Lekka Burger opened in New York City not too long ago and appears to be a popular destination. We recently stopped in for dessert and greatly enjoyed their vegan soft serve ice cream, which is oat-based. They generally offer two different flavors each day and we sampled both the vanilla option and their raspberry/chocolate special flavor. Both were delicious.

Lekka sells vegan shakes, beer, wine, and cocktails along with a variety of their house made burgers made with five vegetables, grains, and spices. Also enjoy sides such as fries, chopped salad, cauliflower Waldorf salad, and broccolini salad.

This modern restaurant is kid-friendly, as well as perfect for a casual date or get-together.

For more information see: https://www.lekkaburger.com/

The documentary film “The Game Changers” has introduced the public to athletes that follow a vegan diet. Now that more individuals have become interested in going vegan, it’s important to share helpful tips for athletes. Below are several articles from The Vegetarian Resource Group that share snack ideas for athletes, as well as information on what you should look for in a perfect vegan energy bar.

• In Search of the Perfect Vegan Energy Bar
• Vegan Snacks for Athletes
• Vegan Snacks for Gymnasts
• Vegan Snacks for a Runner

Guitar Straps are often not vegan. The good news is that there are companies that sell vegan guitar straps. See:

CannaRiff: https://cannariffstrap.com/ (straps made from hemp)

Couch: https://www.couchguitarstraps.com/ (straps made from at last 25% recycled materials)

Dole has produced a Healthy Eating Toolkit to promote healthy eating at school and home. Though not vegetarian, there can be some helpful ideas. See:
https://www.actionforhealthykids.org/nutrition-toolkit/

Here’s a recipe for breakfast taco with quinoa and kale: https://www.actionforhealthykids.org/protein-packed-breakfast-tacos/

For other school ideas, see:
https://www.vrg.org/fsupdate/index.htm
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids/ (VRG Parents Group)

If you know anyone visually impaired or blind, check out agencies that serve the blind for vegetarian related books. For example, the Maryland State Library for the Blind lists 26 books when you search the word vegan. See: https://mdlbph.klas.com/

Times have changed. In their weekly ad, Target is featuring “Pick you protein.” It looked like they had a picture of a burger, but the feature until February 29, 2020, was 20% off “All meat alternatives” with a picture of Beyond Meat’s The Beyond Burger and Beyond Beef.

You can now read the latest issue of Vegetarian Journal on Kindle. Some of the articles in this issue include On a Roll (recipes for both sweet and savory rolls with various fillings), Caliente! Mexican Soups & Stews, Scientific Update (a review of recent scientific papers related to veggie diets/lifestyle), Veggie Bits (review of new vegan products), Stay the Course: Running the Vegan Power 50K, The Magic Vegan Kingdom (vegan dining at Disney World in Florida), and Vegan Action (featuring Brenda Sanders, a community food justice activist).

You can subscribe to the Kindle version of Vegetarian Journal in the USA and United Kingdom. In the USA, visit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LBY2Y7K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1544727482&sr=8-1&keywords=B07LBY2Y7K In the United Kingdom, visit: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07LBY2Y7K/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544731957&sr=8-1&keywords=B07LBY2Y7K

Veggie Grill is a vegan restaurant chain with over 30 locations in CA, IL, MA, NY, OR, WA. They have plans to open even more restaurants. We had the opportunity to dine at their new New York City location and were impressed with the service. While we were there, customers varied in age from about 20 to 75 and came from various backgrounds.

Their menu features salads, bowls, burgers, sandwiches, tacos, and sides. We ordered the Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ sandwich, which comes with a choice of crispy fries, roasted broccoli (our selection), or a cup of soup. We noticed that several customers ordered beautifully presented bowls that in some cases were being shared by two people.

The day we were there, the manager walked around the restaurant greeting customers and other staff were also very attentive. This restaurant chain would be a terrific place to bring a non-veggie friend or perhaps a family member thinking of going vegan.

Veggie Grill does catering: https://www.veggiegrill.com/catering.html

They also offer fundraising opportunities for schools and other non-profit organizations. They donate a whole 33% of event sales to eligible organizations: https://www.veggiegrill.com/fundraisers.html

For more information on Veggie Grill, see: https://www.veggiegrill.com/

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

More than 30 million children in the United States participate in the National School Lunch Program yearly (1 https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/NSLPFactSheet.pdf) and more than 14 million children participate in the School Breakfast Program (2). These programs are federally funded, operate in public and nonprofit private schools, and have a stated goal of providing nutritionally balanced, low-cost or no-cost breakfasts and lunches to children each school day (1,2). Meal patterns for these programs are established by the USDA.

Children get more than half of their daily calories from school meals so it’s important that these meals provide nutritious food, the kind of food kids need to grow and be healthy. That means whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruit.

Changes to school meal requirements that were implemented in school year 2012-2013 resulted in significant improvements in the nutritional quality of school meals (3). Specifically, more whole grains, greens, and beans were served to children at lunch and more whole grains and fruit were served at breakfast (3).

A recent proposed rule change (4) would eliminate many of the changes that were made in 2012-2013. The proposed changes would reduce the amount of vegetables and fruit required to be served at breakfast and lunch. Fewer red and orange vegetables (sources of vitamin A) would be required to be served at lunch. The proposed change would allow pasta made with vegetable flour to be counted as a serving of vegetables. I’m sorry, but in my mind, there is a difference between pasta and a salad. Children need to become familiar with vegetables that are presented as vegetables.

If breakfast is served outside of the cafeteria, which many school districts do, the amount of fruit included would be cut from one cup to a half cup. Since the number of calories that must be served at breakfast is unchanged, a half cup of fruit could be replaced with cheaper food like sweet pastries. The proposed changes would allow schools to offer potatoes as a vegetable every day. Potatoes could take the place of fruit at breakfast. Potatoes are a fine food, but they don’t supply the generous amounts of vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, and iron that other vegetables or that fruits do.

A rationale given for the changes is that children don’t like the changes that were made in 2012-2013 and that they’ve resulted in more waste. A study conducted by USDA, refutes this argument and shows that after the 2012-2013 changes, there was either less plate waste or about the same plate waste as before (3).

Some readers may think this is not their issue. Since most school meals have limited options for vegans and vegetarians, their children may bring their own breakfasts and lunches. We still have a long way to go before school meals are vegan. Realistically, however, for many children, these meals are an opportunity to have access to healthy food. These proposed changes cut required healthy plant foods from school meals and are harmful to children’s nutrition.

Comments on the proposed changes can be submitted at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/01/23/2020-00926/simplifying-meal-service-and-monitoring-requirements-in-the-national-school-lunch-and-school#open-comment and must be submitted by March 23, 2020.

References

1.       USDA. The National School Lunch Program. 2017. https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/NSLPFactSheet.pdf

2.       USDA. The School Breakfast Program. 2017.  https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/SBPfactsheet.pdf

3.       USDA. School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study. 2019. https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/SNMCS_Summary-Findings.pdf

4.       USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Simplifying Meal Service and Monitoring Requirements in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Federal Register. 85 FR 4094. January 23, 2020. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/01/23/2020-00926/simplifying-meal-service-and-monitoring-requirements-in-the-national-school-lunch-and-school

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: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

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:

Birch Café

5557 Wilson Mills Rd., Highland Heights, OH 44143

Located on the east side of Cleveland, this café has stunned both plant-based and non-plant-based eaters with their comfortable environment, kind staff, and their delectable food. Their menu consists of avocado toast variations, sandwiches, and delightful desserts like donuts and cheesecake and it all comes at a low price. Head on over for one of their special events or just to get some work done in their cozy seating with a strong coffee and free Wi-Fi.

Grindcore X Crust

4134 Chester Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19104

Enjoy pastries, cakes, and other vegan baked goods.

Houston Sauce Pit

Houston, TX

Houston Sauce Pit is changing up the BBQ game in Texas by making the state’s favorite food from 100% plant-based ingredients. This food truck is brought to you by Houston Sauce Co., so you know that the food is going to be so flavorful and delicious. Their menu includes typical BBQ options like “wings,” smoked links, loaded brisket mac, and baked beans. The food truck moves around, and their food is so popular that it’s known to sell out within a few hours, so stay tuned to their Instagram page for updates.

Ichiza Kitchen

1628 SW Jefferson St.,  Portland, OR 97201

Ichiza is a tiny Pan-Asian vegan restaurant and tea house inspired by Japan’s vegetarian Buddhist communities. Ichiza means one sitting or the principle of stopping to contemplate one’s path. At Ichiza, it is their goal to serve your entire order in one sitting, allowing you to fully experience the pairing of their food and fine teas. Knowledgeable wait staff guide patrons through the lengthy menu of teas, like Taiwanese “Blue People” or the 2017 Harvest Dan Cong “Duck Shit” tea. They also serve local and exotic sakes like Junmai, Honjozo and Daiginjo and their delicious sounding food items are just as exotic, unique and usual.

Korny Vibes

403 Westheimer Rd., Houston, TX 77006

Korny VIbes serves up all the vegan comfort food dishes that were featured in the food truck, but now in a brick and mortar location. Hungry and adventurous diners can treat themselves to large portions of Fried Chickn Steak, Enchiladas, or Loaded Nachos. Check out their sweets and dessert options they have in stock, or any specials. Limited outdoor seating available. Note that at the time of writing, the restaurant is BYOB, but call ahead for more information.

Plant Junkie

Urbanspace Food Hall, 152 West 52nd St., New York, NY 10019

Breakfast items include a tofu breakfast sandwich and a breakfast bowl or wrap. Also enjoy dishes such as a pulled Jackfruit sandwich, avocado toast, Greek salad, various bowls, mac & cheese, Bangkok curry, and more. They also offer some baked goods.

Sam and Gertie’s

1309 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago, IL 60640

Opened in honor of, and named after, two grandparents, Sam and Gertie’s. They offer a wide variety of bagels, sandwiches, latkes, potato knishes, soups, salads, and sweets. Vegan brisket and smoked salmon are just a couple of the veganized products that can be found at this deli as well. One can also stop by to try some vegan Jell-o!