NEW Vegan Options at Subway

You read that right,
Subway has been testing out a couple of new VEGAN options, but only in select stores.
I was able to find out of them hidden away in Forest Hill.
They have 2 new options, a bean based patty, and a mushroom based patty, they have come with their complementary Vegan sauces to use. I've tried the Bean one and its very delicious, I will have to try the other one soon.

I say lets plan a little Vegan road trip, and just take over the place and have a lovely lunch together, also this would let Subway know that they need to start spreading the love.

Here is the location of this hidden Vegan Subway!
Address: 2 Meyers Dr, Ste 1, Forest Hill, MD 21050
Phone:(410) 893-1799
Hours: Open today · 7AM–10PM

Happy Veganizing
Big hugs,
-Mosno :)

Don't Cut, Replace

Good day fellow Vegans,
 This is Mosno, a local Baltimore vegan (thanks to the VLP program), and going on 2 years strong now. Yay.

I was having a conversation with an aspiring vegan-to-be, and he mentioned something that I do hear quite often, and it is the "oh I can't cut out [x y z]", and what I'm noticing is that due to lack of knowledge, and the not so kind media, many people think that vegans live on Kale, Fruit, and water from a magical River Stream. Not true, we're vegans, not rabbits.

So I gave him a simple rule that has helped make my transition smoother than non-dairy butter.
"Don't Cut, Replace".

Here is how you can do it.
I'm a tea drinker, and I love having my afternoon tea & milk. Now, I still have it, but now I use Almond Milk. If you want something creamier for your coffee, try Cashew Milk, you want something softer-tasting try Coconut Milk.
Don't cut, replace.

I'm also a HUGE fan of Cheesecake, so usually when I'm at a VLP event, I make sure to snag some of Kyle's delicious treats. When I'm not at a VLP event (I can still call Kyle) but another option is Giant. Yes the Giant food store, specifically the one on Wilkens Ave, they have a non-dairy cheesecake with two different flavors, from a company called Daiya.
Right next to them are different non-dairy Ice cream options, and even 4 types of vegan frozen Pizza, including a gluten-free one.
Don't cut, replace.

If your into junk food (like many of us are), Burger King has a veggie burger that you can order, just make sure to ask for no cheese and no mayo, you still get the other fixings.
Your local favorite Chinese place can replace almost any of your favorite dishes with Tofu if you ask them, plus they have some veggie dishes as well.
Don't cut, replace.

I honestly do believe that we are at a point in our lives where becoming vegan is easy, if you know where to look. And honestly there are some GREAT vegan restaurants that you can go to as well, but I just wanted to share the strategy that helped me, in case it may help you.

I hope this was helpful to you.
Much Love, happy veganizing :)
-Mosno

Sweet and Sour "Meat"balls

"Meat"balls:
1 lb. ground beef substitute (Nightlife Gimme Lean Sausage)

Recipe adapted from PETA
publication

1/2 green pepper, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 slices bread, crumbled

1/4 cup almond meal flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil for frying

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

1/2 can pizza sauce

1/3 cup apricot jelly

1 tbsp maple syrup

2 tsp hot sauce

1 tsp chili powder

• Combine ground beef, green pepper, onion, bread, almond meal, salt and pepper into large bowl. Mix with hands and begin forming into 1-inch to palm-sized balls. The mixture should bind but still remain moist. Add additional almond meal if the mixture does not bind or water if the mixture falls apart.
• Coat skillet with oil and heat over medium. Add meatballs and fry until browned on all sides.
• In separate saucepan add pizza sauce, jelly, maple syrup, hot sauce, and chili powder and cook over low heat until smooth. Add browned meatballs and mix to coat. Simmer for a few minutes before serving.

This recipe was originally posted on my pledge blog: http://mobtownvegan.blogspot.com/.

Reflections on Week One, Going in to Week Two

For the past week I have been describing my newly adopted way of living as a "challenge." Snapchats of sopritas and mushroom burgers are wittily tagged with #veganchallenge. It occurred to me that the way I was presenting this lifestyle change was not only misleading, but also propagated the belief that vegan living is difficult. In fact, I have faced almost zero challenges this week other than one slip-up that resulted from assuming that something as benign as a cracker was vegan (I'm looking at you wheat crackers from Safeway! You sneaky dairy-laden morsels). So for this next week I am going to give myself a challenge which will be to stop describing what I am doing as a challenge. Instead, I will use the term that VLP has so thoughtfully provided us with...pledge. I am pledging to be a more conscious consumer. I am pledging to take charge of my health despite what big agribusiness wants me to believe about vegan living. I am pledging to respect farm animals the same way I respect and love my own pets. And furthermore, I am pledging to act an educator and advocate for those people who see vegan living as a challenge. I know that in the coming weeks I will face dilemmas, but as with any lifestyle change it takes patience and forgiveness to form lasting habits.

In Solidarity,

Casey
you can follow my pledge at http://mobtownvegan.blogspot.com

Countdown to the 2016 Vegan Living Program!

For the past several months, OTCA's Directors have been on the phone and corresponding via email with participants in our 2016 Baltimore Vegan Living Program. There's less than a week left til we launch the program on Saturday March 26th at Wisdom Book Center, and we are beyond excited to connect all the great folks we've been talking with!  Our Vegan Living Program (VLP) has a mentorship component wherein people who have lived vegan for a year or longer volunteer to be Vegan Coaches for aspiring vegans.  Vegan Pledges pledge to live vegan for the duration of the program (and hopefully a lifetime) with the support of their Vegan Coach, the education they receive at the sessions, and the VLP community.  But you don't have to be a Vegan Pledge or Coach to join us...All the VLP sessions held in Baltimore are free to attend, and open to all!  The VLP is entirely volunteer-run, and we've been offering it entirely free of charge since 2011 in Baltimore.  We are able to do this thanks to the help of kind donors who support our mission, most notably the organization A Well-Fed World (www.awfw.org).  A Well-Fed World promotes plant-based solutions to hunger.  Towards this end AWFW makes projects all over the world possible, directly changing and saving lives.

Back to those phone calls and emails...Every year, as we hit the phones to reach and confirm Vegan Pledges and Coaches, we stumble upon "matches made in heaven" in terms of Coach-Pledge pairings.  Sometimes, folks' interests and reasons for coming to the program sync up so well, teaming them up is an obvious choice!  We love it when this happens, and we also LOVE that ten individuals who have graduated as VLP Vegan Pledges in prior years will join us this year as Vegan Coaches!  We spend about six months planning each Vegan Living Program, and in the course of the planning process we are the primary contact points for all participants.  We're so pumped for everyone to connect with one another at Launch Day this Saturday, so you can all see for yourselves why we're thrilled to have everyone on board!  See you at the Vegan Living Program!