Frozen Goodies

The Date: Thursday, September 30

The Delivery: New treats from Tofutti
Staff Pick: Flowers by Tofutti frozen desserts

The DL: Finally, the ice cream has found its proper home—our new offices! These chocolate-covered delights are filled with Tofutti frozen dessert made from blend of edible flower nectars. They sound almost as good as the Sake Pomegranate Lemonade martinis will be sipping on tonight at SF Vegan Drinks. All of you out in the Bay Area should probably come sip, eat veggie dogs, and chat with us tonight at Martuni's. After all, with the SF World Veg Festival happening this weekend, this might be one of the most vegan-friendly weekends of the year!

Non-Profit Themed Book

The Date: Wednesday, September 29

The Delivery: A book
Staff Pick: Giving Voice to Your Cause by Pamela Ziemann

The DL: Mail is still slow (what we wouldn't give for a repeat truffle day), but we did get this book aimed at helping people involved with non-profits, who deserve all the help they can get! Speaking of non-profits, the World Heart Federation puts on this week's World Heart Day, and VegNews is honoring the event with a brand new episode on VegNews TV featuring nutrition and cooking instructor Katherine Lawrence, who shares her recipe for heart-smart vegan eggs benedict. Check it out!

This Just In: VegNews Staffers

The Date: Tuesday, September 28

The Delivery: VegNews staffers to the new office
Staff Pick: NEW OFFICES!

The DL: You may have heard that today is our first day in our new space, and we're pretty darn happy about it. Mail might be a little slow, but we're finding it hard to care on such an exciting day. Enjoy a sneak peek at our swanky space, with plenty of windows to let in the beautiful fall sunshine that we didn't get a whole lot of in the Outer Sunset district. Though the photos don't do it justice since the whole building would require a photo essay, above is our lovely reception room, and below is part of the editorial room. VegNews is moving onwards and upwards!

Moving Day Goodies

The Date: Thursday, September 23

The Delivery: Whole Foods Goodies
Staff Pick: Whole Foods 365 Brand Sandwich Cookies

The DL: These cookies are pretty much necessary to counter-balance the total chaos here at VNHQ today as our office is being dismantled in preparation for our big move over to the Mission District on Monday. This is our last day in the office, since tomorrow will be all about preparing for our VegNews Great Big Garage Sale this weekend! Yes, that's right, if you live in San Francisco, you can come out on Saturday or Sunday and purchase a piece of the old VegNews. We'll be selling vegan products, books, furniture, kitchen appliances, and more. Hope to see you there!

Truffles! Lots of them!

The Date: Wednesday, September 22

The Delivery: Truffles and chocolates galore.
Staff Pick: Nicobella Organics chocolate-covered nut clusters.

The DL: Um, THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER. Just look at all those truffles! Sadly, we must wait tortuously until a few other brands arrive before conducting our definitive, extra-official, very serious truffle taste-test which will appear in the January+February 2011 issue. Fortunately, Nicobella Organics knows what's up, because they also sent us their new chocolate-covered nut clusters. We are dying to dig into the Dark Chocolate Maple Pecans, which feature a touch of sea salt, and "a touch of sea salt" is the best thing you can do to chocolate. (You heard it here first!) Pair that with Elizabeth's Quinoa Salmon Salad, and you have one amazing Wednesday of food.

Cereal and Books

The Date: Tuesday, September 21

The Delivery: Two books and some Kashi Go Lean cereals, of which only the Toasted Berry Crumble variety was vegan.
Staff Pick: Fresh and Fast Vegan by Amanda Grant

The DL: A cover packed with colorful and delicious-looking vegan food always does it for us; kind of like oh, you know—the cover of our current food issue. (Pizza, anyone?) Fresh and Fast Vegan is packed with recipes for everything from Crispy Polenta Peppers and Zucchini with Balsamic Vinegar to Warm Hazelnut Scones with Fruit Salsa, all promising to come together in a snap.

Carbs & Nuts

The Date: Monday, September 20

The Delivery: Dave's Killer Bread, Wilderness Poets trail mixes, Grassroots Granookies cookies, and Mom's Vegan Kitchen pancake and waffle mix
Staff Pick: Dave's Killer Bread

The DL: Having never tried this reputedly "killer" bread, we were thrilled when Associate Publisher Colleen Holland brought back a loaf from the Portland VegFest 2010. The whole grain bread looks incredibly fresh despite its journey to California, and is packed full of fiber and protein. Each slice is only 75 calories, which we'll pretend to care about while we indulge in our favorite form of carb as a vehicle for the delicious nut butters that came in on Friday.

Queso, Cookies, and Nut Butters

The Date: Friday, September 17

The Delivery: Vegan queso from a Nacho Mom, Bountiful Vegan cookies that care about our well-being, and poetic nut butters from Wilderness Poets; a whole slew of cleverly-marketed delicious-sounding products!
Staff Pick: Nacho Mom's Vegan Queso

The DL: There's something about Friday afternoon that screams queso, beer, and a patio. Since there's nothing but fog out here in the Outer Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco, and beer will have to wait until post-work, we're cracking open a jar of what Nacho Mom promises us will be the "ultimate vegan queso." As for the weekend, Associate Publisher Colleen Holland took off early to jet to PDX for the VegNews sponsored Portland VegFest 2010. Make sure to stop by the VegNews booth and say hi if you're lucky enough to be living in or visiting the vegan mecca of the Northwest!

Gourmet Goodie Basket!

The Date: Thursday, September 16

The Delivery: An absolutely decadent display of sweets and treats from Allison's Gourmet
Staff Pick: How could you ever choose just one of these desserts? We're going to have to say...all of them.

The DL: After suffering from a case of the Wednesdays (is that a thing?), the moods at the VNHQ were seriously lifted when a surprise gift basket arrived moments before our departure last evening. It was from our good friend and columnist Allison of Allison's Gourmet, sending us thanks and well wishes as we gear up for the big move. Are you ready for your mouth to water? Because here is what was included in the basket: Apple Pie Vegan Fudge, Toasted Coconut Wheat-Free Brownies, Peppermint Drinking Chocolate made with fair-trade cocoa, Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Wheat-Free Cookies, Vanilla Caramels, and English Toffees. Can you say delicious? Yes. Elastic waist band tomorrow? Probably.

We Want Candy

The Date: Wednesday, September 15

The Delivery: A non-vegan book and Goody Good Stuff candy
Staff Pick: Goody Good Stuff Cola Breeze candies

The DL: After bemoaning the lack of sweet treats being delivered to VNHQ over the past few days, someone loves us! The adorably-named Goody Good Stuff company makes vegan versions of childhood penny candies, like our personal favorites, cola bottle gummies. Only one thing would make this snack even better, and that is Original Chex Mix, which Savvy Abby has informed us is vegan. Now if you'll excuse us, we'll get back to that sweet and savory afternoon snacking.

Book and a Brush

The Date: Tuesday, September 14

The Delivery: A non-vegan book and a vegetable brush.
Staff Pick: Boston Warehouse Brushing Beauty

The DL: The two pink ribbon-featuring deliveries today were a reminder of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month coming up in October. We picked the quirky vegetable brush from Boston Warehouse for all of our vegetable scrubbing needs. At least $.40 from each Breast Cancer Awareness Brushing Beauty sold goes to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Empty Box Day

The Date: Monday, September 13

The Delivery: Not a whole lot.
Staff Pick: Does a new bag of Trader Joe's coffee count?

The DL: Someone down at the post office must know that our office manager extraordinaire Lyndsay Orwig still hasn't returned from the 26th Annual Vegetarian Food Fair in Toronto, because the mail has been slow since she's been gone. This big empty box means that nothing was delivered today, which means that instead of snacking on new vegan treats, we're rather pathetically microwaving frozen corn. Luckily, Lyndsay will be back tomorrow, and life shall resume as usual. We're hoping for chocolate.

Sjaak's Bites

The Date: Friday, September 10
The Delivery: Chocolate Bites
Staff Pick: Sjaak's Hazelnut Butter Bites

The DL: We may or may not have mauled the postman as he delivered a huge box that we immediately identified as being from Sjaak's, purveyors of fine vegan chocolates. Fortunately, in addition to a big shipment of vegan organic peanut butter cups to sell in our VegNews Store, Sjaak's included a sample of their "Milk" Hazelnut Bites for us to sample. Consider our heavy Friday afternoon workload significantly lifted!

Vega and a Book

The Date: Thursday, September 9
The Delivery: A book and samples of Vega Sport
Staff Pick: Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life by Brendan Brazier

The DL: Vegan Brendan Brazier looking fit on the cover of the new edition of Thrive was just the motivation we needed to tackle our cycling commute home to work off our burrito lunches. This edition features a forward by Hugh Jackman, who states that by the time we're reading his words, he might well be vegan. Hugh, call us if you need us!

Books and Bites

The Date: Wednesday, September 8
The Delivery: Books and Shanti Bars
Staff Pick: The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna

The DL: Apparently it's already September, meaning we're creeping up to 2011, which, evidently, is the year of the hare. The re-print of The Year of the Hare could be a winner—VN Book Club, anyone?

Cookbooks and Christmas CDs

The Date: Tuesday, September 7
The Delivery: A cookbook and a Christmas album
Staff Pick: The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook by Kim O'Donnel

The DL: The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook: Vegetarian Recipes Carnivores will Devour features a mix of both vegan and easily veganizable vegetarian recipes. But hey, any book that wants to turn meat-eaters veg is fine by us!

Caribbean Cuisine

The Date: Friday, September 3
The Delivery: Some books and several boxes of Choice Organic Tea
Staff Pick: Caribbean Vegan by Taymer Mason

The DL: We're always excited to see unique vegan cookbooks published, and this one is no exception. Happy Labor Day weekend!

Licorice Twists

The Date: Thursday, September 2
The Delivery: Some old-fashioned licorice and Mimiccreme's Healthy Top vegan whipping cream
Staff Pick: Newman's Own Strawberry Licorice Twists

The DL: We absolutely love the packaging of this new product, and we sure do love our licorice! We'll be ripping into this candy in a matter of minutes.

Bold Native Screener

The Date: Wednesday, September 1
The Delivery: A DVD, some vegan 'zines, the Go Vegan! 2011 Calendar by Sarah Kramer, and Kid Safe Screen from Marie Veronique Organics
Staff Pick: The Bold Native DVD screener

The DL: This is no documentary, but a full-length feature film about animal activism, which we're very excited to watch. Look for screenings in your area!