Category Archives: Reviews~

A Review Of “Raw Star Recipes” Organic Meals, Snacks & Desserts In 10 Minutes

February 5, 2012 By in Health & Nutrition~, Recipes~, Reviews~ Tags: , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Apparently the universe has been listening to my constant jibber jabber about my desire to incorporate more “fun” raw food recipes into my family’s life. We do eat lots of raw fruits & veggies, and gallons of homemade green smoothies, but nothing too exciting… I picked up a raw foods cookbook a few months back, but most of the recipes called for a dehydrator, which I have had sitting in my Amazon.com cart since last summer. Yeah, yeah, I’ll get around to buying it one of these days.


A couple of weeks ago a friendly, cookbook author & Eco Chef named Bryan Au contacted me, and asked if I would test out some recipes from his Award Winning cookbook “Raw Star Recipes”, and give my opinion. Of course I happily agreed since this was the extra little push I needed, to come out of my Vegan comfort zone and try something new.

Over the past week I have made Fruity “Tuna” Wraps, Carrot Ginger Soup, Energy Bars, Spinach Herb Dip, Chocolate Shakes & Cinnamon Donuts! And YES all of these recipes are completely RAW!!

I love the fact that Chef Bryan uses organic ingredients, most of which are completely whole & in their natural state. A majority of the recipes do not call for any appliances other than a blender. Each meal can be prepared in around 10 minutes and costs somewhere in the $10 range. This is music to this mom’s ears!

Energy Bars

I began my raw food adventure with “Energy Bars”. I combined nuts, seeds, dates, buckwheat groats & goji berries to create yummy & healthy snacks for my family. They were quick, easy & totally yummy! I will surely make these again soon!

Carrot Ginger Soup

My favorite recipe is the “Carrot Ginger Soup”. The zesty flavor of the fresh ginger combined with carrots & chickpea miso is incredible! I basically threw the ingredients into my Vitamix, and I had a healthy & delicious lunch for myself. This is a great soup that you can throw together quickly, that will wow your house guests!

Fruity "Tuna" Wraps

Fruity “Tuna” Wraps, was the first recipe from the book that I made for my husband. He is a huge hummus fan, but he doesn’t love cauliflower, which is a key ingredient. I knew that he would enjoy the texture, but I was not sure about the flavor. Surprisingly, blended with the walnuts, lemon, miso & spices, he didn’t even notice the cauliflower and he ate 4 wraps! I garnished them with yellow pepper & crunchy apple. So Good!

Spinach Herb Dip

Guacamole lovers will go crazy for this flavorful “Spinach Herb Dip”! Avocado blended with spinach, herbs & spices make for a delicious dip experience. I strongly recommend dipping and array of raw veggies. This may be the perfect way to get your kids to eat raw broccoli, it worked for me!

I was really excited to make raw “Donuts”! The recipe shows how to make cinnamon, chocolate & glazed varieties. I stuck with cinnamon, but I will be trying the other two very soon. I think I whipped these up in about 5 minutes and I made a new best friend along the way.. “Coconut Nectar”!! Have you ever tried this? It’s not quite as sweet as Agave, but much better for your body. I drizzled it over the flax & banana donuts, along with lots of cinnamon. I ate them for breakfast and had no guilt, because they were incredibly healthy and very,very, yummy!

Chocolate Shake

The last recipe that I made was a “Chocolate Shake”. It actually calls for carob powder, but you would never know it from the look on my kid’s faces after they took a sip! I never let it slip, that their creamy, delicious, chocolate shake, didn’t actually contain chocolate!! That was priceless!!

Eco Chef Bryan Au has created an amazing array of raw meals that will delight & entice your entire family. If your children are hesitant to eat raw foods, give this book a try. The health benefits of organic, uncooked, plant foods are practically endless, and all human beings will benefit from adding more raw foods to their diet. These recipes are good for our bodies, friendly to the planet and safe for kids to help prepare! :)

 Be a “Raw Star” and buy this book!!

Visit Bryan’s website at www.rawstarrecipes.com 

A Review Of “Happy Thanks Living” Coloring Zine

November 8, 2011 By in Kids~, Reviews~ Tags: , , , , 4 Comments

I have recently come across a sweet & informative coloring zine called “Happy Thanks Living”, created by children’s author, Nathalie VanBalen.

This 20 page black & white book is filled with adorable illustrations and cute poems for your child to enjoy. Pictures of Turkey friends, apple trees & yummy veggies will not only foster your child’s creativity, but also teach compassion & respect for the inquisitive birds that represent Thanksgiving.

If you would like to purchase a coloring zine for a child you love, visit www.thorathinks.com

Let’s teach our children that turkeys are friends! Not Food!

-zines cost $5 each (this includes shipping within the U.S.)
-20 pages, black and white, printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper
-bound with thread rather than staples for the safety of little ones
-coloring fun for people of all ages! :)

“All Aboard! A Vegan Family On A Carnival Cruise”

May 25, 2011 By in Family Time~, Reviews~, Tips~, Travel~ Tags: , , , , , 4 Comments

For spring break this year our family decided to take a cruise. Normally we sail away on the Disney Cruise, but we booked our vacation last minute & Disney did not have availability. The 5 night cruise aboard the “Carnival Inspiration” was one of the few ships that we were able to find an available cabin, so we booked it!

Minutes later I was surfing the web, trying to find any information about Vegan dining on this ship, or any Carnival ship. But information was hard to find. I came across a few comments here & there, but nothing too helpful. I did read that is important to let your server know of any dietary restrictions during the first evening on board.

My husband and I explained our Vegan diet to the server as soon as she greeted us. She explained that we would be working with a “special diet hostess’ during the week, and we should find plenty to eat. This was music to our ears. Our dinner that first night was a simple gluten free penne with marinara sauce, and I must say, it was excellent. I don’t usually enjoy gluten free pasta, but this was a good one. During our meal the “special diet hostess” came by and pre-ordered our dinner for the next evening. This is what we would do each night. For dessert our only option was a fruit platter, but we were assured that we would have better desserts throughout the week. Cookies & cakes were mentioned….

The next evening we were told that our dinner “pre-order” had been accidentally deleted and all they were able to make for us were grilled vegetables & rice or the same pasta as the night before. My husband and I chose the vegetables & the kids ordered the pasta. We all enjoyed our food. Unfortunately, the fruit platter was still the only “dessert” we were offered again. The kids were not happy. We were told that homemade cookies would be made for us tomorrow…..

For breakfast each morning we stuck to toast with jam, cereal and fruit. Soymilk was always available. Lunch each afternoon was a treat! There is a noodle station where rice noodles & vegetables are made to order. The chef uses chicken stock to stir fry, so he had us bring him a cup of water to cook with each time. The kids LOVED this, and so did my husband and I! Best Vegan food on the ship, no joke! Aside from the noodle station, there is a large salad bar & a grilled panini station. It would have been nice if they offered a vegan entree’ along the buffet line, but we still found plenty to eat.

Our third dinner on the ship was a delicious vegetable fried rice! How were the cookies you ask? Non existent. We had fruit again. This time it was cooked berries in a sugared sauce. Good, but still fruit. Thank goodness I brought my own cookies for the kids. Poor things were on vacation and they couldn’t get one decent dessert! I was seriously going to offer my Vegan baking expertise to the kitchen staff and teach them how to whip something up, but my husband thought that was tacky.

The 4th evening we did not make it on the ship in time for dinner in the dining room (too busy discovering ancient Mayan ruins), so we grabbed some veggie sushi & a grilled veggie panini at the buffet. Quite good actually.

Our last dinner on the ship were vegan stuffed peppers, and we all enjoyed them. Bananas were our dessert. Surprise, surprise.

Overall we had a great time. I feel that Carnival has the right idea, offering a “special diet hostess” to work with guests, but I do think they are dropping the ball when it comes to dessert. Vegan cakes & cookies are not difficult to make, and if Carnival Cruise Line put a little more effort into catering to vegan guests, they would get 2 thumbs up by “The Vegan Mom” instead of one.

Absolutely Adorable Children’s Book “Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice”

September 2, 2010 By in Kids~, Reviews~ Tags: , , , , 1 Comment


I have recently come across a Children’s book, that is not only colorful, comical &  tons of fun to read, but also has a really important message. It’s titled “Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice”. Got all of that? :-) The author is a lovely young lady named Nathalie VanBalen, and I have a feeling that her new book is going to have a lot of children asking the question “how does it feel to be food”?


The book’s characters consist of 2 juice loving Vikings, a compassionate & “thinking” girl named Thora and 2 little tweeters. And they all live together in one squarish house. The Vikings soon learn that the newest & greatest addition to their juice mixture should be ground up yellow spotted snail shells, because of their high protein and vitamin content. So of course they gather up as many snails as they can find.

As soon as Thora hears about this, she firmly reprimands the juice loving Vikings and says “yellow spotted snail shells are NOT for Vilkings”!!

What happens next??? I’m not going to tell you! But I will tell you that this book is a must have for your child! I think it would also make a perfect addition to your child’s classroom. It sends the message of compassion, yet it is not a strong “pro-Vegan” story, that some parents and teachers may not approve of. So basically it is a fabulous way to promote cruelty free living to children, without upsetting the “grownups”! ;-)

In a nutshell, my kids & I really enjoyed this book & I highly recommend it! It’s a little “outside of the box” which makes it all the more interesting! I used lots of funny voices while reading it, and my daughter found that pretty darn hysterical!

Please check out the book’s website www.thorathinks.com , where you can purchase Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice and also enjoy some online activities with you child.

A Family Review of “Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss” Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert

August 27, 2010 By in Family Time~, Reviews~ Tags: , , , , 3 Comments


Okay, it’s official, “Coconut Bliss” family taste test night was too much fun! And insanely DELICIOUS!! :-)

When the wonderful people at “Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss” contacted me to review their product, I was thrilled! I mean who wouldn’t be? Any excuse for something sweet, is always appreciated!

As soon as our coupons arrived, the kids and I headed to Whole Foods to choose our flavors. My daughter and I both went for the “Naked Coconut”, (Ava is 4, and she thought the title of that one was VERY funny)! My son chose “Chocolate Peanut Butter”, he is so predictable. I grabbed “Cherry Amaretto” for my husband, because before going Vegan, he was a huge fan of “Cherry Garcia” by “you know who”. We also grabbed some “Dark Chocolate Bars”.

In case you have not heard the news, coconuts seem to be the new “super food” which may reduce the risk of heart disease & even help you lose weight! This product is also Vegan, USDA certified organic, Gluten free, low glycemic & soy free. Not too many desserts can say all of that!

Okay, let the taste testing begin! We started with the bars. The kids devoured them and my husband of course wanted one too!!! My 10 year old son said they tasted just like the regular chocolate ice-cream bars he used to love. This means a lot, because some kids just don’t like the taste of many non-dairy frozen desserts, and my son is one of these kids!

My daughter simply said “this is so yummy”! I had a taste, and I must say…. she was right! My husband seemed to enjoy his also, since he devoured it so quickly!

It is unanimous, The Vegan Mom & family love the “Coconut Bliss” Dark Chocolate Bars!!


Next came the pints! I went for the Naked Coconut first, and oh my goodness, it was insanely good!!! My daughter was loving it as well!!I did enjoy my spoonfuls of Chocolate Peanut Butter & Cherry Garcia, but I have to stick with the Naked Coconut as my true favorite. My son however went pretty crazy for the Chocolate Peanut Butter, Surprise, Surprise!! :-) And my husband, just like I knew he would, took off with a bowl of Cherry Amaretto!

“Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss” is truly what they claim it to be, “Blissfull”. It is creamy, flavorful and totally VEGAN!! My only complaint is that my local stores don’t have it. Think Stop & Shop will listen to “The Vegan Mom” and start carrying “Coconut Bliss”?? I can only hope.

Check out their website www.coconutbliss.com, and enjoy some “Coconut Bliss” for yourself!




The “Vegan Mom’s” Review of “Great Wolf Lodge” Resort & WaterPark

August 18, 2010 By in Family Time~, Kids~, Reviews~, Travel~ Tags: , , , , 3 Comments

Back in the summer of 2005, my family stumbled upon a brand new resort in Williamsburg Virginia, called “The Great Wolf Lodge”. As we walked through the spacious lobby, mesmerized by the realistic wolves that surrounded us, we had no idea what we would encounter as the 4 of us made our way to the back of the hotel. When we came to a large window, which looked over a humungous indoor water park, I think all of our jaws dropped open. It’s a pretty amazing site for a first timer. The kids went wild, and needless to say, we cancelled our reservation at some “other” hotel, and quickly booked a “Wolf Den” room at The Great Wolf Lodge. We had a blast that week, and immediately began a new family, summer tradition!


Fast forward to the Summer of 2010, and our 5th stay at The Great Wolf Lodge (we skipped 2006 after our daughter was born). We are are still loving our waterpark resort…. but things are a little more tricky now! This is our 2nd year as a “Vegan Family” and Great Wolf Lodge is not exactly known for their “Veganism”.

The resort offers one sit down restaurant, and a couple counter service restaurants. Believe it or not, the food service by the pool was the most “Vegan Friendly”!! The menu offered veggie summer rolls, filled with fresh raw veggies, wrapped in rice paper. VERY YUMMY & highly recommended! They also served a wonderful fruit salad and they “specially” made the kids lettuce & tomato sandwiches. A pretty nice lunch, I must say!


The kids were also able to buy rainbow ice “Dippin Dots” from a machine. I was thankful for this, because there is not any sorbet in the ice-cream counter.

The main restaurant serves a Buffet every night, and lets just say that it is not a Vegan’s dream dinner!!! Lots of meat & egg noodles!! They do however have a salad bar and baked potato station. We informed the chefs about our “dietary restrictions”, I hate referring to our Vegan diet as restrictive, but when talking to people in the food service industry, that is how they view it. Thankfully, the chefs were absolutely wonderful, and they prepared us a delicious family style plate of sauteed veggies. We were very appreciative of their hospitality!


Outside of the waterpark is a small shop which sells ice-cream, fudge, coffee, candy, cereals, fruit and such. They do offer soy milk and Vegan popcorn. And each morning we would enjoy cereal & bananas for breakfast.

There is a  partially Vegetarian/Vegan restaurant in Williamsburg called “Food For Thought” and I would highly recommend dining there. They make a Vegan version of Pad Thai that is amazing!!

Over all, The Great Wolf Lodge is an amazing family vacation destination!! My children love it, and over the years we have made countless wonderful memories there! This is not a true “Vegan Friendly” resort, and you will have to think outside of the box when staying there. Thankfully, the rooms include a fridge, so stock it up if possible!

I won’t lie, I LOVE GWL, and we will continue to visit each summer, but I REALLY WISH that they would offer more options to their Vegan guests. They are considered a “Green” resort, which is very impressive! But what is more “Green” than “Veganism”??



A Review of “That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals” by Ruby Roth

April 29, 2010 By in Kids~, Reviews~ Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Ruby Roth, the amazingly talented author & illustrator of the children’s book “That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals”, has asked me if I would review her book on my blog. I must say that I am truly honored and flattered, that she finds my blog worthy. :-) Thank you Ruby!

I bought this beautifully written & illustrated book for my daughter Ava’s fourth birthday. Since then, it has become a mommy & daughter bedtime favorite!

My little girl has a deep compassion for animals, and although I would never want to scare her with graphic details of today’s factory farming, I do want her to have an understanding of “why” we live compassionately, and choose not to eat animals.

Ruby’s book “That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals” enlightens the young reader and explains that farm animals are truly no different from our beloved pets. She offers us a touching look into the bonds these creatures form with their children, similar to the bonds we have with our own sons and daughters.

We learn about the “moods” of cows, the”loving nature” of pigs, and the “sensitivity” of turkeys.

The book illustrates the sad, short lives, factory farmed animals live, and tugs on your heartstrings from start to finish. Ruby’s beautiful illustrations are colorful and whimsical, and they have a way of keeping my daughter’s eyes glued to the page! Ruby also takes us on a journey to visit our oceans & the fish and other marine life that live there. We learn how commercial fishing hurts these creatures, and why they are best allowed to live freely.

Ruby describes the toll we are taking on our planet, simply by not caring for, and protecting the animals who roam along side us.

As Ruby brings her book to a close, she tells us about endangered species and the importance of our rainforests. Along with ideas for children to help animals and our environment.

This is by far the most gentle, yet eye opening, animal rights book available for our youngest generation!

The last words Ruby writes in her book, are so beautiful, I will use them to end my review;

“While the power of nature can move mountains and make rainbows, the power we have as humans is boundless too. Every day, we have the freedom to change our lives. In fact, when we treat animals respectfully, we practice world peace. That’s why we don’t eat animals”.

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