I got a bread maker for Christmas, but all (most?) of the recipes that came with it call for "dry milk". Thoughts on how to sub this?

And a vegan New Year!  Christmas dinner at my house will be a vegan meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a mushroom gravy with green beans from our garden.  I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays.

I sure do love that stuff. Who else has tried it? There have probably been a million posts on here about it that I missed. If so, oops. I missed grilled cheese so much!

( Please help... )

My acne is absolutely out of control.

I'm thirty years old and have struggled with severe acne since my teens. But a year before I went vegan, my dermatologist and I finally found a combination of treatments that resulted in much, much better skin. I went on Aviane birth control pills, I took Doxycycline daily, and I used Tetronoin cream daily as well.

After I went vegan, I dumped all of those medications. The Aviane is totally not vegan as they contain animal hormones. The Doxycyline capsules have gelatin on them, and I don't know about the ingredients in the Tetronoin cream, but all three are FDA approved and therefore have been tested on animals countless times.

I can't remember where I'd read it. I think it was on here, but nobody tagged it, so I can't find the post. Someone suggested washing your face with salt to draw out the infection, then applying tea tree oil and lavender oil. I've been doing that, but I'm an absolute mess.

Does anybody have any other ideas of what might help? By the way, my skin is on the dry side. After being oily for years, I guess age caught up with me, and I'm drying out like a mummy.

Thanks in advance for any advice y'all might have.

I'm trying to make a coat for this winter, but I'm having trouble finding a vegan yarn that's really warm. The closest I've got is Blue Skies Cotton; does anyone have a suggestion?

Thank you!

I've been working at the same place for almost 2 years so everyone knows I'm a vegan.  Recently a couple of female co-workers, one of them 3 weeks ago and the other just this week, each told me that they are going to become vegetarian/vegan...citing a movie or something that showed animals being slaughtered...and asked me about my diet.  But, when I offer to share an excel spreadsheet with them and help them to figure out what vitamins, proteins, & other nutrients they will need and how to find out what foods satisfy those requirements they act very uninterested and don't even mention it afterwards.

It makes no sense to me...anyone care to enlighten me?

I've googled and googled and I cannot for the life of me find this product (except on asianproducts which gives NO info)..


Esinti Tango air freshener- does anyone know if this company tests on animals? It's in my Associated Supermarket (in US) and I like the scents but will not buy if tested.

Dockers suck.

Because, according to them, "real men" need to "step away from the salad bar."

Hi guys,
Who would you recommend as the best cake company, that can deliver? I've used Heavenly Cake Company and Blue Lotus in the past, but any other recommendations or thoughts on the subject would be welcome. Thanks a lot in advance!

this is a totally random question. I'm living in France for a bit, and while its not really hard being vegan, I am missing a lot of staples that are much easier to find in the US. One of which is nutritional yeast. I was just wondering if anyone knew what nutritional yeast is called in French, or maybe even where I could possibly find some, like a chain of stores or something?

Thank you so much!

Dear fellow vegans,

I'm new to this comm (and livejournal in general, actually) so I hope this ends up in the right place. If not, I apologize, let me know and I shall fix it!

Anyways, I come to you looking for advice. I'll keep it short and sweet, I'm looking for a hair dye. I always make sure to buy all my cosmetics and beauty products from cruelty free companies but as far as I know the company I buy my shampoo/conditioner from doesn't make hair dye. There is a little organic hair salon near my house who's products are not tested on animals but they are also very expensive.

I was hoping someone here could point me in the direction of some animal friendly hair dyes that WONT break the bank.

I'm not looking for any crazy weird colors, just some simple browns.

Thanks in advance guys!
<3

According to the Starbucks Australia website, the new Christmas drinks we have are Dark Cherry Mocha Frappuccino (I'm not sure if this comes in any other version), and Toffeenut and Gingerbread beverages (hot, iced, or blended). As far as I'm aware, these products are a bit different to what Starbucks have overseas (please correct me if I'm wrong).

I'm fairly new to Starbucks, so my question is, does anyone know which of these beverages are vegan? Even though I have done lots of Googling and checked in the tags I still can't seem to find the answer. I apologise if this question has been posted before. :)

Thank you in advance! :)

hi, i just joined......
i am an on again , off again vegan/vegetarian. i really feel like i SHOULD be vegan, but its been very difficult for me to make changes to my diet and lifestyle....
this time around i am trying to get more involved with .. err....... "community support"? basically have more people who are vegan or vegetarian i can talk to.

unfortunately i have had several people who have given me a less than favorable impression of the vegan community. luckily i have also met some very helpful and supportive people.

anyway, so. i am looking for help making a transition to a Vegan diet.

i am particularly interested in getting more greens and if possible wheatgrass into my diet, and wondered if anyone has any advice on wheat grass growing/sprouting/ etc.

sadly, i am allergic to garlic and to raw onions. this makes finding filling and vegan (or even vegetarian) food outside of my own home very difficult... and i travel for a living. any advice?

Hey guys! I'm Jess. I'm a recent re-convert to vegetarianism after quite a few years, I've been doing better than ever. I'm not a full Vegan at the moment but I'm hoping to get there eventually. I've managed to cut back my dairy to one serving per week, intentionally, though I'm new at vegan shopping and have unwittingly purchased items with dairy products.

Like Morning Star Burger Crumbles, which were recommended to me in a lot of vegan recipes. I ate half the bag when I realized that they now contain eggs and milk. COOL. That's what I get for trying to buy food at Target, I guess. I'll be sticking to the less local health food store from now on.

I was wondering if any of you still lived with your parents? The biggest obstacle so far has been changing my lifestyle without alienating my family, who have always used food as a way to bond or relieve stress. My mother always made me milkshakes or chicken fingers when I'm stressed out, and I have a hard time rejecting such a kind gesture. We've had conversations about why I feel like I'm making the best choice for me and she completely accepts that, but it's been a little harder at home.

Nice to meet you all!

This is copied & pasted from email. I'll be in Holyoke if I manage to beat down my social anxiety.


Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition Fur Free Friday Protests

Here are three ways to stand up for the animals on Thanksgiving weekend (and Dec. 5th) and say that wearing fur is cruel (full notices follow the numbered items below). This is the biggest shopping time of the year. So please bring your friends and family. The national animal groups keep online tallies of attendees in the big cities for this international event so you know the furriers and fashionistas will be taking note of how many protesters there were. So the animals really need you! (We will personally be at all of them.) Weather is always an issue in November; please stay tuned for info, but cold or a light drizzle will not stop us - dress warmly - FFF is notoriously chilly! We will bring handwarmers if it is cold.

Events:

1. Boston: Nov. 27, 1-3pm, Neiman Marcus, Copley Place, Boston
2. Holyoke: Nov. 28, noon-2pm, Holyoke Mall, Holyoke (Near Springfield.)
3. Worcester: December 5, 1-3pm, Greendale Mall, Worcester.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
( Details Details... )

hi there,

i'm going to be in boston for the weekend, and i was wondering if anyone knew any vegan-friendly places not terribly far from the MIT campus area? (public transport is okay, though). i'll be foraging for myself for the whole time!

cheap places are good (i'm a student), and places with vegan chocolate cake are awesome. :)

thanks!

I'm trying to do as much of a handmade holiday as possible, and i've found tons of ideas for sweets to give to people, but one thing I really want to do is soup mixes in mason jars, because I know quite a few people who would appreciate them. Has anyone done this before and can provide recipes or places to get dried vegetables from? I did try google but it didn't turn up much of what I was actually looking for.

Has anyone here tried the Eat To Live Six Week Program? I started it on Monday. Be interested to hear if any of you have had a go at it?
Love to all.

please post some amazing recipes for thanksgiving!! i'm trying to impress some carnivores this year. :|

Alright veganism, I'm sick and miserable and have been for the past three days. I've got to go to class tomorrow and I'm tired of waking up with a head full of a phlegm and a throat that feels like it's been doused in acid.

Do you have any cruelty free tricks for helping out congestion and soreness in the throat?

i love to cook. love love love! i already have a lot of cookbooks, but i figured that there wouldn't be any harm in asking for some more for christmas. i'll be moving out soon and i can't wait to have a tiny library in my tiny kitchen. :p

i've been using amazon as a reference for cookbooks just by searching "vegan cookbook" and then reading through the reviews, but i would love more recommendations! i'm sure there are lots of hidden gems out there. i should also add that i like playing with raw recipes, so long as they're not too tedious. so please recommend other cookbooks i should look into, or give me your feedback on cookbooks that are on my wishlist if you already own them! thanks! :)

( on to my list! )

November 14, 2009
Murray Hill, N.J.: Vegan Cooking Workshop
Join Farm Sanctuary’s Campaigns Coordinator David Benzaquen and activist Juliette Levy-Pomann to learn about preparing a scrumptious and healthy vegan meal. The workshop commences at 1 p.m. with dinner at 5 p.m. Tickets are limited and cost $25. For location details and to RSVP, please e-mail Juliette: yogajuliette@yahoo.com


November 16, 2009
Princeton, N.J.: Thanksgiving Cooking Demonstration
Join Farm Sanctuary and Chef Christine Waltermyer for a cooking demonstration that will teach you how to create vegan versions of your favorite Thanksgiving foods. The event includes a sampling of all prepared dishes. The program will take place at The Whisk & the Spoon, the learning kitchen in the Whole Foods Market at 3495 U.S. Route 1 South in Princeton, N.J., from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $25. Space is very limited, and you must purchase tickets in advance. Purchase your ticket now: https://secure2.convio.net/fsi/site/Donation2?df_id=2240&2240.donation=form1

Have I been living under a rock?! I thought Morningstar Farms was going to cut back on the use of egg and dairy ingredients in their products?!...

While at the store tonight I discovered that their Recipe Crumbles aren't vegan anymore, they now have eggs and milk... and upon further exploration of their website found that only four or five of their products are vegan, this seems like a reduction....

Why do companies like this have to add eggs and milk to products?

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for all your advice and thoughts on my last post regarding the co-worker who has been ridiculing me on a daily basis.

Today, there hasn't been any offensive conversations between us, however she forwarded a "joke" email to me that was a picture of a fox with a rifle and three dead rabbits next to it. Not a cartoon, three REAL DEAD RABBITS.

Consider the following which may magnify the situation:
a) I have a pet rabbit
b) I was excitedly telling someone this morning that I had wild baby rabbits on my lawn grazing at 7am

That was the last straw! I emailed HR and am currently waiting for a response.

( Letter to HR )

Thanks again for all your support everyone!

 i just wanted to ask what your responses are when people ask you:
 
"why're you vegan?"

How do you cope with a ridiculing co-worker that you need to share an office with?

I've tried the direct approach and it doesn't seem to be working... And unfortunately I can't completely alienate her because:

a) She's my superior
b) We need to work together
c) I don't want another job!


Since we've been forced into an office together, she's brought up my veganism at least once a day, normally indirectly.

For example, she'd been pushing for us to go and see Julie & Julia together, but when I saw a screenshot online of Meryl Streep holding an upside down raw chicken, I told her I didn't think I could handle the movie. She put on her most patronising voice and asked "realllllly?" which made me snap at her and say "don't act like it's so ridiculous" and she said "yeah, but you know it happens..." and I said "but it doesn't make it OK".

THEN she tried to push a conversation about how I would react in real life if I had to deal with looking at something raw in a restaurant and I cut her off and said "I've already told you. Last time I went to the Japanese restaurant they sat a plate of raw prawns in front of me and I had to run to the toilet to puke - then I couldn't eat for the rest of the night". She just turned her head to the side and said "aww" as if she was talking to a child who'd just fallen over and grazed their knee.

On other occassions she's encouraged conversations with other staff about raising and slaughtering your own meat, which has forced me to leave my office [on one occassion to go to the bathroom and bawl my eyes out].

She does things like splattering flies and spiders in front of me, even though I would gladly remove them from the room alive if I knew they were there and bothering her...

I don't know what to do. Like I said, I've tried the direct approach. I've even told her to "get over it", but she just can't seem to let it go and it's emotionally draining having to defend myself every single day!

Thankfully we're not sharing an office permanently but in the meantime...?

>>

Just for a bit of background... This woman grew up on a farm. Eating meat is the most normal thing in the world to her and she's constantly trying to draw attention to how abnormal I am. To the point of attempting to humiliate me in front of other staff members (who thankfully don't take the bait and join in).


P.s. She's iron deficient. HAH!

I'm no longer vegan but today, I was browsing the blog that the owner of my gym runs on nutrition and was looking through the comments on a recent post when I came across this paragraph:

"As far as supplements go I reccomend EFA's (essentail fatty acids) mostly Fish Oils capsules high in Omega-3 (look for Brands that state low or no mercury) here is some attached links. Unless you are a vegan which in that case you should find another gym and trainer, you should avoid Flaxseed oil."

I did a double-take.

Did he really just say that?

I didn't realize veganism and fitness were mutually exclusive lifestyles.

It's like the time my kickbox instructor had a difficult time wrapping his head around my unwillingness to purchase leather gloves when there were perfectly acceptable alternatives that didn't involve me wearing the dead skin of animals.

Well, I wasn't going to take that BS slide so I posted a response.

"I'm kind of offended by the statement about how vegans should find another gym or trainer. While some vegans are completely ignorant of their own nutritional needs, a lot of them are very much capable of working as hard as the next guy or girl (assuming they're meeting all of their nutritional needs).

Mike Mahler is a vegan, as well as a strength and conditioning coach, and kettlebell instructor, that is far more than simply a respectable trainer . He's a great athlete and even trains UFC fighters. Brendan Brazier is a professional Ironman athlete, as well as a vegan.

While some people may not be able to achieve peak performance following a vegan diet, it doesn't completely disqualify them from being excellent athletes. Veganism has been proven to be capable of satisfying nutritional needs and can be altered to satisfy the nutritional needs of athletes as well.

There are dozens of moral/ethical arguments advocating veganism, and I myself was vegan for quite some time and still managed to get in the best shape of my life, as well as build a significant amount of muscle mass. Vegans can CrossFit, too. If we can pour our passion and energy into animal rights advocacy, we can definitely pour that same passion and energy into our WODs."

I think it'd be wiser to turn down, oh, say, anyone that drinks, or stuffs their face with saturated fat on a regular basis. Buddhists advocate vegetarianism...tell them to find a new gym, too. Douchebag.

I'm currently in the middle of a mad rush of research for a speech I'm due to deliver in my public speaking class in about a week and a half. It's a persuasive speech, and my topic is animal testing and experimentation.

I'm a new vegan, and in fact fairly new to really thinking about animals and their...feelings and lives in general. For most of my life I was the type to poke fun at the folks who actually gave a crap.

Now, the more I read about the shit that we do to animals in the name of food, research, testing, etc..the more I want to puke, and then go burn something down.

It's unreal to me, the things that we as humans are able to justify and carry out in our own interests. When I was just starting to take baby-steps into veganism, I remember watching Whale Wars one night and hearing Paul Watson describe his views on the animal/human co-habitation situation, and I remember being somewhat shocked that he referred to humanity as a "virus" that needed to be eradicated. Now, I totally understand.

And, that's about it. Sorry for the drama, I just..gah.