In the latest issue of Vegan Journal, Amy Burgers wrote a Vegan Action column featuring Larry Rumbough. Larry co-founded the nonprofit organization Vegetarians of Central Florida, which hosts an Earth Day Celebration each spring and a VegFest each fall in Orlando, Florida. Read all about Larry here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue1/2025_issue1_vegan_action.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA only here: https://www.vrg.org/member/

photo from Freepik

Passover begins the evening of April 12, 2025 this year and The Vegetarian Resource Group is the publisher of several books that feature vegan Passover recipes. Below we share three recipes with you. In the USA, you can purchase these vegan cookbooks from the VRG Book Catalog here: http://www.vrg.org/catalog

Fresh Tomato Soup (from No Cholesterol Passover Recipes, by Debra Wasserman)

(Serves 4)

1 large onion, chopped

5 small ripe tomatoes, chopped

1-1/2 cups water

½ teaspoon fresh parsley, minced

Pepper and salt to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes and then cool. Place mixture in a blender cup and blend until creamy. Reheat and serve hot.

Minted Carrots with Chilies (from Vegan Passover Recipes, by Nancy Berkoff)

(Serves 4-5)

1-1/2 cups sliced onions

Vegetable oil spray

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger

2 Tablespoons seeded and minced fresh chilies or green pepper

1-1/4 pounds carrots (about 3-1/2 cups), peeled and sliced lengthwise 1-inch thick

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Place onions in a large frying pan, spray liberally with vegetable oil, and sauté over medium heat until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and chilies and stir. Allow to cook for 1 minute.

Add carrots and add enough water to just cover. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Add mint, cook for 2 more minutes. Serve hot.

Russian Potato and Mushroom Croquettes (from The Lowfat Jewish Vegetarian Cookbook, by Debra Wasserman)

(Serves 5)

1-1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped

5 cups water

1 onion, peeled and chopped

¼ pound mushrooms

1 teaspoon oil

1 Tablespoon water

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup matzo meal

1 Tablespoon oil

Boil potatoes in 5 cups water until tender. Drain and mash potatoes.

In a separate pan, sauté onion and mushrooms in 1 teaspoon oil and 1 Tablespoon water over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Mix the mashed potatoes, sautéed onion and mushrooms, seasonings, and matzo meal together in a large bowl. Form 10 burgers (croquettes).

Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry croquettes for 8 minutes, flip over and continue frying for another 8 minutes. Serve two croquettes per person.

Don’t forget, you can purchase these vegan cookbooks from the VRG Book Catalog here: http://www.vrg.org/catalog

photo from Good Foods

Good Foods is now offering two unique chip dips: Dill Pickle and Nacho Cheeze. Read our review of these dips here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue1/2025_issue1_veggie_bits.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA only here: https://www.vrg.org/member/

spinach photo from Freepik

Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD, says you can use spinach anywhere you normally use lettuce — on sandwiches, chopped in wraps or tacos, or in salads. Fresh spinach is a hearty base for entrée salads. Toss fresh spinach with finely diced pineapple, sliced strawberries, chopped pistachios, sunflower seeds or soy nuts, and nutritional yeast. Create a dressing with balsamic vinegar, pineapple juice, and touch of mustard.

To quickly (and we mean quickly) cook spinach, spray a frying pan with vegetable oil, sprinkle in some chopped fresh or dried garlic, and get the pan hot. Toss in the spinach and flash sauté, turning constantly. This should take one or two minutes, tops.

Use your stove-sautéed spinach as a hot or cold vegetable with your entrée, as part of a sandwich filling, to top pizza, or added to a tofu scramble. If you would like to make “creamed” spinach, whisk crumbled silken tofu or vegan sour cream into the sautéed greens, just as you are removing them from the stove. If you have leftover cooked spinach, you can purée it and add it to hummus, salad dressings, or soups.

To learn more interesting spinach facts, see: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2020issue2/2020_issue2_cooking_tips.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal: www.vrg.org/member

photo from No Whey Chocolate

Easter falls on April 20^th in 2025; however, you might want to shop for vegan Easter treats now!

Here’s some online shops offering vegan Easter Chocolate and Candy:

Amanda’s Own Confections: https://amandasown.com/products/holidays/easter/

No Whey Chocolate: https://nowheychocolate.com/easter-chocolate/

Natural Candy Store: https://www.naturalcandystore.com/category/vegan-candy

Lake Champlain Chocolates: https://www.lakechamplainchocolates.com/seasonal-chocolates/vegan-easter-chocolate/

Yum Earth: https://yumearth.com/collections/easter

If you are not familiar with veganic agriculture, you may want to read Jeanne Yacoubou’s article Veganic Agriculture as A Climate Crisis Solution in the most recent issue of Vegan Journal.

Find the entire article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue1/2025_issue1_veganic_agriculture.php Subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA only here: https://www.vrg.org/member/

photo from Webster’s Bookstore Café

If you happen to be near Penn State and are searching for vegan food, look no further. After being open for 25 years, Webster’s Bookstore Café has gone all vegan. Enjoy items such as the Breakfast for Champions (scrambled tofu, roasted potatoes, and fruit or kale salad); Giovanni’s Room Sandwich (Walnut Pate, craisins, grilled apples, greens, and thaihini dressing on a grilled roll); Falafel Wrap (Falafel patties with hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers, greens, and thaihini sauce grilled in a tortilla wrap); plus salads, soups, bowls, sides, and more. On Sundays they have a vegan brunch buffet! They are located at 133 E. Beaver Ave., State College, PA 16801. For more information, visit: www.webstersbooksandcafe.com

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

It may seem obvious that candy bars, potato chips, and soda can’t have wording on their labels that suggests that they are “healthy.” However, as of March 2025, a highly sweetened breakfast cereal with a bit of vitamin C added to it can be labeled as “healthy.” Avocados, nuts, and seeds cannot be labeled “healthy” because they are too high in fat to meet the FDA’s criteria. While candy bars, potato chips, and soda still can’t be labeled “healthy,” a new rule (1) scheduled to go into effect on April 28, 2025 and that must be complied with by 2028, does not allow sugary cereals to be labeled “healthy” but allows avocados, nuts, and seeds to have “healthy” on their label.

The new rule says that, in order to be labeled “healthy,” products must contain a certain amount of vegetables, fruits, “protein foods,” whole grains, and/or “dairy” and not have too much saturated fat, added sugars, or sodium. The “protein foods” group includes beans/peas/lentils and nuts/seeds/soy products along with meats, seafood, and eggs.

According to the FDA, “the ‘healthy’ claim can empower consumers by providing a quick signal on food package labels to help consumers identify foundational foods for building healthy dietary patterns” (2). The FDA also clarifies that foods that do not meet the requirements to be labeled “healthy” are on necessarily unhealthy foods (1). In addition to restricting the use of the word “healthy” to food packages that meet qualifying criteria, similar words like “health,” “healthful,” healthfully,” “healthfulness,” “healthier,” “healthiest,” “healthily,” and “healthiness” also cannot be used unless specific criteria are met (1).

Labeling a product as “healthy” is a voluntary action on the part of the manufacturer. Manufacturers don’t have to label qualifying products as “healthy” but cannot use words like “healthy,” on products that do not meet the updated requirements.

According to FDA’s website, “The FDA is postponing the effective date for the final rule, entitled “Food Labeling:  Nutrient Content Claims; Definition of Term ‘Healthy’” until April 28, 2025. The final rule was published with an effective date of February 25, 2025. The FDA is postponing the effective date in accordance with the January 20, 2025, memorandum from the President, entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” with respect to reviewing any questions of fact, law, and policy applicable to rules that have been published in the Federal Register but have not taken effect. “

References

1. Food and Drug Administration. 21 CFR Part 101. [Docket No. FDA-2016-D-2335] Food Labeling: Nutrient Content Claims: Definition of Term “Healthy.” https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2024-29957/food-labeling-nutrient-content-claims-definition-of-term-healthy?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery. 2024.
2. FDA Finalizes Updated “Healthy” Nutrient Content Claim. https://www.fda.gov/food/hfp-constituent-updates/fda-finalizes-updated-healthy-nutrient-content-claim?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery. 2025.

To read more about “healthy” on food labels see:

Some “Plant-based Dairy Alternatives” Can Quality to be Labeled as Healthy According to an Updated FDA Rule

What Does “Healthy” on a Food Label Mean to You?

The Vegetarian Resource Group Testimony to FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Concerning the Use of “Healthy” on Food Labels

photo from GOOD PLANeT

GOOD PLANeT offers a premium vegan sliced cheese made with high quality olive oil. These slices work fantastically in grilled cheese!

Read our review in Vegan Journal: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue1/2025_issue1_veggie_bits.php

https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

photo from Little Loaf Bakeshop

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Here are some recent vegan restaurant additions. The entire guide can be found here: www.vrg.org/restaurant

To support the updating of this online restaurant guide, please donate at: www.vrg.org/donate

Here are some new additions to VRG’s guide:

Abuelita Coco, 4821 W. 95th St., Oak Lawn, IL 60453

If Breakfast has you feeling the love—for chocolate that is— Abuelita Coco offers Cacao Amor Toast with dark chocolate hazelnut spread, strawberries, bananas, cacao nibs, and hemp seeds on sour dough. There are also Chilaquiles—handmade tortillas with sour cream, onions, salsa, and cheese along with rice and beans and several more choices. For Afternoon, besides Guacamole, Nachos, and Chip Appetizers, there’s also Corn Ribs or Chaskas (Corn in a Cup) with mayo, cayenne, cheese, key lime, and pink salt. One Sandwich selection is La Nieta Mushrooms al Ajo (in garlic) on toasted sourdough with avocado, lettuce, tomato, mustard, and mayo. Besides Enchiladas and Burritos, the Tres Taco Dinner option offers your choice of Asada with mushrooms, onions, cilantro, house salsa, and lime; Birria—shredded jackfruit in chile adobo, cilantro, and onion; or Al Pastor, a blend of Guajillo, (chile pepper) mushrooms, pineapple, cilantro, and onion. Picadillo is a bold broth with red chili, shredded jackfruit, potatoes, and tangy tomatillos with rice and homemade tortillas. Flautas de Papa feature crispy handmade corn tortillas filled with mushroom and potatoes, pickled red cabbage, and cashew sour cream. Some weekend additions are Pozole crafted with jackfruit and chicpeas in a smoky red chile broth, with radish, red cabbage, lime, onions, and chips, as well as Menudo with mushrooms slow simmered in a spiced broth with handmade tortillas and rice. They have loads of almond mylk based Smoothies. If you’d like to “blue sky it,” one choice is Celito Lindo (Cute little Sky) featuring pineapple, dates, almond butter, and blue spirulina. They offer lots of add-ins too like lucuma, sea moss, goji berries, and many more. Some Cold Drinks are Horchata and Kombucha. Some Hot Beverages are Rose, Butterfly Pea Flower with maple syrup, and other Herbal Lattes besides Herbal Coffee. They offer Ginger and various Herbal Shots too. Sweets include Vanilla, Chocolate or Strawberry Milkshakes, Chia Pudding, Flan, and House-made Ice Cream in varying flavor choices.

Brunch Box, 211 E. Walnut St., Springfield, MO 65806

Motivated by compassion for animals, Brunch Box offers vegan savories and sweets. Breakfast brings Tacos, Quesadillas, Burritos, Chia Pudding with Berry Compote, Fruit Cup, Biscuit and Sausage with Gravy, Sandwiches on Ciabatta, Croissant, or English Muffin and Griddle Cakes all with egg and cheese and, if you like, sausage, bacon, or a chicken patty as well. Weekend not complete without Cartoons?  There’s Scooby Doo Hot Chocolate, She-Ra Lavender Latte, T.M.N.T. Turtle Latte, and more. For your sweet tooth, they bake cakes, cupcakes, pies, cinnamon rolls, fritters, and many other goodies.

Gentle Grill, 43053 Margarita Rd., Ste. B105, Temecula, CA 92592

With gluten-free options, organic produce delivered daily, and all sauces made from scratch, they focus on compassion, social responsibility, sustainability, and health. Breakfast choices include Overnight Oats topped with fruity nutty goodness and extra-firm Tofu Scramble sautéed with Bell peppers, onions, spinach, and tater tots, Pico de Gallo, and homemade Applewood bacon, Breakfast Burrito or Avocado Toast, balsamic drizzled, on sourdough with basil and feta. For Starters there are Fries–Gentle Style with caramelized onions, or Poutine Style with house-made “beef” gravy—both with melted vegan cheddar, a Hummus Platter with roasted red pepper, tzatziki, pita and veggies, Cauliflower Buffalo Bites battered and seasoned with ranch and more. Some Sandwiches are Reuben with sauerkraut, vegan Swiss cheese, house 1000 on rye and Pastrami with mustard, lettuce, and pickles on a potato bun. Both are crafted with house made seitan. There’s also marinated Jack Fruit Pulled Pork and various Burritos. Feel like bowling? To note a couple, there’s Cabo Bowl served warm with cilantro-lime quinoa, crispy chicken, black beans, corn, tomato, pickled jalapenos, and chipotle cashew cheese dressing; Gyro Bowl of house made seitan, onions, tomatoes, and Tzatziki sauce on romaine; and Minestrone Soup of rosemary scented tomato broth, fresh herbs, hearty vegetables, kidney beans, and pasta served with sour dough garlic bread. They have Salads too. Kids Menu varies, but may feature Chicken Nuggets, Cheese Quesadilla, Bean and Cheese Burrito, or Refried Beans N’ Cheese. All come with fruit or fries. A couple of their fountain drinks are Stubborn Draft Agave Vanilla Cream and Pineapple Cream Soda. Desserts include Peanut Butter Brownie, Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Donuts in varying flavors.

Little Loaf Bakeshop, 218 Main St., New Paltz, NY 12561

Little Loaf BakeShop delights in crafting their food with creativity and fun. Adding to their charm, Little Loaf is named after the owners’ cats because the cats remind them of loaves of bread when they sit with “their little front legs under their bodies.” Breakfast Lovers—it’s available all day here! Choose from Egg and Cheese with JustEgg patty, Violife Cheddar or BLAT with Thrilling Bakon, lettuce, avocado, and sun-dried tomatoes–both served on a croissant or pretzel brioche. There’s also the Bowl with roasted potatoes, pumpkin seed scramble, braised kale, cheese sauce and scallions. A few Lunch options are Steak and Cheese Sando with house-made seitan, oat cheeze, peppers, and onions on ciabatta, and Italian Tofu Sando (on focaccia) or Italian Tofu Bowl (with brown rice)—both with sautéed mushrooms, roasted red pepper, kale pesto, greens, and Treeline ricotta. Specials include dishes like Cream of Broccoli Potato Soup, or Cheddar and Apple Bowl (with millet, chickpeas, roasted Delicata squash, and maple Dijon) or Cheddar and Apple Toastie (on Brioche with fried sage). Both have Urugula Tangy Cashew Cheese, sautéed leeks, and Granny Smiths. Their sweet baked goods vary, but generally include a large assortment of pies, Danish, cookies, cupcakes sticky buns, sweet breads, and more. One of their newest additions is fresh Grapefruit and Goat Cheese Danish with grapefruit pastry cream, and agave drizzle infused with fresh thyme. To see exactly what desserts they’re serving at any given time, you might just have to visit! Props to Little Loaf for their appreciated transparency in including an ingredient webpage too.

Lotus Moon Vegan Pho, 2770 Pearl St., Ste. A, Boulder, CO 80302 Appetizers include chicken drumsticks; fried calamari served with marinara sauce; and summer rolls that can be ordered with a choice of plant-based protein such as tofu, vegan beef, or vegan shrimp. Main courses include pho made with shitake mushrooms, carrots, daikon, boy choy, and choice of veggie meat or tofu; banh mi baguette sandwich with pickled veggies and choice of tofu, vegan ham, or vegan steak; and a vermicelli bowl served with grilled toppings and choice of spring roll or summer roll. Desserts on the menu include black bean brownies served with ice cream and mango sticky rice.

Smash Me Baby, 333 W. St. Louis, Las Vegas, NV 89102

Smash Me baby is especially proud of their Nut-Free Burgers. Among several choices of Burgers and Sandwiches, a few are Smashed Truffle Burger featuring house made truffle aioli, shaved truffle, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, two seasoned plant-based patties, and smoked vegan cheese on a bun, Patty Melt of grilled onions, raw onions, seasoned plant-based patty, smoked house vegan Swiss cheese, vegan American cheddar cheese, and secret sauce on toasted sourdough bread, very spicy Nashville Hot Chick’n  crafted with house seasoned Nashville style plant-based Chick’n patty, house fermented coleslaw mix, pickles, and secret sauce on a soft bun, and a Breakfast Sandwich of house made “egg,” plant-based sausage, plant-based American cheese, smashed hash browns, and secret sauce on  toasted Brioche. They also serve Tacos with house marinated plant-based meat, pickled onions, house vegan mozzarella, secret sauce, jalapenos, cilantro, and lime in a soft flour tortilla. Sides include Crispy Chips, Crunchy Fries, and Chik’n Nuggets with their secret sauce. Onsite parking is available.

Webster’s Bookstore Café, 133 E. Beaver Ave., State College, PA 16801

If you happen to be near Penn State and searching for vegan food, look no further. After being open for 25 years, this bookstore café has gone all vegan. Enjoy items such as the Breakfast for Champions (scrambled tofu, roasted potatoes, and fruit or kale salad); Giovanni’s Room Sandwich (Walnut Pate, craisins, grilled apples, greens, and thaihini dressing on a grilled roll); Falafel Wrap (Falafel patties with hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers, greens, and thaihini sauce grilled in a tortilla wrap); plus salads, soups, bowls, sides, and more. On Sundays they have a vegan brunch buffet!