I missed this “top 10″ list of famous vegans LA Weekly put together a while back. The list includes everyone from Lisa Simpson to Bill Clinton and Steve-O (quite the variety!). Click here to see the entire lineup.

Just like everyone else, I’m guilty of paying way more attention to the lives of celebrities than I should. Whether we like to admit it or not, they have significant influence on our lives and culture as a whole. Even though it’s fun and interesting to read about who’s who among vegan celebs, I’m careful to take it with a grain of salt not only because the lifestyles (and eating habits) of the rich and famous tend to evolve with the latest trends but also because, as LA Weekly has done with the inclusion of Bill Clinton here, “vegan” tends to be used pretty loosely by the media.

Technically, my favorite ex-President isn’t vegan – and not just because he still eats fish here and there. President Clinton’s avoidance of animal products only applies to his diet. And as ya’ll know, being vegan is about more than food.

All that said though, there’s no harm in reading up about celebs with vegan habits. Just be careful not to toot the vegan horn too loud the next time a new movie star declares themselves a convert. You don’t want to look like a dope when she’s caught downing a milkshake by TMZ a few weeks later.

On the heels of the “Shit Girls Say” videos, all kinds of similarly themed content has since shown up online. Vegan, 100% soy candle entrepreneur, Ari Solomon, recently jumped on the bandwagon with a few videos of his own, appropriately titled: “Shit Vegans Say” and they are two kindsa funny!

I think my favorite thing is that he’s wearing various PETA t-shirts throughout the videos but there are some seriously hilarious lines in there too, several of which have passed through my lips over the last year or two. I refuse to identify those I have and haven’t said, but I will say that if I see you doing something super-animal unfriendly in public (like wearing fur, for example), it is highly likely that I’ve called you an unpleasant name…

Enjoy!

Veronica!

Congrats on winning a new copy of Kathy Freston’s New York Times best-seller, Veganist. Please send me an email at Kelsey@usuallyvegan.com with your shipping information.

Thanks to everyone who participated and Happy New Year!!!

And no, I’m not going to get into a big discussion about the evils of hunting and what not. I think it’s pretty clear where I stand on the issue and I swear to Pete if I hear one more deer hunter try and argue that “it’s necessary,” I’m going to totally lose my sh%t.

So in avoidance of that, let’s just leave it to the fabulous Marisa Tomei – whose monologue here I have been known to drunkenly re-enact on several occasions (ok, I admit, I’ve been known to do it stone sober too).

Cereal is easily my favorite food. I can actually point directly to this particular food as a reason I resisted veganism for so long. I hadn’t yet discovered the wonders of almond milk and I thought there would never be a milk substitute that could support my habit.

Anyway, here I am, happily eating cereal on a near daily basis when it occurs to me last week that the front of the box of Trader Joe’s Multigrain O’s I’ve been hitting pretty hard lately says it is a good source of B12 and there is no “V” anywhere on the box. Although, I know that not all of the vegan products at TJ’s are marked as such, I’ve read the ingredients list and I figure that a staple food like this should probably be marked. Also knowing that most sources of B12 are not vegan, I decide to go check out the actual list of vegan products Trader Joe’s keeps on their site (and updates frequently) just to be sure.

Multigrain O’s? Not on the list.

Boy, am I a dummy. I don’t know how it’s possible that I never considered how fortified foods could pose a problem, especially since I am fully aware that a lot of vitamins and minerals are sourced from animals in one way or another (see my post on vegan vitamins for proof of my idiocy). For whatever reason though, I’ve been walking around with a total blind spot on this.

I believe my only real problem is cereals, but other foods that are commonly fortified include cooking oils, tea, juice and other beverages and bread. It’s also common for all kinds of processed foods to have been fortified.

So, the lesson is: it’s not always enough just to read ingredients lists. If a food has been fortified (and if it has, it will almost always be bragging about it somewhere on the front of the package), and it isn’t a purposely vegan product or brand (something that is also usually touted somewhere on the package), then consider it non-vegan.

Just wanted to let everyone know that it’s going to be a little quiet around these parts for the next week or so. We’re going on a much-need vacation! Woot!

I’ll have tons of new recipes and probably a few funny stories to post when I get back. In the meantime, feel free to peruse the archives.

Have a great week!

Last week was my birthday and among the many lovely birthday greetings I received from friends and family was an email from my cousin Brandon (a very successful lawyer with odd taste in music), wishing me “a meat, gluten and MSG free, organic and veganly awesome birthday!” Below that enthusiastic message was a link to this video.

How fabulous (and semi-frightening) is this? Seriously. I love it!

These videos are the brainchild of a guy named Brian from Orlando, Florida whose main passions in life are making/recording hard metal music and vegan cooking. His blog at veganblackmetalchef.com is the intersection of those two (markedly different) interests and it’s fantastic.

He says the purpose of Vegan Black Metal Chef is twofold:

1) Help answer the question “what do vegans eat”/show vegan cooking in the most informative and fun way possible while making some great music to go along with it.

2) Help people bring consciousness to their lives and actions.

Though not one of his stated goals, something else Brian’s writing and videos help to do is show how diverse the vegan movement really is. To so many people, “veganism” evokes the image of rail-thin women who split their time evenly between yoga and PETA protests, but what Brian proves without a doubt is that there really is no “type.” Compassion comes in all shapes, sizes and musical tastes.

Currently, Brian is featuring two videos on his site/YouTube channel but he promises there are more to come. I’ll definitely be tuning in! I mean, where else am I going to learn that boiled potatoes are done when they’re easily pierced with a mystical knife?

CNN ran an article yesterday about a new documentary that examines the health benefits of the vegan diet. “Forks Over Knives” chronicles the research of two doctors that have been testing the theory that a vegan diet can prevent, and maybe even reverse, common diseases and health problems better than traditional medicine.

My interest is definitely peaked and I’m certain I’ll see the film eventually, but what really jumped out at me in the article was the distinction made between the terms “vegan” and “plant-based.” The article notes that you only hear the word “vegan” mentioned in the film once or twice – and never from the doctors. According to one of them, that’s intentional.

“If you start to use the v-word, people get nervous. Somehow, there’s a feeling from years ago that vegans are strange. There are so many negative connotations,” said Esselstyn…”

Initially, that stings a little. However, the more I thought about this yesterday, the more I understood (and the less offended I was).

First, they’re right. For a variety of reasons, the term “vegan” has gotten a bad rap. For a lot of people it evokes images of screaming protesters and judgmental hippies (or something similar). The vegan movement has itself to blame for some of that, but mostly this misperception is just a reflection of the general public’s unfamiliarity with what it really means to be vegan.

Second, calling a diet that eschews all animal products “plant-based” instead of “vegan” isn’t necessarily just savvy PR. Technically, they do mean something different. What these labels actually do is separate the vegan diet from the vegan lifestyle (as I’ve explained a little on this site, being vegan is about more than just food). More specifically, they separate people whose primary focus is animal-welfare and those for whom it’s really just about health.

For some people, making the switch to a plant-based diet for health reasons does eventually lead to full-on veganism. For some, it never goes beyond food. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. Whether you follow a “plant-based” diet or proudly call yourself a vegan (as I do!), fewer animals are suffering because of it. At the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.

As much as I hate to write up one of those unoriginal introductory posts, here is my unoriginal introductory post:

I’m in my late twenties, live and work in St. Louis and have been a fairly serious vegan for about a year and a half. This came on the heels of several years of vegetarianism and I’ve generally found it to be a really great way of life. I like to talk about vegan cooking, earnest attempts at vegan cooking, the vegan lifestyle and anything else that might be relative – and I figured it was about time to give my husband a break. (Just kidding! He’s very supportive!)

Anyway, I’m hoping this can be a place to share some of what I’ve learned and why I bother with friends, family and anyone else who might be interested (or bewildered, as is sometimes the case). I invite you to poke around a bit to find out more about my point of view and some of the basic principles of veganism. I look forward to trading stories, recipes, ideas, opinions and maybe even a few tips and tricks of the trade with you!