VeganMoFo

Winners! I’ll email you after I feed my dogs.

Ashley: I would be drinking a nice hot cup of pumpkin spice while playing my resident evil 6 on xbox live with my boyfriend.
Megan: Knitting! Or lighting things on fire.
Kelly: Horror movie marathon! (Assuming the pumpkin spice makes it to the stores by Halloween!) It is, i’ve seen it!
Julia: I would totally warm it up and drink while watching the first snowfall.
Brandy: My wife and I love to make big Fall themed brunches and eat them outside with our rescue piggy, Peach and our guests. We would love to have some of this good looking sweet stuff to sip on with some pumpkin stuffed French toast!

…I swear, Erin and I didn’t plan to match the round-up and giveaway.

If dairy-free alternatives are taking over the world, So Delicious is leading the march. Their line is constantly expanding, and becoming available in regular grocery stores more and more. And they’re not just one-milk ponies, they offer soy, coconut, and almond products. From milks to yogurts to more ice cream and ice cream novelties than you can shake a stick at! There really is something for everyone in their product line. And unless you’ve tried all of their products, which has to be well over 100, you can’t tell me any different. So nyah.

One exciting new thing that they’ve added this year is…Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk! I’ve already seen this in my health food store so keep your eyes peeled.

Also check out the recipe section of their site for some amazing vegan recipes.

So Delicious has offered to send a free product coupon to five lucky winners! To enter, simply comment here, telling me what fall activity you would enjoy while sipping some Pumpkin Spice beverage (you can totally jump in leaves while holding a travel mug). This contest is US only, a winner will be drawn tomorrow at 2 pm.

Winners! Check your email! Everyone else, don’t forget that the coupon code ‘MOFO2012’ is still good until the 13th!

Brandon: I think the men’s tee with the green vegan heart is my favorite. Cute, simple, to the point. A bit like me 🙂

Zoe: The animals are all so sweet. My favourite has to be ‘flesh is for zombies’ though 🙂

Today’s giveaway is from Sick On Sin, a vegan-owned business from Canada that’s run by a husband and wife team. Michael draws all of their designs, while Jennifer handles the rest of the business. Their designs are super cute, and range from vegan and pro-animal related to zombies, ninjas, kale, and cupcakes (you know, the things that really matter in life). But don’t take my word for it, peep these pictures:

You can get t-shirts, buttons, bags, totes, stickers, even a shirt for your dog!

In addition to the giveaway, Sick On Sin has a discount code for us! Use the code MOFO2012 for 20% off! Please take note that the code expires on October 13th, because the store is going on hiatus so Michael and Jen can prepare for their new baby. Mazel tov!

The giveaway itself is a gift certificate to their store for $25, for two lucky people. To enter, simply head on over to their site and tell us which design of theirs is your favorite! This giveaway is worldwide, so anyone can enter. The winners will be chosen tomorrow at 2 pm.

Winners! Check your email.

Ashley: Today my son, who just turned 1 year on Oct. 3, cheered me up by taking his first steps (actually he took about 10 steps all by himself)! I love my little vegan man and his new frankenstein walk!
Krista: My families dog had to be put down recently and our friends cheered us up by giving us cards, flowers, hugs, prayers, etc to help us through the hard time. It was really special 🙂

I love my chocolate, this is no secret. And I like super fancy, fair trade, 70% cacao as much as the next girl, but sometimes you want a candy bar. Caramel, nougat, all that good stuff. That’s where Go Max Go comes in!

Not only does Go Max Go make awesome candy bars, but they are a really giving company. Early this year, my dog slid down our steps and dislocated his hip, which eventually required surgery. I mentioned it in the comments of one of their facebook posts and they asked me to email them, and when I did they asked for my address and sent me a huge package of candy bars and well wishes for my dog (who is now all better). If you’ve ever read the story behind their company name, their generosity isn’t that much of a surprise (but totally awesome).

I’m sure you’ve heard about their new bar that’s coming out next month, it’s a lot like a candy bar that rhymes with ‘sputter linger’ and it’s called Thumbs Up. They don’t have a final product photo yet, so we’ll have to make do with this prototype instagram photo:

Today Go Max Go is offering to send two lucky winners a full set of their current bars – 6 each! Simply comment here and tell us something someone recently did that cheered you up (or how you cheered someone up). US only, the winners will be drawn tomorrow at noon CST.

Winners!

Lisa Marie: The vegan food gift I’d most like to receive is a trip back to NYC for dinner at Candle 79. Does that count? I really miss that place. 🙁

I’d really like The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet. I’ve had it on my wishlist for a while.

Veronica: There’s a few things I’d like but I really need a tofu press! Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster appetites would be best for me, I have a 13 year old who plays baseball & football and he definitely has a monster appetite!

Adeline: A pumpkin pie. I just can’t get it right for some odd reason.

Vegan Food Gifts or Hearty Vegan. [you’ll be getting Vegan Gifts]

Check your email shortly!

If I had to describe Joni’s recipe style to someone who was unfamiliar with her, i’d probably say “Girl doesn’t mess around.” My impression of Joni is that she isn’t interested in putting out a book that isn’t designed to knock some socks off. There is no recreating the tofu scramble, or jumping on the latest health trend to cash in. Her love of comfort food combined with Celine Steen’s creative use of ingredients created one of the best vegan cookbooks of all time, Hearty Vegan Meals For Monster Appetites. Unapologetically decadent, it is the book to pull out when you really need to wow someone.

Long before she hooked up with Celine, Joni had self-published her own book and was working on a veggie burger book for years. Good things come to those who wait, I know when I got my copy I thought, “How can anyone come up with 100 veggie burger recipes and not just repeat themselves?” If you have the book, you know that Joni took things that you would never think of making into a patty and did it.

Her new book (number six!), Vegan Gifts just came out. I can’t tell you much about it since I don’t have it, but I can tell you that Kurt Halsey (tween fan girl squee) illustrated it, and if you look at Joni’s flickr account, you can see pictures of many of the recipes. Mixes, cookies, snacks, and canned goods galore! I know every year I struggle to think of new food gifts to give people (also I always end up eating half of those buckeye ball myself), so I personally can’t wait to get my hands on it. I wrote a guide to vegan cookbooks on my blog a few months ago, and one of the points I mentioned for buying a new book is, does it fill a hole in my collection? The answer here is a big YES. And with Celine taking the photos, you know it’s just as nice as the books she’s done with Joni.

But if you don’t want to take my word for it, why don’t we just give you a book for funsies?

Joni has offered up a copy each of three of her books today, Hearty Vegan Meals, The Best Veggie Burgers On The Planet, and Vegan Gifts. Please say which book you would like so you don’t win one you already have (if you’d be happy with any, feel free to say so as well). Simply comment here, telling us what vegan food gift you’d most like to receive for [winter holiday that you celebrate/refuse to participate in]. Three winners will be picked tomorrow morning at 11 am CST, US only (we have UK and Aussie only giveaways coming, don’t worry!).

Our main winner is CQ: My family and I don’t really…”gather”. But one time I was meeting up with my parents and my grandma (whom I hadn’t seen in a long time) for lunch in NYC, and despite my having explained to my parents a zillion times what I would and would not eat, and gave them a list of possible restaurants where we could eat, they chose a restaurant that wasn’t on my list and sure enough, it was a Chinese restaurant where everything (including the sauces) had meat in it. We had to leave and go find somewhere else to eat. It was…yeah, pretty awkward.

Also, my Field Roast contact said I could pick a couple of more winners to receive a coupon, so we have two runners up!

Kirsten: I’m a newbie, but the latest experience that kind of qualifies was my sister saying on the phone, “so are you now going to be a vegan?” Kind of reminded me of the time my mom asked, “so are you going to come home for Christmas and be gay everyday?” Yes people, every day, all day!

Marti: [rant with some cuss words]…(OK, THAT rant isn’t going to win me any Field Roast, but I decided not to put up with ANY family not-vegan drama many years ago and that’s pretty much the end of the story…) But look, it did!

Check your emails shortly!

Ah, fall. The changing leaves, the cooler weather, and…the holidays! Depending on how you spend your fall/winter holidays and with who, they can either be great or a miserable experience. I cook our Thanksgiving dinner, but on Christmas we truck it to grandma’s house, and of course there’s no food for me there. So if I don’t feel like making something and bringing it with, i’m out of luck.

That’s where things like the Field Roast Celebration Roast (which I did take with me a few years ago) and Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute come in handy. Sometimes there’s no leftovers from Christmas Eve, sometimes you have the flu, sometimes you are just lazy, okay? And a mini-roast or a fancy pastry-wrapped roast are a lot nicer than the granola bar you have stashed in your purse.

The kind folks at Field Roast have a special package today for one very lucky winner, two free product coupons (one for each product mentioned) and a t-shirt! Simply comment here and tell me your most awkward vegan family gathering experience. A winner will be chosen tomorrow at 11 AM, CST. US only!