Here in Nashville, we can finally get the Go Max Go bars, which are amazing.  We have several places to buy Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss and Purely Decadent coconut milk ice cream and we have several options for vegan baked goods.

Vegan junk food lovers (and those of us who eat really healthily most of the time, but splurge every once in a while) in the Nashville area, rejoice again!

Word on the street is that Whole Foods in Nashville will start carrying Daiya vegan cheese soon, but in the meantime, Lazzaroli Pasta in the Germantown area has the Italian blend.  I just bought a pound the other day!  Lazzaroli’s will also make vegan pasta for you if you give them 24 hours notice.  I hear it’s awesome, and Tom told me yesterday he’s thinking of filling some ravioli with Daiya and other yummy vegan stuff.  Give him a call if you’re interested.  Sure sounds good to me!

I also have heard good things about the vegan donuts at Get Sconed in Murfreesboro.  I swear I’m going to get down there soon to try them, but I just haven’t been in the mood for all that sugar, flour and oil…  Still, I can’t help but feel like Middle Tennessee deserves a big pat on the back.  I tell people all the time that it’s not a bad place to be vegan, but hardly anyone seems to believe me.  Sure, it’s not California, but we’re making progress!

Now tell me again how I’m missing out on anything by being vegan?  Ok, convenience?  Yeah, sometimes.  But incredible, delicious food?  Nope.

My Daiya from Lazzaroli

It’s interesting to me how people think that the vegan lifestyle is one of major deprivation.  (Although there was definitely a time when I didn’t want to live in a world without dairy cheese or ice cream.)   What am I deprived of?  I honestly don’t miss dairy or meat. Not only am I glad every minute of every day that I don’t support cruelty and unnecessary death, I also no longer crave the animal products that made me me look and feel awful. When I stopped eating dairy, my acne, cramps, headaches and two sizes went away.  Eggs actually used to make me throw up.  Do I want to put those things in my body anymore?  Nope, especially when I live in a world that has Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss, Purely Decadent with Coconut Milk, Daiya Vegan Cheese, Dr. Cow Nut Cheeses and Teese!

I no longer crave animal flesh after 17 years as a vegetarian, but I do love Soysage, Tofurky slices and sausages for what they are.  If I wanted to experience the taste and texture of chickens, pigs and cows, I would eat Gardein, LightLife, Match Meats, etc.  I never cared for seafood, so I definitely don’t miss that.

Yes, sometimes I miss out on convenience.  But it’s so worth it!  I eat so much more food as a vegan than I ever did as a meat-eater or even as a lacto-ovo vegetarian.  I actually crave vegetables. I can have kale and brown rice for lunch and feel completely satisfied.  I eat Ethiopian, Thai and Korean food often.  I never would have been interested in those foods before I was vegan.

Since I became vegan, I definitely feel more spiritually connected.  I am more in tune with my body, the planet and my fellow Earthlings.

So, am I angry all the time? Not even close. How often do you see me without a smile on my face? The years I have been vegan have actually been my happiest ever. I can’t imagine ever going back.

I have already blogged about Fiddle Cakes and the awesome treats I had there on my first visit, but I went back and tried more of their cupcakes and wow!  The chocolate with peppermint “buttercream” frosting and toasted coconut cupcakes were awesome.  So tasty and beautiful.  I also had a lovely vegan soup and sandwich there.  The vegans from Born Empty and I were happy with everything we had.

The Wild Cow had their Grand Opening party last Saturday and I left with Vegan Spicy Chocolate Cake, Vegan Ginger Macadamia Coconut Carrot Cake (say that three times fast),  Vegan Oatmeal Cherry Cookie and a Vegan Zucchini Chocolate Muffin.  Yummy!  All desserts at The Wild Cow are outsourced and everything I tried was very good.

I have complained in the past about Whole Foods’ lack of vegan cupcakes, but to their credit, they now have a Vegan Chocolate Coffee cake that is amazing, they had Vegan Apple and Cherry pies for Thanksgiving (I had the cherry and it was great!) and their baker has just informed me that soon they will have Vegan Whole-Grain Pastries.  Yes!

Go, Nashville!  It’s always a good time to be a vegan, but things just keep getting better and better for us.  For those of you afraid to go vegan because you think you’ll be missing out, try some of these awesome cholesterol-free-but-full-of-great-flavor desserts!  And if you’re jonesin’ for some ice cream to go with your cake, stop by Whole Foods or Turnip Truck and buy some Purely Decadent with Coconut Milk or Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss.  I swear, it’s better than dairy ice cream!

First of 30 Products of the Day for September:  Sunshine Burgers http://sunshineburger.com/

2nd of 30 Products of the Day for September:  Parma Vegan Parmesan http://www.eatintheraw.com/

3rd of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @LunaandLarrys Coconut Bliss: http://www.coconutbliss.com/

4th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Dr. Cow Nut Cheeses http://www.dr-cow.com/

5th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @NanasCookieCo Nana’s Cookies http://nanascookiecompany.com/

6th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Fantastic Foods Tofu Scrambler http://tinyurl.com/m6gfjp

7th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Lightlife Smart Deli Pepperoni http://tinyurl.com/mfv8bg

8th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @GoMaxGoFoods Candy Bars http://www.gomaxgofoods.com/

9th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @LaraBar http://www.larabar.com/

10th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @So_Delicious Purely Decadent with coconut milk http://tinyurl.com/6poxxl

11th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @ChicagoSoyDairy Teese Nacho Cheese Sauce http://www.teesecheese.com/

12th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @VegaTeam Whole Food Optimizer http://tinyurl.com/5gye78

13 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Mary’s @GoneCrackers http://www.marysgonecrackers.com/

14 of 30 Vegan Products of the day:  Tings! http://www.piratesbooty.com/products/tings/original

15 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @DaiyaCheese Vegan Shreds http://www.daiyafoods.com/

16 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @AllisonsGourmet Super yummy cookies, fudge, etc. http://allisonsgourmet.com/

17 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Eco-Planet Cheddar Non-Dairy Organic Crackers http://ecoheavenllc.com/

18 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Field Roast Grain Meats http://www.fieldroast.com/

19 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Glenny’s Marshmallow Treats http://tinyurl.com/c3agzw

20 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Soyatoo Soy Whip http://www.soyatoo.com/us/produkte/

21 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:   Organic Food Bars http://www.organicfoodbar.com/

22 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @LoveStreetRaw Organic Raw Vegan Chocolate Coconut Spread http://tinyurl.com/a5t4d3

23 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Sun Flour Baking Company cookies http://www.sunflourbaking.com/

24 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @FYHMarket @Vegenaise FYH Vegenaise http://bit.ly/2VSIyW

25 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: Ray’s Seitan http://tinyurl.com/yabe7lw

26 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Road’s End Organics sauces, gravies, pastas, etc. http://bit.ly/2ucff5

27 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Bete Noir Chocolates http://www.betenoirechocolates.com/

28 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @JohnMcDougallMD‘s Right Foods http://www.rightfoods.com/

29 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:   Spectrum Naturals Vegan Caesar Dressing http://bit.ly/ky7DB

30 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Vegan Halloween Candy http://bit.ly/w9F8D

For October, I’m recommending 31 Vegan Related Sites of the Day, so please stay tuned to my Tweets!

It was wonderful to see my VegNews friends again and meet some new folks as well.  After lunch, Rey Ortega of Sun Flour Baking Company stopped by with Dan Piraro, a fellow vegan and artist whom I have wanted to meet for some time.  I got a photo with Dan and a bunch of cookies from Rey, so all in all, a pretty fabulous time at VegNews!

By the way, have you seen their new website?  It looks great!  Thanks again, Friends.

I definitely have more to blog about from the weekend, so stay tuned!

Purely Decadent’s new non-dairy ice cream is made with coconut milk.  I happen to LOVE coconut and when I found out about this frozen delight, I knew I had to try it.  I also wanted a “Lick Me, I’m Vegan” shirt because really, how awesome is that?

Well, the good folks at Turtle Mountain sent me five pints of this wonderful new dessert, along with the awesome t-shirt.  Sweeeeeeeet.

This wonderful creamy goodness comes in five flavors:  Vanilla Bean, Chocolate, Coconut, Mint Chip and Cookie Dough.  An extra added bonus is that even the Cookie Dough flavor is gluten-free, so it’s just that much more friendly for those with allergies.  (If you’re allergic to or don’t care for coconut, this is not your dessert.)  But no soy, no dairy and no gluten?  Fabulous!  AND, they’re sweetened with agave syrup instead of sugar, which is yet another huge plus in my book.

My personal favorite flavors are the Mint Chip and Cookie Dough, but mostly because I like “stuff” in my ice cream and I’m a sucker for mint and chocolate ANYTHING.  Honestly though, I think all the flavors are lovely.  Even the Vanilla Bean is amazingly creamy, flavorful and luscious.

So, yeah.  Go get some Purely Decadent.  It’s truly heavenly.

PS:  I dare you to sing the blog title to the tune of Sara McLachlan’s “Ice Cream.”  C’mon, no one’s listening!  Do it.  Do it.  (By the way, I just amazed myself by spelling her name correctly on the first try.  Woohoo!)

Purely Decadent made with Coconut Milk