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.

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.

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!

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.

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.