March 2004—Issue #6
Vegetarian News, Food & More!
Brought to you by VegNews Magazine


In this issue:
**Exciting News from VegNews Magazine
**Inside the Current Edition
**Product Reviews: Vegan Chocolate Marshmallows & Soy Java
**Delicious Vegan Brunch Recipes
**Easter Must-Haves: Truffle-Filled Chocolate Eggs & Marzipan Bunnies
**Welcome NOSH Magazine Subscribers
**Complimentary Copies of VegNews


Thanks so much for your interest in VegNews, America's favorite vegetarian newsmagazine. The popular "VegNewsletter" arrives in your e-mailbox just once a month and is filled with vegetarian news, tidbits, recipes, products, reviews, and more. It's the perfect accompaniment to a VegNews subscription.

**Exciting News from VegNews Magazine**
With the current March/April edition, we're thrilled to unveil the new VegNews Magazine. Filled with the same great content, it's packaged in a gorgeous new magazine format. Readers are calling it "breathtaking," "unmatched," and "the best veg publication ever." Haven't experience the new VegNews for yourself? Subscribe, order the current edition from our website, or ask your local natural food store or bookseller to carry it. You won't know what hit you!

**Inside the Current Edition**
VegInDepth: Food in the 21st Century
Interview with Whole Foods founder John Mackey
Whole Foods founder and CEO John Mackey is changing how the world buys food. In this insightful and poignant interview with VN editor Joseph Connelly, Mackey talks about the wild success of Whole Foods market, his path to veganism, and how he plans to change factory farming in this country.

Is Junk Food the Next Tobacco?
Attorney Michele Simon sees obesity as the new health hazard of the 21st century. From litigation to parent coalitions, Simon explores ways that could help save millions of lives.

Fast Food Slims Down
The fast food industry is shaping up to answer the demands for lighter, healthier fare. From McDonald's to Subway, supersizing is being replaced with smaller portions and more vegetarian options. Writer Tracy McGinnis also explores the latest niche in the restaurant market: Fast Casual.

Mr. Goodburger's
There's a new fast food chain emerging in 2004: the all-vegetarian Mr. Goodburger's will soon be on a corner near you. With a wide variety of delicious veggie burgers, spiced potato wedges, veggie chili, and fruit smoothies, these restaurants will create healthy competition for fast foods' big guns.

Want a Soda with those Lies?
VegNews dives into the McDonald's french fry lawsuit with this fascinating exposé by Keith Akers. Last year, the courts awarded several vegetarian organizations millions of dollars in settlement money, but the case was quickly appealed. Now the outcome is in doubt. What's the real story behind this historical lawsuit?

PLUS... Preventing Cancer with a Vegetarian Diet, Veggie Sushi, Indulgent Snacking, A Culinary Trip to Japan, Dairy-Free Tropical Parfaits, A Veg Weekend in Portland, ChefTalk with Native Foods' Tanya Petrovna, Upcoming Veg Events, The Hottest New Veg Food Trends (including a sassy new line of peanut butter, soda for grown-ups, soy coffee beans, and more vegan marshmallows), Meat Substitutes for Kids, A Puerto Vallarta Veg Vacation, Veg Advice with Dr. Kerrie, Manhattan's MooShoes Leather-Free Shoe Boutique, San Francisco's Millennium Restaurant, Celebrity Buzz (we've got loads of it), and so much more! Don't miss another issue. Get six issues a year hot off the press delivered to your door by subscribing today at vegnews.com/subscribe.html

**Product Reviews: Vegan Chocolate Marshmallows & Soy Java**
ANOTHER MARSHMALLOW GOES VEGAN: In our holiday edition, we announced online superstores Pangea and Vegan Essentials as the only sources of vegan marshmallows (traditional marshmallows contain gelatin and often refined bone char). Now, a third company is selling bags of the vegan version of this American favorite. After months of experimenting with flavors and textures, Tiny Trapeze Confections has introduced their line of hand-cut Chocolate and Vanilla Marshmallows. Made in small batches with organic ingredients, the square marshmallows are delicious toasted over a fire, dunked in hot chocolate, or buried in s’mores. tinytrapeze.com or 800-844-TINY

SOY JAVA: For those wanting to limit or eliminate the caffeine in their diet, Rocamojo may be the answer. Made from roasted, organic soybeans, this coffee alternative is rich, robust, and best of all, caffeine free. For coffee drinkers who want a more nourishing start to their day, try the Rocamojo Blend. It’s a combination of roasted soybeans and organic coffee beans that provides the benefits of soy without the heavy caffeine spell. Developed by a Los Angeles chiropractor who couldn’t find a product to help wane his clients from caffeine, the company plans to introduce a line of flavored soy coffees as well as an instant version in the near future. rocamojo.com or 866-769-2333

**Delicious Vegan Brunch Recipes**
by VegNews Food Writer Robin Robertson
Breakfast has always been my favorite meal, so when I became a vegan in the late 1980s, I made it a priority to develop a repertoire of tantalizing morning foods. When there’s no time to linger, I often enjoy whole-grain toast slathered with almond butter. Sometimes it’s a bagel with vegan cream cheese. Refreshing fruit smoothies or whole-grain cereal splashed with soy milk are other reliable grab-and-go choices, while chilly mornings call for a comforting bowl of hot creamy oatmeal sprinkled with crunchy granola. Weekends, however, are reserved for grand two-fisted breakfasts, the kind worth savoring over a second cup of coffee or tea. Try these recipes from my cookbook, Vegan Planet, and make breakfast not just the most important meal of the day, but perhaps the best-tasting meal, too.

SPICED BANANA PANCAKES
l-l/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar or natural sweetener
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1-l/4 cups soy milk or other dairy-free milk
3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
Pure maple syrup or blueberry syrup

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice and set aside. In a food processor or blender combine the soy milk and half of the banana slices and process until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing with a few swift strokes until just combined. Fold in the remaining banana slices. Preheat the oven to 200?. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Ladle about 3 tablespoons of the batter onto the hot griddle. Cook on one side until small bubbles appear on top, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes with a metal spatula and cook until the other side is lightly browned, about 1 minute more. Keep the cooked pancakes warm in the oven while you prepare the remaining pancakes. Top with maple or blueberry syrup as desired. Serves 4.

TOMATO ZUCCHINI "FRITTATA"
Tofu replaces eggs in this interpretation of a frittata, the classic Italian flat omelet. Vary the filling ingredients according to personal preference: cooked asparagus or mushrooms are good choices.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small Vidalia or other sweet yellow onion, minced
1 small zucchini, shredded and well drained
1 firm ripe tomato, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound firm tofu, well drained
1 tablespoon arrowroot dissolved in
2 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Heat the oil in a large skillet pan over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato and basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook uncovered until liquid evaporates. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a lightly oiled shallow round baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375?. In a food processor or blender combine the tofu, arrowroot mixture, turmeric, and salt and pepper to taste. Puree until smooth and add to the vegetables in the baking dish and stir to combine. Bake until the tofu is set and the top is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. To serve, cut into wedges. Serves 4.

**Easter Must-Haves: Truffle-Filled Chocolate Eggs & Marzipan Bunnies**
We've discovered a rich, decadent, must-have treat for this year's Easter baskets. Rose City Chocolatier has unveiled a huge Belgian dark chocolate egg filled with nine vegan hazelnut truffles. We're told only serious chocoholics need apply. Other Easter gift ideas include dark chocolate bunnies, organic hollow chocolate eggs by Green & Black's, nut butter cups, organic butterscotch candies, and organic earth balls. To order, visit veganessentials.com/ During our vegan product treasure hunt we also found coconut-almond confections shaped like carrots and beautiful marzipan bunnies from veganstore.com/

**Welcome NOSH Magazine Subscribers**
We are happy to announce that VegNews has acquired the print version of NOSH Magazine, and we welcome their subscribers! NOSH was a national vegan food magazine that is converting to a web-based format in the next year. Look for great things to happen from the NOSH world! In 2003, VegNews acquired the popular Vegetarian Baby & Child Magazine.

**Complimentary Copies of VegNews**
We just want to remind you that if you have friends or family whom you feel would be interested in VegNews, we will be happy to send them a complimentary copy of the magazine. Requests can be submitted online at: vegnews.com/sample.html

**Upcoming April VegNewsletter**
We've got lots of great veggie tidbits and information for our next edition of Veg Bytes, to arrive in e-mailboxes everywhere in early April.

Please help us get the word out! We'd be most grateful if you could share this edition of VegNewsletter with your friends, family, colleagues and any related lists you're on. If this issue was forwarded to you, please visit our home page at vegnews.com to begin receiving your own copy of VegNewsletter each month.

Happy Spring,
The VegNews Team
(hey that rhymes)

P.S. If you aren't yet a subscriber to VegNews, what are you waiting for? Subscribe at vegnews.com today.

Back to past VegNewsletters

Back to home page