Winners is the best for us Picky Bitchez, and here's why

By Giselle Wedemire

I have a long and storied obsession with Winners (and Marhsalls, and TJ Maxx, if I’m in the US). If I’m having a rough day, or if I’ve got a bit of walking money burning a hole in my pockets, I almost always seek out the fluorescent lit aisles of my neighbourhood Winners in hopes of scoring a deal. Even if I don’t buy anything on a given trip, there’s just something about those stores and the requisite digging and scavenging for a deal that calms me.

This obsession predates my veganism by a number of years, but my commitment to a meat- and cruelty-free life has only bolstered my love for Winners stores everywhere. And for good reason, too: with their well-stocked, vegan-friendly options in their beauty, food, clothing, and accessories sections, stores like Winners et. al. are veritable vegan havens, if you know how to shop with a keen eye.

Photo via Wikipedia

Here are some things to keep an eye out for during your next trip to Winners:

Menses Munchies: Jazzed up Daiya cheezecakes

By Giselle Wedemire

Welcome to a new feature just for us girls that I'd like to call Menses Munchies. In this feature, I plan on providing a monthly spotlight on sweet, calorific vegan treats that can help to chase away menstrual camps and make you feel less like an ogre that's set on destroying the nearest village.

For my inaugural Menses Munchies mention, I'd like to give a shoutout to Daiya's new(ish) vegan cheescakes, which, as I found out the other day, are perfect for lady time. You see, as I was just beginning to surf the crimson wave the other day, I found myself daydreaming about Daiya cheesecakes. I'm a bad vegan because up until this point -- almost a year since the company released their famed gluten-free and vegan cheesecakes to the public -- I had never taken the plunge and tried one. I blame the $9 price tag and my near-constant habit of being fiscally responsible. 

But the siren song of cheescake got louder while my increasingly painful cramps sucked my will to live, and I set off on a quest to find this mythical treat. I walked in a pained daze to my local health food store (Amaranth) to no avail. Grumpy, I then stomped to my neighbourhood Safeway, and was met with even more frustration. 

The elusive Daiya New York Cheezecake.