Follow Your Heart – Products Worth Reviewing and Giveaway

Being a vegetarian isn’t always easy but it is very rewarding. I feel better knowing that eating a diet rich in plant proteins and vitamins and minerals is better for my health and not being part of eating innocent animals is better for my soul and conscience. For many vegetarians whom I’ve come to know throughout the years, they’ve told me that sometimes finding a balance between eating the right kind of vegetarian foods and eating enough foods to sustain good health can be hard when a lot of food companies and restaurants do not cater to vegetarians as readily. I’ve learned that there are true healthy vegetarians and “junk” vegetarians who dine on junk food to sustain their health although they live a meat-free life. Well, I believe that the “junk”vegetarians don’t truly know what to eat in order to stay as healthy vegetarians – and that means buying the right products and cooking them to be delicious and satisfying.

When I’m looking for something to enhance my vegetarian dishes I usually look to companies who make products specifically for vegetarians and vegans. Many years ago, there were hardly any kind of this company but as vegetarians and vegans have become widely acknowledged (strange that this even has to be the case), companies who make food solely for vegetarians and vegans are popping every day. One of these companies is Follow Your Heart (http://www.followyourheart.com/). Follow Your Heart makes extremely delicious food products designed for vegans and vegetarians in mind. But don’t worry if you’re not a vegetarian – Follow Your Heart’s products are so tasty that you would hardly notice the difference. In fact, I buy only Follow Your Heart Vegenaise for our sandwiches and salads and my husband has not commented on the difference between his “traditional” mayonnaise and Follow Your Heart’s Vegenaise. Even before I discovered Follow Your Heart’s Vegenaise, I really didn’t enjoy the taste of traditional mayonnaise made with low quality ingredients. And because Follow Your Heart is made using simple and natural ingredients, I feel good about using their products pretty generously.

Follow Your Heart really chose a perfect name for their company. Not only are their products better for your health, they are also giving you the opportunity to enjoy food that do not contain animal by-products. At least that’s where I think the “Follow Your Heart” moniker truly means – to follow your heart’s instincts on eating more of a plant-based protein diet than animal-based. But regardless of what your taste buds will tell you, once you’ve tasted Follow Your Hearts Vegenaise and Salad Dressings, you’ll probably wonder why you didn’t discover them earlier. And then you’ll understand why Follow Your Heart’s products are so popular among vegetarians and non-vegetarians. We keep at least a few bottles of their Veganaise and dressings in our fridge so that I won’t get nervous when we run out. Because I truly don’t want to go back to eating traditional mayonnaise. Not that there’s anything too wrong with them besides the fact that they contain a lot of fillers and unhealthy ingredients.

Besides Vegenaise and salad dressings, Follow Your Heart also produces dairy alternatives such as dairy-free cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese. My son really enjoys their Vegan Gourmet Cheddar Cheese and with tofu as the main ingredient, it’s really quite filling as well. He likes to eat the cheese as is and sometimes I’ll make grilled cheese sandwiches with the Vegan Cheddar Cheese. Follow Your Heart also produces sauces and marinades and veggie meat alternative patties. They also make an Organic Vegenaise using 100% organic ingredients and a touch of lemon juice which really makes their vegenaise stand out from other traditional mayonnaise. I prefer using their Vegenaise mixed into salads but they also make extraordinary dressings specifically designed for salads and dips. I made a yummy potato salad using their Organic Vegenaise and we polished the salad off in one meal.

Follow Your Heart is truly a unique one-of-a-kind company. They were founded by four friends who started the Follow Your Heart restaurant and Market over 40 years ago and the market and restaurant still stands in Southern California today. In fact, they encourage you to visit their quaint market and restaurant tucked neatly inside the suburbs of Los Angeles. As their restaurant and market provided a growing need for their vegan and vegetarian community, Follow Your Heart later developed their own line of natural, simple, and delicious foods. You can find their all-natural food products in most natural grocery stores as well as ordering them from their online store (http://store.followyourheart.com/). Follow Your Heart’s facility is also 100% solar powered so besides feeling good about eating and purchasing their foods, you can feel good about helping the environment as well. And most of their products are gluten-free so they’re perfect for those on a gluten-free diet.

Currently Follow Your Heart produces the following products: Vegenaise, which comes in unique flavors such as Roasted Garlic Vegenaise Gourmet, Barbeque Vegenaise Gourmet, Pesto Vegenaise Gourmet and their other traditional Vegenaise flavors. They also make Dairy Alternatives which are dairy-free cheese, Salad Dressings in yummy flavors such as Vegan Lemon Herb, Organic Tamari Miso, Organic Bleu Cheese, Vegan Honey Mustard, and many other delicious flavors. They also make Thick & Creamy Dressings which are great as dips and marinades in flavors such as Organic Thick & Chunky Bleu Cheese and Organic Thick & Creamy Ranch. And their renowned sauces and marinades in unique flavors such as Mild Balsamic Barbeque Sauce and Spicy Balsamic Barbeque Sauce. And ofcourse, their famous Follow Your Heart Veggie Burger that’s incredibly juicy and very much “meat-like” for those non-vegetarians who has a hard time giving up meat.

Vegetarian foods are easy to come by and easy to make and if you have the right tools such as marinades and dressings from Follow Your Heart, it doesn’t have to be boring either. People imagine vegetarians eating grass and straw (and hey, maybe some of them do) but that’s really not the case. Vegetarian fare is all about eating what’s healthier and sustainable and in fact, with vegetarian food, you can really go all out with the ingredients. Imagine a traditional lettuce salad using fresh corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a mixture of Follow Your Heart’s Barbeque Sauce and Dressings -flavor explosion! And if you’re wondering how to use their products, Follow Your Heart offers a great array of recipes on their website to enhance your culinary experience. Follow Your Heart knew that long time vegetarians like myself enjoy great-tasting vegetarian food so they had sent me several coupons to pick up any variety or flavors of my choice. They are also offering 2 LUCKY readers of Happymomblogger the opportunity to win their Vegan Made Easy Kit which is pictured below. So how do you win this ultra yummy prize? Read below to find out!

Here’s how to enter in the Follow Your Heart giveaway:

(Please note, the rules have changed slightly. Please read carefully before entering)

ENTRIES:

#1 entry – “Like” Follow Your Heart on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/FYHProducts and write on their wall that you are entering the contest at Happymomblogger: http://www.happymomblogger.wordpress.com/. Please put Happymomblogger as the heading.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES: 

#2 entry – Become a follower: http://twitter.com/#!/happymomblogger and “Tweet” me @happymomblogger that you are entering the Follow Your Heart giveaway.

#3 entry – Subscribe to my Blog.

#4 entry – Enter in my other contests.

#5 entry – Vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs using the link provided below.

You can enter by telling me the 5 entries in the LEAVE A COMMENT box. Please be sure to give me your name and email address so that I may contact you if you win. Contest is open to residents of US only. 18 years and older please. Please be sure to provide a physical address and not a P.O. Box. Only 1 contestant per household please. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of prize. Any violation of the rules will deem your entry as disqualified. Happymomblogger is not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged prizes but will do the best to ensure your prize gets there. In  the event the winner can not be contacted within 3 days of email sent then another winner will be chosen. Contestants must not have won a Follow Your Heart contest/sweepstake/giveaway within 90 days of this post. No purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibed by law.

Contest Start Date: July 11, 2012

Contest End Date: July 18, 2012 –  Congratulations to Layne and Maryann for winning the prizes!

Only 2 winners will be chosen at random and I will post the winners names on my blog.

GOOD LUCK AND THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

Disclaimer: The product(s)were sent to the author for review by the manufacturer/PR. All reviews on “Happymomblogger” remain unbiased and unpaid and are the sole decision of the author. The opinions of these product(s) were not influenced in any way, shape, or form. As always, please read the ingredients carefully when trying new products. 

Please read the labels and ingredients carefully and follow all manufacturer’s instructions (if any). The products selected for the giveaway were generously donated by the companies/PR to help readers learn more about their products. The winner’s choice in using/consuming these products are entirely up to the winner and will not hold the author and her family liable nor the companies/PR liable. These products are made with non-toxic ingredients but always be safe with what you use and consume.

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