Wednesday, May 9, 2012 food holiday, product review, sponsor
National Shrimp Day
"Civilization as it is known today could not have evolved, nor can it survive, without an adequate food supply." - Norman Borlaug
At this point, I think it's safe to say that Sophie's Kitchen and I are like totally biffles! They graciously sponsored National Crabmeat Day, National Spanish Paella Day, National Shrimp Scampi Day, and today's food holiday. I'm not totally sure what I would have done without their support as I attempt to eat the year (as vegan as possible), so I wanted to extend a personal thanks to Sophie's Kitchen for simply existing. Because of companies like them, eating more compassionately/sustainably/healthily is totally doable and delicious (which is why I think a lot of people stray away from a plant-based diet; they assume everything we eat is bland and difficult to make).
Today, I got the chance to try Sophie's Kitchen Breaded Vegan Shrimp (which are soy, cholesterol, GMO, trans fat, preservatives, and MSG free . . . but are a totally awesome source for protein, fiber, calcium, and iron). With a little oil on a skillet, I lightly fried them to golden perfection. I was really impressed with how similar, though larger, these were to the popcorn shrimp I ate in my youth. Remember, I live in a state where there's more than 3,000 miles of coast line; there are loads of mom and pop style seafood restaurants all over the place (even in my town, and I'm 40 minutes from the coast). This is a girl who's eaten her weight in fried shrimp (and scallops, clams, haddock, etc.), and Sophie's Kitchen breaded shrimp is a very close imitation to the original thing (they taste the best straightaway after frying them up - don't let them sit around for any length of time). They're definitely my second favorite of the products I've tried from SK so far (I seriously can't get over those sexy, sexy crab cakes).
Sophie's Kitchen was started because of, and named after, the owner's little girl named Sophie. She loved seafood, but was terribly allergic to it. Not wanting to take any chances with her health, the creator's of Sophie's Kitchen decided to create a line of products that are taste-test approved by Sophie herself (aren't kids like the pickiest eaters in the world? If Sophie's approving these awesome and sustainable alternative's to seafood, there's a good chance you're gonna like 'em too!).
And remember: we don't really live on "Planet Earth" if three-quarters of our earth's surface is ocean. According to Protect Planet Ocean (a more appropriate name for where we live), "The sheer number of people who use and depend on the ocean, and the sometimes unwise practices we adopt, have created problems such as overharvest of resources, reduction in biodiversity, and degradation of marine habitats and species, among others. We risk the very ecosystems on which our survival depends."
Sophie's Kitchen is doing their part to protect out most important resource... are you?
LET'S HAVE A GIVEAWAY!
THREE LUCKY WINNERS WILL WIN TWO PACKAGES OF SOPHIE'S KITCHEN VEGAN SEAFOOD.
(well, coupons to go get what you want that is!)
MANDATORY ENTRY:
All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me how you would eat/prepare/serve your Sophie's Kitchen vegan seafood (i.e.: very soon I plan on trying the breaded vegan fish fillets and having fish and chips British style in newspaper with loads of vinegar! Om nom nom.)
ADDITIONAL CHANCES TO WIN:
(Leave a separate comment for each bonus entry, please!)
- Like Almanac of Eats on Facebook
- Follow Almanac of Eats on Twitter
- Tweet about the giveaway and comment with a link to your tweet (you may tweet DAILY for one bonus entry each day!)
- Post on your own blog/website about the giveaway and comment with the link
- Like Sophie's Kitchen on Facebook
- Follow Sophie's Kitchen on Twitter
Contest ends Tuesday night, May 15th at 11:59pm EST. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Using Random.org three (3) people will be selected as the winners, and will be contacted via email. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to notification with shipping info. If no response, another winner will be chosen. See contest rules for more information. No purchase necessary – void where prohibited by law. Disclosure: prize provided by the giveaway sponsor.
Happy National Shrimp Day!
Disclaimer: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer. Opinions expressed are totally my own and are NOT in anyway influenced by monetary compensation.
I still haven't tried anything from Sophie's Kitchen, but I've heard a lot of positive things about their products. I'm sure whatever I tried would involve lots of malt vinegar and a healthy amount of lemon squeezing! Would there also be baked fries present? My sources say yes.
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