Vegan Sweets (Available at a Location Near You!)

A vegan lifestyle can sometimes be difficult, but for anyone concerned about losing the great taste and texture of their favorite sweets, fear not! There exists a vegan alternative for almost any sweet you can think of. And if you're too busy or tired to make it yourself, there are many vegan retail options that taste phenomenal!

Double Rainbow, a gourmet ice cream shop founded in San Francisco, was awarded "The Best Ice Cream in America". Luckily for everyone staying away from dairy products, Double Rainbow also offers many "soy cream" flavors (which I highly recommend for vegans and non-vegans alike...so delicious!). Creamy Mint Chocolate Chip or sweet Blueberry are just two of the flavors available; both are new favorites of mine that will be in my freezer from now on! Double Rainbow soy creams can be purchased at many retail stores, such as Whole Foods and other markets. For a list of retail locations with Double Rainbow in your area, click here.

In addition to a sweet ice cream treat, the well-liked bakery Sprinkles Cupcakes now offers a vegan version of their popular red velvet cupcake. For anyone craving that ultra-sweet cupcake (without any animal products!) Sprinkles is the best option! For a list of current and upcoming Sprinkles locations, click here.

Study Break: Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

In keeping with Anna's recent Coat of Arms article that includes tips on how to procrastinate via baking---but also with due acknowledgment that over-zealous procrastination might be hazardous to one's studently complexion---here is a recipe from The Garden of Vegan cookbook that will give you the satisfaction of baking, without biting a one-hour chunk out of your day. The miracle component: a microwave. Purists may balk at this, but the smell of molten banana and chocolate is a powerful argument.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 banana, mashed
1/2 cup dry sweetener
1/4 cup margarine
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, mash the banana. Stir in the sweetener, margarine, vanilla, and soy milk and mix well. Add the flour, oats, baking powder, and salt and mix well. Spread evenly in a lightly oiled microwave-safe loaf pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Cook on high in the microwave for 4-5 minutes. Let cool before cutting and serving.

Enjoy!

I Can't Believe it's Vegan!

I found a cool website that has a list of all common-to-supermarkets foods that are vegan. This is intriguing because it shows how one can be vegan without having difficulty finding good food.

Here's the link.

Woody Harrelson and Vegan

This is an interesting story about how one might become vegan.
And it is an interesting interview.
Interview

Gnocchi and Asparagus in Basil Mint Pesto

This is a recipe from one of my favorite websites. They also have several cookbooks which are excellent and many club members have cooked from. It was rated 3.5/4 soybeans on their website by readers. :)

Also, Beckman's Apple Cinnamon Bread is vegan! They sell at Whole Foods and most local Farmer's Markets. If you live in the Bay Area you can find your closest farmer's market and the vendors that sell there at this website: http://www.pcfma.com/index.php.

Gnocchi and Asparagus in Basil Mint Pesto
Equipment:
Large saute pan, large pot

Ingredients
1 lb gnocchi
Bunch of asparagus (about 30)
3/4 cup Basil Mint Pesto
1 red onion, sliced in thin half moons
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cups white wine
1/4 teaspoon salt
fresh black pepper
4 plum tomatoes diced

Directions
Boil the gnocchi in a big pot just until it floats to the top, drain and rinse with cold water (to prevent sticking).

Meanwhile, cut the asparagus about 2 inches from the tip and set aside.

Heat the olive oil on medium heat in your largest non stick pan, when hot add the onions and saute two minutes, add asparagus and saute 2 minutes, add garlic salt and fresh pepper to taste, and saute 2 minutes. Add white wine and turn heat up, saute veggies for 2 minutes more. Add gnocchi and toss around with the veggies. Coat everything with pesto, cooking only a minute more. Serve in dinner bowls, topped with the diced tomatoes. 

Kamibashi Cares

While doing research for the EAC's Green Week, I came across an odd little company that I immediately took a liking too, despite the fact that their products look like voodoo dolls (which seriously creep me out). Kamibashi is a small company that incorporates rising Asian artists and fair trade labor to create fascinating string dolls. While all of these dolls are interesting and slightly bizarre, what really drew me to this company was their Kamibashi Cares initiative. They have created seven special string dolls to help support five awesome organizations, donating 50 cents from every purchase of one of these dolls to one of the organizations.

There's Susie Survivor, raising money and awareness for the Pretty in Pink foundation and its fight against breast cancer; there's Mardi from America's Wetland Foundation, trying to protect our marine habitats and the animals that thrive within them; Oscar the Orangutan, supporting one of my favorite organizations Orangutan Outreach that rehabilitates and cares for organutans displaced and injured by palm oil farmers; Pacho the Parrot and the Amazon Conservation Team; and Desmond, Titus, and Gigi with the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The IFAW fights animal cruelty in many of its forms, such as the abuse and neglect household pets face or the detrimental harm animals in the wild battle every day.

This is a really cool initiative that will raise awareness about fair trade, cancer, and animal suffering across the globe.

For more information/links, click here: http://kamibashi.com/about/care/

Vegan Proteins

Due to the fact that our vegan/vegetarian club is about to have a vegetarian challenge at our school, I started to think about my vegan diet. The thing I have to pay attention to most is the types of proteins I get. Since meat has all necessary amino acids, I have to get all these same amino acids from different sources. The four main places to get proteins in a vegan diet are: beans (legumes), soy, nuts, and some grains (such as quinoa). If you eat a variety of this protein sources, you are sure to get the right types of proteins. Also, it is nice to have a variety of foods that you can have, so you should try to eat a variety of proteins.

Hope this was helpful to those trying to be vegan for the next week! And, if you have any more questions, you can comment and I'll try to answer them. Happy almost Friday!