The 30 Day Vegan Challenge

Confession: my first month of veganism was kind of awful. I was settled in my decision and happy with it, but I got incredibly sick of soy milk, cereal and random vegetables. Because of my experience, I'm overjoyed to see so many new resources available for vegan newbies, such as Vegucated. One resource I definitely wish would have been available during my first month of veganism is Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The 30-Day Vegan Challenge. This book holds your hand through the first 30 days of veganism and answers such basic questions as 'what do I eat?' and 'what is tofu and how do I use it?' It also deals with dining out, holidays, supplements and touches on almost every subject a new vegan would have questions about. While the book doesn't go greatly in depth on any one subject, it covers enough information to assuage the fears of any new vegan (or the parent or partner of a new vegan). In addition, it outlines an easy way to figure out nine vegan recipes to keep in rotation and addresses several questions about nutrition that new vegans will have. There's also a slew of easy recipes for familiar dishes (examples: quesadillas, lasagna, chocolate cake) and four weeks worth of meal ideas. The whole time I read this book, I just kept thinking 'why hasn't someone already written this?' A day by day guide to the first month of veganism is something that every new vegan should have and is now available. Whether your questions about veganism have to do with pregnancy or with replacing eggs, this book will answer your question.  Definite must-read material for the new vegan!

Get Vegucated

Source

Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to see a sneak preview of Vegucated, the story of three volunteers who go vegan for six weeks to see what happens. Here are three reasons why Vegucated is important:

1. It covers the health, environmental and animal right aspects of being vegan.
2. It does so within the highly entertaining and compelling story of the three volunteers.
3. It is an incredibly approachable, informative movie. 

As a fairly old hat vegan, did I learn any new facts? Not really. Was I motivated to show this movie to everyone I know? Absolutely. Vegucated outlines every reason to be reason to be vegan and does so in an entertaining and informative manner. I laughed, I cried and I want to sign up to host a screening in 2012. For the squeamish (myself included), there are some scenes of animal cruelty but it is not the bulk, or overall tone, of the movie and is not used gratuitously. Vegucated will premiere at the Toronto Independent Film Festival on September 10th and will proceed to take over the world from there. Find a screening, host a screening, see this movie. It's important.

Vegan Cheese Platter: Delicious Reality

Found at Watercourse Foods, vegans missing fancy cheese platters won't be missing anything after trying this tray with options like smoked jalapeño cheddar and sweet onion pâté. Served with accoutrements such a champagne grapes, this is a perfect accompaniment to any celebration or, really, any time you want something insanely delicious for dinner.

Finally, vegan cupcakes in Omaha!

There have always been vegan cupcakes in Omaha, in the sense that nobody was going to stop you from making them yourself. However, if you wanted to grab a delicious pre-made cupcake from a bakery, you were out of luck. Not anymore! Bliss Bakery, located in the Old Market provides vegans with delectable cupcakes in flavors such as chocolate, red velvet, carrot and spiced chai.



In addition, you can have chocolate, vanilla or chocolate peanut butter frosting. I know, right? I was blessed with the opportunity to try the chocolate cupcake with chocolate peanut butter frosting and the vanilla with vanilla frosting. Both were a dream come true.



Vegans in Omaha have waited a long time for bakery cupcakes. They're here now and they're delicious. Go forth and eat.

New York Chicken & Gyro

Tucked away on Farman Street, just off the Old Market is vegan gyro heaven, located behind the unassuming storefront of New York Chicken & Gyro. While the name doesn't exactly make New York Chicken & Gyro sound vegan friendly, it definitely is. The gyro, shawarma and philly cheesesteak can all be made vegan and there are additional specials that can be made vegan or come vegan as is. I've gotten the gyro and the philly cheesesteak and both were outstanding. The seitan used in their sandwiches is made in-house, as well as the creamy sauce that is part of the gyro (it is vegenaise based). The philly cheesesteak also uses the house seitan and offers an extremely generous portion for the hungry among us. New York Chicken & Gyro offers up some of the best vegan sandwiches in Omaha and it would be a great place for omnis and veggies to break bread together. Stop in and get a gyro- maybe two.

Whoa Wren goes west

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

I'm moving to Denver! In 18 days! I'm so excited about being able to explore a new city and everything around. I'm also excited about completing my transformation into a hippie, thanks to the prevalence of Tevas and nature. 300+ days of sun a year, here I come!

Also, if anyone has any tips on moving cats long distance or living in a 200 square foot studio, please share!

I love New York: Food Snaps 2

Second round of delicious food stuffs from New York. If it's pictured, I recommend it.

Lula's Sweet Apothecary- All vegan ice cream parlor

Papacitos- delicious Mexican street food with a good chunk of the menu available to be made vegan. I apologize for the horrendous quality of the picture, but it was dark and I really wanted to dig in.

Red Bamboo- Right off Washington Square Park, with a focus on faux meats and lunch specials Monday - Friday. I got the fish and chips and loved it.

Not pictured but highly recommended:

• Peacefood Cafe
• Vegetarian Dim Sum House
• Curly's
• Foodswings
• Champ's (donuts! cinnamon rolls!)