There Is No Such Thing As Too Much Terri

I know; we've discussed this before.  But, it never gets old!

OD has been making more trips than normal to his dentist of late, so it's been pretty much a windfall of Terri riches at my house.

On the day of the mid-January snowstorm it took me 3 times as long as usual to get home...

But, I arrived to a whole Terri feast!

Of course, my favorite chickpea tuna melt: "chickpea salad, Daiya cheddar, tomato, red onion, veganaise" with potato salad.

These sandwiches are so great that I rarely bother making my own chickpea salad anymore.  And, the Terri version is always assembled strategically so that each bite has a little bit of everything:

Truth be told, though: after 3 hours in the car I actually started here: with a Butterfinger shake and a chocolate chip cookie.  Judge not!
 

He had to go back to the dentist soon after (I swear I'm not behind it), so I excitedly requested placed an order for breakfast sandwiches: bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches with hollandaise sauce on an English muffin, to be exact.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize that these were only served (daily) until 11am* and- after spending hours in the chair he didn't make it.  Damn!!!

Luckily, Jennifer Jessica was kind enough to sub the normal "sausage" for bacon in their served-all-day breakfast scramble wrap of scrambled tofu, Italian "sausage" bacon, spinach, Daiya cheddar, hot sauce for me.

I'm not generally a fan of wraps, but I was impressed by this one- which was huge and packed tight with deliciousness.  I think I mainly don't like wraps when that's all I'm tasting, and that definitely was not the case here.

 

I actually ate my second one (no sense in him carrying only one home) for dinner a few nights later because it was way too big for a weekday breakfast.  I see now that there's a reason this is a lunch offering.

Thanks for the message, Jennifer Jessica!  And for customizing my sammie.

He'll be back before you know it, Terri...

*make a note!

Surf Sweets' Valentine Fruity Hearts and TruJoy Sweets' Organic Fruit Chews

It's been a bit of an odd start to February in the northeast: first, two days of mild weather; now, snow that doesn't look to be letting up any time soon.  But, no matter what's going on outside, it's candy month for sure.

I was contacted on behalf of Surf Sweets, who you may already be familiar with as a company that makes vegan gummy/jelly candies (as well as non-vegan options), with an invitation to review their organic, vegan fruity hearts.

"Surf Sweets is the country’s leading brand of fruitfully delicious, naturally good gummy candies and jelly beans made with organic and natural ingredients and without any artificial colors and flavors. Surf Sweets is also a proud member of 1% for the planet.  As a member, they donate a minimum of 1% of the sales from products to a number of environmental organizations. Surf Sweets currently offers a variety of mouth-watering candies: Fruity Bears, Gummy Swirls, Sour Berry Bears, Sour Worms, Fruity Hearts, Gummy Bears, Watermelon and Peach Rings, and Jelly Beans, that are available across North America.  Visit www.surfweets.com" 

As someone who has quite a love affair with red candies, I was anxious to give these a whirl.

"Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be the same without sharing a sweet indulgence, but that doesn’t mean they have to be treats full of artificial ingredients. Red-dyed and artificial flavor filled candies have been the conventional Valentine’s Day treats for years. Now, leading brand of naturally good gummy candies made with organic and natural ingredients, Surf Sweets, offers healthier and delicious candy swaps to spread sweet love. As consumers are becoming more aware of what goes into their food, they’re looking for healthier choices that still taste great – and have the same holiday spirit as the conventional option. Surf Sweets Fruity Hearts are certified organic watermelon and cherry heart-shaped gummies, and one of the only, all natural, vegan, and organic Valentine’s Day candy options available."

I noticed immediately that there seemed to be two flavors, as some of the hearts were pink and some a slightly deeper red.  While I couldn't discern anything specific from either beside divine, candy loveliness, I remembered that the flavors are actually watermelon and cherry…and phenomenal.  [UPDATE 2/7/14: I've bought more and can definitely taste the difference between the flavors.  I think I like the cherry better; I assume it's the redder heart.]

From the first bite I was hooked on these, so I brought them to VM to gobble as well.  She was a huge fan of gummies and jellies before we knew what gelatin was and how unethical and purely disgusting it is.  Since these are extraordinarily delicious as well as completely vegan, we scarfed them up with abandon!

In fact, everyone was vying for these candies: including 89.

not intended for dogs!

I've already been raving about them to whoever will listen, and a friend was able to pick up a bag at his local Whole Foods this weekend.  I advise you to hurry; I don't expect them to be available long once people realize how yummy they are.  Because they're as adorable as they are delicious, I had the highest hopes to make something festive with them as decoration.  Unfortunately, they all wound up in my piehole long before that was possible.  For more reasons than one, I need more stat.

In case you're wondering (and so you don't make a mistake), this vegan info is from their FAQs page:

"Are your products Vegan?
Seven of our products are Vegan (Fruity Bears, Gummy Swirls, Sour Berry Bears, Sour Worms, Fruity Hearts, Peach Rings and Watermelon Rings )."

Since their vegan products are so spectacular, I don't know why Surf Sweets still makes non-vegan items.  It would be just grand in my book if they'd ditch the pork gelatin in their other products and go completely vegan.  Just a delicious and compassionate thought!

In addition to the outstanding fruity hearts, I also received a bag of organic fruit chews from TruJoy Sweets to try.

They look kind of familiar, don't they?

FYI:

I was never a huge fan of these types of candies that require considerable chewing effort, but they looked relatively appealing.

To my surprise, the orange was my favorite- followed by the cherry.  I didn't care for the strawberry and VM stole all the lemons.

TruJoy currently has a product line of two items and they are both vegan.  These aren't necessarily my cup of tea, but if this type of candy appeals to you I bet you'd really enjoy them.

Bottom line, choose your favorite or try both; 'tis the season after all!

It's definitely not too early to think about Valentine's candy.  After all, Easter won't be far behind.