Vegan & Vegetarian One-Stop Shopping is EASY!

24 Feb, 2007 No Comments

Are you a new vegetarian or vegan? OR maybe just frustrated with having to read product labels at the supermarket and not happy with the limits such things can place on your lifestyle. Well finding vegan and vegetarian foods and lifestyle products is so easy these days it’s a breeze!

One Stop Vegan and Vegetarian Shopping is EASY.

There are more options than ever before as one stop vegan stores are now in abundance all thanks to the world wide web. So vegetarian shopping is now made very simple and easy for anyone wishing to avoid animal by-products vegan shopping is now readily available to everyone.

The sites below are by no means the only shops which cater for vegan and vegetarian needs, however the ones we’ve listed are some of the better known stores and they do carry vegan and vegetarian products ranging from food and sweets, to vitamins & supplements, clothing, shoes, cosmetics, baby products, pet supplies, books, magazines and DVDs and skin and hair care plus much more.

To the best of my knowledge they are usually all owned and run by vegans and you will not find any animal testing or products at all within their product ranges.

So here are just a few Vegan & Vegetarian Stores To Pick From . . .

** VeganEssentials is both an online store and a retail shop located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They have been in business since early 1998 and are one of the USA’s oldest cruelty-free retailers, filling the needs of vegans worldwide for nearly a decade. Living free from animal products is easy with Vegan Essentials as they guarantee the authenticity of all their vegan products and strive to make a vegan shopping experience with them a pleasant one. They have over 1200 vegan items in stock and ship worldwide with fast turn around times. www.VeganEssentials.com

** Pangea Vegan Store based in USA, Pangea Vegan Store has a great selection of ‘anything vegan’ including their very own range of vegan sweets and marshmallows. They have both a store front (in Rockville, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. is open for walk-in customers every Saturday & Sunday (holidays excepted) see their website for full details on opening times) and their famous online store which is a one-stop source for all things cruelty free and vegan. www.VeganStore.com

** The Vegetarian Site has many things a vegan can benefit with online shopping, recipes, environmental news and views plus juicers, hemp products, gifts and everything in between. The great thing about The Vegetarian Site is that they donate 10% of sales to nonprofits, its 100% vegan and satisfaction is guaranteed. www.TheVegetarianSite.com

** The Cruelty Free Shop – Australia has loads vegan goodies including cosmetics, body & baby care, food, books, candles and gifts if you live in Australia and are looking for options this is one of only a few 100% vegan stores around. They vegan products are certified by Choose Cruelty Free/The Vegan Society so you can be sure you are avoiding all animal by-products. www.CrueltyFreeShop.com.au

** Got Soul is one of the newest vegan shops based in Australia they have a nice selection of cruelty-free products for compassionate persons. Their mission is to be the Mecca of all things environmentally-friendly, cruelty free and vegan. They have food, household, beauty, gifts and wine plus other goodies on the way. This site is one too keep an eye on if you are vegan. www.GotSoul.com.au

** Vegan Store – UK, with a huge collection of over 800 vegan cruelty free goodies, you can always snap up a bargain, check out the leather alternatives and snack on some classic food and sweets. They have groceries, books and badges as well as vegan white chocolate and many more vegan living items that can help you better your vegetarian lifestyle easily. www.VeganStore.co.uk

** DownBound an all vegan, organic and sweatshop-free environment. You will find a massive collection of hemp goodies at Downbound. Loads of everything vegan presented in a great ethical environment. As easy as vegan shopping can be. With heaps of vegan cat and dog food options for all those companion friends out there plus food, music, supplements, fabrics, footwear and home & garden options. If you’re looking for ethical vegan products this is a great place to check out. www.downbound.com

No matter what type of vegan or vegetarian foods or lifestyle products you are looking for if you try one of the above online stores you’re sure to find something suitable for yourself.

Don’t forget there are many more vegan, cruelty-free 100% vegetarian one stop shops worldwide to choose from. The above list is only very small compared to the stores actually available. These are just random vegan stores we’ve listed that could get you started if you are not sure exactly where to look or what you are after.

Vegan Secrets Links Directory LIVE

17 Feb, 2007 No Comments

Hi Veglins …. This is just a quick note to let you know we’ve been working on a new links directory on our Vegan Secrets main site.

At this stage we only have a certain amount of links already live (we are working on getting more up in the coming weeks).

You can check our links page out now via this link:

http://www.vegansecrets.com/links.html

PLUS . . . If you have a veggie or health related website you feel may also benefit being in our links directory feel free to email us via the contact page on our main site: www.vegansecrets.com/contact.html

We will go over any submissions and if approved they will be added in due course to our directory … we are asking at this stage to only have submissions for vegetarian/vegan related sites, but on the occasion will add other healthy living sites if we feel our visitors will gain great wisdom from them.

Vegan Fusion Recipe Contest – WIN Trip to Kauai

14 Feb, 2007 No Comments

Vegan Fusion are very excited to announce an incredible vegan recipe contest.

The winner will receive an all expense paid trip for two to the paradise island of Kauai, including hotel accommodation, car rental, meals at the Blossoming Lotus Restaurant and more.

For details, please visit http://www.veganfusion.com/call-for-entries.php

There are no limits to the number of recipes you can submit. The best recipes submitted will be included in our 7 MINUTE CHEF ebook series. The grand prize winner will be selected from those recipes chosen.

Feel free to pass this link on to your friends and post in your groups.

http://www.veganfusion.com/call-for-entries.php

Cooking Tofu for Vegans

12 Feb, 2007 No Comments

Have you ever had trouble figuring out the TOFU thing? … well here’s a little article I came across recently all about the big white stuff:

Cooking Tofu For Vegans!

If you are a Vegan, are considering becoming a Vegan, or know or love somebody who already is a Vegan, you probably have some idea of how important tofu is in the Vegan diet. Many people think that cooking tofu for Vegans is difficult to do, and many others still think that tofu doesn’t taste good but there are plenty of people out there that would choose to differ.

Cooking tofu for vegans isn’t difficult, but it is a matter of science just as any other cooking is a science. Including tofu in your diet is a good way to supplement your meals. It acts as a replacement for that which meat would normally provide, as far as essential vitamins and minerals go. Many of the non-meat products that you buy in the grocery store are actually made with tofu; that is how commonplace and important tofu is in many aspects of the Vegan diet.

Is cooking tofu imperative for Vegans? Probably not. Tofu is a soy bean product, and soy beans are packed with protein. Protein is the important part of meat that makes it so imperative in our diet, so replacing meat with tofu in your diet is a great way of keeping the protein and eliminating the dangerous animal fat. The problem with being a vegetarian lies in the dangers of not having enough protein in your diet, but tofu can help to eliminate this as a risk at all if you regularly include it in your diet as you would meat.

Many vegans out there choose not to include tofu in their diets, simply for reasons of taste. Not everybody is going to like everything and let’s face it; tofu isn’t one of the tastiest foods out there, but it can be worked with. Cooking tofu is an art. Tofu can definitely ruin a meal, but not if it’s prepared right.

It is often said that when you cook with tofu, it does not maintain a taste of its own, but it does tend to take the taste of the food it is prepared with. For example, if you were to include tofu in a Vegan tofu stir fry, it takes the taste of the noodles and soy sauce in the stir fry; if you include tofu in spaghetti, it would take the taste of the vegetables and/or the marinara sauce.

For Vegans, cooking tofu can be rather intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. If you are considering become a Vegan, or just want to learn about cooking tofu for a Vegan you love, there are ways to learn. The internet is chock full of great recipes for tofu-cooking beginners, from the tofu spaghetti and stir-fry that was already discussed to great veggie burgers, hot dogs, and other things.

Cooking tofu for Vegans doesn’t have to be a chore, and with proper information and a bit of practice, you shouldn’t have to live with results that are less than pleasing for very long.

About the Author

About the author: Kelvin Ho runs his own cooking site at http://www.pickupcooking.com. Looking for tofu information and recipes? Find them here at http://www.pickupcooking.com/tofu

Dr McDougall’s Fab Vegan Take on Life

5 Feb, 2007 No Comments

I adore Dr John McDougall’s work www.drmcdougall.com he is one of the few who does step up and say it like it is…. The TRUTH that is! He is such an inspiration to vegans, vegetarians and everyone in between.

Now if you have not heard of Dr John McDougall then you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to jump on board and find out about this man and the benefits his work can and will bring to your own lifestyle. It could just save your life!

Here’s a link to his latest newsletter, find out for yourself why this man is such a blessing on the planet at this time, for animals and humans alike: http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/jan/070100.htm

Vegetarian & Vegan Virgin Meal Planning Ideas

2 Feb, 2007 No Comments

If you are a vegan virgin or just not quite sure about meals and planning then maybe you can find some comfort in the below suggestions.

In a vegan or vegetarian diet, it may take time to explore new foods and develop some form of routine to it. There are many different products on the market today for vegans and vegetarians to choose from – keep experimenting to find your or your families personal preferences and tastes.

You should be-able to find quite a good amount of vegetarian and vegan products at supermarkets, natural health food stores and co-ops.

When baking, you can use substitutes like egg replacers, cornstarch or bananas to replace eggs.
Soy, rice and nut milks are great replacements for cow’s milk. Plus there are many other dairy alternatives around like … vegan cheese, yoghurts, frozen non-dairy ice creams, and cream cheeses. These are all easily sourced through health stores or supermarkets worldwide.

If you are stuck for ideas on some quick easy menu ideas, here are some sample meal menu items for you to consider:

** Breakfast

Pancakes
Soy Yoghurts
Fruit Smoothies
Wholemeal Toast or Cereals

** Lunch/Dinner

Veggie Mock Meat and salad sandwich
Veggie Sausages or hot dogs
Veggie or Soy Burger
Simple Prepared Salads
Tofu Kebabs or Wraps
Veggie Fried Rice
Tomato & Pasta Bake
Soup or Curry Vegetables
Veggie Stir fry with Tofu, tempeh, or seitan
Baked Vegetables with Rosemary & Garlic Herbs

** Snacks /Dessert

Cookies
Non-Dairy Ice Cream
Dried Fruits & Nuts
Fresh Fruits
Chickpeas
Popcorn
Pretzels

So as you can see there are an abundance of tasty foods on offer for vegetarians of all kinds, the tastes and wonders of one’s food choices is only limited by one’s own imagination.

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