Jacqueline Dunnington’s article “Elegant Eggplant” that was featured in a previous issue of Vegetarian Journal offers recipes for Eggplant Caviar; Japanese Eggplant in Sherry-Soy Sauce; Curried Tomatoes and Eggplant; Eggplant Caponata; Eggplant, Bean, and Corn Ragout; and Moroccan Eggplant and Leek Soup. Enjoy all these international eggplant dishes!
– Does anyone have a suggestion of a cookbook for baby to toddler food? Baby is turning 1 and having less interest in milk but I’m tired of making steamed veggies and pasta. Also looking for ideas to ensure she is getting enough b 12.
– My 8 year old son just participated in a interview with a psychology research lab at Yale (via Zoom). They are studying emotional development and development of ethics in vegan and nonvegan kids. They are recruiting 8-10 year old vegan and nonvegan kids and they have a particular need for vegan kids.
– Videos produced and shared by vegan kids and parents on various topics.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids/ is intended to be a group that offers support for families raising children on vegan diets and for vegan kids. We envision it as a place to get advice about a wide-variety of topics: pregnancy, birthday parties, school lunches, Halloween, non-leather apparel, cruelty-free products, summer camps, and more. Please use it as a place to share your wisdom, seek advice, or just find a sympathetic ear. The goal is to offer support.
Consequently, any profane, defamatory, offensive, or violent language will be removed. Feel free to disagree, but do so respectfully. Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs will not be tolerated. We expect that posts should relate to vegan diets and lifestyles. The Vegetarian Resource Group reserves the right to monitor all content and ban any user who posts in violation of the above rules, any law or regulation, SPAM, or anything otherwise off topic.
Please share this information with any veggie families that you know! Thanks.
When I was 14-years old, I was the only vegan teenager I knew. While trying to find others online, I became frustrated to see people promoting and repeating advice and viewpoints that are counterproductive to the movement. For example, I saw one adult vegan tell teenagers in his Facebook group that they do not need to worry about obtaining adequate Vitamin B12.
Not only is health advice like that rampant online, but the attitudes and advocacy advice often is just as bad. Assuming non-vegans are awful people and treating them that way, to the point of even wishing them harm, is not going to help our movement grow. I wanted to see a website where I could connect with vegans my own age, while at the same time getting high-quality advice and support targeted to my perspective as a teenager. I couldn’t find one, so I decided to create it: www.veganteen.net
For years, I have collected stories on my website from vegan teenagers around the world, as well as written answers based on real questions from teenagers who have contacted me … I realized early on in creating my website that I was not qualified to answer all the questions other teenagers asked me, so I found some adults to act as advisors.
One challenge I’ve faced is that most people in Generation Z do not want to read much. I can spend countless hours preparing a balanced blog article…but someone in a YouTube video will get infinitely more attention making incendiary statements. So I have had to console myself with the fact that there’s now a website with high-quality advice for vegan and vegan-interested teenagers who want it.
A final challenge is how I have spent a lot of time since age 14 answering every single question I have received from vegan- and vegan-interested teens through email and social media. One of my peer advisors recommended starting a mentor program in hopes of staying in better contact with people who reach for help, so I made one. Two vegan teens besides myself have volunteered to serve as mentors (though unfortunately people who ask to join don’t always follow up)…Obtaining the #1 Google ranking for my website veganteen.net took years of work creating content and optimizing my website for search rankings.
Someone who reached out to me is Ameliarose Allen, a musician my age, who asked to represent VeganTeen at Hudson Valley VegFest and other events once or twice a year. She has represented Vegan Teen for a couple of years now and provides free stickers and such with our logo at her performances.
My biggest achievement so far is co-authoring Veganism and Perspective in Vegetarianism and Veganism: A Reference Handbook, which was published in June 2019. David E. Newton invited me to contribute as an author to this edition of his Contemporary World Issues series, published by ABC-CLIO of Santa Barbara…I asked another vegan teenager to co-author, because I know he’s an environmental science major.
In March 2019, I represented my age group as a non-profit educational table at Nashville’s VegFest…One of the members of my VeganTeen Facebook group came up for the day from Alabama. A lot of the teenagers at VegFest were not vegan, and I hope we encouraged them to move in that direction. Another local activity I have participated in is the Cube of Truth…I became encouraged to participate in these events when I attended Youth Empowered Activist Camp in the summer of 2018.
I now understand that, sometimes, if I don’t do it, no one else will…The best illustration of this realization’s effect on me is that I started my school’s first environmentalism club in Fall 2018…What I am proudest of is our Earth Day education event encouraging students to use an online personal environmental impact calculator. Many students participated, and one of the key entries in the calculator was meat consumption.
I have searched several scholarship lists and see this one listed a lot; it is one of the most generous on every list. I think this scholarship helps get my generation thinking about vegetarianism even more than they are already and associating it with something positive.
My perfect life in 5 years would be studying as a medical student at a prestigious medical school. I would like to become a type of physician who counsels people to avoid animal products daily. However, I am also extremely interested in the promise of computer simulations and organ-on-a-chip technology to create more reliable alternatives to animal testing in chemical and pharmaceutical development.
February 20, 2021 is the deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group college scholarship awards for graduating high school seniors. For information on other scholarship winners or scholarship applications, see:https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm
BRANDON
By Anna Sherwood, 2020 Vegetarian Scholarship winner
“Hi Brandon*! Care if I sit here? Every day at lunch, I’d seen Brandon sitting alone at a circular table on the cafeteria’s edge. “Uh, yeah, I guess,” he said. The obvious fact hit me: Because he’s blind, Brandon didn’t recognize me as one of the attendees of his Blind Experience club’s first meeting. I sat down, introduced myself and made small talk, but Brandon was reserved and unfamiliar with regular teenage lingo. I felt empathy towards Brandon and glad to have an excuse to sit with him; now, I wasn’t sure he wanted my company.
The Blind Experience club’s unofficial purpose is to help Brandon, the school’s only blind student, make friends, so I didn’t give up. After many awkward lunches together, Brandon eventually revealed his jocular, bold, and sarcastic personality. He also opened up about his difficult home life and obstacles at school. As Brandon came out of his shell, I began stepping out of my comfort zone and growing as a person. Overcoming self-consciousness, I helped Brandon navigate between classes. I pushed through social anxiety to encourage people to attend the club and sit with us at lunch. After being tearfully frustrated when most of my friends wouldn’t attend meetings or get to know Brandon, I branched out to the people who did, including those I wasn’t sure I’d have something in common with.
By the school’s end, Brandon and I had changed each other’s lives. He had become one of my best friends, and we both had made new friends through the Blind Experience. We were calling and texting one another frequently, often in a group with other club members, and I’d thrown him a well-attended birthday party. About a dozen members were coming regularly to the Blind Experience.
My success in improving Brandon’s situation and its positive effects on my own life inspired me to attend an activism camp the following summer. Since age 15, I’ve worked fairly anonymously with people to make the world a better place through my website for other vegan and vegan-interested teenagers. However, I’d been too socially fearful to advocate on behalf of people or causes in regular life. Because of Brandon and activism camp, these fears no longer hold me back.
I wish I could say Brandon and I lived happily ever after, but my family moved away that summer. The same month, our good friend, one of the club’s most loyal members and the kindest person I’ve ever known, passed away. The Blind Experience still meets, but our group chats have gone silent. And, in a school of 3,000 students, Brandon is sitting alone at lunch again. I now understand that, sometimes, if I don’t do it, no one else will.
* Name changed to protect privacy.
Don’t forget: February 20, 2021 is the deadline for our next college scholarship awards for graduating high school seniors. For information on other scholarship winners or scholarship applications, see:https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm
Many people are out of work today and suffering financial distress. Here’s some inexpensive vegan dishes by Holly Green published in a previous issue of Vegetarian Journal. You can prepare Vegetarian Chili; Spring Rolls; Chickpea Curry; Veggie Lasagna Rolls; and Mexican-Style Stuffed Peppers. See: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2012issue1/2012_issue1_ghetto_vegetarian.php
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has approved a special solicitation and has opened the Combine Federal Charity (CFC online) pledge portal and mobile giving app from April 20 through June 30 to accept supplemental, one-time or recurring donations to the CFC-participating charities of your choice via credit card, debit card, or bank transfer. This is an opportunity to help even more if you are able. If you did not make a payroll pledge during the 2019 campaign, you have the additional opportunity to pledge via payroll allotment. See: https://cfcgiving.opm.gov/
If you’re looking for online sources that sell vegan shoes for babies and kids, you may want to take a look at these shops:
Baby Nanya: baby and toddler shoes. The shoes’ exterior is made of microfiber, while the inner part is made of cotton. They also have rubber sole grips. https://babynanya.com/
Clamfeet: Offers adorable baby shoes and matching shoes for mothers. They have an eco canvas exterior, organic cotton lining, and rubberized grip sole. They are washable. https://clamfeet.com/
Vegetarian Journal has frequently featured vegan recipes from countries in Asia. Whether it be Chinese, Thai, Filipino, Japanese, Vietnamese, or other nations, you’ll find a wide variety of recipes here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/CookingAndRecipes.htm#cr-ethnic-asian
Winding down during a cool spring evening, there’s nothing more comforting than a cup of herbal tea and a luscious shortbread cookie. The richness of this cookie is balanced by tart lemon and savory rosemary, but feel free to try different citrus or herbs. Lemon-black pepper would be outstanding. Lemon can pair in this cookie with lavender or basil, as well. Try grapefruit zest and fresh mint. How about orange with candied ginger? See what you have on hand and use the recipes as a template for your own delicious shortbread. Some people like to dip the cookies, but I prefer them as a side to my evening tea before bed. What a sweet way to end your day!
1 cup vegan margarine, room temperature but not melted (or use vegetable shortening)
1/8 cup unflavored oat milk (or soy or cashew milk), unsweetened
Zest 1 large lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine (optional)
3 Tablespoons flax seed meal mixed in 4 Tablespoons warm water
Sift together all dry ingredients and set aside. In a second larger bowl, cream together organic sugar, extracts, vegan margarine, and vegan milk until smooth. Stir in lemon zest, rosemary and pre-mixed flaxseed meal in water. Add the flour in thirds, mixing each time with an electric mixer or wooden spoon. Do not overwork or the cookies will be tough.
The dough may look a little chunky or crumbly, but when pressed together, it should hold. If it’s still too dry (you can see unmixed flour or won’t hold a ball shape), add a little more vegan milk by the Tablespoon until the dough holds as a ball. Do not overwet!
If you want to make cookie-cutter shapes, form the dough into a large ball, wrap in parchment or plastic wrap, and chill for two -four hours. If you want to make sliced cookies, form the dough into long cylinder shapes, and wrap in parchment or plastic wrap; chill for two to four hours. Do not overchill or freeze, it will dry the dough out!
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets; set aside.
To make sliced cookies, flour a work surface lightly (such as a large cutting board) and select a sharp, straight-edge knife (not serrated). Unwrap cylinder of dough and slice cookies into evenly thick rounds. If dough cracks, press back together. Continue until all dough is used. Quantity will vary based on diameter and thickness of your rounds, but the batch should make at least 3 dozen. Place on prepared baking sheets with at least 1/2-inch between cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, checking every 10 minutes, until the edges are light gold and the cookies are baked all the way through. Baking time will vary based on cookie size. Allow to cool on cookie sheet 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
To make cookie-cutter shapes, flour a work surface (like an open countertop) and a rolling pin. If you don’t have a rolling pin, a smooth-sided jar or bottle will work, or just press flat with your hands. Unwrap dough ball and press flat using floured hands, If dough cracks at edges, press back together; you may have to do this several times. Roll to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into desired shapes. If your cookie shapes are large or have many designs, you may want to use a spatula to transfer them onto the baking sheet. Continue until all dough is used. Quantity will vary based on cookie cutter shapes and thickness of the dough. Place on prepared baking sheets with at least 1/2-inch between cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, checking every 10 minutes, until the edges are light gold and the cookies are baked all the way through. Baking time will vary based on cookie size, bigger cookies might need more than 30 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Store cookies in a closed container at room temperature for a week or longer in the fridge.
The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on veganism and the interrelated issues of health, nutrition, ecology, ethics, and world hunger. We have been helping health professionals, food services, businesses, educators, students, vegans, and vegetarians since 1982. In addition to publishing the Vegan Journal, VRG produces and sells a number of books.
Sign up for our newsletter to receive recipes, ingredient information, reviews of new products, announcements of new books, free samples of products, and other VRG materials.
