Vegan Chocolate Chip Muffins: For the Start of a Delicious, Guilt free Day

Kudos to whoever invented the muffin then had the genius idea of serving it in the morning instead of as a dessert after dinner. Although they are really a cake, their official classification as “breakfast food” means you get to eat cake for breakfast without the guilt or raised eyebrows of family or coworkers. Chocolate chip muffins exploit this loophole even more, allowing you to enjoy chocolate and cake first thing in the morning and no one is allowed to judge you because, after all, you are just eating a muffin. The fact that our chocolate chip muffins are made without any animal products gives you even more reason to skip the guilt and indulge. We can’t think of a yummier way to start your day.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup melted vegan margarine (Earth Balance brand)
• 1 cup vegan sugar
• 1 Tbs. vanilla
• 3/4 cup soymilk
• 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. egg replacer powder (Ener-G brand)
• 3/4 tsp. salt 1 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life Mini Chips are best)

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line muffin pan with one dozen muffin papers.
3. Combine melted margarine, sugar, vanilla, soymilk and vinegar in a large mixing bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved.
4. Separately, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, egg replacer powder and salt and stir together.
5. Combine wet and dry ingredients, stirring to throughly combine, then beat for one minute.
6. Add chocolate chips to batter, and stir until evenly distributed.
7. Scoop batter into muffin papers, three quarters from top edge of the muffin papers.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean (not including melted chocolate).

Makes 1 dozen muffins

For a PDF of the recipe, click here or click on the image below:

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Our cookbook, All American Vegan, ends with a chapter called “Let Them Eat Cake” in which we discuss the need for vegans to stop portraying veganism as “health food” and to start showing Americans how delicious and familiar vegan food can be. We ask our readers to take a journey through time, to imagine a future in which everyone is vegan and every food for sale in every grocery store, restaurant, vending machine, cafe and concession stand is vegan, too. Bearing in mind what we know about American eating habits and what we know to be possible in terms of vegan substitution, we then ask our readers to consider the kind of food people would eat in this future, vegan society.

If you close your eyes and do this experiment, do you see quinoa patties, carrot sticks and kombucha for sale at McDonalds, or vegan cheeseburgers, French fries and non-dairy milkshakes? What does logic dictate would be the type of vegan food Americans are more likely to embrace—whole grain, gluten-free, non-fat, vegetable-based dishes? Or vegan food that looks the same, tastes the same and is as abundant and readily available as what they eat now? Of course, we choose, and think logic dictates, the latter. And because by the far the greatest harm associated with an animal based diet is the harm that is done to animals, any food that opens the minds of our fellow Americans to the immense potential of the vegan diet, thereby hastening the closing of the slaughterhouse doors, we welcome. Any vegan food that appeals to the taste buds, to tradition and familiarity, we celebrate. Some things, after all, are timeless.

A chocolatier, a Parisian cafe, a patisserie and a Sunday brunch spot all in one, Oakland, California’s Timeless Coffee Roasters offers a taste of the future, today. Serving vegan sweets that are even more delicious that their non-vegan doppelgangers, including “Double-Down Twinkies”,” “Chocodiles,” chocolate dipped biscotti and peanut butter cups, Timeless offers the same high-quality, handmade cookies, cakes, candies and pastries for sale at other high-end cafes and bakeries with one crucial difference: no animals were harmed to make them. Likewise dedicated to the philosophy that the best way to make people vegan is to simply feed them vegan versions of what they already like to eat, RJ Leimpeter, part-owner of this Oakland cafe, confessed that many of his customers don’t even realize that the cafe is a vegan one. He explained that some of the customers who have been eating at the café since it opened have expressed surprise to learn that the foods they have been eating are made without animal products. “They couldn’t tell,” says RJ. Nor would they be able to. Except for signs that indicate items containing vegan “meat” or “cheese,” there is otherwise no indication that the treats for sale at Timeless are vegan, and that’s deliberate. RJ explained that when people hear “vegan,” they can get turned off, and if food isn’t labeled as such, they are more likely to try their offerings with an open mind. RJ explained that when people do find out that the foods they like are vegan, they are pleasantly surprised, a point worth repeating: no one misses the eggs, meat and dairy, not even in their coffee drinks, as Timeless uses only almond milk (or soy on request). The lesson? Make vegan food familiar and make it delicious, and not only will no one miss the animal products, they won’t even notice that they are gone.

On Sunday, Timeless is transformed into a bustling brunch spot that serves up a fixed vegan menu. The most popular is the first Sunday of every month for their signature dish: vegan “chicken” and waffles.

Gertrude Stein once famously quipped that “There is no there there” in Oakland. Thanks to Timeless, that’s no longer true. Bon appétit!

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Down to Earth Advice from Four All American Vegans

We are typical American family: Mom and Dad, teenaged daughter and a pre-teen son. We live in the burbs. We drive a mini-van. We eat white bread, love baseball and a good barbeque on the Fourth of July. To look at us, you’d never suspect that we are vegan, and that’s just the way we like it. Why? Because we are living proof that the stereotypes so often associated with veganism just aren’t true. Not only can you be a vegan and relate to the average American, you can be the kind of vegan the average American can relate to as well.

Contrary to the images that come to mind when most people hear the word “vegan,” we aren’t health food nuts. We aren’t obsessed with Omega 3s or “gluten free” and we couldn’t care less what grains ancient people used to eat. We don’t visit Ayurvedic or homeopathic “healers.” We aren’t Hare Krishna or Buddhists. We are typical Americans who have made the simple choice to swear off eggs, meat and dairy products, and to consume the abundantly available alternatives to those foods instead. In fact, if you peeked inside our house while we are eating dinner you might not be able to tell we are vegan by looking at our food, either. Our meals look the same as those most Americans eat and in many cases taste very similar, but they are made with alternatives to animal ingredients instead of real ones. We eat hot dogs and hamburgers with French fries, fried “chicken” with mashed potatoes and gravy and BBQ ribs with cornbread and coleslaw. For dessert, we enjoy cookies, cupcakes, jello and, of course, apple pie a la mode.

As long time vegans, the authors of a vegan cookbook and the parents of two vegan-since-birth kids (our daughter, Riley is 16, our son, Willoughby, is 12), we are asked a lot of questions about being vegan. Some of them are simple questions about vegan products, such as “Are there any vegan chewing gums?” or “Do you have any recommendations for a good egg replacer?” Others involve social issues pertaining to veganism such as “How do you handle holidays with non-vegan family members?” or “How do you respond when friends or family are unsupportive of your choice to raise your kids as vegans?” Because some of these issues are common ones, we decided to make our answers public, to start a “Ask a Vegan” column to post our answers to these and other common questions we are asked and to encourage the submission of others.

Is there something about veganism you’ve always wanted to know but didn’t know who to ask? Have you been researching veganism and have questions about it, but are feeling a bit overwhelmed or intimidated by all the dogma unrelated to veganism that is so often associated with it, such as having to swear off processed foods, white flour or sweeteners that don’t meet someone’s preferred glycemic index? If so, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll keep it simple. We’ll keep it convenient. We’ll keep it ethical. And we promise to never, ever scold you for loving your food deep fried or covered with a sugary glaze. In fact, we’ve only got five rules: 1. No meat, 2. No dairy, 3. No eggs, 4. No honey, and 5. There are no other rules.

For us, being vegan is simple, delicious and more convenient than ever before, and we want to help you feel the same way about it, too. We’re happy to help, so please, don’t hesitate to ask!

Here’s our first question:

My husband and I are vegan and we have been raising our 2 yr old daughter vegan as well. Thank you for writing about all of this! I wanted to ask: how do you handle sugar? I have read that it’s only vegan if you use “organic sugar” otherwise they use bone char. What have you found out about this/do you have a blog entry by chance about this? This is one area that I find particularly frustrating… so far our daughter doesn’t eat a lot of sugar and if she has something I make it so it’s ok. But eventually she’ll want things like Red Vines or other candy and I don’t know what to do. Any advice?

It’s always wonderful to hear from other parents who are raising vegan kids, too, so thanks for contacting us and we’re happy to share how we approach the issue of sugar and candy. As we discuss in a section of our cookbook called “The Devil Is in the Details,” sugar refined with bone char is one of the most common problematic ingredients in food. In short, bone char, or bone black as it is called, is used to filter natural cane sugar so that the final product is white. Liquefied sugar is passed through giant filters containing the charcoaled bones of cows which capture the elements of natural cane sugar that would otherwise make the sugar blond instead of white. However, although the sugar comes into contact with the bones, no bones make it into the final product.

Some vegans argue that because there are no actual animal ingredients in the final product of sugar, it is therefore vegan. We think this misses the point of being vegan for ethical reasons, which is not to be “pure” but to avoid creating a demand for products which harm animals, in this case, the filters filled with cow bones that must periodically be replaced at the sugar refinery. That is why as a family, we avoid bone char sugar. We do not buy items that list “sugar” as an ingredient unless that sugar is organic, evaporated cane juice or listed as beet sugar because those sugars are made without the use of bone char. CLICK HERE for an article that discusses this issue in great detail, including a list of which brands of sugar sold in the U.S. are vegan, or bone char processing free.

Does that mean we never buy a product listed as containing sugar? No. We often contact the company to ask for clarification. For instance, Earth Balance just came out with new vegan white cheddar popcorn. But since it is not organic and “sugar” is listed as an ingredient, we contacted the company for more information. Customer service assured us that the sugar was non bone char. Last Halloween, we wanted to make candy apples and our recipe called for cinnamon candies. Again, we wrote Brach’s about theirs, and after doing a little research on the issue, Brach’s customer service assured us that the sugar used in their hard cinnamon disks is vegan. So just because an ingredient list contains the word “sugar” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bone char. You can always ask the company for more info. The good news is that more and more companies seem to be getting the message as we have been surprised and delighted several times over the past year to discover companies making this distinction on their ingredients label by writing “non-bone-char” or simply “vegan” after the sugar is listed. Hopefully it is trend that will continue and grow.

As for your daughter, rest assured you can easily avoid bone char sugar and still find candies that will delight her. Red Vines is one vegan candy you can find at most grocery and drug stores, while the candy aisle at a natural foods store is also a great place to find vegan candies, including our favorites: Go Max Go’s line of vegan candy bars which mimic the nation’s best selling candy bars in a vegan version (Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Three Musketeers, Milky Way, Almond Joy, Snickers and Butterfinger), Newman’s Licorice, Earth Bars candy bars, Annie’s Organic Fruit Snacks (really, gummy bunnies), Surf Sweets brand Fruity Bears, Gummy Swirls, Sour Berry Bears, Sour Worms and Fruity Hearts and Yummy Earth’s Organic Lollipops.

Although you can usually find these or other vegan, bone-char free sugar candies at most natural food stores, when it comes to special occasions, we go above and beyond. For holidays or traditions that are generally associated with iconic items that are generally not vegan, such as Christmas candy canes, chocolate Santas, Easter marshmallow peeps or Halloween candy corn, we can usually find such items available on the internet in vegan (bone char-free) versions to surprise our kids. Our favorite internet stops for these foods are veganessentials.com, veganstore.com and the naturalcandycompany.com (candies listed as vegan are bone char-free). Every Halloween, Christmas and Easter, we post a tour of the latest and best holiday candies. You can read the latest versions of those blogs here:

• A Very Vegan Halloween
• Holiday Stocking Stuffers
• Hoppy Easter

Although, as the cliché goes, it seems like only yesterday that our kids were the age your daughter is now, the truth is we’ve been at this vegan parenting business for nearly 17 years and we can honestly say it’s a piece of cake. Kids have a natural love and empathy for animals and if you explain why you avoid certain foods and then provide an uncompromising model of compassionate eating, they will follow, and embrace, your lead. We also make it a point to provide our kids vegan versions of popular foods whenever possible so our kids understand that being vegan means making foods differently, not necessarily going without. Of course, it is a great thing to raise your kids vegan from birth because they don’t miss what they never had, and, in fact, we’ve found that quite the opposite is true. Our kids not only don’t want to eat animals because it is cruel, they find the thought of eating animals, eggs or drinking milk disgusting. And, of course, you can never go wrong by sweetening the deal with a little vegan candy as well!

Ask a Vegan by clicking here.

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Buy the book: All American Vegan

“Humane” Meat, Shelter Killing and How HSUS, the ASPCA, PETA, and AHA Enable Abuse & Killing of All Animals

To Vegans & Animal Rights Activists Who Support the Killing of Companion Animals:

Animal shelters in this country exist for primarily one purpose: to provide a safety-net of care for our nation’s homeless animals. With half of all animals entering our shelters being killed rather than given the new beginning that they not only deserve, but which the No Kill movement has proven unequivocally is possible, to say that most of our animal shelters are failing in their mission is a gross understatement. But the betrayal goes even deeper than the killing, although by far that is the greatest harm. Because in addition to taking the lives of four million animals a year, animal shelters in this country are rife with abuse and neglect as well. Why? Because they kill.

Studies of slaughterhouse workers have found that in order to cope with the fact that they are paid to kill day in and day out, self-preservation motivates those workers to devalue animals in order to make what they are doing less morally reprehensible. In other words, the workers make the animals unworthy of any consideration on their behalf. The two most common methods of achieving this are indifference to animal suffering and even intensifying it, becoming sadistic toward the animals. In too many communities, the implications for shelters are frightening: American shelters are themselves frequently little more than slaughterhouses. By its very nature, therefore, shelter killing breeds a lack of compassion and caring for animals.

And not only do people in shelters work at a place that commits this ultimate form of violence, they have, in fact, been hired to do exactly that. Can we really be surprised when they don’t clean thoroughly, don’t feed the animals, handle them too roughly, or neglect and abuse them? How does shoddy cleaning or rough handling or failing to feed the animals compare with putting an animal to death? Because shelter workers understand that they have the power to kill shelter animals, and will in fact kill many of them, every interaction they have with those animals is influenced by their perception that the animals do not matter, that their lives are cheap and expendable and that they are destined for the garbage heap.

The tragic state of American animal shelters proves that when the harm of killing animals is permissible, other kinds of harm are fostered as well. And that is why the historical distinction between “animal rights” and “animal welfare” is a false one. Where there is no respect for life, there is no regard for welfare.

Indeed, the right to life should be the bedrock of any movement that claims to be rights-based, as the animal rights movement by its very name, does. Not only because each animal, like each of us, has an inalienable right to life, but because all the other things the animal protection movement claims to be seeking on behalf of animals are impossible without that first and most essential right. Without the right to life, no other “rights” can be guaranteed. How can we ensure animals the right to food, water, shelter and kind treatment, when those things can be taken away by killing?

Yet tragically, there is not a single, large national animal protection organization that represents a consistent moral philosophy for animals, one that advocates that animals have both a right to be free from suffering and a right to live. The ASPCA doesn’t. The Humane Society of the United States doesn’t. PETA doesn’t. And the American Humane Association doesn’t. And so their philosophy and actions on behalf of animals are inconsistent, sloppy, harmful and ultimately deadly.

With one hand, PETA passes out literature encouraging people to go vegan while the other hand injects thousands of animals, even species of animals raised for food, with a fatal dose of poison. HSUS claims to oppose the clubbing of baby seals in front of their mother, but gives a “Shelter We Love” award to a shelter where employees placed a mother cat and her kitten into a gas chamber with a raccoon so that they could watch the animals fight before turning on the gas, killing those animals slowly and painfully and laughing while they did so. The ASPCA’s makes millions on their now infamous commercials promising to protect abused and neglected animals in need even as they send the neediest of animals dropped on their doorstep down the street to be killed at one of the most abusive and filthy shelters in the nation and have allowed dogs to starve to death all over New York City. And last but by no means least, the American Humane Association, an organization that claims to be the “the nation’s voice for the protection of animals,” not only trains people to kill healthy companion animals with their “Euthanasia by Injection” workshops (“hands-on” workshops where living animals are killed) but condones, encourages and enables the suffering of millions of animals raised for food with their sham “Certified Humane” label which perpetuates the myth of humane meat.

Which of these harms would be permissible were these organizations to authentically represent a true animal rights philosophy, one that recognizes the inherent right to live of every animal? None of them. How could they justify their actions which lead to animal suffering and death in light of a concomitant belief that animals, like people, have an unalienable right to live? They couldn’t. And yet, paradoxically, because we criticize these groups for moral inconsistency that sabotages our cause and for actions that they take which undermine rather than further the rights and well-being of animals, we are constantly attacked by the very people who should share our concerns: our fellow animal rights activists and vegans.

We want those who claim to be vegan—who claim to care about the plight of animals raised for food—but who condemn us for criticizing the large, national groups they love for the actions they take which brutally harm companion animals to see what, exactly, they are enabling when they defend groups which claim to speak for animals but do not promote their right to live. We want them to see how they don’t just hurt dogs and cats whose lives and rights they so casually discard, but how they enable the suffering and killing of animals they do claim to care about—chickens, cows and pigs. We want them to see the crimes against animals which a belief in the myth of a “humane death” enables and which they, in turn, further enable by promoting the groups that champion such a myth.

Like HSUS, the ASPCA, and PETA, the American Humane Association defends animal shelters that kill animals despite readily available lifesaving alternatives. AHA in fact, teaches people how to kill healthy and treatable animals and provides them with animals to kill. And so it should come as no surprise that when Foster Farms slits the throats of millions of chickens every year or when other factory farms put live, baby male chicks into a giant grinder because they don’t lay eggs or grow fast enough to provide maximum profitability to the industry. AHA does not condemn it. Instead, they give it a seal of approval.

Recently, Foster Farms announced that they were awarded the American Humane Association’s “Humane Certified” label which now appears on the package of every dead Foster Farms chicken sold in America. Thanks to AHA, American consumers will be lulled into a false sense of complacency that eating animals is consistent with being humane, that supporting a company that kills millions of animals a year is consistent with a belief in animal protection. Like HSUS and the ASPCA which likewise promote the myth that raising and killing animals for food can be “humane”–and like PETA which, in Ingrid Newkirk’s own words, does “not support right to life for animals” and who told the New York Times that when it comes to people eating animals, “screw the principles”–when AHA condones and enables harm to animals, when they call cooking the bodies of dead animals a “joy” and recipes which call for those bodies “scrumptious,” they do so on behalf of the entire animal protection movement.

According to AHA, Foster Farms raises its chickens in a humane manner. But, what, exactly, do they mean by “humane?”

Does it prevent animals from being kept in crowded indoor cages in warehouses? No.

Does it require chickens to be allowed to go outside, to get fresh air and sunlight, to be able to act in accordance with all of their instincts to ensure their happiness and psychological as well as physical well-being? No.

Does it mean you cannot cut the beaks of chicks? No.

Does it mean that you cannot place live, newborn male chicks into a grinder to be killed? No.

Does it prevent chickens from being hung upside down by the feet, electrically stunned, and then have their throats slit? No.

Does it mean you cannot cut the teeth of piglets? No.

Does it mean you cannot cut the tails off pigs? No.

Does it mean you cannot use an electric prod on cows? No.

Does it mean that you cannot use restraints to forcibly inseminate a cow or a pig? No.

Does it prevent castration of newborn calves by placing a rubber band around their scrotum to cut off blood supply? No.

And, like chickens, does it mean that these cows and pigs are not ultimately slaughtered? No.

The Skeletons in Jennifer’s Closet

Excerpted from All American Vegan.

I used to work in a specialty cheese shop. I was surrounded by cheeses from around the world and I knew the unique history and characteristics of each of them. Blindfolded, I could tell the difference by smell and taste. At the tender age of 20, I was a gourmet, a bona fide connoisseur of artisan cheeses. Every day, I lived, breathed, ate, and according to my roommate, smelled like cheese. I was proud of that at one time. Even after becoming vegan, I pined for cheese. At least, I used to until I met someone who made me lose my craving forever.

“Drop calf” is the industry term for baby cows who are taken from their mothers to be sold for slaughter. To a dairy farmer, a baby cow is competition for his mother’s milk and therefore an unnecessary cost. Along with animals the industry considers “old” or “worn out” because their production has slacked, “drop calves” are sold to the highest bidder at stockyard auctions throughout the country. These are the animals who end up in pet food or in cheap, frozen TV dinners. They also have their stomachs scraped after being killed for rennet, an ingredient in cheese.

As part of my work with an animal rights organization, I visited auctions to document what I saw. And what I saw was heartbreaking. But one particular image still haunts me: a tiny newborn calf covered in amniotic fluid, lying all alone in the corner of a dirty pen one bitter cold morning. Barely a few hours old, he looked bewildered, fearful, and in desperate need of his mother. “If he survives,” said a worker when I asked about him, “he’ll probably sell for a dollar or less.” One dollar. That is what his life was worth to the dairy industry.

Since that moment, the thought of eating cheese or anything made from milk literally turns my stomach. Because now, whenever I see such foods, I see him too. I see his disoriented expression. I see him shivering alone in a dirty pen. I see him cowering in the corner, wet with amniotic fluid. I see him again and again and again whenever someone asks about my veganism and then tells me they could never give up cheese and other dairy products. “I love it too much” they might say, searching my expression for some hint of agreement. Instead, I think of the baby cows that milk really belongs to, the milk that is their birthright, and upon which their very lives depend. And I see it cruelly taken away because the person standing before me likes the fleeting taste of pizza, ice cream, or a glob of camembert spread upon a water cracker. And I think: is that what their lives are worth?

Got milk? Never again.

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Buy the book: All American Vegan

To purchase:

1. Vegan Store
2. Natural Candy Store*
3. Cakewalk Baking Company
4. Sjaak’s Organic Chocolates*
5. Rose City Chocolates*
6. Sweet & Sara

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Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/allamericanvegan

Follow on twitter: @allamervegan

Buy the book: All American Vegan

To purchase online:

• Natural Candy Store

One of our frustrations about the way veganism has historically been promoted is that ready-made meat and dairy alternatives have often been downplayed in favor of vegetables. While the recent boom in vegan cookbooks that teach vegan substitution demonstrates that this is finally beginning to change, traditionally, taste and convenience have been sacrificed on the altar of health, and a version of veganism which appeals to the slimmest demographic of Americans has been the one that has historically been promoted. Tragically, while most people who attempt veganism do so for ethical reasons, when they fall off the wagon as two out of three of them eventually do, they often explain that they missed the foods they use to eat. When our movement urges aspiring vegans to reject rather than embrace vegan analogs of the foods with which they are familiar, we sabotage their good intentions and, by extension, we fail the animals.

At the time we were writing All American Vegan, we read a magazine article which discussed an ongoing effort to create a new, soy-based chicken analog. The author of the article, an avowed meat eater, noted that the texture of the fake meat was a near perfect reproduction of chicken, but when pondering the future of the chicken substitute, wondered whether the vegetarian and vegan community would embrace a food that was “processed.” We became curious as to whether the meat and dairy analogs that are currently available are in fact meeting their potential for authenticity or whether our movement’s obsession with “health” meant that we were unwittingly hindering the production of such foods. Unfortunately, as we explain in “Let Them Eat Cake,” the last chapter of All American Vegan, the answer to that question is yes. The vegan community’s obsessive focus on health means companies marketing to vegans focus on minimal processing, with no artificial ingredients. As a result, they are not as “authentic” tasting as they could be.

That’s a tragedy and a paradox. With billions of animals suffering and dying, how is it that the very same people who are supposed to be championing the animals subscribe to dogmas that hinder rather than promote the creation of foods which would replace the use of animals and thereby hasten an end to the killing? But as frustrating as that realization may be, it doesn’t change the good news that the potential to do so already exists. And that means if the will existed, not only could a company create hamburgers and steaks and cheeses that are identical in taste and texture to the originals, but they could even make a vegan canned cat food that could fool the most discerning palate of all: those belonging to our finicky feline friends.

Cats are carnivores by nature, requiring the important amino acid taurine in order to remain healthy. Cats who are deprived this essential nutrient can go blind and even die. But there are vegan sources for taurine, and when added to a fake meat substitute that appealed to a cat’s very particular sense of taste, there is no reason to assume that a palatable vegan canned cat food isn’t possible. It most certainly is. It just hasn’t been made yet.

Of course, we are lucky to have Ami brand cat food, a vegan kibble that our cat, The Amazing Kenny, is currently transitioning to and so far seems to enjoy. But not so our so our little old lady cat, Popoki. Popoki is ancient, suffers from malabsorption issues and has a bum set of teeth that make it difficult for her to eat kibble. She prefers, and given her delicate health needs, wet food. Nonetheless, the constant frustration and guilt of having to feeding her meat recently culminated in our determination to try to make her vegan, yet again. Once more as we have done every so often over the past 15 years, we scour the internet and order canned vegan cat foods and even the ingredients to make our own, hopeful that this time we will stumble upon a recipe that our cat will love. No luck.

What about you? Have any of you had luck with a canned or homemade vegan cat food your kitties will actually eat? If so, we’d love to know! And for the rest of you who are fortunate enough to share your life with a kitty, try Ami. The Amazing Kenny gives it two paws up.

To purchase Ami, click here.

Update: We found this on one of the pages which sells Ami: “It is recommended to moisten the kibble before serving, especially to male cats. Also, please avoid feeding Ami Cat to cats if they are susceptible to urinary blockage and/or urinary crystals.”

Looking for a perfect snack to serve during the Superbowl? Try our easy to make seasoned popcorn. The lime juice adds tang, the nutritional yeast the flavor of “cheese.” Combined, they make this popcorn addictive. Great for family movie night, too!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels (when popped, approximately 16 cups)
• 1/4 cup melted Earth Balance vegan margarine*
• 2 Tbs. lime juice**
• 1/2 tsp. dill weed
• 1/8 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)

*If corn is popped in oil instead of an air popper this amount may be reduced by amount of oil in which corn is popped.
** Lime juice that comes in a lime-shaped dispenser is the best as the juice will come out in a thin stream. Two, 2 second long squirts will equal 2 Tbs.

To Prepare:

1. Pop popcorn.
2. Pour popcorn into a large brown paper shopping bag.
3. Drizzle half of melted margarine over popcorn. Hold top of bag closed and shake vigorously. Repeat with remaining margarine.
4. Drizzle half of lime juice over popcorn. Hold top of bag closed and shake vigorously. Repeat with remaining lime juice.
5. Sprinkle dill, nutritional yeast and salt over popcorn. Hold top of bag closed and shake vigorously once more.
6. Pour into large serving bowl.

For a PDF of this recipe, click here.

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Buy the book: All American Vegan

Ingredients

Filling:

• 2 1/2 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, quartered & cut into 1/8 inch thick slices)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup granulated vegan sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbs corn starch

Crust:

• 4 sheets vegan phyllo dough, thawed (Fillo Factory Organic Fillo Dough)
• 1/4 cup melted vegan margarine (Earth Balance)
• 1/8 cup granulated vegan sugar

Icing:

• 1/2 cup vegan powdered sugar
• 1 Tbs plus 1 tsp vegan non-dairy milk

To Prepare

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine apples, cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and toss to coat. Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss to coat again. Set aside.
3. Lay one sheet of phyllo on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tsp. melted margarine on the phyllo. With the back of a spoon or clean fingers, gently spread the margarine even over phyllo.
4. Sprinkle 1 tsp. sugar evenly over phyllo.
5. Lay second sheet of phyllo on top of first and spread with margarine and sprinkle with sugar as described above. Repeat with remaining 2 sheets of phyllo.
6. Arrange apple slices in a vertical line down the phyllo dough, several inches away from the end.
7. Fold over and roll (like a burrito), folding in ends as you go, until completely rolled up, seam side down.
8. Drizzle strudel with remaining margarine and spread evenly, then sprinkle evenly with remaining sugar.
9. With a serrated knife, cut the top of the strudel with 6 diagonals.
10. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and apples are tender. If the crust is brown and the apples are not yet ready, cover strudel with foil to prevent overbrowning while apples tenderize.
11. Meanwhile, prepare glaze by blending powdered sugar and non-dairy milk until smooth and lump free.
12. When strudel is completely cooled, drizzle with icing. To do this, drizzle a spoonful of glaze in a thin stream back and forth across the entire length of the

For a PDF of this recipe, click here.

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