Monday, February 28, 2011

Cleaners and Cork Products


The Date: Monday, February 28
The Delivery: Glass and surface cleaners from Method and a belt, wallet, and purse from All Cork
Staff Pick: The wallet

The DL: Let's play some word association. We say cork, you say wine, right? Not anymore! This new wallet from All Cork, a vegan, eco-friendly line of handbags, accessories, and even table-top trays, is lightweight, unique, and beautiful. All this talk of wine sure does make us want a glass of merlot, though. Maybe we'll head up to Davis, Calif. to visit Village Homes, a sustainable residential community that has its own vineyards! Read more about it (and other neighborhoods) in our new Travel feature, Sustainable Communities. Winemaking in your back yard? Now there's definitely no place like home.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Skin Care, Deodorant, and Baked Goods


The Date: Friday, February 25
The Delivery: Jurlique's Purely White skin brightening line, assorted roll-on deodorants from Kiss My Face, and vanilla raspberry cake, cookies, and muffins from Everyday Gourmet
Staff Pick: The vanilla raspberry cake!

The DL: We’re pretty big fans of homemade vegan cake. With icing. And raspberry sauce. We're even bigger fans of homemade vegan cake with icing and raspberry sauce when we get to put as much of the icing and raspberry sauce on top as we want (and yes, it will be the entire bag). Everyday Gourmet’s treats really sweetened up our Friday, and we can’t wait to dive in. Need something else to dive into this weekend? Why not three issues of VegNews for only $10?! Check out our Celebrity Cover Blowout Sale at the VegNews Store. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Books and Daiya Cheese


The Date: Thursday, February 24
The Delivery: The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman, Superbaby by Dr. Jenn Berman, and vegan pepperjack cheese shreds from Daiya Foods
Staff Pick: We would like the pepperjack cheese, please.

The DL: We would write in all caps about how excited we are to try Daiya's new pepperjack cheese, but that would just be rude. But seriously, take it from us, we're excited. The office is already thinking of ways to incorporate this new treat into our lunches: chili, nachos, and an empty bowl with a fork are a few of our many ideas. Vegan pepperjack, we think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. A friendship that involves us eating you at a rabid pace, but a friendship nonetheless.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Deodorant and Raw Cookbooks


The Date: Wednesday, February 23
The Delivery: Deodorant sticks from Clinique, Ani's Raw Food Asia by Ani Phyo, Rawlicious by Peter and Beryn Daniel, and Live Raw by Mimi Kirk
Staff Pick: Ani's Raw Food Asia

The DL: We were delighted to see Ani's new cookbook in the mail today. While we like a big baked-up batch of mac and cheese pretty much always, we love Ani's creative take on raw eats and treats (so much so that we once threw a party for her). We are looking forward to trying out her recipes for "Fried" Vegetable Noodles and Lychee Asian Lime Crêpes with Ginger Pear Sorbet, but only after we finish this month's VegNews Book Club pick, Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. Or we'll read them both. Or we'll read them both and start Veganist by Kathy Freston (the Book Club's next pick), too.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Books and Faux Meats


The Date: Tuesday, February 22
The Delivery: The Kind Diet paperback by Alicia Silverstone, Vegan Desserts by Hannah Kaminsky, and Wholesome Cuisine Meals in Hawaiian Chick'n and Chili Mix with Beans from ND Labs, Inc.
Staff Pick: Vegan Desserts

The Goods: Everyone here at VNHQ is ridiculously excited about this evening's first ever VegNews Twitter Chat, featuring Kris Carr in all of her crazy sexy glory. We have been counting down the seconds until 6pm PST rolls around (32,400 to be exact), which has led to quite a few bouncing legs and cups of tea to calm excited nerves. Luckily, Hannah Kaminsky's new cookbook, filled with mouth-watering recipes (there's No-Bake Pumpkin Crème Brulee in there. No big deal.) will definitely keep us distracted until it's time to tweet. Until then, we'll be trying to keep the pages of Vegan Desserts drool-free.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Books and an Award!


The Date: Friday, February 18
The Delivery: Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson, 125 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Fenster, PhD, and the 2010 Eddie Award for Best Website
Staff Pick: The trophy!

The Goods: Who doesn't get excited when a big, fancy trophy arrives at your door? Crazy people, that's who. Or the makers of crazy-fancy trophiesthey've probably seen enough all day. We here at VNHQ are honored to receive an Eddie Award for VegNews.com three years running (oww!), and plan to celebrate our success in a bath of Champagne. Just kidding. But we will take turns carrying it around the office while playing "We are the Champions" full-blast. No pictures, please.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

A Book and (More) Deodorant


The Date: Thursday, February 17
The Delivery: Change of Heart by Nick Cooney and natural deodorant from Tom's of Maine
Staff Pick: Change of Heart

The DL: A quote (from Rory Freedman, former VN columnist and co-author of Skinny Bitch, no less) says on on the cover of Change of Heart, "If you want to create a better world, read this book!" Sounds good to us! We are excited to check out Cooney's new tome to see what psychology can teach us about spreading social change. Is there a chapter dedicated to the science behind converting people to veganism with giveaways, book clubs, and cooking demos? Probably not, but maybe we can contribute a page or two for the next edition.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Deodorant and Chocolate


The Date: Wednesday, February 16
The Delivery: Assorted bittersweet chocolate bars from Poco Dolce and deodorant sticks from Organic Grooming by Herban Cowboy
Staff Pick: The hazelnut bittersweet chocolate bar

The DL: Some things in life are no-brainers. Eat your veggies. Look both ways before crossing the street. Puppies are cute. Some things, however, are not. With six different delectable-sounding flavors, it was the Sophie's Choice of chocolate for today's Staff Pick. We decided to go with hazelnut because that's what we ended up pointing at while our eyes were closed. We haven't tried any yet, but as is evident by This Week's Must Have (chocolate) and an entire featurette on (you guessed it) chocolate, we'll probably be perfectly happy with all of them.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Deodorants Galore


The Date: Tuesday, February 15
The Delivery: All-natural roll-on deodorant, deodorant sticks, and towelettes from Crystal Body Deodorant
Staff Pick: The lavender and white tea towelettes

The DL: If we didn't know that we were going to be getting a generous helping of all-natural deodorants for an upcoming project (did someone say May+June issue?), we would think that the post office was trying to tell us something. Nevertheless, we bet we will be able to smell so fresh and so clean (clean) all day long with these portable, lavender-sentented towelettes. Post-lunch jog, anyone? (Speaking of lunch, check out Managing Editor Elizabeth's tips on how to make a delicious salad on the cheap on VN's Savvy Vegan blog.)

Monday, February 14, 2011

A Cookbook and Vegan Honey


The Date: Monday, February 14
The Delivery: Lickin' the Beaters 2 by Siue Moffat and vegan honey from Bee-Free Honee
Staff Pick: Lickin' the Beaters 2

The DL: Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at VNHQ! We hope you and your loved ones, whether they be people, companion animals, or your TV, are having a lovely day. We also hope your day is filled with sweets like those in Lickin' the Beaters 2. With entire sections devoted to candy (Peanut Butter Truffles?!), chocolate (Chocolate Marshmallow Almond Pie? Cue drooling), and "ice creem" in flavors like S'more and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, we can't wait to take this cookbook home and show it to our partners. And by "show it to our partners" we mean "ask our partners to take back the flowers and make a batch of Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies instead."

Friday, February 11, 2011

Cheesecake, Magazine, and Deodorant


The Date: Friday, February 11
The Delivery: Homemade vegan cheesecake with raspberry sauce from Follow Your Heart, the March+April 2011 issue of VegNews Magazine, and deodorant from LUSH Cosmetics
Staff Pick: The magazine!

The DL: Only dogs could hear most of the squeals of excitement erupting from VNHQ today. Our beautiful (do you see that cover?!), exciting, filled-to-the-gills VegNews Magazine March+April issue is in our grateful, loving hands, and will soon be in yours too. From world-changing geniuses to a vegan bucket list, this issue has it all and more (including some delectable tacos, peeking out onto the cover). This is quite possibly the best Valentine's Day gift we at VNHQ have ever received. Happy Friday!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Chocolate Bars and a Book

The Date: Thursday, February 10
The Delivery: The Exultant Ark by Jonathan Balcombe and chocolate bars from Eli's Earth Bars in caramel, peanuts, and peanut butter; coconut and almonds; and peanut butter crunch with caramel
Staff Pick: The caramel, peanuts, and peanut butter chocolate bar

The DL: Adding these bars to the growing pile of chocolaty goodness we've received (chocolate sauce, chocolate cake, chocolate peanut butter cups...), we have to ask ourselves one question: Do we feel lucky? Abso-friggin'-lutely! While we may not be quite lucky enough to be visiting the Taj Mahal or checking out animals at Keoladeo National Park like the folks on VN's Great Adventure to India 2011, at least we can peruse their pictures while trying out these caramel, chocolate, and peanut butter concoctions.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Soy Yogurt, Lip Balm, and Lotion


The Date: Wednesday, January 9
The Delivery: Plain and key lime soy yogurts from WholeSoy & Co. and assorted lip balms and all-over lotion from Sprout Wellness
Staff Pick: The key lime soy yogurt

The DL: We got a great reminder of why we don't eat animal products when we watched Mercy for Animals' new film Farm to Fridge. (Did we mention we got an exclusive interview with MFA Founder and Executive Director Nathan Runkle?) WholeSoy must have known that sweet, cruelty-free treats really help us feel better, because today we received what can only be described as a small mountain of soy yogurt, including the new key lime flavor. We are looking forward to digging our spoons into these cups and remembering how lucky we are that we don't cause cruelty.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Vegan Meats, Books, and Raw Chocolate


The Date: Tuesday, January 8
The Delivery: Vegan burgers, chunky strips, and chicken-style nuggets from Fry's Vegetarian; The Chicken Chronicles by Alice Walker; Edible Secrets by Michael Hoerger and Mia Partlow; and raw chocolate maca sauce and raw chocolate in assorted flavors from Chocolatl
Staff Pick: The goji-maca chocolates

The DL: With Valentine's Day just around the corner, everyone and their vegan mother is trying to get their hands on a box of chocolates. These organic, vegan, low-glycemic bites are the real deal, and their Mayan temple-inspired packaging is an exotic exit from the usual red lips- and heart-shaped containers. We haven't tried them yet, but it's safe to say we probably wouldn't mind sharing a box of these with our partners come February 14. Actually, scratch thatwe're going to keep them for ourselves. Maybe we'll even dribble some caramel agave (This Week's Must Have) on top for good measure.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Vegan Dog Treats


The Date: Monday, February 7
The Delivery: Assorted organic superfood dog biscuits from Barking District Bakery
Staff Pick: The peanut butter and banana biscuits

The DL: After the lovely folks at Barking District saw Associate Editor Jenn mention her sweet lab Buddy in her staff bio, they decided to send her this box of (doggie) treats. The yummy-sounding flavors of these organic, all-natural vegan bites kind of make us wish we were dogs (not to mention getting petted, napping all day, and being adorable 24-7). While we can't taste-test, we thought that the peanut butter and banana biscuits sounded the most scrumptious. We could ask Buddy, Cal, and Khane (the VN office pups) after they try the treats, but unfortunately none of us have the power to speak to dogs. Maybe Dr. Dolittle is in our Rolodex somewhere.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Baking Mixes and Dietary Supplements


The Date: Friday, February 4
The Delivery: Fermented Suerfood Complex supplements from Swanson Vitamins and assorted vegan baking mixes from Wholesome Chow (complete with coffee extract and a whisk for tasting mixing)
Staff Pick: The gluten-free chocolate chai spice cake mix

The DL: Getting baking mixes in the mail with the tools need to bake said mix is the coolest thing since, well, getting baking mixes in the mail. We are curious, however, to see if this chocolate- and chai-spiced gem ever makes it out of the mixing bowl. If we do manage to keep our spoons out of the batter, we bet this cake could make a great addition to any Super Bowl party. For more vegan-friendly Super Bowl dips and desserts, check out our handy guide to Super Bowl eats. Go Steelers! Or Packers! Or puppies!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Vegan Burgers and Beauty Products


The Date: Thursday, February 3
The Delivery: Asherah's Gourmet vegan burgers in original and chipotle; and mineral makeup and toner from KSS Professional
Staff Pick: The vegan burgers

The DL: You would think that after a Chinese New Year lunch filled with dumplings, veggies, and tofu, that more food would be the last thing on our minds. Then we probably haven't met, because the VN staff is all food, all the time (except when we're making an award-winning website, planning awesome vacations, and creating beautiful magazine issues). Actually, we think about food even when we're doing all of those things. We are looking forward to trying these quinoa-based burgers while we work. And yes, eating vegan burgers is in our job description.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Popcorn, Baking Mixes, Cookies, and Cups


The Date: Wednesday, February 2
The Delivery: Assorted raw cookies from Piccolinos, assorted gluten-free baking mixes from Truly Organic Baking, dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Justin's, and Chocolate Pirate's Booty from Pirate Brands
Staff Pick: The dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Duh.

The DL: This week is a seriously fantastic week to be vegan. Okay, so every week is a seriously fantastic week to be a vegan, but this one is exceptional. Let us break it down for you: Kathy Freston's Veganist is number one on Amazon (could she and her new book be in our upcoming March+April issue??), Oprah had an entire episode of her show on veganism and we got to go to a watch party, Kris Carr stopped by VNHQ for lunch with the staff yesterday and is having a book signing tonight, and...(drumroll please)...Justin's dark chocolate peanut butter cups have arrived. One VN staffer literally squealed in delight. Dark chocolate. Peanut Butter. Cups. There's just nothing else to say. We might even not be able to finish this sentence because there are only four cups for the entire offi

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Vegan and Green Cookbooks


The Date: Tuesday, February 1
The Delivery: The Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay S. Nixon and Eat Greens by Barbara Scott-Goodman and Liz Trovato
Staff Pick: The Happy Herbivore Cookbook

The DL: Home fries and cupcakes and meatball subs are a few of our favorite things. Not the healthiest though, right? Wrong! We are looking forward to Lindsay Nixon's new cookbook chock full of fat-free and low-fat vegan versions of our favorite highly caloric (and highly delicious) eats. We can just picture ourselves whipping up a batch of her guacamole before settling down on the couch. Speaking of couches, today office manager extraordinaire Lyndsay teaches you how to be a cheap (and healthy!) couch potato on VN's newly re-vamped Savvy Vegan blog. Check it out. After you make the guacamole, of course.