Vegan Advent Calendars

As a vegan family that celebrates Christmas, we've felt left out in the fun chocolate advent calendars that we see in all the stores this time of year. Those cute little windows with chocolates hiding behind them are SO fun. Unfortunately, we just haven't been able to find any that are vegan (and I've been seriously looking every year for five years). I've been given the advice by well meaning people that I should just purchase a non-vegan version, empty it, then refill it with vegan chocolate. I'm not willing to do this.

Last year, I made up a strand of mini construction paper cornucopias, and with a bunch of little candies from Vegan Essentials I was able to construct fun calendars for my daughters. Vegan Essentials carries fun little chocolates, toffees, and suckers that can be nicely tucked into handmade calendars. I've seen much fancier homemade versions, but I'd been holding out until the last minute on getting something that was premade. This past Halloween season, I was able to find little boxes of individually wrapped Endangered Species chocolates (our favorite vegan chocolate) at our local Target stores (in the candy section, not the seasonal section). I'm hoping that these are a permanently stocked item. They would be perfect for advent calendars. Maybe Endangered Species will even come out with a vegan advent calendar some year! That would be fantastic!

The year before last, we tried two different Lego Advent Calendars. I've wanted to try one of the Playmobil or Polly Pocket ones, but my daughters haven't been interested. Here is a list of a bunch of potentially fun toy advent calendars. We've done them once, and so my daughters aren't interested in getting them again.

Our homemade versions and toy versions have been fun, but I want my kids to have a *pop* of excitement with their calendars every year. I've tried to get their input several times, but they always want the final advent calendar decision to be a surprise... Oh, the dilemma.

Stop reading now if you are a daughter of mine. :)

This year, after another extensive search, I narrowed down our choices to:

• Another homemade version with candies
• A slightly better reusable sewn handmade version with candies and/or toys
• One of these from Chinaberry
• An empty fabric, wood, or sticker calendar from Strictly Christmas
• The "Christmas Countdown Chest of Drawers" from Signals Catalog (complete with mini decorations in each drawer and a mini tree to put them on)
  
• An empty fabric or wood one from Target.com (the wood ones are actually quite nice for the price)
• An empty fabric or wood one from The Company Store
  

I've made the decision to get little packets of candy (probably some Endangered Species chocolate for the regular days and a chocolate Santa or chocolate trees from Vegan Essentials or Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe for the last day) and put them into a drawer type calendar for my daughters to share. They've always had their own calendar in the past, but I think they'll like this for a change. If not, we'll try something new next year.

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If you happen to live in the UK, I've found several vegan advent calendars with the little windows with chocolate behind them. These are seasonal, so if they aren't in stock now, check back again soon. Check out these companies if you haven't already (I've never ordered from any):

• Montezuma's
• A lot of Chocolate
• Dietary Needs Direct
  

Whatever you decide to use for your advent adventure this year, be sure and have a fun holiday season. It's not too early to start figuring out your Holiday menu. Pretty much all recipes can be easily veganized, even ones with ham, fish and steak! Vegan Essentials sells fantastic vegan scallops.

Don't Get Sick This Thanksgiving!

Did you know that many people with the "flu" actually have food poisoning? The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has tips on "How to Ensure a Safe Thanksgiving".

What are some alternatives to turkey as a main course for your Thanksgiving day meal? If you must have some sort of turkey, try one of these (or make your own!):
Tofurky
Un-Turkey
Celebration Field Roast
Garden Protein's Veggie Turkey

Don't have time to shop around for a faux turkey? Try making something a bit less traditional, but still with all the fall flavors you love. Try butternut squash lasagna or casserole, meatless loaf (mushroom, nut, grain, or TVP), more traditional casserole (Shepherd's pie, pot pie), stuffed veggies, soup, or even stuffed breads (like runzas). Any of these make nice main courses.

Do Life Right's Butternut Squash Lasagna Recipe:
1 package of whole wheat lasagna
1 large butternut squash
1-2 cups (or so) pecans
1-2 packages of your favorite vegan cheddar
(or your own homemade version)

Cook squash in oven for about an hour at 350F, allow to cool.
Peel (it practically falls off if the squash is cooked completely)
and get rid of the seeds.
Cook pasta according to package, allow to cool.
Layer pasta, squash, pecans, and vegan cheese.
Make sure there is a lot of the cheese on the top.
Cook for about 30 minutes or so at 350F+.
Once it is slightly browned, it is perfect.

Don't spend your holidays feeling ill; eat safe! Bonuses include: no gristle or bones to pick around, no unwanted extra fat, and no lethargic after meal feeling!

Honestly, there are so many (thousands) of vegan Thanksgiving recipes on the internet, I can't pick which ones to share. My suggestion is to decide what your favorite nonnegotiable meal items are, then adjust the ingredients accordingly.

Want a cute Thanksgiving book for a child in your life? Check out this sweet one:



Also see my blog on "Preparing for a Vegan Thanksgiving".

Preparing for a Vegan Thanksgiving

With only two weeks until Thanksgiving, it isn't too early to start planning what you and your family are going to eat.

Yes, it is possible to have a filling, delicious, and fabulous Thanksgiving dinner that is vegan. My friends and family have been having one for years. We eat many traditional Thanksgiving foods, we just veganize the recipes. To me, Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without green bean casserole, stuffing, and a pecan pie. My husband and oldest daughter expect a pumpkin pie. We've learned (quite easily) how to make these foods healthier, tastier, and vegan.

veganize (Do Life Right's definition): To change a nonvegan recipe into a vegan recipe by substituting and/or replacing animal products with vegan items. Examples include using soy or rice milks instead of cow milks, using tofu instead of eggs, and using tempeh bacon instead of pig bacon.

Out of curiosity, I plugged "vegan Thanksgiving" into google.com and found hundred of recipes and how-tos on how to hold a vegan Thanksgiving meal. It isn't hard and it is humane. Consider checking your local vegetarian restaurants to see if any are serving a special meal. Lovin' Spoonfuls, in Tucson, is having their yearly "by reservation only" Thanksgiving dinner. Friendly Feast is also offering a class on how to cook a vegan Thanksgiving that satisfies everyone, including the meat eaters in your family. If you really want to have an easy meal, try buying a Tofurky kit.

Why do we not eat turkey? The better question is: Why would we?

For more information check out these great sites:

• GentleThanksgiving.org (they have their own top 10 list)
• GoVeg.com's Top 10 Reasons Not to Eat Turkeys
  

Our Vegan Halloween 2007

I first wrote about "Vegan and Ethical Trick-or-Treating" in September. Here is an update.

We had an absolutely excellent Halloween! My oldest daughter dressed as a Borg (from Star Trek) and my youngest was an astronaut. Note the space theme. :)

We went to two parties: A Vegan one (a potluck), and a Homeschooler's one (with a mini-carnival atmosphere -- we had a "Candy Toss"). Both were very fun, in drastically different ways.

We went out Trick-or-Treating with a friend of my oldest daughter's (and her mom) for two hours last night. We hit 82 houses and filled two huge bags (and later a gigantic bowl) with candy. After sorting the candy out, we estimated that a good 50% of the loot we brought home was vegan (we're counting the non-food items in this figure). Of the non-vegan foods we received, at least 40% were vegetarian! For non-food items, we received: pencils, yo-yos, and a toy watch. We were quite impressed. The biggest disappointment was finding that Nerds now have crushed beetles in them.

What are our plans for the non-vegan candy? First we'll give some to non-vegetarian friends (which is just about everyone we know), then we'll either use the rest for Gingerbread house decorating or take to my husband's office. We don't encourage food waste and never throw away foods that are still edible (we take non-vegan food presents to food banks and other food donation sites, or give to friends). While we, personally, won't eat the non-vegan foods, we feel that the animals the foods are made out of are best served by not getting thrown away. Our Halloween candy is much better off in the hands of people that were going to eat those foods anyway, rather than in a dumpster.

On a different fun note, today is the first day of November, so adopt your Webkinz black bear this month (the black bear is November's "Webkinz Pet of the Month"). We adopted two today (a girl named "Juniper" and a girl named "Ursa"). Our special gifts were the coveted Flying Saucer and the really exciting donut seed. We can't wait to harvest our very own farm fresh donuts. Of course, ours are vegan. :) Prepackaged vegan donuts can be purchased here.

Vegan Perspective on Heifer International

With the Holidays right around the corner, I've been seeing more and more ads for Heifer International again (whose link I am consciously not putting on my site). I've also been hearing more and more people say that this is the gift they are giving friends and family this year. This makes many of my vegan friends and me very sad! Please consider this carefully before you pay money to this organization; your friends and family just might not agree with Heifer International's premise.

To be brief, Heifer International is an organization that allows givers to purchase a variety of animals (for different fees) that are then given to individuals, families, or villages. The animals are then raised by these people and either sold, raised for milk and eggs and wool, or outright eaten. I believe the organization's goal is to help end world hunger, clearly an admirable goal, but also clearly not possible in the manner they are attempting.

To share why this isn't possible, here are links to just two of the many articles that give voice to a vegan's discontent:

• Unitarian Universalists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals's Article on "What's Wrong with the Heifer Project?" [Note for those concerned: UFETA is not affiliated with PETA]
  
• The Independent's Andrew Tyler's article "Don't follow the herd and give a cow for Christmas"
  

So you like the idea of giving to a charity that can help starving people, rather than spending your money on gifts that may or may not be appreciated? Consider these humane alternatives that are doing a lot of good:

• Food for Life Global
• Sustainable Harvest International
  
• Fruit Tree Planting Foundation

Still not convinced that a vegan diet is the only way that world hunger can be ended? Consider these facts:

• The average number of lives saved [per year] by being a vegetarian is 95 (being vegan saves even more)
• GoVeg's "Meat and the Environment" page
• The Human Farming Association's "Factory Farming" page
• Vegetarian USA's Food "Choices & the Planet" page
  

My last words for today are actually The New York Times words from their "Reasons To Be A Vegetarian" article dated June 20, 1989.