Back in the day, a.k.a. the 80s, according to my favorite college English professor, people could only have veggie burgers if they made them themselves from weird powdery mixes or from scratch using things like tofu-from-a-bag and whimsy. He also said making them involved something elaborate with the freezer. I KNOW, right?!! So weird.

We’ve come a long, long way in the veggie burger department since then. We can now head to pretty much any grocery story in the USA and snag patties of all shapes, sizes, textures, and accommodation for every conceivable food allergy (why yes, I’ll have that soy-free, corn-free, gluten-free, nut-free, everything-free vegan burger….).

And now, thanks to Beyond Meat, we’ve reached a new level of vegan burger awesomeness: The Beyond Burger. This burger, sold in the meat department (whoa!) is a game-changer. Probably more-so for omnivores than us vegans, but only because it tastes so much like meat. The Beyond Burger is so freaking realistic it even “bleeds” thanks to the power of beet juice. Seriously. These grill up beautifully, have tons of protein and other good-for-you things, and are displayed in this super-cute package that smacks of meat. But how does it taste? Delicious. I’ll be real: I love veggie burgers that taste like freshly laid sod and really, really don’t crave the taste of animal meat; I’ve been vegan for 11 years and was vegetarian for 6 years before that, so maybe that’s like a thing that happens after that much time away from eating dead flesh.

That being said, Beyond Burger is going to really change the world, because everything from the marketing to the meat-product-like packaging to the taste and texture (very fibrous!) is geared towards satisfying a taste for flesh, without the cruelty. I am so on board.

What’s even more amazing? At my local Boulder Whole Foods, Beyond Meat just opened a brand-new Beyond Burger bar! They have great deals on burgers and even have vegan milkshakes on tap to wash down the oppression-free whopping goodness. If you’re in Boulder, you should absolutely come check it out while picking up your patchouli spray for your Subaru Forester.

CONTEST ALERT: Beyond Burgers aren’t available everywhere yet, so Beyond Meat are giving 10 lucky winners a chance to win a Beyond Burger package at their door, since it is still only in soft launch mode. All you have to do is click the link on this blog, and sign-up for their newsletter!

Side note/disclaimer: I’m more than slightly in bed with Beyond Meat, since my amazing brother Asher Brown creates Instagram videos for them, and they send me plant-based love in many ways all of the time!

Instagram–platform of choice for showcasing selfies, what you ate for lunch, your adopted chihuahua’s first trip to Palm Springs, and 300 million users’ pics of their (aspirational) lives–is now the home to Beyond Meat’s new 15-second-chef Instagram contest! Beyond Meat’s contest is designed to raise awareness for alternatives to using animal products, in line with the company’s 25/20 goal of reducing global meat consumption by 25 percent by 2020.

According to Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown, the company is “excited to launch a contest that speaks to a generation who wants to make better food choices. … We are looking forward to rewarding our participants for their creativity.”

So, what is the 15-second-chef (#15sChef) Instagram campaign all about and how can you enter? According to my vegan brother Asher, who is one of the masterminds behind this campaign (yay!) you make a 15-second video recipe and then upload it to Instagram using the hashtags #15sChef and #BeyondMeat.

Then, boom: You’re entered to win crazy prizes from Le Creuset, Daiya, Chef’d, Cheeky Home, Kitchen IQ, Eat Pastry, Kevita, Tater Tats and more, including:

• Four Judge’s Choice Winners and two People’s Choice Winners will receive a $400 Visa gift card, and a Beyond Meat swag bag containing Beyond Meat apparel, VIP coupons and assorted prizes from contest partners.

These six finalists will go into a second round of competition using a Beyond Meat product (provided by Beyond Meat), and are eligible to be one of two Grand Prize winners, and one Ultra Grand Prize winner:

• Two Grand Prize winners will receive a year’s supply of Beyond Meat, in the form of 52 coupons in one year, in addition to the $400 Visa gift card and Beyond Meat swag bag
• One (1) Ultra Grand Prize winner will receive a lifetime supply of Beyond Meat, in the form of 52 coupons a year annually, and a cookware makeover with contest partners.

These prizes are like winning the vegan lottery! I can’t enter because my brother is helping run this contest, but you totally can. Plus, the judges haven’t been announced yet, but they will be celebrities. Trust me, this is your best chance to get a famous vegan to look at your food.

Entering is simple: Showcase your plant-based culinary skills through a 15-second Instagram video, then hashtag it #15sChef and #BeyondMeat. For inspiration, you can check out some of the videos that are already upon those hashtags (even my mom made one!) Extra props for making it funny, creative, etc. And it has to be 100 percent plant-based! Duh.

Go enter right now!! The contest officially started on June 15, and winners will be announced shortly after June 30. Start ‘gramming now! 

Before we start Sarah’s delightful review, a little editorial note: Follow Your Heart has some new vegan cheeses that are so nice we had to review them twice! Also, let it be known that I’ve tried these slices and they’re my FAVORITE sliced cheese on the market. I like them more than Chao! Which are also very good! But there’s something about the Follow Your Heart sliced cheeses –particularly the American slices! Hot damn!–that are SO FREAKING GOOD. Eat them immediately and then come talk to me when you’re a convert! And now, take it away, Sarah!- Laura 

After experiencing the awesomeness of Field Roast’s Chao slices, I wasn’t sure if another sliced vegan cheese could steal my affections! But Follow Your Heart’s slices are pretty solid! In the vegan cheese world, there’s now hella gourmet options (Miyoko’s Kitchen, Kite Hill, etc.), all of which are superb if you’re throwing a chic wine and cheese party. But for reals, sometimes we all just need a utilitarian cheese that we can place atop a slice of toast or breaded eggplant cutlet smothered in tomato sauce! Something that knows its place in the vegan cheese hierarchy, and is comfortable with being the Gap Inc. of vegan cheeses. Goes with everything but not by any means fancy pants.

For these purposes, the affordably priced and mildly flavored Follow Your Heart slices really are a win! I made some pretty special (yet not too fancy) dishes with them this week!

In this pic, you can see the Mozzarella-style Slices I used to make vegan eggplant parmesan! Delicious. [Ed. Note: never, ever, under any circumstances, search #Eggplantparm on Instagram. Just trust.]

Next, I used the Follow Your Heart Provolone-Style Slices to make grilled cheese! So delicious, melty, and tangy! I think the Provolone-Style Slices have the most noticeable flavor. The melt on these is really nice, too! Maybe even better than Chao’s melt! 

In sum, if you’re looking for a really solid vegan cheese slice you can incorporate in your everyday dining, this is a def a winner. Pick up some Follow Your Heart Slices at a store near you! 

The vegan jerky market has always fascinated me. I never really missed jerky when I went veg, but even as a casual fan, I can still see the appeal of dehydrated savory hunks of whatnot! 

Until sampling Brooklyn-based CocoBurg’s new line of outrageously delicious Coconut Jerky, I’d only ever tried seitan- or textured soy protein-based jerky. CocoBurg’s line is really different and way better—enough to tempt even casual jerky enthusiasts into raging fandom. It’s actually the world’s first coconut jerky, and the product of a successful Kickstarter campaign! CocoBurg takes fleshy coconut meat dripping off young thai coconuts, smothers it in yummy spices, and dehydrates the meat until it became the most pleasant chewy texture imaginable. Marketed as the “raw, vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, and paleo” alternatives to other fake meats on the market, for sure, this is about the most minimally processed ersatz meat you can find!

My favorite flavor, hands-down, is the Ginger-Terriyaki, but the Original is also amazing. I just love that I can chew for such a long time while the marinated flavors ooze and rehydrate in real-time! I’m so-so on the Chili Lime, as it’s a tad too spicy for my taste, but if you’re into that, you may find it a dream come true. 

Besides being outrageously delicious, CocoBurg Coconut Jerky is also pretty healthful, which is a great bonus! You can buy CocoBurg Coconut Jerky online and at select healthfood stores nationwide.

When Massel, the company famous for its vegan bouillon cubes, offered to send me samples of their new liquid stock line I was really excited. I’ve used the cubes before, and I love that their products are clearly labeled “vegan” and free from questionable ingredients like MSG. So, I tried Massel’s new vegan concentrated stocks line and I LOVE it! 

My new favorite things: adding a bit of bouillon stock into a pot of quinoa cooking on the stove, using it to flavor noodle soups, or my very favorite: use Massel liquid stock to make a broth for cooking broccoli! You just add 3 tablespoons chicken-free liquid stock to 4 cups of boiling water. Steam the broccoli in the water/stock mixture on the stove and it turns the broccoli into the most luscious, savory, rich goodness imaginable. It’s magic! I have never loved broccoli as much as I do now, thanks to Massel!

According to the company website, one tablespoon of the highly concentrated liquid stock makes 1 cup of soup stock.  Once you’ve formed a stock base, you can just toss in your favorite soup fixings like veggies, noodles, leafy greens, veg protein or whatever pleases you!

My favorite flavor was definitely the vegan “chicken” flavor, and the one flavor I really didn’t love as much was the beef flavor. Here’s a great recipe reposted with permission from the Massel vegan recipe bank on their website.

Gluten Free Vegan Sesame Noodles
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

• 8 oz. spaghetti (gluten free, if desired)
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 2/3 cup water
• ⅓ teaspoon Massel Vegetable or Chicken style Better Bouillon 
• ½ cup peanut butter (sunflower seed butter, if you have nut allergies)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce (tamari sauce is gluten free)
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 teaspoon Sriracha or favorite hot sauce
• 2 tablespoon sesame seeds

Method

1.   Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well.

2.   While the pasta is cooking, whisk the rest of ingredients together in a bowl. Drizzle mixture over drained pasta and toss well.

3.   Serve immediately, room temperature, or chilled.

Enjoy! See this list of where you can buy Massel products.