Adopting a vegan diet or lifestyle can be challenging, especially given that when one goes vegan, they become part of a fringe movement. This can lead to a sense of isolation, and in my case made me feel at times like I was an alien from another planet. One of the things that has helped me has been listening to podcasts created by other people who are vegan or plant-based. This way, even though I …
Read More →
Rice and beans is a staple in Central American cuisine and it also happens to be one of the best vegan meals, if prepared with the right seasoning. And if you already have the spices, it’s very cheap as well as easy to make. I’ve made it for people who generally don’t go for beans, and they’ve told me it’s delicious. The rice also has a slightly crunchy texture that makes it different than regular …
Read More →
Sometimes salads and sautéed or grilled vegetables are great on their own with just some extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt or my favorite, Herbamare. However, sometimes you just need a little more je ne sais quoi to make it more filling and satisfying. This is where pumpkin seeds can be a vital asset your vegan pantry.
Pumpkin seeds:
Before seeing Bong Joon-ho’s film Okja, produced by Netflix, I didn’t know what a potential game-changer it might be for the vegan cause. I’d heard a little here and there about the film, knew it was a part Korean, part American sci-fi film centered around a girl and a genetically-modified pig-like animal and that it involved a struggle between a vigilante animal rights group and Big Ag. I held off on watching it at first, …
Read More →
Guac is one of the best things you can make when gathering together with friends or family. It evokes a fun, laid-back vibe and most people love it.
I’ve been making my own version for several years, but recently when I was making it with a friend, he suggested adding a new twist to make it even more enticing: cucumber.
Cucumber adds an unexpected but welcome element of coolness, which is balanced by the …
Read More →
Since becoming vegan, I’ve listened to many thought-provoking and poignant animal rights speeches on YouTube. But there are really only a handful that have stuck with me throughout the years and that I keep returning to to watch or listen to again and again. I know I’m not alone, because they’re some of the animal rights and vegan talks with the most views on YouTube. So what is it about these speeches in particular that …
Read More →
One of the things I love in theory about Mark Bittman’s pasta recipes in the New York Times is that they’re super-simple and yet they also use unique combinations of ingredients that make the dish creative and unexpected. Unfortunately, they also rely heavily on dairy – cream, butter, and cheese.
The good thing is that there are vegan alternatives to every dairy product. So when my mom told that she was making this recipe for …
Read More →
People are finally waking up to the fact that vegan food is not doomed to be bland and boring, but can instead be delicious and exciting. An example of this phenomenon is vegan lunch spots which have proliferated over the years, commanding the attention of begrudging meat-eaters and making life easier for us vegans.
In my last post, I shared my vegan favorite places for dining out in NYC. Below are my favorite vegan …
Read More →
A lot has changed in the New York City vegan scene in recent years. Some of my favorite vegan restaurants such as V-Note, Gobo, and Pure Food & Wine closed due to the high cost of organic food, rising real estate prices in Manhattan, and other circumstances.
It was sad to hear that these restaurants closed, especially since the food and atmosphere they had were so great, and I have fond memories of times spent …
Read More →
My diet is mainly macrobiotic, meaning that I eat lots of cooked seasonal vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Back in my earlier days of being vegan, I experimented with trying a raw diet because it seemed like a potentially healthier lifestyle. This phase did not last very long, because I found that especially when the weather gets cold here in New York, I need warming, grounding foods to feel balanced and satiated.
That said, I …
Read More →