• Chop or grind seitan, sauté with onions and garlic, and add to tomato sauce for spaghetti sauce; or add to cooked beans with barbecue sauce for chili beans; or add to vegetable or tomato soup for extra flavor and texture; use as a pizza topping or a calzone filling; or add to a creamy mushroom sauce to create a stroganoff.
• Cut seitan into small cubes and sauté with black or white pepper, a small amount of vegetable oil or spray, and chopped bell peppers or chilies of your choice. Add to a package of homemade curry sauce to create a green, yellow, or red curry; add to heated leftover mashed potatoes with sautéed onions and green cabbage to create an Irish-inspired colcannon or a shepherd’s pie; or use as a focaccia topping.

Find more ideas here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2024issue1/2024_issue1_cooking_tips.php

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

Are you searching for vegan sporting goods? If so, you might want to check out Eco Sports. Here you’ll find items for both children and adults including basket balls, soccer balls, footballs, pickleball balls, and volley balls.

Succotash Gratin photo by Linda Tyler

Linda Tyler’s Casseroles piece in an issue of Vegan Journal serves up the following recipes: Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole, Succotash Gratin, Green Bean Casserole, Smashed Potato and Vegetable Bake, Sesame Soy Curls with Rice, and Millet à la Puttanesca. Start cooking today!

Find the recipes here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2022issue4/2022_issue4_casseroles.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA only at https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Maryland Vegan Restaurant Month is being held February 28^th through March 30, 2025. During this month, restaurants will be offering vegan specials and there’s also several special events. For more information, see: https://www.mdveganeats.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/mdveganeats/?hl=en

Each issue of Vegan Journal (published by The Vegetarian Resource Group) contains a wide variety of vegan recipes. You can search through our recipe index here and find something new to prepare at home: https://www.vrg.org/journal/CookingAndRecipes.htm

photo from Freepik

Have you ever noticed how many different types of rice there are? Chef Nancy Berkoff’s article The Long and Short of It – Meet Red, Black, Green, Gold, and Purple Rice! explains what the differences are and how to prepare vegan dishes using a variety of rice. Enjoy Sofrito with Carolina Gold Rice; Spanakorizo; Walnut & Wild Rice Salad; Cashew Coconut Purple Rice; Green Herbed Pilaf; Mango Sticky Rice; and Red Rice Pilaf.

Find the entire article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2021issue2/2021_issue2_long_short_of_it.php

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

The Vegetarian Resource Group has a graphic called Burrito on My Plate, which shows viewers the water footprint of a vegan versus a meat-based burrito. It takes 225 gallons of water to make a vegan burrito without tofu and 253 gallons of water to make a vegan burrito with tofu. In comparison, it takes 541 gallons of water to make a beef burrito.

The Burrito on My Plate Graphic can be seen here: https://www.vrg.org/environment/BurritoOnMyPlate.pdf

The article detailing how we came up with the numbers of gallons of water needed to produce each type of burrito can be found here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2017issue2/2017_issue2_burrito_plate.php

Leek and Potato Soup with Watercress

Nava Atlas shares a variety of dishes featuring leeks in an issue of Vegan Journal. Find these vegan recipes: Leek and Potato Soup with Watercress; Warm Leek and Potato Salad; Sautéed Leeks with Fennel and Mushrooms; Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Leeks and Walnuts; Persian-Style Spinach and Leeks with Black-Eyed Peas; and Simmered Tofu with Leeks and Tomatoes.

Read the entire article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2023issue2/2023_issue2_love_leeks.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal, visit www.vrg.org/member

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, recently published a position paper about vegetarian dietary patterns for adults.  According to AND, “a position paper is a critical analysis of current facts, data and research literature on a specific issue with high, or at least moderate, quality evidence.” Position papers from AND are based on systematic reviews of the research literature. I was one of a team of people who developed and authored this position paper.

The position paper begins with a paragraph summarizing AND’s position. Here’s what it says:

It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that, in adults, appropriately planned vegetarian and vegan dietary patterns can be nutritionally adequate and can offer long-term health benefits such as improving several health outcomes associated with cardiometabolic diseases. Vegetarian dietary patterns exclude meat, poultry, and seafood, and vegan dietary patterns exclude all foods of animal origin. Registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) and nutrition and dietetics technicians, registered (NDTRs) play a pivotal role in providing meal-planning strategies and evidence-based nutrition information to clients currently following vegetarian or vegan dietary patterns or who may benefit from and express interest in following vegetarian or vegan dietary patterns. RDNs and NDTRs can work with their clients to create tailored, lifestyle-oriented, nutritionally balanced, and culturally suitable vegetarian and vegan dietary patterns that optimize health benefits while reducing concerns about nutrient inadequacies. This position was approved in January 2025 and will remain in effect until December 31, 2032.

The paper goes on to provide information about the role of vegetarian, including vegan, diets in the prevention and management of chronic diseases, key nutrients for vegetarians, and vegetarian diets for older adults and for those with food insecurity. It includes recommendations for dietitians who work with vegetarians and vegans and with clients who are interested in or who could benefit from these diets. The paper says that AND “will advocate for  policies and legislation that support equitable access to more plant-based foods in a variety of settings (e.g., schools, childcare nutrition programs, federal assistance programs) and within clinical care to meet the cultural, customary eating pattern, religious, and sustainability preferences of individuals.”

Information from VRG’s poll of the number of vegetarian adults is included in the paper and several of  VRG’s resources, such as My Vegan Plate and Vegan Diets in a Nutshell are listed as helpful resources for practitioners.

The complete position paper is available at https://www.jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(25)00042-5/pdf

Raj S, Guest NS, Landry MJ, Mangels AR, Pawlak R, Rozga M. Vegetarian Dietary Patterns for Adults: A Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. J Acad Nutr Diet. Published online February 7, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2025.02.002

Vegan Meatballs

Olga Kouloufakos serves up a variety of Mediterranean vegan recipes in an issue of Vegan Journal. You can prepare Stuffed Tomatoes; Vegan Meatballs (based on mushrooms and oats); Moussaka; Pasta with Chickpea & Mushroom Pesto; and Lasagna.

Read her entire article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2024issue3/2024_issue3_mediterranean_mainstays.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal, visit www.vrg.org/member