Photo Gallery: 8 new vegan products you'll love

Jenna Blumenfeld | Delicious Living Mar 26, 2014

Living Raw Darkest Cacao Truffles

Decadent. Robust. Chocolately. This is how I describe Living Raw’s vegan, gluten-free and organic truffle treats. The owl mascot says it all: these are a wise choice for mindful indulgence. Sweetened with organic agave syrup, I love the Darkest Cacao Truffles because they’re coated in a thick layer of antioxidant-rich cacao nibs. Quite possibly the best truffles I’ve ever had.
Hampton Creek Just Mayo

Hampton Creek has received a lot of media attention for its mission to create a more sustainable food system by crafting high-performance egg replacements from plants. The inaugural product, Just Mayo, made waves at Expo West for its exceptional taste and simple ingredients: Non-GMO canola oil, lemon juice and pea protein form the texture; a touch of apple cider vinegar, garlic and spices drives flavor.
Hope Spreads Dark Chocolate Coconut

Sure, chocolate and chickpea sounds weird, but Hope Foods—makers of unconventionally flavored hummus (Spicy Avocado, Thai Coconut Curry, Sweet Potato)—scored with this perfect “I’m gonna use this on everything” spread. USDA Organic ingredients including chickpeas, coconut sugar and oil, cocoa powder and espresso combine into a silky smooth, healthier rendition of Nutella. But whereas Nutella’s sky-high sugar content is on par with frosting, Hope’s Chocolate Spread contains just 5 grams sugar per serving.
Maison Le Grand Alfredo Sauce

Vegan alfredo: it does exist! I fell in love with Le Grand’s killer pouched pestos last year at Expo West. So I was thrilled to see that the brand expanded to include a line of vegan pasta sauces. Still in a BPA-free pouch, these sauces infuse dishes with restaurant-quality flavor. The savory, earthy alfredo sauce is made with cashews, organic tofu, coconut milk and shitake mushrooms. Folks, this stuff is darn delicious.
Nemi Chia Original

I love when companies take a hot ingredient and make it more accessible. Nemi Chia does just this. A blend of almond and coconut milks, vanilla, coconut and lemon extracts and a touch of arrowroot powder make this a heart healthy, fiber-rich treat. Though Nemi’s flavors include Peach, Blueberry and Strawberry, choose the Original to keep sugar content lower. Sigh, if only Nemi used USDA Organic ingredients.
OmgBlends Blendphoria

For active, busy vegans, fixing a nutritious meal on-the-go is pretty much impossible. That’s why I’m so impressed by the organic, raw meal replacements from OmgBlends. The Blendphoria is a 22 gram-wunderkind containing coconut water, cacao powder, banana, hazelnuts and maca. Plus, all of OmgBlend flavors have been formulated by a registered dietician to ensure that the smoothies are a complete balanced meal.
Sweet Earth Foods Hickory & Sage Smoked Seitan Bacon

I’m positively obsessed with Sweet Earth’s high-protein seitan-based burritos—when a ‘rito contains green chilies, butternut squash, and ginger, it’s hard not to be. Now, Sweet Earth has a new contender that makes me love the brand even more: Hickory & Sage Smoked Seitan Bacon. (Stay calm, my vegetarian heart!) Non-GMO, vegan ingredients like adzuki beans, buckwheat groats, smoked paprika, maple syrup and nutritional yeast satisfy cravings for something smoky, woodsy and salty. 10 grams of protein per serving ain’t too shabby, either.
Parmela Creamery

There are a lot of tasty vegan cheeses that stretch and melt like the real thing (Daiya, Go Veggie!). But the great joy of eating cheese is tasting the nuances of fermentation—the same process that gives Roquefort its delightful funk. Parmela Creamery gets it right by grinding raw cashews into a creamy paste and culturing it into a tangy, dairy-free “cheesy” spread. The Kalamata olive flavor is divine.

Whether they be cheese doppelgängers or never-before-seen snacks, Natural Products Expo West 2014, the largest convention for natural, organic foods in the country, played host to bushels of natural products for the plant-based eater.

We tasted sophisticated ways to use popular ingredients, such as spoonable chia eaten like yogurt, chickpea-cocoa dip, and retooled vegan stalwarts such as craveable seitan bacon.

So eat your hearts out, vegans. Here are the new top players in town.

8 new vegan products you'll love

Living Raw Darkest Cacao Truffles

Hampton Creek Just Mayo

Hope Spreads Dark Chocolate Coconut

Maison Le Grand Alfredo Sauce

Nemi Chia Original

OmgBlends Blendphoria

Sweet Earth Foods Hickory & Sage Smoked Seitan Bacon

Parmela Creamery

Please Log In or Register to post comments.

DeliciousLiving.com

Site Features

New Hope Natural Media

Follow Us

Search DeliciousLiving.com