There are a lot of products out there – some better than others. I’ve tried quite a few, and figured I’d share some winners, to spare you the inevitable buy-taste-hate-throw-away of a ton of things before finding gold.

** Feel free to add your own winners in the comments! I’ll keep updating this page as I find new things, so check back periodically. Also, if there’s a specific genre you’d like thoughts on and I don’t have it here, please comment, as I very well may have a go-to product that I just forgot to write down.

– Arizona Peppers Hot Sauces – this stuff is the best hot sauce we’ve ever had (and I’m from Texas). It’s perfect as a topper to just about any dish! Definitely try it out. I know Whole Foods carries this, as well as a few other places. So look around your store, or you can always just order online. My go-to is the jalapeno one, but I use the habanero one in soups (less product for more spice) or when I want to see dead people.

– Beyond Meat stuff, namely their beefy beef crumbles. They are almost indistinguishable from regular ground beef! Their chicken is also delicious, but you can taste the difference a bit more with them. Both products can be found at Whole Foods Market; the chicken in the refrigerated section (usually with the tofu and stuff), and the beef crumbles in the freezer section. Here is a coupon for Buy-one-Get-one-Free! I also just found them at my local Safeway! Score! So check their store finder to find a supplier near you.

– Hampton Creek’s Just Mayo – the best mayo I’ve had! Even better than eggy mayo (Hellman’s, Spectrum, etc).  It’s gluten-free, soy-free (! for a mayo! yes!), but full of delicious flavor. Find it in the refrigerated section – not on the shelf. You won’t be sorry!

– Lotus Foods Rice Ramen – the best ramen noodles out there. Though I would stick with the millet and the jade pearl flavors; the forbidden one doesn’t taste as good and falls apart terribly (though the jade pearl has been slightly inconsistent the last couple packages). The WF in Bellevue carried these, but the WF here in Berkeley does not. So I order them online from Amazon (in packs of 6). Reviews have said that QC is a bit off and sometimes the noodles don’t come apart or something, but (knock on wood) that’s either been fixed, or I just haven’t had that experience (yet) – at least with the millet version. The Lotus Foods rices are also good, they have many of the specialty rices (forbidden black, red, etc). Pricey, but good.

– Crunchmaster Crackers – Only two flavors don’t have some type of dairy – the sea salt (my favorite) and original (contains soy sauce). Hands down, best crackers in the biz. They have a perfect crispiness with just the right amount of salty seasoning – it goes great with just about any dip. Even with jams – I like topping these with vegan ricotta and some apricot jam… Mmm!

– Speaking of crackers, Mary’s Gone Crackers are also quite tasty. They are a bit more forward with their own flavor, a very nutty/seedy flavor that goes really well with dips and vegan cheeses. Probably not so much the sweeter or more delicately flavored stuff, though.

– Schar Gluten Free Spaghetti – this is the best gf spaghetti I have tried so far. Other brands either fall apart or have a weird flavor (or both). These stay nicely al-dente, and you can spin it on your fork like regular pasghetti, and the flavor is spot-on. I also order this one from Amazon (in packs of 5), since I haven’t found it in a local store here yet (but it was at the WF back in Seattle).

– Lucky GF/Vegan Spring Rolls – These are delish! I didn’t think there was a gluten-free and vegan egg-roll type thing, but then I saw these at Whole Foods! They are actually quite tasty and get perfectly crispy in the toaster oven. They come in original and Thai flavors; I’ve only had the original, which is pretty standard and traditional to the veggie egg roll.