Review - Follow Your Heart Vegan Shreds

I decided to give these a try  .... 

The Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Shreds in the Fiesta Blend. This is a flavor with some spice and heat to it, much like you'd get in a 'taco cheese'.  This also comes in mozzarella and cheddar flavors.

It is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, non-gmo, and soy-free.

Here is the company statement regarding their source of palm oil.

I should give you a point of reference for this review. I can tell you that if you ask 10 vegans their fave vegan cheese, you'll get ten answers and what one vegan loves, another loathes so you have to take reviews as they are - the opinion of one person.

That said, I will tell you my taste profile when it comes to vegan cheese. I love the Daiya Jalapeno Garlic Havarti wedges but I very much dislike the Daiya shreds. I like the Teese Cheddar Sauce for mac & cheese but the other flavors are just 'meh' to me. I didn't like the FYH blocks of cheese. I thought they lacked flavor. I tried the Trader Joe's Mozzarella shreds and while it was 'ok', I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. I really do prefer pizza without cheese now so taste testing mozzarella flavors isn't really a fair test with me because I'd just rather have it without it.

So, trying a Mexican flavor is better because I love Mexican food and while I can certainly live without a cheese in my Mexican food, it very often can punch it up a level.

Vegan cheeses tend to have a powdery flavor. I'm not sure what that ingredient is but they all seem to have it in common. This one does as well.

My grocery store had it for $5.39 but I had a $2 coupon from Veg News Magazine. The Daiya Wedges I buy are the same price at this store so while it's pricey, I feel like it's reasonable in a certain way since I use small amounts and I can get quite a few servings out of a package. The truth is that it's still an all fat ingredient so it isn't something you should eat large amounts of anyway.

Out of the bag, it isn't horrible. It's probably the first vegan cheese I've tried that I didn't make a face when I tried it raw. I probably wouldn't toss it raw on a salad tho. It has cheddar orange and cream color shreds but the cream colored ones have maybe a pepper or spice in them that honestly, makes it look like blue cheese/mold so I'd be very aware of that so you don't mistake it for having gone bad. It has a bit of a tanginess to it that I've not really had in vegan cheese before.. a flavor very much expected in a cow cheese so that was interesting.

I decided to try it on nachos. I did some with just the Fiesta blend and some with some leftover enchilada filling of black beans, corn, tofu and black olives.

I put it in my toaster oven and it melted ok. I probably should have let it go longer than I did but I just have no patience.  It melted better on the plain chip, of course. It tasted mostly the same melted as it did raw. A little more mellow. Pleasant and with a slight spicy kick so you know it's a 'taco' cheese. Besides the normal powdery flavor, it didn't have any lasting aftertaste that I noticed. 

I will be trying this in my enchiladas, quesadillas and burritos for sure. I'm curious to see the meltability in those items. I do think it pairs well with other ingredients rather than on it's own. I don't know that I'd make a grilled cheese out of it.

So.. bottom line .....  Would I buy it again?  

Possibly, if I felt like I wanted that fiesta type flavor but given a choice, I'd always choose the Daiya Jalapeno Garlic Havarti over this. That can be sliced for use in a grilled cheese or grated.  This is a clear second tho. I like knowing I have an alternative to Daiya wedges if I can't find it.

My Favorite Things - Supplement Products

People are always asking me what products I use so I thought I'd do a few posts of my recommendations. First up.. supplement type products. 

I research everything and I search for the best product I can find that I can afford and has the benefits and requirements I'm looking for. I try to keep it vegan and no artificial sweeteners. I'm not a Stevia fan either so I look to avoid that as well but Stevia is ok if you don't mind it.

I recommend researching products for yourself and not just taking my word for it. You may want to talk to your doctor before adding in supplement products to make sure they are ok for you to take. Consider any medications you are taking and your lifestyle. 

This isn't every single thing I use.. but these are my faves. I take other things like calcium and a multi vitamin.. but those are pretty boring. 

I don't take every supplement every day. Some are daily, some I take when I think I need them, like the B12 and some I take a couple times a week. 

There are some supplements that I take that are not vegan (they have a gelatin capsule) so I won't mention those here but I do the best I can and I try to find vegan products but sometimes the best product and most affordable product is one that isn't available in a vegan capsule and I just have to deal with it.

I'm linking to the products but it doesn't necessarily mean that link is to the best price.. make sure you check places like VitaCost, iHerb, Amazon, and various online vitamin stores to locate the best deal.

I encourage you to research each ingredient to see why you might consider adding it to your diet. 



Blender Bottle

I love these. I have a few and I prefer the 28 oz size. Every morning, my first glass of water for the day is mixed in this bottle with 1 tsp of Spirulina, and 1/2 tsp each of Just Barley and Wheat Grass powder. I have a 32 oz mug that I fill up with ice and then I use 20 oz water in my blender ball and it fills it to the top!

In order to be able to drink this, you need to like the green flavor .. if you don't, then mix the powders into a shake or smoothie instead but I love the fresh, green flavor first thing in the morning! The wheat grass is the strongest of the flavors.




Nutrex Hawaiian Spirulina

I researched and researched to find the best spirulina .... here is the info from the brand website:

"Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica® is a unique superior strain of Spirulina with the highest known nutritional content in the world. It’s all natural, 100% vegetarian, Kosher Certified, and Non-GMO. It’s the only Spirulina cultured in a Biosecure Zone free of herbicides and pesticides on the sunny Kona coast of Hawaii. Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica thrives in ponds fed with 100% fresh potable water from Hawaiian aquifers and pure, deep ocean water drawn from 2000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. This ultra-pure, deep ocean water enriches Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica with 94 trace minerals and is a unique natural resource used in our patented Ocean Chill Drying™ technology which ensures maximum nutrient potency."
Amazon is usually the best price.


Pure Planet Just Barley

When I'm searching for a product, I want the least amount of ingredients as possible and when it comes to these types of powders, you really want one that is just the ingredient, no fillers and you want organic.

Read about the benefits of barley grass juice powder at the Just Barley website.





NOW Wheat Grass Powder


Organic juice powders, like NOW® Wheat Grass Juice, feature high concentrations of valuable nutrients, including chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals and natural enzymes.







Natural Factors Jungle Juice Vitamin C


If I can avoid swallowing a pill, I will .... when it comes to vitamins, I'm a kid at heart... give me something I can chew! These are hard wafers even tho they call them 'chews' .. it makes it sound like they are gummies.. they aren't. They have a fruity, tangy, tropical flavor that I really enjoy. Some chewables can have a weird 'medicinal' flavor, these don't. It's sort of like a piece of candy! I just let it dissolve in my mouth. I think they offer other flavors in the Vitamin C and they have other supplements. These are sweetened with natural fruit sugars.






Jarrow Methyl B12 1000

Methylcobalamin is better absorbed and retained than cyanocobalamin. I take one of these meltable wafers a couple times a week to make sure my B12 levels are maintained. They don't taste great but they aren't horrible.. kind of a lemon flavor.

NOW Glucosamine 1000 VCaps

This glucosamine is made from a plant source and not shellfish. My joints aren't what they used to be and I figure this can't hurt. 

My favorite protein shake

I shared our favorite shake in a previous blog posting. (click the title above) I am now having this almost every morning and I really notice a difference in how I feel. I think it has to do with the Amazing Grass powder as it has probiotics.

I'm sharing this here because I add supplement powders to it so it kind of falls into this blog.  I talk about most of the ingredients in that blog except the Amazing Grass Superfood, which is below. 


One thing I like to do is to make up powder packets in small containers so they are ready to go every morning. I just have to grab the almond or soy milk and the powder and then blend that.. and then add a frozen banana. Super fast. It tastes like a thick and yummy milkshake. 



Amazing Grass Superfood (chocolate)


** Amazon usually has the best price on this.  I can get the 60 serving jar for $25 to $30 .. shop around!

I love this because it's probiotics! We all need probiotics.. plus, it has a fabulous grass blend! This comes in a variety of flavors. I also have the Orange Dreamsicle flavor for my husband. It has stevia in it tho so I don't like it. I am very sensitive to that fake sweet flavor. The berry is stevia free .. I want to try that one next!  They also have Energy (lemon lime), Pineapple Lemongrass, Original, and a couple other types.

Spotlight on Cruelty - Fois Gras

One of the cruelest things you can consume is Fois Gras, or duck liver pate. I am aghast at the ways in which humans have thought of to torture animals for their pleasure. 

Fois Gras is illegal in many countries and in California - for good reason. 

"These intelligent, gentle birds are condemned to spend their lives in small, barren pens, where they are forced to stand 24 hours a day on metal grating as their urine and feces build up underneath. The geese panic and struggle as they are roughly grabbed by the throat and a metal pipe is forced down their throats so that huge amounts of grain (up to 4 pounds!) can be pumped into their stomachs. This cruel process happens three to four times a day – every day. On some farms, a single worker may be expected to force-feed 500 birds three times each day. Because of this rush, animals are often treated roughly and left injured and suffering with injuries to their throats and wings. Many die from their liver rupturing.

Their distended and diseased livers swell to 10 times their normal size and press against their lungs, causing them to pant constantly. Some of the birds can no longer stand because their legs can't support the weight of their livers, resulting in possible leg fractures." ~ PETA

Look at these photos... humans have actually designed and manufactured specialized equipment to torture these beautiful birds... special cages, special holders, special throat pipes.... I am routinely disgusted to call myself a human.

Guess what? You can make delicious pate using plant ingredients that are healthy and no one has to die for your pleasure. The really good news is that I rounded up recipes that can please everyone... if you don't like mushrooms, try the one with tempeh. If you can't find tempeh, try the lentil one. If you're allergic to something.. odds are you can find a pate recipe that will work for you .... No excuses!

Mushroom Pate 

Tempeh Pate 

Herb-Crusted Peppercorn Lentil Pate 

Veggie Pate (sunflower, potato and quinoa) 

Oh, wait... one last excuse... you don't cook, right? Well.. guess what? You can BUY vegan pate. So there. Sorry... no good reason to eat tortured duck liver. Ever.

Here is just one.. but I know many exist .... so go google!

Faux Gras

What Will You Do Today?

Just because you can't do everything doesn't mean you should do nothing.. do something!

For some people, small changes can lead to big results.

Every single day you make dozens of choices ... make choices that can impact your health and life positively.

You can also make choices that impact the lives of animals.

Make one choice a day that is different.

Here are a few to get you started ....



At a restaurant/fast food place:

- order spaghetti with just marinara, no meat or cheese sauce.

- order your pizza with lots of veggies and no cheese.

- search for any local vegan restaurants and try it out!

- choose the eggplant parm instead of the chicken parm

- choose the fruit & yogurt parfait instead of the egg mcmuffin

- take the fruit or veggie side option instead of the fries.

- Get brown rice and black beans at Chipotle. Skip the cheese and sour cream.

- get the veggie burger

- order the smallest size they have of everything.

- order iced tea instead of soda

- get the baked sweet potato and just put the sugar/cinnamon on it, no butter. You won't miss it, trust me.

- get the minestrone

- skip the appetizer and the dessert.

- sub tofu in for the chicken at the Thai or Chinese place or just ask that the meat be left out.

- go out for veggie sushi. It's just rice and veggies. Stop being so dramatic. If you hate seaweed, tell them you want 'Soy Wrap' instead.

- get a waffle or pancakes instead of bacon and eggs.

- sub beans for the beef at Taco Bell

- choose sorbet or Italian ice over ice cream, sherbet or yogurt.

- tell them to leave out the egg in your fried rice.



At home:

- have one plant based meal a day or one plant based day, once a week.

- if you can't manage 3.0 mph on the treadmill, walk at 1.0 mph for as long as you can.

- make a cake without eggs and see how great it is. I can give you a recipe (or 100)

- keep fruit around. if you aren't hungry enough to eat fruit, you aren't hungry.

- eat your breakfast or lunch outside.

- keep a set of hand weights in the living room. use them during the commercials.

- buy or make some fresh juice and mix in seltzer water. It's like a healthier soda.

- make these brownies and use all the chocolate chips, grind the oats into a flour first and don't tell anyone they are made with beans.

- watch the movie 'Forks Over Knives'. Free on Netflix streaming. Get a free trial.

- have oatmeal with a tbsp of flax seed, a tbsp of brown sugar and a few chopped walnuts as a meal or snack.

- make a pot of soup and you'll have a quick meal all week. Try this one.


At the grocery store:

- buy a carton of almond milk. It's $2 .. give it a try. Try the chocolate.

- don't buy soda this week. You can't drink it if you don't buy it.

- buy a veggie you've always disliked and roast it. (drizzle olive oil over it, salt lightly, bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes) Almost all veggies are awesome roasted.

- if you can't resist adding junky food to your cart at the store ... don't go down those aisles! Just don't.

- don't buy bacon or cheese. Just this one week. You'll live. I promise.

- buy a box of Post lightly frosted shredded wheat. It has two ingredients. It's good as a snack as well as a traditional cereal.

- buy a box of Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice. Make it with water and olive oil. Super easy. Super tasty.

- buy your dogs the peanut butter biscuits instead of the chicken ones.

- get your kids involved with trying new veggies. Research the veggie, find a recipe to try.

- buy a loaf of whole wheat bread and tell the household that if they want bread, they'll eat that or nothing.

- buy Earth Balance sticks or a tub and use that instead of butter/margarine.

- go down that crazy 'health' aisle and just look around.

- buy a can of chickpeas. Add them to a salad.

- buy a package of Field Roast Wild Mushroom Deli slices and/or Frankfurters.

- buy a fruit or veggie you haven't tried before.

- choose products that do not contain high fructose corn syrup.

- buy a package of tempeh and make tempeh bacon. It runs about $2


At the mall or out shopping:

- buy 'Everyday Happy Herbivore' cookbook by Lindsay Nixon and then try the recipes. They are simple  and use ingredients you probably have already.

- indulge in one piece of fabulous dark chocolate from a local candy store.

- buy shoes or a purse that are man made materials instead of leather.

- find your local oil and vinegar store and go try some samples.

- check out your local health food store. Just browse. Buy a vegan dark chocolate bar.

Original Recipe - Roasted Carrots

I love roasted carrots.. they get all sweet and tasty!

Roasted Carrots

2 lbs baby carrots (cut them in half if they are big)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion granules
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried dill

Toss carrots with the oil and set aside.
Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle over the carrots, tossing well.

Bake at 400 degrees on a large baking sheet until they are done to your taste. Make sure you flip them a few times to prevent burning.

Original Recipe - Twice Baked Potatoes

Feel free to share but please link back to this blog. Thank you.

Twice baked potatoes! Twice the fun, twice the servings, twice the carb overload!

um, yea .... well.... anyway.

Twice baked potatoes are essentially just a mound of loaded mashed potatoes presented in a potato shell.

It's all about presentation.

For the shell part, you will want to find the big, jumbo baking potatoes that you'd see in steakhouses. The bigger they are, the more impressive they are to company.... plus, if they are big, they make a perfectly lovely meal on their own!

If you are serving these to kids, cut them in half or allow time for a serious nap afterwards.

Just a note... the photo shows an uncooked potato. These were for a friend of mine so she'll be doing the twice baked part on her end when she gets ready to serve them up!

First off, you'll want to make a batch of my tempeh bacon because you'll need some of it for this recipe.

If you'd rather not make it, you can sub in something like Bac-o's but.. I'll be disappointed and the potatoes will be less fabulous. Just sayin'

Feel free to add other yummy stuff into the potato mixture like chopped green onions, vegan cheese or vegan sour cream. You can also use fresh chives and parsley instead of the dried.

Shelly's Twice Baked Potatoes

Makes 6 large potatoes

3 very large baking potatoes
5 medium russet potatoes
2 tbsp Earth Balance
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp dried chives
1 tbsp dried parsely
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp onion granules or powder
1/2 tsp garlic granules or powder
1/8 tsp citric acid (you can sub in 1/2 tsp lemon juice)
6 slices tempeh bacon, cooked crispy and chopped

1. Place the 3 very large potatoes into a crockpot and bake on high for 2 to 3 hours until fork tender (or bake them however you want)

2. Peel the 5 potatoes, wash and chop into small pieces and boil until fork tender like you're making mashed potatoes (because you are!) Drain and place in a large bowl.

3. When the 3 large potatoes are done, slice them in half and let cool until they can be handled.. still warm tho. It's easier to remove the middle if they are warm.

4. Carefully scoop out the middle of each potato half , leaving a small layer of the potato behind and set aside. Place the scooped out potato middles into the bowl with the boiled potatoes.

5. Melt the Earth Balance and pour into the potatoes and mash them until smooth.

6. Add the other ingredients (except the tempeh bacon) into the mashed potatoes and mix well.

7. Carefully fill in potato shell with the mashed potato mixture, leveling it off and then mound more of the mixture on top, smoothing out the sides. You may not use all of the filling. If not, you have leftover loaded mashed potatoes!

8. Once you are finished, press the chopped pieces of the temeph bacon into the top.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes until the potato is heated thru and slightly toasted on the top.

10. I like to serve them with a little pat of earth balance on top.

Original Recipe - Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake

This is the shake I make every morning for my husband before he heads off to work. I have it almost every day as well.

I didn't get a couple ingredients in my photo but I included them in  he recipe.

I use a product called PB2, which is a product made from slow roasted peanuts that are pressed to remove the fat and oil which results in a lower calorie product with all the yummy peanut butter flavor and it's all-natural. It has roasted peanuts, sugar and salt. You can get it in jars or in bulk packages of 1 lb.

A two tablespoon serving is 45 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 2 grams fiber, 5 grams carbs, 1 gram sugars, and 5 grams of protein! Compare that to regular JIF peanut butter, which is 190 calories, 16 grams of fat, 2 grams fiber, 6 grams carbs, 2 grams sugars and 7 grams of protein.

However, I use 1 tbsp in this recipe. If you use the recommended ingredients shown here, your shake comes in around 300 calories with 27 grams of protein! (of course it depends on your non-dairy milk calories)

Make sure you freeze some ripe bananas. I usually buy bananas, eat them until they are too ripe and then peel them and toss them in the freezer for smoothies. Using a frozen banana (or any frozen fruit) in a smoothie thickens it up and gives you a nice shake texture!

Westsoy Soy Milk is just soybeans and water so I recommend it over other brands that have added chemicals, sweeteners and fillers.  It's about $2 a carton.  Aldi has great almond milk in sweetened and unsweetened or pick up the silk Pure Almond.

I did research to find the best brown rice protein and I am very happy with the NutriBiotic brand. It's straight up brown rice protein.. nothing added.. not even artificial sweetener! It's also affordable. It comes in plain, vanilla or chocolate. The chocolate has rice syrup in it so I recommend just buying the plain or vanilla and adding your own cocoa or cocoa powder. It is available in a 1 lb container but I buy it in the 3 lb container for less.

You can also use hemp protein powder here or your other fave vegan protein powder. I don't recommend soy isolate tho and keep in mind it may have less protein and more fillers or ingredients. Just be aware.

I am linking to Vitacost for some products. If you haven't ordered from them before, use my referral link to save $10 .... click HERE and get $10 off your first order with Vitacost

Also, iHerb carries the products too, but at a higher price but with the first time customer discount, it might be ok..  New to iHerb? Use coupon code AWE648 for up to $10.00 off your first order.

Lastly, Amazon has the ingredients as well .. and free shipping on $25 so that is an option too! They also also their auto-delivery plan so you could save a little more by setting that up.

The WestSoy website has $1.00 coupon offer. My store carries it for $1.99 so you can probably try it for half price!

Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake

Serves 1 (I recommend making these one at a time. If  you try to make 2 servings, you'll use more soy milk trying to thin it out .. it gets too thick)

1 cup unsweetened WestSoy Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk, like almond)
I TBSP NutriBiotic Brown Rice Protein powder
1 TBSP Amazing Grass Green Superfood Powder
1 TBSP PB2 powder
1 tsp to 1 TBSP Nutiva Cacao or cocoa powder (this is by taste)
1/2 tsp Maca powder (optional)
1 frozen banana (broken into a few pieces)

Optional: toss in a handful of fresh spinach or 1/2 tsp servings of spirulina, barley grass juice and/or wheatgrass powders to up the nutrients.

Combine ingredients in a high powered blender until completely smooth. If you want it thinned out, add water or more non-dairy milk. Adding additional non-dairy milk will change the calories.