Bringing Veganism to the Youth

Meatless Monday

Veganism is a constant learning process. Sometimes, I spend literally hours per day surfing and searching the internet for recipes, ideas, facts, new research, new vegans, etc... Sometimes, I wonder how I don't get fired from my day job, I'm surfing so much! I'm not even sure what got me on the path today, but it seems there's a youth movement afoot. Granted, the exciting stuff that is going on is vegetarian and not quite vegan, it is still pretty progressive.

If you look at some of the great changes we've gone through as a society over the past thirty years, like wearing seatbelts, eradicating smoking (at least, in public), significantly reducing drinking and driving, and recycling, they were a success because the youth were educated with the facts and benefits. Good or bad, it all starts with the youth - they do grow up, after all.

The school board in Baltimore, Maryland, USA has officially designated Mondays 'Meatless Mondays'. That means, every Monday the 80,000 public school students in the Baltimore system will be served only vegetarian food in their cafeterias. They will still be serving dairy products and eggs, but, hey, it's a start.

This initiative is in response to the obesity epidemic that is plaguing the continent. Hopefully, the students will be provided with facts about the evils of factory farms and the harm animal farming does on the environment.

This has inspired Being A Vegan Athlete to start an e-mail campaign to lobby the many, many levels of Canadian government to get a program like this running in Canadian schools sooner than later. As the responses roll in (it's government, so please - no breath holding), good or bad, they will be posted on the blog.

For further reading on the Baltimore project read:

• http://sev.prnewswire.com/agriculture/20090930/DC8410630092009-1.html


• http://www.meatlessmonday.com/baltimore-schools/


• http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/bal-md.gr.lunch24sep24,0,1379910.story

'Meatless Mondays' is not something new that is starting with Baltimore. Meatless Monday is actually a non-profit initiative in association with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to reduce meat consumption by 15%. Their website is an excellent source of information and provides all you need to know about the initiative.

Interestingly, they chose Monday because studies suggest that behaviors begun on a Monday are most likely to maintain throughout the week. According to the website's history page, the initiative was actually started during WWI to try and conserve food. Meatless Monday was reborn in 2003 with a goal to reduce the risk of preventable disease.

The Meatrix

Hopefully, the school boards, as they jump on board, can use 'The Meatrix' as a learning tool. Despite the fact that 'The Meatrix' is all about ending factory farming and not about going vegan or even vegetarian, it is still information that can have an impact on the future vegans out there. 'The Meatrix' is a series of animated shorts that spoof 'The Matrix'. It brings to light the incredible cruelty in the factory farms and can be a catalyst in the decision to cut the flesh from the diet.

I encourage all of you to contact your local government officials and your local school boards and bring to light that our children's diets need to change - now.

Vegan Friendly Restaurants: Karine's in Toronto

In my quest to seek out and inform the Vegan community about great Vegan-friendly restaurants, I believe I came across what possibly is one of the best there is as far as quality and value.

Karine's is a 100% Vegan restaurant in downtown Toronto, located at McCaul and Dundas. Run by Maggie and daughter Karine, the restaurant features gourmet food for cafeteria pricing. Everything they make is homemade and 100% free of dairy, gluten and animal products. They specialize in Mediterranean, European and Lebanese cuisine.

Taking their passion for the environment to a higher level, Karine's encourages all patrons to bring their own mugs and food containers.
The menu includes such exotic sounding (and tasting) delights like:

• Armenian Salad
• Fattoush Salad
• Potato Frittata
• Plaki
• Pesto Crushed Organic Tofu
• Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Their menu is listed in full on their website and explains the above dishes in every mouth-watering detail.

I was fortunate enough to have Maggie answer some questions about the restaurant. Some of my questions are pretty lame and need re-tuning, but, god bless her, she made the best of it.

Q. Since you serve meals containing animal products as well as vegan, what percentage of your customers would you say are vegan?

A. I guess we have 65% Vegan and Vegetarian.

Q. Have any customers ever claimed that your food was the reason they went vegan?

A. I have gotten the best compliments and great Thanks from my people but I don't think they went Vegan because of me. They find it FUN, Very Tasty and not Boring.

Q. What is the weirdest question you've had about vegan food from a non-vegan customer?

A. "Oh my God! These people are Vegan! What is Vegan by the way?

Q. Which gender of customer do you find more often orders vegan?

A. I guess the female gender is the winner so far but truly we do have lots of male Vegan patrons. Chapeau!!!

Q. Have any celebrities ever eaten from your vegan menu?

A. Over the years we have had many celebrities that we catered for in our Maggie's All Day restaurants in Toronto and London but I don't recall any of them being Vegan.

Q. Who is the most famous person to eat vegan at your restaurant?

A. The mayor of London Anne-Marie Decicco Best is Vegan and she truly supported my restaurant in London for years. Hi Anne-Marie! Missed u!!! (being a former Londoner and as big a London Knight fan as Anne-Marie - she's pretty famous in my books)

Q. What is the rarest, most exotic ingredient you use in your cooking?

A. I don't know how to answer to this question. I just can tell you that the most exotic ingredient in my cooking is Love and Passion.

Q. Is is a prerequisite for all your employees to be vegan?

A. The most important task for my employees is to learn the menu.
Not only the title but all the ingredients in every dish.
We do believe in serving our patrons with knowledge.
We care about their allergies and we make sure they get out from our restaurants Happy and Fully Satisfied.

Karine's is also a big supporter of ScotiaBank's Nuit Blanche in Toronto. This is a very unique cultural event that takes place this coming Saturday (October 3). What it is in a nutshell is a massive art exhibit that takes place throughout downtown Toronto, indoors and out. The really unique thing about Nuit Blanche is that it takes place from dusk Saturday until dawn Sunday morning. Last year, an estimated 1 million people took part. The TTC and city council co-operate so that selective transit lines stay open throughout the event.

I will be attending Nuit Blanche with my family and will be eating at Karine's! Thanks Maggie so much for helping me out with this post and all the best to you, your family and, of course, the restaurant!

8 Great Vegan Excuses

Yes, I know we shouldn't hide who we are. Sometimes, though, it's just easier that way. Keep in mind, this post is meant to be somewhat humorous! There are times where telling little white lies, instead of getting into the in-depth conversation about your diet, is acceptable. My parents are well into their 80's. These are people that come from the meat and potatoes era and when they were kids you were damn lucky to even have that - so they say... The incredible amount of stress it would cause them and myself to explain that I don't eat all the things they were brought up to know everyone had to eat (my Mom is famous for dipping bread in bacon grease, for Christ's sake!) is just not worth it for me. Besides, at their age, they'd forget the whole conversation ever happened and we'd have to go over the same thing at the next meal. (If you ever get a computer and happen to read this - Sorry, Mom and Dad!)

There are other times, as well, where you may be at a large or not so large dinner party with people you don't know and maybe don't feel all that comfortable around. This is also a time when you may want to avoid the spotlight attention that mentioning you're Vegan inevitably brings.

So, here's my list. I have used some. I have actually used more far-fetched excuses but I don't feel they are appropriate on this blog. I most likely will use some or all of these again on occasion. I'm sure you will too!

• I'm lactose intolerant. (the easiest)


• I have diarrhea. (the questions will cease immediately)


• I have a minor procedure tomorrow and can't eat anything for 24 hours. (a little far-fetched but good for a laugh. watch your spouse or significant other try and keep a straight face)


• Oh, I already took some meat, it's underneath my mashed potatoes. (this one works well. try and immediately draw attention to someone else at the table so that everyone doesn't continue to stare at your mashed potatoes)


• I'm part of a paid meat-deprivation experiment and I can only eat vegetables for the next couple of days. (this will draw just as much attention, but it'll be more fun because you're making up a whopper of a story)


• My wife is pregnant and even the scent of meat on me will make her vomit. (not good at the in-laws - unless you wife really is pregnant)


• My timing is all off today - I just had a huge meal before I came here - I'll just have some salad and maybe I'll take some left-overs home with me for later. (the most practical and easy excuse to pull off)


• I was picking away at the turkey in the kitchen while you were preparing this delicious feast and now I just want the mashed potatoes. (this is the one I pull on my parents - works every time)

Once again, I'd like to emphasize that we should never be embarrassed of who we are and we should try and promote our lifestyle choices whenever possible. But, sometimes you just have to lie like a rug!

3 Great Blogs in the Vegan World

Lately, I've been scrounging through google to find really interesting vegan voices out there in the world wide web. I've found a few that are extremely interesting and I'd like to share them with you. At some point, I'd like to interview the authors of these blogs, if they're willing, as they are unique characters in our vegan world.

animal rights and animal liberation: empathy for animals

This is a great blog on current events surrounding animal rights and animal liberation. The author, The One And Only Hypnos, is from Belgium but is not bound by international borders when bringing issues of animal injustice to light. Updates are often and quite detailed. Hypnos is a great writer and a great 'voice' for animal rights and veganism.

Barefoot Adventures

Barefoot adventures is a blog by a very entertaining Floridian named Sean Dietrich. Sean made the move to being Vegan a few years ago but more interestingly has been running barefoot for even longer! As the pictures he posts on his blog will attest, he is quite a sight running down the road with his long red hair and beard waving in the wind and no shoes on his feet. He has run marathons barefoot and is looking to run an ultra. Currently, he is pondering a trail run across the state of Florida. Sean is also an accomplished musician. His band, The Sean Dietrich Trio, has a website that can be accessed through his blog.

Christine "Peanut" Vardaros

Christine is a professional cyclist out of California, USA. She is currently working the Cyclo-Cross circuit in Europe. She is honoured at Vegan Voices as a leader within the Vegan movement. Her blog is very cycling oriented with not a whole lot of Vegan information but it is a great read.

Personal Update:

I've postponed my 24 hour fast experiment planned for later today. My schedule for today and tomorrow is too active and physically demanding.

Vegan Friendly Restaurants: Magic Oven

I, like most vegans out there, find that the biggest challenge is finding restaurants that 'understand'. I'm never selfish enough to force my omnivore family and friends to go to a vegan-only restaurant, but it is nice to find middle ground and find a restaurant that caters to both worlds. Your big-chain 'roadhouses', as I like to call them, usually have one item out of dozens that can be considered vegetarian. If you ask for that meal without the cheese, then, voila, you have one stinkin' vegan dish. I was in one of these restaurants in Niagara Falls recently and had to walk out. Not a single item on their menu did not contain meat - not even their salads.

Anyhow. On to the real subject. Magic Oven is a chain of 7 restaurants in the core area of Toronto. Founded in 1997 by Tony and Abby Sabherwal, all the Magic Oven restaurants take pride in cooking vegan-specific items and vegetarian-specific items as well as dishes made with organic meats. All vegetarian dishes can be made vegan with the substitution of always available vegan cheese.

The Magic Oven group pride themselves on being friends of the earth using bio-degradable packaging when possible and using recycled cardboard and paper. An interesting note is that all the restaurants are reclaimed sites that were saved from demolition and all furniture and fixtures are recycled.

Not including all their vegetarian dishes that can be veganized with the substitution of vegan cheese, there are several vegan items on their menu. Some tasty delights include:

• Vegan Magic Pizza topped with tomato pesto sauce, zucchini, artichokes, portobello mushrooms and roasted peppers.


• Whole Wheat Penne with a mix of garden vegetables in a rose sauce.


• BBQ Tofu with Spinach, warm grilled ciabatta sandwich.


• Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Cake or Carrot Cake.


• Edamame - Steamed baby soybeans.


• Green Tea infused organic tofu fingers.


• Mixed Beans & Grains in curry-lime.

There are several more and they all sound delicious!

I was able to ask Tony a few questions about the restaurants and here's what he had to say:

Q. Since you serve meals containing animal products as well as vegan, what percentage of your customers would you say are vegan?

A. We have 5-10% of Vegan guests.

Q. Have any customers ever claimed that your food was the reason they went vegan?

A. They are appreciative of our vegan choices and our commitment to vegetarians and vegans. I know of lots of meat eating people who have shared vegan dishes with their company and loved it.

Q. What is the weirdest question you've had about vegan food from a non-vegan customer?

A. "What kind of people eat this?"

Q. Which gender of customer do you find more often orders vegan?

A. 50:50 split.

Q. Have any celebrities ever eaten from your vegan menu?

A. We do not track such sightings/events.

Q. Who is the most famous person to eat vegan at your restaurant?

A. I thought fame was equal - 15 minutes each. (awesome answer!)

Q. What is the rarest, most exotic ingredient you use in your cooking?

A. Green Tea Infused Tofu Fingers - it is not rare - it is the preparation and the chemistry within the body that makes it unique. All our pizza dough is vegan.

For store locations, hours of operation and full menus including pricing, check out their website. As for what I'm ordering next time I'm there:

• Green Tea infused organic tofu fingers


• Bombay Green Salad


• Garlic Lover's Magic Pizza (sans asiago cheese)


• Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Cake


• Beer! - all restaurants are licensed

I would just like to thank Tony Sabherwal for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions and I wish him the best in his endeavors.