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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Easter Comes Early!

I don't really celebrate Easter in a religious sense, but I'm all about bunnies and chickens and baskets stuffed with goodies. For me, Easter is sort of an extension of the Spring Equinox, a celebration of our fertile Earth. After all, fertility is the reason behind the bunny and egg symbolism this time of year.

Since the actual Easter holiday doesn't matter that much to me, I had no problem accepting the Easter basket from my parents a few weeks early. Yes, I'm 30 years old. Yes, my parents still give me an Easter basket. My parents are pretty awesome like that. My dad let me pick out a few goodies from Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe. Here's what I got:

Dandies Lemon Tweets, Leahey Gardens Macaroni & Cheese (which I blogged about on Monday), a bag of Leahey Gardens Cheese Flavored Sauce Mix (the same cheese used in the macaroni but by itself), Kookie Karma Cheesy Kale Krackers, and Eco-planet Non-Dairy Cheddar Crackers.

I've already raved on and on about the Leahey Gardens macaroni (best stuff on Earth!). I haven't tried the cheese sauce mix yet, but I know it will be perfect for topping steamed broccoli, nachos, or chili cheese fries.

I'm on a vegan marshmallow kick right now. So I HAD to try these Dandies Tweets. They're vegan versions of the hot pink and lemon yellow Peeps!

I guess they don't look all that much like chickens, but they taste delicious. Not as sweet as Peeps, but that's a good thing. Same fluffy marshmallow texture.

Eco-Planet Non-Dairy Cheddar Crackers are a long-time fave that I can only find online. I always stock up when I get the chance. They're like Goldfish crackers, but vegan. And the Cheesy Kale Krackers sounded irresistable. But at nearly $7 for a bag of two servings, I would have been too cheap to order them with my own money. But when Daddy is paying ...

Well, these crunchy raw crackers were worth every penny. The cheesy coating is made from cashews, red pepper, and miso, and it's better than any kale chip I've ever made at home:

I stashed them on my desk at work to ease mid-morning hunger. But since a certain co-worker likes to help himself to my desk snacks (you know who you are, Mark Plumlee), I left this friendly note:

I wouldn't pay the $7 again, but now that I've seen the ingredients and tasted these yummy dehydrated chips, I can probably recreate them from scratch. When I do, I'll be sure and share the recipe.

Thanks Mama and Daddy for the awesome Easter basket!
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15 comments:

  1. LoriApril 14, 2011 at 1:46 AM

    I always see that brand of kale chips when I'm shopping, and the price never fails to shock me, haha. I have no doubt that they're awesome, though! It'll be interesting to see your version :)

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  2. chocolate-covered katieApril 14, 2011 at 7:15 AM

    Ah jealous! It's weird... I HATED peeps when I was an omnivore, but just the fact that vegan peeps EXIST makes me wanna try them!

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  3. foodfeudApril 14, 2011 at 7:34 AM

    Sounds good! When I first turned vegan, my parents got me a goodie basket full of trail mix and teas. I might have appreciated some of those kale chips too, mmm.

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  4. vegan.in.brightonApril 14, 2011 at 9:03 AM

    What a great basket of goodies. Easter baskets aren't really a think in the UK but I'm looking forward to eating some delicious vegan Easter eggs next week!

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  5. AnonymousApril 14, 2011 at 9:28 AM

    Those kale chips look gorgeous. I wonder if I can find anything like that over here in the UK...?

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  6. AnonymousApril 14, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    Your parents are so cool! I would have probably eaten that $7 worth of kale chips in one sitting. I cannot be trusted around kale chips :)

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  7. UnknownApril 14, 2011 at 11:07 AM

    Hi Vegan Crunk,

    Do you do product reviews and give aways? If you do, please contact me at weston (at) activz (dot) com. We make vegan vitamins and supplements, and I think your readers would be interested in.

    Thanks,
    Weston

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  8. Jess - The Domestic VeganApril 14, 2011 at 1:51 PM

    Whoa, what an excellent haul!!! Your parents are awesome! I still get an Easter basket, too. Hahaha. I usually get yummy vegan chocolate & gift cards, but I'd love some of these goodies, too!

    It's funny because I am dying to try those Tweets, but I never much cared for Peeps! I think it's the novelty of the whole thing that's appealing to me. Well, that & the fact that Dandies marshmallows are the shiiiiiit.

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  9. Alan RoettingerApril 14, 2011 at 2:35 PM

    When was Easter supposed to come?

    I could use some of those kale chips right about now...

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  10. KristineApril 14, 2011 at 4:09 PM

    Awwwwwww, so sweet!! What an amazing basket!!!!!

    YUM!

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  11. The Health SenseiApril 14, 2011 at 5:32 PM

    omg i miss your blog. i do recall a convo about another food swap? ;) u still have my email? now that i have my family shit straightened out it's time to get back to foodie-status

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  12. BabetteApril 14, 2011 at 8:53 PM

    I'm jealous of your basket. You're so lucky. Everything in it looks very exciting and tasty to me. I've only tried the Eco Planet crackers, and once only, but it was instant love. They are just perfect.

    Happy Easter!

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  13. NikkiApril 14, 2011 at 11:27 PM

    That's a yummy basket of goodies! I'm making a few "Easter" baskets this year and would have never thought to add stuff like vegan mac-n-cheese, but I think this post is inspiring me to add some awesomely unconventional treats. :)

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  14. AnonymousApril 15, 2011 at 12:26 PM

    There's a really good kale chip recipe on the peas and thank you blog.

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  15. UnknownApril 16, 2011 at 3:06 PM

    Those kale chips look lethal. I need to get me some.

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