By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Kate Farms has developed plant-based products that can be used by children age 1-13 years who are receiving tube feedings. These formulas are designed to be either the sole source of nutrients or to be used as supplemental feedings. They can also be used as oral feedings. They are based on organic pea protein, organic coconut oil, sunflower oil, organic flax oil, organic brown rice syrup solids, and organic agave syrup. The products are fortified with vitamins and minerals, are certified gluten-free, and do not contain artificial flavors or the most common allergens. These formulas are vanilla-flavored and are available at concentrations of 1.2 calories per milliliter and 1.5 calories per milliliter. According to Kate Farms Customer Service, products are vegan. For more information go to www.katefarms.com. Products are available through national distributors, durable medical equipment and home infusion companies. Always consult with your medical professionals before using this type of product or making any changes to a prescribed enteral (tube-feeding) formula.

Also see: https://www.vrg.org/seniors/#meal

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

Chanukah is a time that extended families gather together. The first night of Chanukah this year is Sunday, December 2, 2018. Here are three vegan recipes you can share with your friends and family during this 8-day celebration.

Tofu/Potato Pancakes (from Conveniently Vegan)

Makes 8 pancakes – serve 2 per person

2 pounds white potatoes, peeled and chopped
6 cups water
1 box (about 10-12 ounces) extra firm silken tofu, crumbled
½ cup matzo meal
Small onion, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon dill weed
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons oil

Place potatoes in water in a large covered pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook 15 minutes over a medium-high heat. Drain.

Place the cooked potatoes and remaining ingredients (except for the oil) in a food processor cup. Blend until smooth (about 3 minutes).

Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown pancakes on each side for 8 minutes. Flip over carefully. Serve warm pancakes with applesauce.

Vegan Noodle Kugel (from Vegans Know How to Party)

Serves 5

Vegetable oil spray
One 12-ounce package wide vegan noodles (lasagna noodles work well)
1½ cups silken tofu
¾ cup organic sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons orange zest
½ cup raisins
½ cup drained, chopped canned peaches
1½ cups peeled, cored, and cubed green apples
¼ cup applesauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a loaf pan (about 4 inches deep and 8 inches long) with oil. Cook noodles according to package directions, drain, and cool. Using a blender or mixer, puree tofu with sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and zest.
In a large bowl, combine raisins, peaches, apples, and applesauce. Whip in tofu mixture. Add in noodles and mix until well combined. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden.

Variations: For different flavors, use pineapple or apricots instead of peaches and dried cranberries and cherries or apricots instead of raisins. Whole wheat noodles can be used in this recipe.

Festive Cashew Cookies (from Simply Vegan)

Makes 2 dozen

2 cups raw cashews
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup molasses or maple syrup
½ cup water
¼ cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Small jar fruit-only jam

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grind the raw cashews and rolled oats together in a food processor for a few minutes. Pour mixture into a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients, except for the jam. Mix all the ingredients together.
Form 24 round balls and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. With your thumb, form a small well in the center of each ball. Place a small amount of jam in each well. Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Allow cookies to cool before removing from the cookie sheet. These cookies make a wonderful gift!

Luna Verde Vegan Mexican Restaurant
Enjoy authentic Mexican cuisine vegan style! Appetizers include guacamole, pico de gallo, nachos, and more. Also enjoy salads and soups, as well as tacos, burritos, fajitas, chimichangas, and tostadas (some filled with seitan or mushrooms). Dessert options include vegan flan and tres leches (vanilla cake with fluffy cream and strawberries). Finally, for brunch enjoy sweet pineapple tamales, no huevos rancheros (tofu Scramble served w/refried beans, handmade corn tortillas, avocado, crema, and fruit), panqueques dorados (three golden pancakes (flour) served w/tofu scramble and fruit), and more.

Open Tuesday through Friday for lunch and dinner. Open Saturday and Sunday for brunch, lunch, and dinner. Closed Monday.

Location: 400 Main St., Bradley Beach, NJ 07720
Phone: (732) 361-8180
See: https://www.veganlunaverde.com/

Due to the generosity of an anonymous donor, The Vegetarian Resource Group each year will award $20,000 in college scholarship money to graduating U.S. high school students who have promoted veganism/vegetarianism in their schools and/or communities. Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or fowl. Vegans are vegetarians who do not use other animal products such as dairy or eggs.

One award of $10,000 and two awards of $5,000 will be given. Entries may only be sent by students graduating from high school in spring 2019. Deadline is February 20, 2019. We will accept applications postmarked on or before February 20, 2019. Early submission is encouraged.

Applicants will be judged on having shown compassion, courage, and a strong commitment to promoting a peaceful world through a vegan/vegetarian diet/lifestyle. Payment will be made to the student’s college (U.S. based only). Winners of the scholarships give permission to release their names to the media. Applications and essays become property of The Vegetarian Resource Group. We may ask finalists for more information. Scholarship winners are contacted by e-mail or telephone. Please look at your e-mail.

For details on the contest, see: VRG Scholarship Contest

November 7, 2018

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is announcing today the opportunity to provide comment on a proposed web-based consumer survey about allergens in cosmetics. Cosmetics are a broad category that includes items such as fragrances, hair products, makeup, nail products, and skin care products. The survey will be the first on consumer perceptions of cosmetics that the FDA has conducted since 1975. The purpose of the survey is to collect information that will improve the FDA’s current understanding of adverse events caused by allergens in cosmetics. In addition, the survey will help the agency better understand consumer perceptions and awareness as well as consumer behavior regarding allergens in cosmetics such as decisions to purchase specific products or to avoid certain ingredients, when to contact a health care provider, and when to report an adverse event. The people invited to participate in the survey will be selected to be representative of U.S. adults.

This survey is part of the FDA’s ongoing effort within recent years to learn more about allergens in cosmetics. In 2015-2016, the FDA contracted Integrated Laboratory Systems, Inc. (ILS) to conduct a comprehensive literature review of 26 fragrances that the European Union has identified as allergens. In 2016-2017, the FDA expanded the literature review to other cosmetic ingredients. Beginning in 2019, the FDA hopes to begin conducting a new consumer survey.

In order to do so, the FDA must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget to conduct the survey. As a first step toward obtaining that approval, tomorrow the FDA is publishing a notice in the Federal Register seeking public comment on the survey pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The survey will be included in the docket. Comments must be submitted on or before 60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register. FDA encourages the public to submit comments on the survey here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/11/08/2018-24441/agency-information-collection-activities-proposed-collection-comment-request-web-based-pilot-survey. Written comments may also submitted to Docket Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

For Additional Information:
• FDA requests public input concerning a new consumer survey about allergens in cosmetics: https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/FDAInBrief/ucm625264.htm?utm_campaign=CFSANCU%3A%20FDA%20Requests%20Comments%20on%20New%20Consumer%20Survey%20about%20Allergens%20in%20Cosmetics&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

• Using Adverse Event Reports to Monitor Cosmetic Safety: https://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ComplianceEnforcement/AdverseEventReporting/ucm531634.htm?utm_campaign=CFSANCU%3A%20FDA%20Requests%20Comments%20on%20New%20Consumer%20Survey%20about%20Allergens%20in%20Cosmetics&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

• How to Report a Cosmetic Related Complaint
https://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ComplianceEnforcement/AdverseEventReporting/default.htm?utm_campaign=CFSANCU%3A%20FDA%20Requests%20Comments%20on%20New%20Consumer%20Survey%20about%20Allergens%20in%20Cosmetics&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

• CFSAN Adverse Event Reporting System (CAERS)
https://www.fda.gov/Food/ComplianceEnforcement/ucm494015.htm?utm_campaign=CFSANCU%3A%20FDA%20Requests%20Comments%20on%20New%20Consumer%20Survey%20about%20Allergens%20in%20Cosmetics&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

Join The Vegetarian Resource Group on Instagram. See:
https://www.instagram.com/vegetarianresourcegroup/

In a poll sponsored by DuPont, the research says that more than half (52 percent) of U.S. consumers are eating more plant-based foods and beverages, while the number rises to two-thirds (65 percent) globally. Taste was cited as the top response as a barrier to consuming plant-based food.

For more information, see:
http://www.dupont.com/industries/food-and-beverage/press-releases/plant-based-eating.html

Additional polls are at https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/faq.htm#poll

The Vegetarian Resource Group has had another very productive year. Your support is greatly appreciated! You can donate directly to VRG at www.vrg.org/donate

Here’s a sampling of some of our accomplishments and outreach:

– VRG’s Food Service Advisor, Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD, participated on an Oldways panel discussing creating plant-based solutions for health-care settings. Also, she consulted with several skilled nursing facilities to assist with vegetarian menus and helped the City of Long Beach, CA provide vegetarian lunches/snacks to day camp attendees.

– VRG’s Nutrition Advisor, Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, did a presentation on vegan pregnancy and a Nutrition (and Fun) for Vegan Children talk at the Portland VegFest in Oregon. She also authored two chapters in a book titled Vegetarian Nutrition and Wellness from CRC Press: Vegetarian Diets for Pregnancy, Lactation, Infancy, and Early Childhood and Vegetarian Diets Trends in Acceptance and Perception. Also, the table Protein Content of Selected Vegan Foods from Simply Vegan by Reed Mangels PhD, RD is being reprinted in ACLM’s Lifestyle Medicine Handbook by Beth Frates, Jonathan Bonnet, Richard Joseph, and James Peterson. Reed Mangels and Catherine Conway, MS, RD spoke to hundreds of health professionals at the VRG booth during the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics FNCE Conference in Chicago, IL.

– We continue to work with numerous High School and College interns in our Baltimore office including future vegan Registered Dietitians. VRG Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, mentors those interns who are interested in pursuing a career in nutrition. VRG staff also works with students that are majoring in Journalism, Business, etc. Among their tasks are staffing VRG booths throughout the USA, preparing vegan meals for homeless individuals, reviewing new vegan products (someone has to do that tough job!), writing up entries for our online restaurant guide, reviewing scientific studies on vegan diets, plus so much more. These students are the future of the vegan movement and we should all be excited about what they will bring to the cause once they graduate.

– VRG assisted media (print, web, radio, tv, etc.). VRG’s Nutrition Advisor, Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, was interviewed for The New York Times Well Family section on how parents can handle a situation where just one of their children has decided to become a vegetarian in a family of meat eaters. She also did an interview on vegan kids for Now This Food; was interviewed by Veggie Fit Kids website; and was interviewed on KMUZ 88.5/100.7 FM (Nu Health Nation) about vegan diets for diabetes, pregnancy, older adults, and athletes. A medical center in Ohio asked to reprint The Vegetarian Resource Group’s My Vegan Plate in their diet education materials.

– VRG’s Parents/Kids Facebook Group continues to be an active supportive arena for veggie parents and kids. To join the discussion, see: https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids/

– The Vegetarian Resource Group has done numerous outreach booths this year including Charlottesville and Richmond, VA VegFests; Vegan SoulFest in Baltimore, MD; Veggie Pride Parade in NY City; New England VegFest in Worcester, MA; Western NY VegFest in Buffalo, NY; Everett Community College Food Day in WA; University of Buffalo (NY) Sustainability Fair; Vegan Summerfest in Johnstown, PA; Maryland Dietetics in Health Care Communities Conference; and New Jersey VegFest. We will soon be at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in Washington, DC; York Harvest VegFest in York, PA; World VegFest in San Francisco, CA; and other locations.

– The Vegetarian Resource Group provided vegan handouts free-of-charge for outreach in a wide variety of locations including a vegetarian student group at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA in preparation for the start of the new semester, the Vegan Community of Eastern Iowa for their first annual VegFest of Eastern Iowa, Northwest Ohio Vegan Advocates, the Macrobiotic Summer Conference, the Houston and Pittsburgh VegFests, Jim Cook Day of Hope for Diabetes in California, and the inaugural Michiana Veg Fest in Indiana.

Your support is greatly appreciated! You can donate directly to VRG at www.vrg.org/donate

You can also mail donations to The Vegetarian Resource Group, PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203 or call in your donation to (410) 366-8343 Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm EST.

Whether you have vegan kids or know vegan kids, you might want to direct them to the fun games below. Enjoy!

Veggie Memory Cards: https://www.vrg.org/family/memory_cards.php
Veggie Counting Game: https://www.vrg.org/family/memory_cards_math_game1.php
Coloring Book: https://www.vrg.org/family/Penny-Pigs-Vegan-Adventures-Coloring-Book.pdf
Computer Veggie Game: https://www.vrg.org/game/

Through December 31, 2018, you can give a gift membership to The Vegetarian Resource Group (includes a 1-year subscription to Vegetarian Journal) for $15 each (40% discount). This offer is valid in the USA only!

This is a terrific way to share the vegan message, as well as support VRG. Gift subscriptions can be done online by simply typing in your message and the address(s) of the gift recipient(s) in the comments field. Go to: https://www.givedirect.org/donate/?cid=1565