If you are in the New York City area this weekend, be sure to check out the Seed Expo.  I’ll be speaking!

The Seed is a huge vegan event being held from May 18th and 19th here in NYC at 82 Mercer. There will be lots of delicious vegan food, products, services, world-renowned speakers, films, and more. Best part about the Seed is it’s designed around a more “veg-curious” crowd, meaning if you are not currently vegan but are interested in the lifestyle, it’s a great place to come on out and see what it’s all about.

To my surprise, the organizers of the event have invited me to be a featured speaker! I’m on at 4:15 on Saturday, and will be talking about how to successfully transition to a cruelty-free wardrobe.

Will you be attending the Seed? If so I’d love to meet you so let me know!

When Corrie asked me to be a guest blogger, I knew exactly what I wanted to share with you all, a review of my 3-month Vegan Cuts Snack Box subscription! For those of you who don’t know, VeganCuts started a movement a little while ago where they ship a monthly box filled with great snacks and coupons.

Let’s start, shall we?

February:

I started my subscription in February. After hearing a few reviews from the January snack box I knew it was time for me to give in. Now, this review is my personal opinion and taste. Let’s keep this in mind Alright, back to business, we are. This box was my least favorite of them all.

My First VeganCuts’s Snack Box!

VeganCuts’s Snack Box Of February!

A few of my favorite items in this box were Simply 7 Pomegranate Chips, Dang Coconut Chips, and Surf Sweets Fruity Hearts! This box was sweet and love filled. The Dang Coconut Chips were amazing. I decided to take this box to work and have at it then. I loved them the most. I took the Pure Fit Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip bar with me to a wedding as my “survival snack” just in case this herbivore didn’t find anything to bite on. It was enjoyable and a good call! Along with these came one of The Merry Hempsters’s Organic Lip Balm, Righteously Raw Divine Mint Chocolate Square and more sweets. The coconut chips and pomegranate chips kept me in good spirit from this box.

I give this box a 5.

March:

The month of March was an exciting one! Between my 25th birthday, trip to California and endless work hours, a box in the mail was the perfect wind down! My snack box for the month of March came in right after I came back from LA and I couldn’t wait to see what was in store.

VeganCuts’s March Snack Box!!!

Barre Snack Bar, Nyl Body Lotion and Caramel Pops!

The Vegg, Earth Balance, VBar, Falafel Chips, Nyl Body lotion!

WOW! What A Haul!

Okay, this box was the complete “redeemer”, if you know what I mean! I was SO happy when I opened it. The first thing that caught my eyes and stomach was the Earth Balance Vegan White Aged Cheddar Puffs. I have been hearing about them for a while and I was super excited to finally have a bite at it. Delicious! They taste exactly like the regular puffs but of course MUCH better! Next up, CocomoCorn Caramel Pops, my mum fell in love with them and may have taken the bag from me. That’s a good review, right? I had no idea there was such thing as falafel chips so this was a total surprise for me. I wasn’t too crazy about them. Perhaps it was because I am not too crazy for falafel? Now, the best part of this box was the Sunflower/Cranberry Vbar!

Cranberry/Sunflower Vbar from Benefit Foods.

Vbar Sunflower/Cranberry From Benefits Foods!

It was the best bar I have ever had in my life. The savory Sunflower Nut Butter is what held this snack bar together. I love cranberries so this was another win. The brown rice cereal gave this Vbar a crispy touch and pleasant joy. I loved this Vbar and I can’t wait until I can find it in stores. If you find the chance to try this bar, go at it! You won’t be disappointed! The Equal Exchange Dark Mini Chocolate has been by far my favorite chocolate bar to taste. It was smooth and rich and not too dense. I was expecting a robust taste like other dark chocolate bars but not this one! Overall this box was exciting, I got to taste some awesome new products on the market and fell in love with chocolate.

I give this box a 7.

April:

And this was the month is the end of so ends my snack box subscription. I have had a lot of fun with this subscription. And I hate to see it go. I am thinking about renewing for another 3-month but I guess I will see what the May box holds.. I may have gone for another, hehe.

April’s Vegan Snack Box From Vegan Cuts!

Favourite Box This Month!

Cheeze Me, Please!

The ultimate win of the month! I was very happy, excited and ready to dig into this box. Some of the products sent I already had a taste at. One of my favorite products from this box was the Hazelnut Caffeine-Free Herbal Coffee from Teecciano. Wow! I never thought I’d see the day.

Hazelnut Flavoured Herbal Coffee From Teecciano!

Everyone knows I love coffee! I can’t help it; it is one of the things signed under my name. This herbal coffee was delicious. I was impressed. I didn’t think I would have enjoyed it. The hazelnut flavor was sweet and just right. I must admit, I was little skeptical after reading the ingredient list to find “dates” which I am not too much of a fan of but I couldn’t taste it one bit. Fantastic!

New Products, Yes Please!

I am currently using Meow Meow Tweet Cocoa Lip Balm and I like it a lot, minimal ingredients [candelilla wax, *cocoa butter, *hempseed oil, and *virgin coconut oil (*certified organic)] and the ultimate moisture. I have yet to try Milas’s Roasted Peppers & Artichoke Bruschetta but I can already tell I will enjoy it. Overall, this box was great and I loved it. It was a nice one to end this snack box relationship. Included was one of Teese’s Mozzarella Vegan Cheese was the cherry on the top. Of course I made pizza right away!

I give this box a 9.

Final Verdict:

Vegan Cuts’s Snack Box is a must try! You are guaranteed to find new products and tons of coupons. If you’re not ready to plunge into a 3-month subscription no problem, you can try it for a month for $19.95 shipping included. You can’t say no to that. Each box is filled with great sized-snacks and products to love, forever. Can’t find the products in your local store? Don’t fret, Vegan Cuts also provides a section with a product list of the month www.vegancuts.com/big!

Note: Caring is sharing! This is my personal review and honest opinion, eh! Unless otherwise stated, everything I review has been purchased by me and at my own risk! -TPL

NOW on to the fun stuff, a giveaway! Yes, a giveaway One lucky winner will get the chance to experience their very own VeganCuts’s Monthly Snack Box! This box will be given by me, Holly of Traveling Pink Lips and will be for the month of June. And also open to both Canada & US!

TPL & Brooklyn Bliss Giveaway!!!

1. Like Brooklyn Bliss on Facebook/ Facebook.com/BKBliss
2. Follow @Veganadian on Twitter and Tweet about the giveaway!
3. Leave a comment below and share with us which one of these boxes would have made it on your favorite list and why.

This giveaway is open until May 24th, 11:59pm EST. Open to both Canada & US!

I’d like to thank, Corrie for having me on Brooklyn Bliss and I look forward to read all of your entries

You can find more of me on www.travelingpinklips.com where I share restaurant reviews, product reviews and personal rant. It is lovely do stop by!

-TravelingPinkLips

This Brooklyn girl is currently en route to San Antonio for a big convention for work.  Wish me luck!  Last time I went to San Antonio on a work trip I broke my foot doing karaoke.  I think I’m the only person on this planet capable of doing that.  Luckily I’m now banned from doing karaoke at work events, so I think I’ll return the end of this week in one piece.

In the meantime, this entire week will not be quiet on Brooklyn Bliss.  I have a few surprise guest posters lined up, as well as a giveaway!  So stay tuned and I’ll be back the end of this week.

Last Friday, Jim and I took our friends Gina and Mark to MOMA and then headed slightly cross-town to Times Square.  The street artist JR currently has the Inside Out Project set up there and we wanted to check it out and hopefully get to participate.

JR is best known for his portraits, so as part of this project he’s taking portraits of New Yorkers throughout the 5 boroughs and installing them in areas around the city.  To make the process crazy efficient, they have a fully outfitted photography studio truck, so they’ve been moving the truck from neighborhood to neighborhood.  If you visit their Facebook Page, the portraits done around the Rockaways and other Sandy stricken areas are so powerful it makes me well up.  I highly recommend checking it out.

We had heard the photo truck was in Times Square so we took a quick walk over to see if we could participate.  Sadly, they weren’t there due to a 10k race being set up for the weekend.  But we still had a great time enjoying the incredible weather and checking out all the portraits pasted to the sidewalks.

Gina and I also wanted to take the opportunity to take our own portraits amongst the portraits.  How meta, right?

The Inside Out Project is supposed to be in Times Square through May 10th. Jim and I are still hoping to make it there one day after work to get ours done. If you participate you have the option to either have it pasted at the site, or to take it home with you. We’d love to have the portraits for our apartment, so fingers crossed we’ll be able to make it happen!

Here’s some of my favorites I managed to snap on my iPhone and post to Instagram as we were out in about.

We enjoyed coffee from Caffe Capri EVERY morning.  They seriously have the BEST coffee in Brooklyn // Stopped for brunch at Champs Diner

We did some serious art gawking, especially at MOMA // Spotted this book at Poseman’s Books in the Chelsea Market and am convinced I need a vegan version of this Mondrian inspired cake for my upcoming birthday this July

Enjoyed beyond fantastic weather this entire weekend, especially during our visit to the High Line, where I spotted this fantastic mural // There were some new installations along the park that weren’t there during my last visit.  This one in particular was stunning, the mirrored glass made the side of the building blend into the sky

Are you on Instagram?  Hit me up!  My Instagram handle is @BrooklynBliss.

After the insane work week I’ve had, I’m super stoked to have a three day weekend effective immediately. One of my best friends from college is passing through NYC with her boyfriend, so Jim and I get to play host and show them around our amazing city.

So far we’re keeping our plans pretty casual, but know for sure we’ll being doing a museum hop and shopping. Based on the forecast, we should have perfect weather.

Have a great weekend!

The one thing that I didn’t like about having bright red hair is that it clashed horribly with neon. Last summer I went on a huge neon kick and picked up tons of pieces in highlighter yellow.  I absolutely love it!  But alas, I couldn’t have both the awesome red hair and the neon with it, so I’ve gone months without wearing one of my favorite colors.

Now that my hair is back to my natural color, that means I can wear it again.  Oh neon, I’ve missed you!

On a totally unrelated note, this entire week I’ve had to wear flats and I’m so not used to it.  I had broken my foot a few years ago and noticed this week after an intense Crossfit session it was starting to bother me in the same exact place.  For fear I may have re-fractured it, I figured it best I stay off of it and stick to flats for the next week or so to allow it to get back to normal.  I miss my heels though!

Is there a color you love that you feel forced to stay away from?

STELLA MCCARTNEY // Iridescent Sequined Top$877.48

BCBGENERATION // Rockie Dress Sandals $89.00

STELLA MCCARTNEY // Mirror Prism Pump $760

STELLA MCCARTNEY // Faux-Snake Flat Ankle-Wrap Sandal $445

So it’s warm enough nowadays for dresses but not for sandals just yet.  I couldn’t wait to wear this new graphic, black and white tie dye dress I recently picked up at H&M so I threw on some moto style boots and I was ready to go. I have a feeling this outfit will be a uniform for me the next coming weekends.  I LOVE the entire look.

I really like wearing maxi dresses on weekends.  They’re super comfortable and all you have to do is throw it on over your head and you are dressed and presentable for the day with minimal effort.

Notice a trend here on Brooklyn Bliss?  I don’t like having to think or put a lot of effort into much of anything.  Everything’s got to be easy.  That and comfortable.  I might seem pretty put together but truth is I’m just on auto-pilot and have found systems over the years that work well for me.  In all honesty I’m probably one of the laziest people on the planet.  Truth.

Now that it’s spring, what’s been your weekend uniform?

For the past several months since I’ve gone grain-free, I’ve been on the search for really quick, easy to make “lazy day” meals that will keep me satisfied without hitting up Seamless for takeout.  These types of recipes are especially important for me when my work schedule gets insane and my days really long.

While perusing Pinterest one day I came across this recipe on the Kitchn and have been hooked making variations of it ever since.  The formula is pretty simple.  Take a baked sweet potato, and stuff it with a tasty combination of beans and greens. Depending on how you cook the potato, it can be ready to eat in 10 minutes start to finish.

If I have some extra time, I’ll actually roast the sweet potato in the oven (which takes an hour).  Otherwise, if I’m being super lazy it just goes in my microwave on the baked potato setting.  The beans and greens get sautéed in a pan with olive oil, garlic, and maybe some onions or shallots while the potato cooks.  They also can be mixed and matched depending on what you are in the mood for.

Here’s some examples of the different variations I’ve made:

The Original

(i.e. the Kitchn version)- Sweet potato, kale, white beans.

The Mexican

Sweet potato, spinach, black beans and top with salsa and avocado.

The Italian

Sweet potato, broccoli rabe, chickpeas and a squeeze of lemon juice. (shown above, this one was AMAZING)

The Clean-Out-the Fridge

Sweet potato, whatever greens are in my fridge, whatever beans are in my cabinet.  It can also include other “leftovers” from that week.  One particularly good version included some leftover lentil salad I had made for the bean component.

The possibilities are pretty endless.  Plus it’s pretty damn tasty.

What’s your favorite “lazy day” recipe?