By Rissa Miller, Senior Editor Vegetarian Journal

1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal in 3 Tablespoons warm water

1 cup canned peaches, drained

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup vegan sugar

Zest of one lemon

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flaxseed meal and water. Set aside to congeal.

Add all other ingredients to a food processor or powerful blender and process until smooth and well-combined. Pour in flaxseed combination and pulse until incorporated.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake 50-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 25-30 minutes before turning out and slicing to serve.

Optional Lemon Icing

1/2 cup vegan powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract 

1-2 Tablespoons water

Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together. For a more liquid icing, add a few drops more water at a time until desired viscosity is achieved. Pour over cooled cake and serve immediately.

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

By Rissa Miller, Senior Editor Vegetarian Journal

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 red onion, chopped

One 12-ounce bag frozen mango chunks, thawed

One 14-ounce can chickpeas, drained

1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce or tamari

1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

Warm olive oil in a wok or large sauté pan. When warm, add all bell pepper and red onion and stir-fry for 5-7 minutes, until browned and cooked through. Add mango chunks, chickpeas, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic, and cook, stirring often until ingredients are well combined and mango is heated through.

Serve over rice or noodles, as desired. Toppings could include chopped green onions, chopped peanuts, or chopped cilantro.

Mix it up by trying different vegetables, like slivered carrots or chopped broccoli, or add cubed tofu.

There are so many ways to prepare vegan stuffing for Thanksgiving! We thought we’d once again share an article by Chef Nancy Berkoff that previously ran in our Vegetarian Journal that includes recipes for Eggplant-Tomato Stuffing, Oatmeal-Walnut Stuffing, Goodies-From-the-Garden Stuffing, Chock-Full-of-Corn Stuffing, Fruited Bread Stuffing, Apple and Raisin Stuffing, and Spinach and Roasted Pepper Stuffing.

Read the entire article here: Stuff Your Face: Stuffings for all Seasons

Subscribe to Vegetarian Journal in the USA only by visiting https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Share this handy poster with family and friends. You can also print it out and post it on your refrigerator. See: https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/VeganDietsinaNutshellPoster.pdf

Are you searching for some new vegan side dishes to serve to co-workers, friends, and family at Thanksgiving? Chef Brown from The Land of Kush vegan restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland, shares several recipes (serving 12) in his Vegetarian Journal article titled, “Cooking for a Crowd.” Enjoy Thai Squash Stew, Collard Greens in Orange Sauce, Warm Wheatberry Salad, Stuffed Sweat Potatoes, Coconut Curry Eggplant Stew, and Cranberry & Mango Sauce.

Read the entire article here: Cooking for a Crowd

Subscribe to Vegetarian Journal in the USA only by visiting https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Try this vegan cauliflower steak recipe by Rissa Miller. See:
https://youtu.be/RlzLmnvS-f8

Recipe at https://www.vrg.org/blog/2021/01/11/cauliflower-steaks/

Are you looking for some alternatives to Turkey this Thanksgiving? Fortunately, there are many options today.

Field Roast offers these choices:
1. Celebration Roast with Traditional Bread Stuffing and Gravy – made with fresh onions, celery, cranberries and butternut squash.

2. Hazelnut Cranberry Roast en Croute – a rich, hazelnut-infused grain meat stuffed with Field Roast sausages, crystallized ginger, cranberries and apples – wrapped in a savory puff pastry. It’s even Toaster Oven friendly!
See: https://fieldroast.com/products/#roasts-loaves

Gardein offers a plant-based Turk’y Roast. See: https://www.gardein.com/chickn-and-turky/classics/plant-based-turky-roast

No Evil Foods offers The Pardon. See: https://www.noevilfoods.com/products/the-pardon/

Tofurky offers Tofurky Roast and Gravy. The Roast includes stuffing. See: https://tofurky.com/what-we-make/roasts/ They also have a Ham Style Roast. For details see: https://tofurky.com/what-we-make/roasts/ham-roast/

Recent topics brought up include:

– Halloween candy vegan suggestions

– Announcement for vegan Halloween event in New Jersey

– Vegan books for children

https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids is intended to be a group that offers support for families raising children on vegan diets and for vegan kids around the world. We envision it as a place to get advice about a wide-variety of topics: pregnancy, birthday parties, school lunches, Halloween, non-leather apparel, cruelty-free products, summer camps, and more. Please use it as a place to share your wisdom, seek advice, or just find a sympathetic ear. The goal is to offer support.

Consequently, any profane, defamatory, offensive, or violent language will be removed. Feel free to disagree, but do so respectfully. Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs will not be tolerated. We expect that posts should relate to vegan diets and lifestyles. The Vegetarian Resource Group reserves the right to monitor all content and ban any user who posts in violation of the above rules, any law or regulation, SPAM, or anything otherwise off topic.

Please share this information with any veggie families that you know! Thanks.

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is a professional association for dietitians. At their recent virtual meeting (Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo), one presentation’s focus was on plant-based alternative “meats.”

I found the remarks of one speaker, Christopher Gardner, PhD of Stanford University, especially interesting. He suggested that instead of asking if plant-based “meats” are good (or bad) we should consider if the question of goodness or badness is being asked in terms of personal health, environmental sustainability, and/or personal beliefs and values related to animal rights. In addition, instead of trying to assess goodness or badness, we should consider what these plant-based “meats” are replacing. Are they being used instead of animal products or plant-based whole foods?

This way of framing the question is helpful when, for example, a reporter asks, “Are you concerned about children eating faux meats?” it’s impossible to make a simple “yes” or “no” response. Am I concerned if a child eats an occasional veggie burger or unchicken nuggets? No, not at all. Am I concerned if that’s pretty much all they eat for long periods of time? Yes, but my concern is with what’s missing and the lack of variety, just as I’d be concerned if a child only ate bread or eggs or hamburgers.  If the veggie burgers and unchicken nuggets are being used to replace hamburgers and chicken nuggets, I’d consider that to be a positive switch for health, environmental, and ethical reasons as well as from a food safety standpoint. If the veggie burgers and unchicken nuggets are replacing bean burritos or tofu and vegetable stir-fries most days, that would not be a positive move, in my opinion.

The next time someone asks if plant-based “meats” are good or bad, think about the many ways that this question can be answered.

To read more about plant-based “meats” see:

Vegan Processed Foods: Embrace Them? Shun Them?

How Do the Newer Meat-Like, Plant-Based Burgers Compare Nutritionally?