Were you unable to come to the release party on Sunday? No problem! The book is available for purchase on Amazon. Here’s a description:

And if you like what you read, follow Compassionate Action for Animals to hear more from Mistress Ginger (aka Justin Leaf). Soon, Justin will be our new Communications and Events Coordinator.

Over the past few years, Subway has worked to offer more options for health-conscious patrons. In 2012, Subway tested a variety of veggie meats in the D.C. areas and received raving reviews from customers, and in 2013 they rolled out falafel in more than three dozen stores in and around the D.C. area.

Now, Subway announced that they will offer roasted red pepper hummus in 1,000 stores across the country. Currently it is offered at an extra cost, but if the demand is high enough, they will consider putting in stores nationwide.

According to the Associated Press, Tony Pace, Subway’s chief marketing officer said: “It’s something we’ve been talking about for the last three or four years,” saying it has “tremendous potential.” As further noted in the article, Pace suggests that since many customers already order vegetarian subs, offering hummus would expand the meatless choices available to them.

If you’d like to see more veg-friendly options at more Subway restaurants across the country, be sure to add your voice to the conversation and let them know what you’d like to see! More than 13,000 consumers have already let them know they’d like to see more compassionate choices on their menus, so be sure to make your voice heard!

We heard about this awesome news from our friends at Compassion Over Killing. 

Update: this class has been canceled.

Join AmyLeo of Vegan Affairs on Tuesday, May 13th for a vegan treats cooking class at the Lake Calhoun Whole Foods store! The class will run from 6-8pm and the cost is $30 per person. Pre-registration is required for this class and you can either register online, in the store at the customer service desk, or by calling 612-927-8141. Learn more about the class below!

Whether you have a few sweet teeth or steer more towards the savory, everyone loves a treat from time to time to enjoy and share. In this class, you’ll learn how to satisfy your cravings for treats using entirely plant-based ingredients like nuts, dried fruits and natural sweeteners. AmyLeo will guide you through whipping up some fresh-baked desserts to sweeten up your day and savory nibbles to keep you company when you desire a wholesome treat that blends crunch, nutty flavor and a little spice.

This class is vegan friendly, with hands on opportunities as desired. On the menu:

• Garlic and Cracked Pepper Cheesy Popcorn
• Chedda-Cheese Delights
• Fig Pumpkin Bread with Maple Cream Cheese icing
• White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Be sure to sign up for the class to learn some new tasty vegan recipes and meet some new friends!

Want to spruce up your brunch menu or learn to cook some new, tasty vegan brunch dishes? Join AmyLeo from Vegan Affairs on Saturday, April 26th from 10am – Noon at the Lake Calhoun Whole Foods Market in Minneapolis for the ‘Add Punch to Your Brunch’ cooking class!

The class will be held in the Cooking Classroom at the Whole Foods Market and costs $30 per person. You must pre-register for the event at the Customer Service desk or you can register online.

On the menu for the cooking class is:

• Luscious Vegan Breakfast Scramble
• Savory Seared Tempeh with Rich Garlic Aioli and Fresh Greens
• Ancient Grain Griddle Cakes with Caramelized Fruit
• Molasses Sweetened Multigrain Granola

Each dish will help you enhance your plant-based breakfast routine or help you impress your friends at your next vegan brunch! This compassionate cooking event will have good food, good friends, and good conversation, so be sure to register today!

Mark Bittman has long been supportive of the vegan diet and in VB6 he draws a road map for those who want to move to a more compassionate diet for health reasons. I’m also in the midst of reading Veganomics by Nick Cooney, so forgive me if I pepper a few statistics from Cooney’s book as well: Most people become vegetarian or vegan for either health reasons or to help animals. However, people who successfully stay with a compassionate diet adopt more reasons the longer they maintain their diet. For example, if they started out vegan because of the desire to help animals, they’ll stay vegan because they feel it is healthy and they’ll also realize the environmental benefits of their diet, adding these to their list of reasons. My point is that if you want to become vegan to help animals, not for health reasons, Mark Bittman’s book is still a great read.

Bittman is compassionate and forgiving of the reader by reminding us that changing our diet is not easy. It involves creating new habits, changing our taste buds, and creating strategies that don’t isolate us from others that may not share our dietary convictions but still want to eat out with us. Even as a lifelong vegetarian that knows the value of cooking large quantities of soup that can be frozen into lunch portions and quickly thrown together stir-fry “recipes,” I found his book delightful. Reading it inspired me to set down the cookies and crackers and do some serious meal planning. I loved his tips on what vegetables you can cut and prepare in advance to make cooking in the evening a cinch (celery and carrots – which also make for great snacking!). I took to heart his advice that ‘if you buy it you will be more likely to eat it and cook it.’ My fruit intake has probably tripled since I started reading this book.

There are lots of great vegan cookbooks, but what Bittman did in VB6 is help the reader understand how to switch not only to a vegan lifestyle but also to a healthy lifestyle. I love that all his recipes center on basic easy-to-find inexpensive foods (well, sadly fruit doesn’t always qualify for the “inexpensive” category). And although he does have one chapter on non-vegan recipes (to be eaten after 6 or sparingly), you can always skip that chapter (like I did). Nowhere does he insist that anyone “needs to eat animal products.” The inclusion of that chapter is for those who aspire to reduce the animal products in their diet, but don’t think they can do it full time. I love this inclusive message. As Nick Cooney points out in Veganomics –  10 people who eat only one meal day with animal products have much more significant impact than 5 people who become 100 percent vegan. So whether you fall into the former or latter camp, if you want to eat a healthier plant-based diet, I highly recommend reading VB6.

Thanks for waiting patiently. We finally have the winning recipe for the 5th Annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off. There’s no way around it: this recipe is a lot of work! Thanks to Jacob Carrigan to providing his recipe!

Though you’ve been able to find a few vegan or vegetarian items at Target Field in Minneapolis in the past, such as popcorn, peanuts, and pretzels, they’ve upped their game this season with lots of delicious veg options that will surely make you want to head out to Target Field – and maybe you can even watch the Twins play, too!

New vegan and vegetarian options this year include Field Roast veggie dogs and burgers, which are both vegan, a baked potato bar, hummus with pretzels, veggie taco, veggie kabobs, and veggie burritos. Now you can stop sneaking in those Larabars and enjoy true ballpark food while taking in a game this summer!

Before you head out to Target Field, make sure you check out their entire list of the veg options available as well as the directory  to where you can find all of the delicious plant-based foods throughout the stadium. They also have a ton of gluten-free options, so you’re sure to find something the whole family can enjoy!

I’m happy to announce we’ve hired Justin Leaf as our new Communications and Events Coordinator.

A long time Compassionate Action for Animals volunteer, Justin has helped plan the Their Lives, Our Voices conference, raised funds, distributed literature, helped with administrative tasks, and much more. He has written a vegan cookbook, Mistress Ginger Cooks, which is being released next month.

Justin has been a professional dancer, a singer, a performer, choreographer, and a yoga instructor. He has organized numerous events and has extensive experience in communications including email newsletters and videos.

Beyond his experience, what excites me about hiring Justin is his commitment to gently helping people embrace compassion.