With Halloween right around the corner, I thought that it would be a perfect time to review one of the best vegan chocolate companies around – Go Max Go Foods. Also, since it’s nearly Halloween, I thought I would do a special review: the chocolate products I’ve tried of theirs in one review. This way, you can have some chocolate along with your candy.
Let’s get on to the first one:
Twilight Bar
Said to be the closest vegan chocolate bar to a Mars, this bar has nougat and caramel and is my favourite of the bunch! It is so rich, soft and chocolatey it’s seriously drool worthy. The caramel stretches when you bite into it like the cheese in pizza commercials, and that might just be the best thing about this bar.
Oh wait, no – the best thing about it is that the wrapper is purple. And purple’s the magic colour, which is probably why this chocolate bar tastes so good.
Cleo’s White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Dude, it’s a white chocolate peanut butter cup. What else do you need?
Only problem? Only two in a pack.
Cleo’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup
Like the white chocolate ones, except dark chocolate. Same texture, size and ratio of chocolate to peanut butter goodness.
Buccaneer
This one is still good, but it’s too nougaty for my liking. Biting it is like biting into a brick of nougat. And then, the chewing. There’s so. Much. Chewing.
Who knew a brick of nougat would be so dense?
All these chocolates are great vegan alternatives, but the one downside is that they don’t sell them in those giant boxes that the mixes of Mars, Coffee Crisp, Kit-Kats, etc. Come in. I’m sure I’m not the only vegan who would be down for buying a box of these chocolate bars in ‘fun size’, or hell, full size. (Then you don’t have to eat 20.)
They have a few other products I’ve yet to try, (check them out here), but these guys should be your go-to for all your Halloween-y chocolate-y needs.
Like this review? Check out more here! I post NEW product reviews on the 13th of every month!
Liking the site? Consider signing up for my Patreon, so I can continue bringing you the content you love!
“She has to be here,” his eyes swept the beach underneath him, scanning each face for those perfect amber orbs he’d grown to love.
“We’ve checked the entire beach twice,” Frank came out onto the balcony behind him, “She’s not there.”
“B-but-”
“I’m sorry, Sir,” he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, “we can’t postpone the meeting any longer.”
The prince took a small step forward, leaning out over the railing a little more, desperately searching the sand below him, “I just…” he trailed off, turning to look back at his father figure before sighing and stepping back toward the house, “You’re right. Can’t expect them to wait any longer. But once we get back I’m searching that beach myself.”
The butler suppressed his sigh and nodded, following the prince as he led the way back into the house. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel for his boss – of course he did, he himself had been through heartbreak before – it was just, seeing him so distraught her – it made him crazy. The prince was acting as if they’d been together months, years even – instead of the one week they had actually shared.
If Frank was being honest, he didn’t like her. She’d been tough to deal with, to say the least. She had zero interest in listening to the prince, and she tore the house apart.. It wasn’t right the way he was pining after her. Frank felt she wasn’t worth his time.
Definitely not worth all this drama.
Find out if the prince ever finds his princess here!
So far, I’ve just done food reviews, so I wasn’t too sure if I should do non-food items as well, but, since being vegan is more then just what you eat, I figured I should probably do some non-food items. Also, I realized that the non-food items might be things that trip more people up. Also, with warm weather around the corner, you’ll want to know some products to help keep your hair looking its best in the sun. (Since it’s no longer covered by a hat)
This was the first vegan shampoo I’ve ever tried (I only really started switching over the non-food products in my life this past year), so I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I mean, aside from not being tested on animals, how different could it be? I read a few articles online that said that vegan shampoo wasn’t supposed to lather, since the lathering didn’t actually clean your hair, then I read another article (and talked to a rep at LUSH) who said that lathering was important – basically, there was a lot of different, conflicting ideas on what exactly a vegan shampoo was supposed to be. My main two concerns before going out to buy a shampoo: if it was vegan/tested on animals, and the smell.
So, I went to one of the few grocers I actually trust: Good Rebel. They’re a fantastic (albeit small) grocer here in Toronto, that’s run by two of the most well-intentioned people I’ve met. I wish I could visit more often then I do. (I live on the other side of the city) I knew 1) that if I went there I’d for sure get a vegan shampoo and 2) if I had a question, I could ask one of the owner’s without feeling uncomfortable.
They had a few different shampoos on display, but I picked this one because it honest-to-God smelled like gummy bears. Seriously, who doesn’t want their hair to smell like gummy bears? I had one sniff and it was a done deal. Sudsatorium has a few different scents, but this was the only one Good Rebel sold by this brand. And man, am I glad they picked this one.
I used it once, and was a bit confused – I knew going in, after reading a few articles that some of the vegan shampoos wouldn’t lather, but the company was called Sudsatorium – so maybe I was using it wrong? Did I need to use more of it to get the lather? Was it actually still cleaning my hair? I reached out to Good Rebel to ask them about it, but while I waited for my answer, I continued using my non-vegan shampoo. (I know, I know, but I wasn’t gonna not wash my hair, and instead of throwing out the rest of the bottle, I might as well finish it) I wasn’t able to tell if it had really cleaned my hair, so I was a bit skeptical to use it until I got an answer.
They answered me in a few days, letting me know this is what the company said: Their shampoos do lather a little, but not nearly as much as conventional shampoos, because they don’t contain sulfates. They also explained that the foam in shampoo doesn’t actually have any impact on cleaning capabilities and that it’s actually a clever marketing tactic.
How’s that for some facts, huh? Straight from the company, I was glad to hear that I wasn’t somehow misusing shampoo, and was glad that the lathering didn’t actually make a difference. (At least in their products)
After getting that confirmation, although still a bit skeptical, I decided to give it another shot. And, I have to say, I’m not sure if it was a placebo effect, or if my hair was just dirtier the first time I tried it, but this time around, it did seem to clean my hair just as well as the other shampoo.
Also, the bottle lasted a while. I bought the bottle in September and it lasted until around the end of February. (I actually still have the smallest bit left in the bottle.) Which is amazing, especially because the bottle wasn’t that big, it was only 250ml. Another bonus, the product was only about ten bucks at Good Rebel. What other shampoo lasts 5 months for ten dollars?* Exactly.
The only real issue I had with this product was that it took some getting used to not having my hair lather. Once you get over that though, it’s smooth sailing.
I definitely recommend this product if you haven’t tried it yet. If you’re still unsure, it’s not that expensive, do yourself a favour and just go try it. The smell alone should be enough of a hook.
*I’m saying this as someone who washes their hair every other day. I do have pretty long/thick hair, though.
Like the review? Check out more here!
Liking the site? Consider signing up for my Patreon, so I can continue bringing you the content you love!
I’ve wanted to do these Store Crawls for a while, but there was always something more important/immediate that had to get done.
I’ve finally decided to stop putting it off, so welcome to the first Store Crawl!
Store Crawls are going to be articles where I take you through/list all the vegan offerings available at a non-vegan grocery store (No Frills, Loblaws, Metro, Sobeys, etc.), in the hopes it helps you out should you need to buy something. Now, since these aren’t vegan-centric grocers, I’ll only be listing the premade stuff, that’s available more in a grab and go style, like the deli meats, cheeses, etc. Hopefully, this will help you should you ever find yourself away from your preferred grocery store so you aren’t scrambling for something, also this may help you with your day-to-day shopping.
Okay, so, without further ado, here’s the first Store Crawl:
I know Zehr’s is not in Toronto (I’ve yet to find one, anyway), so if you live outside of Toronto (say, New Market, or Barrie), this might be of more help to you. I’ll be posting other Store Crawls for stores that are actually in the city soon, so keep your eye out!
I’m starting with Zehr’s because I was just there this past weekend and figured, why not start with the one that’s fresh in my mind?
Here’s what I found:
Apparently, Zehr’s is owned by Loblaws, so they have a lot of vegan options, thankfully. They pretty much had all this stuff in one aisle, (I believe it was labelled the ‘Natural Foods’ aisle) which was super convenient for me, I didn’t have to run around the entire store!
Deli Section: (Next to the meat counter)
Yves Lunch Meats (Turk’y, Ham, Bologne, and pepperoni)
Yves Not-dogs
Daiya Shreds (Mozzerella and Cheddar, no slices or blocks)
Natural Foods Aisle
Fridge/Freezer:
Silk (I didn’t see Silk Almond, just the Soy, also didn’t see the Chocolate one, just Plain and Vanilla)
Earth Balance Butter
Veganaise
Daiya Yogurt
Daiya Pizza
Gardein Nuggets (7 Grain Crispy Tenders, Mandarin Orange Chick’N nuggets and the Fishless Filets)
Hilary’s Burgers (green box [which I believe is their original?], and I think there was a purple box [Spicy Thai] too)
Amy’s Kitchen Black Bean Vegetable Burrito (the green and blue wrapper one)
So Good Ice-cream (chocolate)
Shelf:
Almond Breeze
Rice Dream
Coconut Oil
Amy’s Kitchen Cans (Organic Alphabet Soup [my favourite!], Organic Lentil, Vegetable Soup, Organic Fire Roasted Southwestern Vegetable soup, and they had a black can, I’m not too sure which kind that one was)
Daiya Mac (Deluxe Cheddar and Deluxe Alfredo – they were $4.49!)
Nuts To You Organic Tahini Paste (and almond and other nut butters)
Skinny Pop White Cheddar Popcorn
Veggie Sticks
Love Beauty and Planet Shampoo (never seen/heard of this brand before, I bought a bottle, keep an eye out for the review!)
And there you have it! Most, if not all the vegan finds available at Zehr’s.
I did my best to keep all the proper brand names/flavours, as I felt it’d be more comprehensive to list the ‘official’ flavours, instead of just listing (as example) ‘Gardein nuggets’. I’m sure some of you would still understand what I meant if I did it in short-hand, but I thought it might just make it easier, especially if you’re wanting to find a certain product for the first time, or requesting it.
I hope you found this list helpful, and I look forward to doing more of them in the future.
Like this article? Check out more vegan related posts on my The Veg Life page!
Liking the site? Consider signing up for my Patreon, so I can continue bringing you the content you love!
… Is that some people look down their nose at them. We’ve all been there. ‘When are you gonna get a real job?’, ‘You’re not a real writer’, etc. Whoever told you fanfiction writers aren’t real writers is full of shit.
I’m sorry, but since when is using someone else’s idea as a base/platform for your own creativity bad/wrong? Are you trying to tell me you never played with Barbie’s or G. I. Joes or Hot Wheels?
‘But those are just toys! It’s different!’ Is it now? How would you feel if your mom/dad/guardian told you to ‘go play’ but took all your toys away? Or, when you were bad and they did take them – how sad did that make you? What did you end up doing without them? Sitting there feeling sorry for yourself and/or crying/bargaining saying you’d ‘do anything’ to get them back?
And now let me ask you: do you still have those toys you once thought were so precious? Do you still play with them when you get home from work? No, because you outgrew them, right? You don’t need them anymore.
Same thing with writing fanfiction. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying people always out grow it – you can still write it for fun while you work on your own stories – but sometimes, people do. And that’s perfectly fine!
Shooting a writer down because they write fanfiction is not cool or helpful. You know what you do each time you say that to someone? You chip away at their dreams. Yes, you do. Especially when they’re 12-14 year olds. ‘Oh, it’s not perfect grammar, there’s spelling mistakes, blah, blah, blah’, of course there is! Newsflash: they’re kids. They’re learning. They’re teaching themselves basics with characters they know. They’re taking the familiar and making it their own. Making it less daunting.
Look at the famous writers you (maybe) were taught or at least read in school: Robert Munch, Barbara Park (Junie B. Jones), Dav Pilky (Captain Underpants), Stephen King hell, even Dr. Suess – notice what all these big authors have in common?
They all have a lot of books. Some of them even had whole dedicated sections in the library. Any child who is aspiring to become a writer is guarantee thinking ‘I could never do that.’ When you are just learning what a noun is, whether or not the road to hell is really paved with adverbs, the different parts of a sentence – of course you look at that giant library as Mount Everest!
It also doesn’t help that ‘writer’ is never addressed as something you can grow up to be. (But that’s a whole other article) Kids are literally stunted in pursuing a writing career at the same time they’re just learning what writing even is.
Is it really a wonder why some dip their toes into the profession using characters that are already established/developed/loved?
Fanfiction should not be scoffed at – think of it more like learning to ride a bike. A lot of writer’s use fanfiction when they start out, just like a kid will use training wheels when first learning – and as time goes on, and they get the hang of things, they may start to steer away from fanfic, and head deeper into their own stuff. (Or, write their own stuff and continue to write fanfic on the side)
Would you sneer at a child who was using training wheels? Tell them that they’re ‘not actually riding a bike‘? No? Then for the love of God, hold your tongue when talking to a fanfic writer! It’s not helpful, and just makes you look like an ass.
There are also some amazing works and writers that wouldn’t exist if they didn’t start out in/write fanfiction. So don’t you dare tell me fanfiction is somehow ‘polluting’ the writing genre.
Here’s just a few examples of famous works that are fanfiction:
The Lion King – Retelling of Hamlet
Romeo and Juliet – yep, even Shakespeare himself wrote fanfiction. He based it off of an Arthur Brooke poem, The Tragic History of Romeo and Juliet
Dante’s Inferno – Bible fic
The Three Musketeers – based on another book, Mémoires de Monsieur d’Artagnan
Lord of the Flies – some may argue this is more a parody than fic, but either way, it was based on The Coral Island
These are just 5 examples of famous works out of what I’m sure is hundreds (if not thousands), but look at how beloved the above works are. Not all fanfics are bad (like, say… Fifty Shades of Grey [which is a Twilight fanfic, FYI]) and they’re not all gonna be gold, either.
But regardless of how great or not great their stories are, you should give writer kids the same encouragement you would if they wanted to become a doctor, or some other ‘normal’ job.
Do you really want to be responsible for telling the next Shakespeare they shouldn’t write?
Hot chocolate – it’s a prime winter staple. Who doesn’t have fond memories of spooning too much powdered chocolate into a cup with not enough water? Sure, it wasn’t the most perfect drink you ever concocted, but hey – at least your parents’ let you make it yourself, right? That alone made it taste ten times better, ‘Look what I made! Look what I made!’
You’ve probably gotten better at it over the years, but maybe you’ve found that the same mixes you had as a kid really aren’t all that exciting. These days with people catching Pokemon ‘IRL’ and talking to robots, well… powdered chocolate doesn’t quite cut it like it used to.
Luckily for us hot chocolate has come a long way since then, and one of the greatest improvements that’s been made? Adding shit to the powder. Plain old hot chocolate is good, but caramel hot chocolate? That’s great.
I don’t know what it is, but since going vegan, I’ve discovered countless cool products that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to (or have ever tasted) before. One such thing, would be one of the first times I went to Starbucks and got a Caramel Soy Latte. That was beyond good. (I’ll be doing another post about cool Starbucks Canada offerings [yes they can be different than the US] later)
Turns out, I really like caramel flavoured stuff – who knew? So last year as the weather began getting colder, and I was just discovering the wonderful world of faux foods that wouldn’t kill me (or that I never tried because growing up I wasn’t allowed) I knew that I just had to try the Castle Kitchen Caramel Hot Chocolate. And boy was I sure glad I did! It’s so… indescribably amazing!
Maybe it seemed better than it is because I had spent years before that just using cocoa powder (the baking kind) and hot water, or maybe it was the excitement of trying a new product – rationalize my excitement however you need to, but I’m telling you this? You won’t go wrong if you buy a can of this stuff.
It comes in a pretty big can too, and only needing one spoonful for each cup, it lasts a while. I didn’t drink it everyday (I wanted to preserve it so I could have it as long as I could) but even if I did, I’m sure it’d still last a while. I bought it in early December (it’s somewhere on my Instagram), and I still had it at New Years. Even just peeling the foil back and smelling it… I’ll admit, I was salivating a bit. If they had a perfume out there that smells like that (or a body wash!) I would definitely be first in line to buy it. (The closest one I could think of would be the I Love… Cosmetics Yummy Caramel, but I’ve yet to get my hands on it). But, that’s a whole other post.
This stuff is definitely, hands-down my favourite hot chocolate I’ve ever had. And, with the addition of mini Dandies on top? It’s like a cup right out of a winter fairy tale. Now, the can says to add 3Tbsp. to 6oz. of water, but let me tell you – I use 1 Tbsp and just fill up a regular-sized mug and it tastes great. Not watery at all, and, there is even some leftover powder at the bottom of the cup. So the fact it wants you to add 3 Tbsps? Crazy. The only thing you’ll achieve by doing that is running out of this delicious stuff sooner than you want. Trust me, you can get buy with great-tasting hot chocolate on 1 Tbsp.
This powder man… what more can I say to convince you? It’s chocolate with caramel – what more of an explanation do you need?
Don’t just take my word for it though – go out and get yourself a can so you can be your own judge. I’ve already got mine. With this by my side, I’m definitely ready to take on the cold. Also, it’s an amazing drink to come back to after all the shopping, cooking and parties. It’s the perfect cup to unwind while you tear off your party clothes in favour of pj’s and curl up on the couch to Netflix the night away.
This is a somewhat newer product, I believe it only came out a couple years ago, but man is it GOOD.
There was a lot of hype surrounding the release of the VeganEgg, and perhaps it’s because I hadn’t been vegan that long, so I don’t have any stories from ‘back in my day we only had a block of tofu and half a hope’ or what have you, but I wasn’t THAT excited.
I mean, I was still excited, because I was just discovering this whole new world of food I’d never known existed, so my mind was already exploding from the shear awesomeness of it all – but it wasn’t especially being blown by the VeganEgg. Does that make sense?
I’m not trying to down-play this product or anything, it’s really REALLY good, (and that’s coming from someone who wasn’t a big egg fan to begin with) but it wasn’t that hype worthy.
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but a lot of new products that are coming out now, I just feel like they’re being over-hyped. And again, maybe it’s because I wasn’t vegan before all these new products came out, and while I can admit it’s really cool the things they’re coming out with, I feel like they’re over-selling them.
But that’s enough of that, on to the review.
So, I’ll start by saying that the first time I got this product, I was mildly disappointed that it didn’t come in those fake plastic egg shells (like the ones you see everywhere for Easter). Don’t get me wrong, I knew that it was powder, I had read articles explaining that, but I mean… it comes in a little tiny egg carton, they could’ve went the whole nine, y’know? (I might just start doing that, actually. That way you could get even MORE of the ‘original experience’ back [or if nothing else, then you won’t have to measure out the exact amount every time you make one])
Okay, so after that disappointment, I cut the bag of powder open and was surprised to find that it actually smelled like eggs. I discovered later on that this was the work of the amazing kala namak or black salt. This stuff you use pretty much like any other spice, with one exception: it smells like eggs. I recommend adding it to stir-frys or anything else that traditionally has that subtle egg undertone but it is strong, so don’t dump a giant handful into the dish. (Unless you like things tasting super eggy)
While that’s a whole other article, I was pleasantly surprised to know that the fake egg smelled like, well, eggs. I don’t want to be mean, but there are a few faux products out there that say they’re one thing but smell completely different (or worse, say they’re one thing and smell/taste like plastic). Suffice it to say, I was happy it seemed to be living up to the name.
I will say though that it seemed to take a bit longer to solidify then I thought it would. Maybe it’s because I had it on medium (I didn’t want to burn it) or maybe I was just really hungry but it seemed like it took a little too long to get that desired scrambled egg consistency. That’d be my only complaint though.
Once it was done, I did my usual ‘lone test’ – taste it by itself before mixing/adding it to anything. If it tastes good by itself, it’s always a winner. This was really good by itself. It was also good when I added it to Avocado Toast (albeit a bit too much mush in one mouthful). It tasted egg-y, and the consistency (once cooked, despite my impatience) was close enough to my memory of what scrambled eggs were.
I was happy with the way the product tasted, looked and smelled. My one problem would be the price. I’m not sure if it’s available elsewhere (I’ve yet to find it) but the local vegan store I’ve found it in has it for $10. I know they’re a small/local business and have to make money, but I personally think $10 is a bit too high for this product. I’d love to buy it more, but that’s a bit ridiculous to spend on one product each week/every two weeks. If it was say, $6 or even $8, I’d get it more often. As it stands, it’s a ‘special’ item I only buy as a treat only. The actual product itself though is good.
All in all, I recommend trying VeganEgg for yourself. It tastes great and is a great addition to a vegan Sunday breakfast.
So, VeganEgg: have you tried it? Did you like it? Do you agree with my views on price? Let me know in the comments below!
I’d like to start this review off by saying that I’m not really that big of a soup fan. It’s weird to me: it’s a food, right? So why do we drink it? Who wants to drink their food? I can do that when I’m a hundred and my teeth are all gone. I want to chew my food. Stew is better, it’s chunky and chewable.
That being said, this soup is one of the few I actually like. Before going vegan, the only soup I’d eat was that Hearty Chicken can. And, while I don’t want to tell you to go out and try it, if you’re not vegan and are pondering soup choices…
Okay, anyway, on to Amy’s.
Amy’s Kitchen is not a fully vegan brand, so if you check them out, keep that in mind. I recommend checking out their website, they have these little sticker things that tell you if it’s vegan, gluten-free, low fat, etc. This soup is luckily vegan and is very good. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about food looking like non-food shapes (letters, animals, smiley fries, little triangle-shaped sandwiches, etc.) that makes it taste better. I don’t know, maybe it’s the kid in me, but I love food that looks like non-food. Who doesn’t love spelling things in their soup?
I will say, it’s not all that remarkable, it’s tomato soup with some pasta. Honestly, if you’ve ever had Alphaghetti you know what this tastes like. I recommend this product though because it’s vegan alphaghetti! I love finding vegan foods that are similar to the foods I used to eat before going vegan. I’m not trying to diss this soup or anything – it’s good, albeit having a smidge of an acidic taste (but given that it’s tomato soup, that shouldn’t be surprising)
The only two ‘problems’ with this product?
It comes in a can, which means if they go on sale/you want to stock up for winter, it’ll be heavy to carry back to your house.
There’s no real earth-shattering ‘holy sh*t’ moment when eating it. It won’t blow you away and make you double check the ingredients to make sure it’s vegan, it’s just kinda… soup.
It’s not really on par with VeganEgg or Field Roast Burgers, because it’s just soup in a can, y’know? It’s kinda hard to give that kind of product a glowing review. I mean, chances are if you like any soup in a can and/or tomatoes, you’ll like this. Not exactly one of those super-star vegan products that’s out now, but just because it’s not getting hyped to the moon doesn’t mean it isn’t good. I can’t just review all the hyped products – you need some staple-y foods too, right?
Bottom line, I like this. It’s great to have in the winter, is ridiculously easy to make, and it might just bring back some of those simpler childhood memories.
So, Amy’s Alphabet Soup, have you tried it? What did you think? Like it? Hate it? Let me know! And, if you have any suggestions for future vegan products you’d like to see me review, leave it in a comment!
Hands down my favourite vegan gravy. This stuff? If they sold it in juice containers, I would drink it. I’m not even kidding, it’s that good.
Road’s End makes two other gravy flavours, Shiitake Mushroom and Delicious Golden, but the Savoury Herb is the best. They also make mac n cheese, but that is not good. I don’t want to be mean, but it tasted…. I don’t know, cardboard-y? Maybe they put too much nooch in it or something, it’s just bad. Their thing is definitely not mac n cheese.
But that’s okay, because this gravy makes up for it. Moral of that little bit is, don’t buy their mac n cheese. (Sorry if you like it)
This gravy, man, I don’t even know where to start.
The herbs offer that nice refreshing taste herbs do when you eat it, and it doesn’t taste ‘heavy’ like other gravies, it’s pretty light but is delicious too. You could use a whole pack, to say, make some poutine, and you wouldn’t feel bad because it doesn’t give you that gross too full feeling.
I honestly don’t even have the words to describe how good it is. It’s hard to describe because I just want to keep saying ‘it’s good’ but that’s not really a review.
Almost like when I reviewed the Famous Burger in my Vegan Festival Review – too good for words to properly explain if you haven’t tasted it.
Just – go out and get some.
Like this review? Check out more here! I post NEW product reviews on the 13th of every month!
Liking the site? Consider signing up for my Patreon, so I can continue bringing you the content you love!
