News

Veg Out 479: Virtual Veg Fest Preview with Ana!

This week, Steve and Jeanette welcome former host and RC volunteer Ana back to the show! Steve gives us a review of La Bartola, Jeanette shouts out two east side vegan businesses that have reopened, and Ana discovers a new vegan cheese. We also get an update from Ana on being vegan in Guelph, and all three preview the virtual Virtual Veg Food Fest. https://veg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Veg-Out-Aug-23-Virtual-Veg-Food-Fest.mp3   Mentioned on the podcast: La Bartola Lettie’s Vegan Fine Foods (new vegan cheese alert!) Animal Liberation Kitchen Tori’s Bakeshop Eastend Vegan Withrow Park Farmers’ Market Guelph Vegan Socials Crazy Carrot Nora Cooks… Read More

Filed under: News News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Resource Centre Toronto Vegetarian Podcast

Veg Out 478: TVA History, with Peter McQueen

Veg Fest is just over a month away: what better time to dive into some key moments in the TVA’s history? On this episode, Sweta and Steve chat with Peter McQueen, who has been instrumental to the TVA since 1983. Get inspired by his journey to ethical veganism and hear how the Veg Food Fest has evolved from its humble beginnings as the Vegetarian Information Fair (no, the TVA did not have a marketing expert at the time) to the weekend-long vegan extravaganza at the Harbourfront Centre that you’ve come to love. Plus: hear fun facts about being part of the TVA, including rubbing shoulders with international vegan celebs during Veg Food Fest! https://veg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/VegOut20200808.mp3 Links Check out the TVA’s new fitness and fundraising initiative Steppin’ to the Beet and share your own fitness experiences during the pandemic. Veg Food Fest is coming soon – with a virtual twist. Mark your calendars for September 11 to 13 and get all the details on this year’s event! Credits Hosts: Steve and Sweta Guest: Peter McQueen Show Summary: Sarah Bradley Editing: Sweta Theme Music: Matt Judge… Read More

Filed under: News News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Resource Centre Toronto Vegetarian Podcast

August Veg Guide Updates!

Happy August everybody! A short but very sweet update this month, featuring lots of Mexican food, ice cream and savoury pies! How amazing is it that we continue to have great vegan restaurants open, even during a pandemic? Give these places a try, they all sound amazing!    La Bartola Taco Shop 588 College St If you were lucky enough to try La Bartola’s awesome Mexican food at the World Cafe during last year’s Veg Food Fest, you know this new spot in Little Italy is not to be missed! Check out their awesome brunch, or go for dinner and cocktails, there’s an outdoor patio, and indoor seating available!    M1lk Gelato 536 Queen St. W. Operating out of the front of Pizzeria Du, Queen West’s newest vegan pizza joint, M1lk Gelato offers 100% vegan gelato in scoops and cones. Flavours like black & white sesame, hazelnut, coffee, pistachio, and even stout beer are all creamy and delicious!    Mexhico Restaurant 37 Dunlop Street West, Barrie Opening August 28th, this Mexican restaurant in Barrie… Read More

Filed under: Eat Veg Front page post News Veg Directory Updates

Veg Out 477: Catching up with Lisa Le, The Viet Vegan

Lisa Le is a nerdy, feminist, intersectional vegan blogger and food photographer. She runs The Viet Vegan blog and Youtube channel, and you may remember her as a former Veg Out host and Resource Centre volunteer. Lisa joined us virtually to talk about her sourdough journey, propagating house plants, and discovering the new plant based Becel butter bricks and using them to invent vegan matcha-lime sticky buns (pictured above). We also talk about TVA’s new fitness and fundraising initiative Steppin’ to the Beet and share our own fitness experiences during the pandemic. https://veg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Veg-Out-Lisa-Le-July-25.mp3 Also featured in this episode: Earthling Ed’s recent video about why vegans don’t eat honey La Bartola Taco Shop and Mexican restaurant opens in Toronto Former butcher shop to become vegan deli in Toronto’s east end  … Read More

Filed under: News News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Resource Centre Toronto Vegetarian Podcast

Veg Out 476: One Love Veg

On this sweltering hot weekend, who better to chat with than Ikeila Wright from One Love Vegetarian – purveyor of delicious meals with just the right amount of spice? From corn soup to roti to callalloo, One Love offers a variety of nourishing Carribbean creole dishes made with care and love. On this episode, Sweta and Steve talk to Ikeira about Ital* food, Rastafarian culture, and finding community here in Toronto. Since One Love offers plant-based cuisine infused with Caribbean flavours, Ikeila emphasized the importance of sourcing Indigenous foods from the islands like collard greens, Jamaican sweet potato, and herbs like thyme. Listen in to find out how One Love evolved from selling delicious corn soup at festivals and concerts around the city, branching out to cook more dishes and offer catering, then opening the beloved green storefront. Plus: raising five kids on a plant-based diet! Did you know? One Love is one of the longest-standing vendors at the Veg Food Fest (speaking of that – stay tuned for announcements about how this year’s virtual festival is taking shape). Visit One Love at 854 Bathurst Street in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood. *In the Caribbean, Ital refers to food from Indigenous crops… Read More

Filed under: News News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Resource Centre Toronto Vegetarian Podcast

Veg Out 475: Vegan Trivia and Conversation

We continue celebrating the TVA’s 75th anniversary with a trivia game that you can play along with! Listen and email us with how many answers you got right at tva@veg.ca. Don’t worry about your scorecard, your participation enters you to win a vegan cookbook! In our vegan roundtable, Steve tells us about a conversation he had in the dog park, which leads to a discussion about animal lovers who are not veg, and the difficulty in shopping at certain pet stores (though we love Bark and Meow). Sweta gives a shout out to the BBQ tofu bowl at One Love Vegetarian. And Jeanette encourages you to celebrate Pride with a rainbow cake from Bunner’s Bake Shop, and suggests a cow puzzle you can order in support of Farmhouse Garden Animal Home. We end the podcast with a remembrance of activist Regan Russell. Here are ways you can support her work and legacy: Go Fund Me Toronto Pig Save – ways to take action Animal Justice Petition to repeal to Ag-Gag laws https://veg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/VegOut20200627.mp3… Read More

Filed under: News News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Resource Centre Toronto Vegetarian Podcast

Discount Profile: Veggie Planet

The GTA is fortunate to have an abundance of vegan-friendly authentic Indian restaurants. But Veggie Planet stands apart for its unique fusion dishes. Now with two locations (Mississauga and Vaughan), this place has landed a spot on my top favourite restaurant list, surprising me even more every time with how delicious and flavourful everything is. It’s not every day you find pizza on the menu at an Indian restaurant, but imagine having a whole section of the menu full of pizzas! It was almost too much to bear to try and narrow it down to just one to order, but eventually my partner and I settled on the chaat Pizza, which had a sauce flavoured with Indian spices, vegan cheese, and plenty of crunchy pieces of sev. It was a close competition with the Indian masala pizza, we’ll have to try that next time! But first, we started with “appetizers”. I say that in quotations because the portions were very generous, even for someone like me, who has a huge appetite! This was our third time eating at Veggie Planet, and at first I resisted my partner’s suggestion we get the poutine for the third time, arguing that we… Read More

Filed under: Discount profiles elifelines Food and Restaurant News News News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Uncategorised

Veg Out 474: We’re Turning 75 (Part 2)

We’re keeping the celebrations going! In Part 2 of our special 75th Anniversary episode, hosts Sweta and Steve dive into some of the early days of the TVA with guest Michele Brennan, who has been with the organization for many glorious years. The TVA may have an official office and Resource Centre now, but, true to its community ethos, its first and long-time office was actually in the home of the first president, Barbara Jackson. Listen on for more blasts-from-the-past, including how much the vegan and vegetarian restaurant scene here in the GTA has evolved over the past decades. We round out key moments in the organization’s history with updates about Bill 156 (which would essentially criminalize the act of investigating animal cruelty practices) and a new ice cream from Perfect Day (they make cow milk from bacteria – talk about innovative!), and of course, restaurant updates. https://veg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/VegOut20200613.mp3 Links: Send an email to your MPP using Animal Justice’s letter as a template. The TVA Online Gala is happening on June 19: Silent Auction, a Video Collage and more! Get all the details. We’d love your help celebrating! Send us your birthday wishes… Read More

Filed under: News News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Resource Centre Toronto Vegetarian Podcast

Veg Out 473: We’re Turning 75 (Part 1)

Did you know that the TVA is turning 75 in on June 19? Tune in for a special Anniversary edition of Veg Out, where we chat with John Graber, a long-time volunteer with the TVA, about the history of the resource centre and the creation of the podcast as a slice of TVA’s history. Toronto’s veg*n landscape has changed dramatically over the past 10-15 years and it’s always fun to take a look back at how things used to be (i.e., needing to go to Seattle to find a good vegan donut). Plus: who, or what, is Gonga? And what is one staple you’ll (almost) always find at the Resource Centre? Listen to discover more fun facts about the TVA’s history. https://veg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Veg-Out-May-30.mp3 Links: The TVA Online Gala is happening on June 19: Vegan Rock, Silent Auction, a Video Collage and more! Get all the details. We’d love your help celebrating! Send us your birthday wishes in a ~20sec video in landscape format to torontovegvideo@gmail.com and we’ll include it in our montage during the celebrations. Virtual Vegan Rock is an annual musical fundraiser for the TVA and it’s coming to a… Read More

Filed under: News News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Resource Centre Toronto Vegetarian Podcast

Veg Out 472: Plantify

This week we’re talking PLANTIFY: a short documentary available on CBC Gem that explores how one dynamo couple introduced plant power on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula. Here in the GTA we’re lucky to have access to a plethora of resources to support plant-based diets, but that’s not always the case in urban, suburban, and rural locations across Canada. So how did a small community on ‘The Rock’ develop shifts to support culturally appropriate plant-based eating? Hear Sweta, Steve, and Sarah’s thoughts on the community-building power of food – because being plant-based is just as much about emotional well-being and social connection as it is about physical health. Plus: updates on the outbreak of COVID-19 cases in several Canadian slaughterhouses and the troubling issue of workers being directed to return to work – even when they feel unsafe. Listen Now to Veg Out 472 Links Plantify Documentary (available to stream for free on CBC Gem) Meat is not essential. Why are we killing for it? These are the meat plants in Canada affected by the coronavirus outbreak How Cargill became the site of Canada’s largest single outbreak of COVID-19… Read More

Filed under: News News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Resource Centre Toronto Vegetarian Podcast