OMG! Vegan Whipped Topping In a Plastic Tub!

I loved Cool Whip when I was a kid. And even in my grown-up pre-vegan years, I enjoyed grabbing a spoon, ripping off the lid of the plastic Cool Whip bowl, and digging in. In my opinion, Cool Whip was better than ice cream. Better than cake. Better than pie. Better than just about any dessert.

Going vegan was tough because I had to give up cheese. But when I realized I would also have to give up Cool Whip, a small part of me died. Over the years, I've experimented with Rice Whip canisters (delicious but the nozzles get clogged and stop working ... bummer), homemade coconut whip (hit or miss depending on the brand of coconut milk and whether or not the milk has emulsifiers), Soyatoo Whippable Soy Topping (great but hard to find), and Rich Whip (vegan but loaded with nasty stuff, like hydrogenated oils).

Enter So Delicious Coco Whip!

Yes, the folks at So Delicous have gone and done it again! They're so innovative, and I am just beside myself with joy about this stuff. It's JUST LIKE COOL WHIP, y'all! Seriously. I can eat it with a spoon!!!!!! And it's actually made with good-for-you stuff instead of nasty hydrogenated oils!

There's a full-fat version and a light version (just as delicious, but a little less dense). For my dinner party last Friday, I cracked open the full fat one for this Vegan Death By Chocolate Cake (layered Kahlua-soaked brownies, chocolate pudding, Coco Whip, and dark chocolate chunks). Here's the recipe.

I'm saving the light stuff for eating by itself with a spoon. And I plan to save both tubs and reuse for leftovers because there's nothing more Southern than serving leftovers in a plastic Cool Whip tub.

Some Whole Foods stores should have Coco Whip now, and So Delicious is planning a larger Whole Foods roll-out by spring 2015. I haven't checked the Memphis store, but we tend to be late in getting things. We just got Kite Hill vegan cheese and Earth Balance cheddar crackers this month! I'm just hoping Coco Whip will be available here soon if it isn't already.

So Delicious also sent me samples of their holiday milks! Nothing says fall and winter like vegan holiday milks. So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk is my favorite this time of year. And since it's higher in calories than my usual almond milk, I like to dilute it — half a cup of Pumpkin Spice and half a cup of almond.

It's also excellent in coffee. Pumpkin Spice lattes! As for the So Delicious Nog Coconut Milk, I don't typically crack that open until after Thanksgiving. It's a little tradition in my house to drink rum-spiked vegan nog as I put up the Solstice tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I hate fall and winter, but nog and other holiday treats get me through it.

Holy crap, y'all, I just had a revelation. I can put a dollop of Coco Whip atop a glass of Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk. Oh, it's on now!

So Delicious Halloween Ice Cream Bars!

We all scream ...

For ice cream! And because we're freakin' scared of all these ghosts and goblins and stuff!

Dude, So Delicious has gone and done the most magical thing. They've combined my favorite frozen dessert (coconut milk ice cream bars) and my favorite holiday (Halloween!!!!!!!!!!) in their new line of coconut milk frozen dessert holiday novelty bars.

I'd first heard about these on other blogs, but I hadn't seen them yet at my Whole Foods. So I assumed I'd never get to try them. But lo and behold, I got an email from So Delicious asking if I'd like to sample these for review. Uh, yeah. Like, super-excited all-caps YEAH! So Delicious sent me a cooler packed with dry ice and both of their new holiday frozen dessert bars (plus, there were some other fun new So Delicious products in there, but I'll be posting on those a little later).

Look!! Candy Corn and Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk Dessert Bars!

I know the pumpkin spice craze has totally gotten out of control (and sometimes can be associated with "basic bitchiness"), but I don't even care because pumpkin spice is delicious, and it embodies all the magic of the season. If loving pumpkin spice is wrong, then I don't want to be right. My co-worker Max offered to be a hand model so long as he got to sample one of these Pumpkin Spice Bars.

Max, who is not vegan, wasn't so sure he was going to love vegan ice cream. But he took one bite and said, "That tastes just like real ice cream!" Of course, I informed him that vegan ice cream is real ice cream! But it's no wonder these could fool an omni. They're so ridiculously creamy, and the pumpkin spice is light and natural.

Later, I tried the Candy Corn Bars.

Now, I'll admit that I've never been a huge candy corn fan. The very non-vegan candies just taste like old sugar. Yuck. But I love the idea of candy corn. It's such an iconic Halloween candy. I couldn't imagine what these bars would taste like, but I was sure So Delicious would find a way to make candy corn delicious.

They did! These aren't candy corn flavored at all! The bottom layer is orange ice cream and the top is vanilla, with the very tip dipped in hard chocolate shell. Imagine an orange creamsicle with a smidge of crispy magic coconut chocolate! So good!

I have a couple bars left, and I'm savoring those for the rest of the month. Whole Foods is supposed to be carrying these through the end of October, so I'm hoping my Memphis store has them now. Also, look for So Delicious' new winter holiday Peppermint Star frozen dessert bars and Snowmen frozen dessert bars. They should be in stores already and on freezer shelves through January.

By the way, remember that dry ice I mentioned? Well, it was like an extra bonus prize! After I unloaded the ice cream into my office freezer, my co-workers Max and Toby decided to make witches' brew. Of course, they're wearing the protective So Delicious gloves they sent along.

So Delicious Goes Nuts!

When I shared a picture of my overstuffed freezer a few days ago, a few commenters asked how I could hoard all that ice cream without gobbling it up right away. Well, I don't typically buy more than one pint at a time, but my freezer is currently stocked with free pints of the new So Delicious Almond Milk Ice Cream!

So Delicious (a Turtle Mountain brand) has been making their bomb-ass coconut milk ice cream for some time, but now they're branching out into the wonderful world of almond milk. When they asked me to review their new almond milks, I had no clue they were also sending lots and lots of ice cream. Two giant coolers packed with dry ice arrived at my office a few weeks ago. Best review samples ever!

So Delicious sent me their new Almond Milk ice creams in Mocha Almond Fudge, Butter Pecan, Chocolate, Vanilla, and Cherry Amaretto:

As part of the tough research, I had to sample each of these flavors. Being a blogger is hard work. I'm tellin' ya. After countless hours of examining the nuances of every flavor, I have to say, So Delicious has really outdone themselves. I love their coconut milk ice creams, but I do believe these are better. Maybe I just like almond milk better than coconut milk, but these seem a tad creamier. And less coconutty. Nothing wrong with coconut, but I appreciate the neutral flavor of the almond milk.

As if five pints weren't enough, So Delicious also sent me a box of their Almond Milk Mocha Almond Fudge Minis:

As much as I love eating ice cream in a bowl, I love it way more in nutty chocolate-covered bar-on-a-stick form. These bars are pure magic, folks. Pure magic.

But a girl cannot live on ice cream alone. So Delicious has also introduced a new line of almond milks:

Both the vanilla and the original flavors were smooth and creamy with just the right amount of thickness. Dare I say this stuff is better than So Delicious' coconut milk? In fact, I believe this may be the best almond milk I've tried. And I've tried lots. It was definitely the perfect dipper for this vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookie!

My only complaint with the milk is that it doesn't have much calcium. I prefer my plant milks fortified with at least 30 percent of the RDA for calcium. This milk has 10 percent of the RDA for calcium. But it does have five grams of protein per serving, and that's a plus. So if you see the new So Delicious almond milk products at a health food store near you, buy them. I promise it'll be worth your while.

Of Coloring Books & Coconuts

Can you freakin' believe the holidays are almost here?! Geez. Where'd the year go? Is this what happens when you get old? Does time really move faster? By the time I'm 40, a year will be, like, a month. Damn.

Even though it arrived too soon, I do love this time of year. I mean, I detest the cold. But I love Thanksgiving and Christmas because I love food and presents. And, oh yea, family too. Since the holidays are on their way, I have two reviews in this post aimed at this special time of year.

First up is Nashville vegan children's book author Nathalie VanBalen's new "Happy Thanksliving!" coloring zine!

Her first book, Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice, is a full-color work of art. In fact, you can order it here (I bet it'd make an awesome Xmas gift for some little kid in your life). But now Nathalie's come out with a seasonal coloring zine that shares the story of why vegans don't have turkeys on their tables. Here's a cute page from the zine:

And here's one that I colored tonight!

I haven't colored in ages, and it was so much fun. Even if you don't know a kid to order this zine for, you should get one for yourself and embrace your inner kid. Nathalie's rhymes and illustrations are adorbs! Order your copy here on Nathalie's website. It's only $5!

If you're like me, the day after ThanksLiving is the day you put up the Xmas tree. We go immediately from pumpkins, sweet taters, and pecan pie to holiday cookies, peppermint, and nog. Well, there's a new vegan nog on the market that trumps all others — So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog:


I've never had non-vegan egg nog because that sounds disgusting. But I've seen it, and it always looks really thick and creamy. Other vegan nogs taste great, but this one captures the thick, almost pudding-like consistency. Plus, it's even better spiked with a little brandy.

Also new this season is So Delicious Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk:


I'd say this is pretty on par with the other vegan mint chocolate milks on the market, but if you're anti-soy or soy-sensitive, this one has the added advantage of being made from coconut milk. It's delicious cold, but I made cheater hot chocolate with Dandies marshmallows on top ... just because I can.