Please join us for our 31st Annual Vegan Pre-Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner!

Sunday, November 18, 2012
5:00 P.M.
North Baltimore Mennonite Church
4615 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21210

Admission is $4 per adult and children under the age of 16 are admitted free. Please bring a vegan dish that serves four as a contribution from each member of your party. A vegan dish is made without meat, fish, fowl, dairy, eggs, honey, or other animal-derived ingredients. Write the ingredients of your dish on a 3 x 5 card to accommodate guests with special diets. Also, please bring a serving utensil for each dish. Paper plates, cups, napkins, and plastic utensils will be provided; however, we suggest participants please bring their own reusable dishes and utensils in order to reduce waste.

If you are unable to cook, you may bring a prepared vegan dish for four from a local natural foods store or restaurant. We also encourage you to bring a non-perishable vegetarian canned food item to donate to North Baltimore Mennonite Church, who will distribute it to those in need.

Need recipe ideas? Check out our Vegan Thanksgiving page.

To volunteer or for more information email [email protected] or call (410) 366-8343.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Associate Professor of Psychology and VRG member Dr. Hank Rothgerber is conducting a survey on vegetarians and vegans. He needs as many participants as possible and greatly appreciates your help. Respondents will have a chance to win a $50 amazon.com gift card.

You can click on the following link to access the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/36X3D8C

The study has been approved by the Bellarmine University Institutional Review Board.

If you’re in Hurricane Sandy’s path, stay safe, and check out these tips for disaster planning.

Disaster Planning for Vegetarians
By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, updated Feb., 2011 by Corey Bivins

It may be a blizzard in the Northeastern US or a hurricane in the South, a tornado in the Midwest or an earthquake in the West. It may be a wild fire, an oil spill or even terrorism. Suddenly you’re left without electricity and possibly without safe water. The stove, freezer, refrigerator, microwave, and toaster oven aren’t working. Grocery stores are closed or may not have much on the shelves. Many groups have recommendations aimed at helping the general public cope with these kinds of disasters. They call for use of foods like canned tuna, canned meat, and powdered milk. What about vegetarians? What sort of plans should we make?

Most authorities recommend having enough non-perishable food and water on hand at all times to last at least 3 days. Depending on where you live and the types of disasters you anticipate occurring, you may want to have more food and water on hand. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ website (http://www.hhs.gov/) recommends having enough food and water to last 1 to 2 weeks in case food and water supplies are disrupted due to pandemic flu. You should also have a 30-day supply of important prescription medicines on hand.

The foods that you choose for your disaster kit should require no refrigeration, minimal or no preparation or cooking, and little or no water. You can pick up a few items each time you shop and gradually build up your supplies. Once you have the food on hand, you will need to develop a system for replacing items as they get older; perhaps every six months or so you can plan to use the items you have and replace them with items you’ve just purchased.

Which non-perishable foods not requiring cooking should you have on hand? Suggested foods for vegetarians include ready-to-eat canned foods like vegetables, fruit, beans, and pasta; dried fruit; juice boxes or canned juice; powdered milk, either soy or cow’s (include extra water in your survival kit if you plan to use powdered milk); individual aseptic packages of milk (soy or cow’s); crackers; packaged breads with a long shelf-life; high energy foods like peanut butter and other nut butters, jelly, nuts, seeds, trail mix, granola and energy bars, cookies, and other snacks. Remember to include foods for those family members with special needs like infants or those with allergies. The sidebar shows one possible 3-day meal plan for a vegetarian family of four that does not require cooking or refrigeration.

Some may question the use of canned foods, however, the advantage of these foods is that they can be eaten right out of the can and don’t require cooking, water or special preparation. Look for low sodium and low sugar products. You can purchase cans of organically grown fruits and vegetables. Be sure to include a manual can opener in your disaster kit!

In the event that you are evacuated and must go to an emergency shelter, it is prudent to bring your emergency food kit along with you. Vegetarian diets are not the norm and in an emergency setting, you may or may not be able to find a variety of vegetarian foods unless you bring your own.

While this article features foods that are available in the supermarket, there are companies which make freeze-dried or air-dried foods. These do tend to be expensive. Some vegetarian items are available.

If you have a safe cooking source such as a wood or propane stove, solar cooker, outdoor grill, or a camping stove, you can prepare some simple hot foods. Non-perishable vegetarian foods which require minimal cooking and which can be prepared on a camping stove include canned soups; soups or meals “in a cup”; instant mashed potatoes; dry mixes for hummus or refried beans; quick cooking brown rice; couscous; textured vegetable protein (mix with tomato sauce and spices); ramen-type noodles; beverages like tea, cocoa, coffee or substitutes; and instant hot cereals. If you plan to use these foods in case of a disaster, you should include a selection of them in your emergency kit. Remember to have a safely stored supply of cooking fuel if necessary. Outdoor grills and camp stoves should only be used outdoors to insure proper ventilation.

Make sure you have a can opener, and scissors or a knife for cutting open packages. It would also be beneficial to have kettle, camping coffeepot, or pot for boiling water. If water is limited and dish washing is not possible, you will need to use disposable plates, cups and utensils so a supply of these will also be helpful.

Article continues here »

By Valerie Shore, VRG Intern

If you’re looking for great vegan recipes for the holidays, Vegan for the Holidays is the book for you!

Autumn is in the air, and that means holidays as well as my personal favorite – pumpkin flavored everything. Of course, it’s difficult to find many of these fall indulgences that are vegan, but there’s always a quick solution – making your own! Vegan for the Holidays has thousands of recipes from Thanksgiving vegan favorites to delicious Hannukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa meal ideas. There was one Kwanzaa recipe in particular that caught my eye when browsing the book: the Curried Pumpkin-Peanut Soup. Combining three of my favorite things, this sounded like a sinful soup.

I coerced my mom, who normally is very cautious about vegan foods, to try this recipe out with me for dinner over the weekend. In terms of preparation, this was a snap. It didn’t take long at all to cut up the celery, onion, and carrot and throw it in the pot, then adding the pumpkin, peanut butter and flavorings – and it was done! I like to let my soups simmer for an hour or two to let the flavors meld, and I took the time to prepare a side of roasted asparagus to go along with it. Since my mom and I prefer things to be a little spicier, I added some black pepper and red pepper flakes to the soup, as well as a small pinch of cayenne. When it finally came time to eat, the first spoonful was like a dream – an unexpectedly perfect mix of pumpkin and curry, with a backdrop of spicy peanut-y flavor that completely infused the vegetables inside the soup. It was amazing, and my mom couldn’t agree more. The added spiciness suited the flavors of the soup, without overwhelming or muddling it. My mom is already picked out more recipes to try from Vegan for the Holidays, and even a few desserts to send out to family around the winter holidays.

Click here to grab your copy of Vegan for the Holidays from the VRG bookstore »

By Aileen McGraw, VRG Intern

Over 100 exhibitor booths filled the grounds of the Science of Spirituality Meditation Center in Naperville, Illinois on August 11th and 12th for Veggie Fest 2012. Chicago Veggie Fest comprises one of North America’s largest vegetarian festivals, uniting vegans, vegetarians and advocates for healthy living. Each day ran from 11am – 8pm and offered international speakers, live music, food demos, and children’s activities.

The Vegetarian Resource Group provided a wealth of information from its booth alongside other health, mind and wellness outreach groups. Volunteers provided festival goers with literature, the most recent Vegetarian Journal issue, and kid-friendly coloring books; all free of charge. The VRG also sold books from the VRG bookstore, covering issues of vegan pregnancy, living a meatless work life, and tips on partying vegan-style. VRG bumper stickers and the online newsletter sign-up proved to be festival favorites.

Beyond the Vegetarian Resource Group booth, Veggie Fest’s food court dished out vegetarian favorites and vegan innovations. Plate in hand, many enjoyed live music throughout the weekend. Chicago-based indie group The Giving Tree Band played electric and acoustic sets, and Gizzae, Miss Chicago Marisa Bucheit, and Caribe Son International also took the stage. Live presentations continued with food demos from chefs, cookbook authors and wellness coaches. Their topics included Karen Calbrese’s entrepreneurial natural health and detox ventures, raw food diets, and cruelty-free foods from around the world.

Chicago’s Veggie Fest fused different cultures under a common passion for sustainable living. With the Science of Spirituality (SOS) as the festival host and His Holiness Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj as a speaker, the SOS had a strong presence. The food court served up international fare ranging from falafel to Masala Dosa and mango chutney in addition to classics like sweet potato fries or veggie corn dogs. Worldly demos, ethnic cuisine and cross-cultural music combined to showcase Chicago’s compassionate community.

Both local and international issues brought attendees with questions, conversation and newfound curiosity to the VRG. I volunteered as a VRG intern with Chicago coordinator Eric Sharer and his team. Volunteers from Chicago VeganMania stopped by to chat about upcoming ChicagoVeg events and ideas for gluten-free, vegan baked goods to bring the next day. One visitor wanted simple vegan recipes that could easily be adapted sans-gluten, for which we recommended Simply Vegan by Debra Wasserman and Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D. The fest’s cultural vibrancy reflected those in attendance: one passerby flipped through pages of a Jewish vegan cookbook and multiple attendees asked for information in Spanish. Others took the Vegetarian Challenge, pledging to try vegetarianism for a week and receiving a Veggie Fest and e-recipes as support tools. While most of the weekend’s crowd was familiar with vegetarianism, new challenge undertakers came with questions and concerns: what exactly are leather alternatives? Does veganism really save water? VRG volunteers provided insight and information to novices and well-seasoned vegans.

The VRG joined experts and professionals from Chicago and beyond. Walking through the venue, I met Chicago-native activist and author Marla Rose, vegan body builder
Robert Cheeke and Phillip Roach of The Giving Tree Band, all while connecting with first-time attendees and volunteers like me. The 11am – 8pm days were punctuated with dancing, taste testing and exploring stands of health and beauty providers, Veggie Fest 2012 memorabilia, non-profits and resource centers. The weekend marked the 7th annual Chicago Veggie Fest, celebrating a growing network of health-enthusiasts and mindful living.

If you are interested in volunteering at a booth like this, please e-mail Mary at [email protected].

For a list of other ways to volunteer and get involved with the VRG, please visit http://www.vrg.org/getinvolved.php.

Donations from individuals like you help VRG continue to sponsor outreach booths like
 these. To donate, please go to http://www.vrg.org/donate.

For more information on Chicago Veggie Fest, visit http://www.veggiefestchicago.org.

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director

An online reader at www.vrg.org recently asked us if the oligofructose and the fructooligosaccharides she noticed listed as ingredients in a few cereal bars were vegan. She also wondered what these ingredients were and what they were doing in cereal bars.

Oligofructose and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are soluble (i.e., able to dissolve in water) dietary fibers. A definition of “fiber” developed in 2001 by the Dietary Fiber Technical Committee of the American Association of Cereal Chemists reads as follows:

“Dietary fiber is the edible parts of plants or analogous carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine with complete or partial fermentation in the large intestine. Dietary fiber includes polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, lignin, and associated plant substances…”

Natural sources of soluble dietary fibers include legumes, oats, citrus fruits, apples, and root vegetables. Bananas, garlic, onions, leeks, and artichokes contain high levels of oligofructose and FOS.

Because oligofructose and FOS remain unchanged in the body until they reach the large intestine where they undergo fermentation, they act as food sources for probiotic (i.e., beneficial) microorganisms. As a result, oligofructose and FOS are considered “prebiotics.” The fermentation of oligofructose and FOS yields short-chain fatty acids which aid in digestive health by lowering the pH, making it difficult for pathogenic bacteria (E. coli and Salmonella) to survive while the “good” microorganisms continue to live. There are some studies that report that oligofructose and FOS also lead to increased calcium absorption because calcium remains soluble longer at lower pH.

Oligofructose and FOS often serve as sweeteners, replacing sugar or used in combination with soy, whey, or artificial sweeteners to reduce the bitter aftertaste sometimes associated with these ingredients. They may act as humectants (i.e., retaining moisture) to keep the foods (such as cereal bars) pliable and chewy. Because of their low caloric value, longer-chain oligofructose and FOS are also used as fat replacers in a variety of spreads and dairy beverages.

Oligofructose and FOS are linear chains (known as polymers) of fructose molecules, usually between two to ten units. Fructooligosaccharides always terminate with a glucose molecule while oligofructose most often contains only fructose molecules but may end with a glucose molecule. (Fructose and glucose are sugars. Fructose, found in fruits, vegetables, and honey, is considered the sweetest of all natural sugars.)

What oligofructose and FOS have in common is a very specific type of bonding (beta (2,1) glycosidic linkage) between individual molecules that is not broken by human enzymes or gastric juices.

A common commercial source of oligofructose and FOS is inulin, a fructose polymer, (also referred to as fructan or a polysaccharide), containing between 2 and 60 units, derived from chicory root. Longer-chained inulins work better at replacing fats (in yogurt, spreads and dressings) while shorter ones function well as sugar replacers or sweetener enhancers (in chocolate or confections). They all may be purchased as dietary supplements.

One type of oligofructose supplement is branded Orafti™ by Beneo. Chicory root is used as their starting material: http://www.beneo-orafti.com/Our-Products/Natural-Food-Ingredients Inulin is extracted from chicory root by hot water. Then inulin is split into shorter fragments of oligofructose by enzymes. Activated carbon is used to decolorize.

Beneo’s oligofructose received Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status for use in infant formula by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2012. The document linked below details production methods. (GRAS status means an ingredient may be used in all food categories, following good manufacturing practices, with only a few exceptions).

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodIngredientsPackaging/GenerallyRecognizedasSafeGRAS/GRASListings/ucm307720.htm

Another company, Sensus America, received similar FDA GRAS status approval in 2002 for its inulin product derived from chicory root: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/fcn/gras_notices/219363a.pdf

The VRG contacted other companies in August 2012 about their FOS starting materials. Source Naturals, UAS Labs, Jarrow, and Food Science of Vermont use chicory root in their FOS products.

For more on oligofructose derived from chicory root:
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Chicory-root-fibre-could-trigger-weight-loss-finds-new-research

It is possible to create in a lab through a fermentation process short-chain fructans between two and five units long known as scFOS. These are derived from sucrose (from cane or beet sugar) and consist of fructose chains that always terminate in a glucose molecule. Of the companies that The VRG contacted in August 2012, Nutricology and American Ingredients stated that their source is sugar cane. VegLife (under Solaray) told us “sugar” but could not be more specific. NOW Foods said “sucrose.”

Interested readers may note that cane sugar and sugar beets are the two leading sources of sucrose (table sugar). The large majority of sugar produced globally is derived from sugar cane. As The VRG reported in 2007, most cane sugar is decolorized using cow bone char filter. http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2007issue4/2007_issue4_sugar.php

Readers who wish to learn more about inulin, oligofructose, and fructooligosaccharides may view:
http://www.foodproductdesign.com/articles/2007/09/the-ins-and-outs-of-oligosaccharides.aspx

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.

To purchase our Guide to Food Ingredients, please visit our website: http://www.vrg.org/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=8

For information on food ingredients, fast food, and for other information of interest to vegetarians and vegans, please subscribe to our enewsletter at http://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/

There are many ways to stay connected to The Vegetarian Resource Group!
Get our blog delivered right to your inbox: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheVRGBlog
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For other teen FAQs, check out: http://www.vrg.org/teen/

How can you peacefully share a kitchen space with non-vegetarians?

Moving into a place with new people, whether they are your friends or people you’ve never met before, can be hard, especially if they are new to the concept of vegetarianism. How can you explain to them what your boundaries are, and how can you respect theirs? After a year at college, living with three people, I have some advice to offer on peaceful cohabitation:

Decide what your boundaries are, within reasonable limits:

• What are you comfortable with? If you’re sharing dishes and kitchenware, make a set of rules that everyone can follow, like, “If you use my pot to cook meat in, please clean it yourself afterwards,” or “Please mark things in the fridge that aren’t vegetarian.” If your requests seem arbitrary to them, then explain, politely, why you feel that way. One analogy that I’ve found works well is telling them to act as if you’re “allergic” to animal products.

Keep communication open, and be polite:

• If something comes up that you’re not happy with, let them know. If one of my roommates forgot to clean a dish of mine after cooking with meat on it, I gently reminded her, and no one ever made the same mistake twice.

Respect their food:

• However you personally feel about meat, what they do in the kitchen is their business. Moralizing about the ethics of eating animals is not something your roommates should have to hear every time they sit down to dinner. Telling them that the steak they’re about to enjoy might shorten their lifespan isn’t likely to do anything but annoy them. There’s a time and a place for arguments, and it’s not at the dinner table.

Share!

• Nothing breeds converts like showing people how tasty animal-free food can be. If you have time, bake some vegan cookies and put them out for the people you’re living with. You can find lots of recipes online here: http://www.vrg.org/journal/index.htm#Recipes

As long as you and your roommates are willing to respect each other and open about how you’d like to keep the kitchen, living together isn’t really that difficult. It may take a few weeks for them to remember your system, but above all, be patient. A little positivity can go a long way!

Written by Rebecca Kaplan while interning with VRG

Tasty Bite, a food company that specializes in Indian-Asian vegetarian cuisine, is looking for a Brand Ambassador/Demo Coordinator for the DC region and in Chicago. This position will play a large role in regional responsibility with managing marketing events both in and out of store, working alongside the HQ Sales and Marketing divisions. Must have education past High School, and have 2+ years working post education. Must have experience with in-store or out-of-store marketing events, store sampling events, and have a Food Handlers card. Excellent communication skills required, as well as high-energy and enthusiasm for their work. Local market knowledge a plus. Compensation includes a base salary, car allowance, and a strong benefits package.

For more information, please visit their website at http://www.tastybite.com, or send your resume to [email protected].

By Ed Coffin, RD

Many vegans have the dream of starting their own food manufacturing company and offering their products in retail outlets. While there are a myriad of challenges that need to be overcome, from idea to sales, the major starting point is always figuring out exactly how you’ll produce your product. After completing some initial due diligence, most start-up food manufacturers finally decide that using a co-packer is the best solution for them to get things going.

So, what exactly is a co-packer? In short, a co-packer is an already established food manufacturing company that produces your product to your specifications for a fee. You may ask yourself why would you pay someone to produce your product. When you begin looking into the costs of setting up a food manufacturing facility, you will quickly come to the realization that the capital required to run your own operation is out of reach for most start-ups.

From leasing or purchasing a facility, to purchasing food-grade equipment, to paying employees; these costs quickly add up to a daunting amount for a company with no sales. This is not to mention the costs that you, as a manufacturer, will need to shell out for ingredients and packaging. There will also be many other costs involved such as advertising, licensing, etc. However, with the temporary help of a co-packer, many small producers are eventually able to open their own facilities once their sales can support such an endeavor.

There are many factors that must be taken into consideration when it comes to finding and selecting a co-packer. Before the search begins, you should at a very minimum have a standardized recipe and a non-disclosure agreement from an attorney. A standardized recipe is essentially the formula that your co-packer will use to produce your product. It should be scaled up to mass quantity and include all measurements in weight, for accuracy. A non-disclosure agreement is a short legal form that you will have any potential co-packer, or anyone which you discuss your business with, sign to ensure that they will keep any information you share completely confidential. If you are short on funding, a basic non-disclosure agreement can be obtained online through an internet search.

Once you have those two documents in hand, you can then begin your official co-packing search. The first aspect you want to consider is the location. While it’s best to find a co-packer that’s close enough to travel to on a regular basis to check on production, it’s not always possible to locate the perfect match nearby. Although, it is completely possible to partner with a co-packer that is not in your immediate area as long as you have excellent communication.

Not all co-packers are created equal and you want to be extremely diligent when conducting research on potential co-packers. Unfortunately, there are co-packers who might be known for stealing proprietary information, producing knock-off products, or generally producing poor-quality products. The best way to begin your search is by looking for co-packers that produce products similar to the ones you want to manufacture. This is because they are more likely to have the equipment and resources necessary to produce a high-quality product.

It should be noted that just because a company does not designate themselves as a “co-packer,” that they may still be willing to co-pack your product if you approach them. Many times small to medium-sized food manufacturers are willing to co-pack other products, even competing ones, to bring in extra cash and fill in gaps in their production. Perhaps you know of some companies that produce high-quality products that you enjoy and are similar to the products you want to produce. It’s definitely worth reaching out to them.

Once you have compiled a list of potential co-packers, you will then want to begin conducting reference checks. Assuming they manufacture goods for other companies, you will want to reach out to those companies to ask them how their experience has been working with that particular co-packer. Although, if you are working with a company that has not ever co-packed before, you will then want to ask for some business references such as their distributors or sellers and ask them what their relationship is like. By completing this process, you will quickly get a sense about who you’ll feel comfortable with and who you will not.

Once you have decided on a few co-packers you think you’d be interested in, you will then begin discussions to answer issues surrounding pricing and production capacity. You will also deliberate over which expenses will be covered by you and which will be covered by your co-packer. It can be difficult and nerve-wracking to determine things such as how much product you can commit to producing and for how long, but going through this process will allow you to create a solid plan for moving forward. You’ll also find that co-packers can be a useful resource for you and will answer questions regarding how to find distributors, how to develop packaging, what forms of marketing work best, etc. While you go through these discussions, it’s important to ask as many questions as possible.

Once you have selected a co-packer that you are interested in working with, then will come the negotiations over putting a contract into place. Never begin co-packing without a contract! In this part of the process, there is no way around getting professional legal help and advice. A good contract will protect both you and the co-packer in an amicable way. Your attorney will ensure you have protections and solutions to ensure your product is being produced in a manner that is to your specifications and that you have an opportunity for legal recourse if something happens to go wrong.

During the process of this contract negotiating, you and your co-packer should begin to discuss specifics such as quality indicators. It’s essential that you provide your co-packer with clear guidance as to what you expect for your finished product and how that will be measured. Your contract should protect you from paying for a product that is not produced to the standard you set forth. Nothing is more important that communicating with your co-packer to ensure you are both on the same page and both understand every aspect of the product that you wish to produce.

Finally, you’ll want to begin to ask yourself questions about what your sales will have to look like in order to move into your own production facility. Paying your co-packer is a good temporary solution to get off the ground, but you might be paying them up to half of your profits in co-packing fees. Once you can support yourself, you’ll be in a great place to really begin some serious growth. A final word of advice that is necessary to keep in mind, is to learn as much as you can from your co-packer. You will gain invaluable information that will not only help you while you are still using your co-packer, but insight that will be essential once you are in the position to begin producing your product completely on your own.

By Aileen McGraw, VRG intern

Breakfast and lunch: the two ingredients behind brunch, a well-loved culinary hybrid. This sturdy, satisfying meal makes the morning wait worthwhile. A fusion of comfort food and morning and afternoon staples, brunch brings opportunity to mix flavors and classic dishes. Make comfort food compassionate with a vegan brunch – it’s definitely do-able! With resources found via VRG and well-honed creativity, a cruelty-free brunch tastes as delicious as ever.

In planning your mid-morning menu, draw inspiration from daily meals. What are favorite vegan breakfasts and lunches? Use pantry essentials like bagels, English muffins, oatmeal, and granola or branch out with dishes like Jamaican Gingerbread that bring together breakfast’s sweetness with the spicy kick of ginger and cloves. I love getting creative with classics like peanut butter; its saltiness allows me to give typically syrup-laden dishes like waffles new dimensions. Thinking back to childhood family gatherings, I remember fruit adding a light, vibrant taste to our coffee and cream dominated brunches. Begin and finish off a hearty meal with fresh fruit – there’s no better way to bridge the flavors of breakfast and lunch. Craft a seasonally unique brunch by visiting local farmer’s markets or grocery stores for in-season fruit.

From fruit selection to presentation, brunch caters to personal style. Be it continuing a tradition or starting a new adventure, try hosting a weekend late-morning brunch. Put on a lazy Sunday potluck and share the work and preparation; serve brunch buffet-style or design your own table settings; capture the brunch hour spirit with a theme like All-American Diner, Mexican-inspired ‘Huevos’ Rancheros or ‘Chicken’ Chilaquiles, or a protein power brunch.

Feeling adventurous? Explore close-by restaurants and cafés, using the VRG Restaurant Guide as a starting point! Fill up on vegetarian activist Marla Rose’s vegan brunch survey of her native Chicago, Vegan Brunch Options in Chicago, for ideas on how to approach your own city brunch-scape. Take breakfast-lunch delicacies to exotic heights and delve into the links found on VRG’s Bed & Breakfasts and Retreats.

Hungry for more inspiration? See below for articles and brunch recipes aimed to please any palate, sweet or savory. Read Jennifer McCann’s review of Vegan Lunch Box and peruse the VRG Bookstore to find brunch-friendly resources like Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz ($19.95).

Helpful VRG Articles and Links:
Not Just for Breakfast: Light Pancakes and Waffles
Vegetarian Journal 2009 Issue 1: A Relaxing Weekend Brunch
Vegetarian Journal 2004 Issue 1: Super Savory Breakfasts
Vegetarian Journal May/June 1998: Cereal – It’s Not Just for Breakfast Anymore!

VRG Brunch Recipes:
Cranberry Tea Punch
Tofu Scrambled ‘Eggs’
Smoky Scrambled Tofu
Apple ‘Sausage’ Stir Fry with Beans
Grits Italiano
Lemon Syrup
Oatmeal Pancakes
Strawberry Pancakes
Jamaican Gingerbread
Breakfast Banana Cake
Stovetop Rice Pudding
Breakfast Tofu Links
Potato Tofu Breakfast Hash for a Week
Whole Grain Vegan Quick Breads
Vegan Comfort Foods