Vegetarian

By Karen Leibowitz, VRG Intern When choosing a university to attend, among the several factors to consider – residence life, level of class intensity, location, etc. – food is at the top of several people’s list. As a vegan, it was crucial for me to find a school where plenty of vegan options were available. Fortunately, James Madison University (JMU), located in central Virginia, is one school you can count on having vegan (and lots of vegetarian) options available. JMU has won 3rd and 4th place in the Princeton Review for best campus food. Their East Campus Dining Hall has ranked 5th best college dining location in the country. Needless to say, the vegan food available is extremely tasty but also very healthy. The vegan options do not consist of many processed foods like mock meats and cheeses, but rather whole foods as much as possible. Stir-fry stations offer a variety of ingredients to choose from: brown rice, onions, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, locally-made tofu. Burritos, veggie burgers, and hummus bagel sandwiches can be found almost anywhere on campus. Both buffet-style dining locations have elaborate salad bars, which include locally-grown lettuce, and a separate vegan/vegetarian station with menu items that vary everyday. Some of the vegan menu items include Moroccan vegetable stew, cauliflower curry soup, pot pie, sushi, and sloppy Joe’s. Vegan oatmeal cookies are a big hit, even among non-vegans, and one of the dining halls whips up a batch of vegan brownies every now and then. My favorite meal to order is the Falafel Fanatic salad which is a spinach and romaine salad with freshly made falafel, chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions, topped with a large dollop of red pepper hummus, with everything piled on top of a whole wheat pita. The food staff are very accommodating to vegan diets as well. Earlier in the spring, one of the soups featured was Cuban Black Bean soup. I asked the chefs if the soup was vegan. They were very friendly and helpful in finding out who cooked it and where the recipe was archived. It turned out the recipe called for sour cream, but they offered to make a small batch without sour cream just for me! While vegan options at JMU are not as fancy as some of the pacific Northwestern universities, for an East coast school, you will be pleasantly-surprised at the sizable amount of delicious options available. In addition to the many vegan items on campus, the city of Harrisonburg has many vegan-friendly restaurants and a very vegan-friendly food co-op in walking distance. For information on dining options at other colleges, visit: http://www.vrg.org/blog/category/college/ For more information on college dining options, visit: www.vrg.org/journal/vj97jan/971coll.htm

After undercover investigations by Animal Defenders International expose animal abuse, the Colombian government bans wild animals in circuses.

Tree House is the latest meat-free eatery to open in Mound City, serving up an eclectic mix of veg cuisine.

Cruelty-free fashionistas can get a preview of Jill Milan’s new collection of Italian, handcrafted products at San Francisco’s Westfield Mall.

Vegan ice cream aficionado Hannah Kaminsky shares her tried-and-true tips for the ultimate summer cool-down treat.

You can make these crispy raw kale chips in the dehydrator or even in the oven, if you have a low enough setting. Kale is one of the healthiest ...Read Full Post

Fresh smoothies are a terrific way of getting some nutrients on those mornings when you don't really feel like a solid breakfast — the chunkier the better for "tricking" your body into thinking it's eating instead of just getting a drink. Mind you, it's not just a drink when all this goodness is packed into one glass. But I confess that up until now I've never really been a fan of the popular practice of adding vegetables into healthy smoothies … it's inevitably been an unsuccessful exercise in trying to mask tastes that I otherwise really enjoy in salads, cooked dishes or just raw on their own. I've been sticking to fruit for the smoothies, thank you, and giving the vegetables pride of place on the dinner table. But I've changed my mind now with this astonishingly tasty beet smoothie that I came up with in response to my beautiful friend Jacqueline's challenge to come up with a smoothie incorporating at least one vegetable for this month's No Croutons Required roundup. It turns out that I was just using the wrong vegetables. Fresh raw beets have a slightly sweet taste that's surprisingly cool and refreshing in a smoothie, and adds a lovely pink color too. A great "blood building" vegetable too? Never mind! Combined with a crisp green apple, fresh squeezed orange juice, tangy yogurt and a little fresh ginger for a bit of zest with a frothy mellow almond milk backdrop, this smoothie is so delicious that you won't even be thinking how good it is for you. But do throw in the mild-flavored and vitamin A rich beet tops for even more goodness while you're at it. One more bit of goodness in this smoothie — as if it needed more — is the addition of oats soaked in good whole fat yogurt overnight at room temperature. A variation of the muesli technique that I often use, the process makes the proteins in the oats digestible and easily absorbable, and really brings out the natural tangy flavor of yogurt besides. Beet and Top Green Smoothie with Apple, Orange and Ginger Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on June 18, 2013 A delicious, refreshing and wonderfully nourishing smoothie with the goodness of beets, beet tops, apples, oranges and ginger in a tangy almond milk and yogurt base Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/4 cup rolled or steel-cut oats 2/3 cup plain whole fat yogurt 1 fresh small beet with tops 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped juice from 1 orange (1/4 cup) 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled (1 tablespoon) 1 cup almond milk 1 tablespoon raw honey (optional) 4 ice cubes Instructions: Stir the yogurt into the oats and let soak overnight at room temperature in a covered non-plastic bowl. In the morning, trim the beet greens and peel and chop or grate the beet. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and frothy (use a little less almond milk if you want a really thick smoothie). Serve cold with breakfast or as a snack. Makes 2 servings (3 cups) More smoothie recipes you will enjoy from Lisa's Kitchen: Raspberry-Banana Oat and Chia Seed Smoothie Blueberry and Maple Syrup Oat Smoothie Pomegranate and Blueberry Oat Smoothie On the top of the reading stack: browsing the shelves Audio Accompaniment: Sasha© Copyright 2007—2013 Lisa's Kitchen. For personal use only.If you are seeing this post on a site other than foodandspice.blogspot.com, it is being stolen.

A vegan version of Milanos®, Pepperidge Farm's® chocolate sandwich cookies.

If you or someone you love is a cookie monster, then Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar is going to be your new best friend. With 100 recipes for every conceivable kind of cookie, this book will keep your cookie jar filled and your sweet tooth satisfied.

The director who brought Titanic and The Terminator to the silver screen, lauds the benefits of plant-based eating during his acceptance speech.