Vegan Valentine Giveaway Party!

February 13, 2015 by India Leigh 9 Comments

Valentines Day, celebrated as a day for lovers since the 18th century in England. Nowadays everyone is in on the act and it seems to have evolved beyond romantic love to a day to scatter love everywhere.

To celebrate with you we have gathered a bunch of lovely vegan-friendly companies to help spread a little love this Valentines Day. We have a Valentine giveaway for you. All you have to do is click on the links below to enter.

We think that love should be for every day and not just Valentines so our give-away kicks off the day before Valentines, and the winners will all be picked out at random on 20th February. So that loving feeling will last way beyond the day of Valentine. Good luck. USA entrants only.

We have artisanal raw chocolate from Brooklyn based Fine & Raw

Gluten Free, Allergy Friendly Cosmetics from Red Apple Lipstick

Raw & Toasted coconut chips from Coconut Organics

Wonderful organic, natural vegan skin care from The Mad Hippie

A box of natural, sexy condoms for the boudoir from Sir Richard’s

A jar of something to add flavor to your kitchen creations.. we have Vegan Magic Bacon Grease

Last but not least for the love of dog…. kibble from V-Dog

An eclectic bunch of generous lovers from vegan companies we heart! Good luck!

Thanks for entering, and love and kisses to the generosity of all involved.

Happy love-filled Valentines Day…and everyday!

Artisan Raw Chocolate Giveaway from Fine & Raw

February 13, 2015 by India Leigh 31 Comments

Chocolate Giveaway

Fine & Raw Valentines Chocolate Giveaway 8 pc box set. I visited the Fine & Raw factory and retail space in Brooklyn. I have been evangelistic about their chocolate ever since. My most recent acquisition was a bar of their Scotch Chunky. Happy Face!

For our Valentines Giveaway we have box of the 8 pc classic to giveaway to one lucky chocolate lover.

‘FINE & RAW was started in a notorious Williamsburg, Brooklyn artist loft by Daniel Sklaar. A nonsensical obsession with chocolate inspired Daniel to begin making small chocolate batches. He shared them with friends then started delivering them on his bicycle to small local purveyors. The stock was good - the purveyors wanted more.’

What is raw chocolate? Unlike other chocolate it is not roasted and never reaches above 45 degrees. Some say that nutritionally, cacao is a superfood with more than 300 nutritients including antioxidants, flavonoids, fibre, iron, zinc, copper, calcium and magnesium. It also contains tryptophan which helps our bodies to manufacture serotonins (known as the happiness neurotransmitter). Also, the chemicals anandamine and phenylethylamine which simulate the feeling of falling in love. Aw.

And just look at this for a list of quality ingredients..

raw cacao, virgin coconut oil, blue agave, cacao butter, himalayan sea salt. This is chocolate it is easy to feel good about!

Enter!
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Vegan Magic Bacon Grease Giveaway

February 13, 2015 by India Leigh 10 Comments

Vegan substitutions never cease to amaze me and now (oh Lordy) we have Magic Vegan Bacon Grease. Made of coconut oil, soy protein, sea salt, maple syrup, pepper, onion, garlic, torula yeast and smoke flavors, the fat can be used to fry or bake and may even be eaten straight on toast. In fact, its creators have an entire Tumblr dedicated to the grease’s many uses in recipes ranging from collard greens to cookies, basically any application that would benefit from “smoky, rich, bacony” flavor.

The makers of Vegan Magic Bacon Grease (Chris and his supportive wife) say the products was “Born of necessity and mad science after 20 years of veganism, traveling and being taunted by rich local foods in places like Mexico and the American South - thus did Magic Vegan Bacon Grease come into the world, feet first. Southern Fried Greens? Check. Biscuits? Uh huh. Fried Peppers and Onions? Yup. Polenta? Tofu Scrambler? Gravy? Perogies? Got you covered. Can you put it on toast? You don’t even want to know.” The Facebook page even has a vegan bacon chocolate recipe!

He did not hail from a food background at all, Canadian born Chris was a world traveller who thrashed out DIY punk and metal music when ever he could. A vegan for 20 years he’s witnessed the rise and rise of vegan friendly food expanding out of the small independent health food stores into ‘every-day’ supermarkets. But he felt there was one thing missing that still just didn’t exist in vegan form. Chris said ‘I travel a lot, pretty far from home. Over time I got jealous of the rich smells of foods I could almost but not quite eat, from the food carts of Tijuana to the soul food joints of the American South. I came home from tour determined to crack the case. Throw in a leaning towards mad science, and Magic Vegan Bacon Grease came to be’. He decided to put just 24 jars for sale at his friends bakery in Toronto and it flew off the shelves and word started to spread. Well, the result was a patent was filed and Chris set to to create the best version he could of his product. He says, ‘Vegan or not, it’s an oil based compound, replicating a lard like consistency which makes things rich and well, super bacony. End of story’.

We’ve got a jar for one very lucky person to try!

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Coconut Chips Giveaway from Coconut Organics

February 13, 2015 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

For those of you who have not tried coconut bacon, or crisp coconut chips doused in coconut sugar sweetened chocolate, stand to be amazed. This is healthy snacking gone wild! I cannot get enough of this stuff. Seriously, I’m sprinkling the smoky, dusty coconut bacon on everything! And the chocolate covered chips remind me of my school tuck shop treats of cornflake dipped in chocolate..but better, way, way better.

Coconut Organics coconut chips currently have three amazing flavours;

CocoBacon® vegan organic coconut bacon -

Wondering how it is made? Wonder no more. First Coconut Organics begin with thick, sweet organic coconut chips from mature coconuts then they lightly toast them. The toasted chips then get a generous dose of raw, coconut oil, to achieve the fatty satisfaction of bacon. Then, they apply a little bit of low-glycemic, coconut sugar to mirror the slight sweetness of bacon. Next they add some mineral rich Celtic Sea Salt, for the salty side of bacon. The savoury and smoky notes come from mesquite smoke flavor and their own secret spice blend. The result is the perfect, sweet, salty, smoky and crunchy, chewy thing going on!

Raw Chocolate Organic Coconut Chips

made with 100% raw cacao and diabetic friendly coconut sugar.

Toasted Organic Coconut Chips -

plain ole toasted coconut chips. Naked!

Great for snacking or topping for your potatoes, salad, stir fries. Sprinkle it on your breakfast cereal, porridge or pancakes. Lovely on your vegan yogurt. Add it to your home made ice-cream, top your donuts and cupcakes with the stuff, or just eat it right out of the packet!

Of course you want to try it. Enter the giveaway! One winner will receive the trio of flavours to snack on to their heart’s desire.
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Vegan Dog Food Giveaway.

February 13, 2015 by India Leigh 1 Comment

V-Dog. Dog Lovers Valentines Giveaway. For those animal lovers we have food for your 4-legged friends! We reviewed V-Dog a while back Tail wagging approval - V-Dog review, and we wanted to offer it to you as a Valentines prize! Vegan dog food….? Yes, it is veterinary approved, nutritionally balanced, plant-based and dogs love it.

Show your dog some love. We have one bag of BreathBones to giveaway to one lucky pooch!
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Chemical Free All Natural Condoms Giveaway

February 13, 2015 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

Chemical Free All Natural Condoms Giveaway.

So, it’s Valentines. It’s all about love. So of course we need to be wise and be safe. This giveaway will help you to enjoy Valentines to the full, should this be your desire!

Sir Richard’s™ was founded in 2009 by a group of globally minded entrepreneurs who wanted to merge their shared interest in good loving with their love of doing good. Designed with sexual wellness and reproductive health in mind, they left out a range of seriously unsexy chemicals, common ingredients in the leading brands’ products. And for every condom people purchased, the founders committed to donating a condom to communities in need. A staggering 3 million condoms have been donated since the companies inception.

Sir Richard’s condoms are made of all-natural latex and silicone (lubricant). Chemical free, all natural condoms. They do not use any fillers in their natural latex, which is a common practice in the industry. Their condoms are free of glycerin, parabens, spermicide and petrochemicals. They are Vegan-certified and PETA-approved with minimal latex odour. For more info.

The sweet people at Sir Richards have a box of 12 assorted Condoms ‘The Collection’ to giveaway to three lucky winners!

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Gluten Free Vegan Lipstick Giveaway

February 13, 2015 by India Leigh 2 Comments

Gluten Free Vegan Lipstick.

Keeping it all natural, vegan and gluten free makeup is a thing. Red Apple Lipstick are a cosmetics company dedicated to allergen free products. They have a wonderful range of products to make your kissers and peepers pop.

We have a gluten free vegan lipstick or gloss, and an eyeliner to giveaway to one lucky winner. If you win you get to choose your perfect shade.

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Active Natural Skin Care Giveaway from The Mad Hippie

February 13, 2015 by India Leigh 2 Comments

Vegan Skin Care

It is so important to not overload our skins with harmful chemicals to allow our skin to be at its optimal state. I’ve been showing my skin some serious love lately with Mad Hippie luxury lotions, creams and serums which are totally free of paraben and synthetic ingredients. All their products are cruelty free and 100% natural. We just had to get this Portland, Oregon company to your attention. Their products have a list of incredibly clean and beneficial ingredients;

Coenzyme Q10
Reservatrol
Green Tea
Vitamin B3
Polyphenols
Vitamin E
Aloe Vera
Coconut Oil
Argan Oil
Grape Seed Extract
Acai Berry
Pomegranate

Using their products feels like the most luxurious and kindest thing you could be putting on your face. Read here why the active natural ingredients and peptides their products contain are so good for your skin. The before and after photos of actual customers skin improvements on their website are really impressive. I’m am totally hooked on them. I know you will love them too! Mad Hippie have one set of their skin care Exfoliating Serum and Face Cream to giveaway.

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Vegan Donuts Los Angeles

February 7, 2015 by India Leigh 2 Comments

Vegan donuts Los Angeles.

Donut Friend two words in the English language that are good, whether alone or together. Donuts are great. Friends are great. Put together? Well, after eating a pillow of doughy, adorned heaven at Donut Friend, for a moment the world drops away to reveal a glorious illumined alter of the baked bonne bouche. Really, you say..is it that good?! Ok so vegan baked donuts that taste like they are fried with GLUTEN FREE options that you can either dress up with one of their crazy good on-menu (sweet and savoury) flavours, or, OR make up from your own limitless crazy imaginations. Yes, DIY. They slice the donuts in half and that creates a lidded platform for you to fill, stuff and cram as you see fit. THEN, yes then you get to have it drizzled, dipped, sprinkled and literally drowned in more sensational toppings.

I went straight for the DIY option, with a gluten free donut. After much deliberation I opted for the raspberry habanero jam and coconut cream filling. Chocolate and vanilla glaze. Gloriously topped off with coconut bacon. My fingers were restless as I watched them create my masterpiece. I was eager to get my hands on it. Did my friends look at me strangely to see the over-the-top pure excitement I was displaying for a donut?! No matter. It was worth getting excited about! Picking it up it was dripping in glaze, I bit into it and waited for the flavours to tinkle my tastebuds like a piano player on the ivories! It was insanely good! The jam packed an intense sweet heat, the coconut bacon was crisp and smokey and the flavours played together like a symphony! The donut was baked but it tasted every bit fried. It was so delicious!!

I had to quell the oink within to hold back from trying all the flavours that were teasing mercilessly behind the glass! Friend J had the blueberry loaded ‘Husker Blu’, Friend C had the ‘Angry Samoan’, a chocolate and coconut adorned creation. C said he could not tell the difference between the gluten and the non-gluten donuts. They both admitted my DIY donut was totally delicious. I took another friend a day or so later and they said that they’d never know it was vegan and it was the best donut they’d had. It definitely was mine too!

Feast your peepers on the menu - I dare you not to salivate with creations like; caramelised apple, with vegan cheese, caramel and toasted peanuts, strawberry shortcake, pastry cream & chocolate, the S’Morrissey with a chocolate cake donut filled with toasted marshmallows and topped with chocolate glaze and graham cracker crumbs!!!!

As if you’d care with all that amazing ‘can you even believe it’ ‘have I died and gone to heaven’ ?going on but the prices are good, the donut shop is located in a fun, cozy part of town and the staff are squeezably nice too! It is not an all vegan place but it is mostly. Which you can tell by the fact they * the non-vegan items!

If all that is not enough, Donut Friend are also in Highland Park, a fun, hip and friendly area of town which I have fallen madly in love with. I will be going back again. And again, and again…and again. Nothing wrong with having donuts for lunch!

Mine, all mine!

Yes, well it is a confection laden donut, it was never going to be the glamor shot!

Donut Friend

5107 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90065

Project Juice Bar San Francisco

December 20, 2014 by India Leigh 3 Comments

A new juice bar has opened on Valencia Street in San Francisco’s Mission District. Juice bars are not new, but I’d heard their set up was a little different so I thought I’d check it out.

Valencia is a very gentrified area of The Mission. Think lots of independent furniture design stores, clothing stores awash with hipster apparel and a myriad of smart restaurants and coffee houses. The walkways outside are embedded with glitter which pleases my magpie heart. Ooh, shiny. It is a street that holds much for the avid people watcher.

Project Juice Bar San Francisco has a clean, simple and minimalist interior. I felt healthy just standing inside and perusing their extensive and creative menu of smoothies and juices. The staff were super friendly and helped me to make my selection. Along with the smoothies they have raw wraps and tempting desserts.

I spotted in the chiller a coconut-meat wrap stuffed with house-made vegan, cream cheese. I’m going back for that sucker. Today though I felt in the mood for smoky, so I ordered the Southwestern Burrito to go with my smoothie of choice. Though the juices are fresh pressed to maintain ALL their nutrients and enzymes so thrice super healthy, I only had eyes for a thick, decadent smoothie.

CALI CARROT $9.00 House-Made Almond Mylk, Cold-Pressed Carrot Juice, Raw Coconut Meat, Dates, Hunza Raisins, Lucuma, Cinnamon, Spices. It is said there is 5 lbs of produce in each bottle.

I’m not one for overly sweet so I asked them to omit the raisins. My order arrived within minutes and I took a stool at the window to begin feasting. The smoothie was thick, creamy, and the cinnamon was sweet harmony. I tucked into my burrito. A delight, let me say. I was not a particular fan of the little pot of salsa, but the wrap itself was smokey and crisp (from the lettuce) and bbq sweet. As if that was not enough to delight my senses it just so happened I turned up when they were experimenting with a new smoothie. My eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning when I was handed their seasonal no-egg nog to try. It is made from a base of their turmeric mylk with added nutmeg eggnog flavour notes. I was actually full by now but I took it on for my dessert stomach, which always seems to be very accommodating and nudges over and make room for sweet things. The flavour was insanely good, my head was in my hands and the wonder of it. Seriously. Project Juice have a full time chef on staff. Together they are making flavour whoopee!

I also sampled the Buff Beatnik, Berry Blaze and the Chocoholic. I think I consumed a gazillion calories but hey, it’s the holidays! And everything is made from healthy ingredients. Sourced locally (for the most part. Their fresh coconuts come from the Philippines. They use as much of the coconut as they can, even using the husk and shell to make vegan activated charcoal to go into their Black Magic hangover cure/detox juice). Greg & Rachel, the owners of the Project Juice bar take pride in personally knowing all their suppliers.

Valencia is their forth location. The fifth to follow soon on Market Street. They also deliver detox and cleansing packs direct to your home. Their first store only opened 1.5 years ago, after a successful Kickstarter Campaign helped to get their vision off the ground. The couple had moved from the East coast where they’d been daily patrons of Organic Avenue. Rachel said that when they arrive 4 years ago there was nowhere in San Francisco where she could go to for uber healthy food and smoothies/juices. Being celiac and allergic to eggs and dairy, Rachel had turned her health around prior to coming to San Francisco by adopting a mainly vegan diet. Frustrated the couple decided to take the matter into their own hands and open a healthy juice bar in San Francisco themselves.

As I find so often in these stories, there is usually a nice path that leads (not always straight..sometimes a little squiggly) to career Nirvana. Rachel’s background had previously been working with autistic children. Through her work she was particularly interested in the nutritional effects on these children. Studies now prove that careful focus on nutrition has been found to help with symptoms. She’d attended many nutritional courses, so coupled with her studies, research and experience of finding health for herself it kind of dovetailed and gave her the impetus she needed to begin Project Juice. Greg had had a long career in investment banking in the food sector. See how that works?! In their whirlwind last 18 months the couple even managed to have a child. It must be the super foods keeping them going!

I had begun to think that the vegan food scene had stagnated in the City but things seem to be gaining fresh energy. That can only be good.

Valentines Day, celebrated as a day for lovers since the 18th century in England. Nowadays everyone is in on the act and it seems to have evolved beyond romantic love to a day to scatter love everywhere.

We have artisanal raw chocolate from Brooklyn based Fine & Raw

Gluten Free, Allergy Friendly Cosmetics from Red Apple Lipstick

Raw & Toasted coconut chips from Coconut Organics

Wonderful organic, natural vegan skin care from The Mad Hippie

A box of natural, sexy condoms for the boudoir from Sir Richard’s

A jar of something to add flavor to your kitchen creations.. we have Vegan Magic Bacon Grease

Last but not least for the love of dog…. kibble from V-Dog

Chocolate Giveaway

Vegan Skin Care

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