Few can resist the allure of pizza. It’s a comfort food (carbs) great for social gatherings (easy for sharing…if you must).

Living in NYC and Philly, I’m lucky enough to be able to simply hop a train to really good vegan pizza (Vinnie’s or Blackbird are my taste). (If you have a favorite joint serving the v stuff, shout out below! Sharing is caring.)

For all you DIYers, with your fresh made (or store bought), hand tossed dough…well good for you. Sometimes you just want a two step: open box and shove in hot oven.

For those in suburban areas, Domino’s is an option, but an incomplete one. You can doctor it up yourself…but that’s an extra step…that ends up making that $5 pizza cost you more anyway.

The makers of Tofurky understand. They offer three varieties of frozen pizza: cheese, pepperoni, and supreme style.

To each their own. For me, the Italian sausage and fire roasted veggie was, well, supreme.

Like Goldilocks and her bowls of porridge, my pans of pizza were too this or too that…too much vegan cheese or too much vegan faux meat. The Italian Sausage and Fire Roasted Veggies had the best mix.

In general, all three heat up with a crispy crust and a nice layer of sauce.

Today is the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. Stores offer sales in an effort to encourage consumers to buy earlier and buy more. There are small movements against the day of spending, encouraging a day free of purchases.

If you eventually decide, yeah, you do need to buy presents, here are some veg*n friendly ideas.

For all:

• Vegan Cuts Holiday Shopping Guide: make this your first stop. I saw this first on Vive Le Vegan. This guide has various sections, including coupons, gifts ideas for men, and recipes. Most of the coupon codes, including one for Vegan Essentials, are good through Christmas!
• Converse: An old-school favorite, the shoe company is offering 20% on select styles through 11/27/2011. While All-Stars tend to be a vegan shoe, the company is not vegan itself; so be mindful while selecting.

For ladies:

• Priti: This brand is my favorite vegan nail polish. It’s glossy and long-lasting…but it’s not the cheapest. So the company has some kits that give you a little extra.
• Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics: Offering three box set (2 for lips and 1 for eyes), this would be for the makeup lover in your life.

For office gifting and stocking stuffers:

Sephora: Isn’t exactly a mecca for veg*n friendly cosmetics and bath. There are several brands worth mentioning, though. Buy on their sites, or if you’re already at the mall, you can tie up some loose ends in one go.

• Last year, the powerhouse owners of Sephora, LVMH, scooped up a large stake in The Body Shop; nearly every product from TBS is vegan-friendly. The company still offers better deals in store or via their website, but if you’re already standing in a Sephora line, it’s at least a safe bet.
• Urban Decay slaps little paw prints on the display for all their vegan products. However, steer clear of their gift sets; they can’t seem to make one that’s all vegan.
• For men, Jack Black offers an array of shaving and skincare products that are vegan; if you decide to buy in store, first go to the site and search ‘vegan’ to get an idea of what’s available.
• Korres: For all bath and skincare products that are vegan or vegetarian, you’ll see it clearly printed on the packaging; they haven’t added this label to their color products yet, but they provide a list of vegan products. Now through 11/27/2011, the company is offering 20% off online purchases with code FF2011. My favorite holiday gift set is their Guava set for $32, which includes full size bottles of body wash and moisturizer…and their super hydrating lip butter.
• Pacifica: 100% vegan, these sets make for great small gifts or breaking them out and making up little goodie bags.

Happy “Stock-Up-Before-Thanksgiving-Or-Starve-Watching-People-Eat-Meat” Day. If you’re looking for ways to replace having a turkey on your serving platter, check out this article that gives a brief rundown of alternatives. This one by Fresh Tofu Inc is one I’d never seen before today…and I’ll probably never be brave enough to try it.

This year, I plan to make myself stuffing with a recipe by Sarah Kramer from her book Vegan A Go-Go as my guide…of sorts. If you have Kramer’s book, you know what’s being left out…including the instructions.

I’ll be the first to admit that my go making stuffing for fun last January might not look the prettiest, but it was quite tasty! I’m sure it will look quite right tomorrow, though, next to a slice of vegetarian roast and a sweet potato with Dandies Vegan Marshmallows baked on.

Ok, so basically the ingredients are my guide, rather than the full recipe. I grew up on Stove Top Stuffing, but none of the varieties are free of animal stock. So I used most of the ingredients listed by Kramer as well as how I remembered my mom making a box of Stove Top. I folded everything together in a large casserole dish and baked covered in the oven on 400 for about 25mins.

If you have, or do get, Kramer’s book, you’ll learn how to make her exact stuffing recipe as well as how to make a tofu roast and basting sauce.

One thing I may consider doing differently, which is instructed by both Kramer and SavvyVegetarian, is to saute the vegetables in oil before combining with the other ingredients to bake. We shall see.

All those goodies at the register are there to tempt you. To entice you to spend just those extra few dollars. However, at your usual grocery checkout, you may be buying more than some empty calories. Aside from milk and egg containing chocolate bars, some products you might not expect to contain gelatin and/or carmine and/or dairy. At Whole Foods and online stores, like Vegan Essentials and Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe that cater to vegans, you can find brands like B Fresh Chewing Gum and PUR or seek out Hint Mints. Shop wisely.

Interestingly, full size Altoids contain gelatin, whereas Mini Altoids do not…however, aside from that, their veg*n friendliness is unknown.

3 of these four Mentos gums contain either gelatin or carmine. It is still undetermined as to the veg*n friendliness of the fourth or original Mentos flavors.

These seem to be new addition to the line up, having migrated from the dental care aisle. Pocket sized Colgate Wisps are a great idea, but I was a little shocked to flip these around and see that they contain gelatin.

Trident Layers your fruity flavors with gelatin. I read in a forum, that Trident claims their White variety is vegan. Again, though, the jury’s still out on the veg*n friendliness of their orginal gum. However, in the FAQ section of their site, they do provide detailed information about an ingredient in their Xtra Care gum that is most definitely not vegan. Read more below.

Trident Xtra Care®

How does Trident Xtra Care® work?

When you eat, plaque bacteria eat too. As a result, the bacteria produce plaque acids. These plaque acids cause calcium and phosphate to migrate out of the enamel, eventually resulting in the formation of a white spot lesion (weakened enamel). Trident Xtra Care® contains Recaldent. Recaldent is a milk-derived ingredient containing portions of a milk protein (casein), calcium and phosphate. The milk protein binds to the plaque layer on the surface of your tooth. When it then comes in contact with plaque acids, it releases the calcium and phosphate in a soluble form that penetrates the enamel, rebuilding weakened enamel from the inside out.

What is Recaldent^®?

Recaldent^® is an ingredient derived from casein (pronounced kay-seen), part of the protein found in cow’s milk. Its technical name is casein phosphopeptides-amorphous calcium phosphate, or CPP-ACP.

I can’t eat dairy products, can I chew Trident Xtra Care®?

If you are allergic to milk proteins, then you should not chew Trident Xtra Care®. However, if you are lactose intolerant, which means you have difficulty digesting milk sugar (lactose), then Trident Xtra Care® is fully digestible and safe to consume.

Is Recaldent^® found in the ingredient list on the pack?

Yes, it is called calcium casein peptone-calcium phosphate (Lactose-free milk derivative).

Late night trips to Williamsburg are a fun, and sometimes very necessary, detour after a long day. Depending on the time, B.A.D. (Burgers and Breakfast All Day) at 131 Grand Street is a little veg*n-friendly oasis in a sea of, well, not so much for me.

Last Monday, B.A.D. opened it’s second location in Manhattan. Only a block over from Angels & Kings, the welcoming host of the monthly Vegan Drinks events, I got the chance to visit the new B.A.D. kid on the block this past Thursday night.

The menu has been revised to expand the vegan options and make them easier to find. So for those who’d been craving a vegan chick’n option, which they didn’t have previously, you can now get a vegan Dirty South. Also, where the mac and cheese either wasn’t previously noted as vegan or not even offered as such, you can now get it so…or maybe even order up the Brooklyn Bolognese vegan (mac & cheese topped with sloppy joe).

Recently, I picked up a cup of So Delicious Greek Style Coconut Milk-based Yogurt. My mother and sister love dairy-based brands of Greek yogurt, like Fage and Chobani; a few years back, even I hopped on the Greek bandwagon. So I was excited to see this vegan variety.

The novelty was the most enjoyable part of this product. It tastes good, but it fails to imitate it’s dairy-based shelfmate, which I will admit it has been a while since I’ve had. Eating, I remember thinking, ‘I really don’t think this is Greek style.’ After I finished, I even Googled images of Greek Yogurt and was instantly reminded.

Let me reiterate, it still tastes good. Dive into a cup with the right mindset, though. It’s a denser version of your run of the mill non-dairy alternative; so it gets the “style” right on that point, but it lacks the almost dry creaminess of dairy-based varieties.

It’s currently priced a greater percentage too steep for my pocket for a single serve cup because 1) it’s new and 2) it uses an ingredient “fancier” than your now blase soy. Even if priced the same, my hand will still likely be reaching for the cups of Blueberry or Lemon Whole Fruit Soy Co, though.

Attempting to veganize is always commendable. So try it for yourself.

Last night I attempted to do a shout out for the Green Holiday Festival…epic fail…at this month’s Vegan Drinks. I kind of got tripped up on the question, “What do they get for $20?” Honestly, I didn’t really know what to say. Once I saw the Green Holiday Festival, and that it was being organized by the ladies behind the 1st NYC Vegetarian Food Festival, I was like, ‘Where do I sign up to help?’ I had such an amazing time last April…even with the 3+ hour wait.

Essentially that’s what the $20 is for: to weed out the line so those who really want to be there get in. (Free admission for kids under 10yrs.) It’s basically going to be the same concept as NYCVFF, but with a focus on eco-conscious and environmentally positive lifestyle choices.

NYCVFF was pretty much food and animal and dietary organizations centered. Eating vegan is green, literally. It not only saves animals but cuts down on pollution. Animal derived materials are used for more than just food, though. The GHF will give attendees a chance to see past their plates, to animal-free alternatives to clothing and more, as well as sustainably made products.

And it’s perfect timing! Since you’ll be buying gifts for the upcoming holidays, why not browse the amazing companies at the festival and buy a good gift that’s good for the environment.

I misspoke last night and said that Vaute Couture would be at the festival. That was my wishful thinking. However, a dozen+ amazing businesses and organizations are already confirmed to participate in the event from 10am-5pm on Dec 11th.

The current participants include:

Angell Bar
Big Skinny Wallets
Black Sheep Heap
Catskill Animal Sanctuary
Common Ground Center
Compassion Couture
Dolphin Organics™
Earth Presents
Edward & Sons Trading Co
For The Animals Sanctuary
Gneiss Spice
Green Mountain Energy
Gristle Tattoo
Healthy School Food
Kombucha Brooklyn
KurSuperfoods
Little Green Tees
Mercy For Animals
Moso Natural
PALO
Raw Ice Cream Company
Regal Vegan Inc.
Rescue Chocolate
Runa
Sacha Vida
Science of Spirituality
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Sivatree
Sweet Cheeks Vegan Bakery
Sweet. by jana
T. Colin Campbell Foundation
The Roving House
The Tea of Life Health
Two Shes Productions
U.S. Veg Corp

CHECK BACK FOR MORE!

And don’t forget the EVENTS!

11:00-11:45    —-     Jared Koch
12:00-12:30   —-    Roberto Negrin
12:45-1:45      —-    Steve Meyerowitz
2:00-3:00      —-    Victoria Moran
3:15-4:00       —-    Chloe Jo Davis

Last Friday, I trekked over to Blossom Du Jour at ? Amsterdam Avenue, a mile walk from my work. I was enticed by Dairy-Free Fridays. Part of the Blossom series of restaurants around NYC, BDJ is always vegan, but on Fridays the shrewd fast-food eatery offers 10% off one item when you mention the promotion.

Specific day discounts are not uncommon at restaurants. However, it’s not just a “spoil yourself and TGIF” type discount. It associates vegan eating with reward. Honestly, 10% on one item is kind of a joke, but it got me in there on a day I wouldn’t typically have even bothered to leave the office.

Coming home on the train Monday night, I saw a young women with a Meatless Monday sticker on her purse. Again, this is aimed at decreasing meat consumption, if only on the surface. The advertised value for those who participate is improved health. Cutting back one day should help decrease their risks of certain types of ailments, like cancer…let’s just hope they don’t “make it up” later in the week. And that’s actually the core of their campaign: get the week off to a good start and it might stick.

Having a volunteer meeting at a cafe is not a bad idea at all…especially near Union Square. I loved finding out about somewhere new to me in an area I’ve been to many times; keeps it fresh. So after this week’s meeting for the Green Holiday Festival, now at 7pm on Mondays, I stared down the menu.

Veg Tuesdays is a bi-weekly event by the NYC Goes Vegan Meetup Group organized by Daphne Cheng. November 1, 2011 was the 2nd Veg Tuesdays Singles Night. Though off the market, Cheng had always wanted a veg singles event, and so created it herself. Check out more about Veg Tuesdays on Facebook.