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

Hannah Kaminsky explains in this video. https://youtube.com/shorts/WeMCqn1H23s

For more information on plant milks, go to https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue3/VJ_issue3_2025.pdf

Subscribe to Vegan Journal at https://www.vrg.org/member/

photo from Lady and the Shallot

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Here are some recent vegan restaurant additions. The entire guide can be found here: www.vrg.org/restaurant

To support the updating of this online restaurant guide, please donate at: www.vrg.org/donate

Here are some new additions to VRG’s guide:

Cinnaholic 3349 Monroe Ave., Rochester, NY 14618 and 4921 Freret St., New Orleans, LA 70115

Cinnaholic offers over 30 flavors of gourmet cinnamon rolls — and they are all vegan! Some include Almond, Blackberry, Butterscotch, Caramel, Cream Soda, Key Lime, Root Beer, & Pomegranate. Toppings range from Cookie Dough Chunks to Shredded Coconut and everything in between. They offer other sweet treats including cookies.

Flame On Vegan, 1244 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103

Flame on Vegan is a plant-based restaurant serving a variety of grilled foods. Oyster mushroom-based chicken meals include a Crispy Veken (Chicken) sandwich and a BBQ Pulled Poork Sandwich both served with coleslaw on a bun, Flame Tenders and fries, and a Chicken Po’ Boy Grinder. Other menu items include Flamin Hot Dogs and Flame on Beefless Burgers with fries and Birria Tacos served with sautéed oyster mushrooms, peppers, onions, and cheese.

Lady and the Shallot, 100 Campus Town Cir., Ste. #103, Ewing, NJ 08618

The motto at Lady and the Shallot is “Whole Foods Bold Flavors Kind Eating.” Brekkie lovers, their All-Day Breakfast menu celebrates with “award winning” roasted garlic, tofu Ricotta Toast, Avocado Toast, or roasted Sweet Beet hummus Toast featuring extra-virgin orange oil and greens. There’s also a Tofu scramble or Just Egg patty based Breakfast Sandwich on a Baguette or Wrap with caper aioli and more. Sweet Chipotle Maple Chicken Stack features Daring Chicken, Van’s waffles, greens, and potatoes. Two more “Award Winners” are Souped up Chili with crushed nachos, smashed avocado, and garlic aioli and Three Bean Chili with lemon caper aioli and onion. Their Small Plates host Sweet Pea Pate Crostini with garlic confit and greens, or Spicy Kimchi and Cucumber Salad with carrot, pickled ginger, toasted sesame, and “creamy” chili crisp. One of their Air-Frites items is Truffle Frites with truffle butter, greens, and garlic aioli. Whether you prefer your Cauliflower as a Taco or a Stuffed Sweet Potato, it comes turmeric-roasted with smashed avocado, pickled cabbage, cilantro, lime, “creamy” chimichurri, and chili crisp. Ready to Bowl? Choose your base of greens, black rice, or red quinoa. The next layer might be in-house marinated Jerk Tofu with cabbage, pineapple salsa, cilantro, lime, and “creamy” chimichurri. Or, if you’re feeling colorful, you might eat a Rainbow of smashed avocado, sweet roasted corn, cabbage, tomato, roasted chickpeas, and lemon aioli. You might Wrap up with Curried Smashed Bean with pickled cabbage, greens, and lemon caper aioli. There’s also Chocolate Pizza showcasing avocado chocolate mousse, fresh fruit, and powdered sugar.

Saigon Vegan Bistro, 1905 El Cajon Blvd. Ste. B, San Diego, CA 92104

SaigonVegan Bistro hopes to offer “… a unique culinary journey celebrating both sustainability and taste” where diners “…experience a blend of Saigon’s rich culinary traditions and modern, cruelty-free ingredients.” Appetizers include a Papaya Salad of cabbage, bell peppers, onions, tofu, peanuts, mint, and sweet and sour vinaigrette, as well as the popular Tofu-based rice paper Summer Rolls or “Shrimp” Spring Rolls–both with rice noodles, mint, basil, and homemade peanut sauce. A couple of their Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwiches are the popular Saigon Garlic (Butter) Chicken Banh Mi Combo on a baguette with cucumbers, cilantro, and jalapeños or Saigon Bacon Banh Mi Combo with tofu slices on a baguette with pate, cucumber, jalapeño, cilantro, and house made sriracha aioli. All Banh Mi come with Hue Soup or Sweet Potato fries. A couple of their many Rice Bowls are Saigon Rice Bowl featuring marinated lemongrass beef slices, pickles, and sweet savory sauce or “crispy” Pepper Shrimp Bowl. Both come with broccoli, carrots, and white rice. Some Noodle Dishes are BBQ Beef Noodles bowl of Vermicelli, marinated lemongrass beef slices, pickled cabbage, mint, peanuts, chopped crispy rolls, and house made sweet savory sauce, or Pho flavored, Saigon Wok (rice) Noodles with tofu, vegan chicken or beef, basil, jalapeños, bean sprouts, and limes. Drinks include Pea Flower lemonade, Iced Passion fruit Tea, Cane Cola, Vietnamese or Vietnamese Jelly Coffee, and more.

Thanh Tinh Chay, 4591 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego, CA 92115

According to their website, they serve over 200 dishes! Indeed, you’ll have to see their menu to learn just how vast and varied their offerings are! Their website also states that the food is made with “no preservatives,” with “NON-GMO ingredients” and “…without MSG…” Breakfast, served all day, might begin with French Toast Waffle or Mini Pancake accompanied by your choice of protein in pate such as vegan salmon, squid, shrimp, pork belly, and more for savory; or try a Fruity version. All come with Vietnamese vegan sausage and bacon. They offer various styles and combos of Dim Sum, Crispy Rolls, Spring Rolls, Mooshu Wrap, Dumplings of all sorts, peanut coconut Satays, Soups, Stews, Salads, and Chestnut, Bamboo, Kimchi, Fermented Bean Burritos with all manner of filling choices, Stir-Fry, Sushi Rolls, Burgers–Chinese and otherwise, Banh Mi Sandwiches, Noodles, Fried or Steamed Rice Dishes like Caramelized Fish Sauce, Orange Sauce with Cashew, filled Steamed Buns and Curry dishes to note a fraction. There are a myriad of vegan meat/sea food substitutes– some of the more unusual being vegan squid and abalone. Other ingredients often appearing in dishes are Wood Ear Mushrooms, Lotus, Bamboo and Jackfruit. Desserts may include Coconut or Caramel Flan, Cheesecake, Crème Brulee, Pandan, and Chocolate Pudding or Ice cream.

Vegan Junkie Burgers, Ft. Lauderdale FL; location varies

Vegan Junkie Burgers states that their “…food is made in house from scratch…with…locally-sourced ingredients that are 100% soy-free. No Lab Meats!” Though the menu changes seasonally, here are some possibilities from this food truck. Beginning with Burgers, to name a few, there’s P.B.Q. Plant Based Queen showcasing house Jerk patty, grilled onions, melted “provolone cheese,” plantain sticks, guava sauce, True Made Foods Barbecue sauce, garlic, and cilantro, Cuban Frita with house Choreezo patty, grilled onion, crushed plantain chips, pink sauce, and aioli and Bakon Cheeze featuring a house patty, melted “cheddar” cheeze, coconut bakon, and Chipotle Ranch. Ready for a melt down? They have Patti Melt, Toona Melt and Pepper Stk Cheeze. With a butternut based sauce and “locally sourced” pasta, Mac and Cheeze fans, can have it as a Side, or Plate, a Chili version or STK “Steak” Topped. A Salad option is Toona Caesar Salad of Sunflower Toona, kale, cucumber, roasted chickpeas, Seed Parm, and Caesar dressing. They offer lots of Sides and Add Ons including Tostone and Fire Roasted Smoky Lentil Chili Cheeze Fries. To sweeten the deal, Dessert is Signature VJ Date Caramel 3 Leches Cake.

Due to the generosity of anonymous donors, The Vegetarian Resource Group each year will award one $10,000 and several $5,000 college scholarships to graduating U.S. high school students who have promoted veganism in their schools and/or communities. Entries may only be sent by students graduating from high school in SPRING 2026

We will accept applications emailed or postmarked on or before FEBRUARY 20, 2026. Early submission is encouraged.

Applicants will be judged on having shown compassion, courage, and a strong commitment to promoting a peaceful world through a vegan diet/lifestyle. Payment will be made to the student’s college (U.S. based only). Winners of the scholarships give permission to release their names to the media. Applications and essays become property of The Vegetarian Resource Group. We may ask finalists for more information. Scholarship winners are contacted by e-mail or telephone. Please look at your e-mail.

If you would like to donate to additional scholarships or internships, go to www.vrg.org/donate

Applications

For information on applying, visit: https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar or call (410) 366-8343 or email [email protected].

This contest is sponsored by The Vegetarian Resource Group/Vegan Journal, PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.

photo from Freepik

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

On December 15, 2025 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025. This act had been previously approved by the U.S. Senate.  As of this writing (early January 2026), this act is awaiting the President’s signature to be enacted into law.

According to the Congressional Research Service’s summary of the bill, a parent or legal guardian may provide a written statement documenting that their child’s disability restricts their diet; the school must then provide a substitute for dairy milk. This statement can also come from a licensed physician. In the past, a physician’s statement was required. Additionally, the bill states that schools are permitted (although not required) to offer all children “nondairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk and meet the nutritional standards established by the Secretary (which shall, among other requirements to be determined by the Secretary, include fortification of calcium, protein, vitamin A, and vitamin D to levels found in cow’s milk).” In the past, a request from a parent, legal guardian, or physician was required for a school to provide a plant milk to a child without a disability.

It is not yet clear how this act will be implemented, should it be signed into law. For example, we don’t know how many schools will offer all children “nondairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk” especially since these products are often more expensive and the act does not provide additional funds to cover the costs of offering plant milks to all children.

This act also allows full fat (whole) and reduced fat (2 percent) dairy milk to be served in schools and says that dairy milk’s saturated fat content will not count towards the saturated fat limits for school meals. Saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of heart disease; previously, school meals could not include whole or reduced fat milk due to their saturated fat content.

For more information about school meals see:

What are Some of the Brands of Plant Milk that Can Be Used in the National School Lunch Program?

USDA Issues Revisions to Child Nutrition Programs

Getting Vegan Food into Schools

Vegan Options in a California School

Vegan Options in Portland, ME School Lunch

Vegan Journal editor Hannah Kaminsky interviews the founder of Bistro Vonish, who started a vegan food truck in Austin, Texas. This is part of The Vegetarian Resource Group/Vegan Journal series on Work with Purpose: ethical entrepreneurs and others who carry out their values in their careers and jobs. Learn about starting a food truck and overcoming the challenges.

See https://youtu.be/uyOIMWe9X2Y

For more information on ethical jobs, go to https://www.vrg.org/links/JobSearch.htm

Shellac

Also known as: orange shellac, lac resin, confectioner’s resin, confectioner’s glaze, resinous glaze, candy glaze, pure food glaze, natural glaze, lacca, E904

Commercial source: animal (insect)

Used on: fruit, vegetables, nuts, confections, chocolate, coffee beans, pharmaceuticals

Definition: The purified product of a natural resin found on tree branches as a hardened secretion of a small, parasitic insect (Kerria lacca). Its major food use is as a coating on produce or candy.

Category: Vegetarian (not vegan)

Updated: December 2025

More information: USDA

For more ingredient information, see https://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php

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

Or join at www.vrg.org/member

The contents of this posting, our email, our website and our other publications, including 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.

Walnut Cookies with Toasted Quinoa photo by Linda Tyler

Linda Tyler shared the cookie recipe below in an article on ancient grains that she wrote for Vegan Journal. The entire article can be found here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2024issue2/2024_issue2_ancient_grains.php

Walnut Cookies with Toasted Quinoa
(Makes about 24 cookies)

1/3 cup uncooked red or white quinoa
2 cups walnut pieces
1/2 cup oat flour
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup cacao nibs, raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, or other dried fruit
3 Tablespoons flaxseed meal
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla powder
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two sheet pans or cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

On the stove top, scatter the quinoa in a wide skillet and turn the heat to medium or medium/low. Stir or shake the quinoa frequently until it begins to pop, turn darker, and smell like popcorn, 5-7 minutes. As soon as it has been popping for about a minute, pour it into a medium bowl and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Grind the walnuts in a food processor or use a hand-held grinder. Make sure there are still plenty of small chunks of walnuts. Add the walnuts and the remaining ingredients to the quinoa and stir well.

Use a 1 1/2-Tablespoon cookie scoop or a spoon to drop mounds of dough onto the cookie sheets. Flatten the cookies with your hand, a fork, or the bottom of a glass (moistened if needed to prevent sticking). Bake for 10-14 minutes or until just golden brown.

Let the cookies cool on the pans. They are ready to eat as soon as you can handle them, or they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.

Watch this short VRG video: https://youtube.com/shorts/0NWPHHjqzm0?feature=share

Chickpea Egg Bites photo by Hannah Kaminsky

Check out these vegan bites from Hannah Kaminsky that you can enjoy with a pot of tea this winter: Cucumber Tapenade Tea Sandwiches; Cheesy Dill Scones; Lentil Sausage Rolls; Blueberry Chia Jam; Blueberry Jam Drops; and Chickpea Egg Bites. Find these vegan recipes here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2023issue1/2023_issue1_time_for_tea.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA only by visiting https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php