Hail Merry Review

Greetings all! I hope your weekend is off to a great start! Last week was the first week of my last semester of graduate school. I really can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday I was beginning my grad program. Let's just hope I'm all ready for the real world by May.

I've got a great review for you all today courtesy of Hail Merry. The lovely folks from Hail Merry sent me a few complimentary samples to review for you (pictured below). Hail Merry is a raw, vegan, gluten-free snack food company with delicious products. Read more on their online brochure. They have a beautiful website you should check out too.

Blonde Macaroons: 10 of 10! These were so tasty with a strong coconut flavor. They were soft, chewy, and melted in my mouth without being crumbly. I loved their slight sweetness.

Orange Cranberry Grawnola: 9 of 10. This raw granola was hearty, rich, crunchy and chewy (interesting combo, I know). It was slightly sweet and cinnamonny. The dried fruit was a nice touch, as were the seeds/nuts.

Vanilla Maple Almonds: 10 of 10! Wow - such sweet almonds and soo flavorful! They had a smooth texture and made for a very satisfying treat!

I must say these snacks really were delicious. If you have not tried raw, vegan, or gluten-free foods, then you should. You won't sacrifice flavor - I can promise you that.

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Becoming Raw: Book Publishing Company Review

Today I am happy to provide you with another book review courtesy of Book Publishing Company.  I also want to remind you that Book Publishing Company is running a special campaign this April called, "Live Delicious - Eat Vegan." They'll be giving away a free vegan cookbook this month, and you can enter here!

I was recently sent a complimentary review copy of Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets. 

This is a substantial book with 352 pages of information about raw vegan diets.  I appreciated all of the scientific evidence and data included that demonstrated both the potential risks and benefits of raw diets.  The advice in this book is essential if you want to ensure that your raw diet is providing you with all of the nutrients you need.  I would definitely recommend this book if you are interested in beginning a raw diet or simply incorporating more raw foods in your current diet of choice.  This book concludes with a section of over 45 recipes, and I was excited to see that very comprehensive nutritional analysis are given for each recipe! 

I'm going to share one of the recipes with you here: Tutti-Frutti Ice Cream!  There are only 2 ingredients for this great dessert: 2-3 frozen ripe bananas and 2 cups of other frozen fruit.  This recipe can be made with a juicer, food processor, or blender.  I used my handy-dandy food processor and included a little milk in order to create a slightly creamier ice cream.

While I have made banana soft serve before, this was even better.  The frozen blueberries added great flavor, making this a truly fun and tasty dessert.  You can top this treat with a few nuts for an added flourish and some crunch too!

Have a great day!  And for all of my fellow students, keep in mind that summer is *almost* here!  I know these next few weeks are going to be very busy for me, but the promise of summer is helping me sustain a positive outlook :-).

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Vegan Bites: Recipes for Singles

Before I get into this post, I have to tell you all how excited I am about Gmail Motion!  I'm eagerly anticipating the next logical progression: Blogger Motion!

That said, today I want to remind you that Book Publishing Company is running a special campaign during March and April called, "Live Delicious - Eat Vegan." They'll be giving away another free vegan cookbook this month, and you can enter here!

 

I was sent a complimentary review copy of Vegan Bites: Recipes for Singles.  This is a great book for me since I am single and often cook meals for one.  Of course, many of the recipes still create 2 or more servings, so don't shy away if you cook for more than one person.  The book starts out with a nice introduction including a comprehensive listing of kitchen and pantry essentials.  Then it dives right into a bunch of recipes.  The design and layout of the book really impressed me.  It's a joy to flip through, despite the fact that there aren't any color photographs.

 

 

I'm going to share one recipe from the book with you: Whipped Tofu Topping.  It was incredibly easy to make, but let me warn you that it doesn't really replicate dairy whipped cream.  The tofu taste is still there, which isn't necessarily a bad thing (unless you don't like tofu).  And perhaps the fact that I didn't use silken tofu made a difference... I simply used the tofu I had on hand (pictured below).  I enjoyed it with fresh fruit and pancakes :-).

 P.S. I know Gmail Motion is an April Fool's joke, but it's a good one :-).

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Speed Vegan Cookbook Review

Hello!  Book Publishing Company is running a special campaign during March and April called, "Live Delicious - Eat Vegan."  They'll be giving away a free vegan cookbook both months, and you can enter here!

I was sent a complimentary review copy of Speed Vegan, and I'll share my thoughts on it with you.  I'll even share a recipe from it!

I was excited to receive this cookbook because it promises, "Quick, Easy Recipes with a Gourmet Twist."  The "quick and easy" part captured my attention :-).

The book outlines essential kitchen equipment for vegan cooking as well as vegan pantry staples.  Both of these sections are very helpful and descriptive!  Then the book jumps right into an assortment of recipes (with some colored photographs too!).  Reading through the recipes, I thought that most of them would be relatively simple and quick to make.  They do call for ingredients that you might not necessarily have around (unless you already have a kitchen stocked with the vegan pantry staples as outlined in the beginning of the book).  Still, perhaps my kitchen is more bare than most because I'm relatively new to apartment life and don't exactly have a large budget to work with as a graduate student.  There are definitely a number of recipes that I will be able to try out after getting a few extra staples from the store.

The first recipe I tried from this book was Aztec Hot Chocolate.  Here is the recipe and final product:

I've never tried hot chocolate with pepper and thought it added a nice little bite to the drink.  I'll admit that I used red hot pepper instead cayenne since I had that on hand and figured anything hot would work :-).  I also used honey in place of the agave nectar.  I absolutely love agave nectar, but usually go with honey becuase of the cost.  In the end, I was quite pleased with the drink :-).

So, if you're looking for a vegan cookbook with some easy, flavorful recipes with a "gourmet twist," I would recommend Speed Vegan.  Book Publishing Company has a great assortment of vegan and vegetarian books.  Even though I'm not personally vegan (or vegetarian), I truly enjoy vegan and vegetarian cookbooks as I try to eat a more plant-based diet. 

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