| eLifelines January 2011 - How to Keep That Veggie Resolution |
| Sunday, 09 January 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Happy New Year from the Toronto Vegetarian Association! We welcome you to this year with some NEW features in eLifelines for 2011. We heard your feedback, and we're excited to bring you more stories, more restaurant reviews, and inspiring tidbits of animal and vegetarian advocacy in the city. We'd also like to give a warm welcome to new columnist Andrea Gourgy who will be joining veteran Amy Symington in bringing you monthly nutritional information and recipes. Both graduated from George Brown's Culinary Management and Nutrition Program, with a certificate in vegetarian cuisine, so they'll be sure to tempt your palates, starting with this month's molasses. Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!The Health Starts Here Cooking Series is back for 2011, starting on January 30th with Resolution Revolution: Revamping Ideas About Diet Foods. Find out more in the TVA in Action section.
This Month...
TVA in Action - Health Starts Here Cooking Series back for 2011, Vegetarian Travel Cards, Directory Updates In the News - Animal Transport Fines Increased, Veg*ns on American Campuses Rising, New Group in T.O for Bird Protection Animal Advocacy Profile - Vigil at Toronto Slaughterhouse: Gwen Dunlop Nutritious Food of the Month - Mo' Molasses Recipe - Baby Grownola Bars Discount Spotlight - A Visit to Kensington Natural Bakery and Cafe: 10% off Reader's Corner - Carrot Taco Recipe and New Documentary
TVA In ActionUpcoming Events
Resolution Revolution: Revamping Ideas of Diet Foods Cooking Class Come join chef Amy Symington for a healthy boost in your daily diet. Watch as she demonstrates how to create honestly tasty food that keeps energy up and waistlines in (without having to try so hard). Every attendee will get to sample everything made in class as well as take home a copy of each recipe demoed. Recipes for this class include: “Let us not eat lettuce all the time,” Greek salad, Eggplant Moussaka and Milopita (Greek apple pie). When? Sunday, January 30th from 2 to 4 pm Where? Whole Foods teaching kitchen, located at 87 Avenue Rd. Cost: $30, including samples of all dishes and copies of recipes used (or $100 for all four winter/spring 2011 classes - see veg.ca/healthyeating for details on all four classes). Registration? Please call 416.944.0500 for more information or to register. Unless otherwise stated, please register in person at the customer service desk or by phone. Space is limited to 14 students so don't delay. Visit veg.ca/healthyeating for full details on Amy's Health Starts Here Cooking Series running from January to April, 2011. Find other veg-related event listings at veg.ca/events.
Thanks to the bright ideas of TVA volunteer extraodinaire Sally Grande, TVA is proud to announce the release of vegetarian travel translation cards! These cards serve the purpose of allowing you to dine as you travel the world and face language barriers. The cards, which are currently available in Spanish, Japanese, Dutch and Hindi (with more languages on the way), say in both English and their respective language: "I am vegan. Please make sure there is no meat, no fish or fish sauce, no milk, no butter, no cheese, no milk powder or meat broth in my food". Present the card to your server when travelling in another country and feel confident that your diet is understood. The travel cards are available in the TVA Resource Centre or can be ordered by phone. TVA Group EventsThe North York/York Region Vegetarian Group will hold their next meeting at The Indian Kitchen (7330 Yonge Street, at Yonge and Clarke) on Sunday, January 30th at 1pm. Please RSVP to yorkregion@veg.ca or 416-636-5757. The North York/York Region Veg Group welcomes new and experienced vegetarians, and anyone wishing to make a transition to a vegetarian lifestyle. All ages welcome. The Dinner Social Group will hold their next meeting at Sadie's Diner (504 Adelaide Street West, just east of Bathurst) on Thursday, January 20th at 7 pm. Please RSVP by the Wednesday before the event to 416-544-9800 or tvadinner@veg.ca. Veggies of Halton/Peel will meet at Nzyme (341 Lakeshore Road E) on Saturday, January 15th at 5 pm. RSVP to fgibson@veg.ca. The Raw Meetup Group is holding a potluck on Sunday, January 23rd at 4 pm, near Bellwoods and Dundas. Click here for more information and to RSVP. Directory UpdatesIt seems that vegetarian restaurants have become so popular in Toronto that they're multiplying! Not one, but two favourites have opened new locations in Toronto. Rawlicious has a new location in Yorkville, at 20 Cumberland Street (near Yonge and Bloor), and Loving Hut can now be found at Spadina and Richmond (they accept the discount card too!). Plus, another fully vegan and gluten free establishment has opened up in the Junction. We've been hearing nothing but rave reviews about Bunner's Bakeshop, located at 3054 Dundas Street West (just west of High Park Avenue). Find more details about these and other updates on our directory updates page. In the NewsAnimal Transport Fines IncreasedLet's give a round of applause to the World Society for the Protection of Animals! Following the release of their report, Curb the Cruelty, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced they will more than double the fines for those who mistreat livestock in transport. While there is still much work to be done to improve the lives of animals in transport, and while these fines will only be effective if properly enforced, this increase (the first in more than 10 years) demonstrates the impact we can all have, as the decision came following more than 10,000 letters sent from Canadians to their MPs asking for updates to our outdated animal transport regulations. Rise of Vegans and Vegetarians on School CampusesVegan Outreach happily reports that the number of vegetarians and vegans on post-secondary campuses is rising! A survey conducted by Bon Appétit, the company that manages more than 4,000 corporate, college and university accounts in the United States, found that levels of people saying they were vegetarians jumped from 8 to 12% since 2006, and levels of people saying they were vegan jumped from 1 to 2%.Friends of Toronto Waterfront BirdsA new group has formed to protect waterfront birds in Toronto from harmful development in the city. Friends of Toronto Waterfront Birds is currently focusing on ensuring that a proper environmental assessment is conducted before the implementation of the underground tunnel to the Toronto Islands. Click here to visit their webpage and sign their petition calling for a full environmental assessment. Animal Advocacy ProfileKnow someone you want to nominate for the Animal Advocacy Profile? Tell us about someone in the community doing inspiring work for animals. Weekly Vigil at Toronto SlaughterhouseBelieve it or not, Gwen Dunlop musters the courage and patience to do what so many of us shy away from - witness in the flesh and blood, literally, abuse and cruelty against animals in the name of animal activism. For the past year, Gwen has been holding a one-woman Sunday vigil for the pigs at the Toronto slaughterhouse, also known as "Quality Meat Packers." Click here to read Gwen's personal and telling account of her weekly Sunday vigil, the reasons she continues and what she hopes to achieve through her activism. Visit www.torontopigsave.wordpress.com to learn more about the Toronto Salughterhouse and get involved. Want more stories of animal advocacy? Julie O'Neil's work with Animal Aid Nutritious Food of the MonthMo' MolassesCare of Amy Symington When thinking of molasses we’re often reminded of the stick-to-your-ribs, molasses rich baked beans, grandma’s sticky date spread or hot porridge on a cold morning topped with heaping spoonfuls of the sticky stuff - past memories of our childhood. Even now, most packaging found in the baking aisle screams old timeyness. However, one should not be fooled by the nostalgia of it all; molasses has never been more “now.” Derived from cane or beet sugar, molasses is most commonly used in baked goodies. This holiday season, molasses more than surely made a guest appearance on the dessert table in various spiced cookie and cake forms. However, its deep, rich and bold flavour can sneak its way into the most unfamiliar areas of the kitchen and we should be joyful that it does. Molasses has a great deal of (gasp) nutritional benefits to note; blackstrap molasses in particular. It is obtained after the third extraction during sugar processing and has the lowest sugar content of all the extractions (the first and second are lighter molasses and have higher sugar contents). Blackstrap molasses is an excellent source of manganese and copper, as well as being a very good source of iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium. Some even use it as a natural supplement for these minerals. Although, before throwing out all of your supplements, a quick check with the doc never hurt anyone. In addition to uping your energy, and supporting healthy bones and hearts, molasses is also a good source of B6 and selenium, which respectively, helps that nervous system do its job as well as clear your system of free radicals! So when reaching for sweeteners for hot bevies, sweet and/or savoury sauces, or your Christmas baking, remember your deliciously viscous old friend, molasses – overloaded with minerals that other sugars and artificial sweeteners are often stripped of. Mo’ molasses, please! Click here to join TVA and receive the print Lifelines, which offers more nutritional info, recipes and cookbook reviews. Find more nutritional information at veg.ca/nutrition. RecipeBaby Grownola BarsCare of Amy Symington
Ingredients:
Find links to more recipes at veg.ca/recipes. Discount SpotlightA Visit to Kensington Natural Bakery and Cafe: 10 % OffCare of Jason Doucette, Vegetarian Directory Coordinator Been somewhere on the discount card list lately? Tell us a story about your visit and the delicious food you tried and it could be featured as the next Discount Spotlight.
After the 2010 TVA annual general meeting a few of us decided to grab a bite to eat, so we went old school on Bloor and reconnected with Kensington Natural Bakery & Café (460 Bloor Street West, 416-534-1294). Maybe one of our readers can correct us, but this might just be the oldest vegetarian eatery in Toronto, and while it can feel a little like you're stepping in a time machine when you enter, the good news is that this includes the prices. KNB (as the cool kids call it) features a meal special in the back where you can choose three items from a wide range of vegan and vegetarian options, which with soup comes to only $5.99. And of course, your TVA Discount Card gives you an additional 10% savings. While they are not in Kensington, they are a bakery! You can buy whole pies or just a slice, as well as cookies, date squares, cupcakes, and a wide range of other breads and baked goods. One quick warning, though with their prices this shouldn't be an issue: while Kensington Natural Bakery accepts the Discount Card, they don't take any forms of plastic, so remember to bring cash! Veg Status? Vegetarian Savings with TVA Discount Card: 10% off Location: 460 Bloor Street West (between Bathurst and Spadina) The TVA Discount Card is available to members of the Toronto Vegetarian Association. Find a full listing of participating locations here. To join TVA and/or purchase a discount card, make a tax-deductible, online donation or phone the TVA office at 416-544-9800. Reader's CornerReader's ClassifiedsToronto animal rights filmmaker Karol Orzechowski has embarked upon a new project that looks at animal experimentation from the unique perspective of humans and non-humans who have seen both sides of the debate. The film, Maximum Tolerated Dose, features stories of people who conducted experiments only to have their conscience haunt them, as well as stories of animals who were once test subjects and now live in sanctuary. For more information, including a trailer for the film and donation information, check out the film's mini-website at http://decipherimages.com/mtd/ Reader's Recipes
Tacos are very versatile and can be done in so many ways, one of my favorite recipies is "carrot tacos". I know it sounds like a strange combination but it is very good, easy and cheap. Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association today!
Founded in 1945, the Toronto Vegetarian Association is a volunteer-driven charitable organization devoted to providing information and support to people who are interested in making healthier, greener, more peaceful food choices. By becoming a member of TVA, you'll support vital programs such as the largest annual vegetarian food fair in North America, the vegetarian directory, a volunteer-run vegetarian resource centre and the Veggie Challenge. You'll also receive our quarterly print newsletter Lifelines, and be entitled to a free, customized subscription to VegE-News. Plus, you'll have the option to purchase our Discount Card, offering savings at over 80 veg-friendly businesses in the GTA. All donations of $20 or more are tax-deductible. Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association today and help us inspire people to choose a healthier, greener, more peaceful lifestyle.
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Carrot and Potato Tacos, care of reader Claudia S