There is a “place” out there called BlogCarnival and when I was just starting out with Dough, Dirt & Dye, I jumped into it – submitting some of my posts in the relevant “carnivals.” Most of the carnivals I wanted to be a part of were defunct so after a while I fell off of the, ahem, merry-go-round. But I really like the idea of a kind of round-up of what’s out there in the blogosphere. Especially when it’s vegan-related. So I thought: why not create a carnival of my own? What follows is Volume 1. My goal is to offer a carnival once or twice each month. If you’re a vegan blogger, know of a vegan blogger, or just want to recommend an interesting vegan-centric website, blog, post or recipe, contact me at AnUnrefinedVegan@gmail.com.
Mightier Than the Captive Bolt Pistol
Opinion/Activism
We must stop thinking that people will find veganism “daunting” and that we have to promote something less than veganism. If we explain the moral ideas and the arguments in favor of veganism clearly, people will understand. They may not all go vegan immediately; in fact, most won’t. But we should always be clear about the moral baseline. If someone wants to do less as an incremental matter, let that be her/his decision, and not something that we advise to do. The baseline should always be clear. We should never be promoting “happy” or “humane” exploitation as morally acceptable.
For the rest of this article and to light the activist fire within, visit Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach.
Other vegan blogger’s blog rolls are great places to discover other…vegan blogs. I found VeganRabbit thanks to the site mentioned below. Every post is well-researched and eloquently written. The article Pseudo-Vegetarianism, is a good companion piece to the article above.
This is one of the first vegan blogs I “found,” thanks to joining the Blog Oklahoma blog ring and I have a real fondness for the VeganElder. Always thought-provoking. Every once in a while, even ethical vegans need to be nudged from their plant-based reveries. Head over and dive in.
Tastier Than Cow Flesh
Food/Recipes
It’s the photos that got me. Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf from Veganista via Post Punk Kitchen. Pumpkin and chocolate chips. Just says “afternoon tea” so clearly. And another pumpkin recipe, this one on the savory side:
Vegan Pumpkin Chili from FatFreeVegan. I love a slow-cooker recipe. I love chili. And I can vouch for this one cuz I’ve made it. The addition of pureed pumpkin creates a rich, thick sauce. It reminded me a little bit of my by-gone Cincinnati chili days (from Skyline Chili, never Gold Star Chili) – so I served it on top of whole wheat spaghetti and sprinkled it with raw diced red onions.
In Fine Balance isn’t a strictly vegan blog, but I wanted to share a recipe here (actually more than one – the original recipe for Curried Millet and Cauliflower sounds delicious) because, well, I enjoy poking around this blog and these Quick Veggie Samosas would be a great way to use a variety leftovers. I can see any number of fillings being employed this way – just make sure the pastry is vegan.
This one is amazing: gelato made with zero animal-products, is free of artificial colors and preservative and unrefined too boot! Guiseppe Lamandini uses organic, natural ingredients and sweetens many of his flavors with fruit juice. Marzipan, pistachio, chocolate, grapefruit, carrot, coconut… and lots of other flavors. Watch the video and prepare to drool. Thanks to Go Vegan for the link.
And one more – added at the last minute. When I saw “Homegrown Smoker” had followed me on Twitter, I thought, great – a BBQ joint is messing with me. Yes, Homegrown Smoker makes BBQ, but it’s vegan BBQ. Check out the photos. Oklahoma desperately needs this place!
Fitter, Faster and Stronger Than the Carnivore
Fitness/Lifestyle/Fashion
I was only going to share the Stop Chasing Skinny link from JLGoesVegan (it took me nearly 45 years to stop worrying about my weight. Veganism took my mind off of the scale and on to being healthy), but then she posted the first of an FAQs series. The first one, Why All the Changes Post-40, resonated with me because of my own “transformation” in my 40s. The details are different, but the result is the same (nearly the same; I’m a runner, but neither a marathoner nor a triathlete). Watch her video and/or read the summary post. I’m looking forward to more.
Help for the well-dressed vegan comes from The Streets I Know, like this review of animal-free shoes and boots by Good Guys’ in springy, pastel colors. I’m looking for some shoes for a spring wedding…no, not my spring wedding.
No Meat Athlete has plenty of reading material and recipes for the plant-based runner. This article, How to Burn Fat Instead of Sugar and Never Bonk Again, discusses tapering off of sugar to transition into burning fat during long, slow runs. Long (but not slow…) runs are a thing of my past (damn knees), but I love the idea of getting away from sugar consumption.
And…Smarter than the USDA
Nutrition/Resources
A topic that fired up the vegan airwaves last month: Paula Deen owning up to a diagnosis of diabetes (three years after the fact…). It’s unfortunate that she didn’t get ahold of Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD before she made a deal with a drug company. She might have been able to ditch the drugs completely. This is a thoughtful essay on the topic from NutritionFacts.org.
The sugar monkey was heavily on my back until a few short years ago when I stopped eating refined sugar completely and also lowered my intake of unrefined sugars, so I understand the challenges of kicking the sugar habit… In Sugar!! from LoveLaughVeggies, Lance writes about his childhood addiction to Now and Laters and Bubble Yum – both of which I ate my fair share of as a kid – and his adult cravings as well.
I like this helpful rundown, Healthy and Vegan Baking Substitutions, from Lindsay Nixon at the Manhattan Vegan Examiner for recipe substitutions of all kinds.
From Tali Sedgwick, at Food NE/RD (Nutrition Educator Certificate & Registered Dietician) – lunch and dinner ideas for sources of calcium besides those from dairy. Another site on which to while away a lot of time!
Arm yourself – naturally – from the cold and flu season. Robyn Fraser, a naturopathic doctor, shares her tips at Vegan Naturopath to stay healthy this winter.
Thank you!
I’m pleased to have my blog listed at Healthy Living Blogs – a great resource for finding blogs devoted to healthy recipes, fitness, nutrition and everything else.
Yesterday I was excited to discover that my Slow-Cooker Rice Pudding recipe from November 2011 was included in Dash’s article, “Warm, Gooey Slow Cooker Treats.” Very cool!
Finally, to really immerse yourself in all things vegan, plug into the recently launched The Vegan Feed for podcasts, blogs, news and videos. I’m proud to have An Unrefined Vegan listed on this site!
Recently while at Whole Foods, on impulse I picked up the hefty November issue of Cooking Light. It was their Best Recipes issue. (Maybe I snagged it because of their promise of The Most Delicious Desserts inside. That’s an invitation pretty hard to pass up – hardcore vegan or not!) I’d let my subscription lapse a few months back (as I shared in my A Letter to Cooking Light) and have no intention of re-subscribing, but I was very pleased to see a whole article – albeit a very short one – devoted to a vegan restaurant. This particular issue includes the 2012 Trailblazing Chef Awards and their Produce Innovation Award went to a vegan eatery called Vedge (drool over their menu here) located in a very meat-heavy city, Philadelphia. It almost (almost) makes me wish I still lived in D.C. just so I could make a weekend trip to Philly to check it out.
