Broccoli Wingz

Interview by Toni Okamoto

Margaret Chapman of The Plant Philosophy joins VO today to talk about vegan food! She is an Instagram superstar with over 174,000 followers — and we can see why, her food photography is amazing!

kittyboy

Margaret shares some of her tips in our interview below:

Where do you get your protein?

My highest sources of protein would have to be black beans, garbanzo beans and vegan protein powders. But I also get a high amount from hemp, chia and sunflower seeds. Smaller amounts are found in fruits and veggies, so I eat an abundance of those too.

What chain restaurant do you recommend if you’re traveling or in a hurry?

Chipotle, hands down. It’s found almost everywhere and they have so many vegan options for you to mix and match. My personal favorite is a Sofritas salad with brown rice, grilled veggies, pico de gallo, corn and salsa. You can eat anything there that isn’t meat, cheese or sour cream. They still have so much to choose from, plus it’s pretty affordable for the quantity they give you. A burrito bowl lasts me two meals and costs about $6.80 here in Texas.

How do you live without cheese or ice cream?

That’s a trick question, because I don’t have to! There are so many vegan alternatives today. I adore making my own cashew cheeze with just a few simple ingredients and the best ice cream I’ve ever had was coconut milk based. You can have your cake and eat it too, absolutely no restrictions whatsoever in today’s society with the amount of vegan options.

Is it possible to be vegan if a person lives with family members who are not vegan?

Absolutely! I have a huge family, I was actually living with them when I first became vegan. They were supportive and understanding of my choices, so I had no issue. Now my husband and I live alone and he’s not vegan, but we make due. All you need to do is focus on you, your needs and have a supportive family/partner that accepts that. Either way, you can make it possible all on your own if need be. There are so many like-minded people online. My Instagram community has become like family to me and supports this lifestyle wholeheartedly.

What easy recipe do you have to share with Vegan Outreach supporters who are interested in learning to cook veg foods?

Broccoli Wingz! They’re the easiest thing and come together really quickly.

plant strong vegan

(Yields 1-2 servings)

Ingredients:

  • 1 bag broccoli florets
  • 1 cup flour (can also be gluten-free flour)
  • 1 cup water, filtered
  • 3 tbsp hot sauce (Sriracha is best)
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • salt, to taste
  • black pepper, to taste

Directions:
Start by prepping your broccoli. I bought mine already in florets – so that was super handy. Just wash, dry and cut into bite-sized pieces. Measure and whisk together all your batter ingredients, it should be similar to pancake batter in consistency.

Preheat your oven to 445 degrees F.

Dip each floret and let the excess run off by tapping the side of your bowl. Lay flat on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat till everything is coated. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through if you wish (not vital to do so though). Remove from the oven and toss in sauce of choice. I did BBQ sauce, garlic parmesan and a spicy mango chili sauce. All store bought, but the garlic parmesan was just Earth Balance buttery spread with garlic, nutritional yeast and salt.

Once coated, transfer back to your baking sheet and continue at 445 degrees F for another 5-10 minutes.
Serve hot with dipping sauce of choice. I went with roasted red pepper hummus and my cheezy sauce, recipe here.

Video: Mexican Rice

VEGAN MEXICAN RICE-2

(click image to play video)

By Toni Okamoto

This is hands down my favorite recipe EVER!

Ever, ever! It’s practically free to make, it’s really low-effort, and you can spice it up with either corn/ peas/ minced potatoes/ chopped cilantro/ diced tomatoes/ etc., or you can eat it plain like I do in the video.

The recipe was inspired by my mom, who likely learned it from my grandma. Both women are very deeply rooted in their Mexican cultural foods, so I was a little hesitant to share with her my veganized version. To my surprise, she loved it — and so did the rest of my family!

Mexican Rice was the first recipe on my blog Plant Based on a Budget, and you may also recognize it from our Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating. It’s been very well-received, and I hope you decide to give it a try. If you do, let us know what you think in the comments below!

Spring 2016: Karen James and Lana Smithson

This semester, Karen James (below, left) has handed out 11,939 booklets at 18 different schools, and Lana Smithson, VO’s New England Outreach Coordinator (below, right), has handed out 11,076 booklets at 29 different campuses!

Karen James and Lana Smithson

On April 21, Karen and volunteer Marion reached more than 700 students at SUNY Purchase College:

Marion is the woman who gave me the name/contact info of her sister, the vegan chef at Wesleyan University! She came out to help for an hour today.

Moss is a vegetarian who said she does not eat any animal products off-campus, but eats cheeses once in a while in the cafe at school because they do not have vegan cheeses. We talked about starting a petition on campus to get non-dairy items into their vegetarian cafe.

Devon [below] gave his Your Choice to someone else, but came back to me for another one, and got a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating, too. He is looking to eat much healthier!

Devon at SUNY Purchase

On April 27, Lana and volunteers handed out over 1,000 booklets at the University of Maine in Orono:

I was joined by two wonderful student activists (Audrey Hoyle and Tyler Cote) who started the school’s official veg group called Vegan Education and Empowerment. This is the group’s second semester, and it has been active doing outreach to students and convincing the dining services to add more veg options.

Last week for Earth Day, they tabled on campus and worked with VegFund to be able to give out 350 free food samples; and they got new students to sign up for their group. They were happy to have VO pamphlets to give out and specifically thanked Vegan Outreach in their Facebook post about the event. I’ve attached a photo of Tyler leafleting today [below]. He is vice president of their group.

Tyler Cote at UMaine

Also on April 27, Karen teamed with Carl Santoro (below), and together they handed out 1,700 Your Choice booklets at Nassau Community College:

Nassau was rocking today with very polite students, and a fun loving Carl, who I leafleted with for the first time. Thanks Jennifer Greene for putting out the word with your Long Island meetup group! Carl was with me for two hours, and we were on fire! He had a few talks with students, and we met about six vegetarians and five vegans. Carl spoke with a guy who had been vegan, said it was difficult, but was now inspired to try again!

Jasmine is vegan. She stopped to thank us for being there. We spoke about getting a petition together for better food in the cafeteria, and she is going to do it. While we spoke, another vegan girl stopped; Jasmine gave her a business card so they could contact each other, and she gave me one as well.

Thank you, Karen, for stepping in at the last minute for a month of leafleting when VO needed you!

Carl Santoro at NCC

Support VO’s Adopt a College leafleting program by taking part in our Team Vegan campaign: Register for your own fundraising page, help Lana or one of the many other team members reach their goals, or make a donation to the general fund!

Tsubi Soup!

Vegan Outreach reviews the Tsubi Soup!

By Toni Okamoto

I’m so excited to tell you about a brand new soup company from Japan called Tsubi Soup!

Last week, I received an e-mail from a woman named Tsubi Nishitani who told me all about her journey to becoming a professional delicious soup maker. While working a busy office job, Tsubi discovered she was allergic to dairy — which led her to adopting a plant-based diet and ultimately changed her life path. She realized there weren’t many companies making exceptional vegan miso soups, and decided to quit her job and focus her life on remedying that problem.

In October 2015, Tsubi launched the one-woman business, Tsubi Soup, — and I am incredibly glad that she did! I consider myself somewhat of a soup aficionado, and this brand surpasses all my miso expectations. My favorite flavor was the Miso Soup with Wholesome Vegetables. Each packet is only 160 ml of liquid (about a little less that 3/4 of a cup), so I doubled up and was satisfied with that portion size. It was filling, the broth was rich, and I loved the selection of veggies that were included.

The soup package comes with the following ingredients freeze dried (photo from the website is shown below): miso, spinach, cabbage, green shallots, carrot, potato starch, kelp powder, yeast extract, shiitake mushroom powder, salt, vitamin E (as an antioxidant derived from soy leaf). *Contains soy.

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Right now the company is in the growing stages, and it’s important to support them in this process to ensure we keep this yummy product on the market. They’re currently only selling in Japan, China and Singapore, but you can also buy it online at TsubiSoup.com 

Thank you Tsubi for sharing your story and for creating this great product!

If anyone tries one of the soups from Tsubi Soup, please let us know what you think in the comments below!

Crescent Roll Pot Pies

Crescent Roll Pot Pies by Vegan Outreach

By Toni Okamoto

I was browsing around Pinterest and was inspired by this recipe. The ingredients in that are obviously not vegan, so I tried to make a much better version. This is what I came up with!

In my mini pot pies, I used frozen peas and corn with fresh diced carrots and potatoes. I steamed the veggies for about 8 minutes before adding them to the gravy.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups water
  • 2 vegetarian bouillon cubes
  • 4 tbsp oil
  • 1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
  • 4 tbsp flour
  • 1 package of crescent rolls (8)
  • 1 1/2 cups mixed frozen or fresh veggies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Start by either boiling or microwaving the water and bouillon cube until it’s a well mixed broth, then set it aside.

Over medium heat, put oil and onions into a small sauce pan and cook until the onions become translucent. Lower the temperature, add flour and stir until your roux has a smooth consistency. Add broth and stir over low heat until it thickens.

Line cupcake tin with dough triangles. Add cooked veggies to the gravy and let them cook again for 3 to 5 minutes. Spoon the gravy/vegetable mixture into the dough triangles and wrap the dough. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes.

Cincinnati Chili

Cincinnati Chili

By Toni Okamoto, Recipe by Alex Bury

This week we celebrated the birthday of Vegan Outreach’s cofounder and Executive Director, Jack Norris. You can read more about him by clicking the link attached to his name, but all you really need to know is that he loves turtles (specifically Richard, his companion turtle, who we recently found may be female), playing ultimate frisbee, and eating Cincinnati chili.

To celebrate Jack’s special day, his wonderful wife, Alex (who is also a dedicated animal rights activist and talented vegan chef),  made our office his favorite meal. Below, you can see a photo of how happy her thoughtfulness made Jack.

Jack and his Cincinnati chili

Our Office Manager, Josie, and I were very skeptical about chili being served on spaghetti, but thankfully Jack is a true Cincinnatian and walked us through the proper serving presentation. The order being: pasta, chili, onions, vegan cheese, and crackers (right before you eat it).

Cincinnati chili

The recipe was so delicious that I asked Alex to share it with the world. Here it is, we hope you enjoy it as much as Jack and the Vegan Outreach staff!

Hungry Jack

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole yellow onion, diced small (and separated into 2 batches)
  • 1/2 carrot, diced very small
  • 1 tbsp canola or safflower oil
  • 1 packet Cincinnati Recipe chili mix
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes (get one that’s “fire roasted” if you can)
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 1 package spaghetti
  • 1 package of your favorite vegan ground meat (Beyond Meat, Lightlife, Gardein, etc.)
  • 1 package of your favorite vegan cheese, shredded (I used Follow Your Heart cheddar, but Daiya also works great)
  • 1 bag oyster soup crackers

Directions:

Sauté half the diced onion and the diced carrot in the oil, on medium heat, for 5 minutes.

Add the spice mix. Stir to coat with oil and toast it a little bit.

Add the tomato products right after. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions and drain.

Add the crumbles. If it seems too thick, add 1/4 cup water or so. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

Serve the chili over the spaghetti. Top with shredded vegan cheese, diced onions, and oyster crackers.

Pizza Braid

Recipe by Toni Okamoto

This pizza braid is incredibly easy to throw together, and absolutely delicious to eat! It’s great for potlucks, sports parties, family nights, or just because. You can also separate the pieces, freeze them, and have lunch for the week!

In addition to being easy and tasty, it is also a very versatile recipe. You can choose to make your own crust, you can use whatever veggies you have on hand, skip the vegan cheese or pepperoni if you’re on a budget, use any kind of sauce (pesto, BBQ, marinara)…the options for the pizza are limitless!

Recipe for Vegan Pizza Braid by Vegan Outreach!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 can Pillsbury classic pizza crust, or any vegan crust
  • 1/2 cup pizza sauce
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella and/or cheddar cheese (Daiya or Follow Your Heart)
  • 2/3 cup vegan pepperoni slices (Tofurky or Yves)
  • Any other favorite vegan pizza toppings

Directions:

Heat oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Sauté or steam onion and bell pepper until fully cooked.

Unroll pizza crust and press into a 10-x-13-inch rectangle onto prepared baking sheet. Use a knife to cut 8 equal strips along each of the two longer edges, leaving a 3-inch space down the center of the dough rectangle.

Spoon pizza sauce along the center of the pizza dough, then sprinkle with 3/4 cup of the vegan shredded cheese. Top with cooked veggie toppings, then sprinkle 3/4 cup shredded cheese.

Starting from one end, fold strips of dough over the filling to the center, so the ends overlap and it looks braided. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese and pepperoni.

Bake 20 minutes until crust is golden brown and baked through.