Veggie Bits

You’ve seen those drinkable yogurts in your local dairy case. Now, hale the soy version! Silk has introduced live!, a cultured soy smoothie that puts its dairy counterparts to shame. This delicious product is available in mango, peach, and strawberry flavors, but the raspberry was so good that it nearly received a review all to itself.

For more information, write to Silk’s parent company, White Wave, Inc., at 1990 North 57th Court, Boulder, CO 80301, or call (800) 488-9283. See their website for nutrition information, a list of retailers near you who carry Silk products, and more.

The Planda Company Offers Vegan Personal Care Items and Much, Much More

The Planda Company is owned and operated by a family of vegetarians who never use animal ingredients or testing for their products. They began with a chemical- and dye-free, eco-friendly lotion in many scents, including cinnamon, ginger-orange, Virginia lavender, and aroma-free, but they have recently developed 10 varieties of handmade hemp ‘butter’ soap and handmade tub truffles (bath fizzies) containing almond oil.

In addition, they are expanding beyond their personal care lines to offer other items. Among their most interesting products are Comfort Eye Pillows, made with T-shirts ‘rescued’ from local thrift stores and filled with organic flaxseed and organic lavender buds. Customers can even send in their own older T-shirts to have custom pillows made. Planda also sells the works of vegetarian and vegan artists and craftspeople, and they are always looking for others to represent.

The Planda Company donates a percentage of all sales to causes that benefit animal welfare and ensure the planet’s sustainability. The staff intends to expand even further with vegan foods, such as brownies. However, they are always looking for ideas regarding other items and welcome the input of all.

For more information, contact them at P.O. Box 7161, Algonquin, IL 60102 or at (847) 854-2011.

Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer Makes Vegan Baking Easier

Bob’s Red Mill has added to their extended family of pancake and brownie mixes with their All Natural Egg Replacer. This substitute for whole eggs—made solely from whole soy flour, wheat gluten, corn syrup solids, and kelp-derived algin—can be used for cookies, cakes, muffins, pancakes, waffles, and any other oven creation. Also, this product is shelf-stable and will remain fresh for up to one year without refrigeration.

Look for Bob’s Red Mill items at supermarkets and natural foods stores nationwide. You may contact the company at 5209 SE International Way, Milwaukie, OR 97222, or at (503) 654-3215 or on their website.

Having Trouble Breaking for Breakfast Each Morning?

Amy’s Kitchen has introduced an Organic Tofu Scramble that will help you start your day off right! This convenient frozen meal offers a generous portion of tofu, organic hash browned potatoes, and a host of organic veggies. It’s so easy that you’ll wonder how you ever got through a weekday morning without it!

Write to Amy’s Kitchen, Inc., at P.O. Box 7868, Santa Rosa, CA 95407, or call the company at (707) 578-7188. You may also visit their website.

Introducing Two Incredible Ready-to-Eat Tempeh Salads

Mediterranean Delights offers gourmet-style, prepared tempeh salads that will have you coming back for more. Their Mock Chicken Tempeh Salad and Curried Ginger Tempeh Salad varieties are vegan, certified kosher, and free of trans fats and GMOs. Both products are available in 8- and 16-ounce retail sizes, as well as in cases of two 3-pound containers for food service purposes.

Contact Mediterranean Delights at P.O. Box 749, 14 Warner Center, Saxtons River, VT 05154 or at (800) 347-5850.

Nature’s Path Brings Organic Animal Crackers to a Pantry Near You

Nature’s Path, the company behind EnvironKidz cereals, waffles, and crispy rice bars, is adding to this healthy, child-friendly brand with Organic Animal Crackers. These bite-size snack squares feature baby cheetahs, gorillas, pandas, and koalas in relief, making them as cute as they are tasty. The chocolate variety is delicious, but even the biggest chocoholics will be unable to keep their hands off the gluten-free vanilla ones with their perfect hint of the extract.

Write to Nature’s Path Foods at 9100 Van Horne Way, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada V6X 1W3. You may also call them at (888) 808-9505 or visit their website to learn more.

Spread the Word! Légère’s Products Boast Great Taste and B-Complex Vitamins

Légère’s uses the slogan “Let your tastebuds dance with pleasure,” and their products will have your lingua waltzing. Their Original Nutritional Spread, available in 6-ounce jars, will soon replace your usual mustard for sandwiches, soy dogs, and veggie burgers. Likewise, their mustard-flavored Original Nutritional Dressing adds a pleasant tartness to salads and renders that same flavor as a marinade or dipping sauce. This product is available in 12-ounce bottles for home as well as in a gallon size for food service venues. In addition, Légère’s offers a tangy Balsamic Dill Nutritional Yeast in 12-ounce bottles that will spice up your greens and pasta salads. The best part is that all three products are made with Red Star® Nutritional Yeast, a great vegan source for those essential B-complex vitamins.

These products are available from several vegetarian online retailers. You may also contact Légère Nutritional Foods, LLP, at P.O. Box 123, Leverett, MA 01054, or at (888) 534-3737.

Relief for Tsunami Victims

At least two vegetarian organizations are providing long-term relief to victims of the December 26 tsunami. Food for Life Global, a Hare Krishna organization, has committed to at least a year to help those in Sri Lanka. For more information about their efforts, visit their website. Similarly, Plenty International, a project of The Farm, is involved with several small relief projects in southern Asia. To learn more about these and Plenty’s other charitable efforts worldwide, visit their website.

Desserts That Raise the Bar

Inspired by Mexican sorbets and ice creams, Palapa Azul has developed a line of nine incredible paletas, frozen fruit bars that are worthy of a fiesta. Their cantaloupe variety tasted like a luscious frozen version of the real thing, while there were actual bits of pineapple in the corresponding fruit bar. Among their other fresh flavors are grapefruit, mango, Mexican papaya, strawberry, and watermelon. However, the most popular varieties with the VRG staff were the subtly spiced mango-chile and the cucumber-chile, which evoked the taste and chill of a non-alcoholic margarita.

For more information, contact Palapa Azul, Inc., at 1716 South Robertson Blvd., Suite 1, Los Angeles, CA 90035, or call (888) 842-9333. You may also visit their website.

The Vegetarian Resource Group is on the Combined Federal Campaign List

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the charitable workplace campaign conducted by the U.S. government for all federal employees—military, civilian, and postal. The Vegetarian Resource Group is included among the organizations to which you can donate. Please don’t pass up this simple opportunity to support vegetarianism and the work VRG does year round. For other workers, please remember to name The Vegetarian Resource Group in your matching gifts at work, or write in The VRG for your United Way campaign.