5-Ingredient Vegan

5-Ingredient Vegan is the most recent cookbook by innovative author, illustrator and recipe developer Nava Atlas. Just a few of her other popular cookbooks include; Plant Power, Wild About Greens, Vegan Holiday Kitchen, Vegan Soups, Vegan Express and Hearty Stews for All Seasons. What I love the most about all these cookbooks is that they are all focused on making plants taste great.

The ingredients Nava includes in her recipes in 5-Ingredient Vegan are easy to find in grocery stores in any part of the U.S. Just one of the time saving techniques Nava includes in this fun new vegan cookbook is using items like fresh produce, whole grains, good quality canned and frozen foods along with prepared sauces.

Another one of the secrets you will learn in 5-Ingredient Vegan is how to pack your dishes with flavors that will have your friends and family coming back for more! I would also recommend getting fruits and veggies from local farms or farmer’s market that will kick your dishes up several more notches!

20 Minutes or Less

Many of the recipes in this cookbook are ready to eat in a or less than 20 minutes and have you covered for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and more. They are also fun to create, very pleasing to the eye, and would be great for people starting out on a plant based diet. They’re also helpful for someone who you are encouraging to eat more plants. Many of the dishes will also make you the star of the show if you brought them to parties!

Delicious Recipes

With dishes like Scallion Pancakes, Southwestern Tofu Burritos, Tempeh Fries with Fresh Dill Mayonnaise, Smoky BBQ Chickpeas, Baked Polenta Fries, Coconut Sweet Potato Bisque, Pasta with Power Greens, Salsa Verde Bean Burritos, Skillet Blueberry Crumble, Pineapple-Orange Ambrosia and Chocolate Granola Clusters, how can you go wrong?

5-Ingredient Vegan is my kind of cookbook, it contains unique recipes that focus on bringing out flavors of whole foods, and that is what I love! I think you will too, so pick up a copy of your own. If you’d like to learn more about Nava, she has a really fun website loaded with other tips, travel and restaurant recommendations and more recipes: https://theveganatlas.com/

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Shepherd’s Mac

If you enjoy both shepherd’s pie and mac uncheese, chances are you’ll love this nontraditional union of the two in one delicious casserole.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword vegan mac and cheese,, vegan shepherd's pie

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Author Robin Robertson

Ingredients

Lentils

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
• 21/2 cups (175 g) chopped mushrooms
• 21/2 cups (495 g) cooked lentils
• 21/2 cups (338 g) frozen mixed vegetables steamed
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) tamari divided
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Pasta

• 16 ounces (454 g) radiatore or other small pasta

Sauce

• 21/2 cups (600 ml) water
• 1 large russet potato peeled and diced
• 1 small carrot chopped
• 3/4 cup (105 g) unsalted raw cashews
• 1/2 of a small yellow onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves smashed
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup (30 g) nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons (28 g) vegan butter
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Ground black pepper to taste

Topping

• Toasted panko bread crumbs

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
• To make the lentils: In a skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the lentils, mixed vegetables, 1 tablespoon (15 mof the tamari, the onion powder, and garlic powder and season with salt and pepper. Stir well to mix. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend the flavors. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• To make the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain well and set aside.
• To make the sauce: In the same pot over high heat, combine the water, potato, carrot, cashews, onion, and garlic and season with salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, cover the pot, and cook until the vegetables are soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Carefully transfer the contents of the pot to a high-speed blender.
• Add the nutritional yeast, butter, lemon juice, remaining 1 tablespoon (15 mof tamari, mustard, turmeric, and paprika and season with the pepper. Blend until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides, as needed.
• Return the pasta to the pot. Pour the sauce over the pasta and gently stir to combine.
• Transfer the lentil mixture to a 9 × 13-inch (23 × 33 cbaking dish, spreading it evenly. Spread the pasta mixture on top.
• To finish: Sprinkle the top with the toasted panko bread crumbs. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Notes

Vegan Mac & Cheese by Robin Robertson © 2019 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.

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Fast and Easy Vegan Cookbook

One of the complaints I often hear from people is that they don’t have time to cook meals. Dinner is especially a problem, as they want something fast and easy after a long day at the office. JL Fields has come to their rescue with her new Fast and Easy Vegan Cookbook.

Fast and Easy Vegan Cookbook is full of — you guessed it — fast and easy vegan recipes! Some recipes are fast, others are easy, and some are both! None of them require a lot of ingredients, and preparation for each one is pretty simple. A lot of the recipes include substitution tips, making it easy to use what you have on hand. And some include oil-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and soy-free options, too, making it easy for those with dietary restrictions.

JL includes information on how to balance meals as a vegan, versatile ways to use vegetables, and even how to store veggies. She’s also included useful meal-prep tips and a list of equipment that’s handy to have on hand in your plant-based kitchen.

Rather than group recipes by meal, they’re divided by level of ease, which makes using the book super handy. Some recipes don’t require any cooking at all, some can be made with just five ingredients, and others take 30 minutes or less from start to finish. There’s even a chapter devoted to pressure cooking!

Chapters Include:

• Vegan Meals Made Fast and Easy
• No Cooking Required
• Thirty-Minute Meals (or Less)
• Five Ingredients
• One-Pot Wonders
• No-Pressure Pressure Cooking
• Kitchen Staples

If you’re a vegan in need of fast and easy recipes, if you’re a new vegan and aren’t sure of what to cook, or if you’re just looking for new recipes to add to your collection, Fast and Easy Vegan Cookbook is the book for you!

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• “I don’t know what to make”
• “It takes too much time to cook it”
• “It’s not convenient, etc.”

VegReady

When he noticed people reverting back to fast foods and meats that were destroying their bodies from the inside out, the wheels in his head began turning. He thought, “What if there could be a vegan/plant-based meal that was easier and more convenient than the fast food alternative?” And VegReady was born!

Mark created VegReady with the mission of helping 2 million people eat just 2 more plant-based meals per week as a first step on their transition to a better life. The meals require no cooking, no refrigeration, and no heating. These meals are ready for you when you are. In the office, at home, in the cabinet—all you have to do is open and eat.

VegReady Meals are made with 100% plant based ingredients and make eating healthy, simple, and convenient. They allow you to do more of the things you love like; spending time with family, doing your hobbies or getting outside and enjoying life, something we all need to do more of!

VegReady’s vision is to offer 200 dishes from four regions of the world; South America, Mediterranean, India, and Southeast Asia. The current line of dishes come source from Peru – where they have various Quinoa and Rice trays with a variety of sides.

There are two ways to purchase VegReady Meals; with the subscription service or individually. Customers can save with the monthly subscription, or purchase quantities of 8 or more meals at a time.

When you purchase VegReady, you receive a cardboard case containing 8 custom-built MealBoxes, each with three dishes listed below. Each MealBox is decorated with mouthwatering images of the food inside. As a bonus, each MealBox comes with a pamphlet outlining the benefits of two plant meals per week for our bodies and our planet.

Inside each VegReady monthly delivery you’ll receive:

Main Trays (8 total):

• Quinoa & Lentils
• Blond Quinoa

Sides & Sauces (a mix of 2 per box):

• Ratatouille with Tomato, Eggplant & Zucchini: A succulent medley of rich and savory vegetables. Full of nutrition and flavor!
• Zucchini & White Onion: A savory mix of hearty vegetables, with plenty of crunch and loads of taste! Delicious on it’s own or mixed with a spinach & broccoli dish!
• Piquillo Pepper, Cabbage & Lentils: One of our saucier mixes, perfect for stirring in with a quinoa or lentil dish, and packed full of nutritious and delicious veggies!
• Tomato, Mango, Hearts of Palms & Peppers: A rich and savory sauce, with a sweet undertone, with no oil and plenty of flavor. A delicious addition to the quinoa dishes!
• Spinach & Broccoli: perfect for adding flavor and nutrients to complete each meal. Getting your greens has never been so tasty!

With the 12-month shelf life at room-temperature, you can be sure you always have a healthy meal within arms reach. No refrigeration. No heating.

How can you help VegReady help to be successful? Try their meals, let them know what you think of them. They can be ordered through VegReady.com and if you’d like to spread their message, VegReady has a Brand Ambassador program where you can earn rewards and points used towards your next purchase.

And today, the folks at VegReady want to get their meals in your hands so they are allowing me to give away a case of 8 meals to one lucky winner! Follow the instructions below to enter. Contest ends at midnight Eastern Time on July 28th. U.S. residents only, please. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The park covers more than 2,500 square miles of mountainous terrain. Most of that is wilderness, with nary an ounce of tofu in sight. The town of Banff Springs (population 7,584) has the densest concentration of tofu per square mile, so I recommend vegan travelers head there to fuel up.

Nourish Bistro, Banff Springs

If you’re only going out for one meal while visiting Banff National Park, support Nourish, the local vegetarian restaurant. Most items on their menu can be made vegan. Nourish’s mushroom ravioli with vegan cream came highly recommended, but I was desperate for vegetables and so ordered the falafel salad. It was huge, with excellent greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, tofu feta, red pepper hummus and, of course, falafel. I also ordered bread with butter oil, which is a locally blended oil that’s vegan but tastes like butter, made down the street at the Evoolution oil store. Nourish is a popular spot and seems to draw a veg and non-veg clientele. It’s on the upscale side of veg, with entrée prices in the $20-$30 range.

Nesters, Banff Springs

Nesters, part of a British Columbia grocery chain, has a surprising amount of vegan food. If you’re driving through the park and plan on camping or staying at remote lodgings, stock up here. Get your boxes of Daiya mac and cheese and high-end bars of dark chocolate for dessert.

Indian Curry House, Banff Springs

One of several Indian restaurants in town, I opted for Indian Curry House because of its specialization on South Indian food. Nothing like a big Mysore masala dosa with a view of the mountains. Plus it has all your standbys, like eggplant bharta and chana masala. I went at the off-time of five p.m. and had the restaurant practically to myself.

Fairmont Banff Springs

Many Banff Springs visitors stop at the “Castle in the Rockies” even if they’re staying elsewhere. One of the great hotels built by 19^th century railroad barons, the Fairmont Banff Springs is still fabulous and deserves a look. I stayed at this enormous property for two nights and never did see it all. Have a wander and check out the King Arthur style details. Stock, the Fairmont’s market/café has a few vegan snacks, juices and excellent chocolates. The espresso bar makes a good soy cappuccino. If you’re there for breakfast, the Vermilion Room buffet’s vegan items include potatoes, grilled tomatoes, house-made bread, fruit and mashed avocado.

Fairmont Lake Louise

The famously teal waters of Lake Louise are about a 45-minute drive from Banff Springs. There’s a small village a few kilometers from the lake, but your best bet is another Fairmont property, the Chateau Lake Louise. It’s also the best place to stay if you want to wake up and wander straight out to the lake. The chateau’s on-site restaurants operate trans fat-free kitchens and include organic local produce when possible. I was there for a wellness retreat, for which there was special vegan food at every meal, beautifully presented.

Even if you’re there as a regular visitor, the Fairmont Lake Louise is nice to vegans. The breakfast buffet at the Poppy Brasserie offers good stuff like potatoes, blistered cherry tomatoes, avocado, fresh fruit, bread and peanut butter. I especially appreciated how pitchers of soy and almond milk were set out on the buffet, so I didn’t even have to ask. The Lakeview Restaurant makes a vegan tomato coconut soup and a vegan wrap with tomato rice pilaf, white beans, lemon and basil, pickled shallots, black olive hummus, and cucumber. I ran up quite a tab at the deli, which is open 24/7 to make soy cappuccinos.

As always, when venturing into the wilderness, pack your veg protein bars. But make sure to sample a couple of the local veg-friendly eateries while visiting Banff National Park.

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Bamboozle

Local Vietnamese chain Bamboozle has vegan pho, vegan tofu lemongrass banh mi sandwiches, and, get this, three types of vegan fresh rolls – avocado, veggie and tofu. I got one of each roll. Turns out they make each roll fresh! Impressive. And they gave me three different vegan dipping sauces.

Dixie Dharma

I lucked out by being in town the week  Dixie Dharma debuted in Tampa. The Orlando-based vegan spot now serves its vegan takes on Southern classics inside Armature Works, a beautifully renovated streetcar barn that houses a public food market. General Manager Ashley Simmons and Sous Chef Gustavo Vasquez temporarily relocated from Orlando to launch the Tampa branch. Gustavo, who worked for Disney and Universal Studios before his work life took a vegan turn, loves that Dixie Dharma makes everything in-house. “This is a scratch kitchen so it’s really fun to work here,” he told me as he took a well-deserved coffee break.

Ashley says their orange bird – a sloppy joe with orange barbecue sauce and house slaw served on a toasted potato bun – is the top seller in Orlando. “It’s known worldwide,” she said. “Our chili dogs are one of the up and coming very popular items. And then our Carolina jackfruit is totally a top contender as well.” When I visited on day three of Dixie Dharma’s stint in Tampa, the jackfruit was a top seller. I can vouch for its goodness. So far, Ashley says, Tampa is embracing DD. “They’re all smiles and they tell us how great the food was, and the next day they come back with more people.”

Fresh Kitchen

A bowl specialist, the local Fresh Kitchen chain lets you customize your own. For example, if you pick a Four Bowl you get to choose two bases, one veggie, one protein and one sauce. A six bowl gets you two bases, two proteins, two veggies and one sauce. Vegan hot base items include cauliflower potato mash and brown rice, cold bases include kale slaw and sweet potato noodles. For the veggie options, you can get roasted mushrooms, braised lentils, roasted sweet potatoes and/or sesame green beans. The only vegan protein is teriyaki tofu. Vegan items are all clearly marked. It took me a couple of minutes to make sense of all this, but suffice it to say you can get a fast and healthy vegan lunch here for about 10 bucks, with lots of choices. The patio has darling pink tables and is dog-friendly.

Taco Dirty

Taco Dirty is owned by the same restaurateur as Fresh Kitchen, and has a similar customization concept. But this time the bowls and plates let you choose combinations of bases, vegs, proteins, sauces and “Mexi things.” Mexi things of interest to vegans include lime jalapeno sour crema and vegan cauli queso. I didn’t get to try Taco Dirty this visit, but it will be on the top of my list for next time I’m in Tampa.

Columbia Restaurant

Founded in the 1880s, Ybor City was nicknamed “Cigar City” because of its 50 years of cigar-rolling supremacy. This Tampa neighborhood northeast of downtown is still full of gorgeous historic buildings dating back to the late 19^th century. Since the ‘90s it’s seen a renaissance as an entertainment and nightlife district. But the Columbia Restaurant predates gentrification. Known as Florida’s oldest restaurant, it opened in 1905 as a place cigar workers went for Cuban coffee and sandwiches. Incredibly, it’s still owned by the fourth generation of the Hernandez/Gonzmart family, who continue to expand the empire. The Columbia restaurant and gift shop now fills a city block, boasting 15 different dining rooms, each decorated with oil paintings, heavy wooden doors and, best of all, thousands of handmade tiles.

The Columbia has quite a few vegetarian dishes marked on the menu. A few can be adapted for vegans, including eggplant Riojana, which is what I ordered. The chef breads four big medallions of eggplant in ground plantain crumbs, fries them and ladles on a tomato-based Rioja sauce with garlic, capers, green olives and red wine. Vegetarian paella and a black bean, rice and tomato dish are the other two veg mains. It’s well worth visiting for the history, art and atmosphere, as well as the Spanish food.

Ulele

Another Gonzmart family production, Ulele turned an old water works building into a historic fine dining restaurant right on the Hillsborough River. By revitalizing a derelict stretch of Tampa’s riverfront, Ulele has brought new life to the Tampa Heights neighborhood and inspired other businesses to follow suit. Named for a young Native American princess, the menu uses indigenous flavors and ingredients. Ulele has won accolades for its vegetarian dishes, especially the Portobello mushroom stuffed with vegetables. This usually has manchego cheese, but you can order it without.

The okra fries are thin-sliced, non-slimy, delicious and vegan. The native sauté is a vegan stir fry, and the carrot ribbons are vegan if you skip the aioli. Sit outside and catch the sunset.

Sweet Soul SoHo

If there’s vegan ice cream in a city, I consider it my job to find it. Sweet Soul SoHo is Tampa’s place for vegan soft serve, acai bowls and smoothies. I went straight for the brownie sundae—a generous bowl of soft serve topped with chocolate granola, cacao nibs, brownie chunks and your choice of drizzle. In my case, peanut butter. It was way more than I needed to eat, but eat it I did.

Owner and Tampa native Taylor Winter left med school to follow her dream of opening Sweet Soul. “Everything here has a nutritional benefit,” she told me when I asked her about the vanilla bean charcoal soft serve that is, well, the color of charcoal. It was the only time my vanilla has ever been darker than my chocolate. “The charcoal doesn’t add flavor, but it adds a detox benefit,” she said. At first she worried that kids might be leery of dark gray ice cream. “But they think it’s cool.” Indeed, I saw one little guy dig right in without hesitation. The other two flavors when I visited were matcha and coconut algae. I was put off by the latter, but Taylor convinced me to try a sample. It’s made with Blue Majik algae and is an incredible ice blue color. Sure enough, all delicious coconut, no algae taste.

Sweet Soul is extremely family-oriented, and even has a garden aimed at inspiring kids. “There’s no farms in South Tampa,” Taylor explains. She encourages kids to water, plant and dig. Phyllis the rooster oversees the garden.

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Once you get into the leafy greens habit, it’s hard to stop. And why would you? Greens are one of the most nutrient-rich food groupon the planet, boasting a multitude of benefits.

They’re one of the best sources of Vitamin K, essential to bone health, and are abundant in vitamins A, B (especially folic acid) and C. Greens also provide a wealth of antioxidants and chlorophyll, are protective against cancers, and are anti-inflammatory. The hardier greens, like kale, chard, and collards, are superb sources of highly absorbable calcium, a perk that’s especially valuable to vegans.

All of these are great reasons to eat more greens, aside from the fact that they’re delicious, versatile, and add interest to all manner of preparations.

Here are a handful of ways to enjoy them every day:

1. Use greens in smoothies and juices. Some greens are better for this purpose than others. Spinach tastes so mild in smoothies and juices that your taste buds barely know it’s there. Kale and collards are a bit more assertive but add a very mild green flavor to smoothies and juices. To make either juices or smoothies, a big handful or two of spinach or one or two good-size kale or collard leaves per servings is about right. Greens blend well with bananas, apples, berries, and pears. You’ll need a high-speed blender (like Vita-Mix or BlendTec) to break kale and collards down smoothly; a regular blender is sufficient for spinach.
2. Use “massaged” raw kale in salads. Strip rinsed and dried kale leaves from their stems and chop into bite-size pieces. Place the cut kale into a serving bowl. Rub a little olive oil into your palm, then massage the kale for 45 seconds to a minute. It will soften up and turn bright green. To this, you can add all manner of other veggies and fruits, and dress any way you’d like. A simple formula that I’ve been enjoying for years: add dried cranberries, toasted or raw cashew pieces, vegan mayonnaise, and a little lemon juice. It’s downright addictive. Massaged kale goes well with avocado, apples, pears, napa or red cabbage, carrots, pumpkin seeds, walnuts … what you combine it with is limited only to what happens to be in your fridge. It can be dressed in ordinary vinaigrette, sesame-ginger dressing, tahini dressing, and the aforementioned vegan mayo.
3. Add hardy greens to stir-fries. The best greens to use for this purpose are lacinato kale, collards, or chard. Strip the leaves from the stems (you can slice the stems from the kale and chard very thinly and use them again. Stack a few leaves atop one another and roll up snugly from a narrow end. Slice very thinly. This will make long, thin ribbons; cut them once or twice across to shorten. Add toward the end of your veggie stir-fries, as the greens cook down quickly. They blend well with all manner of veggies that you’d usually use in stir-fries—broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, bok choy (itself a leafy green), asparagus, green beans, etc.
4. Use plenty of leafy spring greens in salads. Granted, this isn’t a revolutionary idea, but look beyond lettuce to create invigorating warm-season salads. Use lots of peppery watercress (a nutritional superstar), baby bok choy, tender dandelion greens, tatsoi, and mizuna (the latter two are Japanese greens that have become increasingly available at farm markets and CSAs). Combine with baby green and sprouts, plus your favorite salad veggies and fruits, for cleansing (and clean-tasting) salads.
5. Learn to love the bitter greens. Add variety to your greens repertoire by getting to know escarole, broccoli rabe, and mustard greens. These greens mellow out considerably with gentle braising or when incorporated into soups and stews. The basics: Heat a little olive oil in a large steep-sided skillet or stir-fry pan; sauté as much chopped garlic and/or shallots as you’d like. Add washed and chopped greens, stir quickly to coat with the oil, then add about 1/4 cup water or vegetable stock. Cover and cook until tender and wilted down, about 5 minutes. Traditional additions to this kind of braise are raisins and toasted pine nuts, plus salt and pepper and if you’d like, a little apple cider vinegar.

Greens photos by Hannah Kaminsky. Recipe photos by Susan Voisin.

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Next Level Burger

This is where Next Level began, a visit to the mothership of the organic vegan burger chain is a must while in Bend. Next Level makes a plethora of burger patties, involving different blends of quinoa, white beans, black chia seeds, black beans and mushrooms. Fries come in regular or sweet potato, and you can get vegan milkshakes. Not a fry person (Are there such creatures?)? Order your burger with a side of kale salad instead.

Chow    

As someone who favors old houses, I love old house restaurants and felt very at home here. While breakfast is easy for vegetarians, I often find it the hardest meal for vegans. But Chow offers more than the default oatmeal made with water. They made me a lovely tofu rancheros, and also had a vegan benedict. I ate there the day before Thanksgiving and they even had vegan pumpkin pancakes.

Bethlyn’s Global Fusion

Named for Chef Bethlyn Rider, this cute world fusion café has a wide-ranging menu. She mixes Aer with African, French with Indian, whatever it takes to make an interesting dish. Bethlyn’s Global Fusion is a good place to get a few appetizers or bigger dishes to share. Good vegan choices include roasted India chick peas, Thai coconut curry bowl, or a Mahn Mi lettuce wrap. Lots of menu items can be made vegan on request.

Joolz

A different type of global fusion happens at Joolz’, whose tagline is, “Where the Middle East meets the Wild West.” Chef Ramsay Hamdan was born in Beirut to a Lebanese father and an American cowgirl mom. Joolz is a bit more upscale than other places on this list, and its pretty Middle Eastern décor lends itself to a romantic date night. They do a nice job with standard veg Middle East choices, like falafel, grape leaves and baba ganouj.

Bonta Natural Artisan Gelato

This gelato place is packed even on November nights—and we know, because we went two nights in a row. Gelato joints usually offer sorbets, too, which I’m sure many people find delicious. I’m not one of those people. Sorbet usually tastes like fruit concentrate to me, making me envy my husband’s gelato and throwing what he calls “a vegan tantrum.” But Bonta provides for people like me. In addition to their sorbets, they make some richer, coconut-based vegan ice creams, including chocolate coconut. A delicious end to an evening out in downtown Bend, Oregon.

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Subscription boxes — to me — are like that.  Sort of the upscale versions (way upscale, actually) of grab bags.  We aren’t really sure what we’ll get, and we always look forward to the surprise.  The difference is that we pay for subscription boxes, so we expect good surprises.  And that is usually what we get.

Tokibox

Tokibox is a monthly vegan subscription box that contains 5-7 items (some are full-size).   Each item is cruelty-free, eco-friendly and non-toxic.  With a focus on small businesses (local to New York City, but also throughout the United States), you can try food, beauty and other items knowing they’ve been vetted against these criteria and passed the test.

According to the website, the name Toki comes from the Korean word for rabbit, which we easily associate with cruelty-free products.  As with many subscription boxes, you can choose the month-to-month plan ($34.95 per month for this option), or commit to a longer plan and save a bit (the 3-month plan is $32.95 per month and the 6-month plan is $29.11 per month).  There are also a few items you can buy individually on the website.

September Back to Basics Essentials Box

I received the September Back to Basics Essentials Box.  This included a nice variety of goodies, including a scrub, a nut milk bag (I can always use another one of those), a latte mix, Nibmor cocoa, a lovely-smelling sage bundle, and some chips from Vegan Rob’s.  My favorite item was the Vanilla Bean and Espresso Granola from Wildway.  I’ve had this before, so I knew what to expect, but I do highly recommend it.  Its a soft, grain-free granola that is super yummy.

It was a great mix of goodies and fit the monthly theme of getting back to the routine of school or work after summer.

The packaging was very sweet and the box included a card with a little description of each item and what I assume was the value of the item if purchased separately.

As with any subscription box, you may not always like what you get.  I subscribe to a couple of boxes and sometimes I’m not thrilled with one of the items.  So, I just give it away.  It doesn’t go to waste and that little gesture can bring a smile to someone’s face.  But if you are interested in trying new products on a monthly basis, Tokibox might be a good fit for you.

Discount Offer

Use the promo code “TRIBETOKI” for a $5 discount on any box. And, with the holidays coming up, why not buy a box for a friend?  The promo code “CHICVEGAN3” will save you $3 on another box.  Enjoy!

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