Michael and I traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for New Year’s week. This was our first trip back since 2006 and our first time there as vegans. In general, we have found Mexico to be quite a vegan-friendly travel destination, as long as you can communicate in Spanish, ask questions and make requests for food prep modifications. Puerto Vallarta (PV) is no exception to this rule. As always, we checked the listings on HappyCow and PlantEaters before travelling so we had an idea of the lay of the vegan landscape. We arrived on a Sunday night and most of the vegan-friendly places we knew about were closed by the time we were settled at our hotel and ready to go get dinner. Thankfully, Planeta Vegetariano was open. Unfortunately, HappyCow had it listed in the wrong place on their map(that happens a LOT on Happy Cow) and our taxi driver had
So it’s Christmas Eve and we’re seeing LOTS of status updates on Facebook and tweets on Twitter about people being somewhat indecisive about what else they can serve tomorrow for vegans at their Christmas dinner. Are you seeing these posts as well? Well, if you are, please let your friends know that The Vegan Mos are here to help make the holiday less stressful. A holiday meal really needs a centerpiece. An ideal centerpiece is visually impressive and tastes delicious. Our Beefless Wellington is a perfect example of this. It pairs beautifully with our garlic mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. If you want to do something a bit more ethnic, you can make our Seitan Marsala which also pairs beautifully with the garlic mashed potatoes. Our Shepherdless Pie is a fabulous centerpiece because it’s so large and impressive, and it has everything in it: soy protein, veggies and covered in mashed potatoes.
As human beings, we tend to be creatures of habit. This is especially apparent when it comes to the foods we eat. All too often we stick to rigid conventions about what foods constitute breakfast versus lunch or dinner items. Since going vegan, I’ve thrown these conventions aside, having things like soup or even a leftover brisket of seitan for breakfast. Today, instead of my regular “Ooohmega Oats” breakfast, I threw my fiber/omega mix into a different grain base, opting to have quinoa for breakfast today. (I know quinoa is technically a seed and not a grain, but you know what I meant.) It was a delightful and very satisfying variation on the same theme. Prep time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Servings: 2 large servings Ingredients 1 cup quinoa (traditional) 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk (or any nut or grain milk of your choice) 1/4 tsp salt
This past week, the media seized on a story that Jay-Z and Beyoncé are doing a 22-day vegan challenge. Days after the story broke, the media reported that Beyoncé was seen accompanying Jay-Z into Native Foods (a vegan restaurant) in Westwood, California wearing a fur. Within hours, I saw this story posted all over my Facebook timeline with friends expressing outrage at Beyoncé’s audacity to do such a thing. I found myself surprised by the outpouring of animus towards Beyoncé for this. Indeed, it is rude or, at best, insensitive to come into any vegan establishment wearing animals in any form. I try not to take it personally because I know that, for most part, folks are just totally unconscious about this. It literally doesn’t even register for them that there is something inherently upsetting about this. That said, it’s hard not to feel offended. Vegan establishments are havens to
Today I have been living as a vegan for four years. Thanksgiving Day is my Veganniversary (vegan anniversary). It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around the number four. In so many ways it feels much longer than just four years, but time is funny that way. It also feels like it was just yesterday that I came home from a family gathering where I picked at the sparse vegan-friendly offerings and sat down to my first fully vegan meal, a Thanksgiving Dinner. In the four years since I opened my eyes to the realities of animal mistreatment in the world, I have learned a great many things. Perhaps it is because I’ve had so many new and wonderful experiences in such a relatively short period of time, that it seems hard to believe that it’s only been four years. The biggest surprise to me was that, despite what
As our week and a half of Thanksgiving recipes comes to an end, we hope we’ve inspired you to enjoy a delicious and compassionate Thanksgiving meal. Whether you are hosting your own meal or going to someone else’s home, we hope you’ll consider sharing some of these recipes (or ones like them) with your family and guests. Thanksgiving is truly a time to pause and reflect on the abundance in our lives. How fitting to do it as a vegan. Indeed, veganism is a lifestyle of abundance, and our vegan Thanksgiving meal is a reflection of that abundance. We’re putting these recipes together for you here, as a menu, for you to see that there is nothing missing from a vegan Thanksgiving table other than a cruel and confused ritual. Celebrating the abundance of our lives while feasting on the carcass of an oppressed, tortured, and murdered innocent sentient being
This recipe is a must-have for any Thanksgiving dessert table. My mother used to make this cake when I was a child. This recipe is actually her mother’s (Bubby of Apple Crisp fame) recipe, but she doesn’t make it anymore. I have enjoyed this recipe all of my life but it wasn’t until I went vegan that it occurred to me that this was an already-vegan recipe. My mother makes the cake in a round tube pan and covers it with a sweet frosting. To this day, that is seriously still my favorite way to have this cake. However, Michael was not a fan of the icing on it, and we really didn’t need the extra fat and sugar. In fact, the first time I made this for Michael, he said that his Aunt Carol made almost the exact same cake, but without the icing and it was a staple
Thanksgiving is extra special for some of us this year because, for the first time since 1888, the Jewish (lunar) calendar syncs up with the Gregorian calendar so that Thanksgiving falls on Hanuukah. Experts say it won’t happen again for another 77,798 years. So, we figured we’d better make the most of this once-in-seventy-seven-millenia coincidence. Traditionally on Hanukah to honor the miracle of the oil in the temple, one cooks with oil and make lots of fried foods. Latkes, fried potato pancakes, are the quintessential traditional food of Hanukkah. This year, we decided to infuse them with Thanksgiving flavors and the results were delightful. Traditionally, potato latkes are served with applesauce, sour cream or even ketchup (my father’s and brother’s preferred condiment). While these work great with all of the above, I strongly suggest using my chipotle aioli recipe or even topping them with some cranberry sauce, to give it
I love this chipotle aioli dipping sauce. I originally came up with it as my favorite dip for Michael’s grilled artichokes, but I have found that it works very well with a variety of other recipes and even on some sandwiches. Making this is so easy, you’ll be making it all of the time… you’ll see! I make this in small quantities when it’s just the two of us. When there are more people, just double or triple the recipe in order to get the volume of dip you need. You can make this ahead of time and leave it covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Just take it out about 15 minutes before serving to allow it to come to room temperature. Prep Time: 2 minutes. Ingredients: ¼ cup of vegan mayo (I prefer Vegenaise reduced fat) 1 tsp chipotle hot sauce 1 tsp
To me, Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday. The idea of giving thanks for the abundance in our lives resonates very strongly with me. I love that when Thanksgiving comes in America, regardless of one’s faith, ethnicity or natural origin, all Americans celebrate and give thanks together. Having grown up in an Orthodox Jewish family, celebrating many holidays throughout the year that most Americans don’t even know exist, I especially love the fact that we all come together to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving also has a very personal and special association for me: I went vegan on Thanksgiving in 2009. I think most of us who made the choice to be vegan for ethical reasons would agree that it is a joyous transformation in our lives. Even though those who look at veganism from the outside see it as a diet of restriction, we vegans know that living this compassionate lifestyle
