photo from Freepik

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

If you travel by air, chances are that you’ll spend some time in an airport waiting for your flight. If you’re like me, you bring vegan food with you but sometimes, flight delays or being hungrier than you expected can prompt a search for a vegan meal. How easy is it to find that meal? It varies from airport to airport. We checked the websites of the ten busiest airports in the United States in December 2025 to see how helpful they’d be at identifying airport dining that included vegan meals.

According to the FAA, in 2024, the ten airports with the greatest number of commercial aircraft enplanements (passengers boarding a flight) served more than 350 million people. We went to each airport’s official site and spent a few minutes trying to find establishments offering vegan meals.

1. Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International Airport: The website has a link to a 2020 article on vegetarian/vegan options which has not been updated but could be a starting place. There is also a drop-down menu that lists 22 destinations with vegetarian/vegan options. Several of these are either juice bars or pizzerias (unlikely to offer vegan options). There is no indication of which destinations serve vegan, as opposed to vegan/vegetarian food. You’d need to visit each establishment to see what they offer.
2. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport: A search for “vegan” on the website resulted in four locations with vending machines. There is no indication on the website as to which dining establishments have vegan offerings.
3. Denver International Airport: A drop-down menu lists 14 destinations with “vegetarian” options, some of which are juice bars. Some listed destinations have links to their menu; none that we checked indicated which menu items were vegetarian or vegan. You’d need to visit or individually contact likely dining sites to see what they offer.
4. Chicago O’Hare International Airport: A drop-down menu allows you to choose dining sites with “vegetarian/vegan” options. Many options are grab and go markets or vending machines. Restaurants have links to menus (although some were broken). Menus do not appear to indicate which items are vegan/vegetarian. You’d need to visit or individually contact likely dining sites to see what they offer.
5. Los Angeles International Airport: No listing on website for establishments with vegetarian/vegan options. Some menus indicate vegan items, but you need to review each dining establishment individually.
6. John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York): An interactive map allows a search for “vegan” and resulted in a list of 22 establishments, 15 of which appeared to be bakeries, markets, vending machines, or coffee shops. There were no links to menus. You’d need to visit or individually contact likely dining sites to see what they offer.
7. Charlotte/Douglas International Airport: This website allows you to select a “vegan” filter which resulted in 17 places, 10 of which were coffee shops, markets, or bakeries. There were no links to menus. You’d need to visit or individually contact likely dining sites to see what they offer.

8. Harry Reid International Airport (Las Vegas): The website does not allow you to search for vegan (or vegetarian) restaurants. You can see a list of all dining establishments, at least some of which have links to menus. Helpful if you have a lot of time to individually check restaurant websites or if you’re familiar with chains that have vegan options.
9. Orlando International Airport: A search for “vegan” resulted in a single listing for a juice bar.
10. Miami International Airport: A search for “vegan” had one result which listed a couple of vegan options on their menu. There was also a tab for “vegetarian/vegan” which had 10 results, most of which looked like possible places to get a meal. Most had links to menus although only one indicated vegan options.

If you know you’re going to be looking for a meal in an airport, some advance planning may help unless you have a long lay-over and want to check out restaurants as you walk around the airport. Ahead of time, you can see which restaurants are in your terminal and contact possible venues and ask what they offer vegans. Otherwise, you may get lucky and find a place like Moe’s Southwest Grill in the Dallas Love Field Airport which allowed us to customize a Burrito Bowl which was prepared in front of us and where the workers were knowledgeable about which items were vegan.

Finally,  on a side note, BWI airport (Baltimore/DC) has one great restaurant with items clearly marked vegan: https://www.silverdiner.com/bwi

To read more about food for travel see:

Vegan Food for the Plane

Budget-Friendly Airport Tips for the Conscious Vegan Traveler

Waffled Tofu with Red Eye Gravy photo by Hannah Kaminsky

Tempeh hails from Indonesia where it is still eaten by people of all walks of life. Tempeh is made fresh daily by thousands of small family-run shops and sold within hours of completion. Soy tempeh is simply made from soybeans, water, and a culture.

In a previous issue of Vegan Journal, Seth Tibbott introduces several tempeh recipes including Finger Lickin’ Tempeh; Low-sodium Tempeh; Marian’s Tempeh Stroganoff; Tempeh Salad; and Tequila Tempeh.

Find the recipes here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue1/2025_issue1_tempeh.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA only here: https://www.vrg.org/member/

Be sure to follow The Vegetarian Resource Group on Instagram: @vegetarianresourcegroup

Sweet Taters and Greens photo by Rissa Miller

James Craig Thieman shares the following skillet recipes in a previous issue of Vegan Journal:

Deconstructed Blackened “Fishy” Taco

Skillet Chili Mac

Italian-Style Eggplant on Zoodles

Kimchi Tofu Stir-Fry Veggies

Jackfruit BBQ and Slaw

Sweet Taters and Greens

Read the entire article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2023issue1/2023_issue1_skillet_suppers.php

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

photo from Freepik

Starting in 2026, Americans who do not itemize on their tax returns, will be able to deduct charitable contributions, such as to The Vegetarian Resource Group, up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for married couples.

photo from Freepik

• Add to salad dressings: Creations include a basil walnut vinaigrette or creamy salad dressing with almonds, mustard, and dill with added chopped pine nuts.
• Add to sandwiches: Chopped walnuts, almonds, peanuts, and pecans add a toasty flavor and extra texture to grilled vegetable sandwiches, falafel, and hummus. Or add chopped nuts to smooth peanut, almond, or soy butters to make a crunchy sandwich.
• Use as garnish: Increase protein, flavor, and texture by adding to bean and rice casseroles, baked potatoes, hot and cold cereal, baking batters, puddings, or vegan ice cream sundaes.
• Add to pasta: Top tomato-sauced pasta with chopped almonds or pine nuts, creamy-sauced pastas with walnuts or pecans, or toss pasta with olive oil, sautéed garlic, and chopped almonds.
• Add to sauces: Stir peanut butter or soy butter into mushroom sauces for a Thai effect; add ground almonds or pine nuts to creamy sauces and pecans or pistachios to fruit sauces.
• Add to breakfast: Baked apples, oatmeal, hot cereals, cold cereals, and muffins can all benefit from a variety of chopped nuts.

Franchia Kimbap

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Franchia Vegan Café’s website says, “It is a beautiful and unique space for a relaxing dining experience.” It lives up to this description with its traditional Korean décor, attentive service, and delicious food. The menu is described as “Asian fusion” and while it includes many Korean dishes, it also has dishes from Thailand, Japan, China, and Malaysia.

We were there on a Saturday afternoon and ordered from the dinner menu. There is also a lunch menu (served noon-2:59 pm Monday through Friday), a prix fixe lunch menu, and a prix fixe dinner menu. We started our meal with Franchia Kimbap. This is a seaweed roll, reminiscent of sushi, but described as a Korean seaweed rice roll. Our roll was filled with brown rice, spinach, tofu, carrots, yellow radish, and gosari. Gosari is an edible fern which is dried and rehydrated. It has a meaty texture. The roll came in 10 generous slices and was served with soy sauce, pickled ginger, and wasabi paste. This and a salad would be a fine lunch for one person.

Classic Bibimbap

For entrées, we shared Classic Bibimbap and a Sizzling Bulgogi Plate. The Bibimbap was a bowl of rice topped with beautifully prepared vegetables – spinach, carrots, sprouts, mushrooms, shredded zucchini, hijiki, and gosari. You could choose one of three sauces – spicy chili, bean paste, or ginger soy. Our server instructed us to mix the vegetables and rice and add the sauce. It was simple and flavorful. The Bulgogi plate was served on a sizzling hot metal plate and included shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, onions, and “beef” in a savory sauce. Our entrées were served with a small bowl of sweet pickled cabbage.

Sizzling Bulgogi Plate

Other dishes on the dinner menu that sound especially intriguing include Pumpkin Porridge, Spicy Kimchi Dumplings, Katsu Curry Udon, Soondubu Jiigae (Korean soft tofu stew with vegetables), Korean Sweet and Sour Mushrooms, Ticokbokki (rice cakes and vegetables stir-fried in spicy gochujang sauce), and Tempura Udon with fried “shrimp” and vegetables. There is an extensive sushi selection. The lunch menu features many of the same dishes as the dinner menu but also includes several kinds of ramen.

We did not order desserts or drinks but noted several interesting desserts including Black Sesame Pie and Fried Taro and Sweet Potato Rice Balls, as well as vegan ice creams and gluten-free cakes. Drinks include vegan organic wines, beer, sake, signature cocktails, an extensive list of teas, soda, and sparkling water.

Franchia is located at 12 Park Avenue (between 34^th and 35^th Street) in New York.

To find a list of veggie restaurants in the USA and Canada visit: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

Red lentils are featured in new dips from Maazah. These savory dips come in several flavors including Basil Jalapeño, Lemon Tahini, Roasted Red Pepper, and Turmeric Ginger. Serve them at your next party or family gathering! Read our review here https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue4/2025_issue4_veggie_bits.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA only: www.vrg.org/member

By Whitney McVerry

These bars are a great on-the-go pick-me-up and filling snack. We tried the Matcha Vanilla flavor and it was crunchy and perfectly sweet!

The bars come in a variety of flavors and are all vegan and gluten-free:

• Hot Chocolate
• Peanut Butter
• Maple Blueberry
• Almond Butter
• Pistachio
• Hazelnut

Check out their variety pack and try each flavor here: https://eatmezcla.com/products/variety-pack

Cornbread Flapjacks

Are you still looking for some new ideas for dishes to serve on New Year’s Day? If so, you may enjoy these veganized traditional southern dishes served on New Year’s from Anna Lam including Cornbread Flapjacks with Jalapeño-Mayhaw Jelly; Hoppin’ Johns; Turnip Greens; and Seitan ‘Ham’.

See: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2017issue4/2017_issue4_new_year.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA only, go to: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php