Cookies, Fries, & Book

The Date: Thursday, June 30
The Delivery: An advanced copy of Naked Wine by Alice Feiring, eggplant veggie fries from Dominex, and raw vegan cookies from Chunkie Dunkies
Staff Pick: The cookies

The DL: This is a brand new cookie line from West Palm Beach, Fla. They have several delicious-looking flavors, but here we have Chocolate Chip Mint, Carrot Cake, and Oatmeal Raisin. Some of the VN staffers may have already sneaked a taste, and have given a two thumbs up. If you're looking for a sweet treat, then check them out now! Also check out the Twitter Chat that is taking place tonight with Farm Sanctuary's Gene Baur at 6pm PST.
 

Vegan Chocolate!

The Date: Wednesday, June 29
The Delivery: Assorted vegan chocolate bars, baking chocolate, and cocoa powder from Scharffen Berger and baking chocolate from Dagoba Chocolate
Staff Pick: Scharffen Berger's limited edition Bentre dark chocolate

The DL: We love limited edition chocolate bars. And regular edition chocolate bars. Really, we don't discriminate when it comes to chocolate. We hope that biting into this bar, made with cacao beans from Vietnam, will magically transport us to the nation's sandy beaches. If it doesn't work, at least we have this huge box of chocolate to taste our way through. Want to know if VegNews is traveling to Vietnam for one of our 2012 VegVacations? Check out VegNews.com on Tuesday, July 5 to find out!

Cookbook and Vegan Skincare

The Date: Tuesday, June 28
The Delivery: Vegetarian Entrees That Won't Leave You Hungry by Lukas Volger and DMAE Creme from derma e
Staff Pick: The face cream

The DL: Organic. Natural. Vegan. We like those three words to describe our beauty routine just as much as our dietary routine. Derma e, committed to all three, sent us their award-winning anti-aging face cream to try, and we are ready to test with gusto. We're also stoked about this Thursday's Twitter Chat with Farm Sanctuary Co-founder Gene Baur. Join us at 6pm PT by following #VegNewsChat.

Prem Vegan Soaps

The Date: Monday, June 27
The Delivery: Vegan soaps, candles, lip balms, and scrubs from Prem Soaps
Staff Pick: The coconut-lime salt scrub

The DL: Crafted in a Brooklyn kitchen by veg owners Juliet, Michelle, and Rob (yay veg business owners!), this salt scrub is made with only the good stuff: sea salt, coconut, lime, and organic oils. Plus it smells like a piña colada. What's not to love? We can't wait to try it on dry elbows, knobby knees, and sunscreen-covered skin. Want to know which sunscreens are both cruelty-free and free of potentially dangerous chemicals? Read our new vegan sunscreen guide before heading off on that beach vacation (but after inviting us, of course).

Lemonade, Sake, and a Book

The Date: Friday, June 24
The Delivery: Ginger lemonade concentrate from Third St. Chai, saké from Saké One, and Lucky Pigs by Susan Rooker
Staff Pick: The creamy nigori saké

The DL: We here at VNHQ are swooning over these beautiful bottles of organic saké. We will most likely try the unfiltered versions for happy hour taste testing, getting ready for SF vegan drinks next Thursday, Pride Weekend celebrating, and general Friday excitement. Are you in San Francisco this weekend celebrating Pride Fest (or simply celebrating the fact that you're in SF)? Make sure to check out our 11 favorite things to do, see, and eat in what we consider to be the best. City. Ever.

Vegan Books and Cookbooks

The Date: Thursday, June 23
The Delivery: Loving Animals by Kathy Rudy, The Food Prescription for Better Health by Baxter D. Montgomery, Raw Basics by Jenny Ross, and Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson
Staff Pick: Quick-Fix Vegan
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The DL: We've been looking forward to receiving the draft of Robin Robertson's new cookbook for weeks: This lady is on her 21st cookbook for a reason. Tuscan Vegetable Tart and Chocolate Cheesecake Squares that can be made in 30 minutes or fewer? Challenge accepted. Keep on challenging your inner chef with some chocolate mousse, which just so happens to be this week's What's Cooking. Actually, it's super easy too, and healthy to boot!

Chocolate, a Cookbook, and Noodles

The Date: Wednesday, June 22
The Delivery: Chocolate from Dagoba, asian entrees from Dr. McDougall's Right Foods, and Veggiyana by Sandra Garson
Staff Pick: The Thai Peanut Noodles

The DL: What a bummer! All that chocolate and only the cocoa powder is vegan. Not to fear, however, because we love slurping up delicious peanut noodles from a cute bowl almost as much as chocolate. Plus, there's always the VegNews Store, filled with marzipan bars, candy bars, and vegan marshmallows, not to mention our brand new July+August issue. Candy and VegNews? Now that's a package we'd like to see in the mail every day.

Vegan Cookbooks Galore!

The Date: Tuesday, June 21
The Delivery: Welcoming Kitchen by Kim Lutz with Megan Hart, Superfood Cuisine by Julie Morris, and Vegans are Tastier by Joe DeMarco
Staff Pick: Superfood Cuisine

The DL: We don't know what soup is sitting on the cover of Julie Morris' new cookbook, but we want to eat it. Now. This superfood-focused cookbook (as the name suggests) is filled with the best and the brightest the world of flora has to offer, whipped into creative dishes such as Chipotle Chili with Avocado Sour Cream and Lucuma Ice Cream Cupcakes. We're about to google lucuma because, quite frankly, we don't know what it is, but if it's part of an ice cream cupcake, we're bound to be on board. We're also very much on board with vegan ice cream shops! Check out our favorites in our new Food Feature, 10 Great Vegan Ice Cream Shops.

22 Days Gift Pack

The Date: Monday, June 20
The Delivery: A very generous gift pack from 22 Days Nutrition
Staff Pick: The Nut Butter Buddah bars

The DL: Today we received a completely unexpected and completely delightful surprise: a crazy-big haul from the wonderful folks at 22 Days, filled with t-shirts, stickers, pins, coupons, and most importantly, boxes and boxes of their delicious and healthy protein bars. We can’t wait to gobble all of these guys up, and get some serious protein and energy while we’re at it. Since we're on the topic of energy, did you know that chia seeds are a complete protein, amped with antioxidants, and filled with fiber? Learn all about this health powerhouse in our new featurette!

Vegan Cookie Dough, Candy, and Superfood Snacks

The Date: Friday, June 17
The Delivery: Vegan oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, and spicy ginger cookie dough from YisRoYal; peanut butter cups and crisped rice candy bars from Go Max Go Foods; and superfood power snacks from Zenergy Powerballs
Staff Pick: The spicy ginger cookie dough!

The DL: Another hard decision today (man, if feels like every time!). We here at VN are big fans of ginger and its many health benefits (not to mention its delicious taste), so we decided to go with the spicy ginger cookie dough. Does baking up twice as many cookies mean we'll receive two times the heart-healthy, headache-fighting power ginger possesses? We're going to go with yes. Happy Friday to you all, and may your weekend be filled with vegan cookies.

Vegan Wine

The Date: Thursday, June 16
The Delivery: Vegan wine from The Vegan Vine
Staff Pick: The cabernet sauvignon

The DL: We here at VN love our beer, wine, and spirits, as is evidenced by our new featurettes on vegan summer beers and wine and cheese, not to mention our perfect attendance at SF Vegan Drinks. (By the way, this month's special is a peach, passion fruit, and pineapple martini. Now tell us that doesn't sound delicious.) Popping open a bottle of this wine for a taste test at the end of the day seems like a great way to get an evening started. If we have to stay a little late to finish, no big deal. The wine at the top tastes different from the wine at the bottom, right?

Vegan Graham Crackers and Pom Juice

The Date: Wednesday, June 15
The Delivery: Cinnamon-and-sugar and chocolate graham crackers from Grateful Grahams and pomegranate juice concentrate from POM Wonderful
Staff Pick: The chocolate graham crackers

The DL: Homemade vegan graham crackers? Quite frankly, we could not be more excited about trying these hearty, delicious-looking bites. Believe it or not, but it only took about three nanoseconds for us to realize that we have Dandies vegan marshmallows and plenty of chocolate bars in the VegNews Store. Double chocolate s'mores, anyone? Now that we mention it, you might be reading more about this delicious snack from us here at VN sooner than you think! Let's just say you might want to sign up for a subscription today.

Homemade Vegan Eats

The Date: Tuesday, June 14
The Delivery: Homemade barbecue seitan vegan ribs, barbecue sauce, and peach jam from VN volunteer and family member Frankie
Staff Pick: The Saturn Peach Jam

The DL: VN volunteer extraordinaire Frankie recently visited VNHQ, leaving us with some seriously delicious goods. (Let us just say, this lady can make magic happen in the kitchen. Seriously.) We can't wait to bust open this jar of freshly made peach jam and slather it over everything: bagels, waffles, sugar cookies, our bodies, you name it. Okay, maybe not that last one. Speaking of delicious things to slather over bagels, waffles, and the like, This Week's Must Have (the Expo West 2011 Best of Show-winning coconut spread from Earth Balance) is pretty much the best thing for sliced bread since sliced bread.

Popsicles!

The Date: Monday, June 13
The Delivery: Whole-fruit popsicles from Power of Fruit
Staff Pick: The CherryBerry popsicles

The DL: We're finally getting some summer weather here in SF, and we're busting out the skirts and tank tops like nobody's business. These tasty-looking fruit pops, made from 100-percent whole frozen fruit with no added sugar, look like they will be a great accessory to lunches spent sunning on the VNHQ deck. Now that we think about it, they might be tasty after a happy-hour brew as well. Check out some of our favorite vegan summer pints in new featurette, 7 Vegan Summer Beers. To sunshine!

Water Pitcher, Books, and VegNews July+August

The Date: Friday, June 10
The Delivery: An alkaline water pitcher from Water Works 4 U, Live Raw by Mimi Kirk, Ninety-Five, edited by No Voice Unheard, and the VegNews July+August issue
Staff Pick: July+August!

The DL: Beautiful weather, a pizza taste test, and our gorgeous, fabulous, obsession-inducing July+August issue? We're not sure how to make this Friday any better. From an interview with classy lass and cover star Portia de Rossi (some of you were right when we had you guess who on our Facebook page!) to dairy-free ice cream sundaes, this issue is overflowing with summery delights. Subscribers should be getting their copies starting Wednesday. Not a subscriber? Make it happen here! And have a great weekend while you're at it!

A Cookbook, Pizza, and Sticky Fingers

The Date: Thursday, June 9
The Delivery: Eat Vegan on $4 a Day by Ellen Jaffe Jones, vegan frozen pizza from Tofutti, and assorted baked goods from Sticky Fingers Bakery
Staff Pick: The box of baked treats!

The DL: The best gifts are those that keep on giving, especially if those gifts are boxes filled with some of the best vegan sweets money can buy. Birthday lady and VN Managing Editor Elizabeth received this goodie box in the mail today, the contents of which include Cowvin Cookies, Little Devils, and brownies, not to mention chocolate chip, pecan, and oatmeal raisin cookies. Let's just say we usually take the photos for This Just In after lunch, but after this morning's delivery, we made an exception.

 

New Books

The Date: Wednesday, June 8

The Delivery: Deep Green Resistance by Aric McBay, Lierre Keith, and Derrick Jensen; and Dreams by Derrick Jensen

Staff Pick: Deep Green Resistance

The DL: It is well-documented that climate change is real, species are disappearing daily, and fragile ecosystems are getting their flora- and fauna-filled butts kicked. Instead of scolding us, Deep Green Resistance promises to explore options that will help reverse environmental damage and give a plan of action for those who are determined to make the world a better place. One way we here at VNHQ like to do it? Go vegan! You'll save around 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Find out more about carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, and the carbon offsets in our Planet feature on carbon offsetting.

Sunglasses and a Keychain

The Date: Tuesday, June 7
The Delivery: Two pairs of sunglasses from Amy Sacks Eyewear and a keychain from reasonstogovegan.com
Staff Pick: The keychain!

The DL: You know how sometimes you're asked "Why are you vegan?" so many times you just don't want to answer anymore? If you have this keychain, you won't have to. This carrier holds nine reasons to go vegan (and a paragraph on each), including "Saving water" and "Newborns taken away from their mother and auctioned off." So next time someone asks you, just hand them your keys. Just make sure it's not a stranger, because, you know, he or she could just run off with your keys. Probably not a good idea.

Vegan Makeup

The Date: Monday, June 6
The Delivery: Mascara, lipstick, concealer, and nail polish from Beauty Without Cruelty
Staff Pick: The nail polish in Mermaid

The DL: The ladies here at VNHQ are swooning over this gorgeous vegan nail polish. While we'd love to drop all of our work and turn the editorial room into a salon, working on our September+October issue (our annual food issue!), organizing the brand-new VegNews Street Team (apply here!), and touring NYC with Jasmin Singer on VegNews TV would mess up our new manicures. We might just have to play another round of Bananagrams to see who gets to try the new polish at home!

Chia Drinks and Vegan Lollipops

The Date: Friday, June 3
The Delivery: Chia drinks from Mamma Chia, and hard candy and chocolate lollipops from Indie Candy
Staff Pick: The mango lollipop

The DL: Something about this rhinoceros-shaped mango lollipop makes us giggle with joy. Add dark chocolate bats, teddy bears, and pumpkins to boot? We'll be testing out these delightful gems from now until Halloween. Speaking of Halloween, can you believe we're already at work on our September+October issue? Time flies when you're having fun. Want to make sure the best vegan food, books, festivals, and more don't pass you by? Apply to be a member of the brand-new VegNews Street Team today!

Energy Shots, Superfoods, and Vegan Frozen Pizza

The Date: Thursday, June 2
The Delivery: Organic energy shots and superfood supplements from Genesis Today, and vegan frozen pizzas from Solterra Foods
Staff Pick: Pizza pizza!

The DL: One could argue that we don't need to taste test Solterra's gluten-free cheese pizza since it was a Best of Show winner at this year's Expo West, but we must disagree. Every slice of pizza is different and deserves to be gobbled up! While we go preheat the oven, check out our list of the 10 must-read vegan books. They will make bake times go by much faster, we promise.

Vegan Lotion and a Cookbook

The Date: Wednesday, June 1
The Delivery: Vegan lotion for face, body, and hands from O.N.E. Skincare and Blissful Bites by Christy Morgan
Staff Pick: Blissful Bites

The DL: This new cookbook from Christy Morgan, otherwise known as The Blissful Chef, excites us. Easy, vegan recipes that are organized by season so that dishes take advantage of fresh fruits and veggies? Why didn't we think of that? Just taking a glance at the summer recipes we see Hawaiian Tofu and Veggie Kabobs, Strawberry-Mint Limeade, Six- (or Seven-) Layer Dip ... needless to say, we're excited to dive a little deeper. Want to tour all things vegan in the Big Apple? Check out our brand-new video on VegNews TV, where VN Correspondent Jasmin Singer takes you on a budget-friendly vegan tour of NYC!