John, Liam and Colleen are in a good mood to start today's podcast namely because of getting nostalgic over classic Canadian hip hop.

There's a lot to discuss on today's podcast and the topics have a wide range.

Liam wants to know more about John's granola.  You'll find out too if you listen to today's podcast.

Colleen offers her advice on what constitutes a wrap and what constitutes a burger.

Liam offers his two cents on the cookie debate that the podcasters had last week.

John thoroughly agrees with Colleen's assertion that the white bean "non"-hummus from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan is phenomenal.

Colleen is ecstatic about Yu milk's return!!!  She is also happy about receiving an apple pan dowdy recipe!!!

The trio also debate the restaurants that they ate at on Thursday night.  Udupi Palace vs. Lahore Tikka House. 

The highlight of the day is also talked about on the podcast:  podcast listeners from New Zealand popped into the Resource Centre today. 

This podcast is a kiwi-licious 33 minutes.  

Listen Now!

Today Angelina, Colleen and John are all over the place with this week's topics of conversation. Angelina replies to last week's podcast conversation by talking about an upscale restaurant in Switzerland that features breast milk on its menu. The three co-hosts debate this issue.

Angelina talks about the Los Angeles restaurants and stores to get your fill of vegan/raw "grab and go" items that she experienced upon her recent sojourn. She recommends Cru, Leaf, and Locali.

The trio also are confronted with a request which they cannot easily fulfill. BlogTO did a review of the top cookies in Toronto - only one of which is vegan. Hence, they were challenged to veganize this list by making the best vegan cookies in Toronto. The difficulty which arises is that none of the podcasters are huge cookie fans. However, they do suggest that Sweets From the Earth and New Moon Kitchen are the companies which consciously make good vegan cookie products. Colleen also mentions that Dad's traditional oatmeal cookies and Oreos are vegan - although Colleen points out that these companies are likely not going out of their way to create a vegan product.

Other topics covered in this week's episode: Panacea, green juice, "leftover" smoothies, and Earth Hour.

This week's podcast is a tahini-milked 36 minutes.

Listen Now!

John Salley

Colleen will be heading down to Veg Michigan's VegFest on Sunday, April the 26th.  John Salley will be speaking at this event. 

A little closer to home, Nimisha Raja will be speaking at the Ontario Vegetarian Food Bank's (2370 Midland Avenue) workshop on how to create a plant-based menu that is easy, delicious and good for your heart. 

The trio also discuss the worldwide vegan bake sale taking place at the end of June.  If you have a vegetarian group or are willing to organize a bake sale you should get in contact with the organizers.

Liam comes through with another doozie for the question of the week...you'll have to listen to the podcast for all the milky details.

This episode is a pakora-rific 24 minutes.

Listen Now!

Today John and Colleen talk about some of their loves (fitting for Valentine's Day) - namely, Braggs, tahini, and nutritional yeast. Although I doubt either John or Colleen buy these three objects roses, a box of chocolates, or lingerie.

Colleen and John don't always see eye-to-eye and for the first time in a long time John is correct about their disagreement: there is sodium in Braggs. However, it is a lot less than what you would find in your typical soy sauce.

John will be trying his vegan luck when he goes to Panama City, Panama in the next few weeks. He has noticed on Happy Cow that there are some restaurant options, but he feels like he'll have no problems so long as he can get to a grocery store.

If you're looking for some good ol' fashioned rock n' roll you may want to go to Vegan Rock. This will be taking place at The Boat (Kensington Market) on February 26th at 9 p.m. Admission is $10. There will be a bake sale and proceeds will go to the Toronto Vegetarian Association.

This podcast is a nothin' but net 29 minutes.

Listen Now!

Today John and Liam need a siesta after eating the vegan platter from Karina's.  Karina's is located in the food court in the village by the grange (109 McCaul Street).  For $9.00 you're guaranteed to have your vegan esophagus stuffed with good vegan food.

Next Saturday Sadie's Diner (504 Adelaide Street West) will be having a special prix-fixe 5 course vegan dinner for $34.99.  You get a soup, salad, appetizer, main and dessert.  Please call 416-777-2343 to RSVP. 

John and Liam also discuss the merits of whole food meal replacements.  Specifically Veganique samples were left in the TVA office and they are tempted to give them a shot.

Shawn writes into the podcast to let everybody know about a vegan "fish sauce" recipe.  Listen to the podcast for details and a list of ingredients.

Lastly, Liam deals with the news story of the week: a Toronto business was euthanizing dogs without a proper license to do so.  For obvious reasons animal lovers everywhere were appalled by this story. 

This podcast is a 2 or 3 times/day 27 minutes.

Listen Now!

Today John and Colleen discuss the vegan chilli cookoff.  Colleen reports that there were sixteen different kinds of chilli - enough to satisfy everybody.  She also reports that it was quite busy which is a great sign that there'll be a third annual event next year.

John discusses Brendan Brazier's new book.  Colleen and John talk about how great it is when a waiter uses the word "vegan" before you do.  The vegetarian food bank is also talked about and the resource centre is still accepting non-perishable food items on their behalf.

This week's podcast is a huzzah -inducing 26 minutes.

Listen Now!

Today Angelina and John are full of beans.  More specifically, Angelina responds to Colleen's question from a few weeks back about how to properly make beans from scratch as opposed to buying the canned version.

The two also talk about the vegetarian directory update in the latest issue of Lifelines.  Both Angelina and John are impressed that there is a 100% vegetarian pizza place in Brampton that uses rennet-free cheese and they also have vegan options.  Speaking of Lifelines, you should really sign-up for the new E-lifelines .

The co-hosts are going to spend the rest of the afternoon watching A Delicate Balance.  If you haven't seen it yet please put it on your list of things to do.  Watching this movie is a good excuse to stay indoors and avoid the cold, but if you've been exposed to the dry air you maybe battling chapped lips.  John recommends using Avalon Organics vitamin C lip balm as a cure.  Angelina suggests beating the cold by testing out your own favourite vegan chilli recipes in preparation for the vegan chilli cook-off.

You may also want to check-out the latest issue of Veg News as Angelina has an article in the magazine about how a vegetarian diet relates to longer quantity and quality of life. 

This podcast is a sprouted 23 minutes.

Listen Now!

Today John, Colleen and Liam discuss Ethiopian food and the Blog T.O. top ten Ethiopian restaurants in Toronto. There were some agreements and disagreemens from the co-hosts, but they all agreed on one thing: Ehiopian food is A-O.K.

They also discuss their excitement over the upcoming 2nd Annual Vegan Chilli Cook-off. This will be taking place on January the 31st.

Colleen and John talk about their recent experience of eating at Urban Herbivore when a woman wearing a full-length fur coat walked in the restaurant. Both John and Colleen had to pick their jaws up off the floor (just as I typed that sentence someone walked into the resource centre wearing a fur coat. Ugh!).

This week's Question of the Week delves into the subject of placenta. This topic of conversation is definitely a podcast first.

Ruffage dog treats were a part of the discussion too as John and Liam were able to interview the co-founder (Jason) and talk to him about his products.

On a sad note a TVA member recently lost her dog in the High Park area. For more information and to see if you can help out please click here.

This podcast is a placenta-free 36 minutes.

Listen Now!

Today John's flying solo for the podcast, but that doesn't mean that there's not a lot to talk about.

There's a new documentary which has been recently published called "A Delicate Balance - The Truth" which focuses on human health (or lackthereof) and how people can restore their health through the foods they eat and how our food choices impact upon our environment. The film links animal agriculture to climate change. You can view the trailer here. There's a long list of individuals connected to the vegetarian movement in this film. You can watch the full documentary on-line for $4.95 (U.S. Dollars)

There are some products that you may consider picking up in the not-too-distant future. If you've got a health-conscious active individual to buy a present for consider picking up Brendan Brazier's new book Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide. If that person's a little smelly after their workouts consider buying Organic Grooming by Herban Cowboy Dusk Deodorant - Angeline strongly recommends it. Angeline also wants to plug Nature's Gate Organics Lavender and Aloe Deodorant (for the ladies). There are also some hair products that are apparently a sure fire hit (Live Clean Green Earth and orgnx) both of which will make you feel real purty (pretty) while also appealing to your animal welfare ethics.

Lastly it should be mentioned that it's time to get out that old world chilli recipe and veganize it. The Left Feet vegan chilli cook-off is just around the corner. Here's a little reminder of what this is all about from last year's festivities.

The next podcast will be posted on January 10, 2009. Have a great holiday!

This podcast is a short and sweet 12 minutes.

Listen Now!

Today, John and Colleen discuss John’s fly new juicer and the dangers of over-dosing on delicious beet juice.

John also discusses how much faster it is for him to eat more raw food than not, which allows him to stay healthy when life is crazy busy.

We also discussed alternatives to canned beans, in particular the dangerous but exciting option of cooking beans in a pressure cooker (also a great way to get that cookin’ done in a jiffy).

Colleen sent shout-outs to all the great people she met at TVA’s Annual General Meeting on November 27, including 2 people named Shawn (one male and one female), and Malan Joseph of the Ontario Vegetarian Food Bank (for which there is now a permanent box in the TVA resource centre, although as of November 29, that box was purely symbolic).

We also got a great email from our suburban fan Mindy (who’s also supplied the great food photos accompanying this write-up) who not only told us how she went veg (thanks to our great Veggie Challenge!) but also assured John that he’s as good a podcaster as Lisa.

This podcast is a well-juiced 25 minutes long.

(Update: This podcast was updated on December 20th as previous to this date it ended abruptly due to technical difficulties.  The full 25 minute version of this podcast is now functioning.) 

Listen Now!

Lisa and Colleen podcasted live from the TVA Annual General Meeting on Thursday, November 27th 2008. They discussed the Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-Off and the great things that TVA has done in the past year.

Next came Lisa’s interview with Peter McQueen (TVA board member) and Fraser Gibson (TVA President), which focused on how TVA is going to enact the health focus of TVA’s three-year strategic plan in 2009.

To wrap things up, Colleen and Lisa interviewed two fabulous and dedicated TVA volunteers, Anne and Scott.

This podcast is a special edition 54 minutes long.

Listen Now!

Today, Liam, Jen, and I (Colleen) talk about food a lot because we’re pretty much obsessed. We discussed our Urban Herbivore sammiches (Jen really enjoyed her first time eating their food), my discovery of sunflower seed butter, Brampton’s all new all vegetarian pizza joint (Khalsa Pizza), PIES, holiday eating, and what we’re having for dinner tonight.

Tonight, I am having burritos with smoky avocado sauce, Jen is having even more cabbage rolls, and Liam is going to restaurant TBD where he hopes to have TVP and he’ll get there via TTC.

We also discussed Toronto Vegetarian Association’s new partnership with the Ontario Vegetarian Food Bank (drop off veggie non-perishables at 17 Baldwin St.!) and Sarah Kramer’s new travel cookbook, Vegan A Go-Go! which we have for sale at the RC – yet another reason for you to come visit us on either a Wednesday or a Saturday.

Also, Liam likes to talk about burping and farting.

This podcast is a peanut-butter-and-chocolate 35 minutes long.

Listen Now!

Today, Colleen, Angelina and I (John) welcome Liam to the podcast. He has a lot to offer to today's show, including his restaurant visits in New York City and his story about why he went vegetarian/vegan. We discuss some of our favourite places in New York including: Tiengarden Vegan Restaurant, Mooshoes and Candle 79 where Liam had the Porcini Crusted Tofu on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes.

There is some discussion about a couple of guests who recently visited our Resource Centre. Rose is a teacher who came in last week to get resources for some vegetarian students who want to start an animal rights club. We also had a visitor who went vegetarian after visiting a TVA table at an outreach event.

Colleen provides this week's question of the week: What's your favourite non-vegetarian Toronto restaurant to get a vegetarian/vegan meal?

Our picks included almost any Ethiopian restaurant, but especially Rendez Vous, India Palace because of their friendly waitstaff and $11 veg thali (ask for non-dairy if you are vegan), Sultan's Tent for their great atmosphere and couscous dish, and Prince of Egypt near the Big Carrot for their roasted-veggies-stuffed-with-rice dish.

There was also some fan mail from Mindy. Mindy likes the show and all, but misses Lisa. Lisa has participated in the podcast a few times, and she will be back on the night of November the 27th to join Colleen podcasting from the TVA Annual General Meeting.

Angelina talks about her favourite places in Toronto to get tabbouleh (also spelt tabouleh or tabouli). She has gone so far as to rank her top 10 places! Here they are:

1. Jasmine Shawarma (now closed) that was near Yonge and Wellesley.

2. Naz's Falafel House at 118 John St near Queen, 416-593-7386. "Super tasty."

3. Ghazale at 504 Bloor St (east of Bathurst) and 661 College St.

4. Sarah's Shawarma & Falafal at 487 Bloor St.

5. Falafel House at 760 Yonge St.

6. RABBA 24 Hours (inside deli) at 24 Wellesley. "Super fresh taste."

7. Laila at 553 Bloor St (east of Bathurst). Part of our vegetarian discount card program.

8. Atlas One Cafe at 820 St Clair West, 416-656-4817. "Tomato dominant."

9. Jerusalem at 955 Eglinton West, 416-783-6494.

10. Wrap & Grab at 618 Yonge St, 416-598-0505. "Large bulgar and distinct flavour."

Tabbouleh can also be made at home. Here are some recipes, but Angelina says it is a lot of work removing the parsley stems and it is difficult to get an authentic taste.

Angelina may be excited about tabbouleh, but Colleen is happy to hear that smoked tofu is back in Toronto. After a brief hiatus due to Canada's smoked tofu producers changing plants, it is now back in stores. Smoked tofu lovers, rejoice!

Lastly, Kelly wrote in with regards to last week's questions about how to make the 25th Annual Vegetarian Food Fair in September 2009 an unforgettable event. Her reply won her the grand prize (truth belt wrist band, a t-shirt, and gluten free crackers).

This podcast is a tabbouleh-licious 33 minutes.

Listen Now!

Jen and I (John) have the opportunity to speak with Sarah Kramer about her newest cookbook creation Vegan A Go-Go! Sarah was in Toronto a couple of weeks ago and some of her local fans were given the chance to meet her at Left Feet/Heart On Your Sleeve.

Listen Now!

Today, Jen and I (John) welcome Colleen back to the podcast and what a show it is! There is an email from a listener (Elizabeth) in response to last week's show where we discuss Panacea (the new vegan store in Toronto). Elizabeth writes in to let us know that Kitchener also has a vegan store named Green Door Vegan Variety.

I discuss my experience volunteering at a non-vegetarian soup kitchen and Colleen mentions her meal at Lettuce Eatery. She wasn't impressed. Their rice bowls had plenty of rice but not enough sauce, veggies and tofu.

We also discuss our favourite toppings on salads and sandwiches. I'm not going to give away all of the answers, but it seems as though pumpkin seeds and raisins are the favourites.

Colleen is on a restricted diet where she can't eat garlic, onions or even ginger as it is too spicy. This is a drag because she loves these flavours and can't find, among her cookbook collection, a recipe for soup that doesn't rely on garlic and onions. So she is wondering what to eat. I suggest some of Toronto's Buddhist restaurants such as Vegetarian Haven for ideas. [Steve suggests using things like miso, sesame seeds, mushrooms and cilantro as flavourings. RecipeZaar finds 17 vegan soup recipes without garlic and onions. Also see our Basic Vegetarian Meals page for soup ideas.]

This week's question of the week: What is the most anti-vegetarian thing anybody has said to you?

Colleen had a run-in with someone who thinks turkeys deserve to die. A few years ago, I had a problem with a catering company that claimed to know nothing about veganism. I ended up with a lettuce salad. Jen was told by a rude waiter that there was nothing vegan that she could eat at Southern Accent, even though there was.

The Toronto Vegetarian Podcast has a new contest: Answer the following questions regarding the 25th Annual Vegetarian Food Fair taking place in September 2009:

1) How can we commemorate/celebrate the 25th anniversary?
2) Who would you like to see present a talk or cooking demonstration?
3) How can we incorporate a health focus at the fair? 2009 will be the year Toronto Vegetarian Association emphasizes vegetarianism as the gateway to good health.
4) What would be some family-friendly activities to have there?
5) What do you think would make the Vegetarian Food Fair appeal to a wider audience?

Submissions are due by noon on Nov 15, 2008. Send to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Lucky winners will receive a Truth Belt wrist band.

This podcast is a Colleen's-not-dead 31 minutes.

Listen Now!