Where? Hart House at U of T in the Music Room

 

How much? Tickets are $8, or $5 for students (with proof of student ID). Tickets will be sold at the door. 

Click here for the Facebook event listing.

 

 

Compassion Week: May 28th to June 6th

 

Dedicated to spreading the word about compassion for animals through a variety of engaging initiatives, the TVA has a lot in store for this special week.

 

When? Friday, May 28th: Michael Greger lecture at Hart House

Thursday, June 3rd: Culinary Cookoff at St. Lawrence Market Kitchen

Sunday, June 6th: Compassion Marketplace at the Whychwood Barns

 

TVA Group Events

The TVA Reading Group will meet on May 17, for a vegan potluck and discussion on ideas for what books we would like to delve into. Queen-Ossington area. Please RSVP to Shân at tvareads@veg.ca for location details.

The Dinner Social Group will hold their next meeting at Spring Rolls (40 Dundas Street West) on Thursday, May 20th at 7 pm. Please RSVP to tvadinner@veg.ca.  

The York Region/North York Vegetarian Group will hold their next meeting at Gourmet Vegetarian Restaurant (280 West Beaver Creek Drive, at HWY 7) on Wednesday, May 19th at 7 pm. Please RSVP to yorkregion@veg.ca or 416-636-5757. The York Region/North York Veg Group welcomes new and experienced vegetarians, and anyone wishing to make a transition to a vegetarian lifestyle. All ages welcome. 

The Vegetarian Networker's Group is looking for new members to help get things rolling. Email Tom Salsberg  if you'd like to help him launch this new TVA social group.

Directory Updates

Tiffinday is a new, vegetarian delivery service, with a very special twist! Tiffinday offers a unique service which is delivery of lunch time meals to your very own office! There are no minimums, no long term commitments, and no delivery charges. Visit their website to see their menu and find out how you can order delicious, healthy meals for your workweek. 

In the News

Toronto Named One of the Top Veg-Friendly Cities

Becel Releases Vegan Margarine

Animal Profile of the Month

Care of Bonnie Shulman

Give Geese a Chance

You don’t get no respect, being a goose! If you’re not getting pooped on in the press for pooping a lot (well, what’s a goose to do?), you’re getting blamed for causing a plane to go down. As if geese flew into jet engines on purpose!

Geese belong to the order Anseriformes, which includes all sorts of waterfowl. Even though they are waterfowl, geese spend most of their time on land. Their life expectancy is about 25 years.

Geese are tremendously affectionate. If a goose gets sick or is wounded, a couple of other geese may drop out of their flight formation to help and protect them. They will try to stay with the disabled goose until they die or are able to fly again. Then they will either fly together or join another formation to catch up with their group.

Geese will choose a mate when they are about three years old and will stay monogamous for life, raising new families together each year. If one mate dies, the other mate will sometimes wait several years before choosing a new partner or might even stay single.

Humans can learn a lot from the loving natures of geese, and from their strong family bonds, but instead, we confine these beautiful creatures to filthy cages and shove food down their throats to make foie gras. I boycott any restaurant that serves foie gras and I urge you to do the same. Give geese a chance.

Nutritious Food of the Month

Dandelion Greens: Power on Your Plate

Care of Nimisha Raja and Lisa Pitman

Do you just walk right past those green leafy veggies in the produce section? Does the mention of dandelions conjure up images of endless digging in the garden to rid the pesky weed? Let’s stop and take a second look. Dandelion greens are some of the most nutritious greens you can consume (but get them from your farmers’ market or produce section unless you know for sure the ones in your garden are safe to eat: aka free of lawn pesticides, no dogs, cats or other animals in the area that may have done their business there).

Some people shy away from these super healthy greens because of the bitter taste. But fear not – you can mix them into a green smoothie and use fruit to cover up the bitterness, or lightly sauté them in a tablespoon of olive oil and crushed garlic. Add a bit of soy sauce or tamari and a squeeze of lemon and the bitterness will be pleasantly palatable. Also, choose younger (smaller leaves/stalks) dandelion, and it will be milder than the more mature variety.

The bitterness is what makes dandelion a wonderful tonic for your liver and kidneys. In addition, it provides 103 mg of calcium per 1 cup serving (that’s 10% of your daily requirement). It’s also rich in vitamin K (428 mcg or 535% of your daily requirement), which works with calcium and vitamin D for strong bones and teeth.

It’s loaded with vitamin A (112%) and has a respectable amount of vitamin C. Dandelion also provides a broad spectrum of minerals that are necessary for good health including: iron (1.7mg or  9%), magnesium (19.8 mg or 5%), phosphorus (36.3 mg or 4%) and potassium (218 mg or 6%).

So next time you’re at the farmers’ market or in your local store’s produce section, pick up a bunch of these nutritious greens and learn to love ‘em!

Note: All figures above reflect a 1-cup serving.

Click here to join TVA and receive the print Lifelines, which offers more nutritional info, recipes and cookbook reviews. Find more nutritional information at veg.ca/nutrition.

Recipe

Bittersweet Salad from Ricki Heller    

This is a recipe from Ricki Heller (author of Sweet Freedom and the blog Diet, Dessert and Dogs). She adapted the recipe from Caroline Dupont, (author of Enlightened Eating) who was inspired by a salad she had at Live Organic Food Bar. So yes, it has evolved through the work of many fantastic foodies.

Photo care of Diet, Dessert and Dogs