Archive for the ‘Lifestyle’ Category
Giving Thanks Vegan Style: The Complete Guide to an Animal Friendly Holiday
Posted by Mandi | Filed under Cooking, Food, Lifestyle
This Thanksgiving, give thanks for all sentient life by choosing to have a meat free celebration! It is very possible to have a fun, delicious and eventful holiday without the morbid dead bird tradition. I promise! To help you plan this upcoming holiday I’ve compiled a somewhat comprehensive guide to an animal friendly Thanksgiving. Lets get crackin’.
The Bird Substitute
This all depends if you are a fake meat kind of person or not. You don’t have to go with mock turkey as your main course, although some like to go that route to keep their meal somewhat traditional.
Tofurkey: The most popular turkey substitute I can think of. This is fairly easy to prepare and comes with gravy, dumplings, and amazing wild rice stuffing that is already inside! Just by choosing a tofurkey, half of your meal is complete.
Celebration Roast: A gourmet version of the tofurkey. This is an artisan-made vegan grain meat with a sausage-style stuffing made from butternut squash, apples, and mushrooms.
You can also make your own from scratch!
*For tips on how to prepare your faux roast go here.
Seitan Stuffed Squash - An interesting alternative to the main course.
Nut Roast - A delightful concoction of various nuts, spices, and bread in loaf form. There are tons of different recipes, although this one sounds pretty good.
If you want to go all out, try some veg stuffing.
The Sides
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Trick or Treats
Posted by Mandi | Filed under Food, Lifestyle
Halloween is just around the corner, and what are you going to do to avoid being the weird lady that gives out apples? Are you the house most likely to be skipped? Here are some yummy vegan-friendly treats to help you (and everyone else) enjoy this haunted holiday a little more.
*These are of course, for the sugar loving herbivores.
For the Trick-or-treaters (and you later):
Candy
Airheads taffy
Atkins peanut butter bars
Blow Pops
Brach’s Cinnamon Hard Candy
Charms lollipops
Chick-o-Sticks
Cracker Jack
Cry Babies (more…)
Happy World Vegetarian Day!!
Posted by Mandi | Filed under Awareness, Food, Lifestyle
Happy World Vegetarian Day everybody! Today is the day that kicks off Vegetarian Awareness Month! So be sure to schedule a veg-themed party, potluck, presentation, or even taste testing to spread the word of all the benefits of a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle! Check out the official site to see how you can participate.
Today also kicks off Vegan Mofo, courtesy of The Post Punk Kitchen. Blogs all around the world are taking time to write as much as they can about vegan food during the month of October! (I’m not much of a chef so I will gladly step aside and let the experts have a hand.) Check out the list of participants here.
This should be an exciting month, so stay tuned!
Vegan on a Budget
Posted by Mandi | Filed under Lifestyle, Randomness
While the vegan lifestyle tends to be less expensive than a traditional one, for some it’s just not cheap enough. Everybody needs a good bargain once in a while. Lucky for you, I am the Queen of Cheap and I am here to spread my wealth of knowledge.
Living on a strict budget can be frustrating, but it is important to not forget your day to day essentials and not concentrate so much on the “stuff” that you think we need. Is it necessary for you to have 27 pairs of “eco-friendly” denim? (Is it even “eco-friendly” to have 27 of anything?) Do you really need a shade of eye shadow to match each pair of shoes you own? How about the hamburger phone? Sure, Juno was cool, but you don’t even have a land line! The box of clementines that are rotting away in your fridge because you couldn’t pass up such a stupendous deal? That was probably a bad idea.
At a certain point, you must be one with the fact that you don’t really need all that much. But a pair of killer faux leather pumps once in a while won’t hurt. I promise. (more…)
Veg Etiquette
Posted by Mandi | Filed under Dining Out, Lifestyle
Unfortunately, some vegans come off as demanding, difficult, and even elitist to unsuspecting omnivores, especially in a situation that involves food. Here is a random and possibly incomplete list of etiquette that I, personally, have found to be beneficial in remaining likable and respectful to others while still holding tightly to my ethics.
1. When eating at a friend or relatives house, do not expect them to make anything special for you to eat. They probably will, but if you don’t get your hopes up, you won’t be disappointed. Always eat a little bit before you arrive so you are not famished. Also, bring something small that you know you can eat (side dish or dessert). If they successfully and purposefully make something you are able to eat, let them know how appreciative you are -even if it tastes like rubber.
2. When out to eat with parties of 3 or more, order last. If you order last, the rest of the table might not notice you giving the server the third degree about the possibility of butter being used to cook your veggies. Also, if the server has to go back and speak with the chef, and decides to do it at that moment, the rest of your party might get irritated that they have to wait to place their order.
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