Every Body Eat has produced snack thins in a variety of flavors, all of which are quite tasty! Read the review here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2026issue2/2026_issue2_veggie_bits.php

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photo by Magnific

By Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD

Over eighty years ago, the cartoon strong guy Popeye proclaimed the wonders of spinach. Even so, after all the years of encouragement, according to the USDA, Americans are averaging only about 1.5 pounds per year. Fresh spinach season is the time to up our spinach game.

Here are some ideas for round-the-clock spinach menu-ing:

Spinach smoothies may not appeal to all; green may be a bit hard to take in the morning. No problem! Add a handful of fresh spinach into a mostly fruit smoothie. The fruit will cover the spinach color while providing an opportunity to drink your greens.

Chop or shred fresh spinach and mix into your morning tofu scramble and use as a bagel or toast topping. If you need to transport your breakfast (or lunch) on the go, roll into a tortilla or flatbread or fill a pita. If you have the time, toss in chopped tomatoes and a hint of minced garlic, some thinly sliced onions, or diced olives.

Ruby and Emerald salad: toss sliced fresh strawberries or raspberries into a salad bowl of fresh spinach. Add chopped walnuts, almonds or sunflower seeds. If you have leftover salad, this can be combined in a blender, with silken tofu or vegan sour cream to use as a dip or salad dressing.

In Just a Minute: pack as much fresh spinach as you can into a deep microwave dish (that has a tight lid). Add about an inch of water, cover and microwave until slightly wilted, about 1 minute (depending on your microwave and the size of your dish). Remove cover, toss with a small amount of oil or margarine, onion and/or garlic powder, and ground pepper. Cover and microwave until just wilted. Serve hot, over pasta or mashed potatoes or drain, allow cooling, and using as part of a wrap filling.

At the last minute: spinach does well with a small amount of “wilt.” Achieve this by tossing shredded fresh spinach into hot rice, pasta, noodles, barley or quinoa, or soup just a minute before serving. Wilting works well to top pizza or focaccia as well.

Saucy spinach: replace half the basil in your favorite pesto recipe with fresh spinach.

Spinach quiche without the crust: there are several ways to make a spinach quiche filling. The fairly rapid method is to mix shredded spinach, which has been quickly sautéed with a small amount of diced onion and garlic, into leftover mashed potatoes and a spoonful or two of nutritional yeast. Pour into an oiled baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden on top. Or, sauté your spinach, and set aside half. In a blender, combine half the spinach, silken tofu, and nutritional yeast. Pour the spinach mixture into a large bowl and then mix in the remaining spinach. Pour into a baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes or until set. If you like you can pour either type of quiche mixture into a crust and then bake.

Simple sauté: sauté a big pan of fresh spinach (as it is going to shrink) with a bit of olive oil and garlic. Serve right out of the pan, dressed with a small amount of balsamic vinegar. If you would like a bit more “chew,” begin by sautéing fresh mushrooms until tender, and then add the spinach. If you have the time, plan to make a pan of spinach lasagna, to take advantage of the freshly-made sautéed spinach. The same goes for a fast spanakopita, layering sautéed spinach with phyllo dough and then baking.

If you have way, way too much spinach, sauté an extra batch, remove from heat and stir to cool. When cool, place in freezer bags, to be used later in the year for soups, stews, quiche, or dips.

Creamy palak: this is a combination of vegan creamed spinach and palak paneer, using extra firm tofu or seitan as the “paneer” (rather than the traditional cheese). Begin by preparing a big pan of sautéed spinach (see above) and set aside. Create a cream sauce on the stove with canned coconut milk, nutritional yeast, and chopped onion, simmered until slightly thickened. Fold the sautéed spinach into the sauce and stir until combined. Take about half this spinach mixture and blend until smooth. Stir in the remaining spinach and set aside, keeping warm. Cut extra-firm tofu or seitan into cubes. Tossed with nutritional yeast and curry powder and either bake at 450 degrees until slightly crispy or sauté or air fry until slightly crispy.

Place the tofu or seitan into a serving dish. Pour the warm spinach mixture over and serve warm. If you have extra spinach mixture, you can purée it with a small amount of silken tofu to use as a dip or the base for a creamy spinach soup.

Former VRG intern and writer, Hiroko Kato shares her travel tips and tricks for maintaining your vegan lifestyle when visiting Japan. This very useful information can be found in Vegan Journal article: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2026issue2/2026_issue2_vegan_japan.php

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In 2026, The Vegetarian Resource Group will be awarding one $2,500 scholarship and three $1,000 scholarships to college students who have promote veganism in a positive way while attending college. This opportunity is ONLY OPEN to students who previously entered The Vegetarian Resource Group scholarship contest while seniors in high school.

To apply, email the following information to [email protected]

Include in the subject line: vegan college scholarship application

DEADLINE IS JULY 1, 2026!

Send:

1) Year you previously applied in high school:

2) Previous high school:

3) College you are currently attending:

4) Major:

5) Year you expect to graduate:

6) Email:

7) Phone number:

8) Address:

9) Contact information for three references who know about your vegan activism:

10) Details about your vegan activism:

11) Links to documentation and/or attachments:

12) What foods and restaurants you would recommend to a non-vegetarian:

13) Your future aspirations:

All entries become property of The Vegetarian Resource Group/Vegan Journal. We may excerpt or use in total information from the entries. Winners give permission to release their name to the media. We will email semifinalists in the summer. Winners will be announced on our Instagram, Facebook, and website.

If you send a Google document, make sure permission is given so readers can access it.

Though this contest is different, here are past winners from the high school entrants: https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm  We know the previous high school entrants did a lot of work back then, and are happy for donors giving you another chance. You can also let younger siblings and acquaintances know about the VRG scholarships for high school seniors. Deadline is February 20 of each year.

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group outreach, donate at www.vrg.org/donate

Vegan Journal, The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203; (410) 366-8343; https://www.vrg.org/

In the latest Scientific Update in Vegan Journal we look at a study that examined Vegan and Vegetarian Diets in Recovery from Eating Disorders. Read about the study here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2026issue2/2026_issue2_scientific_update.php

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photo from WebstaurantStore

By Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD

For professional caterers, senior facilities, quantity cooking needs for residential camps or conference centers, or perhaps a one-time catered event, there are versatile quantity-pack vegan products available online. According to website information, both individuals and businesses can purchase on these websites. If you already have a vendor, you might use the information on these websites to suggest your vendor source these products for you.

Here is a fast overview of a selected few items. If you have been looking for vegan quantity products, the web may be a useful resource for companies supplying your area:

Campbell’s Vegan Soups

Campbell’s offers frozen vegan vegetable soup and vegan tomato soup, along with lower-sodium versions of each, in 4 pound, 4 to a pack cases. This translates into about 260 ounces per case or about 32 one-cup servings. Here is a link to these products: https://www.campbellsfoodservice.com/product/campbells-signature-frozen-ready-to-eat-soup-vegan-vegetable-soup/

And here is a link to a Rainbow Vegan Chili recipe, serving 40, using Campbell’s soup as a base, with the addition of carrots, onions, celery, a variety of beans, several types of peppers, two types of tomatoes and vegan crumbles. See: https://www.campbellsfoodservice.com/recipe/vegan-rainbow-chili/

If you are limited in pantry space or in purchasing power, soups can serve many functions, such as a base for tomato-lentil stew, five-bean chili, paired with vegan crumbles to create a hot sandwich filling, or to be tossed with pasta or to top a baked potato.

Heinz 

Heinz/Kraft has several quantity brands, including Home Away From Home, Chef Francisco, and Bella Rossa, offering quantity pack vegan products.

The Chef Francisco Vegetarian Pozole (4 eight pound) is made with hominy, black beans, and a spice blend. It could be served as is, with cornbread or tortillas and some greens, used as a hot sandwich, wrap or burrito filling, or combined with cooked vegetables to make a hearty stew. See: https://www.kraftheinzawayfromhome.com/products/00071398000132-vegetarian-pozole-soup-4-8-lb-case-bag

The Heinz Bella Rossa brand offers quantity pack vegan (it’s labeled as “vegetarian,” but it is vegan) pizza sauce and tomato sauce. The Heinz brand has vegan lentil, minestrone, white bean chili, and curried lentil quantity-size soups.

Walmart Business Center Online

For fast shopping, perhaps for a one-time event, we were delighted to see that the online Walmart Business Center offers vegan items here: https://business.walmart.com/search?q=vegan

The site has an assortment of retail-sized, packed in bulk, such as 6-pack of vegan Ranch dressing. There were also retail packs of vegan sliced cheese, Gardein and Morningstar frozen vegan meats, plant-based eggs, Daiya mac and cheese, vegan prepared cookies and cookie mixes, and Amy’s individual frozen entrées, to name a few, that could be purchased in multiples.

The site also offered larger-than-retail packs, including 24-ounce Soy Delicious coconut-based frozen yogurt, 24-ounce refrigerated Soy Delicious unsweetened plain coconut yogurt, 3-packs of BetterGoods mac and cheese (which would create about 12 portions), and many other items.

Web Restaurant Store.com

You could really have a field day with the vegan quantity offerings at https://www.webstaurantstore.com/search/vegan.html

Here is just a sampling:

Five-pound back of Daiya shredded vegan mozzarella and parmesan, Five-pound packs of frozen vegan meat entrées (meatballs, chik’n, “steaks,” patties, pups, shrimp, tuna, drumsticks, bacon, crumbles, sausage), Four-pound packs of falafel, five-pound packs frozen jackfruit, bulk packs of silken and many varieties, brands, textures of  tofu, vegan chocolate chips (50 pounds!), 32-ounce packs of plant milks, and bulk packs of salad dressing, banana bread, pound cake, macaroons, passion-fruit and mango mousse (12 three ounce cups).

We were intrigued by the frozen, five pound Southern Roots brand red velvet cake, advertised as vegan, soy-, nut- and gluten-free, with a “cocoa-flavored red velvet cake with a dairy-free buttercream icing,” as well as the frozen, vegan 120-count omelets, advertised as “a plant-based vegan folded egg patty.”

This is a short overview of many quantity vegan products found on the web. Hopefully, the web can supplement what your regular vendors offer or inspire your vendors to increase their vegan offerings.

Mary Finelli is featured in Vegan Journal’s Vegan Action column. Mary is founder and president of Fish Feel, a non-profit organization. Through her leadership, Finelli highlights the intelligence, sensitivity, and unique personalities of fishes, urging us all to rethink how we relate to our aquatic neighbors. Read the latest Vegan Action column here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2026issue2/2026_issue2_vegan_action.php

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photo from Freepik

Vegan Journal has run two articles on vegan grilling that you might find helpful:

Gourmet Grilling by Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD includes grilling tips as well as recipes for Grilled Eggplant, Mediterranean Grilled Portobellos with Pine Nuts, Curried Barbecue Tempeh, Roasted Pepper and Eggplant Dip, Pineapple Peach Salsa, Japanese-Style Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Sweet Peaches, and Roasted Corn. See: https://www.vrg.org/journal/2002issue3/2002_issue3_gourmet.php

Nancy also wrote another article titled Outdoor Feast and it includes vegan recipes for the grill including Tofu and Potatoes Kebobs, Vietnamese “Beef” Salad, Lime and Chili “Steaks,” and Grilled Pineapple. See: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2015issue2/2015_issue2_outdoor_feasts.php

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Red Fox Spices has produced Ethiopian meal kits that you can order online and have delivered to your home. Read the review here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2026issue2/2026_issue2_veggie_bits.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal is the USA only, visit www.vrg.org/member

istock photo

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Young children, regardless of their diet, are at risk for iron deficiency according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (1). Almost a quarter of children age 1 to 2 years in the United States have iron deficiency (defined as serum ferritin <15μg/L) (2). Between 0.9% and 4.4% of U.S. toddlers age 1 to 3 years have iron deficiency anemia (defined for children aged 12 through 35 months as a hemoglobin concentration of less than 11.0 g/dL) (3).

The RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for iron for 1 to 3 year olds is 1.3 milligrams of iron daily. If we increase that by 1.8 times, as is recommended for vegetarians including vegans, we get an RDA of 2.3 milligrams of iron for vegan toddlers (4).

How might vegan toddlers get some extra iron? Here are some ideas, in toddler-friendly form:

1. Snack on shelled edamame or mix edamame with pasta, steamed vegetables, or rice. A toddler-size quarter cup serving provides 0.9 milligrams of iron, almost 40% of the RDA for vegan toddlers.
2. Cube firm tofu and steam, roast, or sauté, adding sauce or catsup or other condiments to your toddler’s liking. A quarter cup of firm tofu cubes has 1.75 milligrams of iron, more than half the RDA for vegan toddlers.
3. Add iron-fortified baby cereal and/or wheat germ to the batter for muffins, pancakes, waffles, and other bready finger foods. Just 2 tablespoons of iron-fortified baby cereal contain 3.4 milligrams of iron. Two tablespoons of wheat germ have 1.4 milligrams of iron.
4. Check the label of the bread that you buy. Bread made with 100% whole wheat flour or with iron-enriched flour can provide 0.5 milligrams or more or iron per slice.
5. If your toddler likes toast, try topping it with a thin spread of tahini or of hummus made with tahini. A teaspoon of tahini has 0.35 milligrams of iron, about 15% of the RDA for a vegan toddler.
6. Make a thick lentil pate like this one which has more than 1 milligram of iron in 1/12 of the recipe. Toddlers may like to dip crackers or sliced vegetables or fruit in the pate, eat it on bread or crackers, or eat it by the spoonful.
7. Serve an iron-fortified breakfast cereal for breakfast or a snack. Trader Joe’s O’s (more than 1 milligram of iron per ¼ cup serving), is one example of a toddler-friendly cereal that is fortified with iron and not with non-vegan vitamin D.
8. Make bean burgers, a fun finger food, either cut in pieces or made into small burgers. One-sixth of this Garbanzo Bean Burger recipe supplies around 1.3 milligrams of iron, more than half the RDA for vegan toddlers.
9. Add raisins to breakfast cereal and baked goods. A couple of tablespoons of raisins adds around 0.4 milligrams of iron, about 17% of the RDA for vegan toddlers.
10. Promote iron absorption from plant foods by including a source of vitamin C at meals and snacks. Blueberries, strawberries, mango slices, orange sections, cantaloupe chunks are fruit sources of vitamin C. Vegetable sources include tomatoes and tomato sauce, broccoli, cabbage, and bell peppers.

Some toddlers may need an iron supplement. Always discuss supplement use with your child’s health care provider before starting a supplement.

And, keep in mind that in non-vegan toddlers in the United States, beef contributed 2% of their total iron intake (5). Iron-fortified breakfast cereals, baby cereals, and bread products were the main contributors of iron for non-vegan 1 to 2 year olds in the United States (6).

References

1. National Institutes of Health. Office of Dietary Supplements. Iron – Health Professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/#h9. 2025.
2. National Center for Health Statistics. Anemia or Iron Deficiency. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/anemia.htm. 2026.
3. Baker RD, Greer FR. Diagnosis and prevention of iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia in infants and young children (0-3 years of age). Pediatrics 2010;126:1040-50.
4. Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2001.
5. Finn K, Callen C, Bhatia J, et al. Importance of dietary sources of iron in infants and toddlers: Lessons from the FITS Study. Nutrients. 2017;9:733.
6. Fox MK, Reidy K, Novak T, et al. Sources of energy and nutrients in the diets of infants and toddlers. J Am Diet Assoc. 2006;106(1 Suppl 1):S28-S42.

To read more about iron in the vegan diet see:

Iron in the Vegan Diet

Ten Ways Vegans Can Boost Their Iron Intake

Vegan Iron Sources in the Grocery Store

Latin American Vegan Foods High in Iron

Sources of information for the iron content of foods was package labels and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center. FoodData Central.

The contents of this website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal and Vegan 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 statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.