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.
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
Being the cookie freak that I am, after hearing about Pipernilli cookies on the Our Hen House podcast, I immediately contacted them to see about doing a review for VeganMos. Gayle over at Pipernilli was thrilled to have us do the review and sent us out samples to try. As soon as they arrived, Ethan and I cleared off the kitchen table and got to the busy work of eating cookies. The box contained 7 sample packs, each containing 2 cookies. I love the 2 cookie package idea. A collection of them in a variety of flavors would make a great gift for the cookie fan in your life. Each sample pack has a label that not only gives the name of cookie but also a description of the flavor rather than a list of ingredients. I already know what goes in to a cookie, so I loved the flavor
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
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
I love oatmeal. It’s warm, hearty, filling, stick-to-your-ribs delicious plant-based eating. For years, I’ve been making a breakfast oatmeal that I call “warm apple pie oatmeal”. It is the base for this recipe and is utterly delicious on it’s own. Recently, I’ve been adding a bunch of extras to my oatmeal to load it up with fiber, Omega-3’s and lots of other important nutrients and minerals. I’m so excited to share this new and improved version of one of my breakfast faves with you. One note on preparation; I do make these in the microwave because mornings in our household it a bit of a mad rush to get to the gym and workout, get dressed and ready for work, walk and feed the dogs, etc… in order to make the 7:30 AM train. If you’re averse to using a microwave, you can totally make this on a
Yesterday, we went to Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary for its “ThanksLiving” celebration. This was our first time at this annual event. We had heard so many wonderful things about this event and were really looking forward to it. Happily, the event did not disappoint and we enjoyed a spectacular day in a uniquely wonderful place. Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary is located in upstate New York just a few miles from Woodstock. Started in 2004 by Jenny Brown and Doug Abel, the sanctuary takes in refugee farm animals from a wide variety of backgrounds of neglect, abandonment and abuse. Located in a big open field nestled in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, the sanctuary now has over 400 residents. We arrived early at the sanctuary because we wanted to have some time to interact with the animals. We had visited for a day about four months ago and we were
I sometimes get discouraged by the unwillingness of other people to show their support for those who need it most. I encounter this as both and animal rights advocate and LGBT advocate. Recently Ethan and I attended a kick off event for the Week of Respect as part of National Bullying Awareness Month. Part of the evening included a screening of the documentary, Bullied. At this event there were a total of 17 attendees not counting members of the various organizations who were there as part of a panel. During the event I had several eye opening, soul stirring moments. Our town, where the event took place, is considered very liberal and open. In fact, 20 percent of the families have either 2 moms or 2 dads. Nevertheless, we couldn’t get members of the LGBT community to show up for an anti-bullying discussion. I am choosing to ignore the lack
We are both huge fans of Our Hen House and the amazing work they do to change the world for animals. We’re also huge fans of Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan personally, and we’re honored to call them our friends. You can imagine how totally psyched we were when they called us and asked us to do a review for their podcast of a new cookbook, Vedge: 100 Plates Large and Small that Redefine Vegetable Cooking, by Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby, owners of the famous world-class vegan restaurant, Vedge, in Philadelphia. We have been wanting to get to Philly to eat at Vedge for such a long time but haven’t had a chance in the past two years. We know– pathetic, right? Well, this was perfect; Our Hen House was sending The Vedge to us! We attacked the book when we got it, pouring through the pages of outrageously tantalizing recipes
