The Hopeful Herbivore

Recently, I shared a post about criticism circulating in the vegan community . Vegans judging other vegans for not being 'vegan enough.' I had also written up a veg-friendly baby registry . Shortly after typing up that list of items, my pregnancy ended due to preterm labor. But I am now again expecting. And much to my annoyance, the two worlds have collided again -- vegan criticism and parenting. During my first pregnancy, I would occasionally post tidbits on Facebook, such as a picture of Seventh Generation diapers. And immediately, a vegan acquaintance would chime in with, "Why aren't you going to cloth diaper?" And again, with my current pregnancy, I recently posted a pic of an organic soy formula that I was excited to finally find locally. Almost instantly, I got, "Aren't you going to breastfeed?!" I was instantly peeved. Why? Because it bothers me that anyone feels entitled to publicly criticize such personal parenting decisions. It...

Ever been told, directly or indirectly, you're "not vegan enough?" Yeah. Me too. Even though I run a vegan/animal rights blog, a vegan/animal rights Facebook page, visit and donate to places like Farm Sanctuary, and haven't consumed any meat, dairy, or eggs in well over 2 years and counting. But you see, this morning, I posted a simple Instagram of a box of Oreos, captioned as "Some days, this qualifies as a #vegan breakfast." I expected a few of my omni friends to be surprised that Oreos were vegan, or for them to make a few lame vegan jokes. I even anticipated a possible hint of judgment with a "that's not so healthy" kind of comment. But no. My omni friends chimed in with good humor, like "I approve." or "I need a box of these!" Instead, it was my 'pure' vegan friends who chimed in to remind me just how non-vegan the Oreos really were, and ipso facto, how non-vegan I was. "They're notori...

As some of you know by now, we're expecting twins in June 2014. As is customary, people have started asking where we're registered, what items we need, and more importantly, "What should we not buy?" What they mean by that is, "What doesn't fit with your eco/vegan/animal rights lifestyle?" And the truth is, I appreciated that people cared enough to ask. But I keep feeling apologetic when I answer them. So, I tried to figure out a way to tackle this that didn't come across as demanding or somehow rude. Sure, we made registries, but people like to buy unique items for baby, or just see small items here and there and pick them up without thinking. We knew a registry wasn't going to be enough. So, how do we tell people what we prefer? I just wasn't sure. But once several people asked, I accepted that if people are going to go out of their way to gift us with something, they'd surely want it to be something we would proudly use and is i...

Fall is upon us. Pumpkin-flavored everything is being released. We're jumping on that bandwagon. It's time for a Maple Pumpkin Pie Smoothie (vegan, of course). When making the smoothie, you want at least two of your ingredients to be very cold. For example, my almond milk and canned pumpkin had been chillin' in the fridge for hours. Or you can use cold almond milk and frozen banana. It's up to you. Just make sure something is cold, so you don't end up with a room temperature smoothie. Also, you can vary the amount of pumpkin. 1/2 can will leave you with a fairly thin smoothie. 1 whole can will result in the thickest, almost milkshake, texture you've ever successfully sucked through a straw. So, that's all up to your personal preference.    Ingredients: 1/2 can of pumpkin 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk 1/2 ripe banana 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon nut...

Alright. I get it. When you picture a deli sandwich, you picture mounds of meat and cheese. But here's the thing. I don't really care for 'faux' meat and cheese. So I was looking to make a simple sandwich that gave me the salty and fatty taste -- with no animals or processed soy involved. And I must tell you.. this has become a bit of an addiction. That said, if you have favorite 'faux' deli meat or cheese, give it a whirl. Nobody will judge you ;) Ingredients: 1 loaf of crusty/deli-style vegan bread Vegenaise (or other vegan mayo) dill pickle slices iceberg lettuce, shredded or torn extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle salt, to taste pepper, to taste oregano, to taste If your bread needs to be cut to size, now's the time. Put a thin layer of Vegenaise on the inside of both the top and bottom piece. Add a sprinkle of dried oregano to both layers of Vegenaise. Place two layers of iceberg lettuce on the bottom. Add two layers of dill pickle slic...

This isn't just an issue that comes up for vegans. We've all heard someone say, "I don't eat soy. I don't want man boobs!" or "I'm trying to get pregnant, and soy messes with your hormones." or "Soy is GMO crap." Can we please lay this one to rest already? Soy has been villainized enough. Let's address the two major concerns with soy. Soy is all GMO -- No. Between 90-95% of soy (which is mostly GMO) is sold for livestock feed, not direct human consumption. So if you're worried about consuming GMO soy, stop eating meat from factory farms and/or anything that is 'convenience' or 'fast food.' In reality, most of the soy targeted to vegans and vegetarians is clearly labelled as non-GMO and/or organic. Most grocery stores these days carry non-GMO soy milk, faux meats, ice cream, etc. Soy messes with your hormones and/or will give you man boobs -- Again, no. The topic of debate here is the presence of phyt...

Who doesn't love a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich? So why not drink one? A healthier one.   In this recipe, I've used blueberries. I like the texture and taste in the smoothie, but you could use any frozen berry that you like. Ingredients: 1 cup frozen blueberries 1 cup almond milk 1 small banana 3 tbsp peanut butter 1/2 tbsp agave nectar (optional) ½ tsp vanilla extract   Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.     Enjoy your youth in a glass!