Cinnamon- New gluten-free vegan online bakery

I am excited to announce that my friend Geanna Marek has recently opened a new, online vegan bakery! Her bakery has a sweet name "Cinnamon". Cinnamon is 100% vegan, gluten-free and allergen-free which makes it a really good news for all vegans and gluten-free foodies. 

Cinnamon was founded in 2012 by Geanna Marek, who had suffered for years from various allergies and intolerances. After realizing there really wasn't anything on the market that she could safely and comfortably eat, she sought to create delicious foods for everyone - no matter what their dietary restrictions or preferences may be. She succeeded with making baked donuts, cinnamon rolls and cookies that are free from the top 8 common allergens (milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat), but are tasty, too.  

Cinnamon products are baked in a 100% gluten-free and vegetarian commercial kitchen that has been licensed by a state health inspector from the Department of Agriculture. Cinnamon products are baked with separate utensils and dishes, and are stored in enclosed containers to ensure that no cross contamination occurs. 

Cinnamon is located in Portland, Oregon. Contact Geanna at 971.258.2995 Tuesday-Friday, or email info@cinnamonpdx.com for more information. 

I was lucky to receive a few of her baked goodies right after my surgery. I received plain donut with cinnamon sugar, seasonal pumpkin donut with pumpkin glaze, and bite-sized "classic" chocolate chip cookies. 

The plain donut with cinnamon sugar was everything but plain. It started with the beautiful cinnamon aroma. Mmmmmmm. The donut was pleasantly soft and it was not greasy or overly sweet. It had a distinctive donut texture and flavor. It was very good! 

The pumpkin donut with pumpkin glaze was more dense and less soft which was a good thing since it was holding up well under a   generous layer of pumpkin glaze. The pumpkin glaze reminded me of pumpkin butter. A perfect autumn treat! 

Chocolate chips cookies were sinfully delicious! These sweet cookies very infused with strong vanilla and loaded with rich and decadent chocolate chips. The cookies had a nice crunchy texture. 

If you order baked goodies from Cinnamon, you will not be disappointed! Support a new vegan business and order now on Cinnamon's website.  
Follow Cinnamon on Twitter and like Cinnamon on Facebook.  

Liz Lovely cookies review

I think that I lived under a rock until recently because I had not tried Liz Lovely vegan cookies until a few weeks ago. I am a bit embarrassed, considering that this company started in 2003........long before I became a vegan. Liz Lovely makes vegan cookies (many of which are gluten free), using only pure, 100% natural ingredients in their artisan bakery in the Green Mountains of Vermont. They don't cut corners or prioritize profits over people or the planet. They create sustainable jobs that support the American dream. They bring hope and joy to people living without dairy and eggs, and even people on gluten-free diet. They promote cruelty-free food by being a certified vegan bakery. And they use green packaging alternatives as much as possible.

If you don't have a sweet tooth, or don't like cookies in general, these will surely change your mind! My husband who normally does not eat sweets was hooked on these and I had to hide some of the cookies from him......

These beautiful vegan cookies and Mint Lovely Oh's were awaiting me after my raw food detox. My shipment arrived in a perfect condition, nothing was broken or melted despite traveling a long distance in the hot summer weather. These guys know how to pack and ship their goodies! Each baggie had 2 giant cookies and the container with Mint Lovely Oh's had 8 perfectly sized dark chocolate coated vegan sandwich cookies.

Mint Lovely Oh's

These cookies live up to their name, oh, they are lovely! These Oreo style vegan cookies are coated in a thick layer of 100% dark chocolate, without added waxes or disgusting glaze. Two chocolate sandwich cookies with a white creamy center are surrounded by dark chocolate. What a genius idea!

The thick chocolate layer is infused with cooling and refreshing peppermint oil. I ate my Mint Lovely Oh's at room temperature, and straight from the fridge. They became much firmer and crunchier after being in the fridge. I even tried one warmed up in the microwave and the chocolate layer melted nicely but the cookies stayed firm. Yummy mess on my plate :-) I can have these every day and not get tired of them! I cannot wait to order the Peanut Butter Lovely Oh's (same concept but with peanut butter filling and minus the peppermint). They also make original version Lovely Oh's without the peppermint, but I liked the minty addition to these cookies a lot.

Peanut Butter Cookie with Dark Chocolate (Gluten Free)

Ok, I have had some gluten free cookies and let me tell you, most of them tasted weird. I had to double check the package on this cookie to see if it really was gluten free because it did taste like a "normal" cookie, nothing weird about it! This cookie was a little bit more fragile compared with wheat based cookies, but it was still holding up well. Rich, sweet peanut butter cookie is brought to perfection by a dark chocolate bottom layer, and chocolate swirls on the top. Amazing!

Chocolate Moose Dragons

This decadent cookie will pleasantly surprise any cookie aficionado or a cookie snob. This beats any chocolate cookie that I have ever had! Sweet, fudgy, rich and very chocolatey cookie is sprinkled with crunchy cacao nibs to bring this cookie to a whole new level of awesomeness! What a cookie! It is so rich, a half of one cookie immediately satisfied my chocolate cravings. Not sure if you want a cookie or a big piece of chocolate? Why not having them both! I even froze one and ate it frozen which was a whole different sensation, kind of like a brownie ice cream :-)

Snicker Dudes

Lovely snickerdoodle cookie! Cinnamon and sugar combo makes everything more festive :-) This soft, buttery cookie is hand-rolled in warm, spicy cinnamon and sweet, crunchy sugar. A classic cookie made with better ingredients and cruelty-free. This cookie was especially great with hot apple tea. Mmmmmmmm

I like the fact that you can freeze Liz Lovely cookies for up to 6 month so you can stock up and save money on shipping. Speaking of money saving, if you use a promo code LOVELIZ you will get 5% off your next order on Liz Lovely website. I am certainly using that code next time!
Chocolate covered pretzels are on my list to buy soon, along with Peanut Butter Lovely Oh's and some other cookies ( Gluten Free Coconut Macaroon sounds heavenly!)

Check out Liz Lovely website for more awesome cookies

Like Liz Lovely on Facebook

Follow Liz Lovely on Twitter

Raw Detox/Cleanse week

Even though I have been eating very healthy and mostly very clean foods, I decided to do another raw cleanse, detox and juice fast last week. I did it my way and it was an interesting experience. The first days were just liquid fast, mostly juices, water and herbal tea. Then I added salads and pureed and solid fruits and veggies.

The first day I felt weak, hungry, tired, foggy and irritated. The second day I was even worse, plus I got a horrible headache. And the third day I felt great! Purity, clear mind, and great digestion.

My detox is over and I feel great! I am back to eating grains, legumes, beans, and cooked foods, but I still eat mostly raw. I feel more energetic and clean after my detox. Last week was a very nice break from counting calories. Until last week I was counting calories for the past few months and it was EXHAUSTING!

Last week my body got all the key micronutrients, phytonutrients, missing vitamins and minerals and all the chlorophyl that my body deserved and needed. Here is a peak at my raw detox week. Tons of green juices, carrot juice (Carrot, ginger and lemon were my favorite combo for that week), mixed greens topped with various salad toppings (raspberries, grapes, grapefruit, peas, shredded carrots, shredded beets, raw sunflower seeds, dried fruit, and other veggies), tons of raw fruit and veggies, banana smoothies, spinach smoothies, tropical fruit smoothies, Larabars, and lots of bananas!

Later I added cabbage soup and oil free hummus, lightly cooked veggies and finally some good grains, and more beans and legumes.

Bear eating juiced wheatgrass leftovers that I got at Arden's Garden :-)

And yes, there was a dessert, too! Raw and clean ice cream :-) Pureed frozen banana ice cream topped with mashed raspberries, only two ingredients and amazing flavor/textures :-)