First thing’s first: how the hell is it already the end of August? I feel like I was just gearing up for summer, getting excited about indulging my watermelon and cherry obsessions, and planning trips to the beach to soak in the sun. Apparently I’ve been eating (and drinking) watermelon almost every day for three months…
Watermelon, triple sec & tequila. The perfect pairing.
Just as I was feeling a little sad that summer’s nearly over, I received August’s vegan food swap package from Janessa over at Epicurious Vegan! Janessa’s passion for the vegan lifestyle and her hometown of Portland, Oregon really shines through in her writing, and she also happens to be the founder and director of Vida Vegan Con, which is essentially a vegan lovefest of informational classes, food, and community that takes place each year in Portland. Of all of the blogging conferences out there, this is one that’s at the top of my list.
Janessa practically read my mind in putting together a package with a focus on chocolate. I’ve tried the Endangered Species mint chocolate before (it’s good!), but the Sweet Chocolate Dream bar and Cafe Kakow Organic Chocolate Syrup were new to me. The bar is similar to a milk chocolate and the syrup is a little more intense, which I love.
Janessa also included an awesome assortment of nut butters, including the famous Justin’s chocolate hazelnut butter. I dug into that one immediately, and promptly decided that I can never have a full-size jar of that in the house. It’s way too good to stop at just a spoonful.
I also really appreciated the non-food items Janessa sent me. After all, I can only pack in so much chocolate and nut butter at a time and still fit into my elastic waist yoga clothes. The soaps are from a company called Moxie Organix in Washington state and come in fun scents like green tea lime basil and summer orange, but what really stole the show was the Hurraw vanilla bean lip balm. It’s super moisturizing, smells like dessert, and is further fueling my lip gloss addiction. Aaron said it reminds him of high school, when I owned like fifty of those lip smackers lip balms and made it a point to rotate through all of them. Lemonade, Dr. Pepper, vanilla frosting – Hurraw is like the grown-up version of those with flavors that include coffee bean, earl grey, and root beer(!!!). I secretly hope my Whole Foods sells them so I can start building a collection, just like in high school. Some things never change…
If you’re interested in taking part in the swap next month, sign up at The Verdant Life!
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I love the Hurraw lip balms! I have the root beer. It’s so great. They have all sorts of amazing flavors. We sell them at my work, and it’s really dangerous. I always have to stop myself from buying them.
The root beer is definitely at the top of my list. And also the chai spice, and earl grey, and coconut…it’s going to be a problem for me. haha
I totally need to check out those lip balms. I was obsessed with the Dr. Pepper one in high school….um, and beyond. I’ve matured a bit and now use Burt’s Bees, but I’ll always have a soft spot for it….and please pass that mint chocolate my way! I’ll definitely have to look into this food swap! P.s. Thanks for voting for my sundae!
The Dr. Pepper one was so good! I wonder if they still make that…
Happy to vote for your sundae! Now I just need to make it.
I can’t believe its almost September either! Of course, here in Florida, summer lasts longer than in other places. But still! I’m already seeing signs about “Fall fresh peas” and the like. I rebel against fall and winter!
And I. Love. Lip Balm. For real. I have tubes of it all over the house. I never leave home without it. And I’ve recently started making my own, so that just adds to the collection of store bought tubes because I like experimenting with new flavors. Lip Balm is awesome. One of those “If you were stranded on a deserted island” things.
Yeah, I’m not really looking forward to winter either. I like fall, but winters in Boston are loooong.
You’re inspiring me to try making my own lip balm now…this could be a new obsession. haha
Ha! My favorite go to lip balm base is beeswax (so its not vegan. If vegan lip balm is important to you, there are other ways to make it without beeswax), coconut oil, and honey. Just those by themselves make an awesome balm. Plus you can use it on your hands if they’re dry. Or where ever else you would like.
And you can add whatever other essential oils or ingredients you want in your lip balm. My next is going to be a chocolate mint with cocoa powder and peppermint oil. Yum!
Chocolate mint sounds so good! And I wonder if it might somehow help with chocolate cravings?!
Ha! It might…but then you would end up with chapped lips from all the licking!
Hurraw is the best! So glad you liked it!! xo (Beautiful watermelon photo, too!)
I love it! Thank you for putting together such an awesome foodie package!
ooooh I love lip balm too! My absolute favourite is Yoah! It’s a vegan brand, and their strawberries and cream lip balm is just gorgeous! My fiance uses bog standard, flavour-free lip balm, which to me just tastes of chemicals! Whenever I say “Why don’t you get a nicer tasting lip balm?” He goes “Why? I don’t eat it!” .. it baffles me, because when it’s on your lips, you definately get a hint of flavour!
Definitely true! I also remember hearing some statistic a while back about the amount of lip gloss/balm women end up eating over the course of a year – it was a lot! I’ll have to seek out that Yaoh brand.
Woohoo! Finally signed up for the Food Swap! I am SO excited. That is so cool that you were matched with Janessa! She sent you some really cool stuff! I have heard of the Vegan Vida Con since I live in Portland, but I’m not familiar with her blog so I’ll have to check it out. Have a fantastic week!
Awesome! The food swap is a lot of fun.
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