Each year The Vegetarian Resource Group runs an essay contest for kids. Please share this information with any veggie children you know, teachers, librarians, and others. The contest provides an opportunity for youth to express their thoughts on vegan diets, animal rights, environmental issues, world hunger, and more. Deadline is May 1, 2015.

To see previous winning essays and for details on this contest see: http://www.vrg.org/essay/

Chef Nancy Berkoff is a certified Registered Dietitian and Food Technologist. She is The Vegetarian Resource Group’s Foodservice Advisor and recently wrote an article for Vegetarian Journal on how to become a vegan technologist.

See: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2015issue1/2015_issue1_food_technologist.php

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal see: http://www.vrg.org/catalog/

During the month of March 2015, The Vegetarian Site will give 10% of their sales to The Vegetarian Resource Group. The Vegetarian Site supports a different non-profit organization each month. This month they have selected VRG. The Vegetarian Site sells vegan footwear, belts, wallets, bags, and other accessories, food products, books, personal care items, plus much more. They are always adding new items in their store.

Support The Vegetarian Resource Group by shopping online at: http://www.thevegetariansite.com/cgi-bin/miva?Merchant2/merchant.mv+

Each year, Meatout Day is celebrated on March 20th. This is a great day to encourage non-vegetarians to go meatless. Below are some vegan recipes to enjoy while celebrating Meatout Day with friends and family.

Wayne’s Tofu Chili (From Simply Vegan)
Serves 8

1 pound tofu, cubed in small pieces
2 Tablespoons oil
2 onions, chopped
3 green peppers, chopped
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
15-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained
15-ounce can kidney beans, drained
15-ounce can white beans, drained
2 jalapeño peppers, minced
Garlic and chili powder to taste

Sauté tofu in oil over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add chopped onions and green peppers, and stir-fry for 5 minutes longer. Lower heat. Add tomatoes, peas, beans, peppers, and spices. Simmer for 12 minutes. You can add some tomato paste if the sauce is too thin. You can also freeze the chili.

Pasta in Paradise (From Vegan Meals for One or Two)
Serves 2

4 ounces uncooked vermicelli, rice noodles, or spaghetti
¼ cup red or yellow bell pepper strips (about 1 medium pepper)
1 cup ripe chopped papaya (about 1 small papaya)
1 cup ripe chopped tomatoes (about 1 medium tomato)
½ cup ripe chopped mango (about 1 half mango)
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or flat leafed parsley
2 teaspoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon white pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped peanuts

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse, drain, and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, combine pepper, papaya, tomatoes, mango, cilantro, oil, cinnamon, and white pepper. Toss to mix. Add pasta and toss to mix. Top with peanuts before serving.

Black Bean and Corn Chowder (From Conveniently Vegan)
Serves 6

15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
14-ounce can diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes, chopped
10-ounce box frozen corn kernels
Small onion, finely chopped
2 cups soy milk or other milk alternative
4 cups water
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat all the ingredients together in a large pot over medium heat for 25 minutes. Serve warm.

Hamentashen are served during the Jewish holiday of Purim. Whether you’re Jewish or not, you’ll enjoy eating these cookies. Traditionally, they are prepared with eggs; however, here’s a vegan version which you can find in The Vegetarian Resource Group’s vegan cookbook The Lowfat Jewish Vegetarian Cookbook!

Hamentashen
Serves 15
1½ cups unbleached white flour
1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup water
½ cup applesauce
3 Tablespoons orange juice
5 Tablespoons prune or poppy seed filling (found in the baking or Kosher section of
supermarkets)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all the ingredients, except filling, together in a large bowl. Knead dough for
a few minutes. Separate into 3 balls. Cover balls of dough with a slightly damp towel
and refrigerate dough for about 3 hours. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll balls
of dough out to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out approximately fifteen 4-inch rounds. Place
1 teaspoon prune or poppy seed filling in center. Form a triangle out of the dough by
folding in edges but still leaving some space in the middle of the dough for the filling to
remain mostly uncovered.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until dough is brown. Serve.

Note: If you are unable to purchase prune or poppy seed filling in your local supermarket, simply purée a few prunes with a little fruit juice. You can also use other fruit fillings such as cherry or strawberry.

Roasted vegetables and fruit taste fantastic! We recently posted the Vegetarian Journal article “Roasting Vegetables & Fruit” on The Vegetarian Resource Group website. Debra Daniels-Zeller offers roasting basics and a fantastic roasting chart that lets you know how long to roast different veggies and fruits and at what oven temperature. You’ll also find recipes including Roasted Kale Chips, Roasted Roma Tomatoes, Whole Roasted Cauliflower, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon-Dijon Sauce, Orange Roasted Pineapple with Chocolate and Coconut Sorbet, plus more.

See: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2015issue1/2015_issue1_roasting.php

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal see: http://www.vrg.org/catalog/

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Commercial source: corn starch
Used in: powdered mixes, soups, canned fruits, beverages, cereal, confections, baked goods, snacks, prepared foods, infant formula, ice cream, frozen desserts, canned fruit, jams and jellies
Used as: powder carrier, texturizer, bulking agent, crystallization
inhibitor, sweetener, fermentation substrate

Definition: Maltodextrins consist of variably long linkages of glucose
molecules and are less than 20% as sweet as sucrose (table sugar).

Manufacturers

ADM reported that their maltodextrins are not made with animal ingredients or processing aids.

Tate and Lyle stated that they use no animal ingredients or processing
aids in maltodextrin manufacture.

Despite many attempts by email and phone to several people, Cargill told The VRG that they only respond to customer questions.

Roquette did not return our calls or emails for more information on their maltodextrins.

Classification: Vegan

Entry added: February 2015

For more ingredient entries, see:
http://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php

To support VRG go to: www.vrg.org/donate

To Join The Vegetarian Resource Group, go to: http://www.vrg.org/member/

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 judgement about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

Erin McKenna, founder of BabyCakes NYC, opened a new store front called Erin McKenna’s Bakery NYC at Downtown Disney in Orlando, Florida. The sweets shop opened Sunday, Feb. 22nd and offers vegan, gluten-free items including doughnuts, cupcakes, cookies and bagels (with vegan butter), as well as savory items.

For more information on this shop as well as her other two shops located in New York City and Los Angeles see: http://www.erinmckennasbakery.com/

The Vegetarian Resource Group has a new section listing various meal plans on their website www.vrg.org. You’ll find Quick and Easy Low-Cost Vegan Menus, a One-Week Low-Sodium Vegan Menu, a Soy-Free, Nut-Free Vegan Meal Plan, Vegan Menus for Adults 51+, Sports Nutrition Guidelines for the Vegetarian, and several other types of meal plans.

These meal plans can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/#nutrition-meal-plans

Chocolate Cheesecake from Great Sage in Clarksville, MD.

Great Sage vegan restaurant in Clarksville, Maryland will be donating 10% of the day’s proceeds to The Vegetarian Resource Group on February 22, 2015. Please support the VRG’s outreach efforts and at the same time enjoy some fantastic vegan cuisine.

For more information see: https://www.facebook.com/events/480049368803875