August 4th, 2010

Any American who has ever been interested in vegan- or vegetarianism knows how difficult this lifestyle can be in a country saturated with fast-food joints, steakhouses, and other eateries where hamburgers, sausages, and the like are de rigueur. Adding children to the mix only complicates matters. With The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Eating for Kids, food journalist Dana Villamagna, writing with her husband, Andrew, M.D., argues that eating vegan is healthier for you, your kids, and the environment – and it doesn’t have to be a challenge.

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June 24th, 2010

Get ready to sample vegan cuisine and rally around the idea of going vegan to save the planet at the second annual Southern California PlanetFest in Orange County this Sunday (June 27).

This event, billed as environmental, health and food festival, will feature celebrities, sports stars, musicians and doctors, all discussing how our food choices can help address climate change, deforestation, drought and habitat loss and animal suffering.

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May 14th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Veggie advocates want American omnivores to adopt a day without meat. Well, some of them want us to just give up meat totally, but I’m talking about the Meatless Monday campaign here, which argues that if we’d cut out the steaks and pork chops on just this one day, we’d reduce the saturated fat that we consume and make a big dent in the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the livestock industry.

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October 10th, 2008

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

The Thanksgiving feast. It evokes such fond food memories. Even vegetarians and vegans are often pleased with the variety of veggie sides that cover their plate on this commemoration. (Not to mention the pumpkin or pecan pie that precedes the well-deserved, holiday nap.)

Still, this is a meal firmly and conspicuously arranged around a meat. Vegetarians aren’t necessarily getting a well-rounded dinner. Not to carb about it. Chances are they like whipped potatoes as much as the next person. But there’s a lot more a home chef can do to accommodate non-meat diners at the holidays by simply putting a veggie dish on the table that packs more heft, and a little more protein (not that we want to resurrect any debates over protein at this time).

So to accommodate the vegetarians and/or vegans at your holiday buffet, here are five hearty, seasonal dishes that rely on locally grown veggies gathered from real chefs around the country. (The first four are vegan.)

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