Eating my way through Seattle Vegfest one sample at a time | Dr. Neal Barnard

Could barely keep up with demand.

I spent the better part of the weekend at Seattle Vegfest. Saturday we went to wander around and eat samples, and to hear Dr. Neal Barnard speak, and Sunday we had a volunteer shift. If you want to make four hours feel like four days, just stand behind a table and pour Silk beverages into tiny cups while hundreds of people snatch them away. I did manage to taste a couple of flavors because I got kind of hungry. The light chocolate soy milk — sweetened with stevia — is pretty good, as is the unsweetened, organic soy milk. I thought the Fruit&Protein drink was too sweet, with a bubblegum aftertaste. Everyone else seemed to love it, though, so don't listen to me. I didn't try the coconut milk.

I happen to be a fan of Mary's Gone Crackers

In years past, I pretty much tasted anything that was vegan and reasonably healthy. I gobbled Field Roast sliders and sun-dried tomato focaccia  with abandon. I never could bring myself to sample vegan seafood, but everything else was fair game. This year, since I'm not eating gluten, I didn't expect to be able to taste much, but was I ever wrong. I'd never paid much attention to whether or not the proffered samples were GF, so I can't speak to past events, but this year's Vegfest was a vegan, gluten-free tasters paradise.

The first time I passed by the White Mountain tamales, I barely glanced at them, assuming they were glutenous, but as I was heading back from the Amy's table, the "gluten-free" label caught my eye, and I tried the spicy, chipotle-mushroom version. I thought they were really tasty, and a small chunk speared on a toothpick with a grape tomato might make a nice hors d'oevre. Speaking of the Amy's offerings, I didn't realize at first that they, too, were gluten-free.

I had lasagna followed by chocolate cake, and both were delicious. In reality, I don't buy very many prepared meals — just about none — but I'm offering my opinion in case anyone is looking for delicious meals to keep on hand in the freezer. No one would guess they were GF, either.

If you live in the Seattle area and like kosher pickles, you've got to track down some of Britt's naturally fermented sour and half-sour pickles, which come in a variety of flavors. I can personally testify that each variety is delicious. This is a new product that is gradually making its way into more and more local stores. It's not cheap, but it's excellent.

Another new, local product I tried was Búcha, a new kombucha that is supposed to appeal to everyone — even those who don't like kombucha. To me it seemed slightly bland, and not fizzy enough, but that may be exactly why kombucha haters will enjoy it. I would certainly drink it. It comes in seven interesting flavors like raspberry pomegranate, lemongrass ginger and blood orange, is organic, GF and vegan, with 48 calories per serving. If kombucha has always seemed too sharp or sour to you, this might be the one you like.

I'll never tell how many Coconut Bliss samples I tried, even if you torture me. In fact, I probably don't even know. But who can resist Coconut Bliss? And it had nothing to do with the British guy on the left. Nothing. Mostly nothing.

Food for Life had two gluten-free products available for tasting — bread and English muffins. I tried, and liked, both. I'm not a big consumer of bread, but every so often I get an urge for a piece of toast or a grilled sandwich. Now, if my future attempts at bread baking don't work out, I'll know what to do.


Popchips are pretty interesting — they're made from potato flakes and are kind of like potato chips, but are neither baked nor fried. They are popped. Go figure. Some of the flavors are vegan and all are certified gluten-free. They taste really good, and though they have half the fat of potato chips, they aren't something you'd eat to get your vitamins and minerals, just to satisfy a tasty, crunchy, salty snack attack. I love them!

One last product I'm going to share is Kallari chocolate, which I found to be most delicious. Not only is it delicious, it's fair trade, ethically produced, fantastic chocolate. Try some.

Bad phone-pic from the back of the room

I said at the beginning of the post that we attended a talk by Dr. Neal Barnard. Basically he spoke about the connections between diet and health, and laid out the benefits of a plant-based diet. He dispelled what he believes is misinformation about soy, and described what a healthy diet looks like. His approach to dietary change seemed reasonable and supportive, and he convinced me that if I weren't already a vegan, I should become one. His talk was informative and also entertaining, as he relayed personal anecdotes about his family's conversion to a vegan diet. He invited everyone to join his free 21-day vegan kickstart program, and I might, just to see what it's like. If you've been trying to change your diet to a plant-based eating style, you might want to consider the vegan kickstart.

After the talk, I went to ask him a question at the book-signing table. I even had a book. I asked him his opinion of coconut oil, because I really wanted to know what he thought. He said he'd always believed saturated fats were unhealthy, and he didn't know enough about coconut oil to change his mind, but that he was thinking of looking into it. My husband thought he was trying to get rid of me, though I was agreeing with him and not trying to challenge him in any way, but I think he was just being honest in his opinion. I'll be interested to see what he has to say on the subject in the future, because I respect his ideas.

The other speaker we heard was Ellen Jaffe Jones, whose first cookbook, Vegan on $4 a Day, I reviewed here.

Vegfest was its usual crazy, crowded smorgasbord of vegan and vegetarian product samples. The crowd was vast and varied, everyone interested in trying plant-based foods. I tried a few things I considered horrible, and many that were really great. I've only included a few examples here to give you an idea of what was available. Vegfest is much more than food samples; it includes an array of health practitioners, body-care purveyors, animal rights information, cooking demos, etc.

I leave you with an insider tip for Seattleites that I learned about near the close of Vegfest on Sunday. If you dine at Silence-Heart-Nest in Fremont, be sure to request the vegan, GF chocolate pudding. It's not on the menu but is usually available. I was offered some at Vegfest, and it's delish.

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