Ataulfo Mexican Mangoes are in season right now and they are absolutely delicious. VRG’s Food Service Advisor Chef Nancy Berkoff says: Fresh, ripe mangoes can be peeled and eaten right on the spot. Some people jazz up fresh mango with a coating of chili powder and/or a squeeze of lemon. Fresh mango can be added to salsas or used to create a condiment of minced mangoes, onion, and fresh corn. Very ripe mango can be puréed with silken tofu, poured into a prepared pie shell, and frozen for a vegan mango mousse pie. Mango pieces can be tossed on top of hot or cold cereal or yogurt or added to smoothies.

When mangoes are plentiful in the market, purchase extra, allow to ripen, peel, cut into chunks, and freeze. Frozen mangoes can be puréed into a mango sorbet that tastes rich and creamy; diced and used as a garnish in beverages; or eaten as a cool, quick snack.

Mango works well in savory dishes, such as stir-fried with rice or pasta, tossed with chopped sweet onions, red and green bell peppers, and garlic. Create your own mango rice by adding chopped mangoes to cooked rice, along with your favorite fiery spices, chopped fresh chiles, and a sprinkling of peanuts or soy nuts.

photo from kosher.com

When people think of pancakes, they usually invision the type you eat at breakfast with maple syrup. However, did you know that pancakes can be savory? Debra Daniels-Zeller shared some vegan savory pancake recipes here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2009issue2/2009_issue2_pancakes.php

Enjoy preparing Asian Noodle Pancakes with Sweet and Sour Sauce; Tomato-Garlic Chickpea Pancakes with a Salsa Spread; Millet-Vegetable Pancakes with Wild Mushroom Sauce; Carrot-Risotto Cakes with Quick Marinara Sauce; Mushroom-Sage Potato Pancakes; Sun-Dried Tomato Polenta Cakes; and Scottish Oatcakes.

To subscribe to Vegan Journal, visit: http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

photo from Doshi

Here’s a list of companies selling vegan belts online.

Bhava Studio is an American company offering women’s belts. https://bhavastudio.com/collections/belts

Corkor is a Portuguese company that sells women’s and men’s belts made out of cork. They deliver worldwide. https://www.corkor.com/collections/womens-cork-belts and https://www.corkor.com/collections/mens-cork-belts

Doshi is an American company that sells both men’s and women’s belts. https://doshi.shop/collections/belts

Freerangers is a British company offering belts in several colors. https://www.freerangers.co.uk/belts

LLBean is an American company that offers several men’s non-leather belts made out of polyester and recycled materials in various colors. https://www.llbean.com/llb/search/?freeText=belts+for+men&init=1

MooShoes is an American company selling a variety of belts. https://www.mooshoes.com/collections/belts

Nae is a Portuguese company that ships belts worldwide.

https://nae-vegan.com/en-us/collections/belts-women

Nomadic State of Mind is an American company that sells belts made out of rope.

https://shop.nomadicstateofmind.com/category-s/165.htm

Truth Belts is a Canadian company that specializes in belts for men and women.

https://truthbelts.com/

Veganline is a British company that sells belts in different colors and with different buckles and ships to various countries. https://veganline.com/belts

Vegan Scene is an American company that sells belts for women and men in various colors. https://veganscene.com/collections/belts

Vegetarian Shoes is a British company selling a variety of vegan belts.

https://www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk/accessories/belts/10043_0c.html

The Vegetarian Site is an American company selling a wide variety of belts.

https://store.thevegetariansite.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=96

Watson & Wolfe is a British company offering men’s belts. https://www.watsonwolfe.com/non-leather-vegan-belts/

Share this handy poster with family and friends. You can also print it out and post it on your refrigerator. See: https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/VeganDietsinaNutshellPoster.pdf

Debra Daniels-Zeller provides information on selecting and preparing fresh pea dishes including Braised Pea Shoots, Pea Shoots and Quinoa, Minted Sugar Snap Peas and Leeks, English Pea Guacamole, Sesame-Ginger Snow Peas, Snow Pea Slaw with Red Peppers, Mac and Peas, and Penne Pasta, Sugar Snap Peas, and Tomatoes. Enjoy!

The entire article can be read here: A Passion for Peas

To subscribe to Vegan Journal, visit: http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

photo from Merrell

Enjoy the outdoors: you may want to go hiking in the USA, Canada, and/or Europe. Below is a list of online stores offering vegan hiking boots and shoes.

Ethical Wares out of Wales in the United Kingdom offers a wide variety of hiking boots See: https://www.ethicalwares.com/footwear/walking-boots-and-shoes/

Merrell in the USA offers some vegan hiking shoes. Search under “vegan hiking shoe or boot.” See: https://www.merrell.com

REI offers several vegan hiking shoes and boots. Search under “vegan hiking shoe or boot.” https://www.rei.com/

Thesus headquartered in Toronto, Canada and will ship hiking shoes for women to Americans. Search under the word vegan boot. See: https://thesusoutdoors.com/

Will’s Vegan Store in London, England offers hiking boots for men and women. See: https://us.wills-vegan-shoes.com/

photo from Camp4Real.com

Here are some possibilities:

Vegan Camps

Camp4Real in Charlottesville, Virginia serves vegan meals. See:

https://www.camp4real.com/summer-camp/

Veg Eco Camp in Canada serves vegan food: https://vegcamp.ca/

Vegan Camp in New Jersey serves vegan food: https://tomorrowsadults.org/camp/summer/

Vegan-Friendly Camps

Camp Zeke is a Jewish camp that will accommodate vegans. They are located in the Pocono Mountains in Lakewood, PA. See: www.campzeke.org

Mountain Camp in California offers a vegan option at every meal as well as a salad bar. See:  www.mountaincamp.com/about/food-at-summer-camp

Takodah YMCA camp in New Hampshire offers a vegan option at every meal. See: https://www.camptakodah.org/summer-camp/about/food-nutrition/

Urban Adventure Camps Culinary Camp 2 (vegan cooking) located in Oakland, California. See: https://www.urbanadventurecamps.com/culinary-camp-2/

I want to update you all on my wins throughout my time at University of California San Diego. In June 2025, I graduated with a dual major in Political Science & Data Analytics (BS) and Global Health (BA) + a minor in Climate Change Studies.

Through my time at UCSD, plant-based and sustainable food advocacy was extremely important to me. Luckily, I was able to work at UCSD’s Sustainability Team and serve as a Sustainable Food Procurement Fellow through UC’s Office of the President. With these roles, I worked on a range of sustainability projects including creating plant-based educational resources, increasing plant-based options at UCSD’s markets, and most recently (as of Sep. 2025): eliminating the upcharge on ALL plant-based milks served at UCSD’s coffee bars!

Now that I have graduated, I hope to continue plant-based advocacy throughout my career.  I am so grateful for the support from VRG since my time in high school, and really appreciate all you do!

See Arpi’s VRG scholarship information: https://www.vrg.org/blog/2021/05/17/california-student-arpi-keshishian-wins-10000-vegetarian-resource-group-scholarship/

For information on other winners and applying to VRG’s annual scholarship contest, see https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

Pasta with Tomato-Pumpkin Sauce photo by Hannah Kaminsky

Who doesn’t love Italian food? The latest issue of Vegan Journal includes vegan Italian recipes from Donna Spencer. Enjoy preparing Italian Roasted Cauliflower, Tuscan Bread Soup, Pasta with Tomato-Pumpkin Sauce, Braised Lentils and Kale, Rustic Blueberry Crostata, and Garlic Beans and Greens.

Find all these vegan recipes here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2026issue1/2026_issue1_vegano_italiano.php

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

Recent topics brought up include:

– Henry is born and raised vegan. He won 1st place on Saturday in the 2026 MI HS Nordic Ski State Championships at Hickory Hills in Traverse City for both the classic and the skate pursuit races!

– What are some examples of confusing advice in the 2025-2030 Dietary guidelines for Americans?

– USDA Issues Implementation Requirements for the Use of Plant Milks in the National School Lunch Program

https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids is intended to be a group that offers support for families raising children on vegan diets and for vegan kids around the world. We envision it as a place to get advice about a wide-variety of topics: pregnancy, birthday parties, school lunches, Halloween, non-leather apparel, cruelty-free products, summer camps, and more. Please use it as a place to share your wisdom, seek advice, or just find a sympathetic ear. The goal is to offer support.

Consequently, any profane, defamatory, offensive, or violent language will be removed. Feel free to disagree, but do so respectfully. Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs will not be tolerated. We expect that posts should relate to vegan diets and lifestyles. The Vegetarian Resource Group reserves the right to monitor all content and ban any user who posts in violation of the above rules, any law or regulation, SPAM, or anything otherwise off topic.

Please share this information with any veggie families that you know! Thanks.