Anyway, Vegan food, people becoming vegan, Vegan Restaurants, Vegan Stars, Vegan Menus have really been hitting the news lately.

One that I thought particularly interesting and helpful was an article from OregonLive.com -- Going Vegan Dining Out Advice

She discusses what it was like to be Vegan back in 1994 in Portland where there were not many Vegan friendly restaurants. What she would do is call ahead to the restaurant and speak with the owner or chef.

Although there are many more restaurants in the Portland area that offer vegan fare -- there still the problem of when friends wish to go to regular restaurants, so she still calls ahead.

So, the tip of the day, is if you know where you will be dining out, give a call prior. Talk to the chef or owner and ask if they have any vegan items and / or can accomodate you by preparing a non-vegan dish to vegan specifications (like removing the cheese, etc).

Do you have any tips on vegan dining out -- at non-vegan restaurants?

Unfortunately, the list of vegetarian meals also include dairy (cheese, sour cream). Yet if you are a little creative, you can still find a few "vegan" meals at these fast food restaurants.

For example:

Burger King tops the list because it does offer a "Veggie" burger. It is a Morningstar Garden Burger. Get it without cheese or mayo, yet add lettuce, tomato, onion and mustard and you have a nice Vegan fast food burger. Burger King's french fries and onion rings are vegan, yet fattening. You can also order a salad and ask for an oil & vinegar dressing to keep your meal vegan.

Taco Bell gives vegans a choice too. Since their Fresco items are made without cheese, you can order a Fresco Bean Burrito.

McDonald's doesn't give the vegan many choices at all. You could order a salad with the Paul Newman's Basalmic Vinegarette dressing. There are the french fries too. (McDonald's stopped using beef tallow for frying).

Wendy's like McDonald's does not have very many vegan items either. Again, there is the french fries, side salad and the baked potato -- nix the sour cream, cheese & brocolli toppings though.

Maybe sometime in the near future the fast food industry will start adding more vegan choices. What do you think?

With a good vegan diet filled with fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, beans, the problem of too much fat could crop up in how you prepare them. Just make sure you do not use too much oil.

Yet, some people's bodies do seem to produce too much cholesterol regardless of their diet. We had a friend whose cholesterol count was at almost 300 even though he had cut out all fats and was on the prescription drug lipitor.

There are natural ways to lower your cholesterol -- or I should say, herbs and supplements that can help lower it. One is red yeast rice supplements -- really red rice yeast.

It has been used for thousands of years in china and has gained popularity in the last 10 years or so in the US.

I'm writing about this because of the new year -- and my hubby's been using red rice yeast to lower cholesterol with good results and wanted to pass the info along.

What do you think about the drugs and / or supplements to lower cholesterol?

I know it will be a great VEGAN year too. More and more people are exploring this healthy lifestyle. More foods and recipes are becoming available. More restaurants are offering vegan meals. Sigh ...

A new year -- an end to 10 years in the 2000's! Remember when 1999 was turning into 2000 -- everyone was so afraid of Y2K?

We watched the ball dropped & I actually got a little tearie eyed -- putting things behind us, so much to look forward to.

I was just looking back on last year's "New Year's Post" 3 day's late.

Black-eyed peas, cornbread, greens -- YUM!

Best wishes to everyone this brand NEW YEAR!

Whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or even Festivus, I hope it will be the best ever!

I just wanted to do a really quick wishes post for the holidays. I have been SO busy these past few weeks that I haven't been able to post as often as I would like.

New Years - 2010 is FAST approaching. It is time to take account of the past year and put it behind us and look and plan at what we wish to accomplish this coming new year!

So EVERYONE, one and all, Have a wonderful Holiday Season!

Anyway, I had half decided to make my pre-vegan specialty No Flour Chocolate cookies but change out the egg whites for vegan egg white substitute. I was pretty sure Publix had Ener-G ® Egg Replacer in their "organics" section. Yet hadn't bought any (I had the other ingredients on hand--which I'll list below). To make a long story short -- today was the Cookie Exchange & I didn't have the egg white substitute, so decided to make Vegan Cinnamon Sticky Buns with Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (recipe will follow).

Vegan No Flour Chocolate Cookies
(use at your own risk -- haven't tried this, yet it should turn out okay ...

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients:
3 Cups Confectioners Sugar
1/2 Cup + 3 Tablespoons of Hersheys Special Dark Cocoa Powder (100% Cacao)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 mixed up Egg Whites from Egg White Substitutes
(you can use Ener-G ® Egg Replacer, or Visit VegKansasCity.com for other Egg Substitutes
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Mix well Sugar, Cocoa & Salt in bowl
Stir in 3 Egg Whites & Vanilla Extract
(be extra careful Not to get the batter too runny -- needs to be stiff)
Drop batter by teaspoonful on oiled parchment paper or oiled cookie sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes until tops are broken

Let them cool completely before attempting to remove them from parchment paper or cookie sheet
Should make between 30 - 36 cookies.

Here's the Recipe for what I did take to our Cookie Exchange ...

Vegan Cinnamon Sticky Buns w/Glaze

Pre-heat oven to 375

Ingredients:

(2) Pillsbury Crescent Rolls Cans

Filling:
3/4 cup of Sugar
2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon
1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
About 1/4 cup Canola Oil (yes I know the Rumors about Canola Oil -- go read about the Debunking of Canola Oil Myths them at About.com
You will have to add the oil until you get the right consistency -- you don't want it too runny.

Procedure:

Beginning with One can of the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls -- take out the rolls carefully trying Not to have them become separated. Lay 4 rolls together and pinch together to make a rectangle, below this rectangle, lay 4 more. Pinch them all together to form about 15 inch long by 6 - 7 inch wide whole rectangle.

Spread 1/2 of the filling on the rectangle. Carefully roll it beginning on the long side. Cut 1 1/4 quarter slices and lay on a greased cookie sheet with each one "almost" touching.

Repeat above with Second Can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls.

Bake for about 14-15 minutes.

While baking make glaze.

2 Cups Confectioner Sugar
2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2-3 Tablespoons of Hot Water (if needed)

Mix all together until smooth.

The result -- Some of the sticky buns didn't rise too well but that was okay.

I placed the Glaze in a pretty bowl on a large round platter and surrounded it with the
sticky buns -- didn't want to add the glaze directly onto the buns incase guests didn't want all that much sugar.

The outcome -- Success! Most were gone at the end of the Christmas Cookie Exchange.

Here are a few helpful sites for Vegan Baking and Vegan Substitutes.

VeganBaking.net - Cookies
Vegan Substitutions
Accidently Vegan Foods -- An Extremely helpful page that lists TONS of mainstream food items that are Vegan
Vegan Products Guide

As a rule, most vegans and vegetarians do not have as many of the diseases that those who eat meat / animal products. Many people who already suffer from certain ailments and switch to being a vegan may begin to feel much healthier.

When vegans eat, they are fully aware that no animal has suffered at their expense. For some, this is one of the main reasons people become vegan or a vegetarian.

Although non-vegans, may view this diet as extreme, it really is not that difficult to switch. In the last few years, vegan foods and products have become much more plentiful and easy to buy.

One of the advantages of becoming vegan is the increased energy most people feel after a few months. With a diet filled with whole grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables, you would be amazed at how full you can feel by eating less.

Many vegans take it a step further and stop wearing any type of clothing that is an animal by-product like leather and fur. Again, in the last few years, more and more stylish non-animal clothing has become available and it is fully fashion-forward.

When people choose to become vegan, they are making an environmentally friendly, animal friendly and healthy choice. It is not as hard as it may have been even just 5 years ago. The availability of vegan foods keeps growing -- try it today.

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