The Vegetarian Resource Group is celebrating its 40^th Anniversary this coming fall and this year we have changed the name of our quarterly magazine to Vegan Journal. You’ll find the same type of articles and recipe pieces in an updated format. Enjoy in-depth original research, product and book reviews, scientific updates on veggie nutrition, delicious vegan recipes with gorgeous photos, plus so much more. Both long-term vegans and those new to a vegan life-style will enjoy this magazine.

To subscribe in the USA, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

When visiting Vegan on the Fly at 24 West 45 Street in NYC recently we quickly noticed how busy this establishment can be. They offer three varieties of Gyro Sandwiches including seitan, Impossible kefta, and vegan chicken. We tried the seitan gyro and it was delicious and quite filling. They also offer several platters including falafel. Additionally, they serve a variety of empanadas (we tried a spinach/vegan feta one and it was great), salads, a Beyond Mac Bowl, burgers, loaded fries, vegan drumsticks, and more.

See: https://www.veganontf.com

For information on veggie restaurants throughout the USA and Canada, see: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

VRG Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels was quoted in a Washington Post article on raising vegan children. See: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/02/12/kid-vegan-vegetarian/

For more information on raising vegan children, go to:  https://www.vrg.org/family/kidsindex.htm#nutrition

To join VRG’s Parent’s list, sign up at https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids/

VRG staff members recently enjoyed lunch at JaJaJa in New York City. The food was delicious and the service was great! We dined on Gorditas (two stuffed tortillas, beans, serrano, shiitake bacon, and vegan sour cream) and their Chorizo Burrito (Spanish rice, black beans, guacamole, smothered with salsa and vegan sour cream).

See: https://www.jajajamexicana.com/

For information on veggie restaurants throughout the USA and Canada, see: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

The Veg Society of DC. has posted a new history section on its website. See: https://vsdc.org/history/vsdc-historical-gallery/

For more veg history, go to: https://www.vrg.org/history/

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Started on Friday, February 4, 2022, and continuing weekly, the largest district in the United States will be having “Vegan Fridays.” On Fridays, food served at lunch in public schools in New York City will be vegan, according to an Associated Press article (1).  A carton of cow’s milk will still be offered on Fridays because this is required by the USDA. Children who cannot consume dairy milk due to a dairy allergy or lactose intolerance may receive a soy milk substitute (2).

Every day students in New York City can choose a vegan option but on Fridays all students are served a vegan lunch unless they request a non-vegan option.

On February 11, here’s what some of the vegan menus looked like (3):

Express Cold Lunch: Italian Veggie Grab & Go Salad  and Confetti Corn

Hot Lunch: Mediterranean Chickpeas served with rice or pasta; Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli

Other planned offerings include a black bean and plantain rice bowl, a chickpea stew, and vegan tacos.

To learn more about school meals see

Getting Vegan Food into Schools

Vegan Options in a California School

Vegan Options in Portland, ME School Lunch

School Food Lunch

VRG’s School Lunch Testimony

Tempeh in School Meals

References

1. New York City school lunch menu going vegan on Fridays. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-new-york-education-new-york-city-nyc-state-wire-bca2dcfd0dda46cb08160baf6ecfcc86. February 4, 2022.

2. New York City Department of Education. Menus. https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/food/menus

3. New York City Department of Education. Free Lunch Meals. https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/food/menus/school-lunch-meals 

Here are some new additions to VRG’s guide (Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic many are doing take-out and/or delivery now):

Drink Me Tea Room, 1730 E. Warner Rd., Tempe, AZ 85284

Drink Me Tea Room is a wonderful, almost wonderland-ish tea spot that has gorgeous decor. It features adorable cakes and scones to go with your tea. Make an online reservation for one of their fantastically-themed tea parties.

Fennel Organic Eatery, 322 Bloor St. W., Toronto, ON M5S 1W5 Canada

Fennel Organic Eatery offers an a la carte type menu that changes daily. The menu includes an assortment of hot foods, fresh salads, snacks, juices, and smoothies. Locally sourced ingredients are used in many dishes such as Balinese brown rice with Ontario peas, spinach mushroom quinoa salad with Ontario mushrooms, and cucumber and dill salad with Ontario cucumbers. Fresh juices and smoothies are made with no added refined sugar and include options such as an all green juice, a daily detox juice, and a rainforest smoothie sweetened with dates.

Lazy Cow Bakery, 3418 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103

They offer a wide variety of cakes such as the spicy pear frangipane tart, cardamom birthday cake, ginger-flavored cake, and custom-made cakes.

Mis Tacones, 1670 NE Killingsworth St., Portland, OR 97211

Mis Tacones is about 2 blocks from Alberta Park, near the main shopping area, right on the corner of Killingsworth and NE 17th street. Mis Tacones aims to celebrate the flavor of their Mexican and Chicanx heritage and embrace the BIPOC and Queer communities through food and culture. Dine on guacamole and many tacos including seitan and pico de gallo as well as optional cashew cream. Many tacos include seitan and pico de gallo as well as optional cashew cream. Of course there are burritos and empanadas too. Choose from corn or potatoes empanada with soyrizo—a soy based vegan version of Mexican chorizo. Their Chimichanga looks like a confection, swirled with zigzags of cheese and lime cilantro-cashew cream sauce, topped with a rosette of peppers and onions. Dessert options include caramelized flan, conchas, deep fried ice cream, and dough fritters dressed in cinnamon sugar called bunuelos.

Pepitas Vegan Taqueria, 1115 W. Hickory St. #113, Denton, TX 76201

The owners of this family restaurant took on the considerable, but worthy challenge of transforming their Mexican family recipes into whole food, plant based, vegan dishes. The idea sprouted, like the eatery’s namesake, pumpkin seeds, promoting compassion for animals and reducing carbon emissions. Choose from several tacos such as marinated Jackfruit “Brisket” with vegan birria broth and Al Pastor–marinated soy sautéed with onions and pineapple, all embellished with various toppings. Or select from their Favorites section—maybe a Fajita skillet with Portobello Mushrooms, veggies and toppings, or Hamburgesa Mexicana featuring a house-made patty, with Tofutti sour cream finishing off many of their dishes. For larger groups they offer Fajita, Enchilada and Tacos platters. There are several sides, including not only Mexican favorites like guacamole, or rice and beans, but also Elote—a combination of grilled corn enrobed in mayonnaise with a lime and chili based sauce. They offer a Sunday brunch with tofu scrambles, breakfast tacos and burritos, pancakes, waffles, coffee, and more. Also enjoy desserts such as a strawberry empanada, their own version of cinnamony, sopapillas, and their Tres Leches Cake, baked in house.

The Cleanse Theory Kitchen, 83 Henry St., New York, NY 10002

They serve gluten-free choc berry tarts, chocolate raspberry tart, poké bowl, coconut chia pudding, plant-based scrambled eggs, and much more.

Vegan Pastry Lab, 18 E. Forest Ave., Englewood, NJ 07631

Small all-vegan bakery on the corner of Dean St. and E. Forest Ave. Stop in for a sweet treat or a hearty snack: offers savory pastries alongside a daily-varying selection of cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, cookies and the like, plus small local goods (candles etc.). Gluten-free options available. There is limited seating inside (the interior is bright, and modern, with walls of plants and neon signs) and outside. They also have an extensive online menu of celebration cakes (chocolate, red velvet etc.) that can be ordered in different sizes.

Wild Chestnut Café, 22 Chestnut St., Florence, MA 01062

Wild Chestnut Café is a vegan café offering vegan comfort food such as baked goods, hot drinks, smoothies, soups, and salads. Their house-made vegan cupcakes include chocolate and yellow cupcakes with a variety of frostings such as mint, strawberry, mocha, and cream cheese. Cinnamon buns are available on weekends. Soups of the day include creamy broccoli and potato chowder, healing broth with vegetables, and tomato basil with brown rice. Soups and salads are served with homemade bread.

According to Nil Zacharias’ project, Plantega, is the union of plant-based foods and bodegas, small stores in Spanish-speaking areas that Zacharias describes as an essential part of New York City’s fabric. At the moment they are in about a dozen bodegas. We recently passed one of these stores and saw this sign in front of the bodega.

For more information on Plantega, see: https://eatplantega.com/  

Be sure to follow The Vegetarian Resource Group on Instagram: @vegetarianresourcegroup

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

New York City Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the United States, serving more than one million people each year. Together with Mayor Eric Adams, they recently announced that they are expanding their lifestyle medicine program to six public health sites in New York City. These programs will be modeled after NYC Health + Hospitals‘ Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. Over the coming year, the program will expand to serve adults at Jacobi, Lincoln, Woodhull, Kings County, and Elmhurst hospitals, as well as Gotham Health, Vanderbilt.

According to NYC Health + Hospitals’ website, the plant-based lifestyle medicine program focuses on a healthy plant-based diet, exercise, stress reduction, healthy sleep, social connections and avoidance of risky substances such as tobacco.  The program is administered by plant-based doctors, registered dietitians, and health coaches. It includes individual consultations and group classes.

The program defines a plant-based diet as, “a diet centered around vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, peas, nuts, and seeds. It minimizes or avoids animal foods, sweets, and highly processed foods.” Individuals joining the program should be interested in moving toward a more plant-based diet. The program is open to adults with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and/or health concerns related to obesity.