Shopping Guide to the Best Vegan Food, Clothing, Body Care and Cosmetics
Before I list the awesome products out there, you should know that soy is one of the world's most perfect foods. Don't be fooled by all the negative publicity swirling around soy foods in recent years. Most of this misinformation issues from the meat, egg, and dairy industries, and doctors who are misguided about their food choices. The isoflavones and phytochemicals in soy will reduce and prevent diseases. For a responsible analysis of the effects of soy foods on human health, visit the All About Veganism page, and click the link entitled The Truth—and Falsehoods—About Soy.
Now for the mock meat and dairy products.
Soy-Based Meat Substitutes
Anything by IT'S ALL GOOD. They have some of the best mock beef and chicken on the market. Check out their website at www.itsallgoodfoods.com.
LIGHTLIFE vegan products are fantastic! Check out the soy chik'n strips, steak strips, smart bacon and pepperoni, plus the ham, bologna and turkey deli meats.
The vegan citrus sparerib cutlets by VEGETARIAN PLUS are fantastic. VEGETARIAN PLUS has some other VEGAN products like tuna rolls, orange chicken, shrimp and kung pao chicken. Make sure to read the ingredient list for other VP products because some of their foods are only vegetarian (containing eggs or dairy).
Any of WORTHINGTON'S canned goods are wonderful, especially their Soy Dogs and Skallops. However, there is one exception: the canned TUNO fish is horrible! Do not buy it. WORTHINGTON used to make a frozen version of the TUNO, which was utterly amazing, but they’ve stopped making it for some reason.
SOY riblets, veggie burgers, meatloaf and chicken patties by GARDENBURGER.
Chicken patties, potstickers and egg rolls by HEALTH IS WEALTH.
Vegan Burgers by BOCA. BOCA also has a huge line of SOY goods but most are only vegetarian and not vegan.
Tofurky by TURTLE ISLAND FOODS. Don't forget to check out the TOFURKY deli slices (6 different flavors), plus the Italian sausage, beer bratwursts, tofurky jerky and tempeh strips (3 different flavors).
Meatless Meatballs by NATE'S.
YVES has a huge selection of vegan food like SOY burgers and deli meats.
MORNINGSTAR makes a huge line of vegetarian food containing whey, eggs or cheese so they are not vegan. Some new VEGAN products have hit the market, though. Check out the chicken and steak strips, plus the burger. They are all delicious.
STUFFED CELEBRATION ROAST by FIELD ROAST GRAIN MEAT Co. This roast is made from wheat and it is remarkable! I've only seen this at Whole Foods, though. WHITEWAVE also makes a wheat-based meat that looks and tastes like chicken.
Anything by FIVE STAR FOODIES. They have artichoke burgers (FANTASTIC!), a soy-free vegan burger. Check out their website at www.fivestarfoodies.com.
Anything by BAHAMA. They're a vegan company that uses rice instead of soy. They offer four flavors of rice burgers, plus rice sausage and rice meatballs. Check out their website at www.bahamariceburger.com.
Also check out the new chicken CLUCKPHREY and MOOPHREY burgers by FOOD FOR LIFE. Food For Life has been producing vegan, gluten-free breads under the brand name EZEKIEL for over 40 years.
Soy-Based (and Grain-Based) Dairy Substitutes
SILK soy milk. Try all the flavors EXCEPT for the VERY VANILLA flavor. SILK also has SOY yogurt.
Vanilla flavored rice milk by RICE DREAM. RICE DREAM also makes vegan ice cream but it's NOT as good as SOY DELICIOUS, WHOLE SOY or TOFUTTI (see below).
Vanilla-flavored LIVING HARVEST hemp milk. It's delicious in smoothies and cereal! This also comes in chocolate. Hemp has protein, riboflavin, B12, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, calcium, iron, folic acid and all amino acids. Plus, each serving has 900 mg. of Omega 3 and 2800 mg. of Omega 6!
Anything by TOFUTTI, especially their SOY cream cheese, ice cream and cheese slices.
SOY DELICIOUS and WHOLE SOY have delicious ice creams. They are UNBELIEVABLE!
Also try TURTLE MOUNTAIN's SO DELICIOUS COCONUT MILK YOGURT.
There are a few new vegan cheeses: Teese, Daiya, and Wayfare. These cheeses compete with FOLLOW YOUR HEART. Unfortunately, they are NOT available everywhere. The websites www.TeeseCheese.com, www.DaiyaFoods.com, and www.WayfareFoods.com each have a list of stores carrying their product. Remember, you can always ask your local grocery to carry these or any other vegan product. Most grocers will accommodate these requests. After all, grocers exist to make money. And they don't care if the product is vegan or not.
Other Vegan Foods
Vegenaise (SOY mayo) by FOLLOW YOUR HEART. This is flat out the BEST product on the market anywhere. I dip everything in it from carrots and broccoli to pretzels and tofu. FOLLOW YOUR HEART also has some amazing SOY cheese. It is the best melting SOY cheese on the market.
Ready-to-eat tofu by WHITEWAVE. WHITEWAVE also has tofu that you can prepare yourself.
AMY'S makes a huge line of vegetarian food containing whey, eggs or cheese so they are not vegan. The TOFU SCRAMBLE pocket sandwiches are delicious, though, and vegan!
TRADER JOE’S has its own brand of tofu and soy milk. The tofu is out of this world, and the soy milk is pretty good.
UNCLE EDDIE'S vegan cookies. Get the oatmeal raisin brand. They also have chocolate chip, peanut butter and trail mix flavors.
Vegan chocolate can be obtained at Chocolate Decadence.
If you peruse the ingredients of some of your favorite foods, you'll be surprised at what happens to be vegan: Oreo cookies, original Ritz crackers, Wheat Thins, peanut butter, jelly, 90 percent of the breads and bagels at Panera, Whole Foods, and Bruegger's, Twizzlers, Mike & Ike's, Ruffles, Duncan Hines frostings, Snyder's pretzels and more. Always remember that genuine chocolate is naturally vegan. It's a bean.
Do your grocery shopping at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Ralph's, Kroger, Albertson's, Acme, Publix, Giant, Harris Teeter and other national chains for great selections of SOY meats and SOY dairy products. And remember, for a greater mock meat/dairy selection, check out your local health food store.
By the way, the SOY Veggie Slices that seem to be in every grocery store nowadays are NOT vegan. They contain caseine, a dairy by-product. In order to get vegan cheese there, please tell the store manager to bring in TOFUTTI or FOLLOW YOUR HEART cheeses. Or go online and order vegan cheese from Black Duck Imports, LLC.
Other Websites
VEGAN FOODS
Follow Your Heart / Earth Island Natural Foods
Turtle Island Foods
La Dolce Vegan
The Vegan Chef
In A Vegetarian Kitchen
May Wah Healthy Vegetarian Food Inc.
VegDining.com
Dixie Diners' Club
Allison's Gourmet: Artisanal, vegan, and organic cookies, confections, and bakery
Cosmos Vegan Shoppe
Veg Advantage: a foodservice brokerage that has helped dozens of restaurants, universities, primary and secondary schools, and businesses incorporate vegetarian selections into their menus and cafeterias—all without charge
Vegetarian Shoes UK
Veganline.com
The Herbivore Clothing Co.
MooShoes
Freerangers UK
Endless Shoes & Handbags carries extensive lines of vegetarian and vegan shoes for men and women. To view women's shoes, click here, then select the "Vegetarian & Vegan" category; for men's shoes, click here, and select the same category.
Great Green Shoes, a shopping blog devoted to shoes that are free of animal by-products, as well as eco-friendly and fair-trade shoes.
VeganProducts.MyArbonne.com: Arbonne International does not vivisect and has tons of hygiene products that contain no animal products. You can also email Theresa, an Arbonne rep in Michigan, directly at mattismama@aol.com
www.Lush.com: Soaps and bubble baths; face, body and foot lotions; shampoos, conditioners and gels; deodorants; body sprays and perfumes. All of their products are vegetarian, and most are vegan. NO animal testing, of course. Lush has outlets in 33 states and numerous countries.
Beauty Without Cruelty: A comprehensive line of vegan and organic hair care and skin care products and cosmetics.
Herbs Of Grace: Offers mineral-based (and 100% vegan) cosmetics, body bronzers, and lip balms.
Vegetarianteen.com
VeganEssentials
The Vegan Store
All Vegan
AnimalRightstuff.com
Vegancats.com
BoneVivantStore.com carries an assortment of vegan dog treats. You can also e-mail wowbow@worldnet.att.net for information on veg dog and cat food.