Veggie Bits
French Teething Biscuits Will Please You and Your Baby
St. Amour is a California-based company specializing in French-inspired cookies. Though they offer several vegan products, their most notable has to be Teethers, perhaps the first vegan and organic teething biscuits to hit the market. These firm lemon cookies are made from organic unbleached flour and organic sugar without salt, preservatives, or others ingredients that you wouldn't want your little one to have. Teethers are 'mess-free' and will hold up well as your youngster puts them through their paces. Plus, any leftovers make fairly tasty dunking cookies that parents will enjoy with their favorite café.
Write to St. Amour at 2971 Grace Lane, Suite B, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or call the company at (714) 754-1900. You can also visit its website at www.teethingbiscuitsforbabies.com.
Seeds of Change Introduces Microwaveable Rice, Grains, Beans, and Much More!
Seeds of Change can solve your dinner dilemmas with their six new vegan Organic Microwavable Rice & Grain products. Just pick your favorite flavor, pop the pouch into the microwave for 90 seconds, and enjoy a hot, inviting combination of rice, grains, and beans. Basic long-grain rice varieties include Tapovan White Basmati Rice and Rishikesh Whole Grain Brown Basmati Rice. If you are looking for protein, try the Arroz Hispaniola Caribbean Red Beans & Brown Rice or the Dharamsala Aromatic Indian Rice Blend, enhanced with mung beans, lentils, garbanzos, and spices. The Tigris: A Mixture of Seven Whole Grains offers an intriguing texture with barley, bulgur, quinoa, and rye. However, the delicious Uyuni Quinoa & Whole Grain Brown Rice, with its robust garlic flavor, is the one variety that you are certain to buy again and again!
To learn more, visit the Seeds of Change website at www.seedsofchangefoods.com. You can also write to the company at P.O. Box 15700, Santa Fe, NM 87506, or call (888) 762-4240.
Better Breakfast Beginnings
Van's has brought many vegan and gluten-free foods to your grocer's freezer. Now, the company has added two new options to its family of products. The Wheat- Free Homestyle Pancakes are perfect topped with fruit, but it's the Wheat-Free French Toast Sticks—with their precut sections, fragrant cinnamon aroma, and bits of brown sugar-that are truly delightful. They're actually so good that you may devour them sans syrup.
Write to Van's International Foods, Inc., at 3285 East Vernon Avenue, Vernon, CA 90058, or call the company at (323) 585-5581. Learn more at the company's website, www.vansfoods.com.
When You're in the Mood for Mexican Food...
Yves Veggie Cuisine has introduced a Veggie Chorizo, a meatless take on Mexican sausage. This version incorporates traditional flavors, such as paprika and garlic, so cutting out the pork won't mean sacrificing the taste. Veggie Chorizo is a terrific complement for scrambled tofu or hash browns, and it works well for tacos, burritos, pizzas, chili, and most any other recipe that might benefit from the addition of soy crumbles.
Contact Yves' parent company, The Hain Celestial Group, at 4600 Sleepytime Drive, Boulder, CO 80301. You can also call the company at (800) 434-4246, or visit Yves online at www.yvesveggie.com.
Think Outside the Lunch Box
When you're shopping for back-to-school items, make sure that you keep an eye out for LunchBots. These reuseable, dishwasher-safe stainless steel containers are great alternatives to their plastic counterparts, which may leach harmful chemicals into foods. Available from specialty stores and online retailers like Amazon.com, LunchBots come in four sizes and are handy choices for storing leftovers, keeping spreads away from veggies or crackers, and-of course-toting your midday meal to work or school.
Contact LunchBots, Inc., at 555 Bryant Street, Suite 214, Palo Alto, CA 94301. Call the company at (650) 331-1900, or visit its website at www.lunchbots.com.
Pass the Dip, Please!
Food Should Taste Good® makes crisp, oven-baked tortilla chips without genetically modified ingredients. However, these chips' real appeal has to be the sheer multitude of flavors. There are 13 in all, and only one (Cheddar) isn't vegan! Varieties include the typical, like Yellow Corn and Multigrain, as well as the more exotic, such as Chocolate, Cinnamon, Lime, and Olive.
Food Should Taste Good® chips are available from retailers such as Costco, Starbucks, Target, Wegman's, World Market, and Whole Foods. To learn more, write to the company at P.O. Box 776, Needham Heights, MA 02494, or visit www.foodshouldtastegood.com.
Kettle Cuisine Makes Heating and Eating Soup a Real Snap
Looking for an easy way to make a quick meal? Then, reach for Kettle Cuisine's artisan soups! Simply remove from the freezer and warm on the stovetop or in the microwave. Vegan varieties include Roasted Vegetable Soup, Tomato Soup with Garden Vegetables, and Three Bean Chili with pinto, black, and chili beans. Plus, the company recently added a sweet yet spicy Organic Carrot and Coriander Soup to its line. All four options are sold in 10-ounce bowls and in food service sizes.
Write to Kettle Cuisine at 270 Second Street, Chelsea, MA 02150, or call their consumer line at (877) 302-SOUP. And locate retailers near you who carry these products at www.kettlecuisine.com.
Time to Preheat That Oven!
Did Nancy Berkoff 's coconut flour and coconut sugar article (pages 26-28) inspire you to grab a mixer and a baking pan? Well, look no further than to Azukar Organics to find these slightly offbeat ingredients. The company offers gluten-free flour made from coconut meat that has been dried and finely ground, as well as low-glycemic index sugar derived from fresh coconut sap. Both items are available in 16- and 32-ounce biodegradable packages and in bulk-sized bags.
Contact Azukar Organics at P.O. Box 361209, Los Angeles, CA 90036, or via phone at (323) 965-7540. The company's website is www.azukarorganics.com.
High Fashion with Compassion
When Leanne Hilgart had trouble finding cruelty-free outerwear, she decided to create her own! Last year, the Chicago-based entrepreneur launched a vegan apparel company called Vaute Couture, which offers a line of warm, weather-resistant women's coats made with recycleable outer fabrics, recycled linings, and deadstock vintage metal buttons. Styles range from traditional peacoats to the flirty and feminine Vaute, with its asymmetric collar, puffed sleeves, and inverted pleated skirt. Most designs are available in sizes from extra-small to extra-large and come in colors such as ivory, gray, cobalt blue, and classic black.
To begin shopping, visit the company's website at www.vautecouture.com. All inquires should be directed to [email protected].
Raising the (Chocolate) Bar
Terra Nostra Organic Chocolate has developed candy bars that vegans have been dreaming about! The company uses rice milk to make 3.5-ounce chocolate bars that look and taste just like dairy-laden varieties. These treats come in three flavors-Ricemilk Choco Bar™, Ricemilk Choco Bar with Almonds™, and Ricemilk Choco Bar with Dark Truffle Center™-that even discerning cocoa connoisseurs won't be able to resist.
Contact Terra Nostra's parent company, KFM Foods International, Inc., at P.O. Box 71054, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6N 4J9, or at (604) 267-3505. Visit Terra Nostra online at www.terranostrachocolate.com.
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.
