This Just In: Giveaways!

The Delivery: The Tipsy Vegan by John Schlimm, Nava Atlas’ Vegan Holiday Kitchen, and Main Street Vegan by Victoria Moran

Staff Pick: The Tipsy Vegan

The DL: This holiday season, VegNews is all about giving back to our readers. In addition to this week’s vegan feast giveaway (only three words need be said: Native Foods' Wellington), we’ve just announced our first ever holiday cookie contest! We’ve already received some tasty-sounding recipes, so submit yours soon for a chance to win a KitchenAid mixer! Pretty much every VegNews staffer has their eyes on this fabulous prize, but only readers are allowed to win. We’re also running a special giveaway exclusively for readers of This Just In—leave a comment below telling us which product we’ve featured on This Just In that you’re most excited for and you could win a copy of The Tipsy Vegan! We'll pick a random winner at noon on Tuesday, November 22, so enter today! Don’t you love the holidays?

Books, DVDs, and Vegan Caramel Agave

The Date: Monday, January 24

The Delivery: The Raw Truth: Recipes and Resources for the Living Foods Lifestyle by Jeremy A. Safron, Voyage to Betterment: A Health and Happiness True Life Story DVD, and caramel agave dipping nectar from The Real Food Trading Company

Staff Pick: The caramel agave dipping nectar

The DL: What could be better than a sugar-free, organic, vegan alternative to caramel syrup? Well, maybe a trip to India with VegNews Vacations, featuring VN's very own Publisher Joe Connelly and Associate Publisher Colleen Holland, but we can't all be that lucky. We here at VNHQ will mask our jealousy instead by looking forward to dousing some crisp apples in the contents of this bottle of sweet caramel nectar.

Oil and Books

The Date: Tuesday, January 4
The Delivery: A Sea in Flames by Carl Safina galley, Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, and Kelapo's coconut oils
Staff Pick: Planet Home

The DL: While it's tough for us to choose a non-food thing as the staff pick, both of these books look so interesting that we had a harder time deciding between the two of them than forgoing our usual predilection for edibles. We very much liked one line on the cover of Planet Home, which reads "Live with Less and Have More"—a perfect idea to kick off a new year. Here's hoping your enjoying reading another book at the moment, specifically The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life with the VN Book Club!

New Vegan Book

The Date: Monday, December 20
The Delivery: A new cookbook galley and gift cards from Cinnaholic
Staff Pick: Veganize This! by Jen Shagrin

The DL: Pow! That's what the cover of Veganize This!: 200 Animal-Free Recipes for People Who Love to Eat says to us. What can we say? We like a book with moxie. This is just the galley for this cookbook, which is slated to hit shelves in February, and we're excited to see the finished product.

Books and Bags

The Date: Friday, October 8

The Delivery: Books and eco-friendly bags

Staff Pick: Dogs and the Women Who Love Them by Allen and Linda Anderson

The DL: We're five women in the office today accompanied by three chihauhuas, so this book just kind of picked itself. Really though, who can deny the inevitable bond that develops between a dog and his/her biggest fan? The irresistible pup on the cover alone is going to sell this book. What's that? You also love stories about adorable animals? Well, you're in the right place, as the VegNews Book Club hosted by VN Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig is currently reading Animal Camp by Kathy Stevens, a book filled with heartwarming sanctuary success stories. Because everybody's Fridays should be filled with cute animals.

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.

Books and Bark

The Date: Monday, June 14

The Delivery: White and dark chocolate bark, a chocolate heart, and a cupcake pin from Boardwalk Chocolates, and two books: Lickin' the Beaters 2: Vegan Chocolate and Candy by Siue Moffat and The Banyan Deer: A Parable of Courage and Compassion by Rafe Martin.

Staff Pick: The "Go Vegan" chocolate heart from Boardwalk Chocolates

The DL: We all love indulging in decadent, dairy-free confections, and we're especially smitten with these adorably delicious "Go Vegan" chocolate hearts by Boardwalk Chocolates.

Tasty Delights

The Date: Friday, March 5

The Delivery: Vegan ice cream, a non-vegan granola bar from 18 Rabbits, and Where the Blind Horse Sings: Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary by Kathy Stevens

Staff Pick: The dark chocolate Alkemie Ice Cream

The DL: We first tried Alkemie's tasty ice cream back in December, and we liked it so much that we included it as a VegPick in our March+April issue. Needless to say, we weren't mad when Alkemie decided to gift us another batch of this chocolaty treat.

Book Behind Bars

Date: Monday, March 1

The Delivery: Clif Crunch granola bars (including one non-vegan flavor), two personal care products by Avalon Organics, and Made for Each Other: The Biology of the Human-Animal Bond by Meg Daley Olmert

Staff Pick: The White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif Crunch granola bars

The DL: We love granola bars here at the VNHQ, and Clif's latest crunchy, on-the-go snack is no exception. We've chosen the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut as our favorite, which we feel needs no explanation. You can bet that we'll be in line when these tasty pocket-sized treats hit shelves this summer. Would these have made a splendidly sweet dessert to have followed today's super savory lunch? All signs point to yes.

Maple Madness

Date: Monday, December 21
The Delivery: Awakening Joy by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander and some maple-flavored goodies courtesy of YVR.
Staff Pick: The Pure Maple Cream Cookies from Gourmet Canadiana.

The DL: Maybe it's just the withdrawal talking, but these cookies that Elizabeth generously brought back from her weekend trip to Canada remind us too much of the Trader Joe's seasonal version to be ignored.

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.

Book Worm Weekend

Date: Friday, June 26
The Delivery: Two books to browse
Staff Pick: The Snoring Gourmet: Recipes to Help You Stop Snoring

The DL: With the impending weekend, it's a perfect time to test out snooze-proof recipes on loved ones! The cookbook offers a a natural way to mute the nighttime noise, but we wish it were vegan. Here's to a restful weekend!

Vegan Drinks!

Date: Wednesday, February 25
The Delivery: Three books by Gordon Livingston, MD, and some extra-special postcards
Staff Pick: You won't want to miss SF Vegan Drinks tomorrow night!

The DL: We are super excited about this new event that we are hosting in the San Francisco Bay Area! Come and enjoy yourself with like-minded peers in one of the best cities ever. Don't live in the area? Check out this website for Vegan Drinks events throughout the US, and if your city doesn't already host a similar monthly soirée, it's easy to start your own chapter. Soon enough, Vegan Drinks will be taking over the world!

Stack 'o' Books

Date: Wednesday, February 18
The Delivery: A batch of books
Staff Pick: The Animal Activists' Handbook by Matt Ball and Bruce Friedrich

The DL: Speaking up for animals will always remain a great challenge in this day and age, but hopefully this handbook will make it a bit easier.

Choco' Full of Goodies

Date: Thursday, November 20

The Delivery: Jumbo-size bags of tea, some botanical beverages, water in a bag, two books, and some bite-size chocolates

Staff Pick: No matter what season it is, Sjaak's Organic Chocolates has you covered

The DL: The GreenFest sure brought in a load of new products, but we're not complaining, especially when it means more chocolate. If you're trumped on stocking-stuffer ideas, these chocolate candies are sure to please.

Eat Your Veggies

Date: Wednesday, October 29

The Delivery: A box full of vegetable-based recipes and two books
Staff Pick: The Vegetable Box is a cute idea giving advice on how to use all those vegetables stored in your fridge 

The DL: Some of us here were a bit baffled when we received this box with cardboard cut-outs of vegetables sticking out of it. Turns out to be a unique recipe file. Who'd have guessed? Unfortunately, some recipes call for eggs and cheese, which is a bit unnecessary if you ask us. Who needs cheese when you have all the wonderful flavors from your garden?

Funky Friday

Date: Friday, October 3
The Delivery: Non-vegan cookbooks and a green guide
Staff Pick: The Pocket Idiot's Guide To Your Carbon Footprint doesn't mention our favorite carbon-reducing lifestyle choice

The DL: Sadly, all of the cookbooks we received today were non-vegan, which kind of grosses us out. Further bumming us out was the carbon-reducing guide which doesn't even mention going vegan or vegetarian as an option for greatly reducing one's imprint on Earth.

Hello Peanut Butter!

Date: Tuesday, September 2

The Delivery: Inspirational cookbook, a save-the-world how-to, and peanut butter duos.

Staff Pick: Jelly's best friend: Earth Balance Natural Peanut Butter

The DL: Inspired recipes and saving the world books are all good, but slather us in peanut butter and we're a happy crew.

Get Energized!

Date: Thursday, August 28

The Delivery: Books and super drinks

Staff Pick: Cell-nique

The DL: With conscientious claims and the greenest ingredients, we can't wait to see what this sexy drink tastes like!