A soy hot dog baked in a dough blanket, with ketchup for dipping. Kiwi & blueberries, peas and corn, and two mint chocolate Newman-O's.Verdict: On Monday someone was asking which vegan hot dogs are the best. Does anyone have a recommendation? Little shmoo loves them all, especially rolled in blankets, but I still haven't found one I like.
The frozen blueberries turned the kiwi an unappetizing shade of blue when they thawed -- next time I'm sticking to fresh. 3 stars.
I like Yves vegan dogs (there's one kind that has egg whites in it) or Tofu Pups. I am totally jealous of this lunch.
ReplyDeleteOooh, yum. I know what I'm making for dinner now. Conn and I adore soydogs in blankets. We buy Morningstar Farms, but I don't know if they vegan or just vegetarian. Since we're o/l veg, I never thought to check. I'd better go find my keys and get to the store! Thanks for the idea. :)
ReplyDeletei have to vote for the boca burger dogs all the way. after all, they offer both smoked and italian sausage...maybe more. they are a nice, large, thick size too, so one (with dough blanket or beans) fills ya right up!
ReplyDeleteYves makes a good veggie dog.
ReplyDeleteWe eat smart dogs by lightlife at our house, but I don't know how good they really are. Our son won't eat hot dogs yet (he's 19 months), but we've only tried a couple of times. I haven't really found a product that I'm in love with either.
ReplyDeleteHey,
ReplyDeleteI just found your site through the post punk kitchen live journal (isa). I love these lunches. I'm so excited!!! I go hungry at work all the time, and I'd love to eat a good lunch!
Ok, _my_ vote is for the hot dogs called tofu dogs (i think). It's a red and white package. Aaron (boyfriend) on the other hand, really dislikes those (too real!) and likes something called soy not dogs.
Hope that helps!
Oh, I like Yves veggie dogs, too. Actually, all their products are tasty. I think only two or three of their products aren't vegan. Their "ground round" is great in chili.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I always forget pups in a blanket. They are one of our all time favorites and I never fix them.
ReplyDeleteWe love all the tofu type hot dogs. We like the vege-links too but all that oil.... For texture definately tofu dogs
I think yves are the best. Are morningstar farms' corndogs vegan? they rock. I don't know if you have tried this or not, and it may sound gross, but tofu hot dogs are really good cut up into reheated spaghetti. I did that once to get some protein into my spaghetti, and loved it so much, I do it all the time (I sprinkle some cheese on it too though).
ReplyDeleteI'm totally jealous of these lunches. I really wish you would mass produce them and sell them via whole foods!
i vote for yves tofu dogs. i've tried several brands and they win hands down!
ReplyDeletetofu dogs+amy's chili= delicious. little shmoo's lunches are pretty dang neat. thanks for making this blog!
http://www.yvesveggie.com/products_details.php?product_id=11&page=1&pIdName=Veggie%20Dogs
Hi - what amazing lunches!! I'll be letting others know about this site too - those autumn trees sound gorgeous, may try some myself!!
ReplyDeleteLucy
There's a new kind of Yves veggie dogs called Veggie Brats. They are first vegan veggie dogs that I've really liked. they are huge too. a little kid could probably just eat half of one. they are expensive at some stores, but at Trader Joes I have seen them for 2.99
ReplyDeletehow do you feel about smart dogs or tofu pups? my best friend loves those. personally, i can't eat veggie hot dogs. i dunno why. my family's been vegetarian for generations, so i never even thought of meat as food. there's something about eating anything SHAPED like a hot dog that just grosses me out beyond belief. same with veggie burgers that are made to taste like meat. spew. i like the kind that are more cutlet-y.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first visit to your site and I'm already a huge fan
ReplyDeletethe pictures are so cute
thank you, I love it
Tofu Pups from Lightlife are my fave thus far. I don't think Morningstar is vegan...I think they have dairy in them.
ReplyDeleteI'm always looking for new vegan items, so if anyone has any suggestions visit my blog! Always a good read & Pic - thanks for posting - as always - shmoo!
Okay, it sounds like I need to go looking for Yves Tofu Dogs, because it's the texture that I'm missing. I looked at Morningstar Farms this weekend, but they contain egg whites.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful Web site! The next time I hear someone ask what to pack in their child's lunch I'm giving them this link. The lunches are wonderful and he is so lucky to have such a great and caring mom!
ReplyDeleteHey there
ReplyDeleteI run City Hippy (http://www.cityhippy.net) which is a blog of our struggle to live a green and fair life.
Just found your blog thanks to a friend...have added you to our bookmarks.
Am trying very hard to be vege so your ideas are very helpful indeed.
I think I might be a shmoo too!
Keep up the good work...
Namaste
CH
ps interested in writing something about being vegan for our collective blog? Let me know...
Hello Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to nominate you as Vegan Super Mom of the Year!
This is a wonderful blog, and those are the most amazing lunches I've ever seen (vegan or not!).
I wish you were my mom. I used to get a half a jelly sandwich for school in first grade. On white bread. :(
I will be visiting often!
Erin Pavlina
Editor, VegFamily.com magazine
Hi, Erin! I'm definitely not Super Mom, but thank you so very much!! I love the vegfamily website and visit there often, too. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou get soooo many comments...I'm jealous :) LOL
ReplyDeleteI smiled when I saw the pups in a blanket. I have been making these for my two children lately, both vegan ages 11 and 8. I make a big batch of pizza dough and keep it in the fridge to use throughout the week to stuff various things for lunch. My daughter likes to dip hers in veganaise and my son likes to dip his in ketchup.
ReplyDeleteMy children were pleased to know that there are other vegan children out there who get a packed lunch that most other children at school are envious of.
We also experimented with corn dogs yesterday, unfortunately we were not very successful. Have you attempted these yet?
Thank you,
Carin
I haven't attempted vegan corn dogs (I suffer from FOF -- fear of frying), but these pups tasted pretty close. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteThats probably it! Why we were not successful. We baked our corn dogs instead of frying them.
Carin
Oh and just a word of caution to the vegans out there. The Yves veggie brats mentioned above, have egg whites in them.
ReplyDeleteCarin
Vegan corn dogs. If you wanted to make them at home, try finding (if it exists) a vegan recipe for corn biscuits. There used to be a commercial version but conventional and full of gross stuff. Then just wrap vegan weenie with corn biscuit, bake until yummy. I'm going to dig around and see if I can find a vegan corn biscuit recipe.
ReplyDeleteI haven't really found a veggie dog I like either. They're dry or rubbery or just tasteless. As someone mentioned, the Boca Italian sausage type ones are among the best, and I also like Tofurkey, not plain dogs, but their Italian sausage/beer brat type items. I'm not sure whether they're vegan, though.
ReplyDeleteMy fave veggie dogs are Boca Brats, dunno if they're vegan, I'm not terribly strict when it comes to egg/dairy. I make "chicago style hot dogs" out of them:
ReplyDelete1 boca brat
1 whole wheat bun
ketchup
mustard
onions
jalapeno slices
pickle relish (not sweet)
tomato slices
sauerkraut
My veggie boys (16 & 13) love them.
Hi! Cool website!
ReplyDeleteA few years back I had a vegan-dog tasting for my birthday party. Really, none of them were that good. Anyone who was still a meat eater found them all terrible. Us vegans didn't really remember the difference... and I recall that the top choice was a Yves Chili dog. Even this though, was not received with much celebration.
Incidentally, we also recently had a big veggie burger tasting, with 18 different store-bought vegan burgers. The top 3 choices were: Amy's All American, Amy's California Burger, and Wildwood Original. The wildwood is a local brand (northern california)... but the Amy's should be widely available.
Hi, birch mom! I wrap fresh-baked goods in a little parchment to keep them from getting soggy. The pear was wrapped in a napkin so he could hold it in a napkin while he ate it and hopefully not get too messy. :-)
ReplyDeleteActually Jennifer, frozen fruits are proven to contain more nutrients because they endure less exposure on the way to your grocery store! Just make sure not to buy fruit coctails frozen, you might get unappatezing shades of anything!
ReplyDeleteWorthington Food's, Loma Linda's Big Franks are by far the most delicious "not dog" out there (not dog is the name we use for anything that is a vegeterian hot dog) ... i think yves is very good as well....a life-long vegeterian and vegan for 10 years .... i dislike most things by boca and morningstar (boca b/c i feel like all their products have the same consistency and aftertaste and morningstar b/c they put eggs in everything.. honestly my mother spoiled me with her home-made burgers) ... so there is my vote... Big Franks.... they are delicious
ReplyDeleteThe only veggie hot dog i've found that I really enjoy eating is the Morning Star Farms brand frozen veggie dogs. They are delicious but surprisingly hard to fin in and around central Arkansas. They were widely available everywhere else I've lived.
ReplyDeleteWhere can i find Yves Hot and Spicy Chili dogs?? I have requested my Whole Foods and Trader Joes to include them but they will not. I would love to be able to purchase some. Please HELP!!
ReplyDelete