Recently, Soyajoy came out with a replacement for their top-selling soy milk maker. For 2013, Soyajoy now has the G4 soy milk maker, a replacement for their older, G3 model.

The product description (according to the manufacturer) is that the SoyaJoy G4 is the next model to the 5-star rated SoyaJoy G3. The G4 retains all features of the G3. Key improvements are the G4's all stainless construction of the cooking and grinding chamber, increased capacity, and the filter-less bottom heating with Perfect Grind Technology (TM). Not all soy milk makers are created the same. The G4 uses premium components such as the low noise DC motor, solid state power control, and #304 stainless steel. The microprocessor and the  sensors continuously monitor and control the grinding and heating process to
make perfect milks, soups, or porridges.

The changes between this year's model and the older model:

• An Increased capacity (now 1.7 liters) and bottom heating technology
• Important! - It is now made of all stainless steel for the grinding and cooking chamber. No food color stains on plastic or concerns of plastic leaching into food
• Five automatic, one-button functions for fully cooked milk, soup, and raw vegan milk from beans, grains, and nuts.
• 4th generation filter-less design for easy use and cleaning with Perfect Grind Technology (TM) for high milk yield.
• High tech design complete with advanced temperature and water level sensors, and solid-state power controls for superior performance and durability

Here's a side-by-side comparison between the G4 and its predecessor, the Soyajoy G3 soy milk maker

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Title	Soyajoy G4 Soy Milk Maker - with All Stainless Steel Inside - New 2013 Model Introduction Sale	Soyajoy G3 Soy Milk Maker - Newest and The Only Model for Making Hot As Well As Raw Milks From Beans, Almond, Hemp, and Othe
Brand	SoyaJoy	SoyaJoy
Feature	2013 new model replacing the 5-star rated SoyaJoy G3 with increased 1.7 litter capacity and bottom heating technology. Important! - all stainless steel construction for the grinding and cooking chamber. No food color stains on plastic or concerns of plastic leaching into food Five automatic, one-button functions for fully cooked milk, soup, and raw vegan milk from beans, grains, and nuts. 4th generation filter-less design for easy use and cleaning with Perfect Grind Technology (TM) for high milk yield. High tech design complete with advanced temperature and water level sensors, and solid-state power controls for superior performance and durability	The newest and greatest milk maker from the most trusted brand with 2-year warranty ($20 value) The only milk machine that makes fully cooked as well as RAW vegan milks from beans, seeds, nuts and grains. 3rd Generation filter-less design for easy of use, clean up in minutes. Dish washer safe stainless cooking pot Large 1.6 litter capacity. 90-day full refund policy. Full automatic, one-button operation, longer cooking cycle for thorough cooking and better taste
Warranty	2-year warranty from date of purchase	2 year limited warranty
Price	$139.00	$119.95
Height	7 inch	6 inch
Weight	6.5 pound	7 pound
Width	6.75 inch	9 inch
Length	10 inch	11 inch
Rating
Reviews	Read Reviews	Read Reviews
Link	More Info	More Info

Here is a reviewer on Amazon's comments: Soyajoy G4 makes great tasting soy milk and requires very minimal effort from its user. That doesn't mean no work, but it's far easier to make soy milk with this product than using traditional kitchen tools like pots and blenders.

I used to buy soy milk from a grocery store, and there are several things I had to learn (or am still learning) when I switched to making soy milk at home:

1.Soy beans need to be soaked in water overnight before cooking (though Soyajoy G4 does have an option for both soaked and dry beans, soaked beans would yield better result according to the manual). So if you wake up in the morning and realize that you don't have enough soy milk left for your breakfast cereal, oops, too late.

2.Making soy milk yields quite a lot of okara (pulpy left over from milking process). Okara is nutritious and beneficial for one's health, but incorporating okara into my daily diet isn't so intuitive and I'm still learning how to make good use of this byproduct. Thankfully there are many blogs and websites that have recipes using okara as main ingredient.

3.The device needs to be washed right after operation. If the device is left unwashed for a while, soy residue would start to dry and stick to the stainless steel surface. This happens very quickly because the working part of this device remains pretty hot after operation. When this happens, I find it easier to run the device with hot water and a few drops of detergent before cleaning with sponge.

Overall I am satisfied with Soyajoy G4. It does require a bit more work than picking up cartons of soy milk from a store, but the taste of homemade soy milk is worth a little extra work in my opinion.

This is just one review. If you'd like to see additional reviews, click here.

Besides making soy milk, it is also great for almond milk. Jane used to buy almond milk from our local grocer's all the time, but now she always makes almond milk at home. It's easy and it's incredibly inexpensive.

Soyajoy G4 Soy Milk Maker - with All Stainless Steel Inside - New 2013 Model Introduction Sale The SoyaJoy G4 is the next model to the 5-star rated SoyaJoy G3. The G4 retains all features of the G3. Key improvements are the G4's all stainless

$119.99 used from: $122.25

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Jane and I were invited to try some of Sophie's Vegan Kitchen entrees.  They offer a line of vegan "seafood."  Both Jane and I loved seafood in our pre-vegan life, so we were excited to try these products.  As with all meat analogs, we expected something close, but not the real thing.  With that in mind, we picked up their Vegan Crabcakes, Vegan Breaded Scallops, and Vegan Breaded Shrimp.

We tried the Vegan Crabcakes first.  This was the item Jane was most excited about.  She was a big fan of crab cakes in her past, so we tried to temper our expectations a bit.  After all, how close could these really be.  And really, they weren't.  The texture resembled lump crab meat, so kudos to Sophie's Kitchen for that feat.  The crab cakes themselves were good.  We heated them in the oven and both thought they'd be better sauteed in a skillet with a bit of oil and tartar sauce to accompany them.

The crab cakes come 4 to a box.  Each cake is supposed to represent a serving.  We each had two.  So we consumed 240 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 6 grams of protein (reminder, this nutritional info is for two servings).

For our next meal Jane prepared both the Vegan Breaded Scallops and the Vegan Breaded Shrimp.  We both thought the scallops were the tastiest of the three dishes and the shrimp were the weakest.  We shared this meal with an omnivore friend.  He exclaimed that there was no way this would be confused with "real" seafood.  We both thought the scallops had the same texture and mouthfeel of authentic scallops, but we didn't care for the shrimp at all.  The scallops were only 50 calories and 1 gram of fat, but provided no protein.  The shrimp were 240 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 4 grams of protein.

Jane and I tend to look for "meat" analogs which actually serve as "meat" replacements.  By that I mean that they provide an adequate amount of protein as could be expected if consuming a meat based meal.  None of the Sophie's products we sampled fit that bill.  And while they were interesting, we don't expect to run out and buy any in the immediate future.

Have any of you tried this product?   What do you think?  What are your favorite meat analogs?

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Jane and I were asked to sample a frozen entree of our choice from the vegeusa people.  They make vegan and vegetarian foods under the Vegetarian Plus brand name.  In all our time being vegan, we haven't actually sampled their products.  Jane isn't much for frozen meat alternatives, and the Vegetarian Plus foods are not available in our local grocery store, which means a trip to Whole Paycheck... I mean Whole Foods.  And these days, like everyone else, we have to be a bit more careful with our money.

Anyway, Vegetarian Plus offers a variety of  different products.  We opted to try the Vegan Black Pepper Steaks.  They were $6 and the box said there were 4 servings; we dished it out as two.  No way is that 4 servings!

Nutritional Information:
Serving Size: 2.5 oz
Servings per Container: About 4
Calories: 170
Carbohydrates: 10g
Total Fat: 8g
Saturated Fat: 2g
Trans Fat: 0g
Sodium: 400mg
Sugars: 3g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 13g

The texture of the meat was fantastic.  I haven't had any kind of red meat (knowingly) in over 20 years; Jane in over 7, so perhaps we are misremembering.  But this product actually had the mouthfeel we remembered steak to have.  More so than any other alternative product we have tasted.

Jane served the "steak" with her scallion-rice, and a large green salad.  I thought dinner was yum. While Jane enjoyed the "steak" she did not enjoy the sauce it was prepared with.  The package ingredients list "spices" so we're not sure, but Jane believes there to be Chinese 5-Spice among those spices.  It's a flavor she particularly dislikes.

We will likely purchase this product again.  Jane has a hankering for Beef Goulash, a dish she had often as a child.  She's thinking she could make that dish by rinsing the sauce off the "steak."  It would be wonderful if vegeusa would start selling the steak unseasoned, so that people could prepare it as they desire.  This would also be a great transitional food for aspiring vegans, or those who want options for "Meatless-Mondays."

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Firstly --- Happy 2010!  We wish you all a peace-filled new year.

Secondly -- Sorry for the vanishing act.  We're still here, and still vegan.  Life has been getting in the way of blogging.  We've both been very busy and when we've had a break, neither of us has been motivated enough to blog.

And thirdly -- If you had to fly through Newark tonight, you have our deepest sympathies!

But enough with the excuses already...  Back to the blog.

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While I've been MIA I had the opportunity to read  Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, and I can't recommend it highly enough.  While none of the information presented was new to me, it was presented in a manner that I found easy to read and entertaining.  Often this material can be very difficult to read.  Safran Foer lays it all out in its gruesome details, but he also alternates that information with stories from his personal life, and his personal experiences with food.

Best of all, I think this book will be easy to read for the disinterested omnivore.  Safran Foer is able to present the information in such a way that the facts are simply that, the facts.  He explores all sides of the argument so that you, the reader, can decide for yourself.  The logic he uses is inescapable.  You cannot consider yourself to be an environmentalist if you eat meat (water, pollution, etc.)  He recounts his decision to stop eating meat, and all that that entails, in an intelligent and non-judgmental manner.  Really, this is one of the better books on the ethics of eating than any other I have come across.  The omnivores in my life will be getting copies of this book to read during the coming year.

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Mezzetta Southwest Vinaigrette

Jane and I sampled two of the Mezzetta Vinaigretta salad toppings recently.  We tried both the Southwest (pictured)  and Mediterranean toppings.   The product comes ready made in a jar.  Their tag line is "just add lettuce."  Jane loved the idea of the product as something quick to prepare for those days when getting a meal together can be a challenge.  I was  a little leery.  I'm not a huge fan of things like this... I feel that the ingredients all tend to gelatanize over time and become a soft mush.   But I'm not the cook, and if the cook needs to have the occasional quick fixins I'm not going to complain.

We were concerned about the lactic acid and "natural flavors" on the ingredient list.  This is the email we received:

The Vinaigretta is indeed Vegan (except for flavors with honey, which is debatable). Regarding your questions:
1) The lactic acid we use is produced from the fermentation of sugar.
2) The natural flavor is derived from spices.

Let me know if you have any further questions, thanks so much!

So how did it taste?  Neither of us loved the Mediterranean Vinaigretta.  It had an odd taste and was rather oily.  The Southwest Chipotle Lime Vinaigretta was better.  I liked it, Jane thought it was okay.  Neither of us in any rush to run out and buy more, but it makes a nice meal if you don't really want to think about putting together salad dressing and fixings.

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Note to our readership:  There have been numerous comments on this article indicating illnesses that people have encountered after consuming this product.   We, ourselves, did not experience this issue, and it seems that the problem does not affect everyone.  However, in good conscience, we cannot recommend these products with so many of you commenting that you are having problems.  The Vega Corporation has commented on this issue as well (see below.)  If you have gotten ill after trying the Vega product, please contact Victoria[at]sequelnaturals[dot]com.  They are working to identify the problem.

As an alternative, here are five other vegan protein powders:

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Brand	Planet Fusion	Garden of Life	Sunwarrior	Lifetime	Nutribiotic
Feature	Contains 3.4g of L-glutamine Is low in fat and has only 4g of carbs per serving Contains 21-22g of protein to support lean body mass	Provides raw organic sprouted protein and live probiotics and enzymes Excellent source of protein Good for those on low carbohydrate diets Good for those with gastrointestinal sensitivities to milk, whey, soy and other protein sources Supports digestive health and function with live probiotics and protein-digesting enzymes	Gluten free soy free dairy free hypo allergenic non GMO	Easy-to-digest, energy-boosting protein Rich in omega 3-6-9 essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants A balanced, complete source of vegan protein Does not contain any artificial ingredients or preservatives	Gluten Free Vegetarian Wheat Free
Rating
Reviews	Read Reviews	Read Reviews	Read Reviews	Read Reviews	Read Reviews
Link	More Info	More Info	More Info	More Info	More Info

Recently we had the opportunity to try some of the Vega line of products. Specifically, we tried the Whole Food Health Optimizer, the Whole Food Smoothie Infusion, and the Antioxidant EFA (essential fatty acid) Oil Blend.

The Whole Food Smoothie Infusion is a high quality protein powder that also provides fiber and Omega 3 EFAs.  I added it to my morning shake, in place of the protein powder I usually use.  It had a pleasant taste and the added benefit of the fiber and EFAs which I wasn't getting in the hemp powder I've been using.  So, as soon as I finish my stash, this is my new protein powder.

The Whole Food Smoothie Infusion is a great product to take on the road with you.  All you need to do is add water and you have a vegan meal replacement.  Personally, I thought they were a bit on the sweet side, but Jane loved them.  She especially liked the chai flavor blended with ice to make a nice summer concoction.  You can also add the smoothie infusion to the fruit based smoothie of your choice.  They also provide you with a few recipes.

The Antioxidant EFA Oil blend makes a good salad dressing.  We found it to have a slightly nutty taste which is a nice change from the extra virgin olive oil Jane usually uses.

Overall, we feel these are high quality products that are a welcome addition to our pantry.

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Zesty Lemon Tempeh-Tations

A little while ago we tried Lightlife's Tempeh-tations,  Ginger Teriyaki flavor.  As I mentioned in that post, Lightlife also had come out with two other flavors of the product.  We recently tried those as well.

Jane is always on the lookout for new vegan products, especially convenience foods for the nights she isn't going to be cooking.   We don't tend to eat a ton of pre-packaged foods, but having something you can heat up and have ready in 5 minutes has its appeal!  The next flavor we tried was the Zesty Lemon.  In our opinion, it was by far the weakest of the three, we wouldn't eat it again - and wouldn't recommend it.

BBQ Tempeh-Tations

We had the classic barbeque last week.  As I've mentioned previously, Jane really doesn't care much for tempeh.  She's always willing to give something new a try, but has come to expect little from it.   Maybe the barbeque sauce is all she needed, but we both really enjoyed this product.  Jane served it up with corn on the cob, red cabbage slaw, and our usual green salad.

So, if you're thinking of trying the lightlife tempeh, we both recommend the barbeque.

Nutritional Information:

• Organic Ginger Teriyaki Tempeh Strips
• Organic Zesty Lemon Tempeh
• Organic Classic BBQ Tempeh Strips

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