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Posts Tagged ‘Holidays’

This year make your Easter Bunny Vegan Chocolate!

With Easter approaching, many people’s thoughts turn towards bunnies, who have long represented the holiday thanks to their symbolic associations of fertility, rebirth, and regeneration. This year rabbits are even more visible than at other years during this time, because the Chinese Lunar Year which began this February is officially the Year of the Rabbit.

But rabbits are more than just a symbol of rebirth to Christians or luck and longevity to the Chinese. They are also living, breathing animals with complex needs and wants. Many people want to bring home a rabbit for Easter or the Year of the Rabbit, but rabbits are not impulse items. They are smart, curious, loving, funny, pushy, and destructive, and can live ten or more years when given the right care. Good guardians know that having any animal means meeting that animal’s needs.

What is the right kind of care?

Rabbits are social animals, so they should never live alone; they should be spayed and neutered (to prevent cancers and to allow for companionship) and should have either a bunny friend or a cat or other well-mannered companion animal. They are domesticated, so they should live indoors, like a dog or a cat, and, like a cat, they can use a litter-box, making them very clean companions. They are active, so they need plenty of space to kick their feet up, to run, and to play. They are chewers and diggers, so they need lots of toys to exercise their teeth and their brains, and your house needs to be bunny-proofed so they don’t destroy your baseboards, furniture, or walls. Because of their propensity to chew, guardians should have a sense of humor and infinite patience. They are affectionate, and may show their love for you by “purring” (or grinding their teeth) or even licking your face. They are vegetarians, and should eat a high fiber diet full of hay, vegetables and greens, and a small amount of pellets. Like us, they have a sweet tooth but should not be given junk food. They are ground-dwelling creatures, and don’t love to be picked up. And because they are a prey species, they tend to hide symptoms of illness, so guardians should be on the lookout for subtle changes in behavior and personality; these could mean a trip to the veterinarian. And like any animal, they are individuals, so their own individual needs and desires should be met, for the happiness of the rabbit and human alike.

Sound like too much work, but you really want to celebrate the New Year and Easter in a traditional fashion? Toy stuffed bunnies are a great substitute if you’re not ready for the commitment of a live rabbit.

But if you think you have what it takes to be a rabbit guardian, visit rabbit.org for more information, and your local shelter or rescue group to adopt your new companion. The rabbit you rescue will thank you, and you won’t regret it!

This blog was contributed by Guest Blogger Margo DeMello – President of  The House Rabbit Society.

All Vegan Cheesy Chik-n Fingers! Made with Match Vegan Meats, Daiya Cheddar & Eco-Planet Non-Dairy Cheddar Crackers.

World Go Vegan Week starts Sunday and if like many people you are trying out the vegan lifestyle for the first time, you might find yourself wondering : Do I have to give up everything I loved as kid to try this out? The answer : Nope!

I’ve been vegan a long time and even I – from time to time – get nostalgic for food I enjoyed in my childhood. I loved those little cheddar cheese goldfish crackers. One of my favorite memories was my grandfather putting them in my soup every Fall. I took them to school with me almost everyday in a sandwich bag and when I went vegan I admit I missed them. That’s why when I found these Eco-Planet Non-Dairy Cheddar Crackers I may have freaked out a little. They have filled that space in my heart that thought about those those little crackers from time to time. They also made it possible to veganize Betty Crocker’s cheesy crunchy chicken fingers (see recipe below) which would be a hit at any football or baseball playoff party this Fall… or just a Thursday night dinner.

Here’s a few other childhood favorites that some of you newly veganed folks might be interested in to help make that transition into cruelty free living :

• Marshmallows! There are several brands these days that make vegan marshmallows. Sweet & Sara are a favorite of mine and they even have special Halloween marshmallows shaped like bats & ghosts on sale right now. There is also Chicago Soy Dairies’ Dandies which are pretty perfect in Hot Cocoa.
• Which brings me to Instant Hot Cocoa! Ah!Laska’s Organic Instant Hot Cocoa is a pretty extraordinary treat for those nights when you just want to add water.
• Vegan Corn Dogs by Cedar Lake Foods. That pretty much says all I need to say about that.
• Memory can be kind to some old friends – like Cheetos and I actually think Tings are much better version of the cheesy snack puffs. I think Tings are actually better than most things. To quote Food Fight Grocery “Better than squirrels and kittens hugging.”
• Of course a lot of you are wondering what to do about Vegan Halloween candy. VegNews has a great list of Vegan Candy you can give away that night and of course snack on between trick-or-treaters.

OK back to our recipe…

Read the rest of this entry »

Sweet & Sara's Vegan Peeps

Every year, millions of people dress up in their best clothes, get together with their families and friends to give out baskets of treats, hunt Easter eggs and enjoy a big meal. It is a beautiful time of year, with the flowers blooming and trees turning green again. It is easy to see why people would love Easter and now it is easier than ever to celebrate with compassion. Here are some easy tips:

• Use Colorful Plastic Eggs filled with Vegan candy for your Easter Hunt! Not only will the hidden candy be more popular with your kids by avoiding using real eggs – you are not supporting an industry that remains indifferent to the unthinkable cruelties that have become common practice on their farms- including debeaking and confinement in filthy wire battery cages so small they can’t even spread their wings.
  
• Make your Easter Basket Kid & Animal friendly! Here are just a few suggestions of Vegan alternatives to classic Easter candy favorites:
  

Peeps
Creme Eggs
Chocolate Eggs
Jelly Beans
The Chocolate Bunnies
Gummy Bunnies ( OK not a classic BUT a must try )
Caramel Eggs

• Skip the Ham this Easter! Here’s a great compassionate alternative for Easter Dinner courtesy of Turtle Island Foods.:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced very thin
1 cup dried sour cherries
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons apple cider
1 Tofurky roast

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onion, cherries, brown sugar and vinegar and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft. Stir in mustard and apple cider, and simmer for two more minutes.
Place Tofurky roast on sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, and spread with the onion mixture. Wrap roast snugly with the foil. Place in roasting pan, and place on center rack of oven. Bake for 45 minutes. Uncover roast for last 10 minutes of baking. Slice roast, and serve with some of the pan juices spooned over it.

For more Vegan recipes – Order a FREE Vegan Starter Kit!

Vegan Seder Plate

We all know the classic Ten Commandments movie with Charlton Heston, and the lyrics to Swing Low Sweet Chariot. But you may not know what those things have to do with the Jewish holiday Passover. Passover is the Jewish celebration of when God spared the Jews from the curse of the first born and freed them from slavery in Egypt. The traditions behind this 7 day celebration of unleavened bread and freedom have gone on for thousands of years, reminding Jews that God doesn’t approve of oppression and exploitation. So it’s about time we celebrated new school style!

So let’s break it down . . .

Can you really celebrate the end of slavery with eggs and meat on your plate?

The Passover meal and accompanying celebration is called the Sedar. The traditional Sedar plate includes an egg (Beitzah) – some say this represents a sacrifice others say it represents a new beginning. No matter why you have the egg on the plate, there is no disputing that egg laying hens suffer unthinkable cruelty – including intense confinement, debeaking and a short life in ammonia-filled sheds. I like to replace the Beitzah with an avocado. Not only does it replace the egg aesthetically – the seed inside reflects the sentiment behind this place on the plate without contributing to an industry that is completely indifferent to the suffering they profit from.

Of course there is also the roasted shank bone ( Z’roa ) – to represent the lamb who was sacrificed and eaten at the Temple of Jerusalem and also the blood that was used to mark the doors of the Israelites . . . but just like Jews have come to embrace technology like airplanes and running water . . . embracing advancements like more compassionate alternatives to meat truly reflects the spirit behind Passover. I use a piece of TVP for my plate. . . but I’ve heard of people using a beet ( which gets a big thumbs up from the Talmud ). Whatever you use – the facts are that today’s factory farms are hell on Earth for animals and even certified Kosher slaughterhouses have been exposed as being careless and wantonly inhumane, and their by-products are about as far as you can get from a celebration of freedom.

I hope you’ll consider making your Sedar vegan this year. To help, here’s just a few of my favorite recipe sites:

Post Punk Kitchen Forum
heebnvegan
Veg Source Passover Menu

And here’s an Old School Passover recipe for the traditionalists :

The Old School Sweet Potato Kugel

• 6 small sweet potatoes, peeled and grated
• 3 apples, peeled and grated
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup matzo meal
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup water

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Use a food processor to grate the sweet potatoes and apples. Combine all ingredients together.
Gently press into a baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until lightly crisp on top.

Shalom!