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Thanksgiving … the scariest time of year if you are a turkey or if you’re like me and getting married in December and have a very form-fitting dress that won’t accommodate overindulgence in holiday fare. Fortunately, we can help turkeys and our waistlines by having a vegan holiday feast!

Vegans are approximately one-ninth as likely to be obese as meat-eaters. Researchers have found that overweight people consume about the same number of calories as slim people—but they don’t consume the same kinds of food. Animal products contain much more fat than plant-based foods.

There are many delicious vegan creations to tempt your taste buds this holiday season. Green bean casserole, sweet potato biscuits, Tofurky, and Orange-Cranberry Upside-Down Cake, anyone? For a festive centerpiece that is certainly more appealing than a stuffed avian body cavity, why not try stuffing and baking a pumpkin with your favorite vegetarian stuffing? You can even use your fancy carving tools to carve it and wow your guests.

Click here for more vegan Thanksgiving cooking ideas.

Wishbones have always been pretty bizarre. I mean, how exactly are your heartfelt wishes all supposed to come true by splitting a greasy bone that you pulled out of the dead animal lying on your table? And, after all, wouldn’t the turkey have wished not to be eaten?

Well, the folks over at Lucky Break Wishbone seem to realize that there are a lot of vegan wishes out there waiting to come true. Thus, they have created a wishbone that is most definitely vegan-friendly—the wishbones are completely synthetic.

So, now there is a cruelty-free option for all of you who still want to take part in this tradition. Just think—by using these wishbones, you can make all sorts of wishes about better treatment for animals.

You could even stick one in the middle of your Tofurky (just make sure no one tries to eat it!). Both the packaging and the wishbones themselves are recyclable and made in the USA.

Enter to Win!
We’re giving five “lucky” people the chance to win a pack of 10 of the wishbones. To win, post a comment below with a wish that you have for animals! (Don’t worry―the whole saying it out loud thing doesn’t really apply, since you are typing it.)

This contest ends on November 18, 2008, and the winners will be chosen and notified the same day. You should also be sure to read the contest terms and conditions and PETA’s privacy policy before you comment—you’re acknowledging that you have read and agreed to both by leaving a comment.

Good luck!

Amy’s vegan wedding cake!

This past weekend, my good friend and coworker Amy, who writes the Veg Cooking Blog, got married in her hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.

The early evening ceremony was beautiful—illuminated by countless white candles and the fading end-of-day sunlight that was fleeting from the large vintage windows above. When Amy appeared, locked arm-in-arm with her dad, looking all stunning in her gown and birdcage veil, I was happy to have the small pack of tissues emblazoned with my hotel’s logo in my bag.

For all you Veg Cooking Blog fans, it will come as no surprise that the food was also stunning. I will post the menu and more food photos soon, but in the meantime I wanted to talk about the cake.

The cake was a luscious three-tier vegan chocolate cake with amaretto frosting made by Southern Sweets Bakery of Decatur, Georgia. The cake was so intensely decedent that it essentially melted in your mouth.

I really hope Amy won’t be too disappointed on her one-year anniversary when she goes to get the cake top out of her freezer and instead finds a box weighted with about 10,000 “I Am Not a Nugget” stickers that Joel and I left as a decoy while we stole the top of the cake to eat on the way home…

Congratulations Amy!

The following post was originally published by Amy Cook on The Veg Cooking Blog. Click here to view the original post.

One of the best things about going vegan—aside from the whole “being healthy, feeling great, saving animals” thing—is that if done right, it can be a very cheap way to eat. Yes, you can spend an arm and a leg if you’re only buying prepackaged items or hard-to-find soy cheeses, but if you go the more natural route, you can really save.

The best money-saving trick is to stick to staples like dried beans, rice, and pasta. All three of these can be purchased for less than a dollar, can last a long time, and are healthy.

Loading up on veggies is a necessity for any healthy diet, and you can save a little cash by buying frozen veggies. They usually contain more vitamins and nutrients than the canned options and last longer than the fresh stuff—meaning that you never have to throw out that broccoli you never used and waste money.

Creative, ethnic dishes are a great way for vegetarians to add flavor to their meals while still cutting costs, and you can make easy at-home versions. Pick up a soy-based sauce (around $2 at many stores), add it to those veggies I told you about, tofu (four servings can be purchased for $1–$3), and rice or noodles, and you could have an easy stir-fry for four that comes in under 10 bucks.

Or if stir-fries aren’t for you, try simple sandwiches. Peanut butter can be purchased for, well, mere peanuts at most stores. Spreads like hummus, mock-tuna salad, and mock-egg salad might be expensive if you buy them already prepared, but making them on your own is cheap and easy.

And for those of you who are totally against all things green or natural—processed vegan items, like soy cheese and faux meats, are now readily available at just about any grocery store, and they’ve become much more affordable. If you ate only these items, you might not see any savings, but adding them to your menu sometimes definitely won’t break the bank.

These are just a few pointers, and there are many other ways to save while eating vegan. To find out more about specific budget-friendly meal ideas, check out our guide to going vegetarian.

lunchlady / cc

I remember becoming a vegetarian at the age of 14 and how on the days that I didn’t bring a packed lunch I would wonder what I would find to eat at school that day. Sometimes that meant that I would get a juice, a bag of pretzels, and an apple from the cafeteria. Other days it would mean asking the assembly-line–style cafeteria workers to please leave the heaping mound of ground beef off my taco salad and just load it with veggies and beans instead—which, fortunately, they were willing to do!

I always wished I could have had more veggie options, though. Fortunately, in the new year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be reviewing the Child Nutrition Act, which, among other things, covers the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. The USDA is accepting comments on how to revise the program until October 15, so please write soon to ask for more vegetarian options for your child’s school!

To send a message, either use this form, or send an e-mail to CNDProposal@fns.usda.gov.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when writing your e-mail:

• Be polite. Being negative about the lack of vegetarian options at your child’s school won’t help.

• Explain that you care about your child’s health, the environment, and animals, and vegetarian food supports all those things. Not to mention that everyone deserves to be accommodated regarding their ethical, religious, and dietary preferences.

• List some options of what you’d like to see added. Bean-and-rice burritos, veggie burgers, veggie dogs, veggie chili, and pasta with marinara sauce and veggies are all a good start.

• Ask for soy milk as an alternative to dairy milk. It’s great for vegans, for those who are lactose-intolerant, and for soy enthusiasts!

• Be sure to say thanks for taking your thoughts into consideration.

It is so important to write to USDA officials and ask them to include vegetarian and vegan meals in the National School Lunch Program. Change happens when people speak up (or, in this case, write in)—the Child Nutrition Act is only reviewed every four years, so let’s do something now!

The following post was originally published by Amy on The Veg Cooking Blog. Click here to view the original post.

After asking my friend Michael what delicious recipe I should feature on the blog for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, I received, literally, five e-mails packed full of ideas. They ranged from round challah to mock gefilte fish to date honey. Surprisingly, the simplest recipe of the bunch stood out the most to me.

The idea of making my own vegan honey in order to replace that made from bees is something I’ve never even considered doing because store-bought replacements, like agave nectar, are now readily available. But with the start of the High Holidays here, I thought this would be the perfect time to give it a try.

The recipe I used to test the whole homemade-vegan-honey thing came from Leah at The Lilith Blog. It was surprisingly easy and quick to make, but the result wasn’t how I remember honey being. And that isn’t a bad thing.

The result was more of an apple-butter-like dip that was the perfect accompaniment for the apple slices I served it with; the combination is common to Rosh Hashanah feasts, and they signify the start of a sweet new year. You wouldn’t want to add this to your tea—stick to the agave nectar for that—but it definitely could be used in baking. I bet it would even help with the binding in vegan recipes made without eggs.

Enjoy!

Date Honey
By Leah at The Lilith Blog.

8 Medjool dates
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. water
4 pieces crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. agave nectar

• Remove the pits from the dates and quarter. Mash the dates with a fork into a paste-like consistency, then add the mash to a small saucepan.
• Add the lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the water and heat over a low flame for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently with a whisk or wooden spoon.
• After the water is absorbed, add the remaining water, the ginger, and the agave nectar.
• Continue stirring, adding additional water or agave nectar until you reach the desired consistency.
• Let cool and serve with apple slices.

Makes about 1 cup

Traditional meringue cookies are usually made from little more than egg whites and sugar. A recipe that has eggs as one of its only two ingredients might seem hard—OK, impossible—to veganize, but Angel Foods has released a new cookie mix that is making it a whole lot easier.

You may remember the name Angel Foods from a Veg Cooking Blog contest a while back to give away its vegan marshmallow kit. Well, Angel Foods has now released a vegan meringue cookie kit that requires just water, sugar, a mixer, and a good dose of patience to make those airy and light French cookies you might be missing.

Now is your chance to win one of these kits and test it out for me! We’ll be giving away one vegan meringue cookie kit on The VegCooking Blog and one kit on PETA Living. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment and tell us about your favorite cookie. Be creative, and please make sure that your comments are vegan-friendly!

And now for the legal stuff: The contest ends on October 17, and winners will be selected and notified by October 24. You should also be sure to read the contest terms and conditions and PETA’s privacy policy before you comment—you’re acknowledging that you have read and agree to both by leaving a comment.

The following post was originally published by Amy Cook on The Veg Cooking Blog. Click here to view the original post.

Children are known for their picky taste buds. Sure, there are some full-blown foodies who haven’t even hit puberty yet, but most kids like their food plain and simple. This preference has led to many well-known “go to” recipes for busy parents who need to pack a quick lunch each morning. These are the ones that you know your children will love and that you won’t have to force them to eat, and luckily, many of these can be easily veganized.

Here are 10 easy vegetarian lunch ideas that will certainly please a variety of palates.

Top 10 Vegetarian Lunchbox Ideas

1. Homegrown happy meal. Use frozen veggie patties (Boca carries a vegan version)—or make your own soy-free patties from black beans—to whip up kid-approved burgers. Add a side of oven baked fries and throw in a toy for an even happier meal.

2. Deli slices and cheese, please. There’s a wide variety of meat-free sandwich slices available nationwide at major grocery stores. Check out our product spotlight to learn about a few of our favorites. Pair these with soy cheese and you’ll have a classic sandwich, or use them for cracker stackers.

3. Who doesn’t like pizza? Top a toasted English muffin with a dollop of pizza sauce and a slice of vegan cheese (yes, brands like Follow Your Heart really melt!) to make a mini pizza. These “pizzas” will be so tasty that you may even be able to sneak a few veggies on top too.

4. Roll ‘em up and send ‘em out. Try a veggie dog rolled up in a crescent roll and baked until golden brown. Or cover a tortilla with yummy fillings—such as vegan cream cheese (Tofutti brand is available in major grocery stores), veggie pepperoni, and veggies—roll it up, and slice into fun pinwheels.

5. PB&J, deconstructed. Make the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich more fun for your little one by packing the peanut butter and jelly in separate cups and adding a few breadsticks for dipping. Throw in other healthy dippers, too, such as celery and apples.

6. Kid-style salads. Yes, even your child will like this salad—pasta salad, that is. Mix tricolor pasta spirals with diced veggies, such as tomatoes and cucumbers, and vegan mayo or dressing. Try other kid-friendly salads, like faux-chicken salad, on a sandwich or with crackers.

7. Pack-and-go tacos. Try healthy black bean and brown rice tacos made with flour or corn tortillas. If you’d like to use a soggier filling, such as veggie crumbles cooked in taco seasoning, simply pack the filling in a thermos and let your child have fun assembling at lunch.

8. What’s in your thermos? Warm your kids up on cold winter days by heating canned vegetarian chili—available nationwide by Hormel—and packing it in a thermos. Pack a baked potato so they can top their spud with the filling chili.

9. Pitas are perfect. Cut mini pitas in half and stuff them with hummus, falafel, or your other favorite sandwich filling and add some veggies.

10. Beanies and veggie weenies. Vegetarian baked beans, such as Bush’s Best Vegetarian Baked Beans, are available at almost every grocery store. Add sliced veggie dog pieces and you have an instant lunch that’s nutritious and delicious.

For more back-to-school lunch ideas, check out our feature “Pack a Lunch With Punch.”

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You don’t have to live in a big city to get a great vegan meal. Many nationwide restaurant chains offer tasty vegan options. Here are five of my favorite veg-friendly restaurant chains (in no particular order). I like to take my nonvegetarian friends and family members so they can see how easy it is to find delicious meatless meals in mainstream places. It’s usually not hard to convince them to try the vegan dishes—and they always rave about them.

Not only does P.F. Chang’s have an array of already vegetarian options, like the sautéed spinach, coconut curry vegetables, and savory tofu-stuffed lettuce wraps, everything on the menu can be made with tofu instead of meat too.

At Johnny Rockets, the diner with the old-time jukeboxes and the dancing wait staff, you can get a vegan Boca burger (called the Streamliner) with grilled onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, ketchup, and mustard. Order fries and a cherry or chocolate Coke, too, if you want to get in the diner spirit.

The blueberry, chocolate chip, cinnamon sugar, cranberry orange, pumpernickel, and rosemary olive-oil bagels at Bruegger’s Bagel Bakery are vegan. Bruegger’s also sells hummus and several vegetarian sandwiches (just order them without cheese or dressing, and add some vegan fixings).

Although Denny’s is known for its traditional all-night, diner-style meat-based fare, it also has some vegan options. You can get a vegan Boca burger patty for any burger on the menu and order it with seasoned French fries, a garden salad, or a baked potato with vegetable toppings. For breakfast, try the vegan oatmeal, bagels, grits, or fresh fruit.

You can substitute tofu for meat in the tacos, fajitas, salads, and burritos at Moe’s Southwest Grill. You can order whatever ingredients you like, so just ask for a vegan tortilla and tell them to skip the cheese and sour cream.

Mmmm mmm, my mouth is watering already. If you know of any other chain restaurants that serve veg options but aren’t listed in the link above, let us know.

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In a previous post, I was singing the praises of Pangea and all the vegan chocolates, cakes, and cookies it sells. Well, I’m not done raving yet: Pangea just started selling the yummiest, “creamiest” vegan mac ‘n’ cheese ever. It’s called Leahey Macaroni and Cheese, and it’s the best “boxed” mac ‘n’ cheese I’ve had since I went vegan 17 years ago.

It comes with a powdered sauce mix, but it isn’t an unnatural fluorescent orange like other boxed macaroni and cheese. It’s only 97 calories per serving, too—and it’s cholesterol-free, of course. Plus it’s only $2.99, which isn’t bad considering how delicious it is.

A few years ago, Tofutti added a macaroni ‘n’ cheese dinner to their expansive line of dairy-free foods. It was rich and gooey—not bad at all—but they stopped selling it, so it must not have been one of their more popular products. Some people like Road End Organics Mac & Chreese, although I personally wish it were a bit “cheesier.”

But back to Pangea … when you order this fabulous mac ‘n’ cheese —do it now, you won’t regret it—you should also get some vegan caramels for dessert. They’re chewy and delicious on their own, but they’re even better covered in dark chocolate. I just melt dairy-free chocolate chips in a double broiler (you can melt chocolate in the microwave too) and dip the vegan caramels in. Place them on aluminum foil, and put them in the fridge for a few minutes for the chocolate to harden.

Serve the mac ‘n’ cheese and the chocolate caramels with a salad, some fruit, and whole-wheat bread, and you’ve got dinner—simple but scrumptious.

If you know of a vegan mac ‘n’ cheese that’s even better than Leahey’s, please let me know. And I’m always looking for new recipes.