Photo courtesy of The Irvine Company

(Note: This post is about food and food only. Please save the comments saying veganism is a lifestyle and Neiman's sells furs, etc. I agree but that's not the aim of this entry or this blog in general.)

While we're not lucky enough in SoCal to have an all vegan mini-mall like they do in Portland, we do have some pretty quality vegan food choices at our local malls. I mean, even Brea has a Loving Hut in the food court now.

While I was sampling all sorts of vegan deliciousness at the Native Foods Fashion Island preview day last month, I realized that this upscale outdoor mall with an ocean view might be the nation's most vegan-friendly mall. While it doesn't have any vegan-specific clothing retailers, it does have giant versions of your standards like Urban and Forever 21, so you can still get your plaid and faux leather on. What I'm talking about here, however, is the FOOD.

Click to read more ...

You've seen me review all sorts of nutrition bars on this site, but I may have found my favorite. I stay pretty active, so a bar with protein, superfoods and a great taste is always something that appeals to me. If it happens to not be horrendous in calories also, that never hurts. Of course it's always more ideal to eat foods in their whole, natural state, but sometimes time and/or location constraints won't allow that. Enter Good Greens nutrition bars.

Here are some of the exciting facts about Good Greens nurtrition bars:

• Vegan
• Gluten-Free
• 195 calories
• 12 grams of protein
• 72% organic
• Contain enzymes, vegan DHA and superfoods like spirulina, goji berries, wheat grass, acai and more
• Increase energy, improve digestion and are low glycemic
• Come in four delicious flavors, three of which are chocolate coated! (Read more to see them all.)

Click to read more ...

When Le Pain Quotidien first opened at Fashion Island in late 2011, I knew I had to try it. Fresh baked organic bread is enough of a draw, but when I found out about the large variety of vegan options available, I made visiting a priority. The bread and bakery chain, with a bunch of locations in New York, Los Angeles and all around the US, has clearly labeled the vegan choices with a (v) right on the menu, making it super easy to order.

Click to read more ...

It was almost a year ago when I mentioned trying the extraordinary new frozen vegan pizza from Amy's at Expo West (which happens to be coming up again in a few weeks, look for full coverage). I waited and waited and waited for it to show up in stores, and it took until about a month ago to get them into local Whole Foods and Mother's Markets. Let me just say it was worth the wait, because Amy's Vegan Margherita Pizza with Daiya Cheeze is the BEST FROZEN VEGAN PIZZA ON THE MARKET.

Click to read more ...

I've been getting a bunch of great products in the mail lately, so look for TONS more product reviews in the coming weeks. A couple excellent new products I received lately were Nacheez vegan nacho sauce and Sol Cuisine Spicy Black Bean Burgers. I decided to review them both at the same time because I used them both in a dip that would be PERFECT for a Super Bowl snack tomorrow.

Click to read more ...