Holidays

‘Pledging to Go Vegan, at Least for January’ ∞

January 21, 2020

Alyson Krueger for the NYTimes:

Move over Dry January (abstaining from alcohol) and Whole30 (no processed or refined foods). Veganuary, which asks people to ditch meat this month, has emerged as this year’s trendy resolution.

The campaign was started in the United Kingdom in 2014 by Jane Land and Matthew Glover, a husband-and-wife team who met on a vegan dating site and were inspired by Movember (growing a mustache for men’s health). Participants who pledge to go vegan on the site receive daily recipes, tips and information about how a vegan diet benefits animals, the environment and our bodies.

According to Veganuary, 750,000 people from 192 countries have joined the pledge, with about half signing up for 2020.

It’s easy to forget that things like Veganuary started with people who had an idea. When things appear around me and feel fully formed, it seems like they just fell out of the sky and occurred. But I love learning their names. Thank you, Jane Land and Matthew Glover. You’ve done a good thing.

Vegan Thanksgiving Round-Up ∞

November 15, 2019

Lots of sites have started posting their recipes for a plant-based Thanksgiving. I’m sad to report that the glorious recipes I use from Spork Foods aren’t anywhere online. I took a Thanksgiving class with them years ago and it’s the best investment I’ve made. All in all, I make an herbed-tofu carmelized wellington, lemon-maple sourdough stuffing, and garlic-shallot gravy.

Though fairly different, I did find a different set of recipes from from 2011 that Jenny and Heather put together.

‘A Mexican Vegan and The Five Stages of Food Grief’ ∞

November 7, 2019

Nicole Valadez with a personal reflection on being Mexican and going vegan:

My biggest problem was waiting for me back in Houston where I’d have to face my very traditional Mexican family and tell them that I could no longer indulge in our Thanksgiving feast. I wondered if I should just skip the holidays all together – postpone my big news until the new year and hide out in D.C., far away from judging eyes. But missing a Mexican holiday, let alone two, would be even worse than becoming the family’s first vegan.

And then she follows with the 5 stages of what I call “hungr-ief” and the discussion that ensues. For anyone out there afraid to explore, every year it gets a little better. The same thing happened with my family and if we all give a little it goes a long way. I try to make extra food and share it with as many people as I can. After all, Thanksgiving is about gathering together—with whatever food feels right for you.

✏️ by C. W. Moss