Butternut Squash Soup

1 onion chopped
1 tbsp Oil for sauteing the onion
1 Butternut squash - Pealed, seeded, chopped
1 large carrot - chopped
3 cups of water
1 cube vegan broth or powder (check the directions for quantity or to taste)
1 tbsp of dry parsley flakes or use fresh parsley
vegan Sour Cream (Optional)

Saute the chopped onion.
Add squash and carrot and water.
Cook to soft.
Add the broth.
Puree with the hand held wand or in food processor.
Add the parsley.

Serve with a tsp of vegan Sour Cream in the middle of the plate.

Broccoli-slaw

3 stems of broccoli (no flowers just the left over stems)
1 large carrot
1 apple
1/2 cup raisins
2-3 full spoons of vegenaise (vegan mayo)

Soak the raisins to rehydrate them a bit.
Grate the broccoli, carrot, and apple. Add the soaked raisins to the vegetables and mix and toss with mayo.
Chill in a fridge for little bit and serve.

You can add hand full of chopped walnuts too.

Summer Millet Salad

2 cups cooked Millet

Dressing:
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Maple syrup
1 lemon
Pinch of salt or to taste

1 box of Raisins
1/2 cup pan roasted pine nuts
2 stalks Celery finely chopped
1/2 Bell pepper finely chopped
1/2 Red Onion finely diced
1 large tomato chopped in small pieces
1/2 bunch of Cilantro chopped

Mix it all together and enjoy.

Tips:
You can use different kind of small grains than just millet like quinoa or couscous.

Any kind of favorite nuts like chopped walnuts or pecans or even almonds.

Bo Appetite!

Barley Eggplant Salad

2 cups uncooked barley

1 red onion
oil to saute
1 Eggplant
1/4 cup white wine or water

Dressing
2 tbsp Tahini
1 lemon
pinch of salt
1 bunch of Fresh Parsley finely chopped

Cook the Barley. You can pre-soak it for several hours to overnight before you cook it. The unhulled barley stays a bit tougher.

Wash and slice the eggplant in 1/2 inch circles. Place in colander and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for a while. You can make the dressing and cut the onion. Then cut in cubes.

Mix the hummus and lemon juice in a slat bowl and add salt to taste (optional)

Dice 1/2 of the onion and saute with oil for about 4-5 min. Add the cubed eggplant and saute till soft, but not mushy. Keep adding the wine as it soaks in while cooking.

Chop the parsley and finely dice the second half of the onion. Add to the bowl with the dressing.
Drain the cooked barley and mix into the dressing mixture while warm.
Add the sauteed eggplant and toss thoroughly.

You can eat it warm, but it's great the next day when all the flavors mix.

Bon Appetite

Tomatos & Garbanzo Pasta Sauce

1 onion chopped
2 tbsp Oil for sauteing the onion
1 can Garbanzo Beans - undrained
1 can Crushed Tomatoes
1 tbsp Molasses
Splash of Red Wine - Optional
Garlic & Onion Powder
Herbs to taste - You can use fresh Basil, Oregano or Dry Italian Mix
1 tsp Salt or to taste

Sautee the onion with oil for about 3 min till nicely light brown.
Add garbanzo beans with liquid and smash with potato masher.
Add crushed tomatoes. Bring to bubble and then continue to cook on low for about 10 min while you wit for pasta to cook.
Add all the rest of the ingrediences: Wine, Molasses, and the spices and herbs.

Ready to serve.

Dallas Morning News Article on Vegetarianism

Choosing a vegetarian diet changed their health

Here's how local people made the switch

01:34 PM CDT on Tuesday, June 19, 2007

By LISA MARTIN / Special contributor to the Dallas Morning News
Photo by: Rex C. Curry

Though no physician ever suggested that Barbara Bush of Carrollton become a vegetarian, the assistant professor at the University of North Texas realized that she inherited a legacy of diet-related diseases that included diabetes and heart problems.

A dozen years ago, she began as a vegetarian, then transitioned to a vegan, someone who eats no animal products whatsoever, including dairy and eggs.

"Doctors seem to enjoy telling me I'm in good health," she says. "And I feel like I'm in good health."

She's part of a growing trend of people abstaining from or limiting the amount of meat and other animal-based products in their diet. As of last year, there were an estimated 4.8 million vegetarians in the United States, one-third to one-half of them vegan, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group, a nonprofit educational organization. That number has nearly doubled since 1997.

So why have those people decided to go vegetarian? The reasons vary nearly as much as the people themselves, although definite themes motivate the choice, namely health and ethical and environmental reasons.

As a teenager in the Czech Republic, Barbara Dillard feared that a nasty bout of hepatitis would end her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. Traditional medicine may have saved her life at age 17, but she despaired that the constant fatigue and accompanying weakness might end her aspirations. Out of desperation and after much research, she decided to try vegetarianism.

"My doctors were amazed at my recovery," says Mrs. Dillard, a Dallasite since the late 1990s. "But it wasn't easy to be a vegetarian. I even had to learn to make my own soy milk." That's because such products were not readily available at the time in the Eastern European country.

She went on to spend four years as a member of the National Theatre ballet company in the Czech Republic before moving stateside, where she is a stay-at-home mom.

Dr. Manisha Chandalia, an endocrinologist and metabolism specialist at UT Southwestern Medical Center, also brought a tradition of vegetarianism with her to Dallas.

"I don't have strong religious reasons for being a vegetarian, but growing up in India, nobody in my family was very keen on meat," she explains. "Here, it's more difficult for me to be a vegetarian. It's easy to become sloppy and end up with a carb intake that's too high."

Dr. Chandalia describes herself as an ovo-lacto vegetarian: someone who eats no meat, poultry or fish but whose diet includes dairy products and eggs.

Mrs. Dillard, on the other hand, is a vegan: She will not consume animal products, which means checking food labels for ingredients such as lard and gelatin.

Behind the decision

The reasons people turn to vegetarianism tend to fall into three broad categories: health, the environment, and animal rights or ethical considerations. Religious reasons also may lead a person to abstain from eating certain types of meat, such as pork or beef.

Reactions from the uninitiated to a vegetarian's dietary choice can range to fascination or abject horror.

"My family still doesn't understand how or why I'm a vegetarian," says Barbara Bush, president of the Black Vegetarian Society of Texas. "But when my father passed away, one of my aunts who's a big meat eater went out of her way to research and prepare a vegan meal. I was so touched by this gesture of support."

Ms. Bush says her co-workers often are fascinated by her choice.

"Whenever we're together at a banquet, I get a special meal, and people are always enthralled," she says with a laugh. "I try to be discreet, and I'm not a missionary out to convert people, but they always ask questions."

The inquiries often center on protein: Is she eating enough? How can she and other vegetarians survive, let alone thrive?

"If you have a crummy diet and give up meat, it's likely that you'll still have a crummy diet," says Jo Ann Carson, a professor of clinical nutrition at UT Southwestern and a registered dietitian who earned a doctorate in nutrition.

"But most serious vegetarians and vegans go out of their way to have a healthy diet and not to eat doughnuts all day long."

Earth, animal concerns

Although health concerns initially motivated Terry Jensen of Euless to go vegan in the mid-1990s, she quickly embraced the environmental benefits of the practice.

"Food is one of the biggest users of energy and one of the greatest contributors to global warming," she says. "Not only are the greenhouse gases emitted from the animals' waste causing problems with the environment, but you also have issues of transportation of the food and the energy that consumes."

Adds Margaret Morin, co-president of the Vegetarian Network of Dallas and a former registered nurse: "The number one thing you can do to support the environment is to go vegan." For this longtime Dallasite, however, another issue motivated her decision 15 years ago to become a vegetarian: empathy for animals.

"Farmed animals are objectified as cogs in the wheel of production and forced to eke out a miserable and lonely existence until they die, usually in terror, just so humans can eat their flesh," she says. "This is incontrovertibly wrong."

Missing ice cream

For her friend, Rusty Posch of Irving, a dispatcher for Southwest Airlines and a vegan who gave up animal products almost nine years ago, the only thing he truly misses about his former lifestyle is ice cream.

"Tofutti is OK, but the rice-based ice creams don't taste as good to me," admits this longtime volunteer with the Irving Animal Shelter.

Like many vegetarians and vegans, he went cold turkey on meat. Others, including Ms. Bush, preferred to taper off, first giving up beef and pork, then chicken, then fish and finally all animal products. The choice is purely individual, one born of myriad factors ranging from convenience to cravings.

"The one advice I've given people who are tempted by fast food at work is to bring meals from home," he says. "Someone who brings in fried chicken or something, well the smell might get to you, especially in the beginning."

Lisa Martin is an Arlington freelance writer. The New York Times also contributed to this article.

Black Bean & Miso Soup

1 onion diced
4 cloves garlic diced
oil for sauteing the onion and garlic
4 cups cooked black beans (or 2 cans of black beans will do too)
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
2 tbsp Shiro Miso paste
2 cups of hot water ( You can use more or less dependent on how thick you like it)
little bunch of green herbs like oregano or marjoram

topping
vegan sour cream
croutons

Saute the onion add garlic. Add the beans and water.
Mash with potato masher.
Add and disolve the peanut butter. Let it come to bubble, turn the heat down. Keep stirring.
At the end add the miso and herbs.

I like it slightly mashed, but my daughter prefered it when I blend it for her. I use the handheld wand.

Plce on the plates. Put a 1 tbsp of the vegan sour cream in the middle of it and you can sprinkle the croutons around the edge.

Easy Oats & Coconut Muffins

1 cup Whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

2 over ripen bananas mashed with fork
1/2 can of coconut milk ( you can sub it with any non dairy milk, I think)
4 tbsp oil
2 tbsp Apple Cider vinegar (optional)

You can add raisins or any fruits or nuts you like too.

Mix the dry ingredients in a one bowl.
Mash the bananas with fork in another bowls and add rest of the ingredients.
Mix the banana mixture into the first bowl.

Preheat the oven at 350F.
Slightly grease the muffin pan and add the batter.
Bake till it's nice golden brown. You can test it with a tooth pick. When it comes out clean and dry it's done.

You can also put all the batter into a loaf pan and bake it as a Bread banana style. :-)
Enjoy.

Danielle's Breakfast

From left to right
Raisins
Oatmeal cooked in Fortified Soy Milk topped with Flax Seed Oil and Maple Syrup
Apple Sauce with 1/2 tsp Nutritional Yeast
Orange Juice 1/2 n 1/2 with water
Pinguin Sippy contains Vanilla Soy Milk

Pasta Salad

1 bag Pasta (Spirals, Bow Ties, Penne --- any of your choice) cook in water with 1 tsp salt

1/2 jar Sun dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil
1 jar Artichokes Hearts
1/2 jar Capers (Optional)
1/2 can Black Medium Olives
2-3 cloves of Garlic
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 pck Cherri Tomatoes
1 pck Fresh Basil
1 cup Fresh Parsley

salt and pepper - optional

Cook the pasta according to directions on the package. Do not rinse and set aside.

Combine Sun dried tomatoes including the oil, artichokes including 3tbsp of  liquid. Add drained and chopped black olives. Drain the Capers, crush the garlic, add vinegar in a large bowl. Toss gently.
I like to cut the tomatoes and artichokes in a smaller pieces.

Add the hot drained pasta and mix gently. It'll cool down while you mix it.

Add the remaining ingredients: halved or quartered Cherri tomatoes, chopped Basil and Parsley, and mix.

Enjoy

Devil's Food Cake

This is a recipe from VegNews February 2007 Issue. I could not resist to try it and it turned out great! AND it's very simple.
When I make a dish baked in the oven I usually make a desert as well since I have the oven fired up. Good excuse to have cakes huh? ;o)

It makes 8 inch round cakes
I made it in a 9 1/2 inch spring pan. It doesn't look so fancy, but it's tasty as well.

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 dark brown sugar
1 cup filtered water
1/4 olive oil, plus additional for pans
2 tbsp red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 fresh beets, peeled and finely grated (I did not have fresh beets so I used small can of beets including the water and it worked as well)
Fluffy Frosting - recipe bellow

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Oil the pan(s)
You can dust the pan with the cocoa powder.

Mix all the dry ingredients.
Mix all the rest wet ingredients add the can of beets. Now you can either mix it all up in a food processor or I like to use my hand wand mixer and a tall bowl so you don't get the red beet color all over your kitchen walls.
Add it to the dry mixture.
Either divide the batter to the 2 pans or spoon just in the larger pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean dry.

Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes and remove from baking pan(s). Place on a dish and let cool completely before frosting.


Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 vegan butter
1/4 cup soy or rice milk (I used the vanilla soy)
1 tsp vanilla

Whisk or beat together by hand or electrical mixer. Use immediately or cool in a fridge.
If you use 2 pans. Top the first pan with frosting and place the second on top and top it with the rest of the frosting. Otherwise top it on the cake and enjoy.

Shepherd's Pie

Potato Topping:
4 Medium Potatoes, cubed
1 Sweet Potato, cubed
2 tbsp Vegan Butter
1/4 cup Plain Soy or Rice Milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Veggie and Gravy Filling:
1 pck 16 oz (453g) Frozen Vegetable Mix of your choice
1 pck of 4 Vegan Burgers 10 oz (283g)

Vegan Mushroom Gravy
Either in a can or home made:
1 Onion, diced
Olive Oil for sauteing
6 Mushrooms, diced
2 cups Water
2 tbsp Whole Wheat Flour
3 tbsp Miso Paste
1 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
Splash of cooking Sherry (optional)

- - -

Boil potatoes and drain. Mix in the vegan butter and soy milk and mash them together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While the potatoes are cooking prepare the gravy.
Saute the onion with olive oil for 2 minutes and add the mushrooms. Add the 1 1/2 water and bring to simmer. Mix the 2 tbs flour in remaining 1/2 cup of water and add to a pot. Simmer for about 3 minutes and turn off. Mix in the miso, aminos, nutritional yeast and sherry.

Mix the frozen veggies and vegan burgers shredded with fork. Add the gravy.

Spoon it in a 10 x 10 inch baking dish slightly oiled. Spread the mashed potatoes on top and bake in the oven 350 F for 20 - 25 minutes.

Easy Fun lunch:
from Top left to right
Blueberries
Cherri Tomatoes
Macaroni & Soy Cheese
Edamame

Baby Breakfast ideas

Here is a Breakfast I made for my baby Danielle today. Sometimes I run out of the ideas and so I started to document what I did for next time.
I found this fun monkey dish in a Target and could not leave it there since Danielle LOVES Monkeys - Curious George - of course.
In the bowl on the left is a Soy Yogurt.
On the right are Blueberries. One of her favorite fruits besides Apples.
Little breakfast Pizza made of halved English muffin spread with vegan butter, circle of tomato and vegan cheese and broiled in the oven. (I must to get the small grill oven soon :-) )

Tofu Scramble

1/2 pck Firm Tofu drained and crumbled (with fork)
1 Onion chopped
6 Button Mushrooms (baby portabellas or just regular white mushrooms) chopped small
2 Tomatoes chopped
1 tbsp Turmeric
1/4 c Nutritional Yeast
1 tbsp Braag Liquid Aminos (You can sub it with soy sauce or simply salt and pepper to taste)
Olive oil for sauteing

Saute the onions on olive oil till it start to get translucent (about 3 minutes).
Add chopped mushrooms and saute another 3 minutes.
Add the crumbled firm tofu. Don't mix yet.
Add turmeric, nutritional yeast and the aminos and mix. Let to heat through for about another 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes and turn them in. Try not to smash them.

It's Ready to serve. It feeds me and my husband and a baby - plenty.

Tips:
1) Upgrades

You can add 1/2 can drained Black Beans
1/3 c chopped Cilantro
chopped Jalapeno
broken Tortilla chips
Some taco seasoning or just some chili
and it makes great Southwestern Tofu scramble

2) Cooking ware
I love to use the heavy iron cast skillets for cooking. Cooking acidic foods like onion and tomatoes helps release iron into a food which.

Bean & Tofu Enchiladas

20 Small Corn tortillas
8 oz Vegan Cheese grated

Sauce
1 cup TVP granules
1 1/4 cup of boiling water
1 can (14.5 oz) Diced Tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup Red Wine
1 tbsp Onion Powder
2 tbsp Taco Seasoning (or to taste)
2 tbsp Molasses
2 tbsp Olive Oil (optional)

Pour the boiling water over the TVP. Let stand as long as you open all the cans and add all the rest of the ingredients. Bring to boil and cook on low for about 5 minutes. Mixing occasionally.

Filling
1 can Beans drained (Any of your choice, I like the light color like butter beans or just plain pinto)
1/2 pck Extra Firm Tofu (out of 14 oz refrigerated package)
1/3 cup Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or to taste)
1/2 cup chopped Cilantro

Smash the drained beans and tofu with fork.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Heat the tortillas prior to rolling the filling in on a pan. It will soften them up and prevent breaking. Place into a 10 x 10 baking dish next to each other.

Pour the sauce over the top.
Sprinkle the grated vegan cheese.
bake in preheated oven 350F for 20 minutes.

Apple Banana Baked Puding

2-3 apples - Grated
1 Banana
1/2 pck of Silken Firm Tofu
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 cups Cooked Brown Rice & Millet
1/2 pck Vanilla Maizena Pudding (1.6oz pack)
2 cups (0.5 L) Soy or Rice Milk (Unsweetened or Vanilla)

Fork smash banana with tofu, add sugar, and grated apples.
Turn in the cooked Rice and Millet.
Mix the pudding powder into the Soy Milk for easy dissolving and add to the mixture.

Pour into 10" x 10" or 9" round greased baking dish.
Bake in the oven 350 F for 30 minutes.

Enjoy.
My baby girl gobbled up 2 bowls of this. It's a great dish for kids, but I love it too. :-)

Lentil and Walnut Loaf

Lentil and Walnut Loaf

2 cups dry lentils (presoak for 1-2 hour if time allows)

1 cup walnuts (grinded up)

1 cup lima beans (frozen are fine)

1 large carrot - chopped

2-3 celery sticks - chopped

1 large onion - chopped

½ box mushrooms - chopped

Oil or vegan butter

2 tsp curry powder

2 tbsp ketchup or tomato sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp salt

4 tbsp parsley or cilantro - chopped

Grind the nuts (to chunky not mushy) in a food processor and set in a big bowl.

Soak and then cook the lentils till tender but not mushy.

Heat up the oil or butter and sauté the onion. Add lima beans and chopped vegetables (carrots, celery, and mushrooms) and sauté for about 3-5 minutes.

Pass the sautéed veggie mixture through the food processor, leave it chunky. Place to the bowl with nuts.

Mix in lentils and remaining ingrediences.

Grease a loaf pan or line with a cooking paper and press the mixture in it.

Preheat oven to 375 F/190 C/ Gas 5.

Bake for about 50 minutes to hour.

You can try with a tooth pick if not sticky, it’s done.

Introduction

I want to create a cookbook so it makes it easy on vegan families with kid(s). I am stay-at-home-mom and it’s a full time 24/7 job. From my experience I found out how hard it is to take an attention from my child to just make a coffee, not to mention the whole meal. I decided to start having a cooking day on the weekend when my husband is at home so he can play with our daughter while I cook.

As I got to know more and more vegetarian moms, mostly thanks to my on line support group Urban Veggie which we transferred under Vegnod.com, I found out that we have pretty much same issue. What to cook preferably in a short time so we get a variety of foods, so it’s not boring to our families, and just plain: I am running out of ideas.

I searched in my head and my recipe notes for meals that can be modified to be vegan and cooked ahead of the time and store in a fridge or a freezer for later and still be nutritious and most importantly tasty.

Another reason of my efforts was a reaction to people commentaries such as: Vegetarian (vegan if they knew what that is)? And what do you eat? – Or - I always wanted to be a vegetarian, but I just do not know what to cook and more, how to plan my meals to stay healthy. (Getting enough all that protein and stuff) – or – I do not want to mess up my kids health. In times of tv –frozen-dinners or ready-to-eat food where there is almost no involvement in cooking and creative thinking of preparing a meal it can be hard and even intimidating to try to break from the habitual meat-and-potato diet. This kind of eating habits is by far not an ideal choice, but because it’s a still majority way of eating, it is somehow comforting that we have all we need. All propaganda about the need for animal protein is rooted too deeply into our mind. Even long time vegans might still have doubts and look up some info from time to time. The great think is that now there are so many resources like books and reputable websites and primarily organizations where we can go to get the newest info and our questions answered. Hopefully this blog will be one of the helpful resourses.

Who and what is Urban Veggie?

I believe that the majority of people want to live a healthy and long life one way or another. Vegetarianism definitely gives one of the greatest options to do so. My friend once told me that, as a vegetarian, I have to restrict my self from 99% of food that other normal people eat. When it comes to eating junk, fast and processed foods, she is right. But in general, I believe it’s the other way around. People do not eat the 99% of foods naturally available to us. It’s very convenient and uncreative to throw steak and potatoes on a plate. Yes, being vegetarian does require a little bit more effort and thinking when preparing meals, but in the end that’s what’s fun about it. Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy, and nowadays there is so much information, so many cookbooks and a great variety of foods widely available, so there is no excuse.

Being vegetarian does not mean living only off of vegetables or being an odd hippie (many people still think of this cliché when vegetarianism is mentioned). Vegetarians explore every plant resource of our planet to create a perfectly sufficient, healthy and balanced diet without harming other animals. And yes, vegetarians are concerned about how the produce is grown, processed and modified and how it will impact our environment.

The process of becoming vegetarian can be an instant decision or a slow transition and learning. It’s all an individual decision based on one’s situation, beliefs and resources. Some of us decide to become vegetarians for health reasons, some for spiritual or religious, some for environmental concerns and the well being of animals, or all of the above. Wherever you are in the process of becoming vegetarian, for any of these reasons, you are making a step toward becoming a better person. There is no right or wrong way to achieve such a goal. Just a positive attitude toward vegetarianism is a great step.

In modern society, we are living in growing communities such as cities, which are invading the wild habitats of the other living beings who are sharing this planet with us. Living in a community is perfectly natural for humans, and for that matter, for many animals, too. And not everyone can or wants to go live in a prairie in a teepee by himself without electricity. Humanity is moving forward and the industrial revolution has its place in our history. The human-created society does have its reason and place in this world. But all that doesn’t mean that we should forget about our environment and where we come from in the first place. There are many issues related to the environment, ecosystem, animal rights, protection and conservation, which are definitely concerns of most vegetarians. It all ties in together when we educate ourselves in those areas, but we cannot possibly be active participants in all of the organizations and causes. It would be very overwhelming for the individual. We need to pick our battles. (Yes, I did and still do feel sad that I cannot possibly save every animal out there.) There are, however, a few amazing individuals who do dedicate their entire lives to a cause on the post-conventional level. We need communities of similar-minded people to keep us sane and to encourage us to keep moving. In today’s busy lifestyle it can feel like we are living in bubbles, constantly driving a car to get from bubble home by bubble car to bubble work cubicle and back. It can make it difficult to meet people with similar interests. But we should try and invest the effort. The Internet is a great way to find, keep up and keep in touch with our interests and similar-minded people.

Here are several issues I can think of about animals and the environment, related to urban life and city development. Please feel free to send me your suggestions just in case I forgot something.

- There are millions of lost, abandoned and abused animals due to such things as:

homes and gardens not properly secured; pets that don’t have proper ID and registration; pets abandoned after irrational purchases in which people did not consider whether the animal is a good fit for the family (holidays, birthday presents etc.); improper care or even the worst – abuse.

If you decide to get a companion after thorough consideration of your situation, please contact the animal rescue organizations and non-kill shelters in your area and support them by adopting an animal and giving it good care and a home. If you do not want or cannot have a pet, but still like to be active in this area, you can volunteer and come to care for those animals that are in one of those institutions. (include some listings)

- Because of our expansion into the wild habitats of animals that share our planet, it’s not unusual to find lost or injured wildlife in your area. A few people with a great interest and concern for those animals created wildlife rescue organizations Many are licensed to be able to help and care for those animals. You can find them listed in each state wildlife organization’s website (include some links)

- While living in a house or an apartment, we use the utility services in our areas. We should be concerned about how it’s produced by the companies and how it’s used by us. There are growing companies producing electricity, for example, in ecologically friendly ways, producing eco-friendly and easy biodegradable detergents, and farmers using organic practices to grow produce without use of harmful chemicals. Car makers are creating eco-friendly hybrid cars. We ourselves can use organic practices when growing in-house plants or in our outdoor garden. We should pay close attention to the use and waste of our water, like when to water the garden or taking long showers and letting water run for no reason.

- We can support local vegetarian and health food restaurants, local organic farmer’s markets, buying organic products in the local grocery store and last but not least, support healthier meal choices in school cafeterias for our children. Buy non-animal products, cloth etc.

- Recycling is a great choice. Support local recycling and make it more available and known to the community.

- Last but not least is an optimistic attitude and a positive non-forceful education of others who are interested in any of above mentioned.

Urban veggie-ism is a great solution for anyone interested. Are you a busy executive who wants to boost up your energy so you can invest it in your work? Are you a business owner who likes to support other local business? Are you a parent who wants a better and longer healthy life for the whole family? Are you a busy working mom, student, downtown loft owner/tenant or are you just curious and afraid to ask?

The effort everyone contributes to our society or civilization doesn’t have to be a huge project; anything counts. You can do anything for which you have time and resources. Volunteering in a local animal shelter, children’s group, sending a donation to organization of your choice, or just signing a petition related to those issues – any of these things will make a difference.

Make a move – any move – help yourself!