1000 BlendTec Uses & 3pm Raw Booster Smoothie (Organic & Vegan)

Vegan Hot Cocoa

If you saw my holiday gift guide you know that one of the things on my list was Ghirardelli Premium Hot Cocoa. I had it on my list because I love hot cocoa, but I have had a hard time finding a hot cocoa powder that’s vegan. Most have whey or some kind of milk product. So when I found out that Ghirardelli’s cocoa is vegan, I just had to try it.

When I made up the list I had ordered the cocoa (I ordered double chocolate) but it hadn’t arrived yet. When it came in the mail yesterday, I couldn’t wait to make some. I made it with soy milk and it was pure heaven. The only thing that could have made it better would have been some Dandie’s Vegan Marshmallows
on top.

If you love hot cocoa and are looking for a hot cocoa powder that’s vegan and delicious, I highly recommend Ghirardelli Premium Hot Cocoa.

Earth’s Own Almond Fresh – A great alternative to soy

I am not the biggest fan of almond milk but I recently had the chance to try Earth’s Own Almond Fresh and I have to say it was actually really good. I really like using it in my morning smoothie because it’s fewer calories than soy milk and I really can’t tell the difference between a smoothie made with soy or almond milk.

Almond Fresh comes in 4 flavors; chocolate, vanilla, original and unsweetened (which is only 30 calories per serving). Here are some other interesting facts about Almond Fresh:

• Low in calories and one serving provides 45% of your daily recommended dose of vitamin D, 25% of Riboflavin, and 50% of B12
• Dairy-free and does not contain lactose or casein
• Fortified with calcium, vitamin A and vitamin D and contains naturally occurring vitamin E, riboflavin, vitamin B12, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc
• Almond Fresh products are wheat and gluten free and are certified Kosher
• Owned by a Canadian company with a passion for health and wellbeing

Vegan Coffee Creamer Comparison

I love coffee.

When I became vegan there were no coffee creamers available and soy milk not only seperated in the coffee it also smelled like hay. NO THANKS.

Fast forward to today. There are a few choices of vegan coffee creamers.

I have been using Silk creamer up until recently. It does the job but often the last half of the container is foamy and separates. I put up with it cause it tastes great.

When the people at So Nice contacted us to test their creamer, Claire asked me to review it since she doesn’t drink coffee.

When it came to taste and texture both performed about the same. But when I got to the last half of the So Nice AND the Silk I decided to do a head to head comparison. One morning, 2 cups of coffee with 2 half full creamers.

The difference is clear. So Nice doesn’t foam up or separate.

Silk Coffee Creamer

So Nice Coffee Creamer

Do you use any vegan creamers? Tell me about them.

Why I Love So Good Soy Milk

When I first became vegan, soy milk was only available in health food stores, it was really expensive, and it tasted kind of like hay. 13 years later, soy milk is available everywhere, it comes in 2 liter containers and it doesn’t taste like hay anymore.

There are many different brands of soy milk to choose from, and I’ve tried most of them, but my personal favorite is still So Good. Some of the varieties that So Good comes in include original, fat free original, vanilla, light vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.

So Good original is the first plain soy milk that I actually enjoy drinking by the glass. It is also great for replacing milk in cooking and baking. I like to use fat free original for my smoothies. It’s a little more watery than the original so I don’t like to use it on cereal or cook with it, but in a smoothie you don’t notice. As a treat I like to buy the chocolate or strawberry soy milk. I have given both the chocolate and strawberry to my nieces before, and they just thought it was chocolate or strawberry milk. They had no idea it was soy.

The other thing that I like about So Good, is that it’s usually in the dairy section of the grocery store, so I don’t have to go out of my way to find it. It’s also fortified with 15 essential vitamins and minerals and it’s made with non GMO soy protein.

I also have to mention that So Good has a line of soy ice cream as well. Flavors include vanilla, chocolate supreme, and butterscotch swirl (my favorite).

If you haven’t tried So Good yet, I highly recommend that you do

P.S. Here’s a link to a smoothie recipe using chocolate So Good.

Vegan Chocolate Banana Smoothie