Recently Olive had a friend (we will call her, Monica) talk to her about her concerns over becoming Vegan.  Monica wasn’t concerned for herself; she was concerned for the health of her children.  Monica had someone reprimand her for turning vegan while breastfeeding and raising a small child.  We decided to help answer Monica’s questions on our blog, as this is a common occurrence!

The most important things to remember are to eat a wide variety of foods, take a B12 supplement, and also folic acid/Vitamin D if breastfeeding and you and your family will reap wonderful health benefits of a vegan lifestyle.

We would first like to say that according to the American Dietetic Association’s position paper on vegetarian diets, “Appropriately planned vegan and lacto-ovo vegetarian diets satisfy nutrient needs of infants, children, and adolescents and promote normal growth.”  Not only this, but they provide an array of health benefits.  To illustrate the Pros and Cons of a vegan lifestyle for your whole family we have created this list:

1.       After having a baby we all hope friends and family will come flocking with help, food, and support. Unfortunately when choosing a vegan lifestyle for your family you may run into some nay-sayers. Breastfeeding while being vegan is not rocket science! Eating a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, and nuts while supplementing will provide the adequate nutrients for a breastfeeding mother and baby. Check out an account of a vegan mother here.

2. “To get the full benefit of a vegan diet, vegans should do one of the following:

• Eat fortified foods two or three times a day to get at least three micrograms (μg or mcg) of B12 a day or:
• Take one B12 supplement daily providing at least 10 micrograms or
• Take a weekly B12 supplement providing at least 2000 micrograms.

If relying on fortified foods check the labels carefully to make sure you are getting enough B12. For example, if a fortified plant milk contains 1 micro-gram of B12 per serving then consuming three servings a day will provide adequate vitamin B12. Others may find the use of B12 supplements more convenient and economical.

The less frequently you obtain B12 the more B12 you need to take, as B12 is best absorbed in small amounts. The recommendations above take full account of this. There is no harm in exceeding the recommended amounts or combining more than one option.” –credit

3. Eating out in some cities can be harder than others.  If you go to a vegetarian friendly restaurant there will be more often than not be vegan friendly items on the menu. Take a quick scan of menus, often times you can remove a few ingredients and a decent vegan meal is suddenly available. 

4. While it is true there is a lot of protein in meat, often times more than there is in vegetables, the average person actually eats too much protein. In turn, it gets wasted putting undo stress on our internal organs. Protein is made up of amino acids. All foods contain all twenty amino acids in some quantity. However, proportions vary, and some foods are deficient in one or more of the essential amino acids. Apart from some exceptions such as quinoa or soybeans, vegetable sources of protein are more often lower in one or more essential amino acids than animal sources. Having said this, consuming a mixture of plant-based protein sources increases the biological value of food. This means eat a wide variety of fruits, nuts, vegetables, legumes, and beans and you are set.

5. Now I know, all the advertisements on TV try to brainwash you saying things like, “Milk does the body good” etc... But this is a fallacy and there are numerous studies that prove this to be untrue. In fact milk acidifies the body’s pH which in turn triggers a biological correction. Calcium is an excellent acid neutralizer and the biggest storage of calcium in the body is the bones. So the very same calcium that our bones need to stay strong is used to neutralize the acidifying effects of milk. Once calcium is pulled out of the bones, it leaves the body via the urine, leaving the bones with a calcium deficit.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the information on being a vegan family.  There are tons of resources available to help you along your way.  For more resources on Veganism and health see our links below:

-What You May Not Know About Being Vegan

-Gary Yourofsky- Best Speech Ever

-Advantages For Children

-Vegan is Great for Kids

-Vegan Information Board

-Why Vegan

-The China Study

We hope that this information was helpful to Vegan mothers and families.  But as always do your own research and make an informed decision.

Wishing you and your families health and wellness,

Olive and Button

***All material on this website is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this information; instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being. The information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on the best judgment available to the authors, and readers who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. In addition, the information and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of every contributor to Bits Baubles and Bites. Bits Baubles and Bites acknowledge occasional differences in opinion and welcome the exchange of different viewpoints. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions.

So as two young females (or as we like to say “young” haha!) we love cosmetics and toiletries!! So we thought we would share our Absolutely Can’t Live without Vegan Products you will find in our bathrooms.

We will spare you the ins and outs of what’s Vegan and the horrible things you can find in common cosmetics and will get right to our top products:

There you have it our absolute favorite products!  You will notice that there is no mascara’s listed on either of our lists.  We have both yet to try one that we love.  Urban Decay makes one that is great but they were recently bought out by L’Oreal and they are infamous for animal testing so unfortunately we are back to the drawing board on that one.  We have heard that LUSH makes good Vegan mascara so we are going to try that one and get back to you!

Another item that we have not included on either of our lists is a Vegan Floss. Nezza Naturals sells a cranberry vegan floss that is wonderful but it is only available in store in Victoria BC, not online. You can get eco-Dent floss online from Amazon for reasonable prices and we have heard great things about them.

Notes about Kiss My Face and Live Clean:

Kiss My Face Products: On a whole neither of us is a big fan of ANY of their other products however Olive swears by the deodorant (We both found their shampoos and conditioners quite drying to the hair). She says she can teach back to back Pilates classes and come out smelling fresh which says a lot of a natural vegan deodorant!

Live Clean:

Although we love the products because they are vegan and “green” they are a perhaps a bit misleading. They are not as green as they claim although they are 100% vegan and cruelty free so until we find something that works and is more green they are still winners in our book! On the plus side these products are available at Shoppers Drug Mart, Wal-Mart, London Drugs or just about anywhere with a pharmacy. This is a huge bonus as most vegan cosmetics are either only available online or in specialty shops.

*Any brands with a star mean (excluding the exact product listed), that not ALL of the items they make are vegan so make sure to check the ingredients lists.

These are just a few of the many vegan products that are currently on the market. I am sure there will be many more that we will try and possibly love. Stay tuned for future additions to the already growing list of epic Olive and Button favorites.

Until next time, here’s to staying beautiful and compassionate,

Olive and Button

We are back with round two of our vegan Asian creations. We decided this evening to tackle Japanese cuisine with some vegan flare. We have had vegan versions of sushi before but it was a bit uninspired, only consisting of raw vegetables, rice and seaweed. We wanted to bring some life to our sushi!

Sushi should be an art form, beautiful colors, textures and flavors are carefully combined to make a delight for the eye and the palate. To complement our sushi we made a vegan miso soup and let’s not forget the dessert, a coconut, banana, ginger ice-cream.

Traditional miso soup is made with something called dashi. Dashi is a Japanese stock that is made with fish. Having said that, Japan has a large population of Buddhists, so it is not impossible to find Miso soup made without dashi. A big bowl of steaming Miso soup is an Olive and Button staple, but we decided that we wanted to stray from the traditional recipe and put our own slight spin on it for a richer, deeper flavor.

One of Olive’s absolute favorite Japanese dishes before becoming a vegan was Tamago. Tamago literally means “egg” in Japanese. Tamago is traditionally used in a Nigiri style of sushi where the rice is hand formed, topped with seafood or egg and bound together with a thin strip of Nori (seaweed). We wanted to recreate a Nigiri sushi similar to Tamago.

One of Button’s favorite’s before deciding to “veganize” was Unagi sushi which is traditionally made with barbecued Eel. This was easily recreated by baking thinly sliced tofu in our Japanese inspired barbecue sauce.

To get the desired colors, textures and flavors we used a plethora of colorful vegetables. We roasted some and left the others raw. We did stray quite a bit from traditional sushi ingredients. Because we weren’t using the often bold flavors of seafood we chose to use a dynamic combination of vegetables and seasonings.

Roasted Ingredients:

Yam

Onion

Garlic

Yellow and Red Peppers

Zucchini

BBQ Tofu

Sesame Tempeh Strips

Raw Ingredients:

Avocado

Kale (remove stems)

Red and Yellow Peppers

Mushrooms

Cucumber

The Nigiri sushi for most people is simpler to make, consume and are quite pleasing to the eye. The Maki sushi (rolls) can be a little challenging but with the right technique can be made with some ease. If you’ve never made a sushi roll before we suggest taking a look at MakeMySushi.com, it is filled with tips, and videos. The main things to remember are, let your rice cool completely, use a bowl of water for dipping your fingers in to avoid rice from sticking, take your time, use even pressure when rolling, let the rolls sit for 20 minutes in the fridge before cutting, cut with a sharp serrated knife, and most importantly HAVE FUN!

Sushi takes time, we also suggest starting early in the day. Start your rice first so it can cool, roast your vegetables early and bake your tofu. Essentially any item that needs to be cooked should be prepared in advance.

If you are interested in trying our vegan sushi with flare, check out these bad boys:

Sticky Rice

Vegan Tamago

Vegan Miso-ish Soup

Sushi Dip with Kick

BBQ Tofu

Gingernana Ice Cream

We are not pleased with the results. We were thrilled! Our boring uninspired vegan sushi days are officially behind us. This meal was exactly what we had hoped, colorful, flavorful, beautiful and oh so fun to make!

Until next time Konbanwa,

Olive and Button

Olive is a lover of all things yoga; her passion for the ancient art astounds and impresses me. So when it came to figuring out a good birthday present I had so many great ideas. I love crafts and I wanted to bring yoga and crafts together to make Olive a birthday present with lots of love put into it.

Inspiration can come at the funniest time, while standing in Wal-Mart the idea for Olive’s birthday present came to me. I decided to reinvent an idea I saw on Pinterest. I purchased a plain white porcelain serving tray and decorated it with a set of metallic Sharpies also purchased at Wal-Mart. I chose to draw an Om symbol which is prevalent in yogic tradition and quite meaningful to Olive.

After drawing the Om, the tray needed to be baked in the oven @350 degrees for 30 minutes to set the ink. When the tray is finished, remove and let cool completely…..and that is seriously IT! Simplest personalized craft EVER! 

**EDIT** Unfortunately the Sharpies do not stay on after washing. It was a fun craft and despite all the Pinterest posts stating this works, alas it does not :( You could do this on porous unfired porcelain with success but not the store purchased variety. A better option is to try pens that are designed for porcelain use.  You can purchase porcelain paint pens
from any craft store (like Michaels). Then continue much the same as with the Sharpies, draw on your design and then bake it in your conventional oven at 300°f for 30 minutes and you’re done! **



 

Olive loved her present and is now using it as a coffee table tray. In fact, she loved it so much we decided to do this craft again but for Christmas presents. For this round we chose coffee mugs, and bowls purchased at the dollar store. You can do this craft with any piece of porcelain, and any set of permanent markers, the possibilities are endless!

Olive decided to take the finished mugs and turn them into Christmas cheer packages for her family. I used the bowls for candy dishes and incorporated them into my Christmas décor.

We enjoyed the simplicity and ease of this craft project especially during this busy and often chaotic time of year.

Sending warm wishes to you and your families during the holiday season,

Olive and Button

You know what really chaps me? Trying to find a good vegan chapstick! Have you ever tried to buy vegan chapstick, in a normal store? I dare you, Good luck! Every chapstick we have come across seems to have beeswax in the list of ingredients. You just can’t get away from it.

That being said, we decided to DIY it… We came up with a simple recipe that feels as good as smells. Are you ready for this…?? Cocoa-Peppermint Chapstick!

For the recipe you will need the following:

1oz candelilla wax

1 oz cocoa butter

.75 oz shea butter

2 oz liquid oil avocado oil

4 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil (orange essential oil is also nice)

1 tsp beet powder (optional)

½ tsp cocoa powder (optional)

Double boiler (or two pots, one on top of the other)

Funnel (small enough to fit into chapstick tubes)

Chapstick tubes

In a double boiler melt down the candelilla wax, cocoa butter, shea butter, and avocado oil, stirring frequently. Add the essential oil, and stir well. Empty half of the mixture and quickly pour into half of your containers. Add the beet powder and cocoa powder into the remaining mixture in the double boiler. Whisk well. Once desired color is achieved pour the mixture into the remaining tubes. Let sit for at least one hour. 

Now pucker those pretty pouters,

Olive and Button

We love smelly good things! We also love smelly good things on fire! This brings us to our love of candles. Unfortunately many of the store bought varieties are not vegan and are loaded with toxic chemicals such as toluene and benzene which are known to cause cancer. Another downside to store bought candles is their price, most good quality less carcinogenic varieties cost anywhere from $15-$30 each. With the upcoming visit of our jolly friend in the red suit approaching it seemed appropriate to want to dabble in a little DIY candle making. They make the perfect little gift or even stocking stuffer. Not only are they vegan but Eco-friendly as well.

This is a project you can get very creative with. We decided on mason jars we had on hand but you could use containers such as vintage tea cups, vintage stem ware, tins, vintage cookware, or any ceramic, glass or metal container of your choosing. You could also add dried flowers, herbs and leaves for decoration. The possibilities are endless!

To make these easy DIY soy candles you will need the following:

1lb microwavable soy wax (purchased @ Michaels for $8.99)

Wax color chips (can also be purchased @ Michaels)

Essential Oils for scent (we used lavender and pomegranate)

Double Boiler (if you do not have one, you can use two pots, one on top of the other)

Skewers (for holding up your wicks in their containers while the wax sets)

Soy Wicks (purchased @ Michaels in whatever size needed to fit your container)

Something to stir the melting wax with, any kitchen tool will do (no wooden spoons)

Glue gun or glue dots.

Scissors

Instructions:

Fill bottom of double boiler with enough water so that it touches the bottom of the top pot. Boil water on low-medium heat, once the water has become hot enough place half the bag of soy wax into the top of the boiler. Half of a 1lb bag will make 3 candles in small one cup jars. Melt the wax down until it becomes a liquid consistency, stirring frequently. Be very careful not to allow the wax to become over heated as it can catch fire. Add essential oils until desired scent is reached. If you would like your candles to have color, add wax chips now. Set up your wicks; using a hot glue gun to adhere them to the bottom of your containers. Once all ingredients have been melted, pour the wax into the containers. If wicks do not sit straight, use the skewers to hold them up. Leave them to set overnight.

All in all, this was a very simple project. With all the possibilities we are excited to get more creative with our candle making endeavors in the future. This was such a successful trial we don’t think we will ever buy candles again!

Till Next Time, Wick It, Wick It Good,

Olive and Button

We were out shopping recently and stopped in at the closest coffee shop to grab some much needed java. The closest place available was Starbucks, so in we went. Olive is quite partial to yummy holiday flavors of any kind. She inquired about the Caramel Brule Latte to see if when ordered with soy milk it was vegan friendly. We shockingly found out that the holiday flavors as well as some others were pre-made with milk products.  The Starbucks associate was very knowledgeable and said that the classic syrups are dairy free.  He made a creation with the classic syrups to imitate the holiday flavour and it was great! Just in case you are curious the beverage know for sure that are not vegan friendly even when ordered with soy milk are: Caramel Brule Latte, Pumpkin Spice Latte, White Chocolate Mocha, and Peppermint Latte, so avoid these.

This latest experience led us to ask what other items might surprisingly not be vegan. Over the last few months we have uncovered quite a few things that surprised us but we decided to do some research of our own and see what else we may uncover.


Before we get to the list that we have compiled we both agree that it is important to mention we don’t want this list to scare you away. When veganism was first introduced to us we both felt it seemed too extreme. I think part of the reason for this was that the individuals we had met were all or nothing. There was no room for learning or a grey area and we have discovered it is next to impossible to live in our modern society and not use something that contains animal products without becoming a hermit.

Our view on being vegan is simple, avoid as many animal products as you possibly can and minimize your impact on the earth and our animal friends.  Unfortunately there are things that we have been unable to avoid. For example we both drive or take public transit and there are animal products in the tires of cars and bikes but we have not found a way to avoid this yet. However, we are aware of it and whenever possible will choose to walk.  If ever we find a good alternative you bet we will be some of the first to jump for it. 

If your thinking about becoming a vegan, we recommend starting off slowly by replacing your products as you run out of them, otherwise it can be a very expensive and overwhelming endeavour. This is also a great way to ease your family and friends into your lifestyle change. So without further ado here is our list of things that are surprisingly NOT vegan:

· Plastic grocery bags (a form of animal fat is used to prevent them from not sticking together)

· Gel cap medications (gelatin is used which is derived from the bones of animals)

· Cigarettes (…okay I know you shouldn’t have these anyway but this is shocking, some brands use PIGS BLOOD! Eeew as if cancer wasn’t enough, QUIT NOW!!)

· Dryer sheets (some contain animal fat)

· Laundry soap (some contain animal fat)

· Fabric Softener (some contain animal fat)

· Dish soap (some contain animal fat)

· Some cleaning supplies (some contain animal fat)

· Refried beans (most contain lard)
   
· Starbucks holiday beverages even when ordered with soy milk (see above)

· Orange Juice (most contain fish oil)

· Some bagels (Bird feathers are used as a dough conditioner, weird eh?)

· Some brands of packaged nuts (coated in gelatin)

· Worcestershire sauce (contain anchovies…don’t worry there are Vegan versions too)

· Soy Cheese (some brands contain Casein which is a milk derivative so read the labels)

· Caesar salad, antipasto and some tapenade’s (contain anchovies)

· Enriched Breads (usually contain fish oils)
        
· Vegetarian Ethnic foods like Thai (often contain fish sauce so talk to your server)

· Some wines and beers (use fish bladders during the filtering process)

· Some white and brown sugars (use bone char during filtering process) *Redpath sugar in Canada is safe. 

· White Vinegar (use bone char during filtering process)

· Sun blocks (beeswax and other less then desirable products)

· Floss (coated with beeswax)

· Toothpaste 

· Some brands of contact lenses and solutions (Alcon seems to be the only umbrella company that is free of animal products)

· Condoms (casein, milk derivative)

· Personal lubrications

· Bedroom toys

We know this list may seem overwhelming but as we’ve said before take one step at a time and do your own research too. Don’t despair Vegan replacements are available for all of these items! A lot of them can be found at your local health food store or sometimes even regular grocery stores. Below are some links you may find helpful:

Vegan Wine and Beer Guide

The Vegan Sex Shop

Vegan Essentials

Vegan Alcohol

Vegan for Beginners



Here’s to getting Vegucated,

Olive and Button

In our transition to becoming Vegans we started off focusing on a balanced vegan diet. After our food was under control we moved onto other important aspects of a healthy vegan lifestyle, skin care!  Caring about what we put into our bodies has naturally led us to think about what we are putting on to it, which as it turns out is essentially the same thing.  Okay, I hope you are sitting down to prepare yourself for a few shocking facts:

· Your skin is the largest organ in the body and approximately 70% of what you put on it seeps into your bloodstream!

· There have not been enough studies done for us to know the long term effects of the myriad of chemicals that are commonly used today.

· Many of the ingredients used today in lotions and cosmetics contain carcinogens (known to cause cancer) and are toxic.

· New studies have shown that the toxic chemicals that seep into your bloodstream also enter into your fetus through the umbilical cord while you are pregnant!

Are you panicking yet? We were! So let’s review what you should be looking for starting with animal products to avoid. Check out this list:

• Beeswax (contained in lipsticks and chapsticks)

• Placenta – AKA Hyaluronic Acid and Protein Hydrolysate (derived from animals and humans. Can I just say ewww!)

• Lanolin (a grease derived from wool)

• Shellac (crushed insects used in nail varnish)

• Bone marrow (usually from chickens)

• Civet (from anal pouch of civet cat) we didn’t even know what a Civet cat was. Seriously! Why?

• Musk (from male musk deer)

• Castoreum (anal sex gland of the beaver)… again eww why?

• Ambergris (Sperm whale digestive secretion used in perfumes)

• Carmine -AKA cochineal, carminic acid, or Chitin (from insects and crustacean used to get a red color)

• Keratin (protein from hair, horn, hoof and feathers used in shampoos, conditioners and skin care products)

• Tallow - AKA: Sodium Tallowate, Tallow Acid, Tallow Amide, Tallow Amine, Talloweth-6, Tallow Glycerides or Tallow Imidazoline (animal fat commonly used in soaps)

• Gelatin (from animal bones, skin and hide)

• Collagen  (fibrous protein usually derived from animal tissue)

• Elastin (from meat)

• Squalene (from liver of shark)

• Urea (waste nitrogen… also known as pee!)

• Honey (from bees)

• Propolis (bee glue used in toiletries and cosmetics)

• Stearic Acid - AKA: Stearamide, Stearamine, Stearates, Stearic Hydrazide, Stearone, Stearoxytrimethylsilane, Stearoyl Lactylic Acid, Stearyl Betaine or Stearyl Imidazoline (Saturated fatty acid from animals)

As if that wasn’t scary enough let’s not forget those pesky chemicals. Click here for a list of toxic ingredients commonly used in cosmetics:  The Dirty Dozen!

Now stand up!  We suggest you do what we did… go pick up your lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant, face wash, body wash etc. and read the ingredients, you will be surprised!  Not only are there hidden animal ingredients, they are loaded with toxic chemicals…disgusting isn’t it?

This is what made us realize we needed to take action and make changes for ourselves and our families.  Compassionate, safe, fun, and eco-friendly DIY body care was clearly the way to go! We wanted to keep it simple and use as few ingredients as possible to keep the cost down.  We started out making the following DIY items:

• Body wash

• Hand wash

• Avocado lip balm

• Dry skin cream

This is just the beginning of our Vegan DIY skin care and we will update and add recipes as we create and improve upon them.  All of the items so far have been a hit but our favorites are the body wash and dry skin cream. The skin cream has worked wonders on Olive’s eczema and Button loves it as an amazing after shaving cream!

All of the products took less than 10 minutes to make and are customizable with your own scents and skin care type. If you tried a new variation you enjoyed please feel free to share with us in the comments J

“It puts the DIY lotion on its skin or it gets the toxins again!” (A la Silence of the Lambs- haha!)

Until next time stay clean, compassionate, and creative,

Olive and Button

Seeing as we both love Asian cooking it only seemed natural to experiment with ethnic vegan creations. We decided to start with a Thai inspired night. As always, we needed to choose which recipes we were going to tackle. One thing we knew for sure was that after our visit to Seattle we wanted to create our own version of the Buddha rolls we enjoyed at the Wild Ginger restaurant.

For our main dish we decided to make our Thai Peanut Stew. Now, this recipe has some history dating back to the beginning of our friendship. It is an Olive and Button original and was one of the very first recipes that made it to our collection, and happened to all ready be vegan.

Although rice is typically served with most Thai dishes, we decided to make not only coconut rice but to also experiment with a Thai inspired biscuit. In our search for inspiration we found... absolutely nothing! However, Button recalled that her mom had a traditional biscuit recipe she used to make when she was a kid and thought it would be a great idea to use it as a base for our Thai inspired biscuits. With the base recipe in hand we veganized it by swapping out the milk with coconut milk and using vegan margarine in place of butter. All that was left was to add some subtle Thai flavors. We used lime juice to compliment the coconut milk, added some cilantro “butter”, and toasted sesame seeds on top.

Last but not least the final course would be a sweet, yet spicy dessert. We made Thai Rice Pudding with a strong cinnamon and ginger flavor.

This experiment was not nearly as labor intensive as the vegan Thanksgiving dinner but was equally as delicious. However, unlike Thanksgiving we all enjoyed each recipe equally but it ended up being a tie between the stew and the biscuits. How could we choose just one, they went together like bread and vegan butter!

If you’re new to experimenting with vegan cooking, Thai food is a great place to start. It is often already vegetarian and most of the ingredients are easily swapped for vegan friendly options. The sky is the limit with vegan Thai cooking and we have barely touched the tip of the iceberg. We look forward to sharing our future Thai-riffic creations with you again! Stay tuned for the recipes, they will be posted shortly.

Mmm nomm nommmmmm… oh excuse us! We can’t seem to stop munching… so till next time,

Olive and Button

We recently went on a girl’s weekend trip to Seattle, which we are just recovering from by the way, haha!  As newly transitioning Vegans we were eager to see what it would be like as Vegans on the go, especially in a foreign city.

So our plan of attack was to purchase snacks when we arrived in Seattle at a local grocery store, research the city for vegan friendly restaurants, and carry our happy cow ingredients list for easy access.

Conveniently there was a gourmet grocery store across from our hotel that happened to have quite the selection of vegan goodies. We were so shocked and thrilled by the selection. We found cookies, sour cream, cream cheese, chips, sandwiches, burritos, wraps, dips, granola bars etc.  Needless to say we happily packed our cart and off we went to the hotel.

As delicious as our new found snacks were we wanted to indulge in a nice sit down vegan meal. We did quite a bit of research before deciding on where we wanted to go. We chose a restaurant called Wild Ginger in the heart of downtown Seattle. It was an Asian inspired restaurant with an abundant wine list...again we were Thrilled! They had an entire menu just for Vegans which we were both impressed with. We ordered Buddha rolls for an appetizer, market vegetables, and Rama Setu which was a curry like dish with yams, eggplant and tofu. Every dish was to die for, our favorite being the Rama Setu. Wild Ginger has a great vegan menu, impeccable service, and a welcoming ambience. We highly recommend it if you find yourself in downtown Seattle.

After our short jaunt over to Seattle we immediately thought of how it could be a challenge to eat as a vegan while gallivanting across the globe.  That being said, here are our tips on how to eat vegan on the go.

1. Research the city you are travelling to (Google: "vegan restaurants in____")

2. Hit up a local grocery or health food store for snacks to carry with you

3. Connect with other Vegans (Google: "vegan blog _____")

4. If you are in a non-English speaking country know the lingo for Vegan phrases (for example "Soy Vegano"-means I'm vegan in Spanish)

5. Make it easier for yourself; try to pick menu items that can easily be vegan by omitting an item rather than asking them to creating a whole new dish

6. Talk to the locals when possible ask your local barista, grocery clerk or hotel concierge etc. 

7. Pack ample supplies of vegan toiletries as these can be the hardest to get!

In addition to the above tips we always like to use resources online such as PETA.org, Happycow.net, and circleourearth.com

To take a look at what Wild Ginger has to offer click below:  
Wild Ginger Vegan Menu


Happy Vegan Travels,

Olive and Button