There's just a few weeks left to join the Toronto Vegetarian Team and Run or Walk for TVA!

Do you like running? Or walking? AND do you love TVA? 

If the answer to any of those questions is YES, then don't miss the chance to join the Toronto Vegetarian Team at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on September 27! Now is the perfect time, as our new sponsor, Live Organic Food Bar, will be offering a $25 gift certificate to our top fundraiser! Plus, all team members who fundraise for TVA will be invited to a private post-run dinner with Brendan Brazier in early October. 

There's no need to fear joining the team, as this race, which can be completed as a 5k, 1/2 marathon or full marathon, is commonly described as flat, fast and festive.

Joining the team is simple. Contact Barbi Lazarus at 416-544-9800 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to receive your special pincode for a discounted registration rate and full information on signing up.  

Are you already registered with another charity at the race? Really not interested in running? 

You can still support the Toronto Vegetarian Team in one of two simple and easy ways! All donations of $20 or more are tax deductible.

1. You can sponsor a runner on the Toronto Vegetarian Team: To sponsor someone already registered on the Toronto Vegetarian Team, visit our official charity page and click the link below that says "Sponsor a Participant" and search for Toronto Vegetarian Association for a list of team members.

2. You can sponsor the entire Toronto Vegetarian Team: To sponsor the Toronto Vegetarian Team rather than a specific runner, visit our official charity page and click the link below that says "Sponsor a Team" and search for Toronto Vegetarian Team.

A night inspired by the glamour and fashion of Bollywood

Curry up and get your tickets for the hottest party of the summer. We've moved the location to a beautiful factory loft called The Movement Centre at 2480 Dundas Street West.    

Featuring 18 delicious vegetarian dishes for only $25 including curry seitan, samosas, mock duck, wontons and much more! Take in performances of the sounds and sights of South Asian culture, bid on fabulous prizes or enter our raffle, and then dance like you're in a Bollywood movie! Attire is fun, Bollywood-inspired formal wear.

Call the office at 416-544-9800 with your credit card details ready. Space is limited - don't miss your chance to join us!

New Location! Movement Centre, at 2480 Dundas Street West 

When?  August 22nd at 7 pm

How much? $25, with all proceeds supporting the Toronto Vegetarian Association

Our Master of Ceremonies

Kimberly Carroll is a television host, producer, and speaker who has appeared on the W Network, CBC Television and Radio, and CTV to name a few.  As an activist, Kimberly is passionate about human rights, politics, and environmental issues, but is most devoted to animal rights with a focus on factory farming and the commercial seal hunt.  

To purchase your tickets, please phone the TVA office at 416-544-9800 with your credit card information ready. Tickets may also be purchased with cash or cheque in person during Resource Centre hours (Wednesdays from 6 to 9 pm and Saturdays from 1 to 4 pm).

Today John and Colleen have a very short and newsy podcast.   Today's highlights:

- John mentions the Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-off is coming up (October 3rd); check the blog for more info. 

- If you want to find a DVD copy of Earthlings please go to veganslovelava.ca. 

- The raw desserts recipe sharing is taking place next Saturday in the Resource Centre between 1 and 4 p.m.; come on in and get some free raw dessert samples. 

- Keep your eye on the Dreena Burton cookbook giveaway. 

This episode is a seriously abbreviated 6 minutes.

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Lisa attended Vegetarian Summerfest 2009 hosted by the North American Vegetarian Association and had the opportunity to capture a couple of interviews on the spy device. Check out her interviews with Yvonne Smith, the Traveling Vegetarian, who travels the world trying vegetarian dishes and creates videos to share with the masses. Lisa also had the chance to chance with nutritionist, cooking instructor and corporate chef, Maribeth Abrams. In the interview Maribeth shares some fantastic recipes from her upcoming book, the 4-ingredient Vegan. Terry Hope Romero and Lisa chat about Terry's busy recipe creation schedule, her soon to be released cookbooks and her demos at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair. The podcast ends with the dulcet tones of Kyle Vincent singing a song during a tree planting event at Summerfest presented by the World Orchard Project. Save your pennies and you might just find yourself in Johnstown next summer.    

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Don't miss the first ever Durham Vegetarian Festival this Sunday August 9 at the Heydenshore Pavillion in Whitby!

Durham Vegetarian Festival Speaker Schedule

Click here to learn more about the Durham Vegetarian Festival

John and Colleen are extremely earnest for a little while, while discussing the day's visitors to the Resource Centre and some of the great books they purchased and borrowed from the library. They're also quite serious about the respective awesomenesses that are Isa Moskowitz and Dreena Burton, Isa having opened a vegan cooking school in Portland, Oregon and Dreena, having been interviewed for TVP #154, being part of a giveaway of one of her fabulous books.

In Toronto restaurant news, John and Colleen discuss John's recent visit to Simon's Wok, Colleen's recent pancake feast at Fresh, and Rancho Relaxo deciding to do the right thing and take shark off their menu.

They also discuss cool upcoming events in Toronto, including the free raw vegan desserts giveaway at the RC and Moon Over Mumbai, both on Aug 22.

Discussing an interesting looking book John discovered in the RC today, Ben Shaberman's The Vegan Monologues, Colleen asks the question of the week: What would be the title of your monologue in the live version of The Vegan Monologues? Silliness ensues.

This podcast is a you said the v-word 40 minutes long.

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Lisa has the opportunity to interview the (un)disputed vegan cookbook champion of the world Dreena Burton in this podcast episode.  If you have not been properly exposed to Dreena's recipes you are really missing out, but click here to find out about how you can win yourself one of Dreena's cookbooks.

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Welcome to the August edition of eLifelines. This summer, Toronto has been buzzing with non-stop activity in the vegetarian community. Signs that the veg community is growing and strengthening in the GTA include the upcoming Durham Vegetarian Festival, where you'll find a wide selection vegetarian food products and talks, and the continous announcement of new vegetarian eateries opening up.

TVA itself is busy planning for a number of events, including the 25th Annual Vegetarian Food Fair (now with a fantastic lineup of confirmed speakers and cooking demonstrators), Moon Over Mumbai (a Bollywood themed fundraising dinner and silent auction), plus sweet treats care of the Resource Centre. 

Of course, sweet treats need not equate to poor health, and this month Lisa Pitman brings us two healthy, delicious and green (literally) recipes that you can enjoy guilt-free.

If you choose to pass on doing the cooking yourself, check out our featured local vegetarian restaurant (and sponsor of the Vegetarian Food Fair), Green Earth Cuisine, in the Discount Profile column.

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

The first ever Durham Vegetarian Festival is just one week away, on August 9th! Moon Over Mumbai promises to be a night of tasty food, fun, and a great way to support TVA. Tickets are on sale now! 

Find out more in the TVA in Action section or on facebook.

Spots are still available for the Bollywood Makeover Event! Learn how to apply bollywood makeup with a self applied 2 hr workshop taught by a Hollywood Make Up Artist and take home a complimentary Arbonne product. FOR ONLY $ 29! All proceeds help benefit the Toronto Vegetarian Association.

To register, please call the TVA office at 416-544-9800. Payment is required at time of registration. We ONLY accept Visa and MasterCard.

Dates and times: Thursday, July 23 OR Monday, July 27 at 6:30 pm
Location:  250 Queen's Quay West Unit 702

On today's podcast, John and Colleen give Happy Cow the love it deserves, discussing the amazing resource it is for vegetarians generally and specifically how it's helped them out in various ways as they've travelled the globe. As John points out, Happy Cow is a great resource for getting to know your own city's veg options better too, and they discuss Hibiscus and the Calico Cafe, the latter of which is a new veg restaurant recently opened near Bloor St. West and Dufferin.

Keeping things internationally focused at the same time that they celebrate the local, John and Colleen also recommend you check out Moon Over Mumbai, which will be occur on August 22, 2009. Moon Over Mumbai will form a sort of pre-celebration for this year's annual vegetarian food fair (Sept.11-13); there will be dancing, delicious veg eats, and an auction - be sure to wear your Bollywood gear.  Call 416.544.9800 for your tickets.

Another cool veg event going on this year in the GTA is the first annual Durham Vegetarian Festival, to be held in Whitby on Sunday, August 9, from 11-4. Speakers there will include Nimisha Raja, Erika Sullivan, and David Alexander.

Because John and Colleen are generally obsessed with food, as you know, they also discuss John's summer basil extravaganzas and Colleen's recent resolution to try eating savoury breakfasts. Feel free to send your favourite basil and savoury vegan breakfast ideas and recipes to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Finally, Colleen is feeling even sillier than usual and recites her 7 favourite rejected write-ups about the TVP for the 2010 Veg Directory (to be unveiled at the food fair in September).

The Resource Centre will be closed and there will be no podcast on Saturday, August 1.

This podcast is a terrifying rotating sammich 30 minutes long.

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Please join us in celebrating the 25th Annual Vegetarian Food Fair at our Moon over Mumbai Dinner and Silent Auction, a night inspired by the glamour and fashion of Bollywood!

Dine on vegetarian dishes from around the world, take in performances of the sounds and sights of South Asian culture, bid on fabulous prizes or enter our raffle, and then dance like you're in a Bollywood movie! Attire is fun, Bollywood-inspired formal wear.
 
Location: Jivamukti Yoga, 5 Shuter St
Date:  Saturday, August 22, 7:00PM   

Early Bird Ticket Price $15 available from July 15 until July 24
Regular Ticket Price $ 25
 
To secure your tickets, please call the office at 416-544-9800 with your credit card details ready.
 

This week, sun kissed Lisa joins John and Liam to recount her experiences at Summerfest in the southern state of Pennsylvania. If Liam didn't eat such a huge meal from Vegetarian Haven he might have gone back for some "decadent" which combines vegan cake, ice cream and soy milk in glass. John joined Colleen in his praise of the ice cream at Hibiscus in Kensington Market where unlike the gluttons at the spicy dosa eating contest, he had only one serving. Lisa is looking for a location to host this year's Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake Off - suggestions for a location are appreciated (please email them here). Additionally, John offers some running tips to Mindy and all of the others who are part of Team Vegetarian or others who are training for this year's races at the Scotiabank Marathon. Lastly, Liam gets his hate on for the fast food giants.

You got what I need.

This week's podcast is a marathon approaching 38 minutes.

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