Last year I was really miff’d around this time when I was surfing the review blogs. Slanket and Snuggie t.v. commercials and print ads from Harriet Carter to Rite Aid were inescapable. Some new version of Elmo might have been the hottest new toy craze for kids, but blankets with sleeves were trying to invade the grown-up market through mass advertising.

And I was miff’d because it seemed like every which way I looked there was condescending mocking by people who hadn’t even bothered to try one out.   I don’t mind someone being critical of a product because they have tried it personally and come to the conclusion that it isn’t for them, especially if they can explain why in some logical, practical or aesthetic means. However, instead I read comments that suggested that the people in the commercials, and thus the people who would buy such products, are inept because “until I saw this Snuggie commercial I never realized just how incredibly difficult it was for many people to get their hands out from under a blanket^*“.

The reviewers and the commenters, the ones who did not own nor had not ever actually tried on or come in contact with, a Slanket or a Snuggie, viciously criticized the appearance — suggesting they looked like something worn by monks or cult members or that the design was just a backward robe.  They also suggested that wearing them to outdoor sporting events like the family in the commercial was an invitation to harassment, embarrassment and “a beating”.  Plus, they ridiculed the “one size fits all” sizing by stating the obvious that they are clearly too large for small children — this sizing thing has been corrected over the last year as you can now buy various sizes including children’s and dog sizes.  (I really want to roll my eyes at the last one, despite being an avid dog dresser-upper.)

O.K. So here’s the thing about the appearance, who cares how it makes you look if you’re warm? I can’t tell you how many football games I went to “back in the day” in inclement weather and 20 minutes after arriving I stopped caring how my hair looked or if my lip gloss was glossy or whatever;  mostly I either cared about what was going on in the game, what I was going to order from the concession guy, or how I was going to stay dry, cool,  or warm in the stands.  Nobody cares what you look like either because all they care about is the game, the concession guy, the bathroom, and the weather.

And if you aren’t in public, well, then you know it really doesn’t matter.  When was the last time you bothered to worry about matching socks, matching PJs, putting the toilet paper roll on the ring, pouring the juice into a glass instead of drinking from the bottle, putting the toilet seat down, and so on, when it was just you at home?

The blanket with sleeves is a wonderful invention.  It’s not a backward robe.  You aren’t supposed to go wandering around your house, shuffling along in it; the length is too long for that — cuz’ it’s a blanket.  You don’t want to trip and hurt yourself.  You are supposed to snuggle into your favorite chair or curl up on the sofa, pulling it around you so your body, including your feet are toasty warm.  Your hands can stay tucked under the longish sleeves if you like — say if you are watching t.v. and you just need a free hand to occasionally change the channel on the remote.  Or as in my case, pet cats and dogs as they exchange positions on the sofa and my lap.  (Sometimes one will crawl under the Slanket/Snuggie for a warmer experience.)  Your hands are also free to hold a book, knit, do some sewing, type away on the ole laptop, engage in dinner eating, and so on.  The list goes on and on.

During the extra cold Winter last year, when for 4 days in December I didn’t have heat in my house and for the month of January, Maine had an average high of 3°F while I broke in my new wood pellet furnace which had a habit of turning off in the middle of the night, I survived every evening curled up in my living room with my Slanket.   I also have a Snuggie this year so I thought I could now fairly give a review of the differences, in my opinion.

The Slanket is made of a thick Polyester Microfiber and the Snuggie is made of a thin fleece material.  Of the two, the Slanket is much heavier, feels warmer and softer, and has more of a blanket feel to it.  The Snuggie, while quite warm, feels too thin for psychological comfort.  The Slanket is also about 20 – 30 inches longer than the Snuggie — something to keep in mind for those concerned with height.  You can easily get up and wander around in the Snuggie, while I feel the Slanket is best left behind on the sofa or in the chair, like a real blanket.

Of course, what may be the deciding factor for most people is the cost.  The grown-up person’s Snuggie is available in local stores like Rite Aid and Wal-Mart for around $15 or online from $14 to $19, not including shipping.  (I found mine at Rite Aid for $14.99.)  The Slanket is about twice the cost online from $35 to $45.  The Slanket came first and the Snuggie is the imitation.

Personally, of my two, I prefer my Slanket. There’s just something about the feel of the thick blanket wrapped around me from my feet to my neck while I cuddle with my snoring Pug on a really cold night while watching reruns on Lifetime or TNT or USA that gives me the warm fuzzies.  I think the extra money was worth it, proving that you do in fact get what you pay for.

Do you have one?  Which do you prefer?  Why don’t you share your story in the comments?

After my hopscotching my way down the lane of temptation to gooey Cheeseland (as opposed to Candyland), I’ve been keeping my eyes out for easy-to-make and cheaper-than-take-out Italian-style vegan meals to help me get back on track.  I found two such items in the frozen foods section of Whole Foods during my semi-weekly trip last Tuesday.

Amy's (Non Dairy) Baked Ziti Bowl

I just love ziti. Besides Alfredo on any kind of pasta , Baked Zita is my favorite.  O.K. we’ll call it my favorite of the red sauce pasta dishes, to be followed by Eggplant Parmesan, Spaghetti the way my mother used to makeit even if I do have to substitute meatless crumbles now.  So, when I found Amy’s Baked Ziti in a vegan version, I was excited.  I wish more of her items were vegan or that Whole Foods carried more of the vegan options.

I really should have taken a good look at the photo on the box so I would have been less surprised by the amount of peas in the dish.  I’m not a fan of peas as a rule.  I only like them as a dehydrated snack.  They were very hard to eat around.  However, that’s my only real complaint, considering this is a t.v. dinner with faux cheese and no gluten pasta.  The cheese really melted well — better than her non-dairy pizzas — and the portion is just right for a full meal.  Someone who isn’t supposed to restrict their meal sizes could probably add a side salad or a side vegetable or a fruit for “dessert”.  I will most likely stock my fridge with this again when I don’t have the time or gumption to make a whole big batch of my own secret recipe.

Whole Kitchen Vegan Meatballs

Now, I have to admit I was particularly excited about the discovery of Whole Food’s own frozen foods brand Whole Kitchen.  Well, O.K. I was really more excited about the fact that they had boxed up their Vegan Meatballs so there would be no more lurking in the deli section, hovering over the prepared foods, hoping beyond hope that this week someone back there had thought to mix together some meatless meatballs for those of us who are vegetarian Italian food lovers.  One time two years ago, I happened upon one container in the deli of Whole Foods “Meatless Meatballs” and I thought they were the best vegetarian substitute I’d ever tasted and to the agony of my mother and my co-workers, I have been bemoaning for two years that I have gone faithfully every week looking for them, never to see such things again.

But there they were in the freezer section.

So, I dressed them up in a Tomato & Basil Marinara Sauce that I found freshly made in the deli section (of course) and cooked them through.  I placed two slices of rice “Mozarella” cheese on an open whole wheat “hoagie” and spooned the hot, sauce-soaked meatless meatballs onto the cheese and bread and placed the open sandwhich into the microwave for 45 seconds so the cheese would melt a little and the bread would be soft and warm.

It was heaven!  Better than Subway or any sandwhich shop I can remember.  Next time I’m going to try those vegan meatballs with Spaghetti or maybe some Baked Ziti.  I wonder how they go with Alfredo — I have an “Alfredo” Sauce recipe made with tofu that’s supposed to be to-die-for…  

So Delicious Coconut Yogurt Pina Colada

I’m a soy yogurt eater; I was a soy yogurt eater even before the beginning of the transition to The Eat Vegan Experiment on August 1^rst.   I normally eat Stonyfield soy yogurt.   However, I noticed SO Delicious and Silk yogurts listed on a vegan website.  I’m not usually someone to try a new brand when I’m perfectly happy with what I;m familiar with.  However, since I’m trying out the whole vegan thing, I thought I might go for broke.

Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t paying close attention and I didn’t realize that SO Delicious has both soy yogurt and coconut yogurt.

Despite being really excited about the Piña Colada flavor, I was very disappointed in the texture of the coconut yogurt.  It was too thin — actually, I thought it was kind of slimy.  There were bits of pineapple, which I’m sure people like, but I’m not someone who likes finding fruit in my yogurt that I didn’t put there.  In fact, there was something slimy at the bottom of the cup that wasn’t a pineapple bit that still gives me the willies and I haven’t had the guts to try the Passionate Mango flavor I also accidentally picked up.

Silk Live!® Soy Yogurt Key Lime

Hopefully the Silk Live!® Soy Yogurt Key Lime I also picked up will be much better.

Fortunately, I also bought a 32oz tub of Stonyfield plain soy yogurt to make smoothies.  However, I really need to get ahead of things, get some menus planned, get into a routine, get my soy milk maker running every couple of days like I used to and then get back to making my own soy yogurt.

It’s just so easy to slip out of that routine when the fatigue and pain become too much.  It just gets easier to buy things already made, even though I know it’s not as good for me.  It all becomes a spiral out-of-control and it’s not always easy to stop being overwhelmed and gain control again, no matter what my intentions and desires are.  Sometimes the days I have the biggest plans and the days I’m most thwarted by my illness.