JASON PowerSmile Toothpaste

I love this toothpaste! JASON Powersmile was the first vegan toothpaste that I tried and I didn't even bother trying any others. I've been using this toothpaste for well over 3 years and it's still great. I do notice that my teeth are indeed a little whiter, though we're not talking a pure white glow here. My teeth feel squeaky clean after every use, and that freshness usually lasts for several hours.

I really like the pepperminty flavor. The first time I tried this toothpaste, I was slightly overwhelmed with the peppermint, but it only took a few uses before I was used to it and loving it. It was like eating something with delicious chilies and being just on the safe side of heat. Overall, my mouth feels very clean and healthy with this toothpaste.

Ranking: *****

***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

[JASON PowerSmile can be found at Sprouts, Fry's Marketplace, Whole Foods, and Online.]

For more information about companies that test on animals as well as those that are cruelty-free, please see CaringConsumer.com

Peanut Butter Cups

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

My all-time favorite candy growing up was Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I am so happy to have vegan versions that I love! If you make these, set some aside for me. Also, you can use vegan white or dark chocolate and/or almond butter substitutes as seen below.



Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate Almond Butter Cups



Version 1
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
From How It All Vegan

Ingredients
1/2 cup vegan margarine¹
3/4 cup natural peanut butter²
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs³
1/4 cup vegan sugar⁴
1 cup chocolate chips⁵
1/4 cup non-dairy milk⁶
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped (optional)
12 cupcake liners⁷

Directions
In a small saucepan on medium heat, melt the vegan margarine. Once liquefied, stir in the peanut butter, graham crumbs, and sugar until well incorporated. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the peanut butter mixture into the muffin tins lined with cupcake paper liners. In a different small saucepan on medium heat, melt the chocolate and soymilk together until completely melted, stirring often. Spoon over top of the peanut butter cups. Garnish with nuts and allow to set in the fridge for 6-8 hours before serving. Makes 12 cups.


Version 2
Christine’s Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter
From Christine Dickson who teaches some vegan baking classes in the Bay Area. I couldn't find any other source material for this recipe.

Ingredients
1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar⁸
1/4 cup vegan margarine¹
1 cup natural peanut butter²
1 & 1/2 cups rice crisp cereal⁹
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate⁵

Directions
Lightly grease a high-quality silicon mini-muffin tray or line a muffin tin with cupcake paper liners or lightly grease a metal mini muffin pan. You may want to lightly coat the liners with cooking spray. Melt margarine (melt in microware for 15 - 20 seconds). Add melted margarine to a large bowl. Cream together margarine with powdered sugar until smooth. Then cream together peanut butter with margarine/sugar mixture. Gradually mix in rice crisp cereal until completed integrated into mixture.

Scoop out 1/2 Tablespoon of mixture into mini-muffin tray and flatten with finger. While peanut butter mixture is setting in the refrigerator, melt 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute then stir completely. Melt again for 40 seconds to 1 minute then stir completely until smooth.

Apply melted chocolate to the peanut butter mixture in a swirling motion with a spoon until surface area is completely covered. Let sit in the refrigerator for 20 - 30 minutes until chocolate has hardened and peanut butter is firm. Pop out peanut butter cups very slowly and carefully from the silicon mini-muffin tray, or leave them in cupcake liners for serving.


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My preferred products and where you can find them:

1. a. Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Sunflower Farmers Market
b. Earth Balance Vegan Original Natural Buttery Spread- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Sunflower Farmers Market

2. a. Kettle Brand Organic Peanut Butter- I don't know. I love it, but I can't seem to find this anymore.
b. Sprouts Brand Natural Creamy Peanut Butter- Sprouts

3. Vegan Graham Crackers can be rather hard to find, though Nabisco Original Graham Crackers are supposed to be vegan, so I often used these products instead.
a. Babara's Bakery Snackimals Vanilla- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace
b. Healthy Valley Amaranth Graham Crackers- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace
c. Barbara's Bakery Snackimals Wheat Free Oatmeal- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace

4. a. 365 Vegan Cane Sugar- Whole Foods
b. Florida Crystals Cane Sugar- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace

5. a. Sunspire Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips- Sprouts, Whole Foods
b. Whole Foods Brand Chocolate Chips- Whole Foods

6. I prefer almond milk for almost all of my baking, but soymilk works well too.
a. Blue Diamond Almond Breeze SWEETENED Almond Milk- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace
b. Silk Original Soy Milk (Plain)- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace...most mainstream groceries, even Wal-Mart carries it.

7. Beyond Gourmet Unbleached Baking Cups- Sprouts, Whole Foods

8. Wholesome Sweeteners Powdered Sugar- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace

9. Barbara's Bakery Organic Brown Rice Crisps- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace

Eco Lips Bee Free Lip Balm

I love lip balm and it is a major requirement for me, living in the desert with such dry weather. I use it daily, with 4 or 5 tubes scattered around in places where I usually need it (my handbag, by my computer, on my bedside table, in the bathroom, and the floating back-up). Eco Lips Bee Free is my abso-fave. It's soft, slick, and smells faintly of lemon-lime. My dry lips are instantly soothed whenever I put it on. I highly recommend this one.

Ranking: *****

***** Awesome! Highly recommended.
**** Hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** Not bad at all.
** Eh.
* Bad. Keep looking for alternatives.


[Eco Lips Bee Free is sold at Whole Foods, AJ's Fine Foods, Sunflower Farmers Market, and REI.]

I'd say all you ever need is this awesome lip balm, however, I know some of you are out in the sun alot and some of you want to add a little color to your lips. I don't have any specific recommendations for those YET, but I'll point you in the direction of some brands to try.

If you are going to be out in the sun a lot, you need some SPF. Without SPF in your lip balm you can sunburn your lips because many of them act as magnifiers and make sun damage worse. You can check the SPF lip balms out yourself, or you can simply try putting some regular sunblock on your lips and then your Eco Lips Bee Free Lip Balm over it. I have no idea if that works. I just made it up.

Some SPF Lip Balms to try:

Merry Hempsters Hemp Lip Balm, SPF 18 [Buy at Whole Foods, Sunflower Farmers Markets, Zia Records, Arizona Health Foods, or Online]

Azida Lip Balm, SPF 15 [Based out of Sierra Vista, AZ, you can buy their products from their website. I'm not sure yet what local stores carry it. Let me know if you see it somewhere.]

And you can find a fair variety of vegan tinted/flavored/scented lip balms around. Some brands to look for:

Crazy Rumors Lip Balm [Buy Online]

Merry Hempsters Lip Balm [Buy at Whole Foods, Sunflower Farmers Markets, Zia Records, Arizona Health Foods or Online]

Pussy Pucker Pots Vegan Lip Balm [Buy at She's Got Hers (Tucson, AZ), VaVoom! (Bisbee, AZ), or Online]

Lush Lip Balm [Buy at the Lush Store @ Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall or Online]


For more information about companies that test on animals as well as those that are cruelty-free, please see CaringConsumer.com

Kenike's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is my very favorite cake and I always ask for it on my birthday. It took me a couple of years before I was able to veganize it. I tried it once when I first went vegan, and failed because I just didn't have the experience with baking, much less vegan baking, to successfully convert 4 eggs so that it tasted just like my family recipe. Eggs are really the hardest things to replace, but there are quite a few different ways to do it, and luckily for all of us The PostPunk Kitchen has all the info we need. After two years of vegan baking experience under my belt, I tried it again et voila!

Kenike's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

CAKE
Ingredients:
2 cups flour¹
2 cups grated carrots
2 cups vegan sugar²
1 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
1/2 cup firm tofu (blended)
3 tablespoons applesauce (plain, natural)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions:
Blend tofu in food processor until creamy and lump-free. Mix all ingredients together in large mixing bowl until well-combined. Pour into lightly greased 9x13 rectangle cake pan (typical size).

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 50 minutes. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Let cool completely and then frost.

Tip: Ovens vary the cooking time. Use a toothpick to check it periodically after about 30 minutes to see if it is done in the middle. If it still needs cooking in the middle but the top is looking done, put a piece of foil over the cake so it doesn’t burn and let cook until finished. Do not overcook…the edges will become dried out. If you are making cupcakes, decrease the cook time appropriately.

FROSTING
Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) vegan margarine³
1 package (8 oz) vegan cream cheese⁴
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 pound (16 oz) powdered sugar⁵

Directions
Blend the vegan cream cheese and vegan margarine in a mixing bowl. A hand mixer or standing mixer work best for this. Then add vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. This should make plenty of frosting for the entire cake, and maybe a little extra. If you are simply frosting cupcakes, you can cut this recipe in half.

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My preferred products and where you can find them:

1. Bob's Red Mill Unbleached White Flour- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace

2. a. 365 Vegan Cane Sugar- Whole Foods
b. Florida Crystals Cane Sugar- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace

3. a. Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Sunflower Farmers Market
b. Earth Balance Vegan Original Natural Buttery Spread- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Sunflower Farmers Market

4. Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese (plain)- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace

5. Wholesome Sweeteners Powdered Sugar- Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's Marketplace