff Pick: There's definitely no more snoozing at the VNHQ with this Cuisinart coffee-maker

The DL: The number of coffee drinkers on staff has grown recently, and our little four-cup coffee pot was not getting the job done. The more sophisticated one you see below has come to our rescue, and we can't wait to brew a fresh pot!

Sweet Starter

Date: Friday, June 19
The Delivery: Some sweets and supplies from Nasoya
Staff Pick: Preparing strawberry shortcake is super easy with the strawberry Silken Creations dessert starter

The DL: Sometimes you need a little help to make a delicious dessert, and this new product claims to do just that. We can't wait to give this product a go in the kitchen; we can make our pie and eat it too!

Sweet Ladybug

Date: Thursday, June 18
The Delivery: More baked goods from Pure Sweets, a new vegan bakery in Philadelphia
Staff Pick: Every product from this bakery looks incredible, but the Ladybug bars just look too good to pass up

The DL: Vegan bakeries are on the rise, as you can see by the vast amount of baked goods being delivered to the VNHQ. We are seriously going into sugar-induced comas right now, but that is not a complaint!

Never Too Late for Sweets

Date: Wednesday, June 17
The Delivery: Cookies from Emily's Desserts, a body-care product from The Body Deli, and some treats from a new vegan bakery
Staff Pick: The Twinkie-like Vanilla Canoe Boats from X's to O's Vegan Bakery

The DL: We were feeling a little put-out today at the VNHQ, with literally no product arrivals almost the entire afternoon. That is, until the postman drove up at exactly 4 pm with two boxes full of vegan baked goods! We're currently pleased as punch.