You can click on the following link to access the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9X7PNZY

Below are products labeled vegan that were available at Harris Teeter Food Markets. This list was from a regular Harris Teeter location in Rock Hill, South Carolina. This list was made in October of 2012.

PRODUCE SECTION:

• Lightlife Smart Ground Veggie Protein Crumbles (Original Flavor)
• Lightlife Smart Deli Roast Turkey Style Slices (Also Baked Ham Style)
• Lightlife Smart Dogs, Veggie Protein Links (also in Jumbo size)
• Lightlife Smart Bacon Bacon Style Strips
• Turtle Island Foods, Inc. Marinated Tempeh Smokey Maple Bacon (Also available in Coconut Curry and Sesame Garlic)
• Tofurky Pepperoni Slices (Also available in Roast Beef Style, Bologna Style, Hickory Smoked, Oven Roasted, Italian Deli, Peppered)
• Tofurky Keilbasa (Also available in Italian Sausage)
• Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream Dairy Alternative (Also Sour Cream Dairy Alternative made with Grape Seed Oil)
• House Foods Tofu Shirataki Spaghetti Shaped Noodle Substitute (Also available as Fettuccine and Macaroni)

SOUP PASTA AISLE:

• Annie Chun’s All Natural Asian Cuisine Brown Rice Noodles (Maifan) (Also Brown Rice Stir Fry Noodles, Straight Cut Rice Noodles)
• Annie Chun’s Roasted Seaweed Snacks, Sesame Flavor
• Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base
• Amy’s Organic Chili, Spicy (Black Bean, medium)
• Amy’s Organic Soups (Black Bean and Vegetable, Tom Khaphak Thai Coconut, Tuscan Bean and Rice, Lentil, Vegetable Barley, Lentil Vegetable, No Chicken Noodle)

BEANS RICE AISLE:

• Harmony Valley Vegetarian Hamburger Mix (Also Breakfast Sausage Mix)
• Lundberg Family Farms Brown Rice Couscous, Original Flavor (Also Savory Herb, Mediterranean Herb, Roasted Garlic, and Olive Oil)

SALAD DRESSING AISLE:

• Nasoya Nayonaise Sandwich Spread, Original Flavor

CEREAL AISLE:

• Nature’s Path Organic, Blueberry Cinnamon Flax (Also in Pumpkin Raisin Crunch, Red Berry Crunch, Cinnamon Raisin Granola, Coconut Chia Granola, Multibran Flakes, Sunrise Crunchy Vanilla)

FROZEN SECTION (Breakfast):

• Nature’s Path Waffles, Chia Plus with Quinoa and Amaranth (Also Homestyle Buckwheat Wildberry flavor)

FROZEN SECTION (Natural):

• Amy’s All American Veggie Burger (Also Quarter Pound Veggie Burger)
• Boca Vegan Burger

FROZEN SECTION (Organic):

• Amy’s Bowls, Brown rice and Vegetable (Black Eyed Peas and Veggies, Teriyaki)
• Amy’s Whole Meals, Enchilada with Spanish Rice and Beans
• Amy’s Enchilada Black Bean and Vegetable (Also Indian Vegetable Korma, Breakfast Burrito, Black Bean Vegetable Burrito, Bean and Rice Burrito)

CHIP AISLE:

• Food Should Taste Good Blue Corn Chips (Also Olive, Multigrain, Sweet Potato)

Though items are labeled vegan, you should still inspect the ingredients on the label to see if they fit your criteria. Since these items are available in at least one supermarket, you may want to ask your local grocer to carry any that they don’t currently stock, but you would purchase.

For quick meal ideas, you may be interested in: Meatless Meals for Working People and Simply Vegan.

The Rules:

Create and submit a video relating what you want to tell others about vegetarianism and/or veganism.

Some possible topics: food, nutrition, your feelings about veganism and/or vegetarianism, water usage and vegetarianism, vegetarianism and animal rights, or other vegetarian topics which appeal to you. Humor and feelings are appreciated. All videos should be positive, not be critical of anyone, and not include any footage of animal cruelty. You may submit a video you have already made.

Aspects of judging include accuracy and judges wanting to share the video with others.

Entrants give permission to The Vegetarian Resource Group to post and share the video, to link to and from the video, and share the video with the media.

DEADLINE: April 20, 2013

Click here to read the rest of the scholarship rules and apply »

John Frazier was one of last year’s winners for his bedtime story for vegetarian kids, Tofu Tiger. He said, “I am a vegetarian and I made this story for my daughter. I’d be thrilled if others could enjoy the story.”

Looking for vegan Passover recipes? Happy holidays!

Matzo Meal Pancakes
From No Cholesterol Passover Recipes by Debra Wasserman

Makes 8 small pancakes

3 small ripe bananas, peeled
½ cup matzo meal
¾ cup water
2 teaspoons oil

Mash bananas in a small bowl. Add matzo meal and water. Mix well. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Form 8 small pancakes in heated pan and fry for about 10 minutes until brown on both sides.

Pear and Apple Slaw
From Vegan Passover Recipes by Nancy Berkoff

(Serves 5-6)

1 pound (about 3 cups) fresh pears
½ cup (about 4 ounces) green or tart apple
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup finely shredded green cabbage
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage
2 Tablespoons oil
1 Tablespoon vinegar
½ teaspoon black pepper

Wash and dice pears and apples (don’t peel) and toss with lemon juice. Add green and red cabbage and toss. In a cup, mix oil, vinegar and pepper until combined. Toss with vegetables until well coated. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Note: Make a double batch of this recipe, as the flavor gets even better the second day!

Syrian-Style Okra with Dried Fruit
From The Lowfat Jewish Vegetarian Cookbook by Debra Wasserman

(Serves 4)

½ pound okra, chopped
½ small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon oil
1 Tablespoon water
1½ cups dried fruit (about 8 ounces prunes, apricots, and/or raisins, etc.)
½ cup prune juice
½ cup tomato juice
¼ lemon, minced (rind and fruit)

Stir-fry okra and onion with oil and water in a large frying pan for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add dried fruit, juices, and lemon. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring often. Serve warm or chilled.

Oh, and don’t forget… Star K (orthodox) said quinoa can be used if certified Kosher for Passover. The OU on their website says it can be a local decision, so ask your rabbi. You easily can make sweet or spicy dishes with this grain or simply use it instead of rice as a base for vegetable-based dishes you are preparing.

Adding Plant-Based Meals to Your Sports Nutrition Plan: The How and Why
Wednesday March 13th at 6pm Hi-Tec Bikes, San Diego, CA

Plant-based and Powerful: What We Know About Vegan Athletes
Saturday March 23rd Mission Viejo Hospital, Mission Viejo, CA
Part of the Orange District Dietetic Association Fundraiser; May require registration.

The Unathletic Vegan Athlete, Is that Even Possible? How Being Physically Active Can Have Nothing to do with Sports
Tuesday March 26th at 4-6 pm Austin Peay University, Clarksville, TN
Hosted by the APU Sociology Department and Tucker Brown, PhD.

Film Screening on Vegan Athletes
Wednesday March 27th at 7 pm Compassion Over Killing Headquarters, Washington, DC
Limited seating, reservations required!

Plant-Based Nutrition Discussion
Thursday March 28th at 7 pm, Sticky Fingers Bakery, Washington, DC.
Hosted with Compassion Over Killing
Limited seating, please get there early!

Athletes and Plant-based Nutrition: Get Real Science From An Expert*
Wednesday April 3rd 7-9 pm Jivamukti Yoga, New York City, NY
Presented by The Discerning Brute
$5 suggested donation.

Sports Nutrition: What We Know About Plant-based Athletes
Thursday, May 2nd, 2-3pm Boise, Idaho
Idaho Dietetic Association Annual Meeting. Requires conference registration.

Athletes and Plant-based Nutrition: Get Real Science From An Expert
Friday or Saturday May 3rd or 4th, Portland, Oregon
Details TBD

Bean Vegan Cuisine
3001 E. Independence Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28205
(980) 939-1234
Vegan/American. Bean Vegan Cuisine is an excellent place to go for vegan comfort food. Don’t miss delicious sandwiches like their BBQ Jackfruit, Reuben, and Crabbie Patty. Ask about their daily specials and dessert selection. For classic American favorites made vegan, Bean can’t be beat! Open Wednesday through Monday for lunch and dinner. Closed Tuesday. Full service, take-out, catering, beer/wine, VISA/MC/AMEX/DISC, $-$$.

Coconut Glen’s
Mile 27 1/2 Hana Hwy., Hana, HI 96713
(808) 979-1168
Vegan/ice cream stand/organic. Coconut Glen’s is an ice cream stand serving vegan and organic ice cream. Enjoy gourmet vegan ice cream made from coconut milk and served in a coconut bowl with a coconut spoon! Unique flavors include Coffee Toffee, Banana Rum Raisin, and Chili Chocolate Chipotle. Glen also offers handmade coconut candy that takes three days to prepare and cooks for 16 hours. The stand is located on the Hana Highway (between Mile Marker 27 and 28) in Hana, a town on Maui, southeast coast. Coconut Glen’s may be hard to find, but it’s definitely worth the trip! Cash only. Open Monday through Saturday. Closed Sunday. Counter service, take-out, $.

V Organic Café & Art Academy
62 Main St., Upton, MA 01568
(508) 529-2900
Vegan/organic/café/bakery. V Organic Café is a completely vegan eatery and bakery with a focus on organic ingredients. The menu changes daily but previous items have included an Eggplant Panini, Hummus Wrap, and Pumpkin & Squash Soup. Their baked goods include scones, cupcakes, muffins, cookies, and more! In addition to the café, V features a fine art gallery along with classes taught by local artists and art teachers. V Organic Café is a great place to grab a tasty vegan meal or sweet treat! Open Tuesday through Saturday for breakfast and lunch. Closed Sunday and Monday. Full service, take-out, smoothies, soymilk, VISA/MC, $-$$.

Vitality Bistro
301 N Baker St., Ste. 106, Mount Dora, FL 32757
(352) 735-8411
Vegan/raw foods/organic. Vitality Bistro is a vegan eatery offering a menu of organic living foods. Enjoy entrées like Heirloom Lasagna, “Cheeze” Lovers’ Pizza, Asian Noodles with Sweet Dragon Sauce, and Tostada Mexicana. Their Frosty Fudgesicle Shake is out of this world! Ask your server about the daily specials. Free Wi-Fi is available. Open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner. Closed Sunday and Monday. Full service, take-out, catering, fresh juices, smoothies, wine, VISA/MC/DISC, $$.

Please help us keep our restaurant guide current and accurate! Restaurants continually change locations, new ones open, and others close. To let us know about any restaurants we should add, delete, or if our existing entry should be changed, please complete the form here:

If you would like to volunteer with maintaining and updating The Vegetarian Resource Group restaurant guide, please email us at vrg@vrg.org. Thank you!

The VRG received a request from an online reader who was experiencing difficulty getting ingredient information from a large beverage corporation. He asked us to “…give advice about getting answers from corporations like this.” Here are some suggestions:

• Scour the Web first. Look for an ingredients statement or an ingredients list for the product. Start at the company’s main website. Don’t overlook blogs and forums.
• Reserve judgment about what you read on the Web until you get confirmation. Even a company website may need updating. Approach contacting companies like it was a confirmation hearing for ingredients. Don’t be confrontational but be serious in your quest for company transparency about its ingredients.
• Email once. Email twice. On different days of different weeks at different times. But keep the question the same.
• Call once. Call twice. On different days of different weeks at different times preferably speaking to different people. But keep the question the same.
• When in doubt, go higher. Ask to speak to someone in the quality assurance department. They know more.
• Keep it simple. State one question per call/email in as few words as possible. (E.g., Are the natural flavors in the product derived from meat, eggs, or dairy?) If it’s a packaged good question, have a complete product name and if possible a SKU number handy.
• When in doubt, rephrase the question and ask it again during the first call or as a follow-up email reply to the first response you receive. (E.g., Is there anything from animals including meat or enzymes, or from eggs, or from milk such as casein or whey in the natural flavors in the product?”) On the phone, make sure it’s understood correctly. Listen for inconsistencies or vagueness. Write the responses down when on the phone on a piece of paper (or on a computer) where you have already written the original and rephrased questions before calling. Also note the number called, the person asked, the date and time.
• Ask a friend to cross-check. See if someone else gets the same answer as you did to the same question.
• Respond to vague answers with more clarity. Be ready with definitions. Use definitions from our Guide to Food Ingredients that you have previously read and understood, Go to http://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php
• If asked why you want to know, state “I’m a veg*n and don’t consume x, y, and z. I want to know if the product contains x, y, or z or any ingredients derived from x, y, and z.” Be very specific about your personal dietary choices.
• Don’t make assumptions. “Vegetarian” and “vegan” mean very different things to different people so never just ask “Is the product vegan?” Rather ask “Do any ingredients in the product come from meat, dairy, or eggs (or any other ingredient which you don’t consume)?”
• If you receive information that contradicts what you saw on a company website or what you received from an email or previous call, ask about the discrepancy in a tactful, neutral manner. Be specific. Provide: URL, name of person asked, date, time, etc. Asked to speak to a supervisor if you find the explanation questionable or ask to be called back once the issue is investigated to receive the correct information.
• Be persistent and follow through! Be empathetic and supportive to the company employee, but keep on asking until you are satisfied with the response you get.

If you see or hear any contradictions as you conduct your veg*n ingredients research, please let us know at vrg@vrg.org.

The contents of this article, our website, and our other publications, including The Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company employees or company statements. Information does change and mistakes are always possible. Please use your own best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. Further research or confirmation may be warranted.

For updates on food ingredients and for all kinds of vegetarian- and vegan-related information, please subscribe to our free enewsletter at http://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/

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To support VRG research, donate at http://www.vrg.org/donate.

Each year, VRG awards $10,000 in college scholarship money to two high school seniors who have promoted vegetarianism in their schools/communities ($5,000 to each). The deadline – February 20 – is right around the corner, so if you want to apply, or know someone who should apply, click here for more information.

VRG also offers The Eleanor Wolff Scholarship which is a paid summer internship ($2,500 plus $1,000 toward housing) at VRG’s Baltimore office. Here’s what our interns have had to say about their experiences: http://www.vrg.org/student.

Good luck!

“Sofritas, shredded tofu braised with chipotle chilis, roasted poblanos and a blend of aromatic spices, is made with organic, non-GMO tofu from Oakland’s Hodo Soy. Chipotle expects Sofritas to appeal to vegetarian and vegan customers….”

For more information, see: http://ir.chipotle.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=194775&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1778960&highlight=

Today someone is confused and anxious because his doctor suggested following a vegan diet to treat his health condition, and he doesn’t know how to begin.

Today someone is thrilled to find out that she is pregnant, but also apprehensive because she isn’t sure that her vegan diet provides adequate nutrition for her developing child.

By making a generous year-end gift today, you will help us continue to be the trusted source of information that vegans and vegetarians turn to. Please support The Vegetarian Resource Group and join our efforts to broaden awareness, educate, and instill values of ethical and environmental responsibility through vegan research and outreach.

Today is your last day to make your tax-deductible donation for 2012 to VRG!

Please donate now by visiting http://www.vrg.org/donate

Here are a few ways your gift helps further The VRG mission:

• $22 – Buys 200 brochures or 100 restaurant guides for outreach to students.
• $45 – Pays for one email entry device to use at VRG outreach booths for visitors who want to sign up for more information.
• $100 – Helps pay for registration and a table at a community festival.
• $250 – Allows us to give away 125 copies of Vegetarian Journal at conferences, festivals, to student groups, etc.
• $500 – Become a Life Member of The Vegetarian Resource Group.
• $1,000 – Helps fund restaurant and ingredient research.
• $5,000 – Helps pay for registration and a booth at a professional nutrition conference.
• $10,000 – Enrolls donor as a VRG Patron and supports long-term programming.

The Vegetarian Resource Group works year-round to make it easier to live healthy vegan and vegetarian lives. Thank you so much for your support.

To donate, visit: http://www.vrg.org/donate

Call: (410) 366-8343

or write:
The Vegetarian Resource Group
P.O. Box 1463
Baltimore, MD 21203