The 2013 Gift Guide For....[THE VEGAN]

Welcome to the SECOND edition of the Passing Daisies holiday gift guide! Last week, we talked about HIPSTERS.This week, we are focusing on the vegans in our life. Here are the other holiday gift guides you can look forward to!

[The MUSIC JUNKIE]

[The GEEK]

[The BOOK NERD]

[The VINTAGE]

[The TRAVELER]

[The DRINK SNOB]

[The DIY ENTHUSIAST]

[The BLOGGER]

I used to be vegan for a year, and now I will generally eat anything, but I eat dairy in moderation. I shop mostly vegan at the grocery store, and I eat normally when I'm out with friends. Everything is okay in small amounts! 

Still, I like to embrace my vegan roots, and I think I've got a pretty good grasp on what kind of gifts vegans would enjoy. I would love to get any of the gifts below. I hope these help you find the perfect gift for your vegan friend!

Better World Brownies

An all vegan and fair trade brownie mix, you can't possibly go wrong. This company also makes vegan hot chocolate mix, fruit & chocolate snack mixes, and other yummy treats. Everything is fair trade, too.

Crazy Sexy Kitchen

Kris Carr is a vegan celebrity - she beat cancer by switching to a mostly raw, plant-based diet, and has been a role model in the vegan world ever since. This is her new cook book!

Isa Does It

Another famous vegan chef, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, just released a brand new cookbook this month. Everything she makes is delicious, so I'm sure this cookbook won't disappoint.

Vegan White Chocolate Chips

Vegan white chocolate is crazy hard to find in stores, unless you make it yourself. These chips are delicious. Make sure you order a few bags! Wanna hear what I think? Click here!

Vegan Bowls [and other dishes]

This lady's vegan dishes and mugs are pretty famous. They are expensive, but homemade and high quality. They are also cute! If you don't want anything with the word "vegan" on them, she also makes some adorable cake stands, fruit bowls, and other dishware. There is also another etsy shop, Vegan Dish, that you can check out when the owner is back from vacation.

Vegan's Daily Companion

This book features 365 different articles to read, one for each year. It has recipes, health info, animal stories and pictures, and so much more! A great guide for any vegan.

Tofu Xpress

Any true vegan will press tofu at some point in their life. This is a great tool to have in your kitchen so you don't end up pressing your tofu with a stack of books, pots and pans, and cans of soup {in other words, anything heavy}. If you want to see my review of this product, click here.

Hail Merry Macaroons 

These are quite possibly the best macaroons I've ever had, and they are raw! You can find them at Whole Foods stores across the country. Apparently they just released a limited edition, seasonal flavor - Chocolate Chocolate Chip - so run to the stores and buy some now!

Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

This is just like Nutella, but it's vegan. They also make a line of peanut butter cups that are AMAZE-BALLS. For a limited time, you can buy their white chocolate peanut butter cups exclusively  at Whole Foods. 

Tea Forte

I have yet to find a flavor of tea by this brand that I dislike. They are crazy delicious, and their triangular shape makes them unique. 

Blackberry Maple Waffle Tea

This is a delicious flavor of tea, and it has real waffle pieces in the mix!

Libre Tea Glass

While we are on the topic of tea, this loose leaf tea "to-go" glass is GREAT for when you want loose leaf tea but are about to walk out the door. The tea stays in a separate compartment, and you just flip upside down to brew. When you are ready to drink, just turn the glass right side up. Check out my review of these glasses here.

Forks Over Knives

This is a great documentary about the way meat and dairy effect our health. Although it does talk about animal rights and welfare, the emphasis of this film is health, and that's why I enjoy it. If you want a documentary that talks more about animals, then check out Food, Inc.

Vegan Makeup

There are multiple great places you can get quality vegan makeup, including Juice Beauty, Tarte, and Urban Decay.

Yes To...

The "Yes To" brand has a TON of quality vegan beauty products, including facial cleansers, lip balm, shampoo & conditioner, and sunscreen, to name just a few. 

Well, I hope those items sparked some ideas for your vegan friend! Let me know if you found other great products you would recommend! 

Product Review: Libre Tea & GIVEAWAY

How would you like to be able to take your loose leaf tea on the go? I know I would! 

And now I can, thanks to the wonderful people over at Libre Tea, who sent me one of their original Libre tea glasses to try out!

The glass itself is GORGEOUS - consisting of a glass interior and exterior, it really is beautiful. Not to mention the pretty design on the top. 

Because of the glass's durable poly exterior, your tea stays hot but the glass stays cool to the touch. It also comes with a removable stainless steel filter, that keeps the tea leaves out of your tea and allows you to drink without getting nasty tea leaves in your mouth! Plus, the glass is BPA-free. Awesome! And very easy to use.

Step 1: Fill glass with hot water. 

Step 2: Place loose leaf tea in the filter.

Step 3: Screw on lid and flip glass upside down to brew tea. 

Step 4: Wait for your tea to brew. Then enjoy! Your tea is done! Because the lid has two parts, you can completely unscrew the lid (including the part that holds the tea leaves), or you can just unscrew the top where the leaves are stored. It's really convenient. Especially because you can store your leaves in the lid and reuse them for another glass of tea!

How to use your Libre Tea glass - Video

Now it's time for everyone's FAVORITE part... the GIVEAWAY!

One lucky reader will win the same glass I received - the Libre Tea Original! How to enter (leave a comment for each):

1. MANDATORY - Tell me why you would love to own a Libre Tea Original!

2. Like Libre Tea and Passing Daisies on Facebook

3. Follow Libre Tea and Passing Daisies on Twitter

4. Post about this giveaway on your blog 

5. Tweet the following: "@cityxlights13 Just entered to win a @Libretea original on Passing Daisies!" and include the link to the giveaway

6. Subscribe to Passing Daisies by email

7. Tell me what you want to see more of on the blog!

You can receive an extra entry by tweeting about the giveaway each day. Just leave an extra comment each day after you tweet!

The giveaway will end on WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH at 11:59AM EST. The winner will be announced on DECEMBER 1ST. 

Giveaway open only to the USA and Canada. 

Get entering and enjoy your Libre Tea Original!

Much love, 

Tazo Passion Tea Cupcakes

TAZO's Passion Tea is my favorite herbal tea by far. It's fruity, delicious, and purple in color, which makes it look even better. Since I'm in the process of creating recipes for my own out-of-home vegan bakery... why not create a cupcake out of Passion Tea?! They turned out delicious; I used two tea bags, but I would suggest even using three for a bit of a stronger flavor. I used a lemon icing for this... but I think raspberry would be super delicious as well!

Also pictured- banana with peanut butter and

orange dreamsicle cupcakes. Coming soon!

(Also soon to be posted- blueberry with lemon).

TAZO Passion Tea Cupcakes

1/2 c. Earth Balance butter

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

3 Ener-G Egg Replacers (in powder form)

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1 c. milk substitute

1/4 t. salt

The inside of 2 Passion Tea bags (Try using 3 for a stronger flavor)

Directions:

Beat Earthy B and sugar until creamy. Then add all dry ingredients, content of tea bags, and milk - combine until smooth. Scoop into cupcake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 23-25 minutes. Let cool. (This should make 12 cupcakes). Pipe on lemon icing and garnish with raspberry flavored sugar.

Lemon Icing

8 oz. Tofutti cream cheese

1/2 c. Earth Balance

4 c. powdered sugar

Squeeze of lemon juice

Zest of 1/2 to 1 lemon, depending on how strong you want the flavor to be

Directions:

Beat together cream cheese and Earthy B until well combined; slowly add powdered sugar (so the powder doesn't fly everywhere!). Squeeze in lemon juice for moisture - not too much of the icing will be runny. Ad lemon zest and mix until well combined.

Weight-Loss Tea (Carrot-Daikon Drink)

Today is the first day that I am trying Alicia Silverstone's "Weight Loss Tea" aka "Carrot-Daikon Drink." You are supposed to drink this for 10 days on an empty stomach. However, its not really tea-like... it looks more like a soup, very thick with lots of pulpy carrots and daikon radish. It's not bad when you eat it like soup with the pulp, but I think I would prefer to strain it and just drink the broth. I'm not exactly sure which you are supposed to do - strain it or eat the pulp - but I've heard this recipe is similar to one from the macrobiotic diet and that you should eat and chew the pulp.

I can't say I'm that big of a fan of the pulp... it's a strange texture and just tastes like eating ground carrots.

Today I did not use the nori and I added a lot more shoyu than it says to. The broth is great, but.... I don't think I'll be keeping up with this for 10 days.

What do you think?

Alicia Silverstone's Weight-Loss Tea (Carrot-Daikon Drink)
1/2 c. grated (into a pulp) carrot
1/2 c. grated (into a pulp) daikon
1/4 umeboshi plum
1-2 drops shoyu
1/4 sheet nori, broken into small pieces (optional)

In a saucepot, combine carrot, daikon, umeboshi and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Add shoyu, then simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Add nori, if using, last. Drink hot.