♥ So Delicious - Dairy-Free Ice Creams, Yogurts, and more! ♥

 

Who loves ice cream? Who wants to be healthy? Who doesn't want to consume yucky dairy products but still want to enjoy tasty treats? I do and I bet you do too! ;) 

Thanks to companies like SO Delicious, being more health-conscious, vegan and/or dairy free has never been easier!

Why do I like, scratch that, loooove SO Delicious? The answer is really simple; they make damn good products! From frozen desserts and dairy-free beverages, to coffee creamers, and now even yogurts, going dairy free now means no one is missing out! Aside from the wonders of being dairy-free, the other fantastic thing about So Delicious is that they are a natural foods company that takes pride in their ingredients, insuring quality and care. The soy they use for their soy items is organic and non-gmo. They also take special care to allergens. Most of their ingredients are also organic and most of their products, as well as being dairy-free, are also gluten-free. Again, dairy-free has never been easier and has never made so much sense. 

So Delicious carries a line of almond, coconut, and soy varieties of their products so everyone can discover which works for them. My personal favourites are the coconut products, but you really can't go wrong with any of their yummy products. Everything I have ever tried from this company has been above and beyond all of my expectations. 

I still remember the deep excitement I felt the first time I saw and tried the SO Delicious Coconut "yogurt" back when I visited New York-- so excited that it made me not want to go home where these delicious products had not yet reached my little town--fortunately now they have! The yogurts are packed full of flavour, are deliciously creamy and they have a lovely variety of flavours, all with a lovely hint of coconut. I've recommended these to my friends dabbling with veganism or that are lactose intolerant, and they have all loved it, choosing it as a favourite from other brands. It is easily my favourite yogurt out there, though I try not to eat it tooo much due to the sugar… hint hint to So Delicious; please make some that are fruit-sugared or agave sweetened! ;) It is the only possibly thing that isn't absolutely perfect about these… but really, they are pretty splendidly perfect. Most people I know aren't too worried about sugar either, and I am happy that So Delicious does use organic cane juice as opposed to other sugars. :) But if you haven't tried these yet, Do! Because you are seriously missing out!

When in need of ice cream, by far my favourite in the world to turn to are SO Delicious' Coconut frozen desserts! Not only do they have a mouth-watering selection of flavours, but they also have chocolate-coated bars on sticks for those lovely summer occasions. They also have yummy ice cream sandwich bars that are simply divine--just like all of their other products. Another thing I love about the SO Delicious frozen desserts is that, again, they cater to health. As I mentioned before about the cane sugar, they have a nice variety of ice creams to choose from that are sweetened with agave for those that are curious--which means I get to indulge a little extra. ;) One day I will try all of the flavours, there are sooo many to choose from it's really quite exciting. They even have a sugar-free line that actually has good ingredients--no gross splenda or any of those other bad-for-you chemical sweeteners. 

I've also tried this little experiment with friends, to see how they'd like dairy-free alternatives (you know, subtle vegan persuasion ;)), and all of them have always been excited and intrigued to try the coconut ice cream and frozen dessert bars. Their excitement certainly pays off as well! In fact, all of them have said they PREFER them over the dairy kinds! See, vegans do have more fun! ;) 

Aside from delicious sweet-tooth treats, they have a wide variety of dairy-free beverages, such as almond and coconut milks and lots of other fun variations of favourites, such as chocolate milk and nog. They also have the best coffee creamers around, that are perfect for, well, coffee, as well as lattes and baking desserts. 

Really, you just can't go wrong with SO Delicious. Even if you're not vegan or lactose-intolerant, you will still love SO Delicious and, let's face it, it's the healthier choice in every way possible. So go check them out and enjoy all of their SO Delicious products! ;) 

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♥ Go Max Go Foods Vegan Candy Bars! ♥

Vegan? Lactose intolerant? Miss mars bars and other favourite chocolatey treats? Well you don't need to! Look no further then Go Max Go Foods! 

"We set out to create extraordinarily delicious candy bars. We craved candy bars that were chocolatey, nougaty, caramely, peanutty, almondy, coconutty crazy indulgences! We wanted a variety of bars that popped with all the luscious flavor of the traditional treats."

I briefly mentioned the Buccaneer bar in my VeganEssentials post a couple weeks ago and today I am so absolutely thrilled to share with you more goodness from this amazing company. If you love rich creamy milk chocolate (of course you do! Who doesn't love chocolate?!) but don't want the cruelty after-taste of regular candy bars found in stores then you will be delighted to know you don't have to miss out or sacrifice a thing! Seriously! Go Max Go Foods brings you indulgent treats without the guilt, food the way it should be; free of dairy, eggs, hydrogenated oils, trans fats, artificial ingredients, or cholesterol! 

Go Max Candy bars are the perfect all-natural, dairy-free, & vegan versions of the old-time favourites you grew up with (or recently gave up to be blissfully vegan)! All of their candy bars are covered in their signature-recipe rice-milk chocolatey coating. Which I must agree is absolutely light and lovely, and will have you wondering why you ever bothered with dairy-milk chocolate anyway. You certainly won't be missing mars bars, reese peanut butter cups, bounty bars or any other candy bar for that matter! 

But enough of that, here's some eye candy (ha!) of the wonderful candy bars I got to positively indulge myself in… 

 Cleo's

 I've had peanut-butter chocolate coated candy before, but this is the real deal, the true peanut butter cup flavour! I can't believe I haven't had these sooner! Imagine this; the creamiest dreamiest peanut butter filling ever, cuddled in luscious rice milk chocolate coating in two perfect sized cups that will have you dreaming for more! Trust me when I say you won't miss Reese peanut butter cups anymore!   

Mahalo

A gently sweetened coconutty treat topped with three whole dry roasted almonds and covered with dreamy rice milk chocolate coating. 

Snap! 

Toasty, crunchy, crisped rice (Yum!) jammed into a hunk of rice-milk chocolatey "BAM"! Holy Candy Bar is right! This was definitely one of my favourites that I gobbled up faster than I meant to. ;) 

Jokerz

Layers of dry roasted peanuts, buttery-tasting caramel, and a rich peanut nougat, sweetly wrapped in a delicious chocolatey coating! Can you say heaven?! 

Bucaneer

Rich, fluffy, chocolatey nougat covered in a creamy chocolatey coating. Simple, delicious, far from boring… can I have more please? 

Twilight

There aren't any twinkling vampires here, but there sure is a whole lot of magic! Take that lovely rich, fluffy, chocolatey nougat of the Buccaneer bar and top that with a layer of thick, buttery-tasting caramel all wrapped up in that heavenly creamy, rice-milk chocolatey coating. You'll quickly be on Team Go Max Go Foods! ;) 

It's hard to pick a favourite when you have so many indulgent options to choose from. But the Cleo's, Snaps, and Twilight bars were definitely irrestible… then again, I ate all of these bars in… well I'm a little too embarrassed to share how quickly I gobbled them up… hey! It was for review purposes… to share with you… shhhhh… 

One more thing I'd like to share is the story to their curious name, because if you are a regular ReLove Plan.et reader then you will appreciate it… The name "Max" is a tribute to their pound puppy who for sixteen years taught them "through action that life should be about big love, having fun at every opportunity, and not worrying about tripping when you're chasing after your dream." Beautiful no? :) 

Really simply, these are the Best candy bars you will ever eat! Being vegan has never been easier, or tastier! You really don't have to miss out on any yummy treats when you have flavour packed with so much Pow and Wow! If you're fortunate enough to have any of these candy bars in a store near you, what are you waiting for? Run now and get one! ;) If you're not, order some! Thanks to online shopping it's never been easier to get your hands on just about anything your heart desires.

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Cheezy English Muffins! Ⓥ

I had these for lunch recently and instantly fell in love! Such a wonderful mix of flavour and totally satisfying any cheesy cravings! I used gluten-free english muffins of course--amazing!  ;) 

Cheezy English Muffins

3/4 cup Water (+ 1/3 cup)

1 Tbsp Tapioca Flour

1/2 cup raw Cashews

1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 1/2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

2 Tbsp quick-cooking oats

1/2 tsp Salt

dash Black Pepper

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Tamari

English Muffins

Toppings of your choice (tofu, spinach, peppers, veggies, etc.)

[tofu & spinach topping]

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender (except the extra 1/3 cup water) and blend until smooth. Takes approx. 5 minutes. 

Pour into a medium saucepan. 

Add remaining water to the blender or food processor to clean it out and then add to the saucepan. 

Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly (it will thicken a lot). Add a little more water if too thick, but don't make it too runny. 

Prepare english muffins with desired toppings (my favourite is some Tofu and spinach sautéed in some tamari and spices). Top with about 2 Tbsp of the "Cheez" sauce and broil in the over or toaster oven until tops brown. Be careful not to burn them as it can happen quickly, so keep an eye on them. 

Makes approx. 3-4 English Muffins. 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: amande Vegan Yogurt! Ⓥ

I know I don't usually share vegan kitchen posts on Saturday, but I was too excited that I had to share. ;) 

I can't even tell you how excited I am about this "amande" vegan yogurt now being available at our grocery store!! :) I tried it in NY when I visited Nicole and I was so sad that I wouldn't be able to have it when I got home. Now I can! Yayy!! 

It's by far my favourite vegan yogurt, for a couple reasons... It's vegan (duh! ;p), it has No sugar and is only sweetened with fruit (what a concept I know), and it tastes delicious! As you can imagine, it's made from almonds, so no soy in there either. I absolutely love love love the stuff. I am a happy girl! 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Cashew Cheez Sauce! Ⓥ

  

This is easily THE BEST "cheese" sauce in existence! My excitement for this sauce I simply cannot put into words! 

Out of all the vegan cheese sauces I've ever made this is by far the most amazing one! Super creamy, super delicious, and who knew, without cheese at all! 

This recipe has been adapted from the "Mac & Shews" recipe over at Post Punk Kitchen.

Cashew Cheez Sauce:

1 1/2 cup Cashews, soaked overnight or for at least 6 hours.

4 cups Vegetable Broth, divided

4 Tbsp Olive Oil, divided

1/3 cup Rice Flour (or any other flour)

1/2 tsp Turmeric

dashes of black pepper

1 heaped tsp of Nutritional Yeast (optional)

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice (optional)

If you are making this with pasta or anything else then go ahead and get that pasta boiling and cook as instructed. While that's cooking…

Place soaked cashews and 2 cups of broth in a food processor and blend until smooth, scraping the sides with a spatula occasionally to get everything. Takes approx. 5 minutes. 

Preheat a large pan over medium heat. Add 3 Tbsps of oil along with the flour, stir together. It should become a gooey clump. Add a little more oil if necessary. Toast for approx. 15 minutes in the pan until it smells toasty and turns a medium brown colour. Stir practically the entire time so it cooks evenly.

Stream in remaining 2 cups of broth, whisking constantly so it doesn't clump--the trick is to add the broth slowly, if you do it too quickly it will clump. Whisk until it's thick and smooth. 

Stream in cashew mixture, once again, whisking the entire time until well blended. Add turmeric, pepper, salt, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. Heat through and stir occasionally, allowing to thicken. 

At this point you can either toss the sauce in with the pasta, or add in cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, chickpeas, or whatever else your heart may desire. And serve! 

Or... you can bake it in the oven, so follow these directions...  

Preheat oven to 350 ℉ and lightly grease a large casserole dish. 

Transfer pasta and sauce into the casserole dish, cover with tinfoil, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove tinfoil and bake 5 more minutes. Serve hot! 

The first time making this I did pasta and cauliflower in the oven. It was amazing! However, especially if you have leftovers and have to reheat the next day, it gets a bit drier and less creamy. 
The second time making this I didn't put it in the oven. I also didn't have much for veggies (and I'm one of those nuts who just doesn't feel like a meal is complete without some sort of veggie) so I added a couple sweet potatoes and a can of chickpeas along with spaghetti pasta. It was soooo intensely amazing. My husband even said it was the best mac n cheese ever! Between the two I way prefer it not being in the oven, it keeps that lovely creaminess and intense flavour that way. :)

Really you can add whatever you'd like into this awesome sauce, or serve this sauce over anything. 

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do! I served this at out Thanksgiving potluck as well and everyone loved it!  

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Favorite Dairy Alternatives Ⓥ

This Wednesday' Favorites is from my Vegan Kitchen! :) 

People sometimes think that being Vegan is difficult, well it's not, especially when there are soooo many dairy-alternatives out there to choose from! Here are some of my favorites that can be found in my kitchen...

Natura Rice Milk: There are sooo many milk alternatives out there! Soy milk, Almond milk, Hemp milk, Rice Milk, and more! Natura is a personal favorite--sugar free too! 

          Daiya Mozzarella Cheese: I've tried several different cheese alternatives before but this one is easily my favorite. Makes a wicked grilled cheese! :D 

Nancy's cultured Soy "yogurt": this soygurt is amazing!! I add it to smoothies, granola, with fruit, or eat it straight from the container! Sweetened with Agave Nectar so it's sugar-free. It also comes in different flavors.

Rice Dream "ice cream": omg this stuff is amazing!! Seriously, you don't need ice cream, there are sooo many awesome alternatives! This Cocoa Marble Fudge Rice Dream is awesome! I've also tried Coconut "ice creams" before that I loved and Soy-alternatives and have loved them all! This one is sweetened with Agave Nectar though which is why I usually choose it over the soy ones, but there are some amazing flavors out there in the soy variety! 

Endangered Species Chocolate Bars: and of course, everyone needs a chocolate replacement ;). These are 72% dark chocolate and sweetened with beet sugar. Totally dairy-free :). They taste amazing, although some of you may have to get used to the "healthy" taste and adjust from gross sugary candy-bars ;). 

Earth Balance "butter": I don't actually use margarine/butter or anything much but when I do need some Earth Balance is awesome! :)

Tofutti Cream Cheese: I don't eat much cream cheese either but this stuff is awesome. Makes a great cheesecake too ;)

Soy Nice Noel Nog: I know the season has kinda passed but I thought I'd share this one anyways. I personally found regular eggnog too rich to begin with so this stuff is perfect! A great soy alternative during the holiday season with no stealing milk from baby cows ;) 

Peace & Love,

xo

~Bianca   

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