It’s that time of year to get in your last minute holiday shopping. As both vegan and gluten free lifestyles are growing in popularity, and necessity, so are new products that appeal to both worlds. Vegan and gluten free sweets and treats are now increasing in popularity and make an excellent stocking stuffer.

Looking for a Christmas gift for that tough-to-shop-for vegan? Vegan chef and YouTube show host Vegan Zombie has teamed up with Conscious Box to create the Vegan Conscious Box for conscious consumers.

All any even slightly health-conscious eater need do to decide if they want to support a GMO (genetically modified organism) truth-in-labeling law such as California’s Prop 37 is to look at the major donors to both sides of the campaign. For example, the major donors for and against California’s Prop 37 GMO truth-in-labeling initiative include…

Do you know what a flax egg is? Us either, until recently. After learning what it it is, it seems like something we should have known about this whole time! When we searched “flax egg,” there were tons of recipes using the vegan and gluten free egg alternative! “What is a flax egg,” you ask? Well it is a vegan binder used in the same way that an egg is used. It can be used in breads, crusts, heavier doughs and other foods where eggs are needed to bind.

Beef Products Inc. (BPI), makers of lean finely textured beef product (LFTB) that has been dubbed “pink slime,” has slapped ABC News and three of its reporters with a $1.2 billion lawsuit. Many have seen the pictures of LFTB making their way around the Internet after it made headlines for being used in fast food restaurants and millions of school lunches, nationwide. BPI is claiming damages, including revenue and job losses, due to ABC’s coverage of LFTB.

Beyond Meat, the revolutionary vegan meat alternative, has announced that the Rocky Mountain region is the newest area to start offering Beyond Meat. Encompassing Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Kansas, the veggie world is abuzz, as vegetarians in those regions make a mad dash for their nearest Whole Foods store.

Today is Julia Child’s 100th birthday! Happy Birthday Julia! Today we are bringing you a vegan, gluten-free version of her famous split pea soup. It is going to be fall before we know it, so time to start gathering delicious recipes such as this one, to get us through the cool evenings. While Julia’s version of this soup contains ham, we are altering the recipe to instead have a dash of liquid smoke to offer a similar smokey taste for which ham is known, but without the actual pig.

One of the biggest obstacles that those who are vegan and gluten-free have to overcome is finding ingredients that are both. Flavor extracts often contain ingredients that are neither vegan (carmine from beetles) or gluten-free (wheat derivatives). This can be tough for those who love to bake, but who need to be sure that their ingredients are safe for them to eat.

We flipped when we saw this recipe for “Beetballs”; vegan, gluten-free sausage balls. This recipe comes courtesy of the Fat Free Vegan blog. With a dash of hot smoked paprika, cheesy-flavored nutritional yeast and liquid smoke, these delicious beetballs are perfect atop a plate of squash spaghetti with lovely marinara sauce.

One of the biggest reasons that we are vegan is out of concern for animals. While some are vegan by necessity, say because of allergies, the vast majority of vegans feel that animals should not suffer and die for food when there are plenty of other delicious, sustaining foods. Because animal welfare is a concern of vegans, we are particularly disheartened to hear about instances when animals suffer and die for other needless purposes such as entertainment and fashion.

The secret to making a perfect vegan hollandaise or aioli is this gluten-free vegan egg yolk substitute which you can easily make at home!

It seems like every time we turn around these days we are hearing another reason why our produce is compromised. From pesticides to genetically modified organisms (GMO), it seems that very little food is safe these days. Well thanks to the handy “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides”, created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), shoppers can now view a full line-up of which produce is the safest to eat, and which they need to make sure they are buying in organic form only.

We recently brought you a fantastic recipe for vegan, gluten-free feta, which is quick and easy to make! Well we’ve been playing around in the kitchen and took it one step further by slightly aging and pressing the tofu. While the quicker feta will always be our go-to in a pinch, this aged feta is so worth the wait and work! The key to making this feta is to press it for at least 5 days, wrapped in clean towels (we used paper towels, but you can certainly use a lint-free, clean kitchen towel), and changing out those towels daily.

We were very excited to be invited to the Boulder Native Foods Cafe Pre-Openinig Party! Well, maybe party isn’t the right word – but they are treating us to lunch, and we get to go this weekend! (they officially open next Tuesday, May 29th).

Today’s National Celiac Awareness Month recipe comes to you from Veg News magazine. Veg News magazine, for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, is a fantastic monthly magazine that is full of all things vegan and vegetarian. It has everything from recipes and product features, to spotlights on compassionate beauty products and articles all about well-known vegans and vegetarians. This month’s issue was devoted to amazing vegan Greek dishes and we were giddy to see a recipe for vegan, gluten-free herbed feta. This mock feta is made from extra-firm tofu and is seasoned with basil and oregano.

For vegan foodies who still love to play with the texture of alternative meats, Beyond Meat chicken alternative is the newest player in the alternative meat game, and they are promising to become a top contender. Creating a product that is both vegan and gluten-free, Beyond Meat claims that their fake chicken will blow the competition out of the water in both taste, and price.

This week is kid’s week, and while we are aiming to bring you delicious vegan and gluten-free recipes, we are not completely oblivious to the fact that, while many of you may wish you did, you don’t have a ton of time to cook up recipes from scratch AND be mommies and daddies. Between classes, after school lessons and play dates, there isn’t always a ton of time to channel your inner Food Network chef.

Do you love the color pink enough to consume bugs in order to have pink food or drinks? Well Starbucks, and many other food retailers, think the pink is important enough to sneak crushed-up beetles into your consumables for the purpose of, ironically, making them seem more appetizing. That’s right, if you are in love with any of Starbucks strawberry-based drinks, such as the Strawberries and Creme frappuccino and strawberry smoothie, as well as their popular Birthday Cake Pop, mini donuts with icing and Red Velvet Whoopee Pie, you have been consuming bugs.

We are so excited that Native Foods Cafe is coming to Boulder, Colorado soon! The all vegan fast food and vegan comfort food (including gluten-free vegan food!) is currently setting up shop in the location previously filled by Rumbi Grill, at 29th Street Mall next door to the Smiling Moose Cafe. Rumour has it that they will be open by May, and judging by the progress we see whenever we are in the area, we think that is probably right. The Native Foods Cafe Boulder menu is already up by the door, and it looks fantastic. They are set to become the first openly kid-friendly vegan restaurant in Boulder (with a separate child-friendly menu), and they even have separate gluten-free and soy-free menus! Here is a small taste (no pun intended!) of the Boulder Native Foods Cafe menu:

We were thrilled when our copy of Gluten-free Vegan Comfort Food by Susan O’Brien arrived! With well over 100 gluten free, vegan recipes for comfort foods, ranging from macaroni and cheese to chocolate cupcakes, we cannot wait to begin cooking our way through this book!