Desserts from Green. Photo by Michelle Kretzer
Maroon 5’s single “Sugar” is my favorite song on the radio right now, not just because of the danceable beat or the freaking adorable video of surprise performances by the band at weddings, but also because it conjures up images of candy jars and glass pastry cases in my dessert-loving mind.
And since I don’t want my sweets to be, well, not so sweet to animals, I’ve become a connoisseur of cruelty-free cakes, plant-based pies, and other yummy vegan desserts. Here are some of my fave finds (you can thank me later): (more…)
Photo by Ryan Ritchie, LA Weekly
I don’t often gush about Subway, or any sub shop for that matter, but seeing the company’s “Go Vegan at Subway” ad in the Washington City Paper may be the best thing since, well, $5 foot-longs. The ad promotes Subway’s new vegan options: the Black Bean sub, featuring a black-bean patty, brown rice, corn, bell peppers, cilantro, garlic, and sweet potato–curry sauce, and the Malibu Garden sub, which is stuffed with a vegan patty, fire-roasted tomato sauce, and all the fixings you want. Yum! (more…)
Photo by Moira Clunie
When dining out, people who eat special diets are the butt of seemingly every joke at the table. “How do you know if someone’s a vegan? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you,” is a barb I am all too familiar with. But when it comes to dining out, telling your server exactly what your dietary restrictions are is actually the best way to ensure a positive dining experience for yourself, your companions, the waitstaff, and the kitchen. After all, no one wants a dining partner to go into anaphylactic shock – nor does anyone want to witness a companion eating something she dislikes or is intolerant of because she was too uncomfortable or embarrassed to ask for a change to a meal.
These tips will help you confidently request the menu omissions and modifications you need when dining out without coming off like a jerk. And if you do your best to work with the restaurant and someone still has a problem with your dietary needs, I think we can agree that there’s room for at least one more substitution at the table. (more…)
Photo by Mr.TinDC
Vegan food isn’t just being served at PETA functions anymore. Whether people are polishing off plants to improve their health, protect the environment, or stop funding cruelty to animals, fruits and veggies have been elevated from “sides” status to center stage. Here are the top five signs that vegan chic is en vogue: (more…)
Finding healthy meals when you’re on the go can be notoriously difficult in the fast food nation that is the US, and if you’re vegan, the outlook is even more grim (I mean, have you ever experienced the horror that is a McDonald’s side salad?).
Thankfully, two major chains are working on altering the fast food landscape so that carnivores, vegetarians, and vegans alike can stop for a quick and affordable bite all across the country. (more…)
Photo by Alyssa Corsi
When the mercury takes a dive, sushi and salads just won’t cut it. For those nights when all you want to do is get takeout and curl up in front of the fireplace, consider one of these hearty vegan meals that will keep you feeling warm and warmhearted: (more…)
Vegans are nuts about Dunkin’ Donuts now that the chain — which has more than 7,500 restaurants across the country — has started offering Almond Breeze‘s vanilla-flavored almond milk at most of its U.S. locations. I’m hoping it will start offering vegan chocolate donuts soon too, but hey, almond milk is a great start, especially for people who can’t start their day without a latte.
According to John Costello, Dunkin’ Brands’ president of global marketing and innovation, almond milk was introduced to Dunkin’s menu in response to growing consumer demand. The sweet, nutty beverage becomes more and more popular each year, with consumption growing at an average annual rate of 66 percent since 2010. Dunkin’ says that it chose almond milk (over soy or coconut milk) because it’s one of the country’s most popular dairy-free beverages and a good source of calcium and vitamins D, E, and A. And it tastes great, too. (more…)
Ronald’s Donuts. All photos by PETA
Americans have had a love affair with doughnuts since the early 19th century. The first written celebration of these “balls of sweetened dough … called doughnuts” came from Washington Irving in his History of New York, back in 1809. And not much has changed. Now, there are not one but two “holidays” called National Doughnut Day.
Well, some things have changed. You can find a doughnut in pretty much any flavor that suits your fancy, and shops have started creating confections for those of us in the cruelty-free set, too. Here are some of the best vegan doughnuts in these United States, all thoroughly taste-tested by PETA employees (whose arms had to be twisted to get help in the research, of course). (more…)
photo: ramsey everydaypants
Sure, there are plenty of all-vegan restaurants across the nation — and I’m on a quest to write about all of them — but I’m even more excited to tell you about all the non-vegetarian places that have been scrambling to offer vegan options in order to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for vegan fare. According to an article in The Washington Post, several restaurants in the D.C. area, including Muse Café and The B Spot, are taking a break from meat and dairy products for occasional all-vegan menus. Vegan entrées are taking root at restaurants around the nation — even BBQ joints and greasy spoons are enticing vegans to break bread with the meat-eaters, who are also apt to chow down on veggie burgers and faux-chicken sandwiches on occasion.
I’m telling you, restaurant “segregation” is over. You can get vegan meals almost anywhere now. I recently stumbled across an Esquire blog explaining that, in this “golden age of vegetarian dining,” “manly” restaurants such as Alden & Harlow in Cambridge, Massachussetts, are serving beet steaks and other meat-free meals alongside chicken-fried rabbit and pork belly dishes. (more…)
photo: basykes
So you’re not much of a salad person. Believe me, I get it — neither am I. Some people adore a bowlful of chopped raw vegetables. Personally, I would rather opt for starvation. Fortunately, for me, it’s easy to be vegan with nary a salad bowl in sight. In fact, even before I decided to do my health, the planet, and animals a favor and stop eating meat and dairy products, I was already eating a lot of vegan food, and *gasp* enjoying it! Chances are, you are, too. So here are some of my (and maybe your) faves: (more…)
