If you live in New Jersey and do your grocery shopping at ShopRite in Middletown (and perhaps other ShopRite locations), VRG volunteer Christiana Rutkowski has compiled a list of vegan foods sold in this store. Enjoy shopping!

The information can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/FinalShopRiteTable8_23_1.pdf

In the latest issue of Vegetarian Journal, Chef Nancy Berkoff shares ideas on ways to prepare vegan dishes using fresh peppers. Nancy states, “There are over 200 cultivated varieties of fresh and dried hot peppers. If you select dried peppers, you’ll want to remember that dried hot peppers are at least 10 times more potent than fresh.” Nancy also mentions, “Bell peppers: Red are sweetest, yellow the most mild, and green the strongest flavor (for a bell pepper). Bell peppers are very versatile, as they work well raw or cooked. Create a bell pepper rainbow with chopped green, red, yellow, orange, or purple peppers. Use them as in ingredient or garnish for tossed, pasta, rice, macaroni, and quinoa cold salads, or put in soups, chili, stews, sandwich fillings, and stir-fry dishes. Instead of a three-bean salad, try a three-pepper salad or use a fresh, seeded bell pepper as an edible bowl for your favorite salads (cold) or your favorite fillings (hot).”

The complete article can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2016issue3/2016_issue3_cooking_tips.php

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal, visit: http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

By Alicia Hückmann, VRG intern visiting from Germany

If you live in Germany or will be traveling there for business or pleasure, here’s a list of veggie restaurants you’ll find in Berlin. There’s a wide variety of food options to choose from!

See: http://www.vrg.org/links/doc/GermanVegRestaurants.pdf

For links to veggie restaurants around the world, visit: http://www.vrg.org/links/restaurant.htm

You may be thinking about starting a garden in your backyard or switching over to using veganic techniques in your present garden. Nathaniel Corn wrote a very useful article on Veganic Gardening in the most recent issue of Vegetarian Journal. You’ll even find a recipe for Gardener’s hand Scrub!

To read the article, go to: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2016issue3/2016_issue3_veganic_gardening.php

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal, visit: http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

We thought readers (especially vegans) would want to see this information:

The USDA plans to purchase approximately “… 11 million pounds of cheese from private inventories to assist food banks and pantries across the nation, while reducing a cheese surplus that is at its highest level in 30 years. The purchase, valued at $20 million, will be provided to families in need across the country through USDA nutrition assistance programs, while assisting the stalled marketplace for dairy producers. USDA also announced that it will extend the deadline for dairy producers to enroll in the Margin Protection Program (MPP) for Dairy to December 16, 2016, from the previous deadline of September 30. This voluntary dairy safety net program, established by the 2014 Farm Bill, provides financial assistance to participating dairy producers when the margin – the difference between the price of milk and feed costs – falls below the coverage level selected by the producer … While USDA projects dairy prices to increase throughout the rest of the year, many factors including low world market prices, increased milk supplies and inventories, and slower demand have contributed to the sluggish marketplace for dairy producers.

See: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/news-room/news-releases/2016/nr_20160823_rel_0181

Have you ever thought about preparing dessert smoothies? Former VRG intern Ivy Grob shares recipes for Strawberry Shortcake, Banana Chocolate, Berry Cobbler, Peanut Butter Cup, Peach Pie, and Apple Pie Smoothies in the latest issue of Vegetarian Journal.

To read the article go here: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2016issue3/2016_issue3_dessert_smoothies.php

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal, visit:
http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

We thought some readers may be interested in knowing about this upcoming meeting.

SACATM is part of a larger body which conducts technical evaluations of new, revised, and alternative safety testing methods with regulatory applicability and promotes the scientific validation and regulatory acceptance of toxicological and safety-testing methods that more accurately assess the safety and hazards of chemicals and products and that reduce, refine (decrease or eliminate pain and distress), or replace animal use.

For further information on this meeting see: https://federalregister.gov/a/2016-19774

It’s All Good Kitchen

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Below are some recent 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

Erven
514-516 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Enjoy soup such as Tuscan Bean Soup and White Gazpacho during the day, along with salads and sandwiches including Falafel or Smoked Eggplant. In the evening you can dine on small, medium or large plates including items such as Lime Pickled Dates, Black Garlic-Chickpea Fritter, Warm Endive Salad, Roasted Carrots, Scallion Pancake, Beer battered tofu sandwich, along with desserts such as Roasted Peaches and Black sesame cake.

It’s All Good Kitchen
Dune’s Boardwalk Café
4 North End Boardwalk
Ocean Grove, NJ 07756
Enjoy organic juices, smoothies, build your own bowls, home-made hummus, and more at this food court located on the boardwalk.

Jodee’s Desserts
7214 Woodlawn Ave. NE
Seattle, WA 98115
Enjoy a variety of vegan pies such as Key Lime, Mocha, and Banana Cream that are made with mostly organic ingredients. They also have smoothies, coffee and tea, sweet and savory treats, and frozen dessert. They are located across the street from Billings Middle School.

Ladybird
127 MacDougal St.
New York, NY 10012
Enjoy vegan tapas at this bar including Gazpacho Trio, Truffle Fries, Quinoa Croqueta, Coconut Quiche, Broccoli Rabe, Chocolate Fondue, Churros, and more. Located in the West Village section of New York City.

Lulu’s Local Eatery
3201 S. Grand
St. Louis, MO 63118
Start your meal off with Buffalo Cauliflower Bites or Thai Crunch Kale Salad. Then enjoy a wrap or sandwich or a main dish bowl such as Chipotle Black Bean, Banh Mi, or Buddah. Enjoy daily specials as well as a wide variety of beer along with your meal.

Nolafare
2009 Highland Ave.
Louisville, KY 40204
Enjoy Sassy Kale Salad, GreenUp Quinoa Plate, Black Bean Dream Sandwich, Sea Carrot Rolls, and more. Ask about their desserts.

Pure
9925 SW Bank Rd.
Vashon, WA 98070
Enjoy fresh juices and smoothies along with bowls, salads, soup, and dessert at this organic café.

Screamer’s Pizzeria
620 Manhattan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
Enjoy a wide variety of vegan pizza including Pepperoni (sauce, seitan pepperoni, and vegan cheese), Hawaiian (vegan ham, pineapple, tomato sauce, vegan cheese, and scallions), Screamer (garlic oil, vegan cheese, cremini and oyster mushrooms, parsley, and almond parmesan), plus others. They also serve vegan garlic knots and calzones.

Thai Vegan
2928 Washington Blvd.
Marina Del Ray, CA 90292
This restaurant offers vegan Thai food including Fresh Vegetable Tofu Roll, Papaya Salad, Tofu Vegetable Soup, Spicy Mint Noodles, Pad Thai, Massamun Tofu Curry, Pineapple Tofu Fried Rice, plus much more. They also have fresh juices.

Thai Vegan
2400 Main St.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
This kiosk offers vegan Thai food including Fresh Vegetable Tofu Roll, Papaya Salad, Tofu Vegetable Soup, Spicy Mint Noodles, Pad Thai, Massuman Tofu Curry, Pineapple Tofu Fried Rice, plus much more. They also have fresh juices and are located near the beach. Outdoor seating.

Timeless Coffee
4252 Piedmont Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94611
Timeless Coffee takes pride in roasting their own coffee beans and taking pride in their product. They produce a variety of vegan baked goods available every day, and serve up fun and creative dishes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Traditionally serving up brunch or dishes like Biscuits and Gravy, the menu may also feature new specials. Be sure to check them out on social media to see their current offerings.

VegDining.com is pleased to donate 10% of all VegDining Card purchases by VRG subscribers and supporters during July and August. The VegDining Card is an international vegetarian discount card with over a hundred vegetarian restaurants and other businesses offering discounts to cardholders on their goods and services. Visit VegDining.com to order your card (be sure to mention “VRG” to ensure a donation will be made on your purchase). VegDining is a guide to vegetarian dining, promoting vegetarianism around the world since 1999.

Hi VRG,

I just returned from a magic conference at Pidgeon Forge (TN). While the restaurants were meat heavy, the good news was that the Mellow Mushroom there had Daiya cheese as an option on all their pizzas, calzones, and hoagie sandwiches. I took a Tempeh Hoagie with Daiya cheese home, and it was great. There are apparently 2 Mellow Mushrooms in Pidgeon Forge, and the one in the middle of the tourist area (next to the MagiQuest castle) was open every day until Midnight.

Michael C. Worsham

For more information on Mellow Mushroom, see: http://mellowmushroom.com/

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.