New Meat Alternatives

The Date: Thursday, November 18

The Delivery: Meat alternatives

Staff Pick: Meat alternatives from EcoVegan.

The DL: After tasting some of the EcoVegan meat alternatives at both the SF World VegFest and the SF Green Festival, we were more than excited to receive these samples today. EcoVegan has created ready-to-serve meat alternatives containing non-GMO wheat and non-GMO soy, and they sound delicious! Come on, who doesn't love ready-prepared vegan convenience foods on those lazy nights when you want a stir-fry and you want it fast? Well, we might be able to help you out with your no-effort Thanksgiving. Enter our Thanksgiving giveway to win a Native Foods Wellington roast and Apple-Pie fudge from Allison's Gourmet!

Books and Magazines

The Date: Wednesday, November 17

The Delivery: Books and Magazines

Staff Pick: Purely Delicious Raw Food and Lifestyle Magazine

The DL: While we are always excited about the arrival of new books—today A Life In Balance by Meg Wolff and Veganist by Kathy Freston—we were charmed by these back-issues from a fellow vegan magazine called Purely Delicious, which focuses on raw food and the raw, vegan lifestyle. This glossy publication is the brainchild of Rebecca Carlson, who has been the sole producer of the magazine since 2008. As VegNews staffers who know just how much it takes to produce an awesome vegan magazine, our hats are off to Rebecca.

Emily's Desserts

The Date: Tuesday, November 16

The Delivery: Decadent goodies from Emily's Desserts

Staff Pick: Emily's new cake truffles.

The DL: Take chocolate cake, douse it in a thick coating of dark chocolate, and sprinkle with pecans or peanuts, and you have perfection—or so we're assuming just by admiring these adorable teacup-shaped confections from the always-dependable Emily. Emily also sent along a preview of her upcoming vegan dessert cake cookbook, Sweet Vegan. Speaking of cookbooks, have you purchased the VegNews Holiday Cookbook yet? We're getting so excited about the Holidays that we are also holding an incredible giveaway—follow the link to win a Native Foods vegan Thanksgiving Wellington delivered straight to your doorstep! Oh, and we'll also throw in a pound of Allison's Gourmet Apple Pie Fudge. Good luck!

Crazy Sexy Diet, The Final Version!

The Date: Monday, November 15

The Delivery: The final version of Crazy Sexy Diet

Staff Pick: Kris Carr's finished Crazy Sexy Diet has come in and we couldn't be more excited!

The DL: We've been anticipating the next addition to the Crazy Sexy family, following Kris Carr's bestselling Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips and Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor, and it's finally here: Crazy Sexy Diet: Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live Like You Mean It!. While we got the galley form back in October, now that we have the colorful, hard-covered, chock-full-of-information final version, we can't wait to soak it all in! Are you a Crazy Sexy Carr fan? Look for her in the upcoming January+February issue (spoiler alert!).

VegNews Holiday eCookbook!

The Date: Friday, November 12

The Delivery: A stellar collection of vegan holiday recipes

Staff Pick: The VegNews Holiday eCookbook, of course!

The DL: We are so excited about our newly released Holiday eCookbook, celebrating its one-week anniversary, that we can barely contain ourselves. Inside these virtual pages, you'll find 35 delicious recipes that are literally to-die-for, created by amazing chefs including Tal Ronnen, Robin Robertson, Allison Rivers Samson, and more! Recipes include a Festive Holiday Tart, Classic Cranberry Sauce, White Gingerbread Loaf, and Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake—can we say mouthwatering? Be sure to get your digital copy today!

Books and Raw Goodies

The Date: Thursday, November 11

The Delivery: Books and raw treats

Staff Pick: Blonde Macaroons, Chocolate Cherry Macadamia Cookies, Vanilla Crispies, and Buckwheat and Hemp Granola from One Lucky Duck

The DL: For a federal holiday, we certainly managed to receive a decent collection of goodies! Among the books (Comfortably Unaware, E3 For Life, and a gorgeous hardcover edition of the book we discussed in the VegNews Book Club last month, Animal Camp), but of course, our pick goes to the edibles. These raw goodies from One Lucky Duck in New York City are tantalizing in their adorable packaging and delicious-sounding varieties. The macaroons are especially tempting, much like the offerings in our brand-new VegNews Holiday Cookbook. Check it out!

Pie!

The Date: Wednesday, November 10

The Delivery: Pumpkin Pie courtesy of San Francisco's Bike Basket Pies and our beloved VegNews Editor-At-Large Laura Hooper Beck.

Staff Pick: The individual and simply adorable pumpkin pies with a flakey crust and a spiced, sweet, filling.

The DL: Laura made today the best Wednesday in recent history by gifting us here at VNHQ delicious individual pies made by the adorable bike-catered SF-based pie company Bike Basket Pies! We love Laura so much we don't even know where to begin. Laura is the founding editor of Vegansaurus, the web-mistress of VegNews' sister-site VegWeb, a VegNews columnist, and just an all-around amazing person. Oh, and the pie? UNBELIEVABLE. Huge props to Bike Basket Pies for their plentiful vegan options, and to Laura for being, well, Laura!

Books!

The Date: Tuesday, November 9

The Delivery: Building a Green Movement and Changing the World, The Wild Vegan Cookbook, and The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur.

Staff Pick: The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur by Kelly Peloza

The DL: Three great books came in today and presented a dilemma...which one to pick? The Wild Vegan Cookbook is a compendium of vegan recipes based around wild ingredients, Building a Green Movement and Changing the World is a primer for eco-minded youth, and The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur is an adorable book by a young author passionate about vegan cookies! No shame, we chose the cookies. Kelly Peloza presents her first cookbook, and with recipes such as Gooey Butterscotch Cookies and Mexican Wedding cookies, we're pretty sure this book will come in handy come holiday season. And it just so happens that we have official declared that the holidays are now upon us, with the release of VegNews' very first Holiday Cookbook, chock-full of vegan recipes for all of your holiday needs. Included in this festive collection are Pumpkin Seed Battered Cranberry Cabernet Sauce by Tal Ronnen, Roasted Vegetable Pastry by Allison Rivers Samson, Robin Robertson's Crispy Latkes, and much more!

A book, raw snacks, and more!

The Date: Monday, November 8

The Delivery: Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations by Alicia C. Simpson, Citra Solv cleaner, Chai Tea from Tipu's, Lula's raw chocolate bars, Zenergy Super Food Power Snacks, and a tote bag and t-shirt from Ex-Boyfriend.

Staff Pick: The darling vegetarian dinosaur tote bag and owl t-shirt from Ex-Boyfriend.

The DL: Whew! With such an epic shipment today, it was nearly impossible to pick from the promising vegan cookbook, several treats from fellow SF Green Festival exhibitors, and the great goods from Ex-Boyfriend. At the end of a day, who can resist an adorable T and tote bag from the vegan-owned company Ex-Boyfriend that donate 5 percent of its revenue to animal rescues, while the owner volunteers at his local SPCA. We love this adorable dino-tote. Yes, we just declared that it will from now on be touted as the dinotote. We know you want one.

Vanilla Deliciousness

The Date: Thursday, November 4

The Delivery: Cookies and new Arbonne body and skin care products

Staff Pick: Alternative Baking Company's new Simply Vanilla Bean Cookie of the Season

The DL: Maybe we're a little bit excited about the upcoming holidays (it's almost December, people!), or maybe we just happened to revisit last year's VegNews Holiday Cookie Collection, but this seasonal Vanilla Bean cookie threw us into a fit of holiday anticipation. Also, it's a vegan cookie made by the 2010 Veggie Awards winners Alternative Baking Company, so it's going to be delicious. You wouldn't know it's nearing the holidays in this crazy San Franciscan heat (we know you're jealous, sorry!), but we'll devour classic vanilla vegan cookies anytime!

An Animal Rights Book

The Date: Wednesday, November 3

The Delivery: A book

Staff Pick: The Animal Rights Debate by Gary L. Francione and Robert Garner

The DL: Academics Gary L. Francione and Robert Garner bring us this intriguing debate into what separates many AR supporters into taking either the abolitionist or regulation stance on animal rights. The two authors spar throughout the book, which sounds like a fascinating read to compliment the book we at VegNews HQ are already enjoying immensely, the novel My Year of Meats, featured in the VegNews Book Club for November.

My Year of Meats

The Date: Tuesday, November 2

The Delivery: A VegNews book club book

Staff Pick: My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki

The DL: We're sure that by now you've all heard of the awesome phenomenon known as the VegNews Book Club. We just finished reading Kathy Stevens' Animal Camp, culminating in a fascinating Q & A with the Catskill Animal Sanctuary founder and author, Stevens herself. This month, book club hostess and superstar VegNews Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig is leading us through the novel My Year of Meats. Our lunchtime conversation today revolved solely around this scintillating read, and when you dive in and join our discussion you'll understand why.

Raw Transitions

The Date: Monday, November 1

The Delivery: A book

Staff Pick: Easy Raw Vegan Transition Recipes by Kristen Suzanne

The DL: Happy World Go Vegan Month! Curious about the raw vegan lifestyle? This book has your back with easy, raw recipes courtesy of the accomplished raw foods chef Kristen Suzanne. Looking for more vegan recipes for the holidays? Check out our VegNews Holiday Cookie Collection, or stay tuned for our VegNews Holiday Cookbook, to be released this week.

Body Cream

The Date: Friday, October 29

The Delivery: CDs, homeopathic remedies, and some body cream.

Staff Pick: Maya Essentials Plum Blossom & amber essential body cream.

The DL: It's Friday and almost Halloween, and we're all a little bit giggly with excitement, so it's fitting that today's deliveries were of the soothing sort. We're especially excited to try this uniquely-scented vegan body cream from Maya Essentials, perfect for some weekend pampering, after we prepare Saturday morning brunch inspired by Editorial Assistant Brooke Still's Quick Breakfast Fixes. Happy weekend!

Colorful Veganism

The Date: Thursday, October 28

The Delivery: A cookbook, Dark Angell vegan candy bars, and Purely Elizabeth vegan baking mixes. In other words, a great day for deliveries!

Staff Pick: Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

The DL: It takes a great

—nay, AMAZING

—

book for us to be able to pick it when it is competing with new vegan candy bars and cookie mixes, but VegNews columnist Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has produced just that with what looks like a stunning book featuring vegan recipes containing antioxidant-rich colorful ingredients packed with flavor.

Pop this baby on your Christmas list people, it looks like a winner! In the meantime, come schmooze with San Franciscan vegans including the VegNews staffers tonights at SF Vegan Drinks. Cheers!