Happy Trails

Date: Friday, July 31
The Delivery: The Everything That Exists CD, Soul of a Dog by Jon Katz, and some trail mix
Staff Pick: Take a hike with Navitas Naturals' new Trail Power mixes

The DL: This trail mix looks a bit more healthy than your average pretzel and chocolate combo. We hope it has just the right amount of sweet and salty goodness.

It's July 31, meaning this is your final chance to vote in the 2009 Veggie Award Survey!

Urban Eats

Date: Thursday, July 30
The Delivery: Several Celsius beverages and a new cookbook
Staff Pick: The metropolis-inspired cookbook, The Urban Vegan

The DL: This is VegNews contributor Dynise Balcavage's first cookbook which complements her Urban Vegan blog. We look forward to trying her city-centric eats!

If you're in the SF Bay area, we'd love to see you at SF Vegan Drinks tonight. Cheers!

Style with a Cause

Date: Tuesday, July 28
The Delivery: A huge gift basket of Natural Balance vegetarian pet food, a couple seasonal gift sets from Pacifica, and some ethical hair-care products
Staff Pick: The color-safe shampoo and conditioner from Save Your World

The DL: This line of body and hair products also has a mission, which is to save the rain forests. For each product sold, one acre of rain forest will be protected for a year. Now that's what we call consuming with a conscious.

Only four days left until polls close for the 2009 Veggie Awards Survey! Hurry up and vote already!

Faux Meat Friday

Date: Friday, July 24
The Delivery: A book, some RFSU vegan condoms, and a bunch of faux meat
Staff Pick: The meat alternatives of Match Meats

The DL: This company donated the entrée for the AR 2009 banquet, and we have to say, it definitely matched our expectations—pun intended. We're looking forward to trying their other alternatives, including a crab stand-in. Cruelty-free crab cakes, anyone?

Healthy Hemp

Date: Thursday, July 23
The Delivery: Some nutrient-packed products
Staff Pick: Manitoba Harvest's Hemp Pro 70

The DL: With 21 grams of protein and all 10 essential amino acids, this water-soluble hemp-protein concentrate will not leave you lacking in the energy department. If you happen to run a marathon after having one of these shakes, go ahead and let us know.

Sunshine Day

Date: Wednesday, July 22
The Delivery: Some veggie burgers and the new Fresh Squeezed lip balm from Crazy Rumors
Staff Pick: Sunshine Burger's Breakfast Patties

The DL: It's not too sunny at the VNHQ, which is why we're happy to see the delivery of these Sunshine Burgers! They may not make the actual sun come out, but they may please our palates. We say, bring on the sunshine—burgers or otherwise.

The Bear Essentials

Date: Tuesday, July 21
The Delivery: A couple of books, some Inspired Cookies, a bunch of Stretch Island fruit leathers, a non-vegan hair product, Larénim Mineral make-up, and some whole-grain granola
Staff Pick: Bear Naked's Fit Granola

The DL: Unfortunately, most of Bear Naked's products contain honey, but we were happy to see that these two products were vegan friendly. Soy-yogurt parfaits, anyone?

Only nine more days to vote for the 2009 Veggie Awards. We would love to have your input!

Scrubbing Away

Date: Wednesday, July 15
The Delivery: A new flavor of Sabra hummus and a body product
Staff Pick: The new sugar scrub from LUSH

The DL: These groovy green scrubs are just in time for summer! It claims to leave your skin smooth and glowing, which is definitely a great plus, but its fresh smell and natural ingredients make us want to scrub away right now.

Indian Inspiration

Date: Monday, July 13
The Delivery: Cookbooks galore (including several of Kristen Suzanne's Easy Raw collection), several Kind Cakes, and some epicurean seasoning blends and oil from Mountain Rose Herbs
Staff Pick: The Indian Vegan Kitchen by Madhu Gadia

The DL: Delicious, authentic Indian fare can be hard to come by if you don't live in a metropolitan area, but it looks like this book could bring the cuisine straight into your kitchen. Can't wait until its October release? Check out these Indian-inspired recipes at VegNews.com!

Bountiful Bouquet

Date: Friday, July 10
The Delivery: A lovely arrangement of fresh fruit
Staff Pick: Edible Arrangements' fruit bouquets are both beautiful and delicious

The DL: Our Editorial Assistant, Charlotte, received this from her parents, Dale and Lori, just because it's Friday. And what a happy Friday it is! Teeming with tropical fruit galore, this colorful and tasty display beats out flowers any day.

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.