Pura Vida
Flaco's
Hella Vegan Eats
Donut Farm
Pressed Juicery
Sow Juice Bar
Healthy Surprise Snack Box
Cookin' Crunk by Bianca Phillips
Wholesome Chow Gluten-Free Baking Mixes
Occadite Skin Care
And here's why:
Pura Vida
We did a round-up of our favorite meals of 2012 on Vegansaurus (because I really wanted to do a list, and I LOVE eating), that you can read here. Not only did I want to make a list, I also wanted another chance to praise Pura Vida in Vegas! My breakfast burrito was out of this world, plus Sarah, Britney and I got the opportunity to meet Chef Mayra! She was awesome - very friendly and such the spitfire! I can't wait to go back - another trip to Vegas can't come soon enough.
Latin'tude Breakfast burrito!
Sarah, myself and Chef Mayra!
Flaco's, Donut Farm and Hella Vegan Eats
My honorable mentions in this category include Flaco's and Donut Farm. I also really enjoyed Hella Vegan Eats and am excited for their next night at Dear Mom!
Tofu "fish" tacos from Hella Vegan Eats!
I also thoroughly enjoyed the juice pop-up Sow, located at Pause Wine Bar on in San Francisco!
Healthy Surprise
Green juice is my jam!
The Healthy Surprise snack box has also been a favorite of mine! It's like a CSA box for snackers, filled with all kinds of nutritious, tasty, gluten-free, mostly sugar-free, soy-free and vegan treats. I actually received a three-month subscription as a gift from my parent's recently, and I couldn't be more stoked! (The kale chips are always the first to get demolished.)
This company fills their boxes TO THE BRIM! It's an incredible deal!
Cookin' Crunk
Bianca Phillips' cookbook, Cookin' Crunk has been so much fun to cook and bake out of! I've really enjoyed every recipe I've made out of it - they are big on flavor, easy to follow, entertaining to read, and the ingredients are easily accessible. I don't want to give too much away, because I still owe her a review on Vegansaurus, but you WANT this cookbook - TRUST.
Country-fried Tempeh Steak, with soy milk gravy and the Mess'O Greens! (I changed the mess'o greens up by using kale and sweet potatoes instead of turnips and collard greens. Kind of blasphemous, I know, but I love the cooking method, yet the original recipe is too bitter for me!)
Old-fashioned coconut pie - I've made this baby about five times because I JUST LOVE IT.
Wholesome Chow baking mixes are an incredible product, which take a lot of the hassle out of gluten-free and vegan baking! You can read my glowing reviews over at Vegansaurus. I made a wedding cake with the chocolate mixes, and I was told it went over beautifully!
Chocolate Wholesome Chow cake, with homemade espresso frosting! (Not the wedding cake, btw.)
Ocadite
Ocadite skin care is another product that I bought after receiving a Discovery Kit to review for Vegansaurus (which I still need to do!). It's all-natural and cruelty free line, made out of mostly raw ingredients. Yes, it's very expensive, but the quality of this line is phenomenal. After using the products for a few days, my skin looked great! I was also drinking a lot of green juice at the time, so I think both of those factors had to do with my glowing complexion over the summer! I just bought the Discovery Kit for my sister to try out, as she's had some issues with her skin lately. I've been using Clinique for years, but recently I've been wanting to switch to an entirely vegan and chemical-free company, as my esthetician friend told me down the line, Clinique is actually causing more harm than good to my skin because of the chemicals it's made with. SCARY. Anyway, totally into Ocadite - I now have their toner, hydrating masque and exfoliant!
That wraps up my fave vegan finds of 2012! Now tell me yours!
