We love cashews around here.  The love runs so deep that I have to restrain myself from eating them by the handful(s) since we all know nuts are not a treat we can eat in unlimited quantities (though I wished they were).

The new cashew milk is creamy and flavorful, which will make it a perfect addition to my morning smoothies (especially the unsweetened vanilla flavor).  Since it is made from cashews, the fat content is high (30 of the 35 calories are from fat), but since I wont be drinking it by the glassful, I am not worried about it.  I can’t wait to make my Mac and Cheez with the unsweetened original flavor.

So Delicious has made good use of monkfruit from which the fruit extract is 300 times sweeter than sugar.  Thanks to this wonderful fruit, the “no sugar added” frozen treats they sent us have only 1 gram of sugar per serving.

My daughter is over the moon about the Fudge Bar Minis.  The timing of this treat couldn’t be more perfect since she has been feeling left out this summer as she watches the local kids nosh on Fudgsicles.

I know BOTH of my kiddos are going to go nuts for the “world’s ONLY gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free cookie dough ice cream“…it is going to be a serious spoon war between the two of them.

Now we just need So Delicious to come-up with a gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan ice cream sandwich!  I am officially putting in my request

The post So Delicious Cashew Milk & Frozen Treats appeared first on Chic Vegan.

I have been the cousin to a vegan diet for over 12 years. A proud passionate vegetarian. I even dabbled in veganism for a nearly a year when I was first starting out. So when I heard about the 90 day vegan challenge hosted by health advocate Lasse Larsen I was immediately sold.

I sent over a video and a short email and a few weeks later I got the great news that I was accepted into the challenge. I would be alongside three other newbies all of which were COMPLETELY new to a plant based diet.

We would spend the next three months setting goals for ourselves, meditating daily, adhering to a new menu plan, and when the road got a little bumpy Lasse would be right there to coach us.

Since I was the only one who had somewhat of a background in plant based living I thought the journey would be straight forward and I would just sail right through. I was not prepared for how much of an emotional journey this would be.

How I view and used food immediately came into question. As well as how not be that jerk at a party who is always looking at labels or proclaiming how healthy they are. I also had to dig deep and let go of some past things.

After I traversed that rocky terrain for over a month I woke up one day and realized how many amazing changes had already taken place. I had someone shed over 12 pounds and I was looking and feeling amazing.  My continual sinus problems had cleared sufficiently, my sugar cravings were under control, and my mind was more clear. I was a new woman and had the story and the proof to share.

My goal in the challenge was to feel more vital and deal with some minor candida issues. I had no idea how much better I would feel in such a short amount of time. I can truly say that the vegan lifestyle is the right one for me. I will continue my journey as a plant passionate vegan even after the 90 days are over.

I will be forever grateful to my coach Lasse for his patience, expertise, and mission to help the world… One vegan at a time!

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Ayesha Reynolds is a life long spark seeker. She has created a radical life for herself based on her empowering beliefs about life, love, creativity, adventure, and spirit. She enjoys yoga,traveling, vegan dutch apple pie, and helping people to see that we all have a super power that can make our lives extraordinary. 

The post From Vegetarian to Vegan in 90 Days appeared first on Chic Vegan.

~ Gretchen, Editor

Veggie Options Score Runs at Major League Baseball Stadiums

Concessions and Fans Both Win

Berkeley, CA, April 23, 2013 – On opening day of Major League Baseball (MLB), 26 of the 30 stadiums had a vegetarian hot dog on their menus. At Safeco Field in Seattle, walking concession vendors will be selling vegetarian franks to fans throughout the stands and a designated cart will be serving customized vegan chili cheese dogs in addition to veggie burgers.

MLB parks have a come a long way since 2000, when vegetarian hot dogs were nonexistent on their menus and vegetarian options were generally limited to peanuts or pretzels. Enter Veggie Happy, an advocacy group that spoke up for fans who were bringing their own vegetarian food or choosing to eat before or after the games due to the limited options. Veggie Happy started with one fan, actress Johanna McCloy, who decided to take action by contacting all MLB concession managers and “making the pitch” for veggie dogs and other vegetarian fare. She cited statistics about the rise in demand for vegetarian options and empowered other fans to chime in. Concessionaires took heed and slowly began to introduce veggie dogs with her assistance. Veggie Happy also created a free “Venue Vegetarian Guide” on their web site (www.VeggieHappy.com) listing the vegetarian options at all MLB stadiums along with other professional sports venues.

At first, veggie dogs remained unmentioned in ballpark menu listings and were limited to one stand, sometimes located at the far end of a stadium. Most fans didn’t know they were even offered, so Veggie Happy hosted game outings and outreached locally to ensure awareness. McCloy even fielded comments on a Denver sports radio interview that veggie dogs in baseball were “un-American.” By 2013, it’s become a new ball game. Baseball fans will find such vegan options as frankfurters, sausages, burgers, Sloppy Janes, Philly cheeze steaks, chicken fajitas, bean burritos, gluten free snack chips and more.

Ballparks are adding vegetarian all stars to their menus and generating runs for concessions and fans alike.

McCloy believes that adding tasty vegan options with proven appeal to mainstream consumers is the key to success, so she only pitches items with a big yummy factor.To that end, stadiums have been switching from generic veggie dogs to vegan frankfurters that appeal to “flexitarian” tastes. Safeco Field saw a 700% increase in sales from 2011-2012 after making the switch to Field Roast brand frankfurters. San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park and Cleveland Indians’ Progressive Field also saw their sales rise. Peggy Kalberer, Assistant Concessions Manager for the Cleveland Indians’ Progressive Field said, “With more and more people looking for healthier options, Veggie Happy makes it easy for fans to plan their visit to the ballpark (by offering the on-line guide). Our fans do not have to eat at home before coming to see a great game.”

David Lee, Field Roast president and founder said, “All baseball fans, whether we’re carnivores or vegans, Giants, Red Socks or Mariners fans, want to eat good All-American food at the ballpark, and that means frankfurters. We are proud to offer ballparks a real vegan frankfurter that is juicy, bold and traditionally seasoned to satisfy fans cravings.”

For more information about Veggie Happy and issues regarding vegetarian options in MLB (and other sports leagues), please visit: www.veggiehappy.com.

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Image courtesy of Flickr’s The Commons and the Library of Congress.

The post Veggie Happy – Scores Runs at Major League Baseball Stadiums appeared first on Chic Vegan.

Thank you to all who entered.

You lucky Chic Vegans!  Remember our Canopy Verde giveaway last year???  Canopy Verde is offering our readers another giveaway this year in honor of Earth Day!!!

For those of you unfamiliar with Canopy Verde, Linda Wong started the brand shortly before the recession hit, then launched the first collection a week after the birth of her first child (a real labor of love!).

Canopy Verde is based in Brooklyn and relies on a local team of talent, from photographers to web designers. The influences on Canopy Verde are numerous – growing up in a frugal Chinese household where nothing was wasted, a love of modern mid-century Danish design, and the practical bag needs of a multi-tasking mom.

I am sure you are all dying to know which bag you will be entering to win…drum roll… the Cassia Mini ($169.00 USD value!!!).

Inspired by a traditional doctor’s bag, the Cassia Mini vegan purse has a wire frame opening and roomy interior. Enjoy vegan fashion without sacrificing style! Fits an iPad and all your essentials.

• Organic cotton fabric
• Animal-free, vegan “leather”
• OEKO-TEX certified dyes
• Chemical-free embroidery
• Wood details

*** GIVEAWAY ***

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!  “CATHERINE at BUYING CRUELTY FREE”

IS THE WINNER OF OUR CANOPY VERDE GIVEAWAY.  

Thank you to all who entered.

One entry will be earned for EACH task completed below.

The post CANOPY VERDE HANDBAG GIVEAWAY appeared first on Chic Vegan.

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I love Easter Sunday, the colors are bright and cheery, the weather is on the cusp of being mosquito bitten humid and make up melting hot and there’s mimosas! But there’s another side to that cute Easter bunny…..he delivers some questionable treats.

For starters, those yummy, squishy and fluffy peeps you loved as kid contains gelatin. Gelatin a  is protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments and/or bones with water. It is usually obtained from cows or pigs. This is from the FAQ page from the website Just Born, manufactures of Peeps: “Our PEEPS® Marshmallow Candies are not kosher because they contain pork derived gelatin.” Sit back and chew on that while I tell you about Jelly Beans.

Whether or not you enjoy a shellac manicure from time to time, you are enjoying it while popping a few jelly beans in your mouth.  Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed into dry flakes, which are combine with ethyl alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used for nail polish, food glaze and wood finish. Woooo what? Go back, food glaze? So the same stuff used to paint nails is used to give Jelly Beans their shine.

We all love a good wax! But do we love it on our Robin’s eggs? Mmm, not so much. Robins Eggs, those yummy little eggs we see at the bottom of Easter baskets gets its glossy finish using Carnauba wax. Carnauba is used for things like car, shoe and surfboard wax…..yum, shoe wax.

Last but not least we didn’t forget about you Cadbury Eggs.  Amongst all kinds of weird used to make the cream inside those eggs there’s that sneaky little Yellow 6, que the soap opera dramatic music. Yellow 6 is a synthetic dye made from coal tar. It’s actually banned in Norway and Finland and actually has pretty serious side effects like gastric upsets, diarrhea, vomiting, and migraines. The only migraine you should have is the day after Easter from one too many mimosas!

There are plenty of “safe” candies and treats to fill Easter baskets with! Check out your local health food store or one of my favorite websites www.naturalcandystore.com.

Enjoy the day with your family and friends and celebrate everything that this spring season has to offer!

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Heidi Templeton is a Tampa Bay Area yoga instructor. When she’s not practicing asana, you can find her in the kitchen cooking up vegan dishes. Heidi is sharing her love for all things health and wellness on www.facebook.com/HeidiFit 

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Header image courtesy of Veggie Grettie

The post HOW VEGAN IS YOUR EASTER CANDY? appeared first on Chic Vegan.

I wasn’t sure what my kids would think of the Windows 8 platform, but they seem to have really taken to it.  When I asked my 12 year old if he preferred the iPad or the Windows 8 tablet he replied…and I quote, “Dude…the tablet is sooooo much better!”  When I asked him why he said, “Uh Mom…(pause)…it is a computer and tablet in one…how can you not see that is light-years better???”

When I started playing around with it I was initially disappointed that there does not seem to be as many apps as the iPad has.  When I mentioned my disappointment to my son he asked me which apps I wished it had at which point he promptly downloaded my Nook reader to the desktop screen on the tablet and the problem was solved (those smart kids!).  UPDATE – Apparently I am an idiot…I was looking for the apps incorrectly…there IS a NOOK reader on the tablet (I am learning everyday!).

While I don’t see Vegin Out or Happy Cow on the tablet, there are quite a few vegan apps available.  I like having Happy Cow and Vegin Out handy when looking for restaurants in new areas.  Fortunately my phone takes care of that for me as would an internet search.

I thought I would share our 5 favorite things we have discovered about the tablet:

1.  The tablet is a computer and tablet in one

2.  My husband is able to stream the UCLA games to the tablet when they are not televised (something he could NOT do with the iPad and he is over the moon excited about that)

3.  Netflix is MUCH more user friendly on the tablet vs. the iPad.  i.e When I am watching a show and an episode is coming to an end, the next episode starts automatically.

4.  My husband was able to make it so I have access to the files from my actual laptop on the tablet meaning that I can actually write blog posts from the tablet and upload the pictures for the post from my laptop.  I tried to do this on the iPad and it was a real pain in the behind because I had to use Log Me In (not very user friendly).  Yay for the tablet!!!

5.  I love that the homescreen on the tablet scrolls through weather, top news, etc. and I can see all of that in one glance.

I have a feeling I have barely scratched the surface with the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Tablet.  I can’t wait to read Beer & Beans blog post about the 5 Essential (Free) Windows 8 Tablet Apps.

Apparently Intel has also released a new Fujitsu device for business users that sounds pretty cool too.  You can check out the video HERE.

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Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Intel.

The post SAMSUNG WINDOWS 8 TABLET appeared first on Chic Vegan.

I am not much of a bar lady, but was excited when I saw the ingredient list…finally some vegan protein bars that are not loaded with soy crisps.  In fact, Vegan One Bars don’t have any soy crisps in them at all (which is important to me since I avoid soy due to my hypothyroidism).  The protein base is made from Vega’s Complete Protein Blend (sprouted whole grain brown rice protein, pea protein).

I also appreciate the fact that Vega One Bars are gluten free and don’t have any artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners.

• Gluten-free
• 15g protein
• 1.5g of Omega-3
• 6g fiber
• 1 billion dairy-free probiotics
• 1 serving of greens

Now how about taste?  I was sent all three flavors; Chocolate Cherry, Chocolate Almond, and Double Chocolate.  My favorites were the Chocolate Almond and Double Chocolate.  As for the Cherry Chocolate bars, I wished they had a stronger “cherry” taste.  When I shared that with the people at Vega, they were very receptive and mentioned that they are always working to perfect their products and flavors.

These bars taste like an indulgent snack.  My daughter had one as an after-school snack and yelled out, “These are AWESOOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!”  She doesn’t sugar-coat her opinions…trust me!

When I am in a pinch and out of time, the Vega One Bars will substitute well for breakfast or as an after-workout snack, though I will definitely not be eating them with abandon since at $47.79 for a box of 12, they have hefty value to them.  I take some comfort in the fact that they are loaded with important vitamins and probiotics which helps offset the cost in my mind a bit.

At 250 calories they weigh in less calorically than most bars on the market.  While I wish the bars were lower in fat, I like that the fats come from natural fat sources such as Vega saviseed oil chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, nuts, and nut butters.

Have any of you tried the bars yet?  What did you think?

The post VEGA ONE BARS appeared first on Chic Vegan.

Basically I completely lucked out because I was sent a brand new Samsung ATIV Smart PC!!!  I can’t wait to see how it differs from the iPad (which I am very familiar with).

I plan on sharing my observations with all of you as well as letting you know what my other half and my children think of the tablet.  We have several demographics covered within our 4 person family!

I work on a PC, my son has an Apple, and we own several iPhones in our family, so it will be interesting to see how we adjust to the Windows 8 platform.

I am also interested to see how the apps differ and what sorts of vegan apps there are..

Do you have any specific questions for me?  Any suggestions?

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Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Intel.

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GLUTEN-FREE SODA BREAD – SPOTTED DOG

GLUTEN-FREE GODDESS

VEGAN COLCANNON

CHOOSING RAW

PURPLE CABBAGE STIR-FRY

VEGGIE GRETTIE

VEGAN BAILEY’S IRISH CREAM

OH SHE GLOWS

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

CHOCOLATE COVERED KATIE

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