Expo West 2012: Best Of Day 2 (Video) - Vegan, Organic and Gluten-Free Products

Friday, March 9, 2012 was officially Day 1 of Natural Products Expo West, though a lot happened on Thursday as well. Take a look at what I discovered in my second video from the show, featuring:

• Green Girl Next Door (blogger)
• Coco Polo (stevia sweetened chocolate)
• One Degree Foods (breads with full ingredient disclosure)
• Food for Lovers (vegan queso and mayo)
• Green Foods (green powders and vegan protein powders)
• So Delicious (practically everything dairy-free)
• Nature's Path (organic passion and delicious cereals and snacks)
• Ashley Koff (incredible nutritionist)
• Qrunch burgers (quinoa veggie burgers)
• Vegucated (vegan documentary)
• Healthy Voyager (blogger and author)
• Vegan Cuts (vegan daily deal site)
• Happy Cow (vegan restaurant site)
• Living Eco (eco-vegan shopping and interviews)
• Fair Trade USA
• AlterEco (quinoa chocolate)

Video Review: Healthy Snacks from Way Better - Sprouted Tortilla Chips

image from GoWayBetter.com

I'm always on the hunt for good snacks, so when I spotted Way Better Snack's attractive packaging at Rainbow Grocery I had to check it out. Upon closer inspection I discovered that they aren't your average tortilla chips - they are made with sprouted grains and seeds for extra nutrition. All ingredients are non-GMO and certified gluten-free, and most of them are organic. Sold. Check out this video for my thoughts:

Review: Coconut Curry Crackers From Livin' Spoonful (Video)

It's hard to find really satisfying, well-priced healthy snacks...well, I suppose it depends on what your definition of healthy is, but for me it means:

• plant based
• unprocessed
• organic
• gluten-free
• soy-free
• low or no SOS (salt, oil, sugar)

Try to think of some snacks off the top of your head, aside from produce and nuts/seeds, and you'll feel a little stumped. My favorite snack lately has been kale chips, but at $5-8 a bag it can add up, especially when I eat them all in one sitting (aka 10-15 minutes). Then there are nuts, which are great except that they too can get pricey and I get sick of them pretty fast. So what's a Eco-Vegan Gal (or Guy) to do? Personally, I go to different natural markets/sections of stores and see if I can find new treats, and luckily I did yesterday.

Healthy Snacks to Eat on a Cleanse (Video)

Looking for something yummy, satisfying and filling to have in between meals during your whole foods plant-based cleanse? Here are some things you can pick up at natural markets like Whole Foods, online (see links), or save a little money and make them yourself!

Video Interview: Rhythm Superfoods - Raw Kale and Sweet Potato Chips

If you're looking for a guilt-free snack eat kale chips. They are the ultimate in healthy indulgence. Crispy, sweet, slightly salty with organic, raw, minimal ingredients (gluten and soy free). It's a financial splurge worth making since making them at home requires a dehydrator (to do it right) and at least half a day of waiting for them to be done. There are a lot of kale chips on the market, and one of my favorite companies is Rhythm Superfoods. I interviewed the co-founder, Keith, at Expo West 2011 and he told me the story behind the products and his passion. 

How to Choose the Healthiest Food From A Vending Machine

I can't remember the last time I bought something out of a vending machine, so today when I saw one I decided to check out the options inside - grim as I imagined. However, several people I was in a meeting with went up and made purchases because they were hungry and wanted something instant. I remember what that felt like - examining the choices, weighing out the health effects versus what flavors I was craving, and ultimately deciding to splurge and get something sweet or salty. It's sad that these machines prey on our moment of weakness and offer up foods meant to manipulate our eyes and our tongues... Since that is the current reality, then here are some ways to make the healthiest decision, and the top choices from this particular vending machine. 

Video: MSG in Doritos, Cooking with a Vegan Zombie, How to Compost, Mind Upgrade and Free Organic Clothing!

You know what time it is: healthy and sustainable weekly roundup time! Learn what superfoods you should eat everyday, how to compost, what chips to ditch MSG-soaked Doritos for, how to make almond milk, where to get a mind upgrade, and enter to win $50 worth of organic clothing! Are You Ready For Dis?!

Video Interview: Hail Merry Raw Vegan Gluten-Free Snacks & Desserts

There are a LOT of great products at Expo West each year - it's pretty overwhelming. But one of the most memorable foods I tried in 2011 was without a doubt Hail Merry. If you live in certain parts of the country - like Colorado, Texas or Virginia - you may have spotted their raw tarts in the refrigerated section and drooled over their descriptions and affordable price; if you didn't buy them you're a fool! These vegan tarts are mind blowingly good - in fact, they don't even taste raw or gluten-free. They're sweet and creamy - thank goodness they're small because if they came in a regular pie size I'd likely eat it all in one sitting. And I'm not alone - Veg News agreed and awarded Hail Merry the Best New Veagn Product of Show!

Video: Natural to Eat Meat? Bras Cause Cancer? Vegans Can Be Bodybuilders? Organic Mexican Food? Another Giveaway?!!

It's Weekly Roundup video day!! As usual I had a ton of things to share, but there one ran a little longer than I had hoped - but don't worry, it's worth your time (though I'm biased)!

Video: Easy, Cheap, Healthy Vegan Meals That Take Less Than $2 and 15 minutes to Prepare

I get a lot of questions about and requests for me to do videos on cheap and fast vegan meals - so here it is! I was pretty shocked myself when I compared prices at Kroger, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods and found that you can make many meals for $2 or less and spend 15 minutes max preparing it. And that's in San Francisco, which is likely more expensive than most areas of the country/world. Prices depend on whether the ingredients are local, in season or are organic, but you'd be surprised how cheap food can be even if all of the above. 

Check out the video for 13 meal ideas under $2 that take less than 15 minutes to make. I give options for breakfast, lunch and dinner, then mention some cheap foods you can have for dessert and snacks.  Most of them are gluten and soy-free and are low in oil, salt, and sugar, or can easily be adapted to fit any dietary preference.

Video Review: Paleta - Organic, Sustainable Meal Delivery in LA - The Ultimate Way to Diet and/or Get Healthy

Yet another video has finally come out of the Eco-Vegan Gal vault! Just over a year ago I tried out Paleta's meal delivery service, which offers vegan and gluten-free options that are organic and locally sourced.

Video: Vegan Zombie, Healthy Meals Under $4 A Day, Gluten-Free Advice, Sugar-Free Ice Cream, & More!

Time for another healthy and sustainable weekly roundup video!

Video Interview With Food For Lovers: The Story Behind The Famous, Healthy Queso

If you like cheesy, spicy, dippy, soy-free, nut-free, fat-free food, then I've got just the thing for you: vegan queso by Food For Lovers. This delicious Velveeta-like "cheese dip" was created by two young lovebirds (thus the name - they're insanely adorable). Crystal is Mexican and missed her home country's dishes when she went vegan, so naturally she decided to perfect a vegan queso recipe. And perfect it she did! This healthier queso is so yummy most people gobble down a whole jar up in less than a day (guilty as charged)!

EVG Q&A: Best Vegan Snacks

My cousin is giving vegansim a try (!!!!) and she asked me what my favorite vegan snacks are. This is a great question, because I love to snack. However, it's also a tough one for me because I don't eat gluten, soy, or refined-sugar, and I'm trying not to eat a lot of corn or oil. So I often find myself with nothing I feel like munching on in my kitchen, and you may have the same problem even without the same diet. The best advice I can give is to plan ahead and make a list before going to the grocery store, then stock up on that. This is especially important when transitioning to the vegan diet - the last thing you want is to feel unsatisfied with the food you have on hand and end up eating something non-vegan.

Eco-Vegan Daily Download: Virgins, CSA, and New Vegan Food!

Food News

Sol Cuisine's products are finally available in Whole Foods stores in Northern California, Southern California, North Atlantic, North East, Midwest and Southwest regions. I love their falafel.

Gluten & soy free muffins by Purely Elizabeth

Back in April I made some gluten-free pancakes from Purely Elizabeth, but had some trouble with them - they fell apart in the pan. So, I wasn't sure how the Ultimate Cacao Muffin Mix was going to turn out, but I am happy to report it went well! Like the pancakes, the muffins were flavorful and had a nice hearty taste, but unlike the flapjacks, they kept their form after baking. I made them with my non-vegan friends and, between the three of us, 10 of the 12 muffins were gone within an hour. My friend Robin had the brilliant idea of spreading organic strawberry jam on top of them, which made them even tastier.

Daiya cheese crisps - get your fix

Perhaps my obsession with Daiya has gone a little too far...

When I saw the company at the Natural Products Expo one of the staff members put something in front of me and said, "you have to try this." I glanced down and saw what looked like thin crackers - turns out it was pieces of baked Daiya - INCREDIBLE! It actually tasted a lot like cheese sticks.

A few weeks later a container of Daiya was burning a hole in my fridge, but I was out of things to put it on (bread, tortillas, pasta, dough). I was really craving it, so decided to try making the crisps myself.

• heated the over to 350 degrees
• sprinkled the Daiya on a baking sheet
• let it bake for about 8-10 minutes
• took it out and the Daiya crisps came off easily

It turned out perfectly - crispy, oily, creamy; who needs a pizza when you've got this?! OK - I admit, I still love anything with Daiya on it (in fact I also had Amy's Rice Macaroni & Cheeze earlier), but if you're in a bind and really need to satisfy your craving this will do the trick. Maybe I should start selling these...
; ) 

Natural Products Expo West: Saturday, March 13, 2010

And I thought yesterday was fun...

Today I spent another 4 hours at the Expo and it was wonderful because I had a lot more free time - but it still wasn't enough! I realized I was walking around way too slow when I discovered how many companies were actually there! Next time I go I will have to stay at a nearby hotel and just go to it non-stop - that's the only way to make the most of it.

What I love most about the Expo is getting to meet the people behind the products. Though I've experienced that with small companies at other events, this event has much more draw and therefore all the big-wigs of the large companies are there. For example, I finally met the CEO of Daiya (Greg), which was incredible. I was even introduced to Heather Mills at her V-Bites/Cheezly booth (they were serving delicious pizza using crust from Cruzer, and the big news is that they're going to be doing frozen pizzas together!)! Then I ran into Bart and Joy from Candle 79 - so great to see them. And I spent my day walking around with my pal Heather Lounsbury, who is going to interview a bunch of the people we met on her radio show.

One of the my favorite moments was at the Daiya booth. While I was talking to Greg a woman walked up to thank him, because she was able to make macaroni and cheese for her autistic children for the first time, and she started to cry - Greg gave her a hug. It was so wonderful to witness a moment like that, and it shows that I'm not the only one who believes that Daiya is changing the world! Not to mention, they have retail packaging now and will be in all Whole Foods and hopefully other natural markets - finally!!!!

Here's a list of some of the delicious food I saw there:

• Bernod Spin City cotton candy
• Bragg Live Foods
• Buenatural vegetarian tamales
• Coconut Bliss
• Dr. Lucy's Cookies (Lucy herself was there!)
• Earth Balance Natural Spreads
• Ener-G Foods
• Humane Choice
• Mary's Gone Crackers (they have new vegan cookies, and Mary was there!)
• Moo Moo's Vegetarian Cuisine
• Mrs. May's Naturals
• Natural Life Pet Products
• Nicobella - vegan organic dark chocolate truffles
• Oogavé - The Original Agave Soda
• PetGuard
• Primal Spirit Foods vegan jerky
• Rising Moon Organics
• Sharkies
• Sjaak's Organic Chocolates (their new vegan milk chocolate hazelnut bites are out of this world!!!)
• Tandoor Chef
• Yogi tea

The Kind Diet - Artichoke Dip: video recipe

You can buy The Kind Diet here

Women of the Green Generation - Celebration of Living Foods

Check out my coverage of the Women of the Green Generation event Celebration of Living Foods

Patisseraw

SunPower Natural

Pure

Juicy Ladies

Sugar Beet's Bakery

Zenergy

Tia's Bakery

Event took place at Vernare Eco Showroom

Acupuncture mentioned: Breathe Balance