2019 Cleveland Veg Fest
Zygote Nation was there! … At the 2019 Cleveland Veg Fest on May 18, 2019, at the Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself at this event and came across numerous products that were new to me. Most vendors came from the Midwest United States, but there also was at least one business from Canada. The spacious convention center was an ideal venue and the weather cooperated, too, as it was a beautiful spring day on the shores of Lake Erie.
This is a worthwhile festival that easily holds it own against some of the better ones I’ve attended across the United States. Well done, Cleveland!
Here is my list of the festival’s notable vendors and products:
Wildcrafts
Photos by Michael Sirak
Wildcrafts of Elyria, Ohio, offers organic and vegan herbal folk remedies for beauty and health. These small-batch products are free of harmful chemicals, according to the company’s website. Several Wildcrafts products caught my eye, including the Stone and Snow Turmeric Ayurvedic Oil Pull for teeth and gums and the Blood Builder liver and blood tonic. The ingredients impressed me. For example, the oral oil pull contains: coconut oil, calcium carbonate, turmeric, peppermint essential oil, and clove essential oil. Wildcrafts also sells: body cream, bug spray, congestion and muscle rub, face tonic, hand sanitizer, herbal tinctures, lip balm, perfumes, pregnancy tincture, roll-on blend for immunity, sunscreen, toothache oil, and tooth-brushing powder. Interestingly, Wildcrafts’ creator Renee Anderson says she infuses her products on the new moon. “In herbal folklore, it increases the potency of the infusion,” she told Zygote Nation. “Just like the moon phases are related to the planting season, they can also be used in herbal medicine and for personal growth,” she said.
Nosh Butters
Photos by Michael Sirak
Nosh Butters of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, sells a line of small-batch vegan and gluten-free nut and seed butters in glass jars. They also are free of palm oil, according to this business’s website. The varieties I tried were delicious. My favorites were the 2Seed Almond (almonds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, coconut oil, dates) and Golden Cashew Almond (cashews, almonds, maple syrup, coconut oil, turmeric, cinnamon, ground ginger, sea salt). The current line-up also includes: Cashew Almond (cashews, almonds, sunflower oil, Himalayan pink salt), Cinnamon Sugar Peanut Pecan (pecans, peanuts, brown sugar, sunflower oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon), Pistachio Almond (roasted pistachios, roasted almonds, sunflower oil, Himalayan pink salt), and Sunshine & Hempiness (organic sunflower seeds, organic hemp seeds, organic sea salt). The butters come in mini four-ounce jars as well as 12-ounce jars and three-packs of the 12-ounce jars. The company’s representative at the show told me that Nosh Butters currently is pursuing gluten-free certification. I do hope the company will incorporate more organic ingredients in its product line, too, over time. That would make an already worthwhile product even better, in my view.
Ultra Matcha
Photo by Michael Sirak
Ultra Matcha of Pittsburgh sells a line of matcha, powdered green tea revered in Japan for providing calm alertness and a feeling of well-being. Among its benefits, matcha is rich in catechin polyphenols, compounds that studies have shown may offer protection against types of cancer and help to prevent cardiovascular disease, states the website of Dr. Andrew Weil, a well-known holistic doctor and big matcha advocate. Ultra Matcha uses Japanese tencha leaves in its two traditional blends and three enhanced blends. The former are: Ascend Matcha, which the company describes as light-bodied with grassy aromas, and Summit Matcha, its highest grade matcha that it defines as full-bodied, with sweet umami undertones (i.e., savoriness). The enhanced blends are: energy-elevating Charge Matcha (ingredients: matcha green tea, yerba mate, guarana seed, cinnamon); mind-calming Focus Matcha (matcha green tea, ginkgo leaf, ashwagandha, ginger); and immune-supporting Recover Matcha (matcha green tea, red reishi mushroom, cordyceps mushroom, maca root, cacao). In addition to 1.4-ounce jars (20 cups) and 3.2-ounce jars (45 cups), Ultra Matcha sells a 10-pack of individual servings for each variety. I like the single serving packets; they make enjoying matcha much easier when on the go.
Core + Rind
Photos by Michael Sirak
Core + Rind of St. Louis offers vegan “cheese” sauces in three varieties: Cashew Cheesy Sauce, Smoky Cashew Cheesy Sauce, and Spicy Chipotle Cashew Cheesy Sauce. They’re available in 11-ounce glass jars. Unlike other cashew-based “cheese” sauces I have come across, Core + Rind’s sauces are not laden just with cashews. Instead, each of its three varieties has a base of these five ingredients (in descending order of amount): water, pumpkin, cashews, apple cider vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil; after that are various spices depending on the blend. For example, the Smoky Cashew Cheesy Sauce has a blend of mustard seed, sea salt, tomato paste, paprika, garlic powder, natural liquid smoke, onion powder, and turmeric powder. I like the fact that there is more pumpkin in these sauces than cashews, and I like the inclusion of apple cider vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. I found these sauces to be quite tasty. The smoky blend was my favorite. I’d recommend trying it with robust gluten-free crackers for a lively snack. In addition to being vegan, these sauces also are paleo-friendly and free of gluten, grain, soy, and genetically modified ingredients, according to the company’s website.
Snowmon’s Kombucha
Photos by Michael Sirak
Snowmon’s Kombucha of Fairview Park, Ohio, markets small-batch handcrafted kombucha drinks in these flavors: Blueberry, Cucumber Mint, Ginger Lime, Ginger Turmeric Beet, Hibiscus, Pomegranate, and Raspberry. I had a bottle of the Hibiscus, took some swigs of the Ginger Lime from my sister’s bottle, and sampled the other flavors at the company’s booth. I found these drinks to be clean-tasting and refreshing. The Hibiscus flavor was on the subtle side, but I liked that. I preferred that to other hibiscus kombucha drinks I’ve had that are too syrupy. The Ginger Lime’s flavor was more pronounced, but I welcomed that, too. The drinks feature organic green tea. (Many other kombucha vendors use black tea.) With the exception of the kombucha culture and several fruit juices (e.g., blueberry, pomegranate), the drinks’ other ingredients are organic (e.g., organic cane sugar, ginger juice, turmeric juice), based on my review of the drinks’ labels. Another reason I liked Snowmon’s drinks is because they are comparatively low in sugar as kombucha drinks go. For example, the Hibiscus contains eight grams of sugar per 12-ounce bottle. The Ginger Lime has seven grams. Snowmon’s Kombucha uses reverse osmosis water, and the company utilizes only glass vessels (i.e., not plastic) for the drinks’ fermentation process, according to its website.
