Vegan gloves for all occasions

February 9, 2014 by Jean Coburn

I’ve linked to a lot of products in this post and I’m sure, over time, some of the links will break. If you can’t find a product, let me know–or search the web for the terms I’ve mentioned in the links. Thanks!

Looking for cruelty-free gloves? Sometimes the little items are the hardest to swap out for vegan versions. I’ve scoured the Internet and found vegan alternatives for some of the most popular types of gloves.

Work gloves – Whether you’re working on your car or on a construction site, work gloves need to protect. Luckily, you can still be safe and cruelty-free. Ironclad makes their Super Duty glove using synthetic materials.

Mechanix also has vegan safety gloves (made with Clarino), like their Framer, the Safety M-Pact 2 and the OutDry, which is machine washable.

Garden gloves – For light garden work, a fabric glove is just fine. Rubber palms and fingers keep out moisture and help with grip. If you really need protection and durability, the Pallina men’s glove is heavy duty and will serve your landscaping needs. Women’s Pallina gloves are also available. I’d use a general purpose Mechanix glove in in the garden too.

Motorcycle gloves – A lot of motorcycle apparel manufacturers sell non-leather gloves. Sometimes because they’re a better price, and sometimes because they’re better in all types of weather. Read the description carefully though. Some still have leather palms or knuckles.

Motorcycle Superstore carries a lot of gloves, including men’s winter gloves with synthetic suede palms by Alpinestars, men’s summer gloves with neoprene and lycra by Scorpion, women’s waterproof gloves by Dainese, and women’s summer gloves with synthetic palms by Joe Rocket.

Aerostitch sells vegan gloves for summer and winter. Both will protect your hands from wind, bugs, rocks and pavement.

Cycling gloves – Most sports shops will have non-leather glove options. A few examples include these North Face men’s cycling gloves and these ones by Ventura.

Weightlifting gloves – I’ve found several vegan weightlifting gloves, like these women’s weightlifting gloves by Shiek and this pair of men’s gloves by Valeo. Vegan bodybuilders will appreciate the New Grip lifting gloves, from a company that specializes in all animal-free products.

Boxing gloves – You can find vegan boxing gloves, like this pair of Everlast wrist wrap gloves and this heavy bag pair. But if you want vegan gloves from an all-vegan, fair-trade company, you’ll treat yourself to a pair of Vehement gloves. Vehement makes gloves for men and women. They won’t get cracked and brittle and they won’t absorb odors.

Baseball gloves – Most baseball gloves are made using leather but after searching the net, I’ve found a few vegan options, from cheap gloves on amazon to custom-made pro gloves by The Carpenter Trade Company. Synthetic versions are harder to come by at the moment, but they’re the future of baseball, according to people like Scott Carpenter, owner of a high-quality synthetic glove company.

Winter gloves – When you need warmth, check out Underarmour. UA makes a few styles of gloves. The men’s ColdGear Infrared Storm Stealth Gloves are made with nylon, polyester, and synthetic leather. They make a woman’s glove too that appears to be all synthetic. Maybe the stylish colors of Columbia’s Whirlibird Insulated Gloves are more your style. Gentlemen, the Tumalo Mountain Ski Glove might be just what you’re looking for.

Fashion gloves – Fashionable leather-look gloves are available too, especially at department stores that offer a variety of price points. Often the faux leather gloves are the budget alternative, but they’re still stylish and come in a range of colors and styles. I’ve seen them at JC Penney and Target before.

There are lots of more glove styles and I know I haven’t covered them all. What type are you looking for?

Instead of eggs

February 7, 2014 by Jean Coburn

I’ve written about the inherent cruelty of the egg industry and why vegans don’t eat eggs. When I nix one item, I like to offer a vegan substitute, so let’s look at other ingredients that you can use instead of eggs.

Baking: To get baked goods to stick together, use applesauce, flax seeds, or a banana. Applesauce is sweet and keeps foods moist. Use 1/4 cup instead of one egg. Bananas hold baked goods together and add sweetness too. Use one small banana instead of an egg. Flax seeds will bind without the added flavor of apple or banana. Mix one tablespoon of ground flax seeds with three tablespoons of warm water and stir until it gets thick and sticky.

Ener-G Egg Replacer is a powdered product (of potato starch, tapioca and other ingredients) that has leavening properties and is a great egg alternative. 1-1/2 teaspoons of egg replacer and 2 tablespoons of water mixed together is the perfect amount to replace one egg.

Using vegan recipes will help you get the right substitutions and ratios, but after you get the hang of it, you can veganize almost any recipe. Use the ideas on this page from PETA for more substitutes.

Cooking: If you crave scrambled eggs, you can crumble firm tofu into a pan with onion, mushrooms, peppers, or whatever else you’d like. Add the tofu after all the other ingredients are cooked. It doesn’t need to be heated up for long. It’s ready to eat and just needs warming up really.

Tofu is bland, which means you can add your own flavor and color with turmeric, soy sauce and a touch of kala namak (Indian salt that adds an eggy flavor). Add a little Daiya vegan cheese, and you’ll never miss a traditional scramble.

I recently made a grits casserole using tofu instead of eggs and it was great! You can use tofu to make egg salad too.

I made a mock tuna salad using garbanzo beans. It was more like an egg salad. I wasn’t going to fool anyone (it didn’t completely mimic eggs), but it was a very satisfying meal. Veganaise or Nayonaise are great mayo substitutes–for salads or on sandwiches.

I have yet to make vegan French toast, but I’ve ordered it in restaurants and I know if can be made with a batter of non-dairy milk, flour, cinnamon and sugar.

The heavenly potatoes I make are a delicious devilled egg substitute. If you’re really ambitious, try this version of deviled eggs.

A new product called the Vegg is on the market now. When I try it, I’ll review it here. It’s used to make vegan cakes, custard, French toast and Hollandaise sauce (and more).

More info:

The Vegan Society has an article on what to use instead of eggs, and links to egg-free recipes.
Earth Balance has tips on eggless cooking.
Love to Know has resources on options for cooking without eggs.
Vegan Nutritionista has a lot of info on egg alternatives too.

Is there anything egg-related you’re craving? Do you have other egg replacement ideas?

Cheddar beer bread

January 18, 2014 by Jean Coburn

When I was a university student, I made the easiest bread–but the recipe wasn’t vegan. After going vegan, I missed that bread, but I never thought to veganize it. So imagine my delight when I found a vegan version on the Daiya website.

Here’s what it looks like. Tempted? Read on!

Ingredients:

1 cup Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. organic cane sugar
1 tsp. fine sea salt
1 bottle of beer, room temperature (341 mL lager or light ale)
2 tbsp. dairy-free margarine, melted

First, preheat your oven to 375 F and grease a 9” x 5” loaf pan. This is a good time to melt the margarine.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl and then stir in the cheese. Pour the bottle of beer into the bowl and stir just until batter is moistened. I used Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It’s a vegan beer! Don’t overmix. The batter will be lumpy. That’s okay.

Spread the batter in your loaf pan and pour melted margarine evenly over top.

Bake loaf for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool loaf in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to wire rack. Cool completely before slicing.

The bread is easy to make, foolproof, and delicious! I ate it with a hearty vegan stew. Perfect for dipping! It’s great on its own too. A yummy snack.

Why vegans don’t eat eggs

January 15, 2014 by Jean Coburn

When I was a vegetarian, I ate eggs and I drank milk. “They’re byproducts,” I’d say. “The chickens and cows don’t get hurt.” I was convinced of this. Then I read Diet for a New America and found out how wrong I was. I cut out eggs and dairy immediately.

So what’s wrong with eggs?

It starts at the hatcheries–the places that breed chickens and incubate eggs. Hatcheries are where factory farms, free-range operations, and even “urban farmers” get their chicks.

The boys – On day one, all male chicks are killed. They’re ground up alive, gassed, or dumped in the trash and left to die. The boys, you see, have no value. They won’t lay eggs, and they’re not meaty broilers like their cousins. They are useless to the egg industry.

That’s enough for me to ditch eggs. But wait, there’s more:

Confinement – On factory farms hens are crammed into tiny battery cages. Each bird has less “floor space” than an iPad (except, unlike an iPad, she has to stand on wire). In these conditions, hens will become frustrated and crazy and will sometimes hurt each other.

Debeaking – To prevent injuries, chickens are, well, injured. When they’re still babies, they have the ends of their beaks seared off with a hot blade. Even free-range set-ups will often have debeaked hens. A lot of so-called free-range farms are really just cageless, not roomy. They’re cramped warehouses that may or may not have outdoor access.

An unhealthy environment – These “farms” stink to high heaven and the air is so polluted that the ammonia will burn your eyes (if they let you in). My mom saw first-hand what a small-scale battery-cage farm looks like. You can read about her experience on her guest post at Honk if you’re Vegan.

Physical stress – In nature, a hen will lay a clutch of eggs (maybe 10 or 12) in a nest, where she will sit on them for three weeks until her chicks hatch. She won’t lay eggs again until her young can fend for themselves, so she gets a break from laying. But on egg farms, hens have their eggs taken away so they keep laying. It’s stressful on their bodies and depletes them of calcium, which often causes osteoporosis. Up to a quarter of battery hens experience bone breaks during their short lives.

Willow at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

This rescued hen, Willow, is safe now (picture (c) Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary)

To get the most eggs from indoor hens, some farms practice forced molting. Farm operators stop feeding hens for a week or two, which causes them to shed their feathers and simulate the fall season, when they would normally stop laying eggs. After an induced period of “rest,” in which they lose about a third of their body weight, they begin to lay again. This practice is banned in some countries. Where it does exists (like the USA), it coaxes another laying season out of already taxed birds.

Hens are social, nurturing and smart–when in a natural setting. But to the egg industry, they’re a commodity–valuable only when they’re making someone money. So after a year or two, when hens lay fewer eggs, they’re slaughtered.

The egg industry is inherently cruel. Over 95% of birds come from factory farms. Even those who are “treated well” have lost their brothers. And most, even those from hobby farms and urban coops, are sold, or killed when they lose their value.

Animals deserve to live their own lives. A hen’s worth is not tied to what she can give me. And there are so many egg alternatives. There’s no need for cruelty.

That’s why vegans don’t eat eggs.

Vegan motorcycle jackets

January 2, 2014 by Jean Coburn

I’ve already written about motorcycle safety gear for the avid rider, but what about the moto look for fashion? You won’t need to be protected, but if you want to look good and steer clear of leather, you’ve got options!

Here’s the classic James Dean style jacket–with a twist: The pleather is quilted. I love this jacket and recently got it on sale at Aeropostale. You can find a lot of faux leather options at this place. And unlike leather, you won’t have to worry about a little rain.

For guys, how about this faux suede moto jacket? It’s a Perry Ellis design from Nordstrom. My husband didn’t mind the faux. He was happy actually, and pointed out that a lot of high-end cars use Alicante (a durable, water-resistant faux suede) in their interiors.

If you don’t need to replicate the look of leather but love the moto style, check out a few other options like this brown velvet version and a bright yellow cotton one. The velvet jacket is from Forever 21 and the cotton one I found (new) on eBay.

I couple of other takes include a blush pink number from JC Penney and a fabric and pleather one also from Forever 21.

I recently spotted a slew of great motorcycle jackets in the Macy’s juniors department. These are by American Rag and come in a lot of great shades.

So far, most of the jackets I’ve shown are lower end, often juniors, and they’re likely faux because faux is often cheaper (for the younger demographic). But you don’t have to go cheap to go faux. Vaute Couture, the vegan fashion house out of Brooklyn, makes a great classic moto jacket in v-wool for men and women and waxed canvas, also in men’s and women’s sizes.

You can check out Alternative Outfitters too, a vegan online retailer, to find jackets that are cruelty-free. Other stores like Free People and ModCloth are good sources too and carry cute vegan options. Do a search on their sites for vegan or faux and you’re bound to find something.

No matter what price point or style you’re looking for, you can avoid animal skins easily, thanks to the abundant choices we have these days. Happy shopping!

No warm fuzzies with angora

December 18, 2013 by Jean Coburn

I’ve often wondered about angora production. The soft, fuzzy sweaters, mitts and hats that pop up in stores each fall seem so cozy. I’ve never bought angora though.

Angora can refer to cats, goats, ferrets, but it’s the angora rabbit that people use for wool. To get angora, the animals don’t need to be killed, which is why many people don’t think about it as a cruel industry. Angora can be combed, shorn, or plucked.

What? Yes, I wrote that. Plucked! Shearing results in shorter hair, so often plucking is preferred. Angora molt every few months, and in theory, pulling loose hair from a rabbit shouldn’t hurt, but as with everything, care and welfare is abandoned when volume goes up and there’s money to be made.

Ninety percent of angora comes from China, where there are no animal welfare standards and no oversight into the angora industry. Recent undercover video shows rabbits screaming in pain as they’re plucked. I didn’t even know rabbits could scream. It’s heartbreaking. And after being plucked, they lie in shock in their filthy cages. After 3 to 5 years of this abuse, they’re killed). You can read more about the developments here (the video is embedded but won’t play automatically, so you don’t have to watch it).

If 90% of angora comes from these conditions, it makes sense that 90% of the angora in the stores is cruelly sourced. Frankly, even shearing doesn’t look humane to me. In this video, a woman boasts about how well her rabbits are treated, but she ties up one rabbit’s legs, stretches him and rotates him like a spit pig (minus the skewer).

The video isn’t graphic per se, but it’s not how I would like to be handled on a quarterly basis. Kind or cruel, why should they live in cages to be wool-making machines? Rabbits need to forage and burrow. It’s another example of commodification. These rabbits are slaves for our fashion and treated like nothing more than money-making machines.

animals are not fabric

To quote the slogan on my new favorite sweater (from The Tree Kisser’s website), animals are not fabric.

If you want to help, here’s how:

Don’t wear or buy angora.
Ask the stores you shop at not to carry angora.
Sign the petitions linked to in this article and tell stores like The Gap and Zara to stop carrying angora

(Update: Zara and The Gap, along with Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, suspended further angora purchases pending investigation. H&M and ASOS have vowed to stop selling it permanently. Pressure works! Keep on these retailers. They make money from us, so we have a say!).

Vegan alternatives to fish

December 16, 2013 by Jean Coburn

I’ve found vegan alternatives to most types of meat. We’ve got seitan bacon, veggie burgers and dogs, ground round, chickenless nuggets, Tofurky, deli slices, and “ribs.”

Until recently, I didn’t know of a fish alternative. Sure, I’ve made delicious mock tuna salad, but prepackaged vegan fish? I came up empty-handed.

But then I found a brand called Sophie’s Kitchen at my local Whole Foods. Admittedly, I never was a big seafood (or as I prefer to call it, sealife) eater. Nevertheless, I thought I’d give a few of their products a try. I chose fish sticks, calamari, and crab cakes.

Sophie’s Kitchen uses elephant yam root (also called konjac) as the primary ingredient in their products. It’s low-calorie and full of fiber.

I liked the crab cakes the best. They were full of flavor and worked well as one of the items on the dinner plate, along with vegetable fried rice and a little salad. I’ve never had real crab cakes, but my husband has, and he liked these just as much (if not better).

Next up, I tried the fish sticks. They had a mild fishy taste, and I think they made a fine fish stick substitute. They’re easy to prepare and are a fun finger food for kids. Plus, now I can make fish and chips! Trader Joe’s has great fries for the oven.

Finally, I sampled the calamari. I don’t know what calamari is supposed to taste like, and I realize that makes me a horrible reviewer. First impressions: I was surprised that these were “hearty” and a bit chewy. I expected something more like a thin onion ring that falls apart quickly. I liked the breaded coating a lot!

I’m not sure I’d get the calamari again. I can’t really miss something I’ve never tried. That’s actually why I didn’t buy their shrimp or prawns. But for someone with a hankering for some shrimp, I’d recommend trying it–especially if you make dishes like stir-fries or jambalaya and miss the shrimp. I liked the other two products more, mainly because I can integrate them into my regular cooking.

Harvesting squid, shrimp and some types of cod from the oceans is done with trawling, a process that basically rakes up all life forms the sea floor, killing everything, and creating dead zones. For every one pound of shrimp eaten, 10 pounds of bycatch (species people weren’t trying to catch) are killed.

Farmed fish doesn’t have the bycatch issues but is usually raised in chemically treated water, treated with pesticides, and full of antibiotics. It takes two pounds of wild fish to feed one pound of farmed shrimp.

With that in mind, you can try Sophie’s Kitchen product with a clear conscience.

6 ways to help animals this season

December 1, 2013 by Jean Coburn

It’s December already and that means it’s the season of giving. In the spirit of Christmas, here are a few ways you can help animals:

Become vegan – Not eating animals is the number one thing you can do to help them. If you’re an animal lover, start your plan to transition to veganism today! You can find links on the right that will take you to sites that offer starter kits with recipes and nutritional info.

Don’t give animals as gifts – A dog or a cat is a ten to twenty year commitment. Giving an animal as a gift is giving someone a boatload of responsibility–and expenses! If someone isn’t ready for that, it’s likely their new animal will end up in a shelter. If you know someone really is ready for a companion animal, consider giving a gift certificate to a pet supply store. They’ll definitely need it when they have to feed and care for their new animal.

Adopt, don’t shop – If you’re planning to add an animal to your household, and all family members are on board, visit local shelters, rescue groups, or check out the nationwide network on petfinder.com. Contrary to what some people think, purebred and young animals are available for adoption. Then again, older animals are usually calmer and house-trained. They’re often a great choice.

Give to charities that don’t exploit animals – Giving livestock to a poor family in a developing nation might sound noble but it’s a burden for people who can barely feed themselves. Instead of giving to organizations that give animals, consider supporting ones like Vegfam, Trees for Life, or Plenty. These groups work with local communities to provide plant-based meals, education, disaster relief, and clean water.

Sponsor an animal – What do you give someone who has everything? How about sponsoring an animal in their name? You can choose from farm animals, rescued primates, dogs and cats, or wild animals at a number of sanctuaries. Every animal rescue group needs funds, and many offer official sponsor programs, like Pig Peace, PAWS, Farm Sanctuary, Chimpanzee Sanctuary NW, Soi Dog (Thai street dog rescue), and the Performing Animal Welfare Society.

Give swag – Message gear is a fun way to give to someone, support a great cause, and spread the pro-animal message. If you know someone who supports animal causes, why not give them something from those groups? From chimpanzee wine, message mugs, cookbooks and vegan slogan T’s, there’s something for everyone.

These are my ideas for helping animals during the holiday season (not that we have to limit ourselves to just December). Do you have any other ideas?

Vegan Thanksgiving at Plum Bistro

November 28, 2013 by Jean Coburn

For Thanksgiving this year, hubby treated me to a four-course meal at Plum Bistro, a vegan restaurant in Seattle. Most restaurants were closed today, but Plum had a special prix fixe menu. Hubby thought it would be nice to eat without cooking or cleaning up. He was right!

We started our meal with roasted heirloom carrots and Brussels sprouts with a maple and thyme glaze. I could have gone home happy at this point, but there was more.

Our appetizer was Plum’s famous smoky mac and yease. It was creamy and delicious–vegan comfort food at its finest.

For the main course, we dined on smoked seitan roast with gravy and cornbread stuffing. The stuffing, with cranberry reduction on the side was so satisfying I didn’t need dessert.

But when dessert came–a bourbon chocolate pecan pie–I didn’t hesitate to devour it. It was drizzled with caramel, covered with a dollop of smooth, dairy-free whipped cream, and garnished with pomegranate seeds and a pecan.

I have a lot to be thankful for, and this meal was no exception! I enjoyed a cruelty-free meal and I loved seeing everyone in the packed restaurant enjoying healthy, vegan food too.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. If you’re in Seattle, you’ve got to visit Plum!

Making a wish with a wishbone

November 26, 2013 by Jean Coburn

Have you ever wondered why people fight over the chance to break a wishbone?

A wishbone is the front of a bird’s breastbone: the furcula. It’s formed by the connection of two clavicles. The superstition, where two people grab either end of the dried bone and pull to see who gets the larger pieces, has a long history.

As early as the 15th Century, and before turkeys were introduced to Europe, geese bones were used to foresee the future and predict the upcoming winter. Wars were waged based on the bones’ predictions.

Clergy in the 17th Century even tried to tried to stop people from using the bones as a form of superstition. Despite their best efforts, the practice continued–and was brought over to America.

Now, the wishbone is less about prediction and more about making a wish. It’s even called the merry-making bone. But make no bones about it. There’s nothing merry about killing a turkey.

If you want to see if you get a “lucky break” or a “bad break” without including a carcass at your thanksgiving meal, you’ve got options. I suppose a v-shaped twig would work. My husband and I tried a similar tug-o-war with two grapes and a stem and it was also successful (he got the bigger piece, and hence the opportunity to make a wish).

There’s even a company that sells synthetic wishbones for families who want more than just one wishbone per meal. Their site specifically mentions that their product is suitable for vegetarians.

So no matter how you break it, you can have a fun Thanksgiving, keep the traditions you like, and ditch the cruelty.

Happy Thanksgiving!