By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director

The Country’s Best Yogurt (TCBY) recently announced the debut of its newest frozen yogurt formulated with Silk® Chocolate Almondmilk (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/8/prweb11007934.htm). The dairy-free frozen dessert was automatically shipped for a 12-week run to all full-service TCBY locations (approximately 250 stores) and is available as an optional item to the over one hundred other TCBY locations co-branded with other food chains such as Subway or Blimpie.

In a few days after its arrival in TCBY stores across the United States, Silk® Chocolate Almond already had sold out in many locations according to a TCBY Retail Customer Service Specialist. “It sold out much more quickly than predicted…[More Silk® Chocolate Almond] is being made and should arrive in stores in two weeks,” The VRG was told by phone in mid-August 2013.

We also learned from TCBY that Silk® Chocolate Almond “should become a core item” at all locations. Other flavors of the almondmilk frozen yogurt will most likely follow.

Silk® Chocolate Almond is 98% fat-free as well as dairy-free. Its ingredient list reads:

Almond Milk (Filtered Water, Almonds), Sugar, Polydextrose, Tapioca Maltodextrin, Corn Syrup, Dextrose, Dutched Cocoa (Cocoa processed with alkali), Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Pure Vanilla Extract (Water, Ethyl Alcohol, Vanilla Bean Extractives), Sunflower Lecithin, Salt, Calcium Carbonate. Contains the following live active cultures: S.thermophilis, B. lactis, L. acidophilus, L. lactis, L. casei, L. rhamnosus, L. bulgaricus

Silk® Chocolate Almond nutrition facts:

Calories: 110; Calories From Fat: 15; Total Fat: 1.5g; Saturated Fat: 0g; Trans Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 40mg; Total Carbohydrates:
28g; Dietary Fiber: 5g; Sugars: 16g; Protein: 1g

A TCBY employee told The VRG that “TCBY adds sugar and corn syrup to Silk’s® almondmilk to make Silk® Chocolate Almond frozen yogurt.”

Silk’s® ingredient statement for its Dark Chocolate Almondmilk appears on its website http://silk.com/products/dark-chocolate-almondmilk:

Almondmilk (Filtered Water, Almonds), Cane Sugar, Cocoa (Dutch Process), Sea Salt, Natural Flavor, Locust Bean Gum, Sunflower Lecithin, Gellan Gum.

Stated on the Silk® website, its Dark Chocolate Almondmilk is “free of dairy, soy, lactose, gluten, casein, [and] egg.”

According to a TCBY press release, TCBY and Silk® are celebrating their partnership in creating Silk® Chocolate Almond with “The Perfect Match” campaign on social media. More information is available on the TCBY website: http://www.tcby.com/

The contents of this article, our website, and our other publications, including the 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 employees or company statements. Information does change and mistakes are always possible. Please use your own best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. Further research or confirmation may be warranted.

More fast food information can be found at http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php.

These vegan restaurants were recently added to our online restaurant guide. To find restaurants in your area, visit: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php.

Grasslands
http://www.grasslands.to/
478 Queen St., W., Toronto, ON M5V 2B4
(416) 504-5127
Vegan/contemporary. Grasslands, near the heart of Toronto, is an upscale restaurant that offers elegant dining and all-vegan cuisine. The menu is small but creative with dishes like Mustard Crusted Tempeh, Seitan Roast, and Skewers (with tempeh, tofu, and market vegetables). Reservations are accepted. Open Tuesday through Sunday for dinner. Closed Monday. Full service, wine/beer/alcohol, VISA/MC, $$-$$$.

Love Shack
http://www.loveshackmemphis.com/
2886 Walnut Grove Rd., Memphis, TN 38111
(901) 323-2288
Vegan/juice bar. This small juice and smoothie bar is Memphis’ only vegan drive-thru, offering a wide array of juices, smoothies, lattes, and homemade baked goods. Try the Pomme Carrote Cannele which is a fruit cider containing apple, carrot, lemon, and cinnamon. Choose from a variety of smoothies including the Avocet-Lait which is a blended avocado shake with coconut, coconut milk, pineapple, stevia, and lime. Outdoor seating is available. Open Monday through Saturday. Closed Sunday. Counter service, take-out, fresh juices, smoothies, espresso/cappuccino, soymilk, VISA/MC/AMEX, $.

My Nature
http://www.mynatureocmd.com/
1301 Atlantic Ave., Ocean City, MD 21842
(410) 289-1808
Vegan/raw foods/organic. Vegan options in Ocean City are no longer limited to fries and salads! Come to this raw oasis to try a variety of raw/vegan salad bar options including mashed cauliflower “egg” salad, raspberry crepes, lentil burgers, and more. Save room for a shot of wheatgrass or a banana split with almond crumbles. My Nature also doubles as a bookstore and indoor garden – many ingredients used in the entrées are grown in the store! This eatery is located on the boardwalk, beneath the Phillips Beach Plaza Hotel on 13th Street. Open daily for three meals. Counter service, take-out, catering, fresh juices, soymilk, VISA/MC/DISC, $$.

Upton’s Breakroom
http://www.uptonsnaturals.com/breakroom/
2054 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL 60612
(312) 666-7838
Vegan/café. Upton’s Breakroom is an all-vegan café in West Town. Menu items are inexpensive and tasty. Try their Tempeh Sandwich, Fried Bacon Mac, Pastrami Sandwich, or BLT — everything is vegan! The café is attached to Upton’s Naturals factory; they manufacture seitan products. Open daily for three meals. Counter service, take-out, VISA/MC, $.

Vegan Paradice
http://www.veganparadice.com/
846 Texas St., Fairfield, CA 94533
(707) 428-0110
Vegan/natural foods. Vegan Paradice offers delicious, homemade, and creative vegan meals. Some of their unique menu items include the Sausagy Cheez Sandwich, Terrific Tofu Burger, and Surprise Me! Chili Dog. This gourmet café prepares their food thoughtfully with the freshest of ingredients. Vegan Paradice is a locally-owned, husband and wife family business. Outdoor seating is available. Open Sunday through Thursday for lunch. Closed Friday and Saturday. Counter service, take-out, delivery, catering, VISA/MC/AMEX/DISC, $.

By Priscilla Soto Vargas

This event took place in Wheaton, Maryland, where there is a large Hispanic community. Since this was a Salvadorian festival, the majority of the event attendees were from El Salvador. However, we talked to people from Honduras, Mexico, India, the United States, etc. Thank you to Annabelle (Cuban background) who connected us with Alexandra, a nutrition student in El Salvador, who sent us El Salvadorian recipes to hand out. This is truly an international world.

This experience was different from the previous outreach booth I did due to the fact that the Spanish language was heavily used. Therefore, Karen (Mexican background), Laura, and I were able to apply our language skills with those who were interested in obtaining more information about vegetarianism. At the same time, we were exposed to Salvadorian food, drinks, desserts, crafts, as well as live music.

Some people at the festival seemed unaware of vegetarianism; others came to us and proudly mentioned that they didn’t eat meat. One lady came with her eight-year-old daughter and said to me, “We don’t eat any meat at our house, and I would like to buy a book with new recipes in English because it helps my kids improve their reading skills.” I personally thought that was a great way to bond with your children while they learn to read and cook.

Being a native of Costa Rica, I understand that Hispanics can be shy and sometimes feel intimidated to ask questions, especially when they have to speak English. Therefore, I am sure they liked the fact that we spoke their native language, and also that we offered the Vegetarian Journal to them.

Hispanic families tend to be very united. At this event I observed that parents, grandparents, and children were present enjoying the Salvadorian Festival to the fullest. We handed out plenty of our Spanish vegetarian coloring booklets to children. It truly put a smile on their faces.

This was a great experience for us since it gave us the chance to observe, interact, and learn from a different culture.

If you would like to volunteer at VRG booths, please contact Soren at [email protected].

If you would like to donate towards vegetarian outreach, please donate at http://www.vrg.org/donate

Are you a high school student graduating in 2014? Don’t forget about our annual college scholarship!

Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, each year we give two awards of $5000 in college scholarship money to graduating U.S. high school students who have promoted vegetarianism in their schools and/or communities. For more information and to apply: see
http://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm.

To see a video on Kitty Jones, a previous Vegetarian Resource Group scholarship winner, visit:
http://www.girlwholovedanimals.com/girlwholovedanimals/index.html

If you are a federal government employee, you can support The Vegetarian Resource Group through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Look for us under Health & Medical Research Charities of America.

Please also remember VRG in other workplace fund drives, matching gifts, etc.!

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Coconut milk seems to be the new darling of the plant milk world. With a mild flavor and relatively few calories, coconut milk can be used to replace other plant milks in recipes or as a beverage. Note that we’re talking about aseptically packaged or refrigerated varieties rather than canned coconut milk. Beverages like So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage and Silk Pure Coconut are based on coconut cream with water added so that they are lower in calories and fat. The coconut milks that we’re referring to have 100 calories or less per cup (somewhat more in specialty flavors) compared to over 400 calories in a cup of canned coconut milk.

Coconut milk serves mainly as a source of calories, fat, and carbohydrate. Some vitamins and minerals may be added. Coconut milk is not nutritionally equivalent to soymilk (or cow’s milk) and would not be a good choice as a main beverage for someone with higher protein needs unless they are meeting their protein needs from other foods.

We were able to find close to 20 different varieties of coconut milk on grocery aisles and in the refrigerated section of grocery stores. Look for more information about coconut milks and other plant milks in an upcoming issue of Vegetarian Journal.

To see detailed information about the nutritional content and ingredients in coconut milk from Dream Blends, Silk, So Delicious, and Trader Joe’s, take a look at this chart: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/milk_alternatives/coconut_milks_table.pdf

Thanks to VRG interns Candice Kalinski and Gabrielle Rapsis for helping to collect product information.

To support VRG research, donate at www.vrg.org/donate

By Laura McGuiness

Chipotle is breaking new ground with their completely vegan product, Sofritas. Essentially shredded organic tofu braised with chipotles, poblanos, and a variety of different spices, Sofritas is a vegan option for both herbivores and carnivores. It is served to you in either a traditional burrito, burrito bowl, crispy or soft taco, or salad. Topped with your choice of guacamole, salsa, black beans, cilantro-lime or brown rice, and fresh vegetables, you can customize your Chipotle meal to satisfy your taste buds.

Originally, Chipotle had only released this product in California. Being a proud Californian, myself (born and raised in San Jose!) I rushed out with my omnivorous mother to try Sofritas! Both my long-term vegan self and my meat-loving mother were more than satisfied – and full!

I ordered a burrito with cilantro-lime rice, hot salsa, black beans, and Sofritas. My mother got a burrito as well, but one with brown rice, mild salsa, black beans, and Sofritas. The burritos were huge! I ate about half, gave up, and saved it for my dinner later, but even just the half I initially ate was filling. Both of us thought Sofritas was a hearty and filling substitute, making a normally banal vegan burrito exciting and substantial.

I liked Sofritas so much, that I actually went searching for it during my stay here in Baltimore before I realized it was not available on the East Coast, yet. Not to fear, East Coasters, Chipotle is expanding the product to the entire Northwest region, including Calfornia, Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver. This product is so delicious, it’s bound to make it over here soon! In the meantime, if you know of anybody in the North West region, tell them to go support Sofritas! It will only make the trip to the East Coast faster with the help of your North West friends.

For more information see: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/chipotle-offers-vegan-sofritas/story?id=19807489

Vegetarian Journal Issue 2, 2013 is now online!

Articles included in this issue are: Cooking with Fresh Herbs; Vegan Backpacking; Starting a Vegan Food Manufacturing company. Ed Coffin, RD, shares his experience using a co-packer.; Living Among Coconuts; A Vegan in China, Part 2; Which Ingredients are Acceptable to Vegans?; Dietary advice for hot flashes during menopause.; Vegan Cooking Tips ; Quick Breakfast in a Mug or Travel Cup, by Chef Nancy Berkoff; Jim Dunn’s Work with Neglected Youth, by Whitney Blomquist; Which Sugars Aren’t Processed with Bone Char?

For more back issues, visit: http://www.vrg.org/journal

Subscribe to the Vegetarian Journal to receive current issues in print! To subscribe and to support vegetarian research and outreach, either:

• join online with $25 USA; $35 Canada/Mexico; $45 other countries
• call (410) 366-8343 and order by phone with your Mastercard® or Visa®
• or complete this form

A reader asked about taking B12 in excess of what we mentioned in our My Vegan Plate. Here’s the response from Reed Mangels, PhD, RD:

Our MyVeganPlate page suggests taking 25 micrograms of vitamin B12 daily if you don’t regularly use foods fortified with vitamin B12. It can be difficult to find a low-dose vitamin B12 supplement. It would be fine to take a supplement that has 100 micrograms of vitamin B12 daily. We’re able to provide a bit more detail on our website (http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.php) and in the newest edition of Simply Vegan where we suggest taking a daily vitamin B12 supplement of 25-100 micrograms or a twice weekly vitamin B12 supplement of 1000 micrograms. The more vitamin B12 you take, the lower the percent that your body absorbs. So, if you take a high dose supplement, the vitamin B12 that is not absorbed simply passes through your intestines and is excreted.

The contents of this 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.

Are you in the 51+ age category? If so, you might find these vegan menu plans helpful: four different calorie levels – 1600,1800, 2000, and 2200 – are outlined in order to meet the needs of 51+ age men and women of varying activity levels and budgets.

In general, a 1600-calorie diet should meet the needs of an inactive older female; an 1800-calorie diet should meet the needs of an active older female; a 2000-calorie diet should meet the needs of an inactive older male; and a 2200 calorie diet should meet the needs of an active older male.

See: http://www.vrg.org/seniors/veganmenusfor51+.pdf

The contents of this article, our website, and our other publications, including the 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 employees or company statements. Information does change and mistakes are always possible. Please use your own best judgement about whether a product is suitable for you. Further research or confirmation may be warranted.