photo from Freepik

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Baby-led weaning is a feeding approach in which babies feed themselves instead of having parents or caregivers spoon feed. Picture a baby sitting in a high chair feeding themselves graspable pieces of the same or similar food as their family is eating. Just as with other feeding approaches, baby-led weaning starts at around age 6 months, the age when babies typically are ready to develop the skills needed to start eating solid foods.

Interested? First talk to your baby’s pediatrician. Every baby is different and not all babies are ready to self-feed. Some babies may benefit from a combination of self-feeding and being fed by a parent or caregiver. If the baby’s pediatrician approves and you want to try baby-led weaning, here’s what it involves:

• Offering the baby small amounts of foods the family is eating at that meal. Foods are in pieces that are a size the baby can grasp but not so big that they are a choking hazard.
• Making sure that the foods that are offered are soft enough that the baby will be able to gum them or chew them. They should be soft enough that you can smush them with your fingers. Foods should not be hot—hot foods could burn the baby’s mouth or fingers.
• Having the baby eat with the family so that the baby sees others eating.
• Serving a variety of healthy foods. There’s no need to add salt or sugar or other sweeteners.
• Letting the baby self-feed at their own pace. Many foods are eaten with fingers; a baby-safe spoon is offered for soft foods.
• Not requiring the baby to finish all of their food.
• Recognizing that it’s fine to use a combo approach, letting the baby self-feed and also doing some spoon feeding.
• Continuing to give the baby breast milk or commercial infant formula; babies get much of their nutrition from breast milk or formula throughout their first year .

Proponents of baby-led weaning point out that this approach gives a baby greater control over when to stop eating which may help to reduce the risk of obesity later in life. Other benefits include exposing the baby to a wide variety of foods, including more whole foods, and promoting skill development such as grasping foods and handling a spoon.

Some commonly expressed concerns with this feeding method are the risk of choking and the possibility of a nutritionally inadequate diet. Foods a self-feeding infant may prefer are fruits and vegetables which can result in too few calories and not enough iron and other essential nutrients.

Avoiding potential choking hazards and following safe feedings techniques can reduce the risk of choking. Choking risks such as chunks of raw hard fruits and vegetables, whole nuts, dried fruits, salad greens, and round foods (such as grapes and cherry tomatoes) should be avoided or modified. Foods the family is eating can be modified so that their size and texture are appropriate for the baby’s developmental stage. Meal times should be carefully supervised, the infant should be sitting upright in a high chair, and distractions (music, television, etc.) should be minimized. Caregivers should be aware of what to do if choking occurs. The American Academy of Pediatrics has more detailed advice about avoiding choking hazards and has a link to a site about what to do if a baby is choking.

Each meal should include a higher calorie food such as avocado, bananas, tofu, potatoes, or sweet potatoes. Higher iron foods including iron-fortified infant cereals used in baked goods or spread on toast pieces, cooked beans, tofu, and hummus should be offered at each meal. These foods are often also sources of zinc.

Some ideas for vegan-friendly foods for babies:

• Fruits such as sliced bananas, smushed blueberries, steamed and peeled apple slices or thick unsweetened applesauce, very ripe peeled pears, sliced avocados.
• Vegetables such as steamed sweet potato or winter squash strips, steamed beet strips, steamed zucchini strips, steamed green beans, steamed carrot strips, steamed broccoli.
• Well-cooked dried or canned beans, smooshed into a thick mass.
• Bean patties, cut into strips or other graspable shapes.
• Lightly steamed or baked tofu strips.
• Whole grain toast strips.
• Whole wheat pasta shapes, cooked until quite tender.
• Baby cereal made thick enough to cut into strips when it cools.
• Oatmeal or polenta cooked, cooled, and cut into strips.

To read more about vegan babies see:

Feeding Vegan Kids

Vegan Nutrition in Pregnancy and Childhood

The contents of this website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal and 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.

Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD, offers numerous suggestions on how to prepare quick and easy dishes in a pressure cooker in her latest Vegan Cooking Tips column in Vegan Journal. Read the article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue3/2025_issue3_cooking_tips.php

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

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

In 2014, The VRG published an article on vegan menu items at the restaurant chain Mellow Mushroom. At that time, they offered a pita bread with hummus. We were informed that the pita bread contained L-cysteine, a dough conditioner typically derived from human hair or duck feathers although a microbially-derived form is commercially available but more costly.

We wanted to know whether Mellow Mushroom still served this pita bread. In March 2025, Katie Anderson, the Supply Chain Manager at Mellow Mushroom, told us by phone that they no longer have pita bread on their menu. Further, according to Anderson, L-cysteine is not an ingredient in their pizza doughs.

When we asked whether L-cysteine is in any menu component, such as the buns and rolls, she wrote in a followup email:

“We are not required to disclose [this] information [on our website] …” However, Anderson stated that she will request “a full analysis” from their third-party nutrition company and share the results with The VRG at a later time.

Vegan Menu at Mellow Mushroom

During a follow-up phone call with Anderson in September 2025, The VRG learned details—stated in parentheses below—about this chain’s vegan menu options listed on a dedicated page on Mellow’s website. These items are noted by a vegan icon on the website menu only. Anderson added by email that “…[in-store] printed menus have a lacto-ovo vegetarian icon next to those select items.”

• Vegan Avocado Hoagie (sugar present)
• Vegan Cheese Pizza (mozzarella available)
• Enlightened Spinach Salad (ordered without the dressing and sugar-glazed pecans; select the balsamic vinaigrette or olive oil and vinegar)
• Vegan Greek Salad (ordered without the dressing; select the balsamic vinaigrette or olive oil and vinegar)
• Vegan Tempeh Hoagie (sugar present)
• Vegan Veg Out Pizza (mozzarella available)
• Vegan Build Your Own Pizza (mozzarella available)

Vegan guests at Mellow Mushroom should remind staff upon ordering a vegan pizza that garlic butter and Parmesan cheese NOT be brushed on the dough although the standard kitchen protocol is to leave them off vegan pizzas.

The VRG asked Anderson if guests could request vegan mozzarella in place of dairy mozzarella on all dishes when dining at Mellow Mushroom. She cautioned in her email response:

“Regarding swapping our regular mozzarella with the vegan mozzarella, this shouldn’t be an issue to request depending on the location/operator. HOWEVER, it is important to note that simply substituting the mozzarella doesn’t automatically make it a ‘vegan option.’ Only the items identified as vegan by our third party nutrition company (as I shared with you over the phone) are vegan.”

The menu options in the bulleted list above are vegan.

Readers should note that Anderson was unable to verify at this time whether the sugar present in the menu items listed above—including the pizza sauce, pizza dough, and hoagie rolls – had been processed through cow bone char, a method used to whiten some non-USDA certified organic cane sugar. (Incidentally, beet sugar is never processed through bone char.) However, Anderson informed The VRG that she “…will work on reviewing and obtaining the answers from our supplier, ingredient deck. or from our third-party nutrition company” and relay this information to us.

The vegan page on the Mellow website also lists pretzels. We don’t include them here because “…pretzels are being phased out and we will only have the pretzel bites as a menu option…the pretzels/pretzel bites are made with the same dough used to make pizzas.”

Nutrition Portal on Mellow Mushroom Website

The Mellow Mushroom website contains a nutrition page with three functions:

• Nutrition calculator
• Interactive nutrition menu
• Allergen menu

Unfortunately, although interested guests could determine some information about the menu offerings, none of these pages provides complete ingredient information about them.

However, we also discovered some things by using the nutrition calculator that was not evident on the menu page itself. For instance, a patron could order tempeh on a pizza.

Oddly, according to the calculator, it is also possible to add “vegan feta cheese” to a pizza, but NOT to a Greek or spinach salad.

So, we asked Anderson if a guest wanted vegan feta and/or mozzarella cheese on either salad, could they order it? She replied:

“…The vegan feta crumbles were part of a limited time offer and should have been removed from the website. Thank you for catching this. I do not see an issue with adding the vegan mozzarella to a salad upon request, but it is up to the location.”

Anderson informed us that when the feta crumbles were offered, they were the Follow Your Heart brand.

Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheese at Mellow Mushroom

Anderson told The VRG in September 2025 that they had been using vegan mozzarella and feta cheeses from Follow Your Heart (FYH) for the past eight years. According to the FYH website, the ingredients for their dairy-free mozzarella are:

“Filtered Water, Organic Coconut Oil, Potato and Corn Starch, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Sea Salt, Less than 2% of: Natural Flavors, Potato Protein, Calcium Phosphate, Organic Vegan Cane Sugar, Organic Vegetable Glycerin, Cellulose, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, Beta Carotene for Color.”

Readers may notice that USDA Organic cane sugar—which is never filtered via cow bone char—is used in the FYH cheese.

Anderson also informed The VRG by email in August 2025 that they “finalized our new grated Parmesan cheese, and I’m happy to pass along it is animal-rennet free.” In a follow-up email, she specified that the Parmesan cheese is cow’s milk-based.

Thank you to Mellow Mushroom for all their assistance to consumers.

The contents of this posting, 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.

For information on other chains, see https://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php

For information on veg restaurants, see https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

photo from Caked Coffee

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:

Caked Coffee, 1651 Bloor St. W., Toronto, ON M6P 1A6 Canada

Family owned Caked Coffee notes on their website that they offer many gluten-free items and vegan desserts hand-crafted daily and that their products exclude refined sugars, sweeteners, and artificial colors or flavors. A couple of their hot dishes are Vegan Butter Chick-un Wrap and Quesadillas featuring marinated “chick-un” bites with tangy sauce. Besides brownies and cookies, they offer a myriad of baked goods including Banana Bread, Cinnamon Buns (with or without frosting), Cinnamon Rolls with cookie butter, Cupcakes with Ganache filling, Strawberry Shortcake, Blueberry Lemon, as well as Chai and Vanilla Biscoff. If you like to have your cake and other goodies too, Cake Jars might be your answer with layered desserts in flavors such as Coconut Cream, Mango Mousse, Lemon Merengue, Cookies N Cream, Caramel Latte, Chocolate Hazelnut, Chocolate Biscoff, Tuxedo, Black Forest, and Strawberry Cream. You may also order their decorated Cakes in similar flavors.

Eden’s Vegan Eatery, 34D La Grande Princess, Rt. 75, Christiansted, St Croix, VI 00820

Eden’s Vegan Eatery specializes in plant-based Caribbean cuisine. Soups such as red pea, kallaloo, and coconut vegetable are made fresh daily. Daily lunch options include curried tofu, chickpea loaf, BBQ tofu, onion steak, and BBQ nuggets. Lasagna-of-the-day options include crumbles, lentil, tofu-spinach, vegetable medley, and mushroom lasagna.

Greens and Grains, Ellisburg Shopping Center, 22 NJ-70, Cherry Hill Township, NJ 08034

Founded by the loving duo, Nicole and Lambros, that believe in the importance of a plant-based lifestyle, Greens and Grains banishes the misconception that no meat means no flavor. Their menu features a variety of vegan style favorites like breakfast tacos, panini, meatless meatballs, falafel, stuffed grape leaves, sesame crunch salad, nutritious smoothies, and so much more!

Just Falafel, 2111 W. Loop S., Ste. 100, Houston, TX 77027

Just Falafel declares, “… we’re all about respect – respect for animals, the environment, and our planet.” For Starters there’s Beet Avocado Toast featuring beetroot hummus, pickled red onions, and everything bagel seasoning on gluten-free bread; a Pita chip version of Loaded Falafel Nachos with hummus, tzatziki, falafel, Kalamata olives, cucumber, feta cheese, smoked paprika, and more—just to name a few choices. Mains like Beetroot Falafel Burger patty with sweet potato fries sports avocado, tomatoes, pickled onions, tzatziki, and hummus on a sesame bun. Tofu “Egg Salad” Sandwich is crafted with mayo, mustard, celery, black salt, radishes, green onion, and turmeric on sourdough bread. There’s also a Taco version of this. Original Falafel Wrap pita offers hummus, pickles, radishes, tahini sauce, mint, and parsley. Besides various Tacos, Gyros, and Wraps some with jackfruit, gyro protein, and or feta or cheddar cheese, they offer Pasta dishes such as Mediterranean Harvest with Farfalle, red and green peppers, black olives, Feta, tomato, and baguette slices, or Crispy Baked Mac ‘N Cheese featuring white miso cheese sauce and breadcrumb topping. So many Sides Oh my! Soups include Lentil or Green Goddess with broccoli, kale spinach cilantro, parsley, onion, garlic, and cashew cream. There’s also Turmeric Rice, Tabbouleh, Za’atar with pita bread, and many more. Fries Lovers will appreciate Friendz Fries, a huge assortment that includes, Truffle Fries with truffle oil, truffle mayo, and parmesan cheese; Masala Fries with Indian spices; and others. Room for Dessert? They have Chocolate or Pistachio Baklava, both crafted with phyllo dough, maple syrup, organic cane sugar, rose water, and spices, or Beetroot and Carrot Halwa, drizzled with orange coconut cashew cream and pistachios. Raw, gluten-free and sugar free? Enter No Bake Chocolate Brownies with chocolate ganache. Just Falafel invites you to see “…just how delicious compassion can be.”

L’Artisane, 2526 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33134

L’Artisane is a French vegan bakery. Menu items may vary and many of their dishes offer gluten-free versions. Besides all sorts of coffee drinks and hot chocolate, their Famous Brunch beckons with Tiramisu Waffles–a hint of coffee, chocolate chips, whipped cream, and berries; French Toast with oat milk vanilla ice cream, Bourbon maple syrup, berry compote, and pecan crumble; as well as several pancake options like Guava and  Cream Cheese, Mango and Coconut , with mango and passionfruit compote, chocolate streusel, and hazelnut whipped cream, and Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes with macerated strawberries, crumble, pistachios, and vanilla whipped cream. As you might hope, copious Croissant choices await. Here are just a few: Egg-less Croissant is tofu scramble, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, and vegan mozzarella. Sautéed Wild Mushrooms Croissant features black truffles, cream, parmesan cheese, and mushrooms crumble; and Croque Monsieur Croissant has ham, cheddar, Mornay sauce; and roasted tomatoes. Just Egg is the basis for Quiche, Omelets and scrambled Soy Chorizo Eggs with melted cheddar tomato, chickpeas, sweet potatoes hash, and cilantro. Another possibility is Walnut Pesto Campanelle Pasta with green beans, cherry tomatoes, walnuts, and vegan parm cheese. For lunch, Appetizers include Lentils Soup with Impossible sausage; French Onion Soup with sourdough toast and Swiss cheese; and Baltimore Style Crab cake with remoulade. Some main dishes are Beefless Bourguignon stewed with red wine, mushrooms, and carrots; Potato-Chickpeas Curry with cilantro, brown Basmati rice, and Papadam; or Ravioli Almond Ricotta and Artichokes made fresh, in house with sage brown butter–choose Pomodoro or pesto sauce. Sweet Bakery Croissants include Pain au Chocolate, Almond Croissant, Nocciolata (hazelnut), Strawberry-Basil Cheesecake, and more. Deciding between a Muffin and Croissant? Coconut-Rum Dulce de leche Cruffin to the rescue! Nuts for Donuts?  There’s Boston Cream filled with Almond Pastry Cream, topped with chocolate streusel, chocolate glazed Rocher filled with Hazelnut pastry cream and caramelized hazelnuts. There’s even a shout out to a beloved vegan cartoon character–The Lisa Simpson with Strawberry glaze and sprinkles. They also have Banana, Marble, Lemon, or Carrot Bread, Madeleines, or Strawberry Rose, Mango-Passionfruit Macarons, plus more.

Plantaqueria, 124 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78205

With “handmade tortillas and scratch made salsas,” the mission at Plantaqueria is to “…change attitudes toward a healthier, cholesterol-free diet—one taco at a time.” Many gluten-free and soy-free options are available. Good Morning Breakfast Tacos! The large menu includes the very popular La Lucha, with soy chorizo, seasoned potatoes, and vegan scrambled egg topped with melted vegan cheese; the also popular La Barbara with jackfruit Barbacoa, onion, and cilantro; La Ranchera with potatoes, Pico de Gallo, salsa ranchera, and grilled nopales (cactus); or Potato, Egg, and Cheese with vegan scrambled egg, seasoned potatoes and melted cheese topping—to name a few choices. All come with a handmade flour or GF corn tortilla. For Lunch their “top seller” is Mini Tacos filled with your choice of plant-based protein. Another option is Birria Quesatacos with two pan fried corn tortillas filled with jackfruit birria, cheese, and shredded cabbage with a side of consommé for dipping. Both dishes are topped with onion and cilantro and come with house-made salsa and lime on the side. Some Sides are Guacamole; Elote en Vaso—seasoned, roasted corn in a cup topped with vegan mayo, chili powder, cilantro, and lime; Mexican Rice cooked in tomato broth; and Refried Pinto Beans or house-made, whole pinto Charro Beans with grilled Pico in a savory broth. Thirsty? They offer scratch-made Aguas Frescas, Horchata, Cold brew and locally roasted Coffee as well as Jarrito Mexican Sodas and Tepache by Puro Tepache!—a probiotic pineapple drink . They also list a few locally made, Cold pressed organic Juices. To end on a Sweet note, they offer house-made cinnamon-sugared flour Buñuelo Chips and more.

The Vegan Sushi Spot, 1701 California St., Houston, TX 77006

The Vegan Sushi Spot invites you to “Experience the rainbow” with fish-free Sushi focused on sustainability. Here’s a sampling of their numerous Specialty Rolls Sushi offerings beginning with their two most popular. Papi Shrooms has spicy king oyster mushroom, broccolini, micro-greens, avocado, cucumber, lettuce, spicy mayo, sweet sauce, basil, and crunchy garlic. Green Goddess offers garlic butter spinach, asparagus, crunchy potato strings, and avocado topped by cucumber and yuzu shiso chimichurri. To name a few more of the many available, other Sushi dishes include  Mami, Hot Tamale with cucumber, asparagus, sweet potato, avocado, spicy tunah (carrots), Thai chili pearls (vegan roe), spicy mayo drizzle, sweet wasabi sauce, and spicy truffle sauce; Nikco featuring (konjac root shrimp), cream cheese, avocado, jalapeños, and asparagus topped with crispy fried onions, and sweet sauce drizzle; Root  showcasing ahi tunah (watermelon), mango, cucumber, and avocado, topped with micro-greens and yuzu lemon pearls (vegan roe), spicy truffle sauce, spicy mayo, and sweet wasabi sauce; and Truffle Edamame with truffle edamame paste, avocado, fried potato strings, and asparagus topped with sweet sauce, chopped shiso leaf, and crunchy garlic. Another popular dish is Inari – sweet Tofu Pockets filled with vegan spicy tunah and rice, topped with green onions and potato strings, spicy mayo, and sweet sauce.

In the latest Vegan Action column in Vegan Journal, Alex Birman describes Sergey Beymuratov’s promotion of veganism from Vietnam. Sergey is a Russian expat and uses several creative methods to promote the vegan lifestyle. Read the column here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue3/2025_issue3_vegan_action.php

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

You are invited to Food As Medicine – Santa Cruz—a dynamic one-day conference at the beautiful 1440 Multiversity in Scotts Valley, with a virtual attendance option as well. This event brings together healthcare professionals, researchers, and nutrition leaders to explore the transformative role of plant-based nutrition in preventing and treating disease.

Date: Friday, October 17, 2025
In-Person Location: 1440 Multiversity, 800 Bethany Dr, Scotts Valley, CA 95066
Virtual Attendance: via Zoom
More Info & Registration: foodasmedicinesantacruz.org

Following the success of our 2024 event, this year’s conference will once again feature leading voices in the field, including Milton Mills, MD, Doug Lisle, PhD, Vesanto Melina, MS, RD, Debra Shapiro, MD, Maria Jose Hummel, PhD, and more. Attendees will gain valuable insights into the latest research on plant-based nutrition, chronic disease prevention, and practical applications for patient care.

This conference is designed for healthcare professionals, but those passionate about nutrition and wellness are welcome to attend. Earn up to 7 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (for MDs, DOs, RNs, PAs) or 7 CPEU hours (for RDs, DTRs).

The day includes:
-Engaging presentations from top healthcare professionals
-A delicious plant-based breakfast and lunch
-A culinary medicine demonstration
-A resource fair and networking opportunities

Secure your spot today at foodasmedicinesantacruz.org.

Plant Milks photo from Freepik

In the latest issue of Vegan Journal, Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, reports on the nutritional content of various vegan milk alternatives. Extensive research was done to compile this information. Read the article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue3/2025_issue3_plant_milks.php

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

Who doesn’t love cookies? Bake Me Healthy offers ready-to-eat dark chocolate chip cookies made with upcycled sunflower protein flour. Read the product review here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue3/2025_issue3_veggie_bits.php

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

In-person conference in Philadelphia, PA!
Sunday, 10/5/2025
8 hours
3 WFPB meals included
Virtual option

Virtual conference day: Sunday, 10/5

For details, go to https://www.preventionofdisease.org/2025-single-day-agendas

Thank you to Elsa Spencer, PhD, who did a VRG booth at Charlottesville Veg Fest. She said

It was a hot one (90 degrees for some of the time) but had a lot of good conversations. I had several people who were wanting to become pregnant soon, and one who had one on the way. They asked about baby food and pregnancy books. I referred them to the books that I used too. Saw lots of members and vegan families and actually a couple of teens recently veg*an. Gave out a ton of literature!

To support VRG outreach, please join or give gift subscriptions at: https://www.vrg.org/member/cabdacae.php