Eco-Vegan Daily Download: New Frozen Vegan Food, Eco Marketplace, and The Coconut Shortage

Highlighted Greenwala Article

A Cruel Delicacy: Eating Animals While They're Still Alive

Business Opportunity

Greenwala is launching an eco marketplace on which they're looking for companies to sell their products and services. It's free to have your own store, and there's just a minimal commission percentage taken out of each sale. Since I'm one of the editors for the site, you can contact me if you're interested in more details and I'll put you in touch with the right people.

Vegan Food News

If you're not in New York City you can now enjoy Candle 79 & Candle Cafe's foods by visiting a Whole Foods near you! The famous vegan restaurants now offer 4 of their delicious meals in frozen form for just $5.99! The mouthwatering options are: Seitan Piccata with Lemon Caper Sauce, Ginger Miso Stir-Fry, and Mac & Vegan Cheese (made with Daiya of course). If you prefer to have freshly made food, check out Candle 79's new cookbook, which is available by pre-order (looks amazing!)

There's a new pizza spot in town and it's called Stella Rossa Pizza Bar. Located in Santa Monica, their food is created by a hip, young chef who's happy to cater to vegans and gets his ingredients from the farmers market. Though I haven't tried it myself yet, I've been told that the pizza dough is vegan, so they’re able to make a variety of vegan pizzas. Each of the salads can be made vegan, and the vegetable anti pasta can be made vegan too.

Events

Dallas, TX - October 23rd: Texas State Veggie Fair. Vegan events with speakers, cooking demos, and more!

Worth a Read

Can't find your favorite flavor of Coconut Bliss? It's probably because there's a coconut shortage! I'm bummed that the new Maca flavor is so hard to find. : (

Cool Eco Stuff

Children's book swap through ThreadUp

Green, Vegan Women Give Tips On How To Eat Sustainably

I was thrilled to be on a WorldFest panel with my eco-vegan gal pals Rachel Avalon & Vanessa Meier to talk about sustainability and food. We had a great turn out and I even got to meet some Eco-Vegan Gal followers! Luckily, if you missed it, Vanessa and her amazing vegan fiancé Todd edited together some of the best parts of our talk - check it out:



Here are the points made in the video:

Vegan Resources Inspired By The Mary Jones Show

It was a pleasure to be on the Mary Jones Show this morning to speak about veganism! Mary admitted that she had some "selfish motives" and wanted to learn more about the diet in order to understand some family members she will be entertaining this weekend. She asked me some great questions and here are some resources that anyone can check out for more information.

Vegan Sources of Protein ~ here is a list of 5 foods that are animal-free and packed with amino acids, in an article I wrote for Organic Authority. This is the most popular article that I've written for them, and it comes as no surprise since it's such a common question.

Eco-Vegan Daily Download: Radio Interview, Raw Food Recipes, Festivals, & Books

Eco-Vegan Gal News

I'm being interviewed on a live radio station this Tuesday the 14th at 10:15am Eastern (7:15 PST) on The Mary Jones Show. If you can't tune in I'll try to post a recording of it afterwards.

Mini Review

Sunshine "Hemp-Fast" Breakfast Patties ~ For the longest time I didn't like Sunshine's burgers - they tasted really bland and...well, too earthy. But since going gluten and soy free I forced myself to try them again and realized they're actually really good. I'm assuming this is because my palate has changed, but they're actually a really popular brand and are available in most natural markets, probably because they are virtually allergy free. This morning I tried their Hemp-Fest Breakfast Patty and loved it. It has that breakfast patty flavor and hearty whole grain taste. The only problem is that they're quite dry, especially when you don't cook them in oil (healthier) and they fall apart really easily. But I enjoyed it completely on it's on and was very satisfied.

Food For Thought: Would You Eat Dairy & Eggs From Your Backyard?

If you're a vegan you're used to getting a lot of questions about your lifestyle. Some questions come out of curiosity, others are meant to challenge your beliefs. One question I receive pretty regularly is: "if you had a cow & chickens in your backyard, would you drink milk & eat eggs?" In other words, is the cruel dairy industry and lack of control over it what's stopping you from consuming? Most vegans will answer no to this (including me) because they don't want to use animals in any way, no matter what. However, there are certainly some who become vegan to boycott the meat and dairy industries, so they may eat dairy and eggs if in the backyard.

Eco-Vegan Daily Download: Vegan Dating, Drive Through, and Organic Wine

Vegan News

Image from QuarryGirl

You won't believe this, but a vegan drive through is opening outside of Los Angeles! Best of al, they'll have jackfruit! It's called Plant Food for People and will be located in Highland Park. Check out QuarryGirl for the rest of the scoop.

Social Tips: How to Become a Vegetarian/Vegan Despite Criticism

For some people going veg is easy - it can happen overnight (like it did for me) or it occurs slowly over time with the support of friends and family. But for many, this diet and lifestyle choice can be very difficult to adapt due to criticism from others - and many give it up as a result. This is especially challenging for youth, who are still discovering who they are and relying on input from others to help them figure it out.

Yesterday I received an email from a Jessica of Tree Kisser asking her vegan friends to send a letter of encouragement to an 8th grader who is trying to go veg despite receiving lots of anger and mocking from her parents. She's a potential budding activist, but definitely at risk of turning back due to all the pressure around her. This is so sad and frustrating, but certainly not uncommon. Even after 8 years of being an educated vegan I have to defend myself on a regular basis, but I've developed the confidence it takes to stay strong despite this.

I reached out to my social media community and asked them to share some brief inspiration and advice for this budding veggie and here's what they had to say.

Eco-Vegan Daily Download: Virgins, CSA, and New Vegan Food!

Food News

Sol Cuisine's products are finally available in Whole Foods stores in Northern California, Southern California, North Atlantic, North East, Midwest and Southwest regions. I love their falafel.

Simple Organic, Gluten-Free, Vegan Dinner

After I returned from Debra's Natural Gourmet in West Concord, MA (an amazing market with lots of organic, vegan, gluten-free options and bulk foods) I put together this simple organic meal for me and my mom.

• Broccoli "pan fried" in water
• Homemade polenta (seasoned with salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and nutritional yeast)
• Veggie chili from Debra's
• Water with fresh peppermint, cucumber, and lemon

Eco-Vegan Daily Download: tortillas, beer, and free desserts!

Mini Review

I just tried Food For Life's Brown Rice Tortillas for the first time and they are so yummy! What a great gluten-free option for making wraps, burritos, and quesadillas! You can have them uncooked, warm and soft, or baked/broiled and crispy (my favorite). Put them in the freezer and they can last a while, but with only 6 in a package they'll probably be gone before long!

Vegan Dining in Somerville, MA at The Pulse Café & True Bistro

I became a vegan in Boston in 2003, but at the time there were limited options. There was Buddha's Delight (now called My Thai), a delicious Asian vegan restaurant that has a mind blowing selection of faux meats that was unbelievable to me as a new vegan. There was/is also Grasshopper, another yummy Asian place right outside of Boston in Allston. Allston is also home to one of the only vegan pizza joints in the whole country - once called TJ Scallywaggles (seriously) and is now called Peace O Pie. After I moved away a raw vegan restaurant opened in the North End called Grezzo, but they recently closed. Over the years all sorts of vegan options started springing up in and around Boston, so it's always a pleasure to visit.

When I landed at Logan Airport a few days ago I was ready to experience a new vegan restaurant, and I was happily overwhelmed with choices. Something told me I should check out one of two places in Somerville, a cozy residential neighborhood across the river from Boston and next to Cambridge (home of Harvard University). Turns out that was an excellent decision.

Who Needs Hostess? Moo-Cluck's Vegan Cream Filled Cupcakes

I admit it, I'm a sucker for packaging, so when I saw Moo-Cluck's cute cupcake label in Whole Foods Framingham (MA) and discovered that they are vegan, I couldn't resist. Even though they contain gluten and sugar and they're not organic, I was willing to make an exception and share it with my sister - all because of the packaging. Who can resist a cute cow and chicken advertising dairy and egg free treats? I certainly can't.

Eco-Vegan Daily Download: Race Car Drivers, Yummy Chocolate Dessert, and Free Yoga!

Vegan Food

Coconut Milk "ice cream" at Trader Joes. Gluten-free & vegan, but not organic and contains sugar, as opposed to name brands that are organic and use agave nectar. But it's really delicious - tastes like creamy chocolate frozen pudding!