Pre-Coachella Kale

The Chefs: Hilary and Herbivore

The Menu: Knock, knock! Who's there? Kale! Kale who? Kale with soy chicken, cherry tomatoes, carrots, avocado, and onions! (I'm looking for new and inventive ways to describe the contents of this kale salad.) 

The Goods: It's an action-packed week, so I'm packing my brain with superfoods in preparation. In addition to our super-awesome Twitter chat this Wednesday with vegan parents (including one of my favorite interview subjects ever, Mayim Bialik), I will be heading to weekend two of Coachella in a mere 72 hours. At the top of my to-see list: vegan freak-folk maestro Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, who apparently stole the show last weekend and who is one of my perennial musical idols. Looking for your next travel adventure? Check out the 5 Vegan-Friendly Towns on our Radar, all of which offer as many plentiful plant-based eats as they do enthralling activities. 

Salsa Master's Delight

The Chefs: Hilary and Papalote Mexican Grill

The Menu: A ridiculously tasty burrito stuffed with black beans, rice, guacamole, potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms, and generously doused in Papalote's unbeatable salsa. 

The Dish: Thursday is the new Friday. Online Editor Anna Peraino is abuzz with her imminent departure to Coachella Music Festival (which I will follow her to, but next weekend) and we're hungover from our sugar-heavy ice-cream bar taste test from yesterday afternoon. (Keep an eye on our Instagram account for potential sneak peeks from Coachella!) Plus, it's burrito day! Papalote is one of our go-to taquerias, but for info on where to find the best vegan Mexican fare in your hometown, try Yelp's new veg-friendly filters. Also, Friday is not the new Saturday, so we'll see you next Friday, aka tomorrow. 

Fresh and Fresher

The Chefs: Hilary and Valencia Whole Foods

The Menu: Nourishing, veggie-packed spring rolls with goddess dressing, and a side salad of mixed greens, tofu, and white beans.  

The Goods: Yesterday's meatball-phoria could not be topped, no matter what I set my sights on for lunch today. Destined for a downgrade, I decided upon good old veggie rolls and salad, mainstays that never leave me feeling groggily overstuffed. Besides, should I require a late-afternoon snack, our fridge is still packed with the spoils of Expo West, including some of our Best Of Show picks. I can't wait to nosh on Hodo Soy's Egg-less Egg Salad for lunches to come! 

No-Oil Hummus Wrap and Mushroom Barley Soup

The Chefs: Hilary and Whole Foods Market

The Menu: A no-oil hummus wrap filled with carrots, tomato, lettuce, and avocado, and a comforting bowl of mushroom-barley soup. 

The Goods: While I've oft heard healthy-eating buffs such as the Esselstyns extol the virtues of a no-oil diet, I never had the incentive to give it a shot for myself (I've noticed that things that are bad for you taste good! Weird!). But, whilst idly shopping at Whole Foods today, I saw that they had prepackaged wraps of the oil-free persuasion and decided to go for it—but paired with a rich soup just in case. It tasted like health, which I suppose is a good thing. I'll be ditching the coat in favor of cutoffs next month for Coachella Music Festival (as will Online Editor Anna Peraino) and I can't wait to swelter in the desert heat. Will you also be in attendance? Check out our guide to a Weekend Getaway to Palm Springs for the scoop on the best food and fun under the Mojave sun. 

Kimchi Quesadilla and Kale Salad

The Chefs: Hilary and Associate Editor Jennifer Chen

The Menu: Quesadillas made with Galaxy Foods Vegan Mexican-Style Shreds and Wildbrine's miso-horseradish kimchi and fresh organic kale with lemon, olive oil, avocado, and dill-garlic sauerkraut. 

The Goods: Having just completed our May+June cover, the VN staff almost remembers what it feels like to be sane. Between the eatstravaganza of Expo West and the hubbub of wrapping up our late-spring issue, I had almost forgotten the joy of making one's own lunch instead of scarfing whatever was fast, pre-made, and readily available. Associate Editor Jennifer Chen and I got wild by whipping up the above creations with awesome fermented products from Wildbrine, one of our 2012 Best of Show Winners. And now that some of the stress has melted away, I look forward to celebrating at a vegan-friendly bar—happy hour is just around the corner. 

Daily Kale-y

The Chefs: Hilary and Herbivore

The Menu: Crunchy, nutritious kale mixed with savory chunks of soy chicken, avocado, and lemon olive-oil dressing. 

The Goods: It's our first day back at the office from the glorious insanity of Expo West and in spite of the plethora of goodies that we got to bring back to the office, I had to pay a visit to my much-missed old friend kale salad. It was a long and awesome weekend of strenuous (awesome) judging of the best new vegan products, and we've rounded up the 12 best and crowned them our 2012 Best of Show Winners. Be sure to check out our Instagram account for the full visual rundown of all the sights and sounds of this year's action-packed event, from the most mouthwatering foods to the staff hijinx. 

QuesaDANG TASTY

The Chefs: Hilary and Herbivore

The Menu: A melty-hot whole-wheat quesadilla stuffed with cheese, tomatoes, and onions, and laden with pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole. 

The Goods: Our pals over at Herbivore just unveiled a newly revamped menu that includes gems such as the above, a toasty creation of Daiya-oozy goodness. Associate Editor Jennifer Chen and I basked on the deck in the ridiculously warm weather (I'm talking  in the 80s, people!) and pretending that we were on a Mexican vacay, especially since Publishers Joseph Connelly and Colleen Holland are undoubtedly enchanted on the VegNews Great Adventure to India as we speak. No worries, though—we'll be getting wild in their absence at SF Vegan Drinks tomorrow night! I am going to be getting so down with some beer-battered fried pickles, not to mention the libations. Party on, Wayne! (Party on, Garth.)  

KALE 4EVER

The Chefs: Hilary and Herbivore

The Menu: Herbivore's raw kale salad with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, onion, carrots, and soy chicken.

The Goods: Our old mainstay Herbivore has just rejuvenated its extensive menu with tons of new fodder, but my at-least-weekly dates with my beloved kale salad will never cease. On my to-do list for future visits, however: the quesadillas, grilled "beef" and tahini vegetable salad, and coconut ramen noodle soup. This weekend, I got to indulge my foodie-ism in Brooklyn with treats such as the lemon-lavender doughnut from Dun-Well Doughnuts and spicy Cubano sandwich from Champs, so although it may appear that I munch on a lot of leafy greens, trust me—I know how to self-indulge, good and proper. 

Quinoa Salad

The Chefs: Hilary and Herbivore

The Menu: Herbivore's quinoa salad with onions, kidney beans, spinach, tomatoes, celery, avocado, and soy chicken. 

The Goods: It's Twitter Chat Tuesday! In addition to the exciting Twitter chat that we have later today about healthy eating, we spent a big ol' chunk of our morning figuring out the most compelling topics and guests to grace our chats later in 2012. After all of that talk about healthy eating, quinoa seemed like a good base for today's lunch. If you're less of a health nut and more of a shopping guru, be sure to check out our giveaway (!) of a gorgeous faux-leather handbag from Matt + Nat's spring 2012 collection—Associate Editor Jennifer Chen and I splurged on bags from this cruelty-free brand last year, and we've never looked back. 

Friday Staff Potluck (s'mores!)

The Chefs: Colleen & The VegNews Staff!

The Menu: Vegan mac 'n' cheese, kale and fennel salad with a poppyseed vinaigrette, biscuits, white chocolate chip cookies, s'mores, and satsuma oranges

The Goods: It's Friday, we've gone to press, Vegan Drinks kicked off for 2012 last night at a fab new location, and it's gorgeous outside. Time for a VegNews staff potluck!  It all started when Associate Editor Jennifer noticed that a box of dark chocolate bars had arrived to the VNHQ, and immediately thought "s'mores." S'mores then turned into s'mores plus one of Jenn's new favorite mac 'n' cheese recipes, and before we knew it, several staffers were on board to bring in food for lunch today. Voila! A full-fledged staff potluck. And since it's 70 degrees in San Francisco today, we enjoyed our meal al fresco on our sunny rooftop deck. Have a great weekend, everyone!

We pulled together a quick batch of s'mores using MI-DEL Ginger Snaps, Dandies air-puffed marshmallows, and Nibmor 72% dark chocolate.

Celebratory Pizza Party

The Chefs: Hilary and Patxi's 

The Menu: Two fat slices of vegan deep-dish pizza stuffed with vegan cheese, spinach, and onions, and topped with zesty red sauce and garlic. 

The Goods: Today is the best! After a rousing design meeting of putting the finishing touches on our March+April issue—including our amazing cover idea—I scored tickets to Coachella Music Festival after hovering in an online queue for upwards of an hour. Might I mention that this year's lineup is loaded with vegan artists, including Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Jeff Mangum (formerly of Neutral Milk Hotel), Cedric Bixler of At the Drive-In, and Dennis Lyxzen of Refused. If you're as stoked as I am, check out Global Animal's post about veg-friendly Coachella. Celebration was in order, so we decided to indulge in some insanely good vegan deep-dish pizza. If the meat-lovers in our lives could taste a slice of this stuff, we're pretty sure they're convert on the spot. Want to help a loved one check out the vegan life? Check out the VegNews Vegan Starter Kit for the five easy steps to cruelty-free splendor. 

Super-Topped Baked Potato

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: A baked potato loaded up with freshly made guacamole, chopped tomatoes and red onions, and a dollop of Vegenaise—plus an organic salad with carrots and olives

The Goods: Another lunch, another baked potato. I'm on a roll! I just can't resist the allure of a topping-loaded potato at lunch, and it's a super simple meal to make at the office. At 11:30am, I pop in a potato into our convection oven, and at 12:30, it's done! I then just add a few toppings, whip together a salad, and I have a homemade, healthy lunch in no time flat. Although we have a bevy of restaurants to choose from here in San Francisco's Mission district, I like to keep it simple during lunch and save restaurant outings for special occasions. Speaking of San Francisco, have you seen Editorial Assistant Hilary Pollack's list of the 20 best vegan dishes to try near the VNHQ? It's amazing, and has us clamoring to try every single one. Hilary has, and this girl knows what she's talking about. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

"Krazy" for Kale

The Chefs: Hilary and Herbivore

The Menu: A ginormous kale salad loaded with herb-crusted soy chicken, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, and onions, and a sprinkle of pink Himalayan sea salt and freshly ground pepper. 

The Goods: This is my third kale salad from Herbivore this week, and I'm not sorry. I'm on a pretend health kick wherein I eat kale salad for lunch almost every day and use the notion of its nutritional benefits as an excuse to eat limitless chocolate for breakfast/dessert/a snack. That makes sense, right? While my New Year's resolution to cut back on sweets (as seen in the January+February issue masthead) has been progressing questionably, those who resolved to ditch meat and dairy in 2012 will get tips and support from the VegNews Vegan Starter Kit, free to download now! In the meantime, I'll be at my desk, trying as hard as possible not to get thirds of the vegan Snow Balls from Source that Editor-at-Large Laura Beck brought to the office today. Resistance is futile.

Cheese-Topped Baked Potato & Salad

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: Baked potato with avocado, WayFare cheddar cheese, and WayFare sour cream—plus an organic salad with Romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, olives, and yellow pepper

The Goods: After a week off to celebrate the holidays with our families, we're back at the VNHQ! We hope everyone had a wonderful week, and our team is so excited for 2012 (just wait to see what we have in store for you!). And after a month of what seemed like endless amounts of chocolate and cookies, I am craving healthy lunches—like this baked potato and salad. It's simple, but it's my go-to staple when I want something filling and delicious. Just starting out on the veg path? Don't miss our Go Veg Guide from our team of editors. It's fun and packed with everything you need to lead an amazing veg life. Happy New Year!

Roasted Vegetable Tamales & Black Beans

The Chefs: Colleen and Hella Vegan Eats

The Menu: Roasted vegetable tamales with a verde salsa, black beans with vegan sour cream, and an organic salad with lettuce, carrots, olives, and cucumber

The Goods: A few weeks ago, I went to a holiday party which had the most amazing vegan spread. An array of dips and appetizers, vegan tamales with 10 different fillings, and a beverage bar that only vegans could appreciate (think hot rum-spiked soy nog with all-you-can-top vegan whipped cream). It was a good night, let's just say that. And what made it even better was that the fabulous hostess (VN Editor-at-Large Laura Beck) sent me home with a bag of Hella Vegan Eats' tamales. Today, I steamed up a batch for myself and a few of my colleagues and served them with a spicy tomatillo-avocado salsa. Delicious! This savory meal provided a nice antidote to all the sweets we've been inhaling this month. There's been chocolate, cupcakes, peppermint bark, truffles, soy nog, soy nog cheesecake, cookies, bars, and the lists goes on. Here's to a happy, healthy New Year!

Kale Can't Fail

The Chef: Hilary and Herbivore

The Dish: A generously sized kale salad with cucumbers, carrots, onions, tomatoes, avocado, and soy chicken. 

The Goods:  After a week (and weekend) of holiday indulgence, a kale salad with hearty soy chicken and buttery avocado was the perfect Monday-lunch antidote. Even better, after a rousing game of Bananagrams, we got to review the amazing recipes submitted by readers for the VegNews Holiday Cookie Contest. I wish that I could offer a sneak peek, but the deliberation was top secret. Keep a close eye on VegNews.com early next week for the results of our difficult (and delicious) decision-making process! 

Baked Potato with Vegan Cheddar & Guacamole

The Chef: Colleen

The Dish: Baked Russet potato topped with WayFare Hickory Cheddar cheese, homemade guacamole, and sliced scallions—plus organic greens and cherry tomatoes tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sea salt

The Goods: After a week of mind-blowing food on the VegNews Vegan Yoga Retreat to Mexico (seriously, it was amazing), I focused on really simple lunches this week. This meant lots of salads, rice bowls, and, today, a baked potato with a few key toppings. And since the WayFare fairies dropped by our offices on Wednesday with a cooler full of vegan cheese, pudding, and sour cream, a smear of the cheddar spread made the perfect condiment to my Friday meal. It was delish! But I am already fantasizing about the 10 recipes we'll be testing next week for the first annual VegNews Holiday Cookie Contest. It's going to get crazy here at the VNHQ, I can promise you that. Still haven't entered your favorite cookie? The deadline is tomorrow at 5pm PT, so enter as many recipes as you'd like for a chance to win a KitchenAid mixer, a cupcake kit, and two dozen cookies from Allison's Gourmet. In other great news, we just announced our Holiday Gift Subscription Sale, where subs are now just $15. Stock up while it lasts!

A close-up of my baked potato with WayFare Hickory Cheddar cheese, guacamole, and fresh veggies

Cozy Cheesy Farfalle and An Apple a Day

The Chef: Hilary

The Dish: Bow-tie pasta smothered in mozzarella Daiya and marinara sauce with shallots, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes, plus a delightfully crunchy and sweet Honeycrisp apple. 

The Goods: With temperatures dropping, I find my urge growing to crawl into a cave with a barrel of hot cocoa and knitted things to hide for the remainder of winter. Due to various social obligations and physical logistics, my dream scenario is unfortunately not feasible. However, I find that a hearty, Daiya-laden pasta dish here and there provides a sufficient dose of cozy to help me beat the winter blues. Now all I need is the aroma of fresh-baked cookies from the VegNews Holiday Cookbook to keep me feeling toasty. Submit your best cookie recipe to the VegNews Holiday Cookie Contest today! The deadline is Friday for showing us how brightly your baking skills shine. 

Couscous Mania

The Chef: Hilary

The Menu: My favorite couscous with mushrooms, broccoli, baked tofu, carrots, rosemary, and thyme. 

The Goods: Things are a little quiet in at the VegNews HQ with Managing Editor Elizabeth Castoria and Associate Publisher Colleen Holland on the VegNews Vegan Yoga Retreat in sunny Mexico, but the rest of the staff is keeping it cool between yesterday's Thanksgiving—Round 2 and a taste-test of Genuto vegan gelato. I made my favorite couscous to nosh away the early winter blues, since we're too busy for a hot-toddy break. Gear up for the holidays by entering your favorite recipe in the VN Holiday Cookie Contest. Peppermint-stick sugar cookies? Butterscotch gingerbread bars? The sky's the limit! We can't wait to read—and eat—what you come up with. 

VegNews Thanksgiving Feast 2011!

The Chefs: Hilary, Colleen, Jen, Elizabeth, Lyndsay, and Native Foods

The Menu: A feast fit for a voraciously hungry staff: a vegan Wellington and mushroom gravy from Native Foods, Elizabeth's mashed potatoes, Colleen's brussels sprouts and signature winter salad, Lyndsay's biscuits, nog, cider, and three kinds of pie from Sidesaddle Kitchen!

The Goods: It's not easy to write this right now. My intelligence has plummeted since lunch due to a rush of blood to my digestive system. The VegNews Thanksgiving feast was truly scrumptious this year, tickling my tastebuds with every seasonal flavor imaginable and subsequently rendering me immobile. Our talented staff pulled together an array of amazing holiday dishes—from Colleen's winter salad with spiced pecans, sliced apples, and tangy dressing to Lyndsay's perfectly flaky, buttery biscuits. Behold the spread.

And why didn't anybody ever tell me that the Native Foods vegan Wellington is life-changing? Oh wait, they did, and they were right. Come Thursday, I'm going to be consulting the VegNews Holiday Cookbook to dazzle anyone (mostly myself) with all of the mouthwatering Thanksgiving recipes contained therein. Pumpkin Cake with Vanilla Buttercream and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes are just the beginning. Think your recipes will impress us? Enter the first-ever VegNews Holiday Cookie Contest now!