Books and Men's Body Care

The Date: Thursday, March 31

The Delivery: Green is the New Red by Will Potter, Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale, Vegan Family Meals by Ann Gentry, and men's hair gel, shower gel, and body spray by LUSH Cosmetics

Staff Pick: Vegan Family Meals

The DL: Ann Gentry's new cookbook, filled with vibrant photos of soups, lasagnas, and cookies, is making our mouths water. We wouldn't mind cooking up tofu scrambles with avocado, bacon, and cheese, dark onion soup with cashew cream and herbed croutons, or double-chocolate brownies, but since we don't have an oven or stove here at the VNHQ, we might need some help. Let us know if you want to make it for us. We'll bring the cookbook and This Week's Must Have (Dark chocolate with quinoa crisps: it's the perfect palate cleanser!).

Granola and Body Butter

The Date: Wednesday, March 30

The Delivery: Ancient Grain Granola from Purely Elizabeth and Sweet Orange Body Butter from Nature's Garden Therapies

Staff Pick: The pumpkin fig granola

The DL: Those of us here at VNHQ are always looking for new eats to spice up the most important meal of the day, so we are looking forward to filling our breakfast bowls with this gluten-free granola, made with quinoa, amaranth, and chia. Want to join us for breakfast? Well, we're sorry to say you probably can't. But you can hang out with us and sip on some Strawberry and Lime Rickeys (not to mention vegan popcorn and hot dogs) tomorrow night at SF Vegan Drinks! Hope to see you there!

Vegan Shoes and Marinades

The Date: Tuesday, March 29

The Delivery: Braggberry and Hawaiian dressing/marinade from Bragg Live Foods and wedges from NeuAura Shoes

Staff Pick: The wedges

The DL: These shoes look seriously rad. Not only are they easy on the eyes, but they're also animal- and eco-friendly: 10 percent of all online sales go to the Wildlife Conservation Society and the African Wildlife Foundation, and the factory where the shoes are made is run on hydroelectric power. It's probably safe to say we'll be spending the next hour shopping online. In the meantime, check out this cheap, easy, and delicious recipe for Bachelor Soup courtesy of Managing Editor Elizabeth on Savvy Vegan!

A New Book

The Date: Monday, March 28

The Delivery: Sister Species, edited by Lisa A. Kemmerer

Staff Pick: The book!

The DL: Women's rights and animal rights? That sounds like a book that's right (get it?!) up our alley. This exploration of the connections between sexism, speciesism, and other forms of discrimination is sure to be one of the most thought-provoking we've seen this year. You won't be able to get your hands on this book until June, so in the meantime, why not enter in this week's VegNews Vegan Bucket List Giveaway for a new leather-free bag from Matt & Nat? After all, you'll need something able to carry Sister Species around town.

Cleaning Products

The Date: Friday, March 25

The Delivery: Lots of cleaning products from Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day

Staff Pick: The lemon-verbena scented hand soap

The DL: Happy Friday from all of us at VN! Spring has officially sprung, and you know what that means: sunbathing! Opps, we mean, spring cleaning! With this host of all-natural goodies, we're sure to have one spic and span office (not to mention some lemon-scented hands). If you've already cleaned out your home (you over-achiever, you) and find yourself in need of some new items to spruce up your pad, check out VN Associate Editor Jennifer Chen's guide to decorating for less on Savvy Vegan. While you're kicking back, make sure to check out VegNews Book Club for Kathy Freston answering readers' questions. And take a breather already, yeesh.

Vegan Candy, Tofu, Hummus, and Books

The Date: Thursday, March 24

The Delivery: Assorted vegan candies and caramels from Obsessive Confection Disorder, sprouted tofu and hummus from Nasoya, Soak Your Nuts by Karyn Calabrese, and The Literary Ladies' Guide to the Writing Life by Nava Atlas

Staff Pick: Obsessive Confection's Vegan Booty

The DL: Houston, we have a problem. If our weakness for sweets wasn't evident by our obsessions with candy bars, Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Bomb cake, and spiced banana pancakes, we're really in for it now. Obsessive Confection's line of creative sweets has us stoked, especially the Vegan Booty: a concoction of coconut toffee, dark chocolate, and orange peel. We better get all of our work done now, because after these incoming sugar highs pass, we're going to be useless. Looks like we're closing early, folks!

Books, Beauty, and a Vegan Purse

The Date: Wednesday, March 23

The Delivery: The Self Health Revolution by J. Michael Zenn, shaving foams from eco-armour, and the Hermes-Inspired Textured Birkin bag by Bello Iris

Staff Pick: The Self Health Revolution

The DL: We know, we know. Picking a book over that beautiful bag? That's like choosing to eat a head of iceberg lettuce instead of cupcakes. But stick with us for a second. This new book says it will tell us how to extend our lives by 15 years, get rid of aches and pains forever, and three things we can do to stay fit and thin for the rest of our lives! Plus, this week at VN we're getting pretty booked up. From Monday's delivery, to VN Publisher Joe Connelly's book-brainstorming session with bestselling author Jeffrey Masson, to our visit with the author himself yesterday (he gave us signed copies of his latest!), we can't seem to get enough of them.

Bean Chips, Snack Bars, and Noodles

The Date: Tuesday, March 22

The Delivery: Halo bars in assorted flavors from ProBar, bean and rice chips in assorted flavors from Beanfields, and noodles from NoOodle

Staff Pick: The pico de gallo chips!

The DL: Thank goodness some food came in the mail today; with the entire office buzzing about this week's Vegan Bucket List Giveaway, we were starting to get a little antsy for some office treats (and with the prize being a Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Bomb cake from Vegan Treats, who can blame us?). We first tasted Beanfields' chips at Expo West, and we think they will make a perfect base for some gooey vegan nachos. Good thing we have a million pounds of Daiya to make our culinary dreams come true. It's nacho time, people.

A Miniature Library

The Date: Monday, March 21

The Delivery: Coffee Talk by Morton Satin, Think by Lisa Bloom, Anjum's Eat Right for Your Body Type by Anjum Anand, Nature's Secret Messages by Elaine Wilkes, and Comfortably Unaware by Dr. Richard A. Oppenlander

Staff Pick: Comfortably Unaware

The DL: We here at the VNHQ are avid readers (as evidenced by our Book Club and the multiple tomes found throughout our Vegan Bucket List), so we were delighted to receive a bunch of new additions for our office library. Dr. Richard Oppenlander's new work explores what our food choices are doing to our planet, from global warming to how food affects the air we breathe. And with global food prices skyrocketing and daily reports of factory-farm abuses, it could not be more timely.

Tea, Soda, Vegan Yogurt, and a Book

The Date: Thursday, March 17

The Delivery: Going Raw by Judita Wignall, Amande cultured almond milk in assorted flavors from Cascade Fresh, Zevia natural sodas, and Honest Teas

Staff Pick: The strawberry cultured almond milk

The DL: Consider our brows raised. Cultured almond milk? As in yogurt? Who'da thunk it? We are looking forward to trying this new fruity specimen and its cohorts, and hope to add it to our vegan yogurt arsenal. Funny we should mention arsenals: With this week's VegNews Vegan Bucket List Giveaway consisting of a $100 shopping spree at MooShoes, you can (faux) beef up your vegan shoe arsenal in no time flat. And no, it is not lost on us that flats are a type of shoe. We're just clever like that.

Chips, Care Packages, and Cookbooks

The Date: Wednesday, March 16

The Delivery: Sea salt Chip'ins from Popcorn, Indiana, an eco-friendly care package from Eco Emi, and a copy of Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson

Staff Pick: The care package

The DL: Who doesn't like the idea of getting a special surprise in the mail every month? This bundle was full of the latest in eco-friendly and sustainable beauty, home, and more. A mini candle, tea, and face lotion? We wouldn't mind getting one of these care packages on the regular! Speaking of care, our hearts go out to the people and animals of Japan after Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami. If you are looking to help out companion animals and others in Japan, check out our list of organizations requesting donations. Every little bit helps those in need, both two-legged and four.

Expo West Vegan Haul

The Date: Tuesday, March 15

The Delivery: Boxes and boxes (and more boxes!) of new vegan products from this weekend's Natural Products Expo West 2011

Staff Pick: With so many awesome new products, it's impossible to choose!

The DL: Annnnnd we're back from Expo West! With a lot of stuff! The sheer volume of new products we brought back with us (from Daiya pepperjack cheese to Earth Balance coconut spread to a Bamboo Bottle) is enough to make our heads spin, not to mention trying to remember all the new foods, drinks, beauty products, and supplements we tried. Honestly, it's all a haze. Good thing we brought cameras! Check out our Facebook and Twitter pages for photos, the scoop on new vegan bites that are sure to be staples in your refrigerator, and our 6th annual Best of Show winners. (Did someone say vegan calamari?!) The stomachaches eventually fade, but the memories last a lifetime.

Books, Vegan Food, and a CD

The Date: Wednesday, March 9

The Delivery: Vegetarian Traditions by George Vutetakis, assorted brown rice crackers from San-J, cinnamon rolls from Emily's Desserts, and Day 01, a CD from Early Melodic Animals

Staff Pick: The cinnamon rolls

The DL: After getting a dozen gems with assorted frostings from Cinnaholic yesterday, we thought we were tapped out on cinnamon rolls. When this batch was delivered to our doorstep today, however, somehow we managed to make room for them. It's a tough life here at VNHQ! This will be our last post until Tuesday—tomorrow we are heading down to Expo West for the weekend to check out the best new products the vegan world has to offer. But never fear! You can hang out with us and the vegan bakers from last night's episode of Cupcake Wars tonight at 6pm during the VegNews Twitter Chat. See you then!

Cookbooks, Vegan Bites, and Deodorant

The Date: Tuesday, March 8

The Delivery: Good Housekeeping's Simple Vegan! cookbook, NoOodles from NoOodle, organic tamari from Ohsawa, Moroccan Spiced Lemon Simmer Sauce from Passage Foods, deodorant cream from Soapwalla Kitchen, and chocolate-covered cocomels and hard candy from JJ's Sweets

Staff Pick: Simple Vegan!

The DL: We've said it before, but Good Housekeeping just released its first-ever vegan cookbook, and that is something to celebrate. And with recipes from Tempeh Ruben to Cracked Wheat Pretzels, we bet the food will be something to celebrate, too! We're also celebrating our first-ever Vegan Bucket List on VegNews.com, complete with a downloadable list, editor picks, not to mention eight weeks of giveaways! Oh, and it's Fat Tuesday, so we're celebrating Mardi Gras. Maybe we should be playing Kool and the Gang's "Celebrate Good Times." Seems fitting.

Baby Food and Vegan Crackers

The Date: Monday, March 7

The Delivery: Organic baby food in assorted flavors from Peter Rabbit Organics and whole-food crackers from Jovan's Pure Nutrition

Staff Pick: The garden pesto crackers

The Goods: Between getting ready for Natural Products Expo West, gearing up for Wednesday's VegNews Twitter Chat where we'll be talking Cupcake Wars with two vegan bakeries, and working on the May+June issue (hint: you're going to love it!), we barely have time to sleep, let alone to eat a snack. Luckily, this bag of all-natural crackers looks like a great source of grab-and-go sustenance. Maybe we'll carve some time out of our busy day to taste test. Crackers and faux gras sounds like a great design meeting snack to us!

Vegan Foie Gras

The Date: Friday, March 4

The Delivery: The Regal Vegan Faux Gras Toasted Walnut Lentil Pâté

Staff Pick: The Faux Gras

The DL: Two containers of The Regal Vegan's Faux Gras arrived at our door today, and we couldn't be more excited to start dipping some (fancy) crackers into it! Instead of being made from duck or goose livers, this spread is walnut- and lentil-based. Healthy, tasty, and cruelty-free? Yes, please. With this week's giveaway of Sjaak's amazing candy bars included, nobody can say vegans don't eat well.

Vegan Cookbook

The Date: Thursday, March 3

The Delivery: The Natural Vegan Kitchen by Christine Waltermyer

Staff Pick: The Natural Vegan Kitchen

The DL: It's a bit of a slow day for deliveries here at VNHQ, but that's okay with us: after a huge lunch at Herbivore with VN columnist (and Vegansaurus founder) Laura Hooper Beck, we're moving a little slowly, too. While we can't deny that we would have enjoyed a three-ton delivery of vegan chocolate bars, we are excited to check out this new cookbook, a host of recipes that highlight vegan and macrobiotic diets. We wonder if there's a recipe that involves three tons of vegan chocolate bars. Probably not.

Chocolate Teas and Skin Care

The Date: Wednesday, March 2

The Delivery: Assorted chocolate teas from The Republic of Tea and the Dr. Alkaitis Organic Skin Food line from Holistic Dermaceuticals

Staff Pick: The red velvet chocolate tea

The DL: We're sorry, but red velvet chocolate tea? Could a cup of hot water be any more tasty-sounding right now? We hope that a delectable red velvet cupcake appears when we drop these tea bags into our mugs. Speaking of cupcakes, next week's episode of Cupcake Wars will feature two vegan bakeries. Join us on March 9 at 6pm PST for our second VegNews Twitter Chat with the owners of Sticky Fingers Bakery and C'est La Vegan to hear all about the episode! It's a cupcake's world, and we're just living in it.

Snack Bars and Botanical Water

The Date: Tuesday, March 1

The Delivery: A box of The Simply Snack from Wellness Foods, Inc. and botanical water in assorted flavors from Bolthouse Farms

Staff Pick: The grapefruit sage botanical water

The DL: Oh my gosh, seriously. Between today's delicious pizza lunch, a huge shipment of Sjaak's vegan candy bars to the VegNews Store (Want to score a few? Enter This Week's Giveaway!), and majorly sweet leftovers from Friday's haul, we are in need for a little bit of a cleanse. Enter: grapefruit sage botanical water. Just saying those four words whisks us away to a beach-front spa where we can lounge around in cushy bathrobes and doze during lavender facials. Not bad for a bottle of liquid. Cheers, and we'll see you in Massage Room B.