Vegetarian Zen: Nutrition, Recipes, Cooking Tips, Natural Remedies & More For Vegetarians, Vegans, & The Veg-curious.

Vegetarian Zen LOVES to celebrate awesome plant-based businesses because we think they are a big part of what helps make life easier for vegetarians and vegans while also helping to show those who aren’t vegetarian or vegan that life is without meat is possible and, in fact, can be quite delicious!  In this episode of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we welcome Jason Rosenbaum, Co-Founder of Actual Veggies, delicious chef-crafted fresh and refrigerated burgers that celebrate vegetables because they are ALL vegetables!

In this episode of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we celebrate 400 episodes! Larissa and I discuss what we've learned, some of our favorite episodes, and what the future holds for Vegetarian Zen. 

The holiday season is my absolute FAVORITE time of year! For me, it's always meant Christmas Eve with family, friends, and a great Christmas meal. Contrary to many stereotypes, being a vegan or vegetarian doesn't mean missing out on a great dinner! Here are 14 vegan and vegetarian Christmas dinner ideas that will satisfy vegetarians, vegans, and even your omnivore family members.

Recently, a Costco opened up just down the street from our house and we were SUPER excited! In this episode of the podcast, we share 20 awesome vegan Costco finds that make the price of membership TOTALLY worth it!  Check out links to the products we discuss in the show notes.

In this episode of The Vegetarian Zen podcast, we share 5 tips for making AMAZING vegan tamales along with 5 recipes.  You can find all the links to the recipes here. 

'Tis the season for gift-giving! We've curated 12 great gifts for vegans, vegetarians, and well, just about anyone who enjoys a great gift! 

In this episode of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we welcome Heather Beck of K9 Lifeline, a company that specializes in training, education, and care of dogs.  Larissa and I first learned about K9 Lifeline when we were watching one of our favorite shows, “The Profit” on MSNBC with Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis.  Heather and K9 Lifeline were the focus of one of the episodes and we were very moved by her mission to provide training and education to dogs and dog owners in order to help prevent surrenders, or even worse, DUMPED dogs!  You can check out the show notes here which include a special coupon code from Heather just for our listeners! 

In today’s episode of The Vegetarian Zen podcast, we welcome J. Douglas Hines, founder of Atlantic Natural Foods, a company that produces convenient plant-based products.  Prior to founding Atlantic Natural Foods, Mr. Hines was a leader in the global seafood industry for more than 40 years. The abuse of our oceans by commercial fishermen is what inspired him to leave the fishing industry. For more about Doug, check out the show notes!

In this episode of The Vegetarian Zen podcast, we discuss 10 of the best vegetarian cookbooks for beginners.   

In this episode of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we welcome Joanne Roach of  The Foodies (thefoodies.org) which is a site that helps children understand where food comes from. It’s all about trying new things to make the link between the seasons and their plates. Check out the show notes here.

In episode 390 of the podcast, we talked about some simple swaps you can make in cake mix to make it a vegan cake mix.  Inspired by that discussion, we’re going to expand our discussion of “swaps” in the oil space. In this episode of The Vegetarian Zen podcast, we’re going to give you some tips for cooking without oil. Yes, it is possible!

Who doesn’t love a good cake? If you’re a vegetarian who still consumes some eggs and dairy, baking cakes at home won’t change much for you.  However, if you’re vegan or just trying to consume fewer eggs and dairy, cake-baking can be a bit more challenging, especially at the beginning of your plant-based journey.  In this episode of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we’re going to talk about how you can easily veganize cakes you make at home including how you can take a box of cake mix and easily make it vegan. Be sure to visit the show notes for quick links to everything we discuss. 

In this episode of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we’re going to talk about 8 of the best vegan yogurt brands of 2021 as named by our amazing closed Facebook Group, The Peas and Carrots Society. With so much change happening in the plant-based space we like to keep you, our listeners, up to date on the latest and greatest so that’s what we’re going to do here today. For complete show notes and links to all the things we mention, head out to vegetarianzen.com/389. 

In this episode of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we welcome Tyler Mayoras, CEO, and co-founder of Cool Beans, which strives to bring whole-food goodness to the frozen foods section of your grocery store by creating minimally-processed food that is good for your body, soul, and for the planet.  We will talk to Tyler about his own plant-based journey, about his inspiration for creating Cool Beans, and about what he sees in the future for the plant-based industry.

In this episode of The Vegetarian Zen podcast, we welcome Jenny TB of Grow Hot Peppers.  Jenny loves to garden and taught herself how to grow all kinds of pepper varieties and today, she’s going to talk about how you can get started growing your own peppers no matter what space limitations you may have.

We discuss some of the top stories in plant-based news. 

In this episode of the vegetarian zen podcast, we’re going to discuss my recent completion of Rouxbe’s Culinary Rx Online Cooking course.  You may recall that in 2018, I took their Forks Over Knives cooking course so I decided to give another course a try.  I’ll tell you what I learned and give you a rundown of what this course entails should you choose to look into it for yourself or for that aspiring plant-based chef in your life since you can also gift this course. 

Vegan coffee lovers rejoice! With the rise of vegan plant-based milk over the past several years, there are PLENTY of vegan coffee creamers to choose from that can take that morning cuppa Joe from drab to fab! Even if you aren't a vegan but are simply looking to reduce dairy, these non-dairy options won't disappoint. In this episode of our podcast, break down the most popular vegan coffee creamers and tell you a little about each so that you can decide for yourself if they're right for you!

In this episode of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we welcome Skye Michael Conroy aka The Gentle Chef. Skye is a vegan chef and author of several vegan cookbooks including his latest, “Crafting Seitan: Creating Homemade Plant-based Meats.”  Skye talks to us about his journey to becoming vegan and shares how he became a vegan chef. We’ll also talk about his book, Crafting Seitan, which can help you break away from commercial mock meat products and learn to make your own delicious versions, complete with all the trimmings!

In this episode of The Vegetarian Zen podcast, we welcome Jenny Goldfarb, the founder of Unreal deli the finest plant-based deli meats inspired by over 100 years of New York deli history.  We talk to Jenny about what inspired her to create Unreal Deli, what it’s like running her plant-based business and also, about her experience on Shark Tank where she landed a deal with Mark Cuban.