photo by Rissa Miller

Since 1982, “Wildman” Steve Brill has led foraging tours and provided demos for the public, schools, nature centers, parks departments, chefs, garden and hiking clubs, nurseries, camps, etc., in parks and natural areas in the NYC area. See: https://www.instagram.com/wildmansteve/?hl=en

Below is one of Steve’s recipes featuring dandelion leaves. You can read his entire article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2023issue2/2023_issue2_foraged_foods.php

Dandelion Colombo
(Serves 6)

1 Tablespoon oil
1 medium cauliflower, sliced
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 small hot chili peppers, seeds and ribs removed, and finely chopped, or to taste
6 cups dandelion leaves, arugula, or other bitter greens, rinsed, drained, and chopped
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground yellow mustard seed
Pinch ground allspice
1 cup lite coconut milk
1/2 cup firm silken tofu, drained
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 Tablespoons miso

In a large pot, heat oil and sauté cauliflower, garlic, and peppers about 5 minutes. Add chopped greens. Meanwhile, purée all remaining ingredients in a blender.

Mix the purée with the sautéed ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook another 6-10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender. Serve immediately while warm.

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

photo from San & Wolves Bakeshop

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:

Face Plant, 311 N. Going St., Portland, OR 97217

The Founders of Face Plant believe they can have a great impact creating fast food plant-based burgers and serving them with a high level of hospitality. If you want their classic burger, order the Red & Yellow. Their signature Burger is The Fancy with a slice of “American,” tomato, onion, lettuce, and pickles on a Fancy bun with Fancy Sauce. Whether you opt for classic or fancy, if you’re a little hungrier, you can make it a Double. They also have seasoned Nuggets with their special Nugget Sauce and of course, Fries dusted with their secret seasoning! To complement your Burger or Nuggets, they have Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, and Coffee handspun shakes.

Moodz Co., 2210 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15203

Serving vegan comfort food, Moodz Co. hopes to show the world that vegan food isn’t just raw fruits and veggies. You can breakfast on a Burrito, Bagel Sandwich, or Wrap, most with a vegan egg and cheese, some also with peppers and onions, plant-based meat in a patty, steak or sausages, or Chkn (AKA oyster mushroom). In fact, at Moodz and Co., fried oysters seem to be the new chicken—appearing as Wings, or in Sandwiches like Hot Hunny, Gold BBQ, or Buffalo. Ready to Wrap and Roll? They offer various Wraps made with fried oyster mushrooms and vegan cheese, some sporting BBQ or Ranch too. Cheesesteak Eggrolls are made with plant-based meat, peppers, and onions in a plant-based eggroll. Their Fysh Sandwich is made from eggplant. They have loads of sauces; a couple are Mango Habanero or Lemon Pepper (a dry rub). Dessert options vary, but some possibilities are various Eggrolls including Strawberry Cheesecake, Apple Pie, and Peach Cobbler. There’s also Lemon Loaf, Fried Oreos, Jumbo Snickerdoodle or Chocolate Chip Cookie, Cinnamon Crumb or Strawberry Cupcakes. They accept card payments only—no cash.

NuVegan Café, 950 S. Sycamore St., Petersburg, VA 23803

Nu Vegan Café feature raw salads, a hot bar, and rotating specials. Enjoy tasty foods like the Chick/n Drummies, F’sh sandwich, Black Bean Burger, Mac n’ Cheese, Kale Salad, Yummy Yams, Ginger Collards, and desserts.

San & Wolves Bakeshop, 3900 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814

San & Wolves Bakeshop serves soy-free, nut-free, organically sweetened, traditional and new vegan Filipino baked goods which are made-from-scratch, including their own coconut oil based butter and sweetened condensed milk. They offer many gluten-free options too. Though daily selections may vary, some possibilities are Pan de Coco, a sweet bread roll filled with sweetened shredded coconut, Ube Treats made from purple yams, and the sweet and sometimes savory, Bibingka, a cake made with sweet rice flour and usually coconut milk or cream, often topped with butter, sugar, and cheese. For some baked-in nostalgia, Buko Pop Tart is their twist on the American pop tart they grew up eating. It features flaky pastry stuffed with coconut and crowned with ube frosting. Spanish bread is a Filipino oblong or cylinder shaped bread roll, usually filled with breadcrumbs, butter, and brown sugar. There’s also fresh Pandesal, a soft, airy, slightly sweet bread, Filipino Champorado, a sweet chocolate rice porridge, Pandan Cinnamon Rolls, Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies, and many other types of cookies, donuts, and more.

Quick Bites, 685 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222

Quick Bites is a vegan restaurant located in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn and offering a cultural menu inspired by Central and South American cuisines. Appetizers include Dominican-style quipe with vegan ground beef and deep-fried empanadas with a variety of fillings including mac and cheese, mashed sweet plantains, and seasoned lentils and potatoes. The Chimi Burger is homemade with black beans and rice and is served with chimi sauce on Portuguese bread. The Twisted Burrito is loaded with mac and cheese, mushrooms, vegan ground beef, fresh pico de gallo, and homemade cilantro sauce. Several bowl options are available including one with mashed green plantains, vegan sausages, and red kidney beans.

Viridis, 626 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222

To whet your appetite, check out their photos on Instagram. Toasted Breakfast Burrito features tofu scramble, seitan bacon, avocado, spicy aioli, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. The Breakfast Sandwich features Just Egg and cheese, with or without TVP sausage or seitan bacon. Pastries include muffins, croissants, Cheddar Parm scones, and glazed donuts. They have Pudding and various coffee drinks, too. For Lunch, besides cheeseburgers, they have sandwiches such as The Club with triple toasted sourdough, avocado, seitan turkey, spicy mayo, seitan bacon, lettuce, tomato, and cheese, or a BLT, as well as Wraps like Crispy Chick’n Caesar Wrap with crispy oyster mushroom chick’n, romaine, house made Caesar dressing, pickled red onion, and seitan bac’n.

photo from Freepik

The Vegetarian Resource Group is once again sponsoring a video contest. We will be awarding several $100 awards. The deadline for entries this year is July 15, 2025.

Create and submit a video relating what you want to tell others about veganism. Some possible topics: food, nutrition, your feelings about veganism and/or vegetarianism, water usage and veganism, veganism and animal rights, or other veggie topics which appeal to you. Humor and feelings are appreciated. All videos should be positive, not be critical of anyone, and not include any footage of animal cruelty. You may submit a video you have already made. Please do not enter videos made completely using AI.

Aspects of judging include accuracy and judges wanting to share the video with others. Entrants give permission to The Vegetarian Resource Group to post and share the video, to link to and from the video, and share the video with the media.

To see the video contest rules, visit: http://www.vrg.org/videoscholarship.php

Previous wining videos can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/veg_videos.php

April 1, 2025

The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) welcomes the opportunity to comment on Labeling of Plant-Based Alternatives to Animal-Derived Foods: Guidance for Industry. We appreciate FDA’s overall commitment to having food labels that provide truthful information that helps consumers make informed purchasing decisions.

The market for plant-based alternatives to animal-derived foods is expanding. In the United States, in 2022, the most recent year for which information is available, the total plant-based market value was $8 billion. Sales of plant-based yogurt and plant-based cheese had a 20% and 42% increase respectively in retail sales. Although sales of plant-based meat decreased slightly (1%), the market value of these products was more than $1 billion (1). As of now, there is no specific guidance for the wording that should be used on product labels of “plant-based alternatives.”

We agree with FDA’s recommendations that:

• When looking at the name of the food on the label, the consumer should be able to easily see that it is plant-based and what the main plant ingredient is.
• The food label should include the specific plant source(s) that the food contains.
• If wording is used on the label that suggests that a product is not derived from animals, it would be necessary to indicate what the product is, and the specific plant sources used in the food.

Consumers who are looking for alternatives to animal-derived products need to be able to easily identify these products and to be confident that the products do not contain animal-derived ingredients. Consumers with food allergies or intolerances need to be alerted to the presence of common allergens.

In the Questions and Answers section of this document, in response to question 8 (What are important considerations when labeling plant-based alternative foods as “vegan” or “meat-free”?), FDA says, “The use of truthful and non-misleading label statements (e.g., “vegan,” “meat-free,” “animal-free”, etc.) that helps inform consumers that the products are derived from plants, and are not derived from animals, is appropriate.” We agree with this but believe that the guidance should be expanded so that products that include any animal-derived ingredients could not be labeled “plant-based” in order to reduce consumer confusion and avoid misleading consumers.

We are hopeful that guidance will be provided to industry for labeling products that are produced through the use of genetic engineering and that contain animal protein or are similar to animal protein in structure. Clear labeling is needed to help protect people with food allergies who may be misled by product labels containing statements not clearly informing consumers that the products are based on animal DNA. Examples of this type of misleading label statement include “animal-free” or “vegan.” We propose that food allergen information on these products should be in readable type and on a readable background, not only in the ingredient listing but also along with any other declarations on the labels which may be confusing to the consumer related to the presence of the allergen. These could be when terms are used such as “animal-free” or “vegan.” We do not think that these terms (“animal-free” or “vegan”) should be used on labels of foods that were produced through genetic engineering based on the DNA of animals (whether based on actual DNA, cell lines, or virtual DNA), due to concern for consumer confusion. Additionally, when a product is based on animal DNA, there should be a statement on the label so people know that the product is based on animal DNA.

We recently commissioned a national You.Gov poll of adults in the United States. We asked, “There are types of meat and dairy alternatives that are made using NO animals (or animal products) but are based on animal cells or DNA extracted years ago from a live animal. In your opinion, should (they) Include a statement on the package that informs consumers that the product uses animal cell DNA or is animal gene-derived?” 72% said yes, 10% said no, and 18% didn’t know.

We also asked, “Which of the following, if any, do you expect from a food labeled as a veggie burger? Please select all that apply.” We found:

• 41% of respondents expected that the front of the burger package would identify the main ingredient (such as soy or beans) and say something like “black bean-based veggie burger.”
• 94% did not expect a product labeled as a veggie burger to contain meat from a cow
• 94% did not expect a product labeled as a veggie burger would have similar amounts of cholesterol and saturated fat as a similar animal-derived product

Our results suggest that some, but not all, consumers expect to have the main ingredient of plant-based alternatives included on the label.

VRG is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on vegetarianism and the interrelated issues of health, nutrition, environment, ethics, and world hunger. Our health professionals, activists, and educators work with businesses and individuals to bring about healthy changes in schools, workplaces, and the community. Registered dietitians and physicians aid in the development of nutrition-related publications and answer questions about the vegetarian and vegan diet. For the past 31 years, we have commissioned polls exploring vegetarian-related issues, results of which are often used by researchers, the food industry, and the media. Financial support comes primarily from memberships, contributions, and book sales.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed guidelines.

Sincerely,

Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, Nutrition Advisor, The Vegetarian Resource Group

Charles Stahler and Debra Wasserman, Co-Directors, The Vegetarian Resource Group

photo from Freepik

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

One of my neighbors, who knows I’m vegan, recommended a new local restaurant, saying, “It’s really good and they say it’s plant-based.” Being a bit skeptical, I checked the restaurant’s menu on-line. They had dishes featuring local, seasonal, organic produce – lots of plants – but every single dish had beef, pork, chicken, fish, or cheese as an integral part of the dish. Yes, their dishes could be said to be based on plants but there was nothing there that I would eat. There are many other restaurants in the area that are vegan, have a vegan menu, or clearly indicate vegan items so I didn’t feel the need to explore with this restaurant the possibility of their preparing a vegan dish if I ate there.

Then, I was poking around the new books shelf at the library and found a large, shiny new cookbook promising “plant-forward” recipes. Again, lots of vegetables but also many recipes that included meat and/or dairy products. Yes, this kind of cookbook could be helpful for someone trying to reduce meat and eat more vegetables, but it wasn’t the vegan cookbook I was looking for.

Coincidentally, the same week that I had both of these experiences, I was preparing a webinar on vegetarian nutrition for dietitians and dietetics students. I wanted them to be aware of the different meanings that “plant-based” and “plant-forward” can have and did a quick internet search. Here’s what I found:

“Plant-based or plant-forward eating patterns focus on foods primarily from plants. This includes not only fruits and vegetables, but also nuts, seeds, oils, whole grains, legumes, and beans. It doesn’t mean that you are vegetarian or vegan and never eat meat or dairy.” Harvard Health Blog

“A plant-based diet consists of exclusively plant foods, including fruit, vegetables, grains, and legumes, and avoids meat, dairy, and eggs.” PCRM

“Plant-based diets constitute a diverse range of dietary patterns that emphasize foods derived from plant sources coupled with lower consumption or exclusion of animal products. Vegetarian diets form a subset of plant-based diets, which may exclude the consumption of some or all forms of animal foods.” World Health Organization

Clearly, there is not consensus on what these terms mean.

My advice to practicing and aspiring dietitians? If someone says that they follow a plant-based or plant-forward diet, ask more questions so that you can be confident of which foods they eat and which foods they avoid.

My advice to those looking at restaurants, cookbooks, and food packages? If it says it is plant-based or plant-forward, ask more questions so that you can determine if a product or establishment meets your needs.

To read more about the phrase “plant-based” see:

What Does Plant-based Actually Mean?

What Does Plant-based Mean to the Public?

photo by Hannah Kaminsky

In the latest issue of Vegan Journal, Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, evaluates 31 boxed vegan mac and cheese products. Find out which items have the least amount of saturated fat plus products which supply at least 100 milligrams of calcium.

Read the entire review here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue1/2025_issue1_macd_out.php

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

photo from Edward & Sons Trading Co.

Edward & Sons is now offering delicious Rice and Black Sesame Exotic Rice Toast. Read our review of these crackers here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue1/2025_issue1_veggie_bits.php

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

photo from Watson & Wolfe

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

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/

Vegan Chic is an American company that sells belts for men and women. https://www.veganchic.com/vegan+belts/search.aspx

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/

Creamed Corn photo by Hannah Kaminsky

Canned creamed corn refers to the smashing or creaming of corn, rather than the addition of dairy products. Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD offers suggestions on how to prepare dishes with creamed corn.

Read her column here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue1/2025_issue1_cooking_tips.php

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