Tweet if you love TVA! Come follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/torontoveg We’re on Facebook Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association Facebook Group to receive invitations to events and more! Want even more news? Want even more news? TVA members are entitled to a free customized version of VegE-News. Find out more.

Happy New Year from the Toronto Vegetarian Association!

We welcome you to this year with some NEW features in eLifelines for 2011. We heard your feedback, and we're excited to bring you more stories, more restaurant reviews, and inspiring tidbits of animal and vegetarian advocacy in the city.

We'd also like to give a warm welcome to new columnist Andrea Gourgy who will be joining veteran Amy Symington in bringing you monthly nutritional information and recipes. Both graduated from George Brown's Culinary Management and Nutrition Program, with a certificate in vegetarian cuisine, so they'll be sure to tempt your palates, starting with this month's molasses.

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

The Health Starts Here Cooking Series is back for 2011, starting on January 30th with Resolution Revolution: Revamping Ideas About Diet Foods. Find out more in the TVA in Action section.

	Tweet if you love TVA! Come follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/torontoveg We’re on Facebook Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association Facebook Group to receive invitations to events and more! Want even more news? Want even more news? TVA members are entitled to a free customized version of VegE-News. Find out more.

Talk about spreading the love this month! Clearly, Valentine's Day isn't just for couples. Just take a look at all the sweet action happening in the veg community this February.

L.A.B Restaurant will be opening as a vegetarian restaurant for one night in honour of Meatless Mondays on February 14th with a vegetarian pre-fixed menu. But if you prefer dining in, Amy Symington's ready to teach you how to make seductive food on February 27th at her cooking class as part of the Health Starts Here Cooking Series. 

If you are looking for a cruelty-free gift this Valentine's Day, or if you want to pamper yourself, make sure to check out the Reader's Corner section for information about vegan cosmetics and links to plant-based Valentine's gift ideas. Or, stop by the Arbonne Information Session at the end of the month.

Sticking with the theme of love, we've also got a review of the new location for Loving Hut, which offers 10% off with the TVA discount card!

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

Make your reservation for the Veggie Valentine's Dinner at L.A.B Restaurant before it sells out! The Health Starts Here Cooking Series continues on February 27th with Little Light Loving: Cooking Seductively Healthful for Two and an Arbonne Info Session raising funds for TVA will take place February 26th. Find out more in the TVA in Action section or on Facebook.

P.S

It's Veguary! Veguary is an initiative asking people to challenge themselves to eat a diet based on whole grains, root vegetables, oils, legumes, nuts and vegetables. Depending on where your diet sits at the moment, you might choose to take this month and aim to eat vegetarian, vegan, or just even a few meat-free meals per week to improve your health, the health of the planet, and the lives of farm animals. Already totally vegan? Tell your friends and family about Veguary and get them to challenge themselves in some way this month! Check out the Facebook event for more information.

	Tweet if you love TVA! Come follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/torontoveg We’re on Facebook Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association Facebook Group to receive invitations to events and more! Want even more news? Want even more news? TVA members are entitled to a free customized version of VegE-News. Find out more.

The second annual Compassion Week is coming near. This year the week includes an arts night, a Compassion Marketplace, the launch of the annual Compassion Award, and a week-long series of high school talks about animals. 

Before that kicks off, check out a screening of the new documentary Forks Over Knives. This film will make you want to take action, like Toronto Pig Save, featured as our animal advocates this month for their work exposing the cruelties that exist in Toronto's slaughterhouses.

If this motivates you to eat cruelty-free, check out the healthy powers of nutritional yeast and put it to use with a vegan version of pasta with bechamel sauce and fresh herbs, or try one of the many new veg-friendly businesses we found out about in the directory updates!

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

Compassion Week starts early June, with the Compassion Cafe on June 9th and the Compassion Marketplace on June 11th. Find out more in the TVA in Action section or on Facebook.

	Tweet if you love TVA! Come follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/torontoveg We’re on Facebook Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association Facebook Group to receive invitations to events and more! Want even more news? Want even more news? TVA members are entitled to a free customized version of VegE-News. Find out more.

March brings us a mix of old and new, with a few familiar comforts and some new events for the GTA.

Back for not one but two classes this month is Amy Symington's Health Starts Here cooking series, where she'll show you how to make hearty and cleansing plant-based meals. If it's sweets you prefer, don't miss the third Vegan Rock on March 31st - a benefit concert and bake sale for the Toronto Vegetarian Association put on by a generous TVA volunteer.

If you're starting to feel the winter blues and have spring on your mind, here's a couple of things to look forward to: The first ever Toronto Veggielicious is happening in mid-April, and the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale follows just after, starting April 23rd! The timing is perfect, with vegetarianism getting more and more media coverage and gaining popularity once again with Oprah's latest vegan cleanse.

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

Vegan Rock is happening on March 31st, and the first Veggielicious starts April 9th. Find out more in the TVA in Action section or on Facebook.

	Tweet if you love TVA! Come follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/torontoveg We’re on Facebook Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association Facebook Group to receive invitations to events and more! Want even more news? Want even more news? TVA members are entitled to a free customized version of VegE-News. Find out more.

We hope you've brought your appetitie this month because from now until the end of April it's all about non-stop food!

With the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale happening April 23rd to May 1st, the TVA Resource Centre is proud to present not one but two bake sales on Wednesday, April 27th and Saturday, April 30th. If you prefer raw food to baked goods, don't miss a raw food lecture series hosted by the House of Verona on Saturday, April 23rd.

That is of course, if you still have room after indulging in the first ever Veggielicious, happening April 9th to 24th in restaurants across the GTA! Get a sneak peak at one of the many participating restaurants in this month's Discount Profile of Live Organic Food Bar.  

Prefer dining in at home? This month's Reader's Corner is full of recipes, with Butternut Squash pasta and a link to a recipe blog we recently caught word of.

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

Veggielicious starts April 9th, followed by the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sales on April 27th and 30th. Find out more in the TVA in Action section or on Facebook.

Tweet if you love TVA! Come follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/torontoveg We’re on Facebook Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association Facebook Group to receive invitations to events and more! Want even more news? Want even more news? TVA members are entitled to a free customized version of VegE-News. Find out more.    Join Us! A strong Toronto Vegetarian Association is able to produce amazing resources, great publications and fabulous events like the Annual Vegetarian Food Festival. Help us build a healthier, greener, more compassionate city by making a donation and purchasing your vegetarian discount card today. Click here to join now

June has arrived, and that means the second annual Compassion Week is just around the corner. In fact, just a few days away!

Don't miss the Compassion Cafe where animal focused artwork will be on sale to raise funds for animal sanctuaries, or the Compassion Marketplace featuring food vendors, non-profit organizations and talks exploring human/non-human animal relations.

But it's not just TVA that's hosting events this month: Brendan Brazier's in town, there's super affordable cooking classes happening, and registration is open for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, where the Toronto Vegetarian Team will be out in full force!

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

Compassion Week starts early June, with the Compassion Cafe on June 9th and the Compassion Marketplace on June 11th. Find out more in the TVA in Action section or on Facebook.

Tweet if you love TVA! Come follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/torontoveg We’re on Facebook Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association Facebook Group to receive invitations to events and more! Want even more news? Want even more news? TVA members are entitled to a free customized version of VegE-News. Find out more.    Join Us! A strong Toronto Vegetarian Association is able to produce amazing resources, great publications and fabulous events like the Annual Vegetarian Food Festival. Help us build a healthier, greener, more compassionate city by making a donation and purchasing your vegetarian discount card today. Click here to join now

Summer is the time to get outside and enjoy the heat, and the veg community in Toronto is fortunate to have lots of opportunities to do just that!

In August, Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary will be coming to town to give out FREE veggie dogs as part of their 25th anniversary tour. Soon after that comes the Annual Vegetarian Food Festival, and in between you might choose to walk or run in preparation for being part of our team at the upcoming Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

If that's not enough to keep you busy in Toronto and you're looking to get away, we've got a great suggestion: Lands in Love Vegetarian Resort in Costa Rica!

Also in this issue you'll find lots of yummy food ideas, such as recipes for Banana Ginger Flapjacks and Manicotti, and a link to vegan and gluten-free snacks.

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

10,000 Tastes, 10 Billion Reasons is happening August 10th, and the Annual Vegetarian Food Festival is September 9th to 11th. Find out more in the TVA in Action section.