John, Liam and Colleen are in a good mood to start today's podcast namely because of getting nostalgic over classic Canadian hip hop.

There's a lot to discuss on today's podcast and the topics have a wide range.

Liam wants to know more about John's granola.  You'll find out too if you listen to today's podcast.

Colleen offers her advice on what constitutes a wrap and what constitutes a burger.

Liam offers his two cents on the cookie debate that the podcasters had last week.

John thoroughly agrees with Colleen's assertion that the white bean "non"-hummus from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan is phenomenal.

Colleen is ecstatic about Yu milk's return!!!  She is also happy about receiving an apple pan dowdy recipe!!!

The trio also debate the restaurants that they ate at on Thursday night.  Udupi Palace vs. Lahore Tikka House. 

The highlight of the day is also talked about on the podcast:  podcast listeners from New Zealand popped into the Resource Centre today. 

This podcast is a kiwi-licious 33 minutes.  

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Today Angelina, Colleen and John are all over the place with this week's topics of conversation. Angelina replies to last week's podcast conversation by talking about an upscale restaurant in Switzerland that features breast milk on its menu. The three co-hosts debate this issue.

Angelina talks about the Los Angeles restaurants and stores to get your fill of vegan/raw "grab and go" items that she experienced upon her recent sojourn. She recommends Cru, Leaf, and Locali.

The trio also are confronted with a request which they cannot easily fulfill. BlogTO did a review of the top cookies in Toronto - only one of which is vegan. Hence, they were challenged to veganize this list by making the best vegan cookies in Toronto. The difficulty which arises is that none of the podcasters are huge cookie fans. However, they do suggest that Sweets From the Earth and New Moon Kitchen are the companies which consciously make good vegan cookie products. Colleen also mentions that Dad's traditional oatmeal cookies and Oreos are vegan - although Colleen points out that these companies are likely not going out of their way to create a vegan product.

Other topics covered in this week's episode: Panacea, green juice, "leftover" smoothies, and Earth Hour.

This week's podcast is a tahini-milked 36 minutes.

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John Salley

Colleen will be heading down to Veg Michigan's VegFest on Sunday, April the 26th.  John Salley will be speaking at this event. 

A little closer to home, Nimisha Raja will be speaking at the Ontario Vegetarian Food Bank's (2370 Midland Avenue) workshop on how to create a plant-based menu that is easy, delicious and good for your heart. 

The trio also discuss the worldwide vegan bake sale taking place at the end of June.  If you have a vegetarian group or are willing to organize a bake sale you should get in contact with the organizers.

Liam comes through with another doozie for the question of the week...you'll have to listen to the podcast for all the milky details.

This episode is a pakora-rific 24 minutes.

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Today John and Colleen talk about some of their loves (fitting for Valentine's Day) - namely, Braggs, tahini, and nutritional yeast. Although I doubt either John or Colleen buy these three objects roses, a box of chocolates, or lingerie.

Colleen and John don't always see eye-to-eye and for the first time in a long time John is correct about their disagreement: there is sodium in Braggs. However, it is a lot less than what you would find in your typical soy sauce.

John will be trying his vegan luck when he goes to Panama City, Panama in the next few weeks. He has noticed on Happy Cow that there are some restaurant options, but he feels like he'll have no problems so long as he can get to a grocery store.

If you're looking for some good ol' fashioned rock n' roll you may want to go to Vegan Rock. This will be taking place at The Boat (Kensington Market) on February 26th at 9 p.m. Admission is $10. There will be a bake sale and proceeds will go to the Toronto Vegetarian Association.

This podcast is a nothin' but net 29 minutes.

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Veggie valentinos know that animal suffering – which is inherent in the meat industry – is a big turnoff! Plus being humane and healthy is hot, so this Valentine's Day, treat your sweetie to a romantic vegan dinner.

Today John and Liam need a siesta after eating the vegan platter from Karina's.  Karina's is located in the food court in the village by the grange (109 McCaul Street).  For $9.00 you're guaranteed to have your vegan esophagus stuffed with good vegan food.

Next Saturday Sadie's Diner (504 Adelaide Street West) will be having a special prix-fixe 5 course vegan dinner for $34.99.  You get a soup, salad, appetizer, main and dessert.  Please call 416-777-2343 to RSVP. 

John and Liam also discuss the merits of whole food meal replacements.  Specifically Veganique samples were left in the TVA office and they are tempted to give them a shot.

Shawn writes into the podcast to let everybody know about a vegan "fish sauce" recipe.  Listen to the podcast for details and a list of ingredients.

Lastly, Liam deals with the news story of the week: a Toronto business was euthanizing dogs without a proper license to do so.  For obvious reasons animal lovers everywhere were appalled by this story. 

This podcast is a 2 or 3 times/day 27 minutes.

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An article in today’s Globe and Mail discussed the benefits of a plant-based diet on the reversal of diabetes and heart disease, and the promotion of weight loss.

The article, entitled "Vegan diet has surprising stick-to-it-iveness" focuses on a study recently conducted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Leslie Beck writes:

“The vegan diet dramatically cut consumption of cholesterol, fat and saturated fat and increased fibre intake compared to the conventional diabetes diet. People on the vegan diet lost weight, lowered their blood sugar and LDL cholesterol, and reduced the need for diabetes medication.”

Not only that, the study concluded that switching to such a diet is not only healthy, but it’s also pretty easy!

“In a study of 250 young women who had tried both calorie-controlled weight-loss diets and vegetarian diets, most abandoned their calorie-restricted diet after four months but were able to stick with a vegetarian diet for two years.”

In February, the Toronto Vegetarian Assocition launches a monthly series of Health Eating presentations which explain how each of us can reduce and/or reverse chronic diseases through a vegetarian diet.

Don’t miss our first talk: Heart Healthy Eating presented by Nimisha Raja on February 24 at the Ontario Vegetarian Food Bank. More details coming soon!

TVA Press Release: Meat-centric diets a major culprit in growing obesity crisis

As new studies reveal the obese now outnumber the overweight, governments must do more to aggressively promote vegetarian lifestyles, according to the Toronto Vegetarian Association. Research proves vegetarians are thinner and more apt to avoid weight gain over time than meat-eaters.

Read our full press release below.

Vegetarian restaurants

Bombay Delights (Newin Centre Mall, Hurrontario & Dundas, Mississauga, 905-803-9755) is a new vegetarian South Indian food-court eatery serving dosas, chaats, uttapam, a Thali plate (full meal), idli, puris, the Bombay Veggie Burger, lassis and ice cream. Hours: Tue-Sun noon-8:30pm, Fri-Sat to 9pm. Closed Mon.

King’s Cafe‘s (192 Augusta Ave) renovation has taken longer than expected, but they should reopen very soon with a sleek new design.

Fresh (three locations in Toronto, www.freshrestaurants.ca) has added sound muting. From their December e-newletter: “...we installed sound panels at Fresh on Bloor and they have reduced the noise levels dramatically.“ Fresh has also added some ways to save money. There are now two vegan soups on the menu, plus the addition of a new cup-size. On weekdays, they have meal deals: one main and one juice are offered at half price each day, while quantities last.

Meal delivery, vegan pet food and a new group

Veggie D'Light (www.veggie-dlight.com, 647-349-8223) is a new weekly vegetarian/vegan meal delivery and catering service run by Peter and Natasha. Vegetarians for over 20 years, they had been informally catering for friends and family for years. Natasha writes: “The response was always how amazing the food was, and that we should open a business. So we started Veggie D’Light. We saw a need for a delicious, balanced, plant based diet that can be enjoyed in the company of loved ones, within the comfort of home.“ Many organic ingredients used.

Green Leaf Vegan Distribution (www.greenleafvegandist.com, 905-882-1331) sells nutritionally complete 100% vegan pet food for dogs and cats. See their website for a list of stores that carry it.

Hamilton Vegetarian Society (www.hamiltonveg.ca) is a new group in Hamilton. They network with the community and promote local sustainable food choice. Their website includes: events, local veggie restaurants and food stores, recipes, articles and much more.

Options at non-vegetarian restaurants

Basil Thai, Bloom Cafe, Clintons, Na Deul Mok, Kelseys and Ginger Taste of Health

Today John and Colleen discuss the vegan chilli cookoff.  Colleen reports that there were sixteen different kinds of chilli - enough to satisfy everybody.  She also reports that it was quite busy which is a great sign that there'll be a third annual event next year.

John discusses Brendan Brazier's new book.  Colleen and John talk about how great it is when a waiter uses the word "vegan" before you do.  The vegetarian food bank is also talked about and the resource centre is still accepting non-perishable food items on their behalf.

This week's podcast is a huzzah -inducing 26 minutes.

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Today Angelina and John are full of beans.  More specifically, Angelina responds to Colleen's question from a few weeks back about how to properly make beans from scratch as opposed to buying the canned version.

The two also talk about the vegetarian directory update in the latest issue of Lifelines.  Both Angelina and John are impressed that there is a 100% vegetarian pizza place in Brampton that uses rennet-free cheese and they also have vegan options.  Speaking of Lifelines, you should really sign-up for the new E-lifelines .

The co-hosts are going to spend the rest of the afternoon watching A Delicate Balance.  If you haven't seen it yet please put it on your list of things to do.  Watching this movie is a good excuse to stay indoors and avoid the cold, but if you've been exposed to the dry air you maybe battling chapped lips.  John recommends using Avalon Organics vitamin C lip balm as a cure.  Angelina suggests beating the cold by testing out your own favourite vegan chilli recipes in preparation for the vegan chilli cook-off.

You may also want to check-out the latest issue of Veg News as Angelina has an article in the magazine about how a vegetarian diet relates to longer quantity and quality of life. 

This podcast is a sprouted 23 minutes.

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Today John, Colleen and Liam discuss Ethiopian food and the Blog T.O. top ten Ethiopian restaurants in Toronto. There were some agreements and disagreemens from the co-hosts, but they all agreed on one thing: Ehiopian food is A-O.K.

They also discuss their excitement over the upcoming 2nd Annual Vegan Chilli Cook-off. This will be taking place on January the 31st.

Colleen and John talk about their recent experience of eating at Urban Herbivore when a woman wearing a full-length fur coat walked in the restaurant. Both John and Colleen had to pick their jaws up off the floor (just as I typed that sentence someone walked into the resource centre wearing a fur coat. Ugh!).

This week's Question of the Week delves into the subject of placenta. This topic of conversation is definitely a podcast first.

Ruffage dog treats were a part of the discussion too as John and Liam were able to interview the co-founder (Jason) and talk to him about his products.

On a sad note a TVA member recently lost her dog in the High Park area. For more information and to see if you can help out please click here.

This podcast is a placenta-free 36 minutes.

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