This was all over my FB feed this week but just in case your friends are emotionally dead jerks who don’t share adorable videos, this is a MUST WATCH. This baby is RIDICULOUS. This was filmed at Kruger National Park, a reserve in South Africa.

I just wanna meet a baby ele!!! Has anyone actually met one? What are they like?! Are they sweet? Are they like puppies? Or smarter? OR WHAT? OMG I NEED A BABY ELE!

If you haven’t heard of The Lusty Vegan by now, let me bring you up to speed: co-authored by Ayindé Howell and Zoë Eisenberg, this book is half-vegan cookbook, half-guide/memoir to relationships between vegans and omnis. I went to a dinner last year that was hosted by these two and not only was the food amazepants, the stories were hilar. I decided to catch up with Zoë and Ayindé to get some more dirt–and their vegan strawberry shortcake recipe!

Vegansaurus: Why did you guys write this book?
Zoë: We wrote the book because the topic—how eating impacts our relationships—is an incredibly popular topic within the vegan community. It’s something Ayindé and I were constantly running into head first, and something I frequently wrote about in my weekly dating column, The Lusty Vegan, on Ayindé’s website, www.ieatgrass.com.

Where do you get your recipes from?
Ayindé: I pull inspiration from everywhere and convert non-vegan recipes I find on the internet.

What’s the toughest thing about dating non-vegans?
Zoë: Having to abstain from judgment. It’s rough! I often remind myself it was my choice to date someone so different than me, which means I can’t really give them the stink eye when they do something that doesn’t thrill me, like eat animals. If you really can’t stomach that kind of acceptance, then you should stick to only dating vegans.

Where do you usually meet love interests–internet? farmers market? singles bar? Spill.
Ayindé: Instagram. Funny but my social network is pretty great for that. But I actually prefer real life: concerts, the gym, grocery stores.

Since writing the book and becoming all vegan-famous, have you had more opportunity to date vegans?
Ayindé: I have dated vegans. And none of them worked out. Turns out that’s not the end-all, be-all for me. It’s nice, but nothing but vegan heartbreak. Which feels the exact same as non-vegan heartbreak.

Fave vegan restaurant?
Zoë: G-Zen in Branford, Connecticut. It definitely rivals some of the more well-known spots in New York and LA, and I make sure to hit it up whenever I visit my family in the area.

Fave romantic movie?
Ayindé: Coming to America.

Fave love song?
Zoë: Ooh, that’s a tough one. I guess the one I sing most is Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On,” but mostly I sing it to my dinner while I’m cooking.

Fave animal?
Ayindé: Women.

Thanks, guys! Boy did I totally set Ayindé up for that last one. But can we rewind to that line: “It’s nice but nothing but vegan heartbreak. Which feels the exact same as non-vegan heartbreak.” TRUTH.  

Now, as promised, The Lusty Vegan’s strawberry shortcake recipe! Which you’ll notice is a biscuit cake, which all LEGIT shortcakes should be! I stand firm on that. 

Strawberry Shortcakes

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 15 minutes | Serves 1 to 2

These are quick, easy, and fattening—guaranteed to cheer anyone up from the lowest of lows. Light, fluffy biscuits, whipped cream, and fresh strawberries are a no-brainer. (From The Lusty Vegan, © 2014 by Ayindé Howell and Zoë Eisenberg. Photo by Geoff Souder. Used with permission from Vegan Heritage Press.)

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons vegan butter, very cold
½ cup almond milk
1 cup vegan Soya Too whipped cream or coconut cream
2 cups sliced strawberries

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in the cold butter. Slowly add the milk, gradually stirring until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

2. Place the dough onto a floured surface and knead 15 to 20 times. Pat or roll the dough out to a 1-inch thickness. Cut biscuits with a large cookie cutter or the top of a juice glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used. Brush off the excess flour, and place the biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes.

3. Split the baked and cooled biscuits in half. Place one half of a sliced biscuit on a plate or in the bottom of a bowl. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and some strawberries, then place the remaining biscuit half atop the strawberries. Add another dollop of whipped cream and top with more strawberries.

Thanks for the recipe, my lusty friends! 

Has anyone tried the recipe already? Tell us how it came out! PICS TOO, I LOVE PICS.

Check the bottom for a discount code!

A UK company emailed us about their Vegan Tuck Box (is tuck box like a care package or just a snack box?) and we had to try! It’s like the Vegan Cuts’ snack box, it’s a monthly subscription of surprise snacks. BUT there are wacky products from all over!

Deets:

-UK’s first vegan box scheme
-Single, subscription and gift boxes available
-Classic boxes contain 10-12 products mini boxes 5-6 products every month
-Gluten free options available
-No need to wait for your box-World wide shipping throughout the month.
-Different products every month- but our boxes are 100{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} vegan and always will be!
-20p (around 30 cents) from each box is donated to Hillside Animal Sanctuary
-Its not just boxes- we also stock a fantastic range of treats sold individually in our online shop
-Winner of Vivas Best New Vegan Food product award 2014

And here’s everything my box had:

Some stuff was a little odd but overall delish. And so much variety! I HEART chestnuts so I ate those v quick before everyone could make fun of me. Yum. The next thing I ate WITHOUT SHARING was this amazing almond butter cup from Eat Chic:

It was big and rich so I ate bites throughout the day and it was so yummy each time. You know I love salt and chocolate! And almond butter is my jam obvi because I’m a human. 

As for sharing, I did. I swear. And the office fave is by far these giant chocolate buttons from Montezuma’s:

These were interesting:

They were like gummy caramels with the sugar coating from Sour Patch Kids. Mixed reviews but one person in the office did say it’s the most amazing thing they’ve ever eaten. 

All you non-UK people will be pleased to hear that they ship world-wide! And yes, there’s a gluten-free box too. So everyone can have fun! And I love that part of the proceeds go to an animal sanctuary. YAY!

If you want to try the Vegan Tuck Box, you can get 20{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} off your first box if you enter “blog20” at checkout. 

Hi my friends! Time to look inside last month’s Vegan Cuts Beauty Box!

So this month came with some nice treats. The cute little heart is coconut oil soap from Bee All Natural. I haven’t tried it yet but it’d adorbs, amirite?! I also have yet to try the Schmidt’s deodorant–but ‘tis the season, amirite?!

There was also a nice eye shadow trio from Emani, bee-free lip balm from Eco Lips, and a face wash from Pacifica. But my FAVE thing was the pink grapefruit mint toothpaste from Hello. I literally JUST ran out of my Tom’s toothpaste the day before and then this little gem comes in my box! MAGIC! It tastes different than any toothpaste I’ve had; not like grapefruit I don’t think (though I avoid actual grapefruits like the plague that they are). But it’s a nice flavor and not over-powering like the toothpastes I’m used to. And it makes my teeth feel nice and clean. I gotta say, I’m a convert! 

So I forgot to post last month. Well, I didn’t forget, I was HELLA slammed at work. But I wanted to show you last month’s goodies:

I wanted to show you because I LOVE the Devocean lipstick from Pacifica! It’s very light, not in color but just like it’s not a thick lipstick. But it’s smooth and silky and great for a little color! Seriously, Pacifica is quickly becoming one of my favorite makeup/skincare companies. It’s all vegan and the products are great–plus I love the packaging! Totes rococo. And it’s really because of the Beauty Box that I’ve tried so many of their products. So, thanks, Vegan Cuts! For all the Pacifica discoveries!

I got this for free but if you want to try it, the box subscription is $19.95 a month, shipping included (for US addresses. International is more).

From Pony Cakes instagram

Last time I went to Vegan Shop-Up with the lovely Abby Bean, I found this cute vendor Pony Cakes! These organic, gluten-free cookie sandwiches come in several flavors but I decided to go for the minis in Midnight Pony. The above are the full-size cookies; the minis come four to a pack.

The Midnight Pony is a chocolate espresso cookie filled with Mexican chocolate mousse topped with brown sugar caramel and chocolate sea salt…I know right! Let’s cut to the chase: I LOVE them! They are salty and chocolatey and delicious! I will say that they are sweet, a bit too sweet for some of my coworkers. But not me! 

Here’s a view of mine:

So yes, v sweet but v delicious! And you know I love salty sweet things so the Midnight Pony is right up my alley. 

You can buy them on Pony Cake’s website and on Vegan Essentials. Go for it!