A citizen revolution

There are always two sides to a story, and when politics is involved there could be dozens of sides. Please keep this in mind while reading this post.

Two years ago, in Jefferson County, Colorado (west suburbs of Denver) three "reformists" were elected to the school board. With five on the board they became the majority and immediately showed it. They did not want to negotiate with teachers, they wanted to invest more into charter schools, they liked the idea of pay for performance (of students) and they didn't have any use for rules of how the board should work. They hired an expensive lawyer just for the three of them, a lawyer who specializes in representing school board members just like them.

My personal problems with them were that one of the seemed to be the epitome of a misogynist in action and another, because of her religious beliefs, was not fond of gay people. These things are not good when serving 85,000+ students. I also saw constant disrespect for anyone who might disagree with the "reformists" as they moved full speed ahead on an agenda that seemed to be a checklist of education "reform".

Fast forward to this year and parents, students and others got enough signatures to bring a recall to vote. This vote happened this past week and all three "reformists" were voted out, in a landslide.

I called it a citizen revolution. I was ecstatic. Not only because of the results, but because of the huge outpouring of support in the community to work towards a recall.

Those supporting the "reformists" called it union thuggery taking hold. No matter where you looked, the word union was used everywhere when speaking against the recall.

114,000 citizens voted for the recall. Yet these folks were called union pawns, stupid, mindless and many other words that dehumanize them and simplify a vote that was so much more than union versus non union.


Takeaways for me are:

When people don't vote, bad things happen. No matter your view on anything, this is true.

If you have interest in any type of activism, pay attention to politics and vote. This has been almost a life-long mantra for me.

Just because something "is" right now doesn't mean it has to be. I saw people who had not been politically active take their frustration with the school board and use it to make change.

Don't be a jerk. I ran into this a lot and called many names and judged by all sorts. Treating other people like this does nothing for your cause. If you can't present your side and stick to the facts without demonizing someone else, be quiet. Especially online, where the whole world can see how terrible you look.

Political change is possible. Again, no matter what you believe or what you see that you don't like in any forum where the participants are elected. The citizen revolution that happened in Jefferson County can happen anywhere.

No election is local anymore. Money, and lots of it, comes from everywhere. It's just how things are now.

Finally, one person can make huge change. Add them to another person who wants to make change, and so on, and you have a citizen revolution.

 A citizen revolution is possible anywhere. If it can happen in Jefferson County, Colorado, it can happen anywhere.

Thanks very much for reading.

Time to ditch dairy

Watching another video come out showing clear violence and abuse towards cows on a dairy farm in Fort Morgan, Colorado, is sickening.

The video shows dairy employees, who to me are cowards and monsters, doing what has become common in animal production: simple animal cruelty. If you care about any animal, this video will sicken you.

I am very grateful to Mercy For Animals for their undercover work.

The owners of the cows are horrified. The folks from the dairy cooperative that the dairy farm belongs to put the blame on Mercy For Animals. Both groups are pathetic.

Cruelty is inherent in these places.

It's time to ditch dairy.

There are so many other products out there that don't include inherent cruelty. And that don't financially support individuals who look at the animals suffering in the video simply as product, not as living, breathing beings.

In Colorado, all of the cowards shown in the video can be charged with aggravated animal cruelty.

I hope the Fort Morgan Sheriff does this.

And I hope dairy milk sales continue to go down.

If you would like to watch the Mercy For Animals click here.

If you would like to read the Denver Post article click here.

Thanks for reading!

UPDATE: Surviving Castle Rock prairie dogs safe!

What a whirlwind.

About 100 prairie dogs who survived the mass positioning that killed over 1500 prairie dogs were placed at a local activist's home while awaiting relocation. Yesterday Colorado Parks and Wildlife seized them and it looked like the prairie dogs didn't have much of a chance.

A couple of weeks ago, to make space for a new mall, the town council of Castle Rock approved the slaughter of 1500+ prairie dogs.

A few days later local activists were allowed to trap the survivors for relocation. I had heard they would be relocated to somewhere in New Mexico.

That never happened.

Then yesterday I read about the Colorado Parks and Wildlife getting involved and taking the prairie dogs.

I just learned from Denver's CBS 4 that a land owner in Sedalia agreed to have the surviving prairie dogs relocated to his property! In fact, the prairie dogs are already there!

I am ecstatic. I don't know who was involved in this life-saving action, but I thank all of them.

I also have to thank the Denver Post and Denver CBS 4 for covering this story.

News from the prairie dog slaughter in Castle Rock, CO

I just read this and wanted to share with you. I copied this from Save the Castle Rock Mall Prairie Dogs Facebook page.

More than 1,500 prairie dogs were poisoned, a death that is ugly, painful and can take up to three days.

Yet those fighting for the voiceless prairie dogs did not give up!

Here is what is happening right now:

A court settlement was reached between Wildlands Defense and Alberta Development that paved the way for the remaining prairie dogs at the site to be safely rescued and relocated. The settlement further dictated that Alberta provide mitigation for the burrowing owl through the creation of 21 artificial burrows to provide nesting habitat that was currently destroyed with the prairie dog homes from the use of fumitoxin and the destruction of current burrows.

The relocation is currently underway and 79 prairie dogs have been rescued as of yesterday. The efforts will continue throughout today at the prospective Promenade site. Tomorrow they will be transported to New Mexico. I will keep you informed as to how many we were able to move in tomorrow's email. Translocations are very stressful for these prairie dogs. They are very scared now and are being taken from their decades long home and traumatized from the interaction with people and the destruction of all they have ever known and loved. This is a very hard time for the survivors, but they will be able to have the opportunity to live, and even though the situation is not ideal, some very precious lives have been saved.

We must not forget that last week thousands of these beautiful animals were murdered in the most destructive way known by administering poison all over the land.

Thanks for reading. 

Grocery shopping at Safeway

I have been reading news and posts about where people shop (and where they don't want to shop!) and have always wanted to write about where we shop.

Why?

Every week I get emails from folks who are newly vegan. Believe it or not the grocery store is a whole new world when newly vegan, and I often get asked where we shop.

We live in the west suburbs of Denver and have many choices. For the last nine years my main place to shop has been Safeway.

It's a chain, pretty big in Colorado. For those of who shop only at all-vegan markets, you'll want to skip this one.

There are many reasons why I love my local Safeway. There are always items on sale (I love their 10 for $10 specials) and even when items aren't on sale most of what I buy fits into our food budget. They have a great organics section and over the years have progressed into selling more and more vegan items.

They carry national vegan products like Gardein and Daiya and Immaculate Baking. And in some Safeways (not ours yet) the in-store bakeries are making vegan cake. Mmmm.They also have an amazing assortment of breads that don't cost $6.00 a loaf!

I also am often surprised by finding vegan products there that I haven't heard of before.

When I look at all of the places we shop (Safeway, Whole Foods, King Soopers and Vitamin Cottage) I always end up back at Safeway and happy. And so is our budget.

If you have a Safeway in your area check it out. If you live in the Denver area ours is the one at 38th and Wadsworth.

Happy grocery shopping.

Thanks for reading.

Vegan guide for Creating Change activists coming to Denver!

Creating Change is an annual conference of LGBTQ activists sponsored by The National Gay and lesbian Task Force. This year it is in Denver and brings 3,000+ activists from all over.

I am super excited to be going, and to be presenting a session on fundraising.

I wanted to offer a list of places to eat vegan near the host hotel for activists attending.

The host hotel is at the Sheraton, on the east side of downtown Denver.

Right in the hotel is the Yard House, which uses Gardein chicken for any of their dishes. Just make sure the rest of the dish is vegan!

Two blocks up 16th Street Mall, in the Denver Pavilions, is Native Foods. All vegan and one of our favorites. They serve lunch and dinner. By the way, I have a stack of $5.00 coupons if you'd like one. That takes care of half of most entrees and I'd be thrilled to give you one.

Right across from the Pavilions at 16th and Welton is Appaloosa Grill. They have an awesome tofu Philly with a bunch of other vegan options. Also a bar.

Within walking distance (a longer walk) are City, O' City (vegetarian) and WaterCourse Foods (all vegan). Part of the Denver food scene for over 15 year WaterCourse recently went all vegan. They also have a delivery service and you can get their food, and vegan milkshakes, brought right to your room (for a cost of course!).

Wanna try some creative and delicious vegan sushi, check out Blue Sushi Sake Grill. Love their sushi. Just hop on the 16th Street Mall shuttle and get off at Wazee. Blue is between Wazee and Wynkoop on the south side of 16th Street.

If you want an incredible dining experience and would like to check out our favorite restaurant in town, go to Linger. Probably an $8.00 cab ride but you can also take the 16th Street Mall Shuttle all the way west and then walk. It would be a great adventure through downtown Denver. Make sure you make a reservation. Not a vegan place, but amazing vegan food!

About 1 1/2 miles south on Broadway is Sweet Action ice cream. They always have two vegan flavors. And then around the corner from them is Nooch Vegan Market!

Links:

Native Foods

City O' City

WaterCourse Foods

Blue Sushi Sake Grill

Linger

Sweet Action Ice Cream

Nooch Vegan Market

Long live bloggers

I haven't been able to stop thinking about the murders in Paris this week.

A staff of journalists and cartoonists gathered for their weekly meeting. So many didn't leave the room.

And last year amazing, inspiring journalists murdered by the cowards of the Islamic State.

As I watched vigils across France and Europe, I was fascinated that so many people held up pens and pencils in honor of those killed.

As a blogger, I have always felt that we have the power to change the world. To report, to give opinions, to bring thought to conversations, to open eyes and hearts and minds.

I created The Gay Vegans blog to try to build bridges amongst communities and people, to try to be a voice for the voiceless, and to spread my thought that we all have more in common than not.

Blogs I read teach me amazing vegan recipes, about what is going on with equality or animal and human rights issues I am concerned with, about fitness and exercise, and the list goes on.

Around the world bloggers speak out against in justices, against human rights violations, against torture, against animal cruelty and pretty much any issue that affects them or that they are concerned with.

And some are sitting in jail.

Not all bloggers have it made like I do. Yes, I get the occasional hate mail from religious extremists and I write about that extremism often. But I do not have the fear that one day hooded folks will show up at my house and cart me off because I wrote something that offended them.

Thanks for reading!

#Veganuary

Have you heard of this?

Awesome idea. The gist of it is to ask people who are not vegan to try going vegan for the month of January. It is sponsored by a who's who of animal rights and vegan groups. This post is going live on the 3rd so if this is the first you've heard of it and you want to try it's not too late.

As I write many times, I became vegan for the animals. I wanted to do as least harm as possible. This was almost 19 years ago. During that time I have learned that my veganism supports the environment and also makes me a physically healthier person (as long as I exercise and eat the right foods!).

Want to know more? Here is the official Veganuary website: http://www.veganuary.com/

This site has a TON of information. Even if you are already vegan I suggest taking a look. Also, you can spread the word to your non-vegan friends.

Veganism rocks. And personally, being vegan is the perfect fit for me and really anyone who cares about animals, the environment or their health.

Welcome to Veganuary!

Thanks for reading!

My 14 faves of '14: #12

Native Foods is a definite for my list of faves for '14!

Two and a half years ago there were no Native Foods in Colorado. Now there are five!

Including one in our hometown of Lakewood!

Plus, the newest just opened in downtown Denver, just a few blocks from where I work!

We LOVE Native Foods. Not only do they have amazing vegan food, they are also quite philanthropic. They have national dining out days for Surfrider Foundation, Mercy for Animals and Farm Sanctuary! Love all three of those groups.

Of course I can't mention Native Foods without letting you know that my all-time favorite dish there is the Soul Bowl!

I also would like to give a big shout out to the Native Foods in Encinitas, CA. LOVE them!

Thanks for reading!

My 14 faves of '14: #8

No surprise here.

Linger.

Linger is our favorite restaurant in Denver. Sister restaurant to Root Down a few blocks away and to the Root Down at the Denver airport.

They nail it with what is important to me at a restaurant: amazing service and incredible vegan food.

The menu changes, but my current favorite is the falafel. A true journey of flavors!

And the sweet potato waffle fries!

Make a reservation.

A night out with friends or a night with your special person.

Linger is part of what makes Denver such a great city for dining!

Thanks for reading!

My 14 faves of '14: #7

Legal marriage makes my list of my faves for '14!

2014 was an AMAZING year for marriage equality!

Check this out!

This about says it all. There still is not national marriage equality, yet more than half of the population in the US live where there is marriage equality.

And right at the kickoff of the new year, the first week of January, marriage equality will come to Florida!

Please continue to be the voice for justice and equality. As so many of us can get married, we still have to fight ignorance, intolerance, and hate.

Thanks for reading!

What an election!

I have always believed that all politics is local.

As I watched the returns on election night from the Jefferson County Dems party, I was once again reminded that the work I do to support local candidates pays off, while at the same time I have little control over whether or not a bigot is elected in Iowa.

To be fair, bigots were also elected in Colorado.

Election night was good locally as both my state rep and my state senator, two men I really like, were re-elected. My state senator was only ahead by some 400 votes, a count that went higher as votes were counted.

My former state senator, whose district we are no longer in due to boundary changes, won by 190 votes.

Talk about close. And about how each vote is vital. There were actually a bunch of close elections in Colorado.

The best part of election day is that we got the vote out in Jefferson County. Our favorite for State Board of Education, who represents our Congressional district, won 89,000+ votes. She was running against a "reformist", tea party candidate, like the three county school board members we have that won election last year. What this election showed me is that people voted. With all of the crap coming from our school board, people have gotten pissed off and have started voting. This is huge as our two amazing county school board members are up for re-election next year.

The point here is to vote. To get active in a local campaign. Get to know the candidates and choose one. If there isn't a good candidate, one that you can support, consider running yourself. I'm not talking about for US Senate. I am totally talking about city council, state rep, county positions and local school board.

If you are dismayed about what happened election night, do something.

Thanks for reading!

Don't forget what the bigots did.

What an amazing week!

Watching gay couples get married in Oklahoma, Virginia, West Virginia, Nevada. Legal marriage is now in a majority of the states. I wept as I watched couples who had been together 20, 30 years finally being allowed to legally marry.

Of course many are not happy. As I write, the state of South Carolina is doing everything they can to not allow gays to marry.

And as hundreds of couples marry around the country, I ask each of you to not forget.

Please don't forget the bigots and the religious extremists. Please don't forget those who used every waking breathe to keep marriage from us.

Please don't forget those who had the power to simply say yes, or vote yes, and instead said or voted no.

Please don't forget those who demonized us, and continue to demonize us.

Which brings me to my point.

Many of these same people are running for election or re-election across the country. Some of them want people to forget their horrible words and votes against gays and lesbians. Some of them think they will get more votes by demonizing us.

Don't let them do it. Don't let them win.

We have the power. It's called the vote.

Vote. Make sure they know we haven't forgotten. Make sure we speak with a loud voice.

Thank you for reading!

Chipping away at bigotry

Tony London and Tim Bostic check their marriage license out. Photo from the Virginian Pilot.

You might have heard about a US Supreme Court decision this morning. The Court decided not hear gay marriage cases, which means marriage equality has now come to a handful of additional states and perhaps even more. Before the news had gotten around, couple were getting ready to get married in Virginia. By the time I had a chance to get to my blog site, many couples had married in Virginia and even in Colorado, which has been indirectly affected by the ruling as we are one of the states that is part of the US Court of Appeals for the 10th District, which lifted its stay on marriages right after the ruling.

Whew! I apologize for the run-on sentence. This is an incredible day to me. It has honestly been difficult to not shed tears. Of joy, of course.

Finally.

This morning Colorado's Attorney General told all 64 county clerks to get ready to issue licenses. As of right now, two counties have begun. They decided not to wait.

All of the marriages that occurred in Utah last year but then held up until a Supreme Court ruling are now legal.

The plaintiffs in the Virginia case married in Norfolk just a couple of hours ago. They were the first to marry in Norfolk, my home town.

I am ecstatic.

Yet marriage equality is not law in every state. This was not a ruling making equality the law of the land. Many still cannot marry. Yet.

So please keep speaking out for marriage equality. Please keep fighting against bigotry, in any and every form.

Those who hate gay people and those who are against marriage equality won't stop fighting. Nor can we.

With elections coming up it is especially important to vote for candidates who support equal right and equal marriage. Vote!

Now it's time to go celebrate with Mike.

Thanks for reading.

The JeffCo School Board fiasco Part II

This is Part II of a series of blog posts about the Jefferson County School Board and recent student walkouts.

This month, one of the new "reformist" board members introduced a proposal to have a curriculum review committee and that the committee's first priority would be to revisit the AP History course.

Although many of the student-organized walkouts were based on the AP History portion of this proposal, including what should or shouldn't be taught in history, I am surprised that no one has brought up the process of selecting the committee.

First, I'd like to share an email sent out by a supporters of the board member, Julie Williams, who wants to create this curriculum committee:
 

This is scary. I wonder how this person thinks about the students who attend JeffCo schools. I wonder what Julie Williams thinks about gay students or students who might call themselves progressive. I wonder if the writer of this email thinks gay people are ungodly.

No matter what you think about "reformist" school board members (not just ours but those across the country), I think it's fair to say that they have an agenda. In our case, I truly believe that our school board majority has no interest in all of our students, that they only care about their agenda.

So just say it.

There are plenty of actions that "reformist" board members have taken that show me that they do not care about all students. I wonder what it's like for gay and lesbian students in the district. Or students who live in poverty.

After over a week of student protests, I also wonder how students in JeffCo feel when being called pawns, or that their actions could never have been planned by themselves but had to have been planned by the dreaded union. Newscasters have called them names. Our own board members seem to think that the students cannot critically think for themselves.

This week two high schools closed due to teacher sickouts. There were a couple of student protests but not on the level of last week. The monthly school board meeting is tonight, and the new curriculum is on the docket.

More to come.

Meanwhile, please vote. Please check out your school board.

Thanks for reading.

The JeffCo School Board fiasco - Part I

Evergreen High School students protesting the JeffCo School Board.

If you are connected with my blog on social media at all, you might already know about what is happening with our local school district. We live in Lakewood, which is part of Jefferson County, Colorado. Since last week thousands of students from high schools throughout the county have walked out of class to protest, mainly, a school board member's proposed curriculum committee that would start out by making changes to AP History.

There is no way I can give this story justice with just one post. This will be a series. My first! Seriously, this issue is of huge importance to me and as I have closely followed this I have learned  a lot that I want to share with all of you.

To give you a little background, there are five school board members and last November three new "reformist" board members were voted in. They have a majority and have used that to promote their seemingly right-wing agenda. Now there are those who say that the previous board majority did the same with a left-wing agenda, yet somehow our school district became one of the top in the country.

With each side trading barbs, this is one thing I believe everyone can agree with: That JeffCo Public Schools has a reputation throughout the country as being one of the best school districts nationally.

We are also one of the largest, 85,542 students. And unlike some school districts in Colorado that are very wealthy, ours is a for sure mixture of class, ethnicity and race. We have a very high percentage of students, 34%, who qualify for free or reduced lunch yet we also have many students who come from upper middle class and up families. About 10% of K-12 students in Colorado attended a JeffCo school.

99.86% of our teachers are considered "highly qualified" according to federal standards.

We have the third best graduation rate of the nation's 50 largest school districts.

NOTE: A lot of this information comes from last year's annual report, done before this new "reformist" majority won the election.

Jefferson County is a purple county, with one third each of Democrats, Independents and Republicans.

In January our new school board majority took over and it didn't take long to notice changes.

But before I start with all of that, I want to plug voting. And voting in local elections. And paying attention to your local school board.

This is vital. Otherwise, your local school board could look like ours, if it already doesn't. As I write about what is going on in Jefferson County, please take this to heart. Please vote. Please speak out. I totally believe that if more folks voted in the school board election last year that these "reformists" would have had no chance of winning.

Once in power, the "reformist" majority quickly hired a lawyer. The board already has a lawyer yet these three wanted their own at $80,000 a year paid by the school district.

Then they decided to give $300,000 to a charter school and in the same meeting decided that they should not fund full-day kindergarten.

Charter schools are an issue. And $300,000 is a lot of money. I have read that there are some amazing charter schools, yet I first and foremost believe in support our public schools. I do not believe that all charter schools are as supportive of all students as public schools are. AN example would be me getting calls from teachers and students at two JeffCo schools that were having a tough time from those in power when wanting to create a Gay-Straight Alliance.

So I seriously should either leave the charter school debate to those most qualified or at least wait until I learn more before I write about them.

I think now is a good time to break. While I write my Part II, here is an article from today's Denver Post that will bring you more information on what is happening: student walk outs.

Thank you for reading. I would be delighted if you shared this post with friends.

Restaurant review - El Camino

The official name of this restaurant is El Camino Community Tavern, a little long to include for a blog post title.

Mike and I were looking for lunch one day and did a search for places around our house. Most of them we had heard of or tried, nothing really exciting. Then we saw El Camino and noticed that they had tempeh tacos! Definitely had to try them!

Lunch was great, but rushed as we had to be somewhere, so we went back for dinner a week later. This gave us a chance to take our time, ask questions, try different items and just enjoy the experience.

And it is indeed an enjoyable experience! Staff is very friendly. We ate once at the bar and once in the seating area and both times had very friendly servers who knew what vegan is and who went through the menu letting us know which menu items could be vegan.

Well we had to get the tempeh tacos. They were perfect. The sauce on them was untypically very hot so the server recommended ordering them with the sauce on the side. She was spot on. The sauce was super spicy and also super flavorful. We like spice with flavor.

The enchiladas can be ordered with spinach and portobello mushrooms. I tried these for dinner and totally enjoyed them. As you might know, Mike makes the best enchiladas at home, so I am quite the enchilada snob. These are right up my alley and I can't wait to try them again.

Vegans can also order chips and salsa, guacamole, and the green chili which is even labeled as vegan on the menu! I will also say that I'm sure the chef would make any changes with items to make them vegan. They also have Soyrizo.

I have always hope for a tavern/bar in the area that would have delicious vegan food and now we have found it. As I wrote earlier the staff is supper friendly, and this includes the managers. We ran into the same manager both times and he was not only very friendly but also very into making sure we were absolutely having a good time and enjoying ourselves.

El Camino is at the southwest corner of Lowell and 32nd at 3628 West 32nd Avenue in the Highlands neighborhood of Denver. Their phone number is 720.889.7946. El Camino is the perfect place for a date night, for a drink with co-workers after work or an easy-going night out with friends. I highly recommend checking them out! Their website is here.

Thanks for reading!

Coming out: I am vegan

I know, you're not surprised. After all, it's in the title of my blog.

I have been vegan for 18 years and am still surprised by the reaction I get. Most notably, that people have to make a point to tell me how delicious their non-vegan meal is, how much they love meat or how they could never go vegan.

Before I proceed, please remember that I believe that everyone is on their own path. I always try to be there to support folks wanting to become vegan or even give it a try, but I am not standing in judgement to anyone who is not vegan.

I didn't become vegan because I didn't like animal meat or dairy cheese or dairy milk. I didn't become vegan to lose weight or try to be healthier.

I became vegan because I want to do the least harm possible while on this earth and did not want any living being to suffer to become my meal. Since then, I have stayed vegan because I decided that I do not have the right to take the life of another living being, whether I actually kill the animal or pay someone else to do so. I have also been able to enjoy the health benefits, of which there are many, of being vegan.

It's definitely a path for me. I learn new things about veganism, animal rights, animal welfare, health, nutrition and fitness practically every day. I pay more attention to what I eat. My body tells me when I am not eating enough of something or too much of something else.

My struggle is always with sugar. Since coming back from vacation a couple of weeks ago I decided (again) to cut sugar as much as possible. I've only had two desserts since and hope to keep limiting my sugar.

I love so many vegetables that I had never really tried before becoming vegan: kale, Swiss chard, dates, collard greens and well over a dozen types of peppers. My food intake is more diverse than any animal meat eater I know.

It is certainly not difficult to be vegan. One makes a decision that they do not want to be part of the inevitable torture, cruelty and fear that animals go through to become food and the culinary adventure begins.

I have some links on the main page of our blog site that can be helpful to folks new to veganism. Nutrition and fitness are very important in my vegan life.

Thanks for reading.

Restaurant review - WaterCourse Foods

For those of you new to my restaurant reviews, my reviews are based on delicious vegan food and on great service. Both are equally important to me.

Two weeks ago WaterCourse Foods announced that they had become an all-vegan restaurant. After 16 years of being a vegetarian restaurant, they introduced this idea to their staff on a Monday morning and introduced an incredible, new menu to the public shortly afterwards.

Prior to that Monday, I can count on one hand the amount of times I had been to WaterCourse in the past six years. Since that Monday, I have been four times. I have been twice with Mike and twice on my own. Between the two dinners and the two lunches, I have tried many of the new items. All of this is to say that my review is based on good, solid research.

Note: Before I stopped frequenting WaterCourse, I was quite the regular and WaterCourse was a huge part of my life. They even catered our wedding in 2005. 

Also for new readers, I do not review a restaurant until I have dined there at least three times. This makes sure I can make a fair review.

I love WaterCourse milk shakes. Love them. Great flavors, and now you can order one with just the glass filled (with no extra) which makes me feel better. Definitely try a milkshake.

Mike and I both LOVE the new cauliflower wings. They are delicious, flavorful, and not as filling as seitan wings.

New items include the jack fruit tacos. I highly recommend these. More flavor and great taste. The new deviled eggs are delicious as well. They are purple, which seems to be a turn off for some people but if you can get past that you'll be pleasantly surprised with the flavor.

Breakfast is served all day. I have loved the Amsterdam Hash since it was first on a menu and I still do. Now it comes in its own cast iron pan!

There are many new dinner entrees, including chicken and waffles! The Monti pasta is still on the menu and I had that last night. Loved it.

 I don't drink but noticed they have a good selection of beer and wine as well as pitchers of Sangria and Mimosas.

They all have fresh juices available.

I have many times not returned to a restaurant because of poor service. There came a point in my life when I was done with having to apologize to a server for getting in their way by showing up for a meal. Service is crucial.

All four times I was at WaterCourse in the past two weeks the service was incredible. Friendly, quick, attentive and the server even recommended favorite items. Several folks have told me recently that they stopped going to WaterCourse because of the poor service. To all of them I say it's OK to go back. If you get treated anywhere close to how I have been treated, you will be delighted. Of the four servers I have had, all rocked it. If I were to pick one that you could ask for, I'd go with Nathan.

Finally, I noticed that their price points had lowered. I think everything is priced fairly and I think WaterCourse is pretty affordable.

I so enjoy WaterCourse Foods now that I added them to my list of favorite places to eat in Denver on our blog.

Check them out. Even if you had sworn them off, check them out. You won't regret it, I promise.

For hours, go to their website at watercoursefoods.com

Thank you for reading! 

One small action today

That's all it takes, just one small action.

When all of us who care about animals and care about making the world a better place take one small action, the world changes.

The world becomes a little more compassionate.

Or a little safer for animals.

A little less cruel.

A little more hopeful.

Just one small action.

If you're not vegan or veg, try not eating meat today.

If you're veg but not vegan, try being vegan today.

If you have a few more minutes to be online after reading this post, go to an group you support that has action alerts and do one of them.

If you have a dog in your family, take them on a walk.

A new veg restaurant in town, go support them.

Send a donation to your favorite non-profit.

Bring a vegan dessert to your dinner gathering tonight.

You get the idea.

We can all make the world a better place for all living beings. It begins with one small action.

Thanks for reading.