World Vegan Day is this Saturday, November 1st. How are you planning on celebrating? We're having a few friends over (omnivores), and feeding them vegan food. They are aware that they'll be eating vegan, and are game to try. Jane hasn't settled on a menu yet. But I'm sure she'll make something wonderful.
Here are a few links to World Vegan Day Celebrations around the globe:
There are a number of small events going on locally, so make sure to check out your local vegan groups and your papers or internet listings too.
And, sorry we missed it, but the Aussies celebrated early: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide - World Vegan Day.
If you can't find anything scheduled in your neck of the woods, you can do as we're doing and feed a few of your omnivorous friends/family some delicious vegan fare!
Blueberries are one of the 8 things you should eat every day. The reason being, that they are loaded with antioxidants. Blueberries also help protect eyesight, promote gastrointestinal health, reduce your risk of colon and ovarian cancer, promote healthy bowel movements, and slow the onset of age-related dementias. And that's why I put blueberries in my breakfast smoothie. Unfortunately, Jane doesn't eat blueberries with much regularity. She prefers them fresh, and we have about a 4-week window in August when they're available to us. That is, available at a price we can afford.
It looks like scientists are getting close to turning on the genes that will allow tomatoes to have the same health benefits as blueberries.
The purple pigments are potent antioxidants called anthocyanins that mop up the free-radicals that cause cancer and heart disease. Anthocyanins naturally occur in blueberries, blackberries and blackcurrants, but natural tomatoes only contain negligible amounts of the compounds.
Tomato plants have all the necessary genes to create the pigments, but they are normally dormant, so the team inserted two additional genes from the snapdragon flower that trigger these genes to become active.
Source: New Scientist Magazine -- Purple Tomatoes Could Ward Off Cancer
Of course, this is all still in the early stages. Toxicology studies need to be performed to ensure that the "enriched" tomatoes aren't hiding negative effects as well. There is also the question of how this pigment might affect taste.
See World's Healthiest Foods -- Blueberries for more information on the health benefits of blueberries.
I'm failing in my ongoing crusade to get my local Trader Joe's and other grocery stores to carry the healthier non-hydrogenated Tofutti cream cheese (in the yellow container). This is frustrating because the only local store that carries this version of this product is Whole Foods, and they don't always have it in stock either. So we tend to buy three or four containers when the stars are in alignment and WF has it in stock. Personally, I don't understand why this is even an issue. Most of the consumers who purchase "alternative" products do so for health reasons. Shouldn't it follow then that the healthier version of the product would be the better seller? The regular Tofutti contains partially hydrogenated soybean oil (partially hydrogenated oils are BAD!!!!), and it appears to be the same price. And why is Tofutti still making most of their cream cheese alternatives with partially hydrogenated oils anyway? (Must dash off consumer correspondence to Tofutti!!!)
In the past, Jane has even cleaned out a few of the empties and we've brought them in to our local store managers. You'd think that would illustrate our desire for them to carry this product. We've even suggested that Whole Foods is getting business that these other stores would get if they carried the non-hydrogenated Tofutti, which is true to some extent. We don't use WF as our "regular" grocery store. We shop there for specialty items since they have a much more extensive selection of vegan products.
If I sound a little off-balance here, it's just that this is one of those products that really works as a vegan alternative. You can feed it to your omni friends and they'll never know the difference, unless they read the label. Tofutti, it's time to dump the partially hydrogenated oils!
So I finally had vegan sushi. Sushi/sashimi, the non-vegan version, was something that Jane and I adored. And we knew, that like with pizza, we wouldn't find the vegan versions nearly as satisfying. So we've avoided the stuff. On our last trip to Shojin (our favorite vegan restaurant), we had the caterpillar roll, and a mushroom sushi roll. Oh My God!!! It was heaven. Honestly. I know that people are always saying how good vegan sushi is, but really folks, if you're in Los Angeles, head on over to Shojin and order the caterpillar roll, you won't be sorry.
I should have a picture for this post because not only was it amazingly good but it was beautiful too.
Shojin
Hours:
Tuesday thru Thursday, Sunday
11:30am - 10:00pm
Friday, Saturday
11:30am - 11:00pm
Address
333 S. Alameda St. Suite 310
(Little Tokyo Shopping Center 3F)
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Tel: 213-617-0305
I know I'm pushing this place, but you're not going to find it unless you look for it, and it's worth looking for!
