Today, podcast (ir)regulars Emily and Liam are joined by everyone's favourite Oakvillian, Angeline and fresh to the TVA Sarah.

They keep things short with two main topics. The 3rd Annual Fabulous Vegan Bakeoff is coming up on February 4th at 918 Bathurst. Registration is still open so put on your baking hats and get thee to the kitchen. Their second topic is a little more sensitive so you'll have to listen to find out what it is.

A number of visitors stopped by the resource centre today (yay!) including Chris who shared his feelings on the very effective TTC ads from chooseveg.ca.  

Today's podcast is a foxy 7 minutes.

Listen Now!

In this podcast, which may be the worst we've ever put out, Liam and Lisa O. discuss their low energy vibe, talk about their New Year's resolutions, and share the news about some exciting upcoming events. Seedy Saturdays and Sundays are coming up in March in locations around Toronto. Exchange and buy heirloom seeds! Also in March is Meatout, during which activists will distribute tasty vegan food to promote the benefits of a meat-free diet. Click on the link above to find out how you can get involved.

The Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-Off is coming up on February 4th, with registration open until January 27th. Check out the sponsors on veg.ca/bakeoff to get a sneak peek at the prizes the winners will receive. If you're not a baker, plan on taking part in the tasting and judging. 

Sadie's is having a chili fundraiser on February 28th, which will benefit TVA! It's just $10, and you'll receive a hearty helping of delicious chili and chips. 

Last podcast, it was suggested that there weren't a whole lot of vegan dining options in the Markham area, but it turns out there are quite a few! Check out this list of restaurants. If you happen to live outside the GTA but want to promote vegan-friendly restaurants in your area, please consider helping out with Veggielicious 2012, which will be coming up in May! Email veggielicious@veg.ca for more details. TVA is also looking for a volunteer to fill the exciting new position of community animator.

Hulu viewers in the US are now seeing ads by Compassion Over Killing, advocating a meat-free diet, and directing audiences to their website.

If you want to maintain a healthy meat-free diet yourself, you can follow Liam's lead and eat more legumes. He describes some delicious roasted chickpeas he's made recently and tells you how to make them yourself. Some cruciferous vegetables can interfere with thryoid function (and the metabolizing of certain medications). If you're curious and want to find out more, you can read up on the issue here.

This podcast has been a yawnstipating 27 minutes.

Listen Now!

Today Colleen and John get caught up after the holidays.  Colleen was in Portugal during December and reports that she had no trouble being vegetarian while there.  She also reports that Vega did a good job of tiding her over when she was beginning to feel hungry.  John was in Vancouver over the holidays and, and while one might think that John would have the easier time of it, this is not the case.  Troubles can arise for John when vegan meals are made, but not necessarily the healthiest vegan meals.  Sometimes both co-hosts would much rather have just a big, old, salad.  I'm sure many listeners can relate.

Calling all bakers, calling all bakers!  The Totally Fabulous Vegan Bakeoff is just around the corner.  Get all of the details and sign up for the great prices that are available.

Colleen is not really one for New Year's resolutions per se, but she wants to keep one going.  Namely, she wants to try new, vegan, whole foods.  What's on the list of new foods?  We don't want to give everything away, but to paraphrase Duran Duran "Her name is Yuca and she dances on the sand, just like that river twisting through a dusty land".

There is a great school which is open on Toronto Island which serves vegetarian meals for their students.  Waterfront Montessori Childrens' Centre places an emphasis on nature studies and green values.  Parents get the added comfort of knowing their child will be well fed with wholesome, vegetarian meals.

Lastly, the podcast co-hosts received an email with regards to the recent Be Veg subway ad campaign.  Conrad, the email writer, suggests that the campaign got the ball rolling for him towards altering his diet to be vegetarian.  We hope Conrad is representative of many more T.T.C. riders.

Today's episode is 34 minutes. Long enough to listen to while eating a big green salad with blueberries.

Notes Update: There are actually quite a few vegetarian restaurants in Markham :) See markhamveg.wordpress.com  and http://veg.ca/directory/list/north-of-toronto

  Listen Now!

Today Liam and Lisa O discuss the good news for chimpanzees this week - the United States NIH decided to stop using them for government funded research. While the move isn't perfect, it's a step in the right direction. 

Liam suggests volunteering at the Toronto Humane Society as a dog-walker as a great way to spend time helping animals and being around dogs if you can't adopt a dog of your own.

There are lots of holiday deals going on through the end of the year! Check them out here.

Liam recommends an easy and delicious method of quesadilla-making, and Lisa recommends The Vegan Stoner for other quick and tasty recipes. She also highly recommends the peanut butter blondie from Rise Above Bakery, a new 100% vegan bakery/cafe in St. Catharines. 

Today's podcat was an animal-testing-free 33 minutes.  Listen Now!

The Raw/Vegan Festival is on right NOW! Head to 918 Bathurst to check it out (and our raw bookstore!). Our Resource Centre Holiday Book & Bake Sale is happening Saturday December 10th from 1-4pm with book prices lower than Amazon's (we checked)! Come out and eat some yummy treats while stocking up on books for loved ones like The Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen in Hardcover for $20! Glenn De Baeremaeker will be attending Animals Beyond Borders on Friday, December 9th from 6:30-9:30pm. The Vegan Bake-Off is back! Learn more about registration at veg.ca/bakeoff... coming in February!

Luke went to Greens Vegetarian Restaurant on Dundas last night west of Spadina. They have huge soup bowls to share for just $3.99 and $4.50, and cute decor.

VegNews made a video about Vegan Toronto! Check it out on YouTube. Jennifer Bain from the Toronto Star made vegan cookies that look amazing! Check on the recipe on thestar.com. AppAdvice.com has an article for all you iPhone and iPod touch users with lots of apps that Luke uses regularly. Check it out on their website. US Congress has lifted a ban on horse slaughter making it legal after the 5 year ban. Learn about it here. In happier news, iRun has three vegan recipes on their website that look delicious.

This weeks episode is a short but sweet 15 minutes.

Listen Now!

Today Liam and John have a podcast of Biblical proportions where they talk a lot about Nazareth.  That’s the restaurant, not the Israeli city.  Blogto did a list of their favourite Ethiopian restaurants in the city and Liam and John can claim to have sampled many of the restaurants on the list.  They couldn’t argue with the number one spot on the list.

Shawn tipped the podcast duo off about some Doug McNish related news.  Doug has  created a vegan brunch menu for the Windsor Arms.  Sean sampled it last weekend and raves about it; he likes The Works and the vegan benny and mentions that there are gluten-free options too.  It costs $15 which is pretty inexpensive for a fancy setting. Doug is also involved in a beer dinner series - just make sure to stay under the recommended 15 drinks per week.

- The new dessert cookbook Vegan Pie in the Sky is now available 

- John continues to love raw pasta sauces

- Liam talks about a TVA member appearing on the TV show Recipes to Riches

- Plus a big shout out to the fine folks over at Toronto Pig Save

This week’s episode is a Samuel L Jackson 36 minutes.

Listen Now!

This week Emily and Lisa get straight to the point: Vegan Pie in the Sky rules, and McDonald's drools. Or something like that. Truth be told, McDonald's is doing something positive - the company has reportedly stated it will stop purchasing eggs from a supplier whose crueltry was captured in a Mercy for Animals undercover video. Emily and Lisa think this is a good step - they just wish McDonald's would make a few more.

Subway has a vegan sandwich available now, to mixed reviews. Actually, just one review. And it wasn't mixed, it was bad. But judge for yourselves!  If you've tried the sandwich, send the TVA an email with your feedback. Inquiring minds want to know.  Paris Hilton also made the veg radar this week, when she tried to do a good thing by feeding a dog a filet mignon, and then tweeting about respect and love for all animals. A very positive sentiment, but perhaps one requiring of some additional considerations. 

If you want to make pie (pie doesn't need a good segue), and who doesn't, check out Vegan Pie in the Sky. You could bake a pie and then bring it to the TVA's Annual General Meeting (AGM) taking place Sunday November 20, from 3:30 to 6:30, at the Miles Nadal JCC at the corner of Bloor and Spadina. Other upcoming events include the Whole Life Expo (November 25-27) and the Raw Vegan Festival (December 3-4). The TVA is also having a Holiday Sale Saturday November 10th from 1-4pm at the Resource Centre.

Today's podcast was a concise, efficient, and streamlined 13 minutes.

Listen Now!

Today Liam and John discuss a recent nutritional analysis of Fresh’s Buddha Bowl that appeared in the Toronto Star.  There was some debate amongst the podcast co-hosts about “how bad” is the Buddha Bowl.  On the one hand, it’s about half of one’s daily recommended caloric and sodium intake.  On the other hand, it’s pretty darn healthy for a meal that you would get at a restaurant and it should be pretty filling considering it’s 1.7 lbs of food. 

There are lots of vegetarian and vegan food alternatives in Toronto and Shawn wrote to inform the podcast crew of The Rusholme Park Supper Club’s vegan dinner on Friday, November 18^th.  The dinner will consist of sweet roasted beets, herbed tofu "feta", green bean salad, wild mushroom stroganoff, wide noodles and caramelized cabbage with caraway and coconut butter, and almond frangipane squares with red wine and pear sorbet.

There were more good food recommendations when Liam pronounced his love of pesto on today’s podcast.  The two co-hosts discuss which recipes are their favourites.  After the podcast ended Liam learned that he will be having pesto sauce for dinner this evening and he is presently in an even better mood.

There are lots of cool things going on in Toronto…check out the volunteer opportunities and events to see for yourself.

This week’s show is 41 minutes of basil stuck in between your teeth.

Listen Now!

 Today Lisa and Liam kick off the show by getting the date horribly wrong before correcting both today’s - Saturday November 5 - and the Annual General Meeting’s - Sunday November 20 (not November 21 as published in Lifelines). This year’s AGM is from 3:30 – 6:00 at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre located at 750 Spadina Ave (at Bloor).

Lisa recovers nicely with some sterling segues, taking the hosts from Cruda Café (where Liam had an excellent enchilada), to the Toronto Marlies’ vegan athlete, Mike Zigomanis, to a discussion of vegan restaurants in suburbs of Toronto and in foreign countries (a vegan Danish bakery in India?), to a touching story about a pair of Great Dane buddies who need to find a home. They also discussed a success story from the BeVeg.ca subway ad campaign, and discussed the recent Toronto shark fin ban (Liam brought up the complaint that's been filed against the city, which Lisa wasn't aware of).

They interviewed Tikka Smiley, who will be featured on this week's episode of Recipe to Riches on the Food Network. Let's all cheer her on! You can watch it on Wednesday, November 9th at 9pm.

Today's podcast is 23... wait, 32... no, it's 33 minutes long.

Listen Now!

Today Emily and John start off the show by talking about the latest animal welfare related news in Toronto.  The city has imposed a ban on shark fin and the Toronto Zoo will be moving their three elephants to a sanctuary in California.  Obviously, both podcast co-hosts see this as a victory for the movement.

In good eating news, the Urban Herbivore in the Toronto Eaton Centre gets two thumbs up from Toronto Life magazine.  What’s not to like about a place where you get to choose from five different gourmet vegan sandwiches?  Also, Emily has just purchased The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick Goudreau.  It offers tasty recipes, lovely photos, and the warm and wonderful words of CPG. Emily’s sister will give it to a friend as a birthday gift, so it should be a good choice.

John and Emily were excited to hear about the documentary Vegucated.  There are screenings coming up in DC, Minneapolis, Columbus, Philadelphia and Chicago.  This lead into a discussion about what to do in those social situations where your herbivorous diet may be questioned by the meat eaters who are surrounding you.  John is solving this issue by attending a family dinner tomorrow armed with a vegan icecream cake by Cakes By Jill .

Listen Now!

Today Lisa O. and John are overjoyed to have Colleen return to the podcast.

There is some talk about the recent efforts to ban the sale, possession, and consumption of shark fin in Toronto. Lisa went to the initial city council hearing and she reports that numerous people spoke in favour of the ban. To add your own voice to the argument, email Joanna Hui at jhui@toronto.ca for a list of councilors to email in order to write a letter. With enough support, it should pass and may even lead to a ban of foie gras, as John suggests.

A group of twenty-two runners and walkers took it to the streets of Toronto last Sunday in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, raising over $9000 for TVA! Great job to all those who participated!

We received reports from a few listeners who have had success with raising vegetarian and vegan dogs. A couple of brands of food to check out are V-Dog and Ami. Natural Balance Vegetarian Formula might be easier to come by (but be aware that it contains animal-sourced D3).

In other news:
- Keep your eye out for the new BeVeg.ca/TVA posters on the TTC!
- Shape Magazine has nominated two vegan blogs for awards. Vote for the Diet, Dessert, and Dogs Blog by Ricki Heller (a local!) and Susan V.’s Fat Free Vegan Blog (voting closes on Friday the 28th).
- Canada no longer uses pigs in med-school trauma training. Hooray! If you’re vegan and want to knit or learn how to knit (or crochet), you’ve got it made.
- Join the Toronto Vegan Knitting Group, which will be getting together regularly to knit (among other things) sweaters for battery cage hens. If you’re not a knitter but you want to help the hens, you can make a fleece version as well (pattern at the same link). Lisa is making some for Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary, which was discussed on last week's podcast.
- A new supper club has vegan events. Check it out at The Depanneur.
- If you like reading and you’re interested in eating delicious vegan food and meeting like-minded people, join TVA Reads.

Today's podcast is an all-over-the-place 33 minutes. Listen Now!

Today on the podcast, Emily and Liam make keen observations about life and vegetarianism, interspersed with highly insightful comments like "ummm."  Emily shares some experiences from visiting Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary for their open house on the Thanksgiving weekend, and mentions a new book out by Rob Laidlaw , a speaker at the open house. Getting political, Liam highlights some ongoing antitrust issues in the dairy industry, in response to which several groups - including members of Compassion Over Killing - have filed a lawsuit in U.S. courts.

Gossip Corner this week covers Paul McCartney's recent marriage and vegan wedding cake (yay!), and the closure of Chrissie Hynde's restaurant VegiTerranean in Ohio (boo!). 

There are still plenty of places to eat in Toronto, and Liam lists a few menu items at Disgraceland (more like Elvis, less like Paul Simon) - sounds like some tasty meals are available there. If you've been missing eating at Subway because you aren't thrilled by the prospect of paying 5 bucks for lettuce on a bun, take action!  Check out this campaign to encourage Subway to add Tofurky slices to its menu. Look out, Veggie Delite.  

As usual, there are a number of volunteer opportunities and talks coming up - explore the website to find out more details.  That's it for now!  Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

This week's podcast is ummmmmmmmm 32 minutes?

Listen Now!

After a long absence, the podcast has returned! Liam and Lisa O. discuss the recent Food Festival, which was a great success. During their time away from the podcast, Lisa went to California and had some great meals at the restaurants Gracias Madre and Cafe Gratitude, among others. Liam went to Montreal and enjoyed food from Aux Vivres, ChuChai, and Yuan. He also discovered a vegan-friendly ice cream shop called Cremerie Meu Meu.  

A lot of other veg-related items have recently popped up in the news lately: The Star positively reviewed brunch at Hibiscus, Now Magazine highlighted vegan restaurants in their Cheap Eats section, The Star published a piece on the new upscale food court in the Eaton Centre, which features Urban Herbivore's newest location, and also published a piece on tattooed chefs, which features vegan chef Doug McNish.

In other local food news, Hot Yam! (a volunteer-run vegan food collective on the UofT campus) will soon be open daily. Hot Beans and The Hogtown Vegan have made some changes to their menus - Hot Beans will now be serving gluten-free and somewhat healthier dessert items, though their popular donuts will be available at The Hogtown Vegan (which now serves brunch). Lisa recently discovered that Dvine Gelato Cafe in the Beaches area has a number of vegan dessert items available on a daily basis. This is good news for those wanting to avoid all the nasty things that scientists have just discovered in commercial cow's milk. 

We've had some updates on the What's New section of the website, so take a look if you haven't already, and come visit us during RC hours (1-4pm) next Saturday for a book sale in honour of World Vegetarian Day!

Listen Now!

Today John and Lisa O. have some sad news articles to share, but they end on a happier note, discussing food (as usual).

Bear bile farms are horrifying places. Vegansaurus posted an article this week about a mother bear who killed her baby and then herself to escape. If you’d like to help the plight of other bears in China and help to end bear farming, Animals Asia is a worthy organization. In other bad news, there’s been an e. coli-driven beef recall in the US. Beef prices are on the rise, which is good in that there will be fewer cattle raised in the coming years, but bad in that the beef industry is doing everything it can to keep people buying meat. The USDA has “bailed out” the chicken industry with a $40 million emergency purchase.

On to the good news! Congratulations to Lisa P., whose recipe for Petit Fours won Yum Universe’s recent birthday contest! If you’d like to consume some sweets as well, you can head to the BeVeg.ca bake sale tomorrow afternoon at Panacea from 1-5pm. If you’re in the mood for something savoury instead, check out Noan “Meats” from BJ Supermarket in Little India, or try a veggie platter or a samosa from M&B Yummy. If you want both sweet and savoury, reserve a space for yourself at Doug McNish’s upcoming multi-course dinner at Didier on September 8th.

We received a nice response from Pho on 7 regarding a letter we’d sent on a TVA member’s behalf. The restaurant's staff has now been well educated on all of their vegetarian products, and a special code for all vegetarian orders has been added to prevent mishaps. For tips on how to approach restaurants about vegetarian and vegan menu options, you can check out this episode of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s Food for Thought podcast. We’re also happy to send letters on behalf of TVA members!

 This podcast is an all's well that ends well 33 minutes long.

Listen Now!

Today John and Emily discuss going vegan with Ellen, or rather, Going Vegan with Ellen, Ellen's new resource website.  The site has recipes, tips, resources, and discussion spaces and is all about giving people the tools to develop a vegan approach that works for them. Emily also mentions that some people have expressed concern that Ellen still models for Cover Girl, a company that tests its products on animals, which sends John into a tangent discussion about leather belts, avoiding wastefulness, and how some people will always find something to criticize in someone else's behaviour. Someone whose behaviour you can't criticize is Gene Baur, keynote speaker at the 10 Thousand Tastes, 10 Billion Reasons evening portion. Emily may have almost swooned from Gene's potent combination of good looks and compassionate words, but she revived in time to collect her raffle prize, a fabulous package with totes and t-shirts from Karmavore, a gift certificate to Ying Ying soy foods, and a gift certificate for Ami Vegan Dog and Cat food. Emily and John discuss vegan cat food, and the difficulties of weighing ethics against biology. For now, Emily thinks her kitties will stay on their regular food, but if there is a dog in her future, those gift cards will come in handy.

From cat food to cake food, John discusses an amazing vegan dessert company offering vegan ice cream cakes, among others. Reasonably priced and delicious, keep this place in mind when you have a hankering for sweets. If you prefer to whip things up from scratch, consider the new Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Baking. Emily thinks the recipes looks pretty interesting, and is planning to test out the Yellow "Butter" Cake recipe tomorrow - she'll report back in a couple of weeks on how it all went.  To help guarantee a baking success, vote for Lisa P's Petit Four recipe by "liking" it on the YumUniverse Facebook page.

A few other things from today's podcast: a new "Go Veg" subway ad might be appearing in TTC subway trains. If you're stuck in an old subway car one day, with no air conditioning, hopefully this will lift your spirits. If you'd like to lift your feet, take part in the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon. You can run, walk, or theoretically, skip or cartwheel along to help raise money for the TVA, though, given how many people participate, maybe stick to running or walking to avoid litigation.  The Vegetarian Food Festival is also coming up, and there are still come volunteer positions available, so come on out and meet some great people while sampling some delicious food. Vegan chef Doug McNish will also be cooking up some delicious vegan meals at Didier Restaurant, and reports have it that the University of Northern Texas has switched to all vegan-friendly food in its cafeteria. Been thinking about getting that Astrology degree? Be sure to factor UNT into your decision!

This week's podcast was a Mint Monster 35 minutes.

Listen Now!