elifelines

March Social Group Events

  Dinner Social Group The Dinner Social Group will meet at Greens Vegetarian Restaurant on Thursday, March 20th at 7 pm. RSVP to tvadinner@veg.ca by the Wednesday before the event. Durham Veg Join Durham Veg for their April dinner meeting at Bistro 67. Bistro 67 is a new restaurant at the Durham College’s new Centre for Food on Consumer’s Road. They’ll be meeting on April 2nd. Email durhamveg@gmail.com for more information and to RSVP. Vegetarians of High Park Vegetarians of High Park will get together at Cardinal Rule at 5 Roncesvalles on Wednesday, April 2nd at 6:30 pm. RSVP required by March 25th to highpark@veg.ca. East End Vegetarians The East End Veg Group will meet on Wednesday, April 9th at 7 PM at Siddhartha’s Vegetarian Restaurant (just west of Coxwell on Gerrard). Please contact Susan at eastend@veg.ca by Monday April 7th to RSVP. Learn more about the more than a dozen social groups all across the GTA at veg.ca/groups. Read More

Filed under: elifelines

Meet the Beet

Care of Ashley Sauve Beets are often overlooked, however this veggie has a special place in our hearts! In fact one of the earliest recorded uses of beetroot was as an aphrodisiac by Romans. There are many reasons to get beets on your plate this Valentine’s Day. While beets are available in a variety of shades, red beets are most well known and widely available. The pigments that give beetroots their romantic hue are also responsible for a variety of impressive health benefits, including cancer and heart disease prevention. Thanks to the rich concentration of betalain pigments, beets offer anti-oxidant effects which protect against cardiovascular disease and age-related illness such as Alzheimer’s. Beets are also high in phytonutrients with strong anti-inflammatory effects. Since many types of heart disease and even type-2 diabetes are caused by chronic inflammation in the body, beets are a healthy addition to any diet. Perhaps this is why Apollo 18 astronauts dined on beets in 1975. One of the most significant health benefits associated with beetroot is colon cancer prevention because of its high fibre content. While all dietary fibre is important, there is some research indicating that the type of fibre found in beetroot is… Read More

Filed under: Eat Veg elifelines Food of the Month Nutrition

Discount Profile: Tenon Vegetarian Cuisine

We have profiled Tenon Vegetarian Cuisine in the past, shortly after they first opened, but with the new all-you-can-eat menu there is so much tasty news to share! The price for the all-you-can-eat menu is $20.99, but you will pay less with your Toronto Veg Card, which gets you 10% off. That price tag gets you unlimited orders of a wide variety of amazing dishes not found on their regular menu. My father and I each ordered the all-you-can-eat special so we were able to share and enjoy a wide range of dishes including sesame “chicken” (that was our favourite!) and orange “chicken”, seaweed salad, tofu with peanut sauce and mango salad. We also sampled a few different sushi dishes which were just as beautiful in presentation as they were in taste. Our favourite was the King Dragon sushi you see pictured here: it was coated with avocado and stuffed with sweet potato, cucumber and something crispy too! It was a difficult decision because Tenon’s regular menu also offers so many enticing Thai and Japanese dishes, including vegetarian shrimp in red curry and coconut milk, won tons with peanut sauce, thai basil “beef” and Bento boxes… Read More

Filed under: Discount profiles elifelines Uncategorised

Whoop whoop for walnuts!

Care of Laura Wright My first exposure to walnuts was, sadly, as a seemingly stubborn addition to brownies. I’ve grown out of that childhood distaste and thank goodness. The taste is rich and wonderful, whether you’re eating them raw or toasted, and the health benefits are kind of insane too. They are the edible seed of their respective tree and the most common major species of walnuts are grown for their seeds exclusively–the Persian or English walnut and the black Walnut. The black walnut is grown throughout North America, as well as in Ontario, and has a wonderfully strong eucalyptus kind of flavour. For Your Mind: Walnuts have an impressive Omega-3 fatty acid content and what’s more? A solid handful will provide you with most of your daily needed intake. Our brains rely on healthy fats for their make-up, but also in terms of mood stabilization and overall activity. Solid, saturated fats rather predictably make for solid and sticky barriers to nutrient and waste flow. Omega-3 fats tend to be more fluid which makes for more optimal nutrient absorption and overall brain function. Sprinkle a few on salads, grind them into a nut butter or simply snack on… Read More

Filed under: Eat Veg elifelines Food of the Month Nutrition

Totally Delicious: Delicata Squash

  Care of Laura Wright I could not be happier at the sight of a few striped delicata squashes forming in the garden toward the end of August—and not just because it’s sometimes referred to as “Bohemian Squash.” Along with the teeny apples adorning the trees, this is one of the first waves hello from Autumn. Some sources throw it into the “summer squash” category (along with pattypans and yellow crookneck varieties), and others lump it in with winter squashes like butternut or acorn, but the time to get on these sweet vegetables is right now in early Fall. They hold their shape beautifully when roasted, making them just right for stuffing with lentils, grains or small cuts of vegetables. More often than not, I find myself roasting slices/chunks with salt, pepper, spices etc and tossing the pieces into soups or my kale/grain salads for added texture. The flavour is quite similar to sweet potatoes. On Picking & Choosing: You want to select a delicata that is creamy yellow with even dark green striping down its sides. If the hue is veering more towards light green, it isn’t ripe enough. As a general note on squash selection, you… Read More

Filed under: Eat Veg elifelines Food of the Month Healthy Living Nutrition

September Social Group Events

Queer Veggie Group Our re-launch event will take place at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival.  We will meet at the festival on Friday September 6 at 6:30 pm and check out the booths and grab some great food! Our first regular event will take place on Sunday September 29 at 6:30 pm at King’s Café in Kensington Market. After that, we will meet monthly on the last Sunday of each month. Get more information from queerveggiesocial@veg.ca. Vegan Baking Group Check out one of TVA’s newest groups: the Vegan Baking Group! For inquiries, email Christine at tvabaking-owner@yahoogroups.com for events and more details, or visit their website at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tvabaking. Social Dinner Group The Social Dinner Group will meet at Rawlicious (High Park location: 2122 Bloor Street West) on Saturday, September 21st at 11 am. RSVP to tvadinner@veg.ca by the Wednesday before the event. York Region Vegetarian Families GroupThe York Region Vegetarian Families Group is getting together for a walk along a wheelchair accessible trail at the York Regional Forest Hollidge Tract, (16389 Highway 48 in the town of Whitchurch-Stouffville) on Saturday, September 28th at 11 am. Email yorkregionfamilies@veg.ca to RSVP. Vegetarians of High Park The Vegetarians of High Park… Read More

Filed under: elifelines

Avocado Love

Care of Laura Wright This fruit in a sneaky vegetable-ish disguise is easily one of my favourite foods. Period. It hails from tropical climates and grows in over 900 different varieties. The texture is smooth, creamy and luxurious. It tastes good with almost everything savoury. It can be slipped and whipped into luscious desserts with surprising ease. It’s also incredibly healthy for a variety of reasons. Today, I’ll talk about some health benefits and guidelines for avocado selection. On fat, folate + all the other goodies: The energy from avocados is primarily sourced from their fat content. This may seem like a health concern at first glance. It’s worthy of note that the fat contained in this fruit is monounsaturated, which is heart healthy and won’t raise cholesterol. In fact, the good fat in avocados has been proven to reduce cholesterol and increase the ratio of HDL (“good”) cholesterol to LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Their creamy flesh is also incredibly rich in fiber, antioxidants, folate, and more potassium than bananas to boot. Do keep in mind that avocados are rather high in calories, about 300 per whole fruit. For your everyday health: If you love avocados and make a… Read More

Filed under: Eat Veg elifelines Food of the Month Nutrition

January 2012: eLifelines

Happy new year! We can’t wait to get things rolling in 2012. There’s already so much to get excited about. The 4th Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-Off will be here in less than one month, closely followed by Vegan Rock, a fundraising concert and bake sale, so we hope you’ve got your sweet tooths polished! It may seem odd to be reporting on a delicious stop to Sadie’s Juice Bar and Ice Creem Parlour in January, but they’ve got some new items to keep you warm through winter, just like our recipe featuring garlic, a great immune booster if you’re prone to colds and flus. As usual, there is always some good news to report and we’re happy to see 2012 is off to a good start, with a local councillor in Markham pushing for a ban on shark fin and a law school in Oregon announcing a program specifically focused on animal law. Don’t Miss These Upcoming Events! The 4th Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-Off is happening Saturday, February 4th from 2:00 to 4:30 pm at 918 Bathurst. Find out more in the TVA in Action section or on Facebook. This Month…… Read More

Filed under: News from the Toronto Vegetarian Association Uncategorised