Vegan Cuts Beauty Box : February 2014

Hello, my lovelies!

Today for your viewing pleasure, I have the newest Vegan Cuts Beauty Box for you!

Let me start by saying that the Vegan Cuts Beauty Box is amazing. Every month, when I anxiously anticipate the arrival of the newest box, I often wonder how the lovely people over at VC are going to out do themselves. EVERY SINGLE MONTH, the box is mroe amazing then the last, and this one is no different.

Chandler Farm Fragrance Free Hand Creme.

Not a lotion, but a CREME.

It’s funny, my mother and I were discussing the other day the differences between a creme and a lotion and how difficult it is to find a good creme. Problem solved!

Thicker then a lotion, this hand creme is wonderful. As someone that is extremely rough on my hands (knitting, changing nail polish every other day, washing dishes, etc) I am in constant need of good moisturizing. Try as I might, I can’t see to remember to lather up with lotion on a daily basis. This will definitely make my life easier! Small enough to carry in my purse (3 oz size), this will definitely be a go-to for me.

And maybe, just maybe, I will allow my mother to try it.

Birthed By Earth Candle Company, All-Natural Soy Wax Candles

I HATE LEMONGRASS.

It reminds me of the spray used to clean wood furniture. However, this is pleasant. Not as strong as I expected, and quite lovely. Had I been able to locate a damn lighter, I would have burned it by now! I love me some soy candles.

GreenBody Balanced Scent Tea Tree and Rosemary Deodorant

Yes, I deodorized my lips. I COULDN’T HELP IT! It looks like a friggin lip balm! I’m a sucker for a good lip balm and am willing to try almost anything. The packaging is deceiving, but oddly brilliant. Small enough to carry with me, I plan on hauling this around with me when I go on trips (namely Motor City Nightmares Weekend ). I just have to remember…..ARMPITS, NOT LIPS.

Yarok Feed Your Do Styling Whip

Not one for hair goos, this one may never be used. Everything makes my hair greasy. EVERYTHING. If you know me IRL, you know I only keep my hair in a messy bun 24/7. I don’t bother with anything, since it’s just not worth the hassle. I will say, it smells nifty and I thoroughly enjoy the label. Simple.

Molly Rose, Pickles & Ice Cream Lip Balm

…………. Come again?

No, you read that right. This lip balm smells like DILL FUCKING PICKLES. And ice cream, namely vanilla.

What the shit, you ask? Yeah, I’m not too sure but the mix definitely seems to work well together. Silky and smooth, it leaves your lips feeling good. DAMN good. Kudos to the people over at Molly Rose. You’ve made a real stunner.

Last but not least, Medusa’s Lipstick in Lolita

 

Beautiful packaging, rich, deep color…. This lipstick has everything going for it. I tried it on and it blew my mind. I may have finally found a red that looks good on me! That right there says something. The texture was velvety and it doesn’t seem to bleed. The smell is quite pleasant as well.

Seriously, if you haven’t jumped on the Vegan Cuts train yet, now is the time. The boxes keep getting better and better and I actually look forward to the day when my box arrives at my doorstep!

Sign up for Vegan Cuts Snack Box 

OR

Vegan Cuts Beauty Box

 

Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Phoney Baloney’s Coconut Bacon

BACON!!!!!

BACOOOOON!!!!exclamation!!!

Every person on this planet enjoys the flavor of bacon. Maybe not the texture or the cruelty it represents, but the flavor is something that most people crave. That smokey, salty, crunchy goodness. After all  there is a good reason why there are so many recipes and products on the market for faux versions of the stuff.

Phoney Baloney’s may have mastered the art of coconut bacon.

I may be slightly biased since the creator of Phoney Baloney happens to be the boyfriend of my soul mate. Biased or not, the shit is delicious.

Don’t believe me? The fella was eating it by the handfuls this morning.

Along with the three bags we received (I told the fella he was donating to IndieGoGo whether he liked it or not….and he did….and didn’t complain one bit!), there was a sample of Ration’s, Kyle’s scramble seasoning. Thanks to Kyle, we knew what we would have for breakfast.

Of course, I sprinkled bacon on it. Why the hell not?! Bacon is good on everything.

The sample was just enough to flavor the tofu itself. It definitely wasn’t enough for the pound of carrots, shitakes, and broccoli I added in. Despite the flavor being VERY sporadic  it was delicious! Being someone who is making scramble 2+ times a week, I know my scramble!! This definitely surpasses my previous spice recipe.

As for the bacon, well…..

What better way then to make a BLT with Guacamole on Ezekiel Bread?!

Honestly, I’m not the best reviewer but needless to say by the few reviews I have on here, when I do review something it’s because it’s the fucking bee’s knee’s.

Go buy this stuff. Help out a small business because this one honestly deserves it.

And it will help put food in Andrea and puppies faces.

Vegan Food Swap

I sure do love me some vegan food swaps. There’s just something about receiving food items from other parts of the country, things that are elusive and can’t be found around me, that makes me giddy!

When I heard about the food swap that The Verdant Life was organizing, I jumped at the chance to join in.

My partner for the October 2012 swap was Kathy, who sent me a truly amazing box.

SEE?! Amazing. The bean chips are a personal favorite and something that I’ve had before. The lentils are being saved until I’m at work and forget to bring food. The macaroons are….gone. Chocolate bar too. And the Lucy’s cookies. The queso, well, that’s being saved until a rainy day.

The wasabi peas on the other hand…. They made me gag. Wasabi and me aren’t friends, but the fella sure did enjoy them! I contemplated bringing them to work and tricking the kids into eating them. I’m THAT kind of nanny.

Thank you, Kathy!

You can expect your package in the next few days!!

SEEfood! HA!

Vegan seafood.

Like most faux meat products, it seems almost blasphemous… But oh so intriguing!

Most vegans (notice I said MOST, not ALL) didn’t banish meat from their diets because they don’t taste good. No sirree! The TRUTH is what usually leads those with compassion to swear off the dead stuff. I know I for one was a disgusting meat lover of insane proportions once upon a time!

Which is why fake meat of all kids is so intriguing to me. I’m always on the look out for something that mimics meat in every sense, minus the dead aspect.

So imagine my shock when I found this FAUX SEAFOOD!

 

As the package says, it was So-Deicious!

 

I threw both boxes in the oven along with a tray of Crispy Crowns (my current horrible obsession) and after roughly 25 minutes of baking, they were perfect!

Part of why I used to love calamari was it’s chewy, rubbery texture. Don’t ask me why but it was enticing!! This product is the same. IDENTICAL. The flavor was spot on (from what I remember) and the texture was like chewing on  a flavorful rubber band. The shrimp was dead on to it’s ocean dwelling counterpart, right down to the color!

Overall, yes, I will definitely be buying this again. I might even try to sneak it to my mother, who is a diehard seafood fiend.