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Don't get bored - get inspired!

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:00:50 +0000

When you think you're getting bored of eating meat-free meals, it's time to mix it up and try something new! Go to a new restaurant, or, go to one of ...

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Cookbook snippet: Teen Cuisine New Vegetarian

Thu, 16 May 2013 05:29:08 +0000

I don't often do cookbook reviews, but I do love that there's so many out there to choose from these days. Despite the huge market, I often find ...

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Back to basics: Learn about tofu

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:03:47 +0000

If you want to learn about cooking with tofu, these are the videos for you. Every time I hear someone say, "I just don't know what to do with tofu," ...

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Video: Vegetarian eggplant parmesan

Sun, 12 May 2013 04:53:57 +0000

Eggplant Parmesan is a vegetarian Italian dish that makes a great meal any night. It does take several steps, but the end result is absolutely worth it! Learn how to ...

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Whole Foods sells real chicken mislabeled as vegan chicken

Fri, 10 May 2013 16:57:24 +0000

All of meat-free internet land is talking about this issue, so I thought I'd weigh in too.

If you haven't already heard, a swath of whole foods stores in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maine sold real chicken labeled as vegan chicken in their prepared food bar for two days this week before anyone noticed an error.

I don't think it needs to be reiterated how obviously not ok this is, but there might be a few things the dozens of news articles are missing. Not to be too Pollyanna-ish, but consider the underlying implications:

1. There's so much fake chicken in the world these days!
2. Lots of omnivores ate fake chicken and didn't even notice, proving that most people really can't taste the difference.
3. The recall is big news because lots of people care about eating vegan.

Good for Whole Foods for coming out and admitting the error, even, it seems contacting the FDA themselves, if less than for the vegan/non-vegan issue, than for the food allergies (what's a vegan got to do to get some respect?). I'm sure it must have been tempting to sweep this under the rug and hope no one noticed, since apparently, no consumers did.

I also can't help but note how this is becoming a big story - it's been covered by everyone from USA Today to FoxNews. Sure, it happened en masse to a large and well-liked corporate brand, but honestly, who among us vegetarian has never once had a restaurant or food server make a mistake which resulted in that gross, chewy, feeling immediately followed by the "uh-oh" knowledge that you've got meat in your mouth? I'm guessing anyone who's been vegetarian longer than a year has had this happen at least once, if not multiple times.

I like Whole Foods - I like knowing that CEO John Mackey is a vegan, and I'll continue to shop there regularly, but of course, given the opportunity, I'll always shop at locally-owned and co-op grocers instead.

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Like olives? Like avocados? Try them together!

Fri, 10 May 2013 05:01:09 +0000

Like guacamole? Like olive tapenade? Sure you do! Besides just everybody's favorite, guacamole, there's plenty of ways to use avocados, and, if you can't get enough of them when ...

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Quick cooking tip video: How to prepare dried beans

Wed, 08 May 2013 05:00:39 +0000

There are many reasons to use canned beans in a recipe: they are quick, cheap, and can be bought just about anywhere. But, have you thought about the advantages of ...

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Vegetarian sushi and more Japanese food

Mon, 06 May 2013 04:26:32 +0000

I love vegetarian sushi, but I have to admit, I almost never make it at home. When it comes to Japanese food, I'm much more likely ...

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Last-minute Cinco de Mayo idea

Sat, 04 May 2013 13:31:44 +0000

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, here's a fun vegetarian idea that everyone kids and adults alike will enjoy: a layered taco dip made with seasoned sauteed "beef" ...

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Cinco de Mayo margaritas!

Fri, 03 May 2013 05:42:06 +0000

Nestled in the Mission district of San Francisco is a little bar that has a specialty cocktail combining tequila, grapefruit and a salted rim - a grapefruit margarita! The ...

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