photo from Freepik

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

A reader wrote us and asked, “Do you have B12 guidelines for children? What should children be taking daily? On VRG’s Vegan MyPlate I see 25mcg. Is that the same guidance for children as well?”

Here’s how we responded:

The amount of vitamin B12 a child needs depends on the child’s age. The 25 micrograms of vitamin B12 on our My Vegan Plate is for an adult.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin B12 for 1-3 year olds is 0.9 micrograms; for 4-8 year olds it is 1.2 micrograms; and for 9-13 year olds it is 1.8 micrograms. These recommendations were developed with the assumption that children are eating foods containing vitamin B12 throughout the day. If this is the case, about 40-50% of the vitamin B12 is absorbed. Vegan children often use a vitamin supplement as a reliable source of vitamin B12 and may only take the supplement once a day. In that case, a lower percentage of vitamin B12 would be absorbed. An amount higher than the RDA would be needed to compensate for the lower absorption. You can read more about this on VRG’s website.

Vegan Health website provides an excellent resource, developed by Jack Norris, RD, a vegan registered dietitian, of different regimens for vitamin B12 for people, including children of different ages. The website also provides a thorough explanation of how these regimens were developed. The table on the Vegan Health website includes the suggested amount of vitamin B12 that should be used if a child is taking a supplement once, twice, or 3 times a day. For example, the table suggests that a 5 year old taking vitamin B12 once a day should take between 1.4 and 10 micrograms of vitamin B12 daily.

To read more about vitamin B12 for vegans see:

Vitamin B12 in the Vegan Diet

B12 Myths

Does the Form of Vitamin B12 Matter?

Don’t Forget About Vitamin B12

The contents of this 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.

photo from Freepik

By Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD

This generally bright green veggie and its friends, whose name comes from the Latin word “to branch,” is packed with vitamin C and potassium, with a fair amount of folic acid, iron, and vitamin A as well. Prepared correctly, members of the broccoli brigade are crunchy and flavorful.

Broccoli can be green, purple, or white, and its flowers white or yellow, with firm stalks and tightly packed florets. Broccoflower, a cross between broccoli and cauliflower, looks like a pastel, green-hued cauliflower. Broccoli rabe (also called Italian broccoli) has thin green stems that are more tender than broccoli, with soft, velvety leaves and small florets. Broccolini is a cross between Swiss chard and Asian broccoli. Although not related, you prepare broccolini as you would asparagus: steam it or microwave it quickly, toss with a small amount of oil (optional) and herbs, and serve. Broccolini can also be grilled or sautéed.

The broccoli you are likely familiar with resembles miniature, bright green trees. Look for the thinner stalks with no flowers. Thick stalks and flowers indicate a certain amount of toughness. Cook broccoli quickly, as it is a cabbage, given to strong flavors if exposed to heat for too long. The stalks can be peeled and used in stir-fries, steamed, salads, and even coleslaw instead of the “cole” (cabbage).

Broccoflower is prepared like cauliflower. When selecting broccoflower, look for lightly colored heads with no signs of mold. To cook broccoflower, slice or break off the florets, wash them, and then steam or microwave quickly. Broccoflower appreciates a spicy curry sauce. Or serve broccoflower florets uncooked with hummus or salsa dip.

Broccoli rabe is slightly bitter and tangy, and very popular in Mediterranean cuisine. The stalks are milder than the leaves, so look for specimens having more stalk than leaf. A bit of floret is okay, but a lot of flowering means the rabe is older and will be tougher. Steam or microwave broccoli rabe, or quickly sauté or stir-fry. Serve it tossed with lemon, black pepper, or a mild creamy sauce. You can add broccoli rabe to pasta or potatoes, as well as combine it with mild vegetables, such as tomatoes or carrots. If you have leftover cooked broccoli or broccoli rabe, you can purée it in a blender or food processor, allow to cool, and stir into salad dressings, hummus, or even vegan mayonnaise.

To make a fast and creamy broccoli soup, combine chopped onions with a spray of vegetable oil in a 3-quart microwave-safe bowl and microwave on High until onion is tender. Add about four cups of fresh, chopped broccoli, using the full spear (stalk and florets), enough vegetable stock or water to fill the bowl about half way, ground pepper, and dried parsley to taste and stir to combine. Cover with a lid and microwave on High for 20 minutes or until broccoli is very tender. Remove and set aside. Allow to cool for about five minutes. Stir in about 2 cups of silken tofu and nutritional yeast, to taste, microwave on High for 2 minutes. If you would like a smooth texture, process in a blender or food processor until smooth and reheat. If you don’t care to use the microwave, this soup can be prepared on the stove-top as well.

Through December 31, 2025, you can give a gift membership to The Vegetarian Resource Group (includes a 1-year subscription to Vegetarian Journal) for $15 each. Offer is valid in the USA only!

This is a terrific way to share the vegan message, as well as support VRG outreach. Gift subscriptions can be done online by simply typing in your message and the name and address of each gift recipient in the comments field. Go to: www.vrg.org/donate

By Chef Nancy Berkoff, RD, EdD

To mold or shape rice for an elegant or fun presentation, select short-grained rice. Pack cooked rice into an oiled mold, oven-proof cookie cutters, muffin tins, or individual baking cups. Place the mold in an oven-safe dish with 2 inches of water, open-side up. Bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes or until set. Allow to cool and unmold.

If you’d like to create rice balls, to use as hot entrée or cold snack, cook a batch of short-grained, sticky/glutinous, or sushi rice, and allow to cool. Select one of the blends listed here, and mix with rice. Roll and pat larger balls for an entrée, smaller balls for a snack. To heat rice balls, wrap in plastic wrap and microwave for several minutes on medium heat, or place in a steamer and heat for a few minutes.

Savory:

Green bell pepper, chopped tomatoes, chopped parsley, and chopped walnuts

Chopped parsley, breadcrumbs, and lemon juice

Chopped green bell peppers, onions, celery, pimentos, mushrooms, cayenne, and paprika

Cooked wild rice, minced garlic, sautéed onions and mushrooms, and dry sherry

Red bell peppers, soyrizo, paprika, oregano, and shallots

Scallions, water chestnuts or jicama, cilantro, and soy sauce

Chopped fresh parsley, minced garlic, curry powder, and olive oil

Forest blend mushrooms and sherry

Sweet:

Pineapple and organic brown sugar or date sugar

Roasted chestnuts or chestnut purée, cinnamon, and ginger

Minced dried apricots, raisins, and almonds

Shredded coconut, organic brown sugar, nutmeg, and cloves

Looking for something new to do with your kids during the Thanksgiving break? You might want to use Jessica Dadd’s Veggie-Friendly Memory Cards for Kids! See: https://www.vrg.org/family/memory_cards.php

photo from Freepik

By Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD

Red, yellow, green, pink, fresh, dried… There is a type and form of apple for everyone’s taste. Apples are wonderful eaten out-of-hand. To change up your apple snacking, shake on some chili, ginger, curry powder, or a spice-blend of your choosing. If you have a last-minute, “can you bring something” event, arrange thinly sliced green and red, tart and sweet varieties, on a serving platter, and sprinkle with spices.

When you have time to cook, you might like to try Apple Curry. Chop tart apples (such as Granny Smiths), onions, garlic, and chili or bell peppers and sauté with curry powder until soft. Add coconut milk, a bay leaf, and a splash of apple cider and maple syrup. Cover and allow to simmer until flavors are blended. Serve over rice, polenta, or your favorite cooked grain. Also, use as a wrap filling or blend and serve as a flavorful soup.

If you don’t have time to cook, create an Apple Salsa using firm apples (such as Delicious, Fuji, Gala, or Pink Lady), and combine with diced sweet onions, seeded fresh chilies, minced fresh cilantro, a splash of fresh lime or lemon juice, and ground white pepper.

Quick Applesauce requires equipment, but not much time. Core and peel apples, chop coarsely, place in a microwaveable bowl, cover, and microwave until soft. Place in a blender or food processor; add maple syrup or sweetener of choice, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and ginger; blend; and serve! Enjoy applesauce as a side dish or dessert, or use as a baking ingredient.

Finely chopped fresh apples can be added to hummus, your favorite sandwich spread, cooked grains, hot or cold cereals, and smoothies. Sliced apples, quickly sautéed in your vegan margarine or oil of choice and tossed with walnuts or almonds and dried fruit, can be used as a side dish, a grain or sweet potato topper, or the base for a dessert.

No time to bake a pie? Create Apple Pie Burritos by filling tortillas with sautéed apples, garnishing with chopped nuts and dried fruit. For an apple pie enchilada dessert casserole, preheat oven to 375 degrees, spray a baking dish with vegetable oil, and layer sautéed apples with shredded tortillas dusted with cinnamon and a sweetener. If desired, moisten with a small amount of apple cider. Top with dried cranberries and dried apples, dot with a small amount of margarine, cover, and bake until hot.

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

photo by Rissa Miller

Surprise your guests with fancy mocktails this Thanksgiving! Previously the Journal featured an article titled “Non-Alcoholic Thirst Quenchers,” by Mikiel Peratino. Mikiel is a former assistant manager and bartender at Great Sage vegan restaurant in Maryland. Enjoy recipes for Strawberry Fauxjito; Virgin Piña Colada; Warm Golden Pumpkin; Black Rose Mule; Watermelon Cooler; S’mores Mudslide; Virgin Cucumber Basil Gimlet; and Butterfly Margarita. These drinks look absolutely gorgeous and will bring a smile to your face!

Read the entire article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2020issue3/2020_issue3_thirst_quenchers.php

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

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

On October 28, 2025 Representatives Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) and Alma Adams (D-NC) introduced the Plant Powered School Meals Pilot Act, H.R. 5867. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

This bill, if approved,  would create a voluntary grant program for school districts to support schools providing 100% plant-based food and milk options. According to the text of the bill, a 100% plant-based food or milk option would not contain “any animal products or byproducts, such as meat, poultry, honey, fish, dairy, or eggs.”

The funds that would be made available through the grant program could be used for:

• Training school foodservice staff,
• Purchasing plant-based sources of protein and milk from “socially disadvantaged producers, local producers, and women, veterans, and beginning farmers,”
• Promoting the plant-based foods to students and providing nutrition education,
• Additional labor costs related to preparing and serving plant-based foods,

The bill would also require schools to offer a non-dairy milk substitute to any student with a written request from the student’s parent or guardian. The bill also allows schools to provide non-dairy milk alternatives, consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, to any student as part of a reimbursable meal, with no requirement for a doctor’s note.

Photo by Linda Tyler

We are all told to eat whole grains; however, do you know how to prepare vegan meals with ancient grains. The Whole Grains Council states that grains that are largely unchanged over the last several hundred years can be called “ancient.” This means that modern wheat, which is constantly hybridized by growers, is not an ancient grain, while other types of wheat, including einkorn, emmer, farro, Khorasan wheat, and spelt, would be considered ancient grains. Most lists of ancient grains encompass amaranth, barley, bulgur, freekeh, millet, teff, and quinoa. To add even more nuance—or confusion—to the definition of “ancient grains,” amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa are actually pseudo-grains; they are seeds from broadleaf plants, not from grasses.

In a previous issue of Vegan Journal, Linda Tyler shares several recipes including Granola with Ancient Grains; Carrot Cake Hot Cereal with Ancient Grains; Black Bean and Sorghum Chili; Greek Farro Salad; Shawarma Spelt, Chickpea, and Cauliflower Bowls; and Walnut Cookies with Toasted Quinoa. Read the entire article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2024issue2/2024_issue2_ancient_grains.php

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