Not like any of you sex gods and goddesses need any extra help in the bedroom, but just in case you do, here’s a list of natural vegan labido boosters. Enjoy, and go on with your bad, sexy vegan selves!

  Top 10 Vegan Aphrodisiacs

Lucky for us, vegan-friendly Groupon-esque coupon sites are poppin’ up on the interwebs, offering kick-ass animal-friendly deals.

Bomb-ass vegan-friendly coupon sites: 

Btw, this cozy café, conveniently located in my hood, is [...]]]> My hubs recently took me to Encuentro for a fancy schmancy date night out. He had been there before and couldn’t stop raving about their vegan reuben. Any time I hear the word “reuben,” my ears perk up and my salivary glands shoot into hyperdrive.

Btw, this cozy café, conveniently located in my hood, is the collaboration between Eric Tucker (executive chef at Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco), Lacey Sher (former owner of Down To Earth Restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey), and Linda Braz. As you can imagine, the food at Encuentro is uh-mazing!

Only bummer is that they recently (as in days ago) took their reuben off the menu (*gasp*), so I never got to try it (womp womp)… but here’s what we ordered instead (all deeee-lish!):

Cheese plate with fig chutney, grain mustard, walnut "honey," and seasonal fruit, $15

Roasted potatoes, $6

BBQ tempeh sankie with creamy jicama cabbage slaw and sweet and smokey bbq sauce, $10

Strawberry shortcake, $8

Encuentro
200 2nd Street
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 832-9463

(pssst, there’s a contest at the end of the video, so be sure to enter to win some awesome swag!!)

The Goods:

Amy Sacks Designer Eyewear, $90 each Manic Panic Collection’s Sooo ’80s Lipstick, $8 each Beauty Without Cruelty Mascara, $24.94 Beauty Without Cruelty Cherry Blossom Lipstick, $14.95 Organic Splendor Foundation, [...]]]> I’ve got some new favorite vegan goodies! Check ‘em out! xx

(pssst, there’s a contest at the end of the video, so be sure to enter to win some awesome swag!!)

The Goods:

Amy Sacks Designer Eyewear, $90 each
Manic Panic Collection’s Sooo ’80s Lipstick, $8 each
Beauty Without Cruelty Mascara, $24.94
Beauty Without Cruelty Cherry Blossom Lipstick, $14.95
Organic Splendor Foundation, $34
Organic Splendor Blush and Bronzer, $18 each
Makeup Matte, $22.95
Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Seafood
VegeUSA Kung Pao Chicken and Citrus Spare Rib Cutlets
The Vegan Collection Wallet, $32 ← Enter to win one by leaving a comment telling me about one of your favorite vegan things! A winner will be chosen at random and notified on July 15th! Good Luck!

First, lemme preface this review by saying that I have zero (maybe even negative zero… wait, that’s still zero) cooking skills and finesse when it comes to [...]]]> I recently received a review copy of Vegan Desserts: Sumptuous Sweets for Every Season by Hannah Kaminsky—and oh-em-gee, I think this book might be my favorite vegan cookbook ev-ah!

First, lemme preface this review by saying that I have zero (maybe even negative zero… wait, that’s still zero) cooking skills and finesse when it comes to making vegan sweets from scratch. For some reason, people are under the assumption that I like to bake cupcakes—but they are butt-wrong—I just like to eat them. So… when I got this book, I recruited the help of my gal pal Shannon (baking goddess and co-owner of Cinnaholic) to help me test one of these recipes out. We decided to give the Strawberry-Kiwi Pie a whirl (but we subbed blackberries for kiwis). I have to admit, without trying to sound like a self-inflated bad-ass, this pie was the BEST. PIE. EVER. Seriously, every slice was pie-gasm heaven. Nuff said.

Pie ain’t yo thang? How about Persimmon Blondies, Black Velvet cupcakes, Roasted Apricot Ice Cream, Coffee Poppy Seed Cake, Mexican Chocolate Crème Caramel, Mojito Sugar Cookies or Golden Saffron Pound Cake? Mhm. *drool drool*

So bottom line: You need this book. Not only are the recipes insane, but the foodie pics are redonk! You also need to try that frickin’ pie recipe… will change your life!

What’s your favorite homemade vegan dessert?

Q: “How we do dat?”

A: By incorporating a whole foods, plant-based (aka vegan) diet

These following documentaries [...]]]> Know anyone who is sick, on meds, unhealthy, obese, suffering from chronic pain, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, etc? My guess is that you know quite a few of these people… let’s get our peeps healthy and happy again!

Q: “How we do dat?”

A: By incorporating a whole foods, plant-based (aka vegan) diet

These following documentaries explain everything (and are highly recommended):

FoodMatters ($17.48; also streamable on Netflix)

The Beautiful Truth ($14.49; also streamable on Netflix)

Forks Over Knives (in select theaters – check your local listings)

Have you seen any of these? Which one is your fave and why?

p.s. If you haven’t already, go vegan, foolio! xx

Disco Fries, $6.50

Fake Crab Cake Sandwich

Fauxphilly Cheesesteak, $7.95

Mexican Sundae, $6.95

For more info: Curly’s

328 East 14th St. (Between 1st & 2nd Ave.) NY, NY 10003 Tel: 212-598-9998

Everyone and their granny insists that Counter has the best vegan brunch in NYC. [...]]]> There’s absolutely no doubt that NYC is one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the US. That’s why when my boo and I visit the Big Apple, we make sure to squeeze in as much vegan grub at as many restaurants as possible.

Everyone and their granny insists that Counter has the best vegan brunch in NYC. Although we had been to Counter before, we had never gone for brunch… So for this trip, we made a point to wake up early enough to brunch it up. It was pretty damn awesome (not my absolute fave, but it was up there).

Highlights:

Their vegan baked goods (first pic below) came with vegan Nutella. ‘Nuf said. Sold. Happy tum-tum.

The Kale Ceasar Salad was off the hook. It was super hearty and flavorful and caperlicious. The chunks of tempeh were icing on the cake (mismatached food expression – I don’t care).

The Biscuits and Gravy and Tofu Scram were OK (required a bit of salt and hot sauce to kick ‘em up a notch). I wasn’t überly horny about them, but I ate everything up like a good girl.

Housemade Bakery Goodies

Biscuits and Gravy

Tofu Scramble

Kale Ceasar Salad with Tempeh

Counter
105 First Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 982-5870

Have you been to Counter? What do you usually order?

I’m super duper excited—Spork Online has officially launched! I’ve personally had the pleasure of sitting in on a Spork Foods cooking class, and I was seriously blown away by how awesome it was. First of all, lemme just say that my culinary expertise spans as far as toast and cereal. Spork sisters (and vegan [...]]]>

I’m super duper excited—Spork Online has officially launched! I’ve personally had the pleasure of sitting in on a Spork Foods cooking class, and I was seriously blown away by how awesome it was. First of all, lemme just say that my culinary expertise spans as far as toast and cereal. Spork sisters (and vegan cuisine wizards) Heather and Jenny (who btw are two of the cutest and most charming chickies in the galaxy) broke barriers with my kitchen intimidation.

In the class I attended, we learned how to make pesto pasta, bruschetta and biscotti, and get this… it was easy (and wicked delicious)!

If you’re not in the LA-area and can’t attend a class, it’s all gravy baby. May I suggest subscribing to their website, where you can have unlimited access to fun, easy and delicious vegan cooking classes anytime (makes a great gift, too).

Looking to make diet changes or eager to learn recipes for the holidays or everyday good eats? You’re in luck!  If you haven’t checked out Spork Online yet, get your cutie patootie booties on over there now (the first 200 members get a free gift box—check out their site for more details).

You’re welcome. xx