(This post has absolutely nothing to do with zombies; it’s just that time of the year, and you happened to catch me in the midst of a zombie kick. A more appropriate title might be “Frugal vegans buy in quantity.” Not nearly as catchy though, am I right?)

Naturally, the more you pledge to buy of any given item, the better overall deal you’ll get on said item – per pound, per box, per case, per widget, per whatever. This maxim is equally true of “normal people” foods (fruit, vegetables, grains, etc.) and vegan specialty items (meat analogs, faux cheeses, soy milks and dairy substitutes, etc.) – so buying in quantity is a strategy that frugal vegans can employ, no matter their dietary habits.

There are four ways that regular consumers like you and I can “buy in quantity”:

1. Buy packaged foodstuffs in the largest available sizes.

Usually the savings here are minimal – we’re talking pennies per pound – but you can save a little money by purchasing the largest available size of cans (jars, bags, etc.) of food. Some stores make it simple to compare cost across sizes; Wal-Mart and Wegmans, for example, include price per pound (ounce, fluid ounce, etc.) information on the shelf pricing label.

If not, it’s fairly easy to calculate (and if you usually shop at the same store or chain, you only need to run the numbers once – then keep a list of the cheapest goods and stick with it!):

Price per ounce = The cost of the item divided by the item’s weight in ounces

Price per pound = (The cost of the item divided by the item’s weight in ounces) x 16

Price per fluid ounce = The cost of the item divided by the item’s volume in fluid ounces

Price per quart = (The cost of the item divided by the item’s volume in fluid ounces) x 32

Price per gallon = (The cost of the item divided by the item’s volume in fluid ounces) x 128

Always be sure to compare cost across sizes and brands. The largest size usually gives you the greatest savings per pound, however, this isn’t always the case. A two-pound jar of name brand peanut butter, for example, may actually cost more per pound than a 1-pound jar of the generic/store brand.

Of course, buying a gallon of tomato sauce will only save you money if you’re able to use it all; toss it out, and you’ve wasted money in the end. When buying perishable items, a) make sure you have a way to save or preserve the extras and/or b) don’t purchase more than you can actually use.

(more…)

Oh, Twitter. I love it, I hate it, I can’t live without it. Well, actually, that’s not true. I totally can (and sometimes do). Take, for example, the other day, when the site was down for 12 hours or so. Truth be told, I was a wee bit glad at its temporary implosion. Because in all honesty, Twitter can be a real timesuck, and occasionally I curse my husband for getting me started on it. (And the youths for their newfangled, cottonpicken, fly-by-night social media IT tools. MyyyySpaaaace!)

On the other hand, Twitter can be a hospitable place for vegans to network, navel gaze and – most importantly vis-à-vis VeganMoFo – share recipes (abridged vegan flame wars aside).

If you’re vegan and on Twitter, here are three trends to follow:

1. VeganMoFo: VeganMoFo has a Twitter account! Tweet your VeganMoFo posts using the hash tag #veganmofo, so readers can follow along, and retweet the daily VeganMoFo link roundups so your followers can get in on the action.

2. What Vegans Eat: Tweet your vegan meals, snacks, recipes and related blog posts, using the hash tag #whatveganseat. (These tweets were previously retweeted by @whatveganseat, but apparently Twitter’s TOS put the kabosh on that idea. Boo! Hiss! *middle finger*) In addition to sharing cooking ideas with fellow vegans, this also allows us to illustrate the variety and nomniness of vegan foods to non-vegans. And, who knows, perhaps one day there will be enough of us twittering our mid-morning snacks to launch #whatveganseat into the Trending Topics!

3. Vegan Help Bot: Veganhelp retweets cries for help from non-vegans thinking about transitioning to veganism. Follow @veganhelp in order to receive these tweets, and then offer up your expertise to a would-be-vegan in need.

Of course, you should also…

Hit me up!: @easyvegan

Keep an eye on the Trending Topics and use hash tags and keywords accordingly (e.g., the great animal ag #oink hijacking of 2009; beating cancer and vivisection).

Use hash tags on most (if not all) of your tweets; for instance, #vegan and/or #animalrights on any AR tweets.

Most importantly, remember to step away from the computer at regular intervals. Eat, sleep, shit, shower, play, frolic, rub soft warm doggy bellies, enjoy life a little. Twitter will still be there when you get back. Probably. Twitter or its replacement, anyhow.

Damn kids and their damn intertube trends.

Photo via seanbonner on Flickr, whom I do not know, nor have I ever accepted a vegan cupcake from.

(more…)

Once again, I’m using the Monday Mashup / “get out of veganmofo jail free” card on a Sunday. The Mr. and I squeezed one last mow into the season; I raked leaves away from the fence, house, and other assorted obstacles, while he decimated my piles with the lawn mower. Lazy, us? No way! I prefer “time savvy.”

Anyway, this mashup is all me – dishes I’ve made or, in three cases, bought. I’d challenge you to guess which three, but meh, it’s too easy!

(more…)

My mother is notoriously difficult to shop for. If you buy her clothing, odds are she won’t like it. Give her jewelry, most likely she won’t wear it (allergies). She doesn’t have much extra time to read books or watch movies; now that her nest is empty, she works three jobs (making her kids look like lazy asshats in comparison!). Edible yumyums are a good choice, but I’ve fallen back on chocolates so often that I’m starting to look somewhat unimaginative. So when Mother’s Day came around, I found myself in bit of a pickle. And while I love pickles, it’s not my favorite place to be.

For whatever reason, Etsy came to mind, and I decided to check it out. The craftacular Etsy, by the by,

is a website that provides the general public with a way to buy and sell handmade items as well as vintage items and craft supplies. Handmade items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, bath & beauty products, and toys. The site follows in the tradition of open craft fairs, giving sellers personal storefronts where they list their goods for a fee.

Etsy allows sellers to self-organize into different “teams” – which are kind of like plazas composed of similar store fronts. Teams can form around a location, craft, medium, interest, lifestyle, philosophy…I think you know where I’m going with this! Etsy boasts two teams of interest: EtsyVeg (tagline: “Your source for unique goods from vegan and vegetarian artisans”) and the more discriminating Vegan Etsy (“We Read Ingredients” – please and thank you!).

After much browsing – I am an obsessive comparison shopper – I settled on some baked goods from The Cupcake Mint: 1 Dozen Giant Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies; 4 Oatmeal Raisin Spice Vegan Cookie Cream Sandwiches; and Half Dozen Jumbo Vegan Cinnamon Rolls, samples of which are pictured above (photo courtesy my lil’ sis). Naturally, I cannot attest to the yumminess of any of these, since 1,000+ miles separated my mother the baked goods and myself, but I heard from my mother, my grandmother, and yes, even my sister that they were incredible: huge, gooey, soft, sweet – everything cookies and pastries should be. Win!

Anyhow, since my minor victory, I’ve taken to browsing Etsy in search of gift ideas. I prefer to support fellow vegans with my purchasing power whenever possible, and Etsy is home to some really talented vegans! (Many of them women, which is a double bonus for this vegan feminist.)

For example, the Vegan Etsy team features 146 members, including these storefronts, which are among my favorites:

* The Cupcake Mint, whose specialty is – duh! – cupcakes. Mark my words, cinnamon rolls – one day, you will be mine.

* KT’s Kitchen – Another vegan bakery, KT’s has a wide variety of goods, including Liz Lemon cookies, which makes me all smiley and happy.

* UberDuperCreations, which sells handmade dog dishes and treat jars, as well as vegan and animal rights zines. Dog treat production will be resuming sometime in the future!

* SweetFritsy is home to vegan baked goods and some homemade candies, too. Everything is crazy cute, especially the seasonal Halloween goodies.

* Cody Pendent rocks the party. And if you were to buy me the Little Red Riding Hood, you’d totally rock, too. (*wink, wink*)

* Starrlight Jewelry makes incredibly gorgeous goth jewelry – and for animal companions, too.

I could go on and on, but seeing as it’s 7PM and I’ve yet to eat dinner, probably all I’ll do is inventory vegan bakeries and drool on my keyboard, so it’s best to wrap this shit up. Etsy can be a magical place for vegans, especially if you know where to shop! Many of the sellers are individual DIYers or small businesses, so if you have a special request or need something made custom, Etsy is your friend. There are also lots of good deals to be had, plus the aforementioned fuzzy wuzzies that come from supporting Team Vegan.

(more…)

If I had to choose a favorite veggie, it’d be a toss up between tomatoes and potatoes. Taters give you tots, fries, soup, pancakes, flour, pierogies, gnocchi…yum! But sundried tomatoes – sundried tomatoes are hard to beat. Concentrated goodness, and healthy, too!

Anyhow, Shane made this bread for me the other night. Seasoned with tomato paste and sundried tomatoes, it’s an awesome side to basically any pasta dish you can dream up. We enjoyed it with a rather simple meal: linguine with red sauce. Rivers of red sauce, actually, in which we drowned the freshly baked bread, bringing the tomato count to three.

The recipe calls for sundried tomatoes packed in oil, but if you only have bagged sundried tomatoes on hand, soak ‘em in a little olive oil for an hour or two – or overnight, even – and that should do the trick.

If you don’t have a bread machine, don’t despair! After letting the dough rise, you can shape it into baguettes or whatnot, and bake it in the oven. But you’ll have to find instructions for doing so elsewhere, since my bread machine and I are BFFs.

Tomato Bread

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups water
3 tablespoons tomato paste (though a lil’ extra won’t hurt)
1/3 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, chopped (again, go wild!)
2 3/4 cups bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons gluten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Directions

Place all the ingredients in your bread machine pan, according to the order set in your manufacturer’s booklet. Set crust to medium or dark and bake on the machine’s Basic cycle.

Serve warm with…whatever!

Makes a 1-pound loaf.

(more…)

As you may have already heard, today is the third annual Blog Action Day. Started in 2007, the goal is to create awareness of a single issue through mass participation. Activists online – and in the real world – focus their attention on a social problem: by writing or blogging about the issue; by posting links to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites; by donating time and money; by discussing the topic amongst friends and family members; and so forth. This year’s topic is climate change; previous areas of concern were the environment and poverty.

While easyVegan is an animal rights blog, this is the third year I’ll be participating. The environment, climate change and yes, even poverty – all can be discussed vis-à-vis our relationship to animals. In fact – and this occurred to me while voting on next year’s topic – pretty much any subject you dream up can be tied back to animal rights, environmental justice and/or veganism. Issues of race, gender, sexuality, class, size, health, nutrition, labor, poverty, xenophobia, species, nature, the environment – you name it – all are interconnected. (So much so that it’s starting to feel arbitrary and capricious to file some posts under “intersections” at the expense of others; ditto: veganism. This entire blog is centered around veganism, yo!)

Some of these connections are more obvious than others; for example, like many of the animal advocates taking part in Blog Action Day, my focus will be on the significant contribution of animal agriculture to climate change. Other intersections are much more subtle; take, for example, PETA’s “Save the Whales” billboard. While clearly sizeist, PETA’s fat-shaming is classist and racist, too. Because PETA fails to address factors linked to class and race (which themselves are inextricably connected) that make it more difficult for disadvantaged populations to consume a healthy, cruelty-free diet, the campaign reinforces class and race privilege and shifts responsibility to the individual, in contrast to systemic factors that set certain people up for failure.

So it feels somewhat serendipitous that the third annual Blog Action Day – for climate change, to boot – falls smack dab in the middle of the third annual Vegan Month of Foods. I guess you could write this off as laziness, but the two blog carnivals (swarms? whatever!) seem a perfect match – so much so that they can share one post between the two of ‘em! Action to combat climate change must include veganism – not as an afterthought, not as a quirky personal choice, not one day a week – but as a lifelong commitment by humans (at first living in privileged/developed nations, and perhaps some day globally) to stop viewing other animals as commodities, products to be bought, sold, used and discarded at our convenience.

For we all share the same fate: the water we poison with animal waste; the antibiotics we inject into sick and tortured factory farmed animals; the methane we unleash into the atmosphere; the forests we de-virginize; the so-called “pest” species we eradicate; the ecosystems we decimate – we are all one. We all share one planet, one environment. We all breathe the same air, drink the same water, bask under the rays of the same sun. That which we do to one being, we do to all beings. Once we rationalize and accept our subjugation and exploitation of one class of “lesser” animals, it becomes that much easier to extend the oppression to other classes of animals – humans and nonhumans alike.

Veganism is a diet, yes, but it’s also so much more: a lifestyle, an ethical system, a new way of viewing the world and one’s place within it. A light bulb, if you will.

Before I get full-on radfem, let’s return to the topic at hand: climate change and veganism (or, because I’m all about the macro, the environment and veganism).

Here are five reasons (out of a multitude) why environmentalists should – must – eliminate animals and their secretions from their diets.

(more…)

When people criticize the “prohibitive cost” of a vegan (or even vegetarian) diet, what they’re really saying is that specialty vegan foods are expensive. And you know what? They’re right. Meat analogs, soy yogurt made from non-GMO soybeans, gluten-free gourmet vegan ice cream and “melts like cheese!” non-dairy cheeses, when purchased on a regular basis, can really drive up your grocery bill. (There’s a reason vegans not-so/jokingly refer to Whole Foods as “Whole Paycheck”!) The good news is that one can adopt a nutritious, healthy and cruelty-free diet without consuming any of these things (although they’re all perfectly yummy and affordable when eaten in moderation!).

The “typical” American diet is heavy on protein (mostly in the form of animal flesh), sugar, saturated fat and processed grains and contains woefully little fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts. The average adult requires between 40 and 70 grams of protein per day, with needs varying according to age, gender and lifestyle. Women 14 years and older generally need about 46 grams, while men of the same age require slightly more – 52-56 grams. During pregnancy, a woman’s nutritional requirements change (obviously!); a woman eating for two should consume about 71 grams of protein per day. Estimates vary, but there’s a general consensus that Americans eat far too much protein (between 50 and 200% more than is necessary or healthy), while protein deficiency is a rarity.

When transitioning from an omnivorous to a vegan diet, it can be tempting to simply replace animal-based products with vegan substitutes: in place of bacon, Smart Bacon; instead of Yoplait, Whole Soy; in lieu of Kraft Singles, Tofutti slices – and so on and so forth. But, while you may be treating non-human animals compassionately by recreating a vegan version of an unhealthy diet, you are not being kind to your own body. Or – more pertinent to this discussion – your pocketbook.

Instead of reenacting the “traditional”* American meal of two overly-processed side dishes flanking an oversized centerpiece of “meat,” why not rethink how and what you eat? One of the unexpected benefits of veganism is the new-found culinary creativity, borne of necessity. When one is forced – or rather, compelled – to give up so many “staples” once taken for granted, you’ve got to learn new ways of doing things. And the dysfunctional composition of the American “fast food” diet should be the first (well, second) thing to go.

Many newbie vegans are concerned about protein intake. In fact, this is due in no small part to cultural indoctrination; “where do you get your protein?” is perhaps the most common question asked of vegans. While many faux meats and dairy substitutes do contain a large amount of protein, so too do raw, unprocessed and relatively inexpensive foods (what I call “naturally vegan”).

(more…)

GRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSS!

Sorry. Cheesy, I know. But it’s been a long, frustrating day, and for some odd reason, this tired old joke always elicits a grin.

Anyway, I don’t know about you, but I could use a fun, fluffy post. And what’s more fun and fluffy than vegan Halloween candy? (That’s a rhetorical question. There is nothing funner or fluffier than vegan Halloween candy. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Rien. Nichts. Niente. Niets. I said good day!)

The way I see it, vegan Halloween candy can be separated into two groups: the cheap, readily available, accidentally vegan stuff that you keep on hand for trick-or-treaters, and the expensive, hard-to-find, specialty goodies, which are oftentimes veganized versions of old, pre-vegan favorites.

Not that the two groups are mutually exclusive, of course – if you’re over the age of 12, probably you don’t consume candy on a daily basis. Thus, a fistful of dark chocolate Peanut Chews or a mile’s worth of Fruit by the Foot is indeed a special treat, pedestrianism be damned. And that’s okay! You don’t need to drop a small fortune on gourmet vegan foodstuffs to Kenneth Lay out this Halloween. On the flip side, if you do sit atop a small mountain of money, all Scrooge McDuck stylie, feel free to distribute gourmet vegan goodies which proudly proclaim their veganism all over the mofo packaging, in a sneaky guerrilla effort to lure some of the neighborhood children over to the light side. But toss in vegan literature at your own risk – ‘twould be very un-vegan to wake up to an egg-covered landing on November 1st!

(And yes, I am assuming that everyone reading celebrates Halloween, because if you don’t, you should! Between the candy, the costumes, the pumpkin carving, the hay rides, and the horra movies, everyone should be able to find at least one aspect of the holiday worth consecrating!)

What follows are two lists of vegan candies; the everyday stuff is vegan per PETA, so take these with a grain of salt – there be some rumblings on the internets re: the accuracy of PETA’s “accidentally vegan” list. Also, I’ve only included candy here; for party snacks, please refer to the original list.

The gourmet vegan goodies, on the other hand, come from firsthand knowledge and the product inventory in vegan-owned online shops, so mistakes in these listings are much less likely.

So, what are your Halloween plans, my lovely vegan zombies? The Mr. and I have a longstanding (read: four years, maybe five) tradition – we spend the day watching horror movies, relaxing with the dogs, and chowing on all sorts of vegan junk food. Pizza, spring rolls, french fries, cupcakes, turnovers, ice cream, pop corn, candy, brownies, soda, liquor – ah, that’s the life!

I’ve been dying to dress my dachshund kid up in a hot dog outfit to entertain the trick-or-treaters, but we literally have not had a single one since moving to the Midwest – all of our residences have been so rural.

On the plus side, no interruptions during the movies!
 
(more…)

Apropos my efforts to save money, here I am, dressing Peedee not in specially-made doggy duds, but rather my old baby clothes.
Pokey Little Puppy, that’s me!

While brainstorming possible topics in preparation for VeganMoFo III, one of the first ideas to come to mind was a post about how to live frugally as a vegan. The supposed expense (and, consequently, “elitism”) of a vegan diet and/or lifestyle is an oft-invoked argument against veganism (and even vegetarianism), and is only becoming more common in these tough economic times. Sometimes sincere, oftentimes self-serving – and occasionally even coming from the mouths of vegans – this is one mythconception in need of a good debunking.

Luckily, I was able to come up with so many tips that I quickly decided to make this an ongoing series of posts, rather than a single article. (Indeed, a few penny-pinching vegans have built entire blogs around this topic, as we shall see!) Since this is VeganMoFo, the focus will be on food, but should the series prove popular, perhaps I’ll cover other consumables in the future. Not to mention, it’ll be awfully helpful to have an entire category of posts to which I can refer the naysayers who think that you’ve got to have an annual salary of 75k+ in order to live simply (and let others simply live). (Oh, how I adore that phrase!)

But first, a disclaimer: I speak from a position of privilege. I was born and raised a middle-class suburbanite; my husband has a secure, well-paying job, and though we now live in a rural area (on the outskirts of the “barbecue capital of the world,” natch), where it can sometimes be difficult to find specialty vegan products, we have the means to easily procure most anything we need (or want): car, internet connection, credit card, etc. Much of my advice, then, assumes similar agency in my audience.

That said, not everyone can easily order a case of Teese online and on a whim. Some folks, particularly those living in low-income/urban areas, don’t have ready (or any) access to staples, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, wholegrain foods, or “meat” and “dairy” products – let alone meat analogs and faux cheeses! A number of factors are at play here: the dearth of grocery stores in low-income/urban areas, coupled with an invasion of fast food joints; broken and fragmented public transportation systems; a shortage of funding for public schools, resulting in cost-cutting in school food programs; and a patriarchical / kyriarchical / megatheocorporatocratic system that benefits the few at the expense of the many – for starters. If animal advocates wish to convince more people to adopt a vegan diet, these are factors we must address (and should be addressed anyhow, if only from a human rights perspective).

(more…)

Today was a busy one: the Mr. and I spent the morning cleaning the house, had a quick lunch (leftover mac & cheese – recipe forthcoming!), hit a matinee showing of Whip It*, picked up a few miscellaneous consumables at the nearest Buy More on the way back, and got home in time to feed the dogs a late dinner. As far as blogging goes, I found just enough steam to put together this week’s easyVegan Activist, and that’s it. I’m so, so ready for bed. But I’d hate to break my MoFo streak, so instead of missing Day #11, I’m phoning it in instead. That’s right: here’s my Get Out of Jail Free card, in the form of a Monday Mashup…on Sunday.

This batch of food p0rn hails from the Flickrs, but unlike last Monday’s Mashup, they do not some equipped with instructions. Should you wish to duplicate any of these dishes, culinary experimentation is the name of the game. Just remember to take plenty of photos – and grab a partner to double the yum!

(more…)