Toronto Veg Blog

Embrace Your Inner Hippy Granola Veggie

By Barbi Lazarus, Donor and Volunteer Resources Coordinator As a form of vegetarian outreach and in an attempt to convert meat-eaters to plant-eaters, us veggies are eager to dispel myths about bland, vegetarian food. We’ve probably all said more than once in our lives “vegetarians don’t just eat granola and salad!”. The last Toronto Veg Blog post shows that plant-based food knows no limits and that certainly, granola and salad are no longer required fare for vegetarians. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not shy about indulging in all the vegan versions of classic comfort food and sweet desserts that are abundant these days. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m vegan and yes, I love granola. It’s quick to whip up in a bowl and pop in the oven, ready to bring along wherever and whenever the next day. It’s a great snack, or if you make one filled with enough nuts and seeds, it can even be filling enough for lunch with a side of fruit and veggies. It’s the perfect food to bring along on vacation, to snack on the plane, or to bring on hikes or other day trips where there… Read More

Filed under: Eat Veg News Toronto Veg Blog Uncategorised Vegan & Vegetarian Recipes

Podcast 287: Immunize Yourself!

Today John and Sarah welcomed Selene to the podcast.  Selene was able to offer some practical tips about how to prevent colds and flus.  The trio also got involved in a conversation about some new restaurants of note thanks to an email from Shawn C.  Also discussed:  Veggielicious and the AGM are just around the corner,  a Vega recall, the TVA team at Toronto Waterfront Marathon, and Diwali. Listen Now!… Read More

Filed under: News Toronto Veg Blog Toronto Vegetarian Podcast Uncategorised

Toronto Has it All

By Barbi Lazarus, Donor and Volunteer Resources Coordinator If you’re vegetarian, follow social media, and like to eat, by now you’ve certainly heard about the newest vegan bakery to open up, Through Being Cool. Blog posts and instagram shots galore have been spreading like wildfire, so I won’t go into too many details that others have already described oh-so-well about how fantastic their goodies are (you can just do a quick google search for Through Being Cool Vegan if you want the drool-worthy details). I had the pleasure of stopping by on my day off a couple weeks ago. As I sat on the subway home just staring at my bag of food in anticipation, I was suddenly overcome with a sense of awe, wonderment and excitement about where Toronto’s veg scene is at, and the fact that certainly this must represent a growing demand for vegetarian options. For those who think that vegans live with any sort of deprivation, let me just summarize where we stand here in Toronto: Donuts, apple fritters, pretzels and ooey gooey pizza buns? Check. (That would be the delicious spread from Through Being Cool you see on the right). Read More

Filed under: Eat Veg Front page post News News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Toronto Veg Blog Uncategorised

Giving Thanks for Delicious Food

By Autumn Ladouceur – Past TVA Communications Intern Thanksgiving at the Ladouceur family home was a big hit! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the cornucopia of festive vegetables brought to the table. To name a few we had squash, yams, brussel sprouts, turnip and mashed potatoes, all made with vegan margarine. My aunt Donna even brought a vegan version of her famous coleslaw, made with oil and vinegar. The Tofurkey I made went over particularly well. Everyone who had some said that it was the best one we’d ever had at Thanksgiving. They asked me to continue making it that way every year. My meat-loving brother even tried it and said he liked its mushroomy taste. Unfortunately, because everyone enjoyed the Tofurkey so much it meant that there were no leftovers. Usually my left over Tofurkey makes for a couple days worth of hot Tofurkey sandwiches with veggie gravy. Fortunately, I had enough left over vegetables to fill a swimming pool and dive in with joy and excitement. In other news, I think I ate a whole pumpkin pie this week. I was in a pumpkin pie coma. All in all this was a very successful Thanksgiving feast. I hope all… Read More

Filed under: Front page post News News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Toronto Veg Blog Uncategorised Vegetarian Holiday Recipes

Getting Ready for a Veggie Thanksgiving

By Autumn Ladouceur – Past TVA Communications Intern No matter what walk of life you’re in, Thanksgiving can be a difficult holiday for the vegetarians out there. When we think of Thanksgiving the first thing most people picture is a turkey, so our challenge as vegetarians is to try to make a satisfying Thanksgiving feast that we and our omnivorous friends and family will enjoy and maybe even love. These tips, hints and recipes should make this Thanksgiving a little easier for all the herbivores out there. Here is a list of alternatives that you will need for your veganized Thanksgiving feast. Not only can you use this advice in your own kitchen, but you can share it with mom and dad so that they can modify their Thanksgiving feast to meet your needs as well. Milk – Soy, coconut, almond or rice There is a peanut allergy in my family so we steer clear of almond milk during the big holidays, but all of these alternatives will substitute cow’s milk effectively. For instance, my dad always puts milk in the mashed potatoes, but since I went vegan he has been substituting it for soymilk. Not even my most… Read More

Filed under: Eat Veg News Toronto Veg Blog Uncategorised Vegan & Vegetarian Recipes Vegetarian Holiday Recipes Vegetarian Meal Ideas

Cooking Up Sunshine

Hello! Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Barbi, TVA’s Donor and Volunteer Resources Coordinator and I’ve decided to join in on the blog fun that my colleague Carly enjoyed over the summer. Soon you’ll also be meeting Autumn, one of our past communications interns. Ever since the 29th Vegetarian Food Festival, people have been asking me what it’s like post-festival. “It must be such a relief!” “You finally get some relaxing time!”. Actually….no! Thanks to such an amazing, committed army of volunteers that the Toronto Vegetarian Association has, things don’t slow down after the Festival, and the office has been a buzz as we plan for almost non-stop outreach. Since September 8th, Toronto Vegetarian Association volunteers have staffed tables at Word on the Street, a Wellness Fair in Oakville and two Humber College events, and by the end of today will have also given out about 10,000 leaflets promoting a vegetarian diet on university campuses in the GTA. But there is one thing that changes in the office post-festival, and that’s the unveiling of the fully stocked, newly organized, bursting bookshelves full of all the latest and greatest vegetarian titles that shipped in just before September 6th. If you… Read More

Filed under: Toronto Veg Blog Uncategorised

The Gift of Support

Musings from Carly: Veg Directory Assistant 2013 One rainy Monday morning I was working away in the office of TVA when a long-time member phoned in with a unique request. She wanted to purchase a membership to give a friend’s granddaughter who had recently become vegetarian. Routine, I thought, and grabbed the form to fill out. However, this wasn’t just any gift membership (or maybe no gift membership ever is), this was much more. She explained that her friend was concerned over the belief that her granddaughter was “eating nothing but beans.” With a chuckle about the bean-centred meal she had been eating that day and the well-intentioned yet misinformed concern, she explained to me that she wanted to provide the new vegetarian with information to help her eat healthy, delicious, and varying meals while surrounded by meat-eating family members. She emphasized that she did not want to send anything that may be received as pushy, but rather offer help to someone with a genuine interest in and desire to live a vegetarian lifestyle. She wanted to purchase a cookbook or two and requested that helpful information be added to the package. As I spoke with her and gathered… Read More

Filed under: News Toronto Veg Blog

12 Short Listed Veg Summerlicious Hotspots – One Week Left!

Musings from Carly: Veg Directory Assistant 2013 Ok folks, there’s only a week left! Time to get yourself out there and sample Toronto’s finest vegetarian and vegan creations! Here’s a last minute look at some veg-friendly fare that’s likely been delighting Summerlicious explorers so far. Short Listed Vegetarian Fare: Kultura (169 King St. E. 416-363-9000) offers mushroom orecchiette with a range of delicious mushrooms, pinot noir pear chutney, and old cheddar cheese, for both lunch and dinner. Tundra at the Hilton Toronto (145 Richmond St. W. 416-860-6800) is featuring a creamy vegetarian summer pea risotto with kale chips, smoked paprika, and asparagus! Célestin (623 Mount Pleasant Rd. 416-544-9035) has created a baby herb tomato salad with white chocolate and sorrel ice cream – for an appetizer! There’s no vegetarian main unfortunately, but perhaps you could have this twice? Jaipur Grille (2066 Yonge St. 416-322-5678) has a selection of delicious vegetarian items including onions bhajias, samosa chaat, and chana masala. Definitely lots of amazing spices used in the making of this cuisine. Linda Modern Thai (11 Karl Fraser Rd. 416-642-3866) has made a vegetarian version of their popular hot & sour soup, Vegetarian Tom Yum! They also offer… Read More

Filed under: News Toronto Veg Blog

Top 5 Vegan Options for a Delicious Veg Summerlicious

Musings from Carly: Veg Directory Assistant 2013. As the 2013 Summerlicious season begins, vegetarians, vegans, gluten-freegans, and others will begin surveying menus for delicious dishes that meet their dietary needs. Even a quick glance at the selection and we realize that the days of a variety of creative and delicious omnivore options alongside bland and mundane vegetarian salads and pastas are over, not that we don’t love a good salad or pasta. Today’s vegetarian and vegan options are vast, innovative, and mouth-watering. And Summerlicious has brought some of the best creations together in countless three course prix-fixe menus. TVA is here to help make your Summerlicious decisions easier by narrowing in on the best options, or harder by pointing to more and more delicious veg meals. Here’s our top 5 restaurants that feature 3 courses of tempting and original vegan options. It is exciting to see a Vegan category on the Summerlicious website to narrow the options. The one and only restaurant listed: Prime at the Windsor Arms Hotel (18 St. Thomas St. 416-971-9666). The lunch menu features a tabbouleh salad, corn tempeh steak with sweet potato mash, and vegan truffles to finish off a likely impressive meal. The… Read More

Filed under: News Toronto Veg Blog