By Lori Stultz, Outreach Coordinator

Greetings from Morgantown, West Virginia, the third-to-last state I will be leafleting in this semester!

The gradual change from warm weather to chilly fall temperatures has sparked a great deal of reflection on the college campuses I have leafleted thus far and also the fun activities that I have had the opportunity to participate in outside of leafleting and the beautiful sights I have seen. Last week, I talked about some of the delicious vegan meals I have had since leaving home. And today I wanted to share about a few of the fun weekend adventures I have embarked on while driving along the East Coast. Note that these fun weekend outings have usually been sandwiched between naps (leafleting five days a week can be quite exhausting), doing laundry (something that definitely doesn’t get done on the weekdays), and calling friends and family members back home.

First, I’ll take you back to Labor Day weekend, when I was staying in Avon, Connecticut. I spent the entire afternoon at Elizabeth Park Conservancy, walking in multiple flower, rose, and vegetable gardens and nodding off in the grass as I lay in the sunshine. I highly recommend visiting if you’re ever near Hartford and West Hartford, Connecticut. It was a wonderful experience.

The following weekend, I was staying in Medford, Massachusetts, and my hosts and I took the subway into Boston. We spent some time at the Boston Common and walked around downtown a bit. For someone who is used to much smaller parks in smaller cities and towns, it was quite a sight! My favorite part was riding the boat that was propelled by a peddler in the back.

Coming from the western part of the United States, I admit that one of the many exciting aspects of being on the East Coast has been visiting the Ivy League schools. I’ve had the privilege of leafleting at Princeton and Brown University and visiting Yale University and the Harvard University. I happened to stay in New Haven, Connecticut, for three days, so I took a guided tour of Yale. It was hands-down the most beautiful college campus I have seen thus far. The architecture was incredible, as was the greenery around campus.

And, no, I did not steal this photo from a Yale catalogue—I actually took that picture!

Fast-forward about one month, and I found myself on the Appalachian Trail! I was staying in New Mildford, Connecticut, about a 15 minutes car ride from Bull’s Bridge in Kent, Connecticut. Bull’s Bridge is a hiking destination, one that includes a section of the Appalachian Trail and several river walks along the Housatonic River. It was absolutely breathtaking.

If I lived near Kent, I don’t think I’d ever leave Bull’s Bridge. It was so nice to get away from the crowded cities and spend an afternoon among the trees. There is something very healing about being in nature.

And last weekend was perhaps one of the most emotional weekends I have had since leaving home. I spent the day at Indraloka Animal Sanctuary near Mehoopany, Pennsylvania. I got to hang out with chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, cows, pigs, goats, donkeys, horses, sheep, and many other animals who reside on the farm. My host, Sarah, volunteers at the sanctuary every weekend—cleaning, feeding, watering, and doing a whole list of other tasks that are required to maintain a sanctuary. For anyone who has ever spent time on an animal farm, it is no secret how quickly one can become attached to these beautiful beings. It’s the eye contact, the way these animals speak with their eyes. It’s amazing. It was a deeply emotional reminder as to why I am going out of my comfort zone day in and day out to help raise awareness about the horrible atrocities that the animal agriculture industry commits against farmed animals. I mean, come on—look at these faces!

If I’ve said it once, I have said it a million times: I love my job. These fun weekend adventures are an added bonus to what I get to do the other five days of the week. I can only imagine what the rest of my time on the road is going to bring!

By Toni Okamoto

If you’re looking for a leaping bunny-certified cruelty-free lip balm that is environmentally sound, I recommend Pucker Hugger.  Their packaging is both compostable and recyclable, and they put thought into every aspect of the design of their product. They make sure the adhesives on their labels are biodegradable, and the dispensers they use are made with 90% recycled paper, with 75% post-consumer content.

I use the Herbal Mint lip balm regularly and it keeps my lips soft and comfortable in cold weather. Since the design of their packaging focuses most on being eco-friendly, the label didn’t hold up well in my purse and is not readable, but it doesn’t affect the quality of the product. I personally prefer a product that is healthier for the environment than pretty to look at.

If you’re interested in checking out its awesomeness for yourself, you can use the discount code “veganoutreach” and get 10% off, PLUS 10% is donated to Vegan Outreach! Buy some here: http://pucker-hugger.myshopify.com/

Then let us know how you like the product in the comments below. 🙂

By Lori Stultz, Outreach Coordinator

When I was hired as a traveling campaign coordinator for Vegan Outreach (VO), I immediately knew that pretty much everything about my stationary life in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, was going to change. I knew that I would no longer wake up and go about my day with the comfort of knowing my immediate environment or seeing familiar faces on a regular basis. I knew I wouldn’t come home to the same bed every night or even drink my preferred flavor of coffee in the mornings. Looking at the bigger picture, though, I knew that the daily routines and overall predictability of my life was going to be a small sacrifice given the journey and adventures that lay ahead. And honestly, as I sit here today, two months into my new nomadic lifestyle, I can wholeheartedly say that the joy my job brings me far outweighs the lack of predictability.

All that said, there are a few activities I did pre-VO life that I sometimes feel nostalgic about, and cooking is one of those activities. I have gone from a kitchen pantry full of containers of bulk grains, beans, and spices and a fridge filled with an array of colored veggies and fruit to a medium-sized cardboard box filled with dried fruit, nuts, granola, a rather impressive selection of energy bars, and few jars of peanut butter in various flavors. Oh, and I do have a rather nifty car cooler that plugs into my cigarette lighter to stay cold. I use it to carry apples, bananas, pears, oranges, raw veggies, and hummus. My extent of food preparation has gone from using five- to 10-ingredient recipes and mixing machines and utensils to either grabbing a vegan meal replacement bar, handfuls of dried figs, banana chips, almonds, and a piece of fresh fruit—or getting really fancy and whipping out my reusable three-in-one knife, spoon, and fork and slapping a heaping scoop of peanut butter onto a banana (this is my personal fave!).

Don’t get me wrong—I don’t feel deprived in any way. The selection of food I keep in my car is tasty, and I purposely vary my options. Not only that, but the various hosts I stay with while traveling from state to state oftentimes invite me to their dinner table after I’ve had a long day of leafleting, and they share the meal that they themselves have prepared. And once in a while, I stop at or am invited to a restaurant to enjoy a yummy vegan meal. Some of the dishes I’ve been served at these restaurants have absolutely blown my mind, and today I’d like to share a few of these wonderful meals I have had. Keep in mind that while some of these dishes have been served at all-vegan restaurants, many have not. And if you ask me, both scenarios are encouraging! The number of all-vegan restaurants popping up across the country goes to show that this way of eating is not “extreme,” nor is it lacking in tastiness. The latter scenario provides reassurance that even if you find yourself in a restaurant that serves an extensive menu of meat and dairy dishes, you can still join your friends and family at the restaurant without compromising your values or going hungry. So, without further ado …

This was a meal I got from an all-vegan café in upstate New York called Karma Road Organic Café. The café had an extensive menu, including breakfast items, sandwiches and wraps, salads, desserts, coffee, and smoothies. The restaurant also had a deli counter with ready-to-eat dishes, including veggie burgers, three-grain pizza, curry, chili, blackened tofu, sweet potato biscuits, and more! I had a hard time deciding whether to order off the menu or try the dishes at the deli. In the end, I couldn’t make up my mind. So I did both. I ordered a falafel wrap (with grated carrots, tomato, lettuce, and tahini), with sides of roasted Brussels sprouts and broccoli slaw. The picture speaks for itself: delicious!

Vegan pizza? Yes, please!

An all-vegan pizza café? What?!

3 Brothers Vegan Café was a restaurant I ate at when I was leafleting in Long Island. This place had an almost overwhelmingly huge menu, which included appetizers, pizzas, calzones, pasta dishes, salads, sandwiches, burgers, paninis, special entrées, and desserts. Four of us ate together at the restaurant, so I, fortunately, got to take bites of everyone’s appetizer and main dish. I was the only one who ended up ordering a pizza (pictured above); I got the Verdue Pizza, which was topped with grilled zucchini, grilled eggplant, spinach, olives, roasted peppers, basil pesto, and cashew milk mozzarella. I will probably never order a pizza this good again (until I return to 3 Brothers, that is).

Since I was on Long Island for a number of days, my host suggested we also try House of Dosas. This restaurant was not 100 percent vegan; it wasn’t even vegetarian (like many Indian cuisine restaurants are). It did, however, have a number of items on its menu that were vegan or that could be “veganized” by simply requesting that the dairy products be left out (cream, butter, yogurt, etc.). Once again, I ate at the restaurant with a number of people, so I got to sample a lot of the dishes and appetizers. I ordered the eggplant curry (confession: I am obsessed with curry and eggplant, so I was delighted to see the two together as a main entrée), which could be served with basmati rice, roti (a type of Indian flatbread), or puri (unleavened fried bread). I had never tried puri, so I decided to order that alongside my curry. I will be honest—the bread wasn’t anything to write home about. Although, I found them to be aesthetically pleasing if nothing else! If I were to come across this dish again, I would probably order the basmati rice. Nonetheless, the curry was excellent, as were the appetizers that my friends ordered: idly steamed rice and lentil patties (second picture), and cutlet, minced vegetables with spices, crumbled and fried (third picture).

Life on the road has been anything but tasteless, believe me. And even if I’d rather be on the preparing and cooking side of a yummy vegan meal, I cannot complain. The trade-off of trying out different vegan dishes is almost as good!

Thus concludes my vegan food adventures for today, but stay tuned because I have decided I would like to start regularly writing about my life on the road. I will continue to write about my vegan food encounters, but I will also be writing about several other wide-ranging topics, including humorous events that have happened and the types of activities I do when I am not leafleting. I am beyond excited to start this, shall we call it, series, as I would love nothing more than to openly share details about the job I feel incredibly fortunate to have.

 

By Matt Ruscigno, Guest Blogger 

Strongest Hearts makes videos on vegan athletes and they know that veganism can take root and inspire in many ways. In their latest episode they interview Stic from the legendary Hip Hop group Dead Prez. Back in 2000, Dead Prez put out an album called Let’s Get Free with the track Be Healthy Y’all– a vegan anthem that’s just as popular today. You can read more about Stic here and be sure to check out his post on Plant-based on a Budget.

 

 

By Lisa Rimmert, VO Director of Development

Wow, it’s November! Here in Colorado, that means it’s getting chilly outside. I don’t know about you, but Fall weather like this makes me want to curl up under a blanket with a good book and a yummy hot chocolate.

The only question is: how do I get vegan marshmallows for my hot chocolate without leaving my cozy cocoon? The answer: The Vegetarian Site!

For the month of November, The Vegetarian Site is donating 10% of sales to Vegan Outreach, to help us reach more people with pro-veg booklets and info about vegan living!

So order some vegan marshmallows (like Spiced Pumpkin Dandies), whatever else you need – or want! It’s for a good cause! – and start hibernating. I’ll see you in May.

 

By Josh Fernandez, Guest Blogger

Halfway through my Starbucks Protein Bistro Box I realized I was eating an egg. A giant hardboiled egg. “Nope,” I thought. “That’s probably not vegan.”

Hello. My name is Joshua Fernandez and I am new here.

So far, the hardest part of being a vegan is eating vegan food. Yes, that sounds really stupid when I write it down, but it’s true. My first week as a vegan was a series of half-eaten mouthfuls of food and mad dashes to the trashcan.

My office-mates probably thought I was suffering from bulimia because I kept running to the bathroom to spit out my lunch.

“Wait,” I’d say into the bowels of the faculty garbage bin. “Was that granola bar vegan?!”

It turns out it wasn’t vegan. At all.

Because milk chocolate chips aren’t vegan. Because they contain milk.

Neither is cheddar cheese. Because it contains cheese.

Yes, old school vegans are probably reading this and muttering, “Psssht, what a stupid newbie.”

But I don’t care. I am determined to get this right.

I love animals. And I don’t want to contribute to their suffering, only to my own, which is why I have sworn off the most delicious foods on earth. Well, there’s only one delicious food on earth, and that’s cheese pizza (goodbye, my old lover. I’ll see you in hell.)

One of the reasons I swore off cheese pizza and became a vegan has a lot to do with my friend Toni. We were on our way back from a friend’s house. The trip took about an hour. At that point, I was a happy pescatarian and felt morally superior to most people on Earth for my choice to not eat chicken or beef. I only occasionally ate fish. But Toni started telling me this horrific tale about what farmers do to the chickens that are too old to lay eggs. I don’t want to go into the gross details of the story, but let’s just say it involved live chickens, a big metal vat and fire.

That image stuck out in my head, shattering my vegetarian comfort into a million tiny pieces that I would never be able to reassemble. Even though I tried. Desperately. I’m really good at rationalizing and lying to myself. When I was a vegetarian I had successfully convinced myself that fish was a plant.

“I can find the farms that treat their chickens with dignity and respect!” I said.

The thing is I’m waaaaay too lazy to seek out compassionate chicken farmers. For someone like me, it’s easier to assume that they are all heartless murderers with a lust for dead chickens.

Another problem with veganism is that I’m a marathoner, sometimes clocking in at about 60 miles per week, and I told myself that if I only eat plant-based food I would most likely keel over on mile 25.

I haven’t actually tested that theory yet, but I will find out on December 6, when I run my first marathon as a vegan. And mark my words: If that happens, on my death bed I will write another blog post for Vegan Outreach, entitled, “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE, BUTCHER A COW AND EAT IT IMMEDIATELY.”

I’m kidding.

I have this other friend, Dave, who is a vegan and he runs ultramarathons. Sometimes he only eats fruit, which he calls fruitarian, a word that my spell check doesn’t even recognize. Most humans don’t even recognize that word. I don’t even think it’s a word. Maybe Dave isn’t even real. Like he’s just some hallucination I’m having from being so protein deficient.

But that, of course, is another misconception. I get all the protein I need from beans, avocados, fruits and nuts. I’m actually gaining
weight because I eat burritos filled with black beans, potatoes, spinach, onions, garlic, avocados and cashew cheese about 700 times a week.

I suck at being a vegan. I really do. I tried to make vegan lasagna and at once burned and overcooked it while forgetting half of the ingredients. A better name for that dish would be “Black, floppy noodles with some crusty red crap on top.”

Sometimes I feel so hungry and lazy that I’ll just lick almond butter off a spoon for lunch.

Also, I’m sort of a poser. I mean, sure, I love animals and I don’t want them to suffer, but I really want to be a vegan because I want to wear vegan themed clothing. Like, who doesn’t want to wear a shirt of a carrot riding a bike that says, “Go Vegan”?

I also want to be a vegan because people keep telling me not to be a vegan. If there’s one consistent motivator, it’s people telling me I can’t do things. Which, now that I think about it, is probably why I got kicked out of high school.

Anyway, I have no idea what I’m doing, but I have a network of good vegan friends who are helping me—inspiring me to live cruelty-free.

As I sit here in my office, waiting for a student to come into my office hour, I’m writing this blog post and sipping my
–Wait, is this coffee vegan?!

*runs to bathroom*

*regurgitates latte into trash can*