VeganMofo Day 30!: My body is a temple.

This is Day 30 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is about my body and how I treat it. It is also my final Vegan Mofo post as this is the last day of September! Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Before I begin, I'd like to celebrate the fact that I wrote 24 posts during Vegan Mofo. They ask that you write at least twenty to participate. I didn't officially sign up as I wasn't sure if I could do twenty. I am so excited to have been a part of Vegan Mofo!

I think about food a lot more than I did when I started writing for Vegan Mofo. Not being a food blogger, my thoughts are usually around activism, changing the world, working towards equality and being a voice for the voiceless.

I can't do any of that if I'm not healthy. Being vegan is not enough. As I often say, Pepsi and potato chips are vegan.

My body is indeed a temple and I have to treat it as such. I love sweets but I can't survive on them. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables is so important.  Every day. And so is drinking water. A lot of it. Veggies I love and try to eat as much as possible are kale, spinach, Swiss chard and broccoli. Blueberries and mangoes are my favorite fruits, and they are part of me being healthy. Less sugar, definitely.

I don't drink, smoke or do drugs. I do drink coffee. A lot of it. I can drink less.

Paying attention to the food I eat and what that food does to my body is key.

For me, exercise is also a huge part of taking care of myself and being good to my temple. I trained for and completed a half-marathon back in may and I try to work out at least twice a week. My new goal is to work at being in the gym at least four times a week, even if it's just a half hour.

My mental health comes into this too. Going to meetings, spending time with my husband and friends, walks with dogs and working on this blog all help with that.

Thank you for supporting me through Vegan Mofo. I hope my food posts were helpful and that you had had as much fun reading my posts as I did writing them!

And thanks for reading!

Dan
vegandude@msn.com

VeganMofo Day 29: Sunday brunch potluck

This is Day 29 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is about my favorite meal: brunch. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

I titled this "Sunday brunch" as for us Sunday is the easiest day to have a brunch with friends. I have written blog posts in the past about brunch potlucks we have had, always fun and always filled with delicious food.

I can't write or think about brunch without mentioning Isa Chandra Moskowitz's "Vegan Brunch", one of my all-time favorite cookbooks.

This cookbook is a must in any vegan kitchen. The Brazilian French Toast is so incredibly good, and so easy. For a brunch potluck it's perfect.

The great thing about brunch is that you can prepare breakfast-type items or dinner type items. It's the perfect meal. And the best thing about a brunch potluck is that you get to enjoy delicious vegan food with friends and family, and also get to try dishes that you might never have tried to make.

A vegan brunch potluck is also an incredible way to show friends and family who are not vegan how delicious vegan food is.

All you really need is a living room or backyard to fit a dozen or so I just love coffee so coffee is a big part of our Sunday brunch.

If you'd like to offer guests a base dish, try scrambled tofu in a crock pot. The flavors just continue to make the tofu that much more delish and it ensures that there is plenty of a filling dish. And it will stay hot throughout the brunch.

Good food. Good friends. A Sunday brunch potluck is awesome!

Thanks for reading!
vegandude@msn.com

VeganMofo Day 27: Vegan oasis at Fluid

This is Day 27 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is an introduction to Fluid Coffee Bar in Denver. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

When I started working at Urban Peak my first question was where to find a good cup of coffee. Fluid was the immediate response. I will be forever grateful to whoever told me that. Fluid has become the place I most frequent and I love them!

Located at Pennsylvania and 19th in Denver, Fluid is just east of downtown. The coffee is delicious, and after a couple of trips for more, I realized that they also carry Beet Box vegan pastries. This was before Beet Box opened a store front so this was huge. It is still pretty good as Fluid is closer for me than the Beet Box store front (which I also frequent!).

Great coffee and Beet Box pastries. The good news is that it doesn't end there.

Sweet Action ice cream and ice cream sandwiches. Yes! These are new at Fluid and I am so excited. Great afternoon snack.

Hungry for lunch or just something more substantial! Done!  They carry delish tofu scramble burritos as well as hummus wraps. They're heat up the burrito for you and offer it with salsa. Mmmmm.

Mango smoothie? No problem!

As any place I review, customer service and friendliness of staff are equal to vegan food offerings. Fluid rocks with friendliness. The owner Jeff and his wonderful staff are always super friendly and helpful. I honestly look forward to going in there not just for delish food options but to see these very kind people.

Also, they have meeting space. I've used it and it's perfect for a meeting for up to 30 or so.

Fluid Coffee Bar is truly vegan oasis! Check them out!

501 East 19th Avenue, Denver, 80203
720.519.4681

Thanks for reading!
vegandude@msn.com

VeganMofo Day 23: Tofu 101

This is Day 22 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is an introduction to tofu. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Tofu. Just mentioning tofu can get a negative reaction. I've heard just about all of the bad things that could be possibly brought up about tofu: terrible texture, no flavor, it's just gross, soy is bad for you, etc.

I love tofu.

Blackened is my favorite. Blackened tofu sandwiches are just about my favorite food.

In trying to eat as diverse a diet as possible, I don't eat tofu or soy everyday. That is more about diversity with my food choices than anything else.

Tofu is a great source of protein and can be a main dish or part of a delicious side dish. It can even be used for scrumptious desserts.

One thing to remember about tofu is that it doesn't really have a flavor; it takes on the flavor of whatever you put on it or marinate with it. When I blacken tofu for my sandwiches, plain, flavorless tofu all of sudden becomes filled with flavor because of the blackening spices I use to cook it. The same thing with barbecue tofu; it's all in the sauce. When I make tofu scramble, it's always more flavorful the next day because the tofu has had more time to absorb all of the spices used in the scramble.

Texture is easy. I mainly use extra firm tofu. If I want it more dense I freeze it.

If you want to try tofu without preparing it at home, check out food reviews of a local Thai or Chinese for tofu dishes and go try one. In Denver, Little Ollies serves a mean tofu, especially with their General Tao's tofu. This dish is not on the menu but they will make it for you.

Tofu can be as good and as delicious as you want it to be. Grab a recipe that uses tofu form one of the food blogs on our blog page. Try it. There is an amazing tofu dish for everyone!

Thanks for reading!
vegandude@msn.com

VeganMofo Day 22: Vegan nutrition experts

This is Day 22 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is an introduction to vegan health and nutrition blogs. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

My number one go-to resource for vegan nutrition is Jack Norris' blog, Jack Norris RD: http://jacknorrisrd.com/ I have loved this blog for a while now, and also love his book "Vegan for Life" that he co-wrote with the woman whose blog is next in this list. One of the many things that I like about Jack is that he sticks to facts and sticks to proven studies. There is no bs and no vegan feel-good crap. His blog is an incredible resource for me as a vegan who wants to be as healthy as possible, and I trust it implicitly.

The Vegan RD is Ginny Messina: http://www.theveganrd.com/ I met Ginny at Vida Vegan Con this past May and also attended her session about vegan nutrition. I was blown away as I sat there and learned about studies and her twenty plus years in nutrition. She co-wrote "Vegan for Life"  with Jack Norris and I trust everything that I read on her blog. Like Jack, Ginny looks at studies and evidence and isn't into fluff.

By the way, I also think that every vegan and anyone who wants to be healthier own a copy of "Vegan for Life".

Meet Matt Frazier, the No Meat Athlete: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/ Matt is another go to guy for me, especially as I trained for a half marathon and as I overall try to get healthier. His site has all sorts of information about fitness, nutrition and even has recipes. If you are considering running a marathon or a half marathon, check out his road maps for these two runs. Very helpful.

I became vegan because I didn't want anything to do with cruelty to animals and wanted to do the least harm possible while on this earth. As approach I 50, it is really important to me to be as healthy as I can, and the three websites above are a big help with that. I hope they are beneficial to you on your journey.

Thanks for reading!
vegandude@msn.com

Loving on Cassidy Campbell, first transgender homecoming queen!

I am thrilled to take a break from VeganMofo and write a brief post about what just happened last night at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California!

Sixteen year old Cassidy Campbell had the guts to enter the contest for homecoming queen.

That courage blows me away. When nationwide, hate and violence are shown towards many in the transgender community, a young transgender woman enters a school-wide contest.

And she won.

As one who was miserable in high school I don't get the whole homecoming thing. I do get courage. And honesty. And honor. And I definitely get the feeling of who you are on the inside does not jive with who you present yourself to be on the outside.

"If I win, it would mean that the school recognizes me as the gender I always felt I was," Cassidy said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "But with all the attention, I realized it's bigger than me," she said. "I'm doing this for the kids who can't be themselves."

With all of the hate in the world, with all of the hate just in our own country and our own communities, I just had to share this.

Thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 21: Vegan Denver

This is Day 21 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is all about Vegan Denver. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Mike and I live in Lakewood, a suburb of Denver just west and south of downtown Denver. We live in the northeast part of Lakewood, about 15 minutes due west of downtown Denver.

We like our readers to know that we live in Lakewood because we think it's a pretty awesome place to live. But since Denver is more recognized and has more of our favorite places to eat, I'm calling this post Vegan Denver.

If you're a regular visitor to The Gay Vegans you most likely know of some of these places. This is a list of our favorite places to eat, grab a snack or shop. We highly recommend all of them and so far have gotten great feedback from readers who have gone to these places. This list is also a tab on our main page under "Favorite places to eat in Denver".

Linger

Linger is by far our favorite place to eat. Linger is not exclusively vegan but has some of the best vegan food around. They serve tapa style, with dishes from around the world. Mike likes their bar selection. Their vegan dessert is out of this world. The service is beyond incredible and friendly. Reservations are highly recommended.

http://lingerdenver.com/


Tarascos

The best vegan Mexican food in the state! Tarascos already had a full page of veg options and we simply asked if they could do vegan. Amazing. Since everything is done to order practically the entire veg menu can be done vegan. My favorite are the enchiladas espinicas (spinach) but everyhting I have had is delish. Try the grilled cactus if you never have. And be sure to order a jugo natural, a fresh juice!

No web site.

470 South Federal Blvd. in Denver
303.922.2387
Hours (as of this writing) are everyday from 10am - 10pm

Root Down

Owned and created by the same team that is at Linger, we like to go to Root Down for more special occasions (Linger is more like our hang out). The food is delish. Great service. Definitely go all out, including dessert and drinks. Reservations are highly recommended.

http://www.rootdowndenver.com/

Hops & Pie

Vegan pizza! This is our favorite in Denver at the moment. In the Highlands neighborhood so not far for us. The pizza is delish and they offer Daiya and well as vegan meats and tofu. They also have an incredibly flavorful vegan mac n cheese. YES! For you beer lovers, they have something for everyone.

3920 Tennyson St  Denver, CO 80212

303.477.7000

Beet Box

All-vegan cafe in Denver, just east of downtown. New, and we have already been there many times. Great place for a treat, or if you want to turn your office mates onto vegan delicacies you can bring a variety of what they offer into the office!

1030 E. 22nd Avenue in Denver
303.861.0017

http://www.beetboxdenver.com/

Nooch Market

We can't talk about food in the Denver area without mentioning our new vegan oasis, Nooch Market. Not a restaurant but for sure a place to stock up on vegan goodies. We totally adore the owners and see great things for them and our community. 

http://noochveganmarket.tumblr.com/

Pho Duy

Delsih vegan pho, just down the street from Tarascos. Yes, we have tested it and asked all of the questions. It's #21 on the menu (double check). Small, medium and large and for me the medium has been more than enough.

No website.

945 South Federal Blvd, Denver
303.937.1609

Sweet Action Ice Cream

One of our favorite places and one of our favorite couples! They always have two vegan flavors of ice cream plus at least two vegan sorbets. Check out the freezer for vegan ice cream sandwiches.

http://sweetactionicecream.com/



Vegan Van

We have had a bunch of meals prepared by Amie in her Vegan Van. We adore Amy, and are thrilled that the Denver area has a Vegan Van. From stew to vegan chicken and waffles, Amie does not disappoint. Check out her website to see where she will be next!

http://veganvan.com/

Enjoy Vegan Denver and thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 18: Larkburger restaurant review

This is Day 18 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is a restaurant review. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

I need to start off by letting you know that Larkburger is only in Colorado. They have twelve locations, all in the Denver area except for ones in Colorado Springs, Edwards, Boulder and Fort Collins.

We came upon Larkburger by accident a few weeks ago when we down south on a shopping adventure. Hungry, we found a strip mall in Littleton and were headed for Noodles. I thought I would walk in and check out Larkburger.

So glad I did.

The Amy Burger is a portobello mushroom burger that has been marinated and some spices tossed on. Now when I became vegan every restaurant's vegetarian choice was a portobello mushroom burger so I became sick of them pretty quickly.

The Larkburger burger blew my mind. So delicious. Add some truffle fries (without parmesan cheese) and/or edamame and you are set. The Amy Burger is vegan if you get it without the house sauce.

I have eaten there twice now and each time the burger was perfect and delicious. The staff is incredibly friendly (based on eating at two different locations) and they totally get what vegan is without any snarkiness.

If you have never been, check it out. I can't wait to go back to the downtown Denver location again, which is only a few blocks from my office. 

For more information or for locations, check out their website: larkburger.com

Thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 17 is a product review: Newtons Fruit Thins

This is Day 17 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is a product review. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

It happened by mistake. We were shopping at our local Safeway grocery store and came upon these cookies. The blueberry flavor attracted me so I looked at the ingredients and they were completely vegan!

I love having cookies as a snack during the day, right when I come home from work and later at night when watching a movie.

I realize that being vegan isn't enough for those really watching their calories and health and will post the nutrition facts at the end of this post.

If you're not a blueberry fan, they also have cherry vanilla, cranberry citrus oat, lemon crisp and chocolate raspberry. We have only tried the blueberry and cherry, which are both vegan. I haven't tried the other flavors so please check the ingredients if you decide to try them.

These fruit thins are delicious! It's difficult to eat just one. I wanted to write this post about them because if you're like me you might just pass them by thinking they wouldn't be vegan. The blueberry ones even have flax seeds in them!

If you like a little fruity and sweet snack, try Newtons Fruit Thins.

Thanks for reading!

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 31 g

Serving per container about 10

Amount Per Serving

• Calories 140
• Calories from Fat 50

% Daily Value*

• Total Fat 5g 8%
• Saturated Fat 1g 5%
• Trans Fat 0g 0%
• Monounsaturated Fat 1g 0%
• Cholesterol 0mg 0%
• Sodium 90mg 4%
• Potassium 60mg 2%
• Total Carbohydrate 22g 7%
• Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
• Sugars 7g  
• Protein 2g  

• Vitamin A 0%
• Calcium 0%
• Vitamin C 0%
• Iron 6% 

VeganMofo Day 16: Vegan fast food

This is Day 16 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is about vegan fast food. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Unless you live in a vegan Mecca like Los Angeles, New York City or Portland, having access to vegan fast food might only be a dream. Of course these days, with the popularity of vegan food and people overall wanting to be healthier, you never know where a vegan fast food joint may pop up. I recently heard that there is a Veggie Grill coming to Boulder, CO, about 45 minutes from us, and that would be awesome.

The type of vegan fast food that I am writing about, however, is vegan fast food in your own kitchen. For people who have just become vegan, and for some of us who have been vegan for years, veganism is such much easier if we become comfortable in our own kitchen. The more comfortable we are in the kitchen the better we are going to eat and probably the healthier too!

My standard go to for quick vegan food is beans and rice. In a skillet I take a can of black beans, add cooked brown rice (you can even use the instant brown rice, and some salt and pepper. I like cayenne pepper so I add a pinch of that. When the beans and rice are hot, I add fresh kale, spinach or Swiss chard. Done.

With leftovers, grab some tortillas and make burritos for later in the week.

Mike's version of fast food is his Chik'n and Dumplings. These are delicious and one day soon I will have recipe. I love coming home on a chilly day to the smell of his Chick'n and Dumplings. He basically throws into a pot mixed veggies, water and bouillon and tops it off with Bisquick dumplings. You can add Beyond Meat strips or not, depending on your taste. I remember bringing these to a non-vegan potluck with over a hundred people and a woman from Texas came over to Mike to tell him that his dumplings were perfect!

 This as leftovers makes a great lunch.

I have gotten to the point where I can whip out a great Tofu Scramble in under ten minutes. I've posted my recipe here and it works great for a quick, healthy breakfast and also for breakfast burritos for later in the week.

On the not so healthy side, grilled cheese sandwiches are awesome. Bread and Daiya cheese and you are good to go. I use soy butter to make them but you could use oil or nothing at all with the right skillet. Add some delish soup and boom, another quick meal.

We try (or I should say that Mike tries!) to make a great, delicious sit-down dinner every night, it just doesn't work out all of the time. Having quick options and a few things in the fridge for a last minute dinner will make life so much easier for you!

Salud!

Thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 15: I love Mexican food!

 My love for Mexican food is today's subject for my post for Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

If you are a regular reader of The Gay Vegans blog, then you already know that I love Mexican food and that my favorite place for amazing vegan Mexican food in Denver is Tarascos.

Mmmmm. I am salivating just thinking about it. When I first became vegan there were very few Mexican restaurants that made any of their re-fried beans without lard. It's a lot easier these days. My experience is also that if a place has lard in their re-fried beans, they might offer whole beans as an option.

The wonderful thing about living in Denver, and probably many other places, is that as vegans we really don't have to settle for just a plain bean or bean and rice burrito. Thank goodness.

My favorite meal at Tarascos is the enchiladas espinacas, spinach enchiladas. So delicious. Add in fresh-made guacamole and an agua fresca made with fresh fruits (and maybe fresh veggies) and you are good to go.

Sopa Tarasca is also one of my favorites, just a simple bean soup with flavors that will drive your taste buds crazy!

It's easy to not remember that Mexico is as diverse as the US, probably more so. This means the food options just go on and on. What I have listed are just some of my favorites, dishes I eat all of the time. I would love to hear about your favorite vegan Mexican dishes!

Thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 14: Meet other vegan bloggers

 
I decided last week that Saturday topics for Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, are for introducing you to other vegan bloggers. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Veganism is well represented by bloggers and I think because of vegan bloggers veganism is so much more accessible.

Ever since day one of The Gay Vegans I have tried to promote other vegan blogs, whether the blogs are mainly about food, activism or nutrition. Need a dinner recipe, check out a vegan blog. Worried about B12, there's a vegan blog for that too!

At Vida Vegan Con I fell in love with Mauro and Lydia, two of the fours bloggers for From A to Vegan blog: http://fromatovegan.com/ They are two of the sweetest people you will ever meet and their blog rocks it with all types of information. I have become a regular visitor to their blog and every time I spend some time there I fell like I learn so much (or want to go somewhere!). From travel reviews, tor restaurant and product reviews to just basic information on veganism, they certainly cover it all.Mauro and Lydia recently went to the huge Vegetarian Food Festival in Toronto and I can't wait to hear all about it.

Speaking of the sweetest people and people that I simply love and adore, another blog I frequent is from my friend Katie Medlock, Vegan Noms: http://vegannoms.blogspot.com/ Katie covers recipes for delish vegan desserts, smoothies, main dishes and more, and sometimes she connects the recipe with a TV show, which I think is pretty cool. Under her "recipes" tab Katie has all of the recipes categorized so you can easily find a breakfast dish, pasta dish or dessert. How easy! Need a recipe for a great vegan dish for a party you're headed to, check out Vegan Noms. You will love Katie.

I sense a theme here of people that I totally love so Ryan Patey is a perfect fit here. I am so grateful that I know Ryan and that I get to call him friend. Ryan's blog is also home to his online vegan magazine, T.O.F.U.: http://www.ilovetofu.ca/ To me Ryan is a vegan superstar and his blog and magazine bring a huge variety of topics to our vegan culture, from recipes to articles about vegan communities to articles about body issues amongst us. I have been buying T.O.F.U. magazine for a couple of years and have loved each issue. Check out Ryan's blog and you'll be the first to know when the next edition comes out.

I hope you take time to check out these blogs and get as much out of them as I do!

Thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 13: Review of Immaculate Baking Company's products

Reviewing Immaculate Baking Company's baked goods is the topic of my post for Day 13 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Mike and I were shopping one day with our friends Spencer and Amy one day and Spencer tossed a tube of cinnamon rolls into his cart. I was thinking that they could not possibly be vegan, and he told me that of course they were.

You all know that Mike makes the best cinnamon rolls ever. I have posted his recipe twice. Nothing honestly beats them.

These come close.

There are many times that I would love a cinnamon roll but Mike doesn't have time to make them from scratch.  Enter Immaculate Baking Company's pre-made, all ready to be baked in your oven cinnamon rolls!

They only take about 18 minutes to bakes, you dab on the frosting that comes with the package, and you have five super-delish vegan cinnamon rolls.

Try not eating all of them at the same time!

Immaculate Baking Company also makes different flavors of scones, and we have tried the blueberry scones. They are delish as well and the package makes eight.

They also make cookies and pie crust. We have yet to try those (or see those in our markets).

When you don't have the time to make delicious breakfast creations, turn to these. You will not be disappointed!

Thank you for reading!

VeganMofo Day 12: Restaurant relations

 Getting to know restaurant owners is the topic of my post for Day 12 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

This is so important for vegans on many levels. Mike and I have come to realize that the more relationships we build with restaurant owners, the better we eat and the better vegan food gets in our area.

Have you ever heard the quote "Shitty vegan food is bad for veganism"?

So true.

In many of the restaurants that we have listed on our main blog page, we are asked all of the time what we think about this dish or that dish. It's because the owner or the general manager knows us, and knows that we will give an honest opinion. After all, we want restaurants that serve delicious vegan food to do great business.

If you find a restaurant that has a few good vegan dishes, we highly encourage you to get to know the owners and/our management staff. Let them know you're vegan and that you love their restaurant. Let them know that you would come more often if they had more vegan dishes to choose from, unless they already have a lot.

A good relationship with those who run restaurants really go a long way. And it could mean that a particular restaurant starts creating some of the best vegan food you have ever tried.

Restaurants want to be busy. They want be full. We can help them with that, if they want to be creative and focus on amazing vegan food. Many restaurants in our area do this, and it helps their brand and their bottom line.

Try it.

Thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 10: Eat your veggies!

 
Eat your veggies! is my post for Day 10 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

NOTE: I realize that a post titled "Eat your veggies!" won't get a lot of reads. I still wanted to write it.

I remember those frozen packages of peas and carrots growing up. We had them a lot. And frozen corn. There were years that we had a garden and I remember being excited about my mom serving veggies from the garden.

I don't think I was one of those kids who didn't like his veggies. As much as I love sweets, I love veggies even more these days.

Mike has this incredible garden in our back yard. This year he is growing kale, Swiss chard, butternut squash, potatoes, cheery tomatoes, zucchini and squash. I love all of them.

Kale, who have thought?! I love kale. I have written about it several times. Whether in a smoothie or as a side dish sauteed with garlic, I could eat kale every day. Same with peas, Swiss Chard, spinach and, wow, this could be a long list.

Then there are those veggies that I am just learning about, like the purple bell peppers below. Yes. Purple.

I had never seen purple bell peppers before. I have this same experience at new farmer's markets, especially when Mike and I travel. Being vegan means we will never, ever be bored with food. There are just too many options.

I digress. So eating my veggies is not just something I do because I like them. It's so important, as a vegan, to make sure my body gets everything I need. Nutritionists say anywhere from four to eight servings a day. That may not seem easy but it is.

And adding veggies to any meal, or using them as the main dish, is awesome! Every vegan cookbook has a dozen recipes for dishes like this, and each of them bring a variety of flavors, textures and colors to your plate.

So go for it. And if there is a veggie that you just love, more than any other veggie, let me know!

Thank you for reading!

In loving memory of Luca the cat

Luca

It's been about 17 years since I last saw Luca.

This morning I got a connection request on LinkedIn from an old friend in Norfolk. In his note he reminded me who he was and that him and his girlfriend at the time had adopted Luca from me. He was connecting to let me know that Luca had passed away at the age of 18 last week.

I found Luca in a garbage can at my work at a hotel in Norfolk. He was one of a couple of cats my co-worker Tina and I rescued. Luca came home with me. Well, to my partner's home where our two other cats lived.

I was concerned that Dupont and Lollipop would not let Luca eat. My how I was surprised when Luca was the one who perched over the food bowl, not allowing them near the bowl!

Luca was a love. He ended up in my apartment so all three cats could eat and live in peace. It was never my intention to keep him, and as many of you know from your own experiences, I fell in love with Luca during the few weeks he stayed with me.

The time came when I found him an amazing home with Mike and Kathleen. Luca lived with Mike for the rest of his life.

I wanted to share this story with all of you because I know that many of you, like Mike and I, do a lot of fostering and rescuing of companion animals. I loved learning about Luca, that he had had an amazing live with an extremely loving family. I loved looking at all of the photos of him being adored and living with people that treated him like family. What more could I have asked for the day I dropped him off.

The animals we rescue and find homes for go on to live awesome lives. For those of you who do this kind of work, keep doing it. Sweet lovers like Luca depend on it.

Thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 9: Peanut butter Oreo ice cream

Welcome to Day 9 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

One of the things I really missed when I first became vegan was ice cream. Bowls of ice cream and milkshakes. My have times changed.

Even the smallest of grocery stores carries a vegan ice cream these days. There are a ton of choices with ice cream made from soy milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, rice milk and almond milk. I'm sure I'm missing some.

In Denver, we have the added bonus of having Sweet Action Ice Cream. If you're ever visiting Denver we have more information, like address, etc., on our tab of delish vegan food.

The owners of Sweet Action, Chia and Sam, are a godsend to me. Not only are they two of the sweetest people you will ever meet, they create some of the most delicious vegan ice cream that I have ever eaten. And I've eaten a lot!

One of our favorite flavors is Peanut butter Oreo. Yes, that's right. Oh my. And the Jalapeno-lime is a close second.

Sweet Action always has two vegan ice cream flavors and usually at least two vegan sorbet flavors. You can always see what they are offering today by clicking here: http://www.sweetactionicecream.com/flavors/

Cheers for vegan ice cream!

Thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 8! Vegan coffee!

Welcome to Day 8 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

As I'm sure you already know, coffee is vegan.

Thank goodness.

And yes, I do realize that it is not food, yet it is such a big part of my life that I totally think it belongs in at least one post for VeganMofo.

Coffee and I have had almost an entire life-long experience. When I was 16 I was fortunate to be able to spend a year in Santa Marta, Colombia and tried many kinds of coffee. Cafe con leche was served every morning in my home.

Over the years I have thought about giving up coffee for health reasons. I don't drink, smoke, do drugs and I am vegan so I decided to keep the coffee.

These days there are a lot of options for a delish cup of coffee. Mike and I bought a Nespresso machine a few months ago after tasting a bunch of flavors made with a Nespresso machine at a party. The flavors are intense and leave you wanting for more.

The great thing about a Nespresso is that you can make just a quick, delicious cup of coffee. We use it more during the week. At first we didn't really like the waste of all of the little cups used to make the cup of coffee, then we learned we can recycle them by just dropping them off where we bought our machine.

It is expensive. And to us, very worth it.

On weekends I use our metal French Press so I have a bigger supply while I start my morning and write blog posts. The brand I use for the coffee bean is San Francisco Bay which I get at CostCo. I have loved this for a long time. I try others when someone suggests it, but the San Francisco Bay brand is the staple.

I'd love to hear about your favorite cup of coffee!

Thank you for reading!

VeganMofo Day 7: Meet other vegan bloggers

Suga helping me with The Gay Vegans blog.

Welcome to Day 7 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

We are well into VeganMofo and this day I want to write about vegan bloggers. Veganism is well represented by bloggers and I think because of vegan bloggers veganism is so much more accessible.

Ever since day one of The Gay Vegans I have tried to promote other vegan blogs, whether the blogs are mainly about food, activism or nutrition. Need a dinner recipe, check out a vegan blog. Worried about B12, there's a vegan blog for that too!

Being that this is VeganMofo I am particularly thinking of vegan food blogs. I think Saturdays during VeganMofo will be dedicated to vegan blogs I love.

Recently Mike and I were in Los Angeles and were able to have dinner with Kristy Turner and her husband Chris. Kristy's blog is Keepin' It Kind, http://keepinitkind.com/ and is one of the blogs I check out throughout the week. Her recipes are amazing, creative, well thought out and keep me salivating! Kristy excels in not only giving you a great recipe but adding tantalizing photos that make you want to, right at that moment, run to the grocery store to get ingredients for the dish so you can make it right away!

Another blog that I highly recommend comes to you from two people I totally love, Carmella and Carlo! Holy cow these two are the sweetest. Their blog is The Food Duo, and believe me they know good vegan food: http://www.thefoodduo.com/ ! They cover pretty much everything from recipes to vegan food items to restaurants. They also (no surprise) are the creators of the Hug a Vegan movement! Check them out!

Finally for today I'd like to introduce you to Bianca Phillips, whose blog Vegan Crunk makes me homesick for Virginia just thinking about it. Bianca is from Memphis, Tennessee and she has a cookbook by the same name as her blog. Check her out here: http://vegancrunk.blogspot.com/ Great recipes and wonderful insight into what to do when you are in Memphis. I simply adore Bianca and think you will love her blog.

Thank you for reading!

VeganMoFo Day 6: Vegan date night

Welcome to Day 6 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Friday nights are usually date night for us. We have several restaurants that we like to go to and I'd like to share some of them with you on Fridays during VeganMofo.

Root Down is one of our favorite places to eat. Incredible vegan food and spectacular, friendly service.

Dinner in the private dining room.

In the LoHi neighborhood just west of downtown Denver, we love Root Down for special occasions and once in a while the last-minute desire to go out to eat.

Root Down is famous for cocktails and local food. We of course love it because of the vegan food. Starting with veggie sliders and sweet potato French fries is always a good idea. If you come before 7pm you can get Happy Hour deals on cocktails and appetizers.

Then the entrees. Our most recent visit Mike ordered the Corn Risotto and I ordered the Country Fried Tofu. Both are delicious and are usually found on the menu in different forms depending on the season.

Corn Risotto

Country Fried Tofu

If you have read any other of my restaurant reviews, you know that service is key for us. Root Down has never disappointed. If you are down with having to apologize to wait staff for coming into the restaurant, you will LOVE Root Down.

Aside from an awesome restaurant, I also want to say how important date nights are to us. We all need time with our beloved or best friend or favorite relative.

Thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 5: Daily doses of goodness

Welcome to Day 5 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

I have always felt like being vegan is super easy. It's also easy to forget that food sustains and that it is important to get all of the right foods in you to be healthy. As one who loves sweets, I have to pay particular attention to this.

I'm not a nutritionist. I'm a 47 year old guy who tries to be as healthy as possible. So I read a lot and pay attention to people who are food nutritionists, especially ones who are vegan. ( I have web links to a couple of them on the main page of our blog.)

Here are a few things that Mike and I always have in our fridge and cupboards. They might be for a snack, a full dinner or as a side.

Kale. Yes, we hear all about the goodness of kale and I sure am a believer. Whether it is from our garden, one of the local Farmer's Markets or a grocery store, we buy and consume a lot of kale. I like it in smoothies and lightly sauteed with salt, pepper and garlic. Mike makes kale chips which are delish.

Blueberries. Frozen blueberries to be exact. A constant in smoothies. In season we buy fresh ones for cereal and salads.

Swiss chard. Oh my. This is one of my all-time favorite veggies and another one of those that is uber good for you. In a salad or pasta, smoothie or with garlic as a side dish. Mmmmm.

Vegan yogurts. Vegan yogurt? Yes, there are plenty of choices out there. Great for snacks or for breakfast. I like any peach or dark cherry flavor.

Hummus. No surprise here. Store bought or home made. So good for you and so delish.

East Pastry cookie dough. Vegan cookie dough. In your fridge. Enough said.

This is a very short, just some of my favorites. For people newly vegan or checking veganism out, I hope this helps. For everyone else, I hope there is something here that you are curious about if not already eating a lot of.

Thank you for reading and for supporting my attempt at Vegan Mofo!

VeganMofo Day 4: Mike's famous cinnamon roll recipe!

Welcome to Day 4 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

I wasn't sure if repeating a favorite recipe was against the rules or not. Since this recipe is our all-time most read blog post, I felt that it just had to be part of Vegan Mofo.

I have to say that these cinnamon rolls are so amazingly delish! I love them! They will blow your mind, and many people will not be able to believe that they are vegan. They are a great way to show people how awesome veganism is! Once you've baked them let me know what you think!

I would also like to add that I love to bake! I didn't used to, but I do now. And you don't have to be an awesome baker to make these cinnamon rolls. Try it!


Vegan Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• ¼ cup warm water (110 degrees F)
• 1 ½ cups soy milk (hemp milk and oat milk work just as well)
• 1 ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp earth balance nondairy butter, melted
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour (you can replace 2 cups with whole wheat pastry flour for a “healthier” result
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup earth balance nondairy butter
• 1 ¼ cups packed brown sugar
• 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon (try to find fresh ground. I use Vietnamese Saigon Cassia Cinnamon)
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste (optional)

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar and let sit for 10 min. This is your nondairy buttermilk
2. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 min.
3. Heat the nondairy buttermilk till warm to the touch. Add the 2 tbsp of melted nondairy butter and oil to this mixture.
4. Pour the nondairy buttermilk mixture into the yeast mixture; mix well. In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Stir the flour mixture into the liquid 1 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 20 times (do not over knead the dough). Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
5. In a small saucepan melt the ½ cup of nondairy butter. After melted remove from the heat and add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla bean paste.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into a large rectangle. Spread the brown sugar mixture over the dough, roll up into a log and pinch the seam to seal. Slice into 1 inch pieces and place cut side up in a lightly greased 10X15 baking pan. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate overnight (note you can also divide up the rolls into smaller pans and freeze. When you are ready to use these frozen rolls pull out the night before and let sit on the counter overnight to thaw and rise). If baking immediately, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes before frosting.

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
• 4 ounces softened nondairy cream cheese (tofutti cream cheese works best)
• ¼ cup softened nondairy butter
• 1 ½ cups confectioners’s sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ tsp soy milk

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer till smooth and creamy.

As always, thanks for reading my blog! And let me know what you think of the cinnamon rolls!

A letter to Senator Claire McCaskill

Dear Senator:

This blog post is in response to your tweet posted on August 31st. From what I gathered, you posted  a photo of a pig roast and must have gotten some feedback from folks on Twitter, especially vegans. Then you responded with your tweet: "Goodness gracious. So sorry I offended so many vegans. In Missouri we raise pigs and cattle and chickens to eat them."

I felt the need to compassionately write this hoping one day you'll see it. Your tweet did not seem apologetic at all. It resonated with smugness and some type of "us against them". There were so many other ways you could have responded.

There are thousands of people in Missouri that do not support animal cruelty. There are also a vast amount of people in Missouri and outside of Missouri that support farmers who grow kale, soybeans (for human consumption), wheat (for human consumption like in bread), Swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower and so many other items that do not involve harming animals. In our home, we probably eat three or four times the amount of these items than a typical, non-vegan household, and we love every farming family that produces them.

Veganism and vegetarianism are flourishing in our country. Have lunch with Bill Clinton and he'll tell you all about it as well as why he became vegan.

And we vote and are becoming more politically active (I have been an active Democrat since high school which was  along time ago). I remember the days when your last US Senate campaign were not going that well. Boy did I support you, with words and money.

I'd also like you to know that in your tweet you forgot the word "slaughter". After you raise the animals and before you eat them they must be slaughtered. And I guarantee you that there is no "we" in that. Perhaps you have visited factory farms and slaughterhouses and met the employees whose lives are not all that great to begin with and are worsened by becoming killing machines: higher divorce rates, higher domestic violence rates, and the list goes on and on.

Vegans simply do not want any part of cruelty towards animals. It's not a bad thing. It's honorable. The result is that many vegans are healthier and are using less resources from the earth. I urge you to check out how factory farming affects the environment.

I hope one day you check out one of the many incredible, vegan friendly places to eat in Missouri or in DC. We would take you to several if you're ever in Denver. The plate of food you eat would still support US agriculture and farmers. With animal production starting to become owned by foreign interests (like Smithfield Farms in Virginia), a good vegan meal supports US farmers in so many ways.

Thank you for reading this.

On behalf of our family and the tens of thousands of compassionate vegans and vegetarians in the US.

VeganMofo Day 3: Blackened tofu sandwiches!

Welcome to Day 3 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

My all-time favorite food to make at home is blackened tofu sandwiches! They are easy, delicious, and can be served and any side dish, or none at all!

Three ingredients: tofu, blackening spice, bread and veganaise!

You'll need a skillet and a spatula, and a knife to slice the tofu.

I set the heat on high for the skillet. Ours is one of those cool, German skillets so no oil is needed. You can still use it if you'd like.

Take your tofu and cut into slices, the thickness depends on what you like for a sandwich. Place the pieces of sliced tofu in the skillet and sprinkle your blackening spice on all of the pieces. At this point I usually lower the heat to medium. Flip the tofu slices, sprinkle blackening spice again and keep cooking.

Meanwhile, place your sliced bread (Dave's Killer Bread of course!) and spread veganaise on each piece.

Once the tofu is browned on both sides, use your spatula to remove it from the pan and place slices on the bread. For me it works out to two slices per piece of bread.

This should make four sandwiches depending on how thick you cut your slices.

So delish, and almost a weekly meal in our home.

Note: It may take you a few tries to find a blackening spice that is perfect for you. Most grocery stores carry a couple, and certainly spice shops.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 2: Root Down at Denver Intl Airport

Welcome to Day 2 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Like Root Down in Denver. Sister of Linger (our favorite restaurant), Root Down started first and has always been a treat for us. Like most of our favorite places to eat, Root Down is not exclusively vegan, or vegetarian, yet has some amazing vegan food. Plus awesome service (huge for us).

Now, if you are ever flying through Denver, you can experience the amazing food of Root Down! Root Down has just opened a location in DIA, Concourse C! Yes, this means those of us who live here can't go unless traveling, but it also means that all of you who are always traveling can find a delicious, vegan meal at the airport brought to you by folks who know how to create delicious, vegan food.

I haven't seen the space yet, only photos. And I don't fly (this could be another series of blog posts) so I won' be there any time soon. And I just had to write about it and make sure everyone knows so that when you travel to or through Denver you can eat well!

When you do visit Root Down at DIA, please let me know what you think.

Here is their website so you can check out the menu, at least at the original location: http://www.rootdowndenver.com/ 

If you are traveling to Denver and want to get out of the airport as soon as possible, check out Root Down and Linger, both just west of downtown Denver in LoHi.

Thanks for reading!

1st VeganMofo post: Vegan food has come a long way

Today begins VeganMofo, a month-long celebration of vegan food brought to you by bloggers from all over the world. Although I doubt I will be able to get a post up every day of this month, I'm giving it it a shot.

So we here go.

I have been vegan for 17 years. I became vegan in Norfolk, VA after getting out of the military and getting to know a little bit about animal rights, realizing I did not want any part in animal suffering.

I went to vegan potlucks and bought vegan cookbooks. There was no huge community of vegan folk and vegan bloggers online back then so I basically learned from people I met.

It wasn't always easy or fun. The token vegan offering at restaurants, if they had one, was a portobello mushroom sandwich. This is why I am not really into them these days, although I must say Larkburger's Amy Burger is quite delicious.

Kale? No clue.

Swiss chard? Seriously?

Cashew cheese? In ten years or so but not then.

Hundreds of vegan cookbooks? Hardly, and anything like we have now.

My first big deal cooking experience with a vegan dish was a tofu loaf. Oh yes, the good ol' tofu loaf.

I have to say it was good.

My have times changed.

Vegan food rocks. Vegan food is why I love being vegan. In 2013 there are just so many choices, flavors, textures, experiences and recipes that one cannot possibly get bored.

Happy VeganMofu. I hope you enjoy this month-long experiment with me. To check out what other bloggers are writing about during VeganMofo, click here: http://www.veganmofo.com/

Thanks for reading!