Are you looking for a new vegan adventure? You may want to travel to La Vimea, an eco-vegan hotel located in the charming town of Naturns in South Tyrol, Italy.

According to the hotel, “everything we provide our guests with has been meticulously thought over; from the materials used on the renovation of our hotel, to the fabrics used on the beds, to the food which is sourced from local organic producers and transformed into culinary delights by our experienced plant-based chefs. We also have a health and wellness centre which boasts of an indoor salt water swimming pool, outdoor natural bathing pond, a spa area which offers a Finnish sauna, an outdoor forest sauna, a bio-sauna, a multi-sensory shower and a hot stone lounge. We also offer Ayurvedic and energetic therapies such as massage and have dedicated yoga instructors and facilities for daily yoga.”

The hotel restaurant offers 100% vegan food that is sourced locally, organically and sustainably. A varied breakfast buffet and a fixed five-course menu are offered as half-board and included in the room rate. Breakfast menu comprises of a selection of nourishing options to start the day, from Ayurvedic lentil dhal and fresh chapatis, fresh juices, porridge, gluten-free cakes and savory vegetable dishes. Dinners include classic Italian dishes such as risotto, home-made pastas and panna cotta along with specialties from the region such as caramelized cabbage with orange reduction and beetroot salad with wild herbs. All made in-house daily from fresh.

Note: Vegan Hotel La Vimea is a retreat for adults and children over 12 years old.

To find out more about this vegan hotel, visit: https://www.lavimea.com/

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:

Binge Kitchen

449 McCarty Rd., San Antonio, TX 78216

Looking for healthy food prepared with quality ingredients, this is the place! Dishes are made to order from plates of Coconut Crusted Chick’n, Crispy Spinach & Cheese Chick’n, rice bowls of Chinese Orange Chick’n, Hungarian Mushroom Porkoit, Indian Lentil Madras, Apps, Burgers, multiple sides, and shakes!  The mission of protecting the environment and working to preserve the present and future makes a visit to this restaurant worth it!

Fauxmaha

1319 S. 50th St., Omaha, NE 68106

They started as a food truck and now have a brick and mortar location. Enjoy a wide variety of hot dog sandwiches including the Bahn Mi Dog, BBQ Dog, and of course, a Classic Dog. Also enjoy tots. Be sure to check for specials such as a Philly Seitan Steak on their Facebook page.

Frannie’s Vegan Café

4100 North Roan St., Ste. 1, Johnson City, TN 37604

Enjoy their specials such as Spicy Chik’n and Rice and Walnut Taco Wrap along with regular offerings such as Cauli Wings, Veggie Corn Dogs, Sophie’s Southern BBQ, and more.

Jr’s Meatless Cuisine & Juices

3927 Main St., Bridgeport, CT 06606

They only have a few stools to sit on; however, definitely worth trying their food including Rasta Pasta, Curry “Chicken,” Barbecue Tofu, Veggie Burgers, and so much more.

Good Plans Café

22 Lackawanna Plz., Montclair, NJ 07042

Try their Quinoa Bowl, Everything Pizza, Pesto Pasta, Good Avo Toast, Coconut Ramen, Good Plans Burger, and more. They also offer shakes and raw dessert options.

Manna Kitchen

2801 N. Ogden Ave., Ste. 8-9, Lisle, IL 60532

Located in the western suburbs of Chicago, Manna Kitchen offers appetizers such as Cauliflower Buffalo Wings and Crispy “Crab” Cakes. Salad options include Rainbow Quinoa Salad and a Crunch Taco Salad. They also serve a wide variety of bowls along with entrée options such as Schnitzel Platter, Creamy Mac n’ Cheez, and their own Manna Burger. End your meal with one of their yummy desserts.

Plow Bao

5012 E. 7th St., Austin, TX 78702

Enjoy vegan dim sum, baos, and more at this Asian food truck.

Tri Lounge and Café

1938 Clove Rd., Staten Island, NY 10304

Enjoy vegan pizza, pasta dishes, a variety of burgers, chili, soup, fries, mac & cheese, desserts, and more. They also have entertainment on some days.

Vegan in Volume is published by The Vegetarian Resource Group and has been greatly received by people working in the food service sector, as well as those that enjoy throwing parties in their own home or simply cooking in volume. This book by Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD offers 125 vegan recipes serving 25. It also offers a lot of helpful advice including A Fast Course in Vegan Nutrition, The Mechanics of the Operation, Food Safety Pointers, and a section on Vegan Ingredients.

The quantity recipes greatly vary depending on the audience you’ll be serving. Nancy includes recipes for breakfast such as Lots of Grains Pancakes and Peachy Keen Breakfast Crumble. A section for kids serves up Squiggly Noodles and “Not-Meatballs.” For dinner parties and elegant dining for adults try French Onion and Olive Tart and Eggplant “Caviar.”

You will also find quantity recipes for special occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, bar/bat mitzvahs, communions, and more. Enjoy Watermelon Gazpacho, Spicy Bean Cakes with Fruit Salsa, Curried Vegetables with Polenta, and Sophisticated Poached Pears. Next, move on to college campuses and try Vegetable Tagine, Two Alarm Four Bean Chili, Jumpin’ Veggie Jambalaya, and Gooey, Chewy Peanut Butter Bars.

Grab and Go Fast Food recipes include Sweet Potato Burgers, Cold Noodles with Peanut Sauce, and Fragrant and Fast Tofu Sandwich. Un-Hospital Food items include Orange and Wild Rice Salad, Sweet Potato Soup, New England Baked Beans, Eggplant Lasagna, and Cinnamony Baked Apples. And a section for senior citizens includes recipes for Chesapeake Corn Chowder, Southwest Tomato Rice, Pasta with Vegetable-Marinara Sauce, and Homestyle Molasses Cookies.

Vegan in Volume can be purchased from The Vegetarian Resource Group Book Catalog: http://www.vrg.org/catalog/

The next time you prepare pasta at home and want to try a new sauce, find some creative recipes in Jacqueline Dunnington’s previous Vegetarian Journal article called Super Sauces. One of these sauces will certainly make your next pasta dish special: Spicy Sauce, Rosemary-Mushroom-Walnut Sauce, Thai Style Lime Shallot Sauce, Indonesian Peanut Satay Sauce, Seared Spanish Onions in Tomato Coulis, Four Peppers Sauce.

Find the recipes here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2000mar/2000_march_super_sauces.php

Subscribe to Vegetarian Journal here: www.vrg.org/party

Black and pink vegan ballet shoes for children and women from Cynthia King Dance Studio can be purchased on this website: https://cynthiakingdance.com/veganballetslippers

Find vegan dance shoes for women and men on the following website by searching under the word vegan, as well as make your own custom shoes: https://www.veryfineshoes.com/

Dance Vegan offers a wide variety of dance shoes for men and women: https://www.dancevegan.com/

Ethical Wares out of Wales, United Kingdom, offers vegan dance shoes for men and women. See: https://www.ethicalwares.com/footwear/dance-shoes/

Vegan Pointe Shoes from Australia can be purchased here: https://grishkoshop.com/NextCategory/en-US/P209/vegan-pointe-shoes

International Dance Shoes out of the United Kingdom offers vegan options: https://grishkoshop.com/NextCategory/en-US/P209/vegan-pointe-shoes

In an earlier blog post on vitamin B12 for older adults, I wrote that “vitamin B12 is poorly absorbed from eggs.” Thanks to a reader who pointed out that a recent study found that vitamin B12 absorption from eggs is higher than was previously thought. This study used a different method to examine vitamin B12 absorption than has been used in the past. Despite this finding, it’s still recommended that those 51 and older use vitamin B12-fortified foods or a vitamin B12 supplement to meet most of their vitamin B12 requirement rather than relying on eggs or other foods with naturally occurring vitamin B12.

Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

The Vegetarian Resource Group has an extensive section of vegan information in Spanish on our website. This includes recipes, nutrition information, articles, and more. See: https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/information_in_Spanish.htm

Citrus fruit is readily available this time of year. The Vegetarian Journal articles below offer a wide variety of vegan recipes featuring citrus fruit.

Citrus Magic, by Debra Daniels-Zeller, provides recipes for Blood Orange Salad Dressing, Chipotle-Citrus Tofu Marinade, Raw Kale and Avocado Salad with Lemon Dressing, Tangerine Dream Cake, Broiled Grapefruit, Zesty Lemon-Mustard Dip, Parsley Rice with Carrots, Lime, and Pistachios, Orange Oats and Cranberries, and Grapefruit, Apple, and Avocado Salad with Satsuma Vinaigrette. See: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2013issue4/2013_issue4_citrus_magic.php

Another article by Debra Daniels-Zeller titled Lighten Up with Citrus offers Orange Buckwheat Porridge with Toasted Pecans, Guacamole, Creamy, Spicy Black Bean Soup, Cabbage, Carrot, and Raisin Salad with Citrus-Tahini Dressing, Orange-Almond Dressing, Citrus Baked Tofu, Lemon-Kale, Caramelized Onions, and Basmati Rice, Lemon-Banana Cashew Cream, Kumquat-Cardamom Coconut Pudding, and Lime Granita. See: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2005issue1/2005_issue1_lighten_up.php

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal, visit: www.vrg.org/party

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By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

It’s a November afternoon so even though it’s only 5 pm, the sun has set and it’s getting dark. We arrive at our campground for the night. Hungry from a day spent hiking, we want something more than the trail mix and fruit we had for lunch. With headlamps on, we light the camping stove and get ready for a quick dinner. In less than 15 minutes, we’re enjoying curried chickpeas and couscous with a side of carrot sticks (peanut butter optional).

My husband and I recently rediscovered the joys of camping. We’re car campers so don’t have to worry about the weight of ingredients. Since we’re often far from grocery stores, we bring all our food with us. We rely on an ice chest to keep food cool the first day or two. After that, if the weather is hot, we rely on canned vegetables. In cooler weather we bring vegetables that will keep even without refrigeration including cabbage, carrots, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and tomatoes. Ideally, if we were gone for more than a few days, we’d restock with fresh vegetables and bread.

Since we’re already heating up the stove in the morning to make tea, we have hot water for oatmeal for breakfast. We’ve found that bagels last several days and are good for breakfast or lunch with nut butter.  Homemade muffins (make before trip) also last for several days and are good for breakfast and snacks. Cold cereal and granola are other breakfast possibilities. We bring individual aseptic packages of soymilk or other plant milk since we’re not able to refrigerate them after opening. Leftovers from the night before also make a fine breakfast.

Lunch and snacks are packed up and ready to eat on the road or trail. We don’t want to spend time cooking mid-day, so we usually have a food bag that goes in the car with nuts, dried fruit, crackers, crispbread, fresh fruit, peanut butter pretzels, and cookies from home. We may tuck in a jar of nut butter to spread on fruit and crackers or reconstitute a powdered refried bean spread in the morning and bring it with us.

I do some prep before our trip to make dinners simpler. I measure and package the amount of lentils, pasta, or couscous that we’ll need for a meal, so we’ll know how much water is needed. I also make spice mixtures ahead of time and put ingredients like cooking oil or soy sauce into a smaller container.

Here are 5 simple dinners we’ve enjoyed.

Ramen Noodle Soup with TVP and Marinated Cabbage Salad: I start the cabbage salad before doing anything else. The cabbage is finely shredded using a sharp knife and tossed with a mixture of olive oil, onion powder, dill, salt, and pepper I brought from home. Squeeze the juice from a fresh lemon over the mixture, toss and let stand while making the soup. For the soup, bring water to a boil and add a couple of packages of ramen noodles, some dry TVP, a small can of mushrooms (drained), and a can of water chestnuts (drained). Cook until the noodles are tender. I try to find lower sodium ramen and even then, find that half a packet of seasoning is plenty even for a couple of packages of noodles.

Italian Stew: Combine a can of drained white beans; a couple of potatoes, diced; a couple of zucchinis, sliced; and a can of diced tomatoes. Stir in a seasoning mix brought from home that includes oregano, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Nutritional yeast can be added for a cheesy flavor. Cook until potatoes and zucchinis are tender, adding water as needed to prevent sticking. Serve with whole grain crackers.

Curried Chickpeas and Couscous: Start by cooking the couscous. Put instant whole-wheat couscous in a heat-proof bowl. Heat a pot of water to boiling. Add boiling water to the couscous, using a ratio of 1-1/2 parts of water to 1 part of couscous. Cover the bowl of couscous with a plate or a towel and let stand while you make the chickpeas. You can use the same pot you used to make the couscous. Combine a small can of tomato sauce with a can of drained chickpeas, and some water. Stir in a spice mix from home that includes cumin, coriander, turmeric, and onion powder. If you’d like, finely diced potatoes can be added to the chickpea mixture. Cook, simmering gently until hot throughout and, if potatoes were added, until the potatoes are done. Serve over couscous.  

Pasta with Baked Beans: Begin boiling water. Once water is boiling, add small pasta of choice and cook, stirring frequently until pasta is done. Drain and add a can of vegetarian baked beans. Heat gently, adding a little water as needed to keep pasta from sticking. Carrot sticks are a nice addition to this meal.

Curried Red Lentils and Couscous: Before leaving home, combine 1 part red lentils with 1 part of instant whole-wheat couscous and some curry powder. At camp, bring 4 parts of water to a boil and add lentil mixture. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are done. Add water as needed to prevent sticking. Stir in a can of green beans or mixed vegetables, drained in the last few minutes of cooking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.