Article Defending Vegan Kids

The online magazine, www.VegFamily.com has a great article in this month's edition.  I get it sent to my email inbox.  Anyhow, the article is entitled, "Supporting the Vegan Diet Choice for Kids" by Aubrey Smith (http://vegfamily.com/vegan-children/kids-diets.htm).  The entire article is very good, please look for it and read the whole thing, but I wanted to post the sidebar that she included because it has some very cool facts, some of which I didn't even know about.




Did You Know...

• "2%" milk is really 35% fat. It's 2 percent fat only by weight; 35 percent of the calories are derived from fat. Whole milk is 49% fat. 4
  
• 75 percent of the world's populationworld's population is lactose intolerant. 4
  
• The United States is the only country that still uses bovine growth hormones. The European Union banned them.
  
• Protein should be 10-15% of our daily calories, yet Americans typically eat far more 4
  
• Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional deficiencynutritional deficiency in children, regardless of diet. There are an abundance of plant sources to meet iron needs: dried beans, dark green leafy vegetables, fortified breakfast cereals, raisins, prune juice, spinach, figs, pumpkin seeds, broccoli, blackstrap molassesblackstrap molasses, whole grains, and nuts. To aid iron absorption, combine these foods with foods rich in vitamin C, such as orange juice, broccoli, or tomatoes. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6
  
• In recipes calling for 1-2 eggs, you can often leave them out and instead add a few extra teaspoons of water to make up for the moisture the eggs would have added.
  
• Only animal-derived "food" products contain cholesterol.

Support Your Local SPCA

My daughter's Daisy Girl Scout troop recently toured the SPCA and learned more about what they do there.  It was a great experience and the girls had a good time.  Most SPCAs are in need of donations and volunteers, though.  If you have the time and/or money, consider doing something to help out your local SPCA.  Our local SPCA is so busy, and I am impressed with how efficient they are.  In fact, they have not had to euthanize an animal in over two years.  But success like this does not come without a lot of effort.  Learn what you can do to help out these animals.  Most of them have been someone's unwanted pet, and they just need a good home.  Try www.petfinder.com to locate great animal companions in your area.  If you cannot give them a home, at least help make their stay at  the shelter more pleasant by donating your time or maybe items like these:

• Cat Litter
• Dry or Canned Cat or Kitten Food
• Bleach
• Pine Sol
• Garbage Bags
• Liquid Dish Detergent
• Liquid Laundry Detergent
• Paper Goods
• Any other cleaning supplies
• Dry or Canned Dog or Puppy Food
• Cat Toys
• Dog Toys
• Rawhides
• Dog Treats
• Sheets
• Towels
• Blankets

Strawberry Time

So our strawberry plants have exploded this year...we had a few meager plants last year and they morphed into strawberry madness.  But this is great, because now we have plenty to make preserves with and add to a variety of dishes.  At the beginning of the season, though, our little woodland creature friends (strange, since we live in the city) were chowing down on our berries!!!  So my husband and neighbor devised this really cool "cage" to let light and water in but keep animals out.

The Vegetable Garden

Again, if you are in the area of Rockville, MD, you should go to the Vegetable Garden after you visit the Pangea Vegan Store.  Vegetable Garden consists of Asian-inspired dishes and they are proud to be serving all-vegan, all the time.  The atmosphere is nice and the staff are very friendly.  Make sure you are hungry, though, because there are SO MANY choices...the menu is huge.  The vegan sushi pretty much rocks, and the eggplant is delish as well.  You WILL have to take home a doggie bag, haha!  I had not been that stuffed in a long time...if every city a restaurant like this, I would probably gain 50 pounds easy!

Pangea Vegan Store

If you are in Rockville, MD, take a side-trip to the Pangea Vegan Store, one of the only exclusively vegan stores in the D.C. area.  It is super-small, but has a LOT to offer.  We spent entirely too much money while there.  If you read VegNews magazine and have wondered where you can get all those great products without having to order them on the internet, this is the place.  We got everything from vegan Jello to candy bars to sticky buns to cook books to Dr. Cow cheese.  The staff there are really nice and helpful.  They also have a whole room dedicated to vegan shoes.  Pangea is certainly a super resource for vegans near D.C.

Poplar Springs "Run for the Animals" 5K

At the end of May I ran in the Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary's 5K race.  It was a lot of fun and such a great cause.  We had to travel kind of far to get there, so we made a whole day of it.  I wasn't going to let distance keep me from experiencing a great get-together of vegans and runners, though!  The race was at Wheaton Park in MD and it had a lot of hills.  That can be a challenging run for a novice like me, but I finished without stopping and I wasn't last!  My registration fee for the race will directly benefit the animals at the Sanctuary.  I would like to encourage all vegans and omnis alike to get involved in something active like running or swimming...eating right is not enough, you have to get out there and MOVE YOUR BODY!!!!

Easy Vegan Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup vegan margarine
• Egg replacer for one egg
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a muffin pan. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the soy milk, vegan margarine, egg replacer and lemon juice and stir until mixed.
Gently add the blueberries.
Spoon the batter in to the muffin pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until muffins are golden brown.

Valley Earthfest 2010

The New Leaf Vegan Society had another successful year at the Valley Earthfest in Berryville, VA!  The turnout was even better this year than last year, with many people stopping by the vegan booth.  In fact, people were asking for us by name...I think it is because we always have bunches of vegan yumminess to sample.  We had peanut butter cookies, tofu cream cheese brownies, chocolate-chai snickerdoodles, chocolate chips, and blueberry muffins.  And everything was GONE by the end of the day.  We passed out a lot of literature, and talked to a lot of folks who were genuinely interested in what veganism means.  We also set out a lot of books for festival-goers to take a look at.  My husband set up a seed-exchange booth right next to the Vegan Society booth, and this proved to be a great combination!  We were a powerhouse for activism and were busy all day.  The festival itself had a lot more to offer this year, with more food options and more music.  It was a little chilly for may, but so many people came that it didn't seem to matter too much.  I had a great time and it was wonderful to talk to so many people who were interested in veganism!!!

Another Vegan Birthday!

This time I did Devil's Food with white icing, and it was very, very good!  I used the store brand cake mix, ensuring that it did not have eggs, milk, or anything else I didn't want.  I used EnerG Egg Replacer to hold it all together and Pillsbury icing.  It pretty much rocked, and the kiddo had a great birthday.  All he wanted was CAKE!!!