This time, he picked out the following.
From left to right: Earth Balance Vegan Sour Cream & Onion Kettle Chips, Dixie Diners' Club Beef Not!, Stonewall Jerquee in Hot Pastrami, No No's Milk Like Chocolate Candies, Primal Strips Hot 'n' Spicy Shiitake Mushroom Jerky, and Dang Toasted Coconut Chips.
In the very front is a can of Elianni Vegan Pate in Vegetable Flavor. That was actually the free gift this month from Vegan Essentials! I haven't tried it yet, but I saw this product at Vegan Heaven in Seattle and almost bought it. The main ingredients are nutritional yeast and oil so it has to be good!
Also, those Dang coconut chips, which he ordered me last time, are for him this time. I'll be bringing the bag to my dad on my next visit home.
I was most excited for the Earth Balance Vegan Sour Cream & Onion Kettle Chips!!
I've long said the one thing missing from the vegan junk food world was sour cream & onion chips. There simply was no substitute. But EB fixed that problem! These chips taste exactly like the sour cream & onion chips from my childhood. That was always my favorite flavor. I had some chips for lunch yesterday with a Hickory smoked Tofurky sandwich with Vegenaise and avocado. So good!
I was also way excited to try No No's!! I first saw these on John's Laziest Vegans blog, and I couldn't wait to sample them. (Check out how I accidentally perfectly framed the Sun-Maid lady from the bag of dried apples on my desk behind this bag! Look in the little hangy hole on the No No's, above the words "vegan approved.".)
These are vegan marshmallows coated in chocolate and then coated in a hard candy shell. They don't look exactly like they do on the bag, but that's okay because they are insanely delicious.
Think marshmallow M&M's. So good! Now No No's needs to make peanut ones! And peanut butter ones!
I haven't opened the Stonewall Jerquee yet, but I ripped into the bag of Primal Strips immediately. I can get the seitan Primal Strip flavors here in Memphis, but for some reason, no one carries the shiitake mushroom jerky. And that's my fave!
The Beef Not! is a "beef" TVP. It has the same dark brown color of beef, unlike most regular light-colored TVP. I think there's supposed to be a beefy flavor, but it kind of tasted just like regular TVP. I rehydrated some and then fried it up with salt, chili powder, garlic powder, chipotle pepper, and onion powder. And then it was ready for Taco Tuesday!
This is a gluten-free corn tortilla with Beef Not!, Daiya Cheddar, Tofutti Sour Cream, lettuce, tomato, and hot sauce. I loved the texture of the rehydrated Beef Not! It's very beef-like. Even Paul couldn't stay out of the leftovers, and he's not usually that into my vegan food.
I SO want to try the no-nos!!! And the mushroom jerky! Your Dad rocks :-)
ReplyDeleteI love it that your dad sends you these care packages with awesome food gifts he thinks you'll like. What a fun surprise it must be when it arrives! I'm eager to try those sour cream and onion chips. Everyone has raved about them, but I have no idea when they'll arrive in my area. I may need to go the ordering route too!
ReplyDelete[ Smiles ] This is evidence that vegan snacks are not boring!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet dad! Such a nice idea, and a great care package he's picked out there. I might have to drop some hints to my dad...
ReplyDeleteLove your Dad!!! This care package is awesome for sure. We got the Cheddar flavored Earth Balance chips (which are very good!!) in at our Whole Foods, but not the Sour Cream & Onion, so I might need to order some soon! Can't wait to try them!
ReplyDeleteOh my, I had to reread the words about the framing of the Sun-Maid lady a couple of times to understand. I thought the lady was actually part of the NoNo's bag!
ReplyDeleteI so cannot wait to try the sour cream and onion chips. They were my favorite too.
What a great dad!! This looks like a really fun care package! I definitely need to try the chips and the No Nos. Yum!!
ReplyDeletewow. that really is pretty awesome - Papa Crunk is getting some serious papa points!
ReplyDeletePapa Crunk is SO awesome! I love when you post about his generosity. The No-Nos have been on my list of things to try and lately I've been craving tacos!
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend loves TVP things too.. I recently got some Beyond Meat Crumbles and used it in an Enchilada Bake, and he was not impressed.. at all, which shocked me because so many people are saying they think it's just like meat. To be fair, we haven't tried the chicken strips.. I've managed to confuse him with TVP in the past just seasoning it up well.. a couple times, he actually asked if there was meat in the dish..
ReplyDeleteSuper cool care package! I want that sandwich and crisp plate right now, so yummy!
ReplyDelete