pizza photo from Freepik

Chef Nancy Berkoff offers creative suggestions on how to make pizza in your own home. The information below is from a previous Vegan Journal article.

Make Your Pizza

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (you can use a toaster oven for individual pizzas). The microwave won’t work for this — no one wants a “steamed” pizza.

Whatever type of “dough” you’ve selected, bake it, if necessary. If using bread, like English muffins or burger buns, slice thin and toast lightly.

Decide on your sauce and toppings — we’ve given some suggestions below. Smooth a thin layer of sauce on your “dough” and then go to town with the toppings — really pile them on.

Place your masterpiece on a nonstick baking dish and allow to bake until your “dough” is crunchy and your veggies or fruit are cooked to the texture you’d like. Times will vary depending on the thickness of the bread you used and the amount of toppings, but can take as little as 7 minutes or up to 20 minutes. Make enough so you can have cold pizza for breakfast, or pack some for lunch!

Super Pizza Combos

• English muffin topped with mushroom sauce and fresh and canned mushrooms, chopped canned tomatoes, and chopped green peppers
• Pita with mushroom sauce, topped with three different types of cooked beans, mushrooms, and onions
• Sliced French bread topped with tomato purée, rosemary, fresh and canned tomatoes, peppers, and onions
• Baked pizza dough topped with tomato sauce, shredded spinach, basil, oregano, and white beans
• Sliced burger bun topped with tomato sauce, chopped chilies and peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms
• Baked pizza dough with orange juice concentrate and peanut butter sauce (mix the two together for the consistency you want) topped with fresh and frozen strawberries, pineapple, chopped walnuts, and coconut, or topped with canned peaches and plums, shredded dried apricots, raisins, and dates

The entire article can be read here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2001nov/2001_nov_cooking_tips.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA, visit: www.vrg.org/member

Greens with New Potatoes and Kidney Beans

Debra Daniel-Zeller’s piece “Warm Weather Salads Fit to Be Meals” includes recipes for Shiitake Mushroom, Quinoa and Greens with Toasted Cashews; Greens with New Potatoes and Kidney Beans; Spinach and Bean Salad with Mustard Croutons; Lime-Infused Black Bean, Corn, and Tomato Salad; 3-Bean Salad with Sweet Onions and Arugula; Soba Noodles with Marinated Tofu and Baby Kale; and Grilled Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Cashew Dressing. Her article can be found here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2015issue3/2015_issue3_salads_meals.php

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

photo from Gentle World

by Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Vegetables are often grown using slaughterhouse byproducts. Fertilizers and soil amendments made primarily of blood, bone, feather, or fishmeal, not to mention manure, are common additives.

Unfortunately, even certified organic vegetables have likely been grown in fields literally brimming with excrement from livestock that was fed with pesticide-treated grains. The animals likely have been raised on synthetic hormones or prophylactic antibiotics to ward off disease from close confinement. As recent headlines about the H5N1 avian flu virus infecting cows and humans can attest, there are no ways to ward off all diseases in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

So, what’s a concerned consumer to do? Some individuals grow their own produce using vegan fertilizers. There are plenty of ways to concoct your own blend from only plant-based sources so you can rest assured that what you’re eating is vegan.

Limited space is not a barrier to entry. Vegan gardening works in containers on balconies and stoops, in raised beds on rooftops, in backyard gardens, or in open community plots. Anyone can grow their own with a bit of persistence.

But there is another solution: seek out farms practicing veganic agriculture. See: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue1/2025_issue1_veganic_agriculture.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

In an article by Laura McGuiness titled, “Get Cultured with Homemade Fermented Foods.” You’ll find recipes for:
Classic Caraway Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Fermented Veggies
Simple Sourdough Loaf
Strawberry Cream Cheese
Pomegranate Kombucha

Read the article here:
https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2018issue4/2018_issue4_fermented_foods.php

Please subscribe to Vegan Journal at:
https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Julia Rose Weiss photo by Lors Photography

At five years old, I decided meat wasn’t for me. My aversion to meat took a dramatic turn on Thanksgiving Eve in fourth grade … Feeling like the guiltiest ten-year-old on earth, I was determined to redefine my relationship with nature. I skipped vegetarianism and embraced veganism. Now, at 17, veganism has become a pivotal foundation in my life. I became the first teen author to write for the plant-based magazine Forks Over Knives.

Working on coming up with a project to preserve our ocean ecosystems, I developed Whole Grains, Whole Oceans: A Blueprint for Farm to Hospital; a project that seeks to connect New Jersey’s largest hospital system with local regenerative growers to restore the well-being of patients and our environment. I convened major stakeholders in the organic movement. I subsequently met with the managing director of a New Jersey Hospital Network to present my proposal, where up to 50% of the hospital’s seafood and animal protein is replaced with plant-based options of legumes and vegetables. I will be attending Cornell University, studying Global Development with a concentration in agriculture and food systems.

Rosie also works at an organic farmer’s market, where she educates customers on a whole food plant-based lifestyle and helps teach children’s classes.

Support Young Veg Activists

To send support for additional scholarships and internships, donate at www.vrg.org/donate or call (410) 366-8343. You can also send a donation to VRG, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.

Do you know an amazing high school student who promoted veganism? If so, let them know about our annual scholarship contest. The deadline for high school seniors is February 20^th of each year. To see scholarship rules and past winners, visit www.vrg.org/student/scholar

Christine Kasum Sexton, MPH wrote an article for The Vegetarian Resource Group titled “Vegan Menus for Adults 51+” to meet the needs of older vegans. These easy-to-prepare menus are designed specifically for older vegans (51+ years). Four different calorie levels – 1600, 1800, 2000, and 2200 – are presented in order to meet the needs of men and women of varying activity levels and budgets.

Read the article here: https://www.vrg.org/seniors/veganmenusfor51+.pdf

To subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Trail Mix Cookies

Shannon Cebron offers a number of vegan recipes you can prepare and take with you on your next camping and/or hiking trip. Her article “Take it Outside” offers recipes for Curried Tofu Salad Sandwiches, Roasted Garlic Everything Bagel Dip, Watermelon Herb Salad, Trail Mix Cookies, Whole Wheat Banana Bread Muffins, and Kale & Chickpea Scramble Burritos. Read the entire article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2020issue2/2020_issue2_take_outside.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal: vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Do you have any idea how many servings of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and more that you should aim to eat each day on a vegan diet? If not, you may want to check out this handy guide: https://www.vrg.org/nutrition/foodguide.php

Several states want to ban “lab grown” meat. However, some ranching and farm groups believe that they can compete without government interference and that “stifling competition in a free market should be anathema” in conservative states. The government should regulate to make sure there is honest and clear labeling and the food is safe. After that, let the consumer make the decision. See  https://www.fastcompany.com/91282777/why-proposed-ban-lab-grown-meat-getting-pushback-nebraska-ranchers?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

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

Alexandria Wolfe by Brittany Link Photography

My lifestyle switch to veganism started 7 years ago when I was 10. My activism for the vegan lifestyle has become more widespread than just my family. As a former national titleholder for Teen Miss Earth USA, I’ve not only been able to promote veganism in my local community, but also across the nation. I’ve traveled all over, from Washington to Florida, promoting my vegan lifestyle and my personal initiative “Embrace the Earth.” My motto for it became “How to live a more eco-sustainable lifestyle, for the Earth, for your health, and for the animals.” I started handing out pamphlets at pageants I was competing at to share my new initiative. I believe my biggest success was being able to inform people about the realities of how the factory farming industry operated behind closed doors.

Being a vegan has presented its challenges, especially while living in southern Texas. I wanted to nudge people in the right direction, but not shove them. When I was younger, it was my goal to not stand out. I wanted to be just like every other kid in my school. As I grew up, however, I learned that my differences have gotten me a lot farther in life as opposed to blending in with the crowd.

One of my long term goals is in the field of marine sciences, including large-scale coral reef restoration projects and to explore deep-sea ecosystems. I will be majoring in Marine Biology in college.

Here is Alexandria in a media interview as pageant winner, including telling people they can go vegan like her: https://www.google.com/search?q=alexandria+wolfe+pageant+winner&client=firefox-b-1-d&sca_esv=3c1b2768c64ab720&ei=hI_hZ9fVMd7i5NoP0bKRwAg&start=10&sa=N&sstk=Af40H4W3E13q6RAzgZ_JcQXgtXjBG8zeCBJgIKHNIACr_BgFFocXreGvryMnKj83l70VqggLiVRkcuZ3aA9vMLeutLlNQms6SfPJZw&ved=2ahUKEwjXp7HBmKOMAxVeMVkFHVFZBIgQ8NMDegQIDBAW&biw=1440&bih=719&dpr=1#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:db645b3a,vid:nwoG_FrxHzY,st:0

Support Young Veg Activists

To send support for additional scholarships and internships, donate at www.vrg.org/donate or call (410) 366-8343. You can also send a donation to VRG, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.

Do you know an amazing student promoting veganism? If so, let them know about our annual scholarship contest. The deadline for high school seniors is February 20^th of each year. To see scholarship rules and past winners, visit www.vrg.org/student/scholar