Thursday, April 26, 2007

I've FOUND IT!

This deserves its own post, I think.

So lately, Daiku and I have been in a bit of a vegan ice cream funk. Our local food co-op only carries 4 flavors of Purely Decadent, and we were getting so bored with those. Our major supermarket (Wegmans) used to carry a greater selection but, inexplicably, stopped carrying Purely Decadent all together. This is especially painful because Purely Decadent has just come out with 4 fascinating-sounding new flavors (Coconut Craze! Pomegranate Chip! So Very Strawberry! and my favorite of all, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (gluten free)!)

We felt really out of the exciting vegan loop. One Friday night, as we were driving around to pick up cat litter (yes, that's just how exciting our lives are, thank you very much), Daiku mentioned that we might have a last best hope. "There's a SUPER Wegmans," he said. "In the... suburbs." The suburbs, eh? I was up for an adventure. "Let's go!" I said.

So we took the freeway a couple of miles to a super Wegmans, which, honestly, is one of the biggest supermarkets I've ever seen. Best of all, it had the world's biggest natural/health foods section. Damn, these suburbanites have it good! We made a beeline for the ice cream freezer, almost knocking down an innocent child in the process. This Wegmans, unlike our own, which by the way was seeming more and more puny with every passing second, still carried Purely Decadent. We didn't see any of the new flavors, though.

But wait! And I swear that KT Tunstall's song "Suddenly I See" started playing over the loudspeakers just as I noticed...



Temptation! Temptation! Right here in Syracuse! This is the famous vegan ice cream that I had heard so much about, but had never gotten to try. I had even emailed the company, asking if they were distributed in Syracuse, and had gotten a negative response. I had actually hatched elaborate plans involving driving 45 minutes to Ithaca, where I knew the co-op sells Temptation, with coolers and ice packs to stock up on Temptation, that is how bad I wanted to try this ice cream.

Daiku picked vanilla. I picked cookie dough. We drove home, deliriously thrilled. We put some in a cone. We tasted. We were in heaven. The flavor is a lot lighter and more ice-cream-like than Purely Decadent. It has less of a cloying soy aftertaste. And it is rich. Did I mention they were only $2.99 a pint?



Here is a cone with one scoop of Temptation Vanilla and one scoop of:



Have you ever tried fruit-sweetened Soy Delicious? It really is good- I have tried and liked both the pistachio almond and awesome chocolate varieties, and they were both delicious, with vibrant flavors.

So in conclusion, I feel like spring is truly here. Vegans have awesome ice cream options. I think I might like KT Tunstall now. And Purely Decadent? I'm sorry to say, it is SO not my favorite any more. We had our good times and all, but I'm ready to move on.

Temptation is a cute little 100% vegan company that wears their heart and ethics on their sleeves. Literally- you should read their pacakging. If you live east of the Mississippi(update, 4/26: Diann corrected me, this stuff is available west of the Mississippi too! If your store doesn't carry it, ask your manager to do so), please support them (and do yourself a favor) by buying some. And check out their website: http://www.welovesoy.com/

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26 comments:

scottishvegan said...

I’ve never seen (or heard!) of Temptation ice cream or fruit sweetened Soy Delicious before! I’ll need to look out for these for Wee G…he is a big ice cream fan! I am always amazed by the array of non-dairy ice cream that they sell in my local Whole Foods! Who is buying it all?! And I love that KT Tunstall song…she is Scottish, so I gotta love her!

Unknown said...

I like soy delicious. I've never seen (or even heard of) Temptation either. Now I feel ice-cream deprived!

Judy said...

Suburban grocery stores rock. The ones in my area (or non-area really, since I'm not in suburbia) carry lots of organic and natural products, more than the smaller, sometimes independent stores. Nice to see that you found a new favourite ice cream.

Susan Voisin said...

Congratulations! I have to admit that I also haven't heard of Temptation or Purely Decadent. I could blame it on being in the deprived South (though we do have Soy Delicious in our grocery store) but I probably wouldn't have noticed it if it was there. You are seriously into vegan ice cream! Oh to be young and thin!

Emmy said...

That rocks you found Temptation!!! Unfortunately, I've been having a tough time finding it here...apparently they might lose their shelf space at Whole Foods in the Midwest. That's insane because it's made here in Chicagoland. Wahhhhhh! :(

I haven't tried the fruit-sweetened Soy Delicious. I'll definitely check that out. The pistachio almond flavor sounds yummy.

Anonymous said...

im so envy! i want vegan ice cream here!

Nikk said...

I just tried the fruit sweetened Soy Delicious. It was so so SO good!

I think it's my new favorite, because I don't feel guilty eating it.

Kati said...

haha, first of all, I didn't know Syracuse had suburbs! Dewitt? Fayetteville? Manlius?? That just tickled me to think of Syracuse as a major city - it certainly is the biggest in the area. I didn't know there was such a thing as a SuperWegman's, either. Talk about being out of the loop!

Anyway, I will be joining you in Upstate NY in a few months. After much deliberation, J and I have decided to move to Ithaca in the fall (yay!). I am SO looking forward to Greenstar, among other things.

Glad you found the Temptation! It really does live up to the name...

Matt and Bobbie said...

What a funny story! Amusing. I LOVE Temptation ice cream. It's the best--vegan or otherwise.

Carrie™ said...

Isn't it awesome when you find something you want or want to try? What you described is how I feel when I see new (or read about) veg*n things in my area. As you've probably read on other blogs, the choices in Canada compared to the USA are very slim. I quite like Purely Decadent (was very disappointed with Cookie Avalanche, but LOVE Praline Pecan)so I'm keen to try Temptation. It will probably be years before it show up in Canada. :o(

Matthew Ruscigno said...

Here is LA we have three ice cream shops that carry vegan ice cream, one of which makes their own unique flavors (eg vanilla oreo, strawberry cheesecake, green tea) from scratch. Maybe Earth Crisis will eat there after their show in Ventura. Sorry about that, but I couldn't resist making an Earth Crisis reference after reading about Syracuse.

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

Now I have a new mission --- FIND TEMPTATION ice cream. :o)

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

They have a fun & edgy web site:

Enjoy Temptation. Go all the way. We do.

XO

Teresa said...

Isn't it great to find something you've been searching for? I just love that feeling. And too funny about the poor kid you almost took out. Surprisingly I've never heard of tempation. Although I have tried fruit sweetened soy delicious. It's the only vegan ice cream I've had so I can't compare it to others, but I really like the espresso flavor. The only other flavor I've had is green tea, and well I was slighty dissapointed. But yeah woo-hoo to fruit sweetened and vegan ice cream!

-Teresa

aTxVegn said...

It's west of the MS too! Yay for spring and vegan ice cream.

Susan said...

This looks so awesome! I will have to make a trip to Whole Foods to check this out. Thanks for the tip!

KleoPatra said...

This is a first, never heard of that brand, TEMPTATION!! Wow, i'm gonna have to check it out. Thank you kindly for a groovy post! YUMMY!

KleoPatra said...

And P.S. $2.99 a pint?

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Amey said...

oh COOL!
Thanks for the great reviews and info. My friend Victor and I are in the midst of planning a big huge "Ice Cream Sunday" - a nondairy ice cream tasting party. I'll be sure to look for temptation. funola!

:)

runswithdog said...

I am going to have to check that Weg's out. I am always on the lookout for ice cream. I think I heard that they are also going to be expanding that store and it's Nature's Market. I do love to shop there (at certain times, sometimes it is really, really packed!) but I always feel guilty, like I am cheating on the co-op or Naturetyme :-(
~runswithdog (living in the Syr 'burbs but with an urban soul!)

Dori said...

I went to check out the temptations ad and was disruptive in laughing during the second hour study hall I am monitoring (oh no!). I love it, i am going to make it a point to seek some out sometime. Thanks for sharing your find!

Neva said...

I've never even heard of Temptation! I'll have to look for it. I think to find really good vegan stuff I might have to drive some. I can get a lot of things at our local store, but they are small with a somewhat limited selection.

We haven't bought any "soycream" in a while though. Sean always says I'm making him fat.

laura k said...

LOL - Leslie and I recently had a huge conversation about ice cream! I haven't seen Temptation, but I"ll be looking out for it (and requesting it!) because I would love to support a 100% vegan company! Although, the Purely Decadent flavors are still delicious...

TB said...

i'm so about to go on a hunt for temptation ice cream... not sure they have it in california, but it's worth a search if all you say is true! :)

Mikaela said...

"One Friday night, as we were driving around to pick up cat litter (yes, that's just how exciting our lives are, thank you very much)."

I love it! :D

vko said...

Okay, have been totally loving my mint chocolate chip Purely Decadent, but now I really feel like I'm missing out. What is this Temptation that you speak of? I live in NYC- I must be able to find it somewhere, right?!?