Tag Archives: seattle

Local news – new vegan deli

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Ben and Esther’s vegan Jewish Deli just opened on Capitol Hill. Oh yes, oh yes! Finally a vegan Reuben sandwich (vegan corned beef, Swiss, sauerkraut, Russian dressing ) on pumpernickel bread with real Kosher dill pickles. Try the bagel with vegan lox (smoked “salmon”), tomato, red onion, capers and dill with a schmear (a spread) of vegan cream cheese.

Look for the potato knishes (a round or square of dough stuffed with potato and baked or fried) and noodle kugel (a baked pudding). You can enjoy your meal with a babka (a loaf-shaped coffee cake made with sweet yeast dough to which raisins, chocolate, or nuts may be added). With the cold weather, warm up with some motzo (unleavened bread) ball soup. If you only want a couple of bites, you can nosh (snack) on a wide variety of menu items.

We’re happy to welcome a new vegan restaurant  to our area. The Seattle Ben and Esther’s is the fifth location in the Portland based “Vegan Jewish Deli” chain. There are two in Portland and one in Oceanside California and San Diego.

Ben and Esther’s hours are 7 AM to 3 PM daily.

907 East PIKE ST.  Seattle, WA 98122

OPEN 7-3 DAILY

Local news – Cafe Red reopens, new vegan grocery

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Café Red, a coffee shop located on Martin Luther King Jr Way in South Seattle, recently reopened with a fully plant-based menu.  The co-owners, Jesiah Wurtz and Haley Williams, are making a renewed commitment to community, with goods from local vegan companies.  They are both vegan themselves, and feel that South Seattle is lacking in places to buy great vegan food.

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New Vegan Ice Cream shop in Seattle

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frankie-and-jos-ice-creamYes, we know it’s December but this is just too good to wait for summer. A new dairy-free, vegan, ice cream shop, Frankie and Jo’s, has just opened in Seattle. The shop is at 1010 E Union, tucked between Soi and General Porpoise.

Its celebration of plants extends to the decor, palm-fronded wallpaper and a plethora of actual, live greenery. But the real excitement lies in the cooler, and the eight rotating flavors ready to be scooped. There’s a brown sugar vanilla, gingered golden milk (which tastes, in the best possible way, of pure ginger), and salty caramel ash that’s sweet and salty and the color of a thunderstorm cloud. Sorbets include a beet-strawberry-rose combo and concord grape shrub. There’s a pumpkin butter seasonal flavor studded with cornbread and spiced pecans and the very popular—chocolate date, which packs all the richness of a date milkshake. It bears repeating: everything in here is vegan.

You can even sample Frankie and Jo’s by the scoop, rather than taking the full plunge for a pint. Ice cream comes in a cup or gluten free vanilla maple waffle cone and you can top them with things like chocolate magic shell, whipped (coconut) cream, or brownie chunks. The shop will debut more flavors in the coming weeks, and hours will be 2–10pm Sunday to Thursday and Friday and Saturday from 2–11. Track all these happenings, and ogle the ice cream flavors, on Frankie and Jo’s website.

Vegfest helps Doctors!

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AppleRXHow many times have you wished that more doctors knew how plant-based diets can help prevent and even treat a wide variety of diseases? We know just how you feel, so we decided to do something about it!

We are holding our first Medical Seminar for doctors and medical students, taught by board certified specialists in areas such as cardiology, oncology, preventative medicine, infectious disease and OB/GYN, on Saturday April 9 at 6:30pm, in the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. It’s part of our new Prescribe Vegetarian Campaign whose mission is to help practicing doctors learn about how to use plant-based diets with their patients, and to include it as part of medical school training.

While this event is open only to doctors and medical school students, if you know of a doctor you think would like to attend, please invite them to register at seminar.seattlevegfest.org.  Doctors can learn more about the use of Plant-Based diets in our medical blog, Plant Based Diets in Medicine.

If you’re not a doctor, you’ll still have an opportunity to hear the latest on health and nutrition from many of the same specialists including OB/GYN, cardiology, oncology, internal medicine, preventative medicine and more. They’ll be speaking to the general public throughout the weekend at Vegfest. See the schedule of speakers. We also have lots of free health screenings available. You’ll find carotid artery ultrasounds, bone density testing, diabetes and cholesterol testing, blood pressure readings, and new for this year, we’ll even have dental health screenings from our dentists!

Octopus – Don’t beat it, don’t eat it!

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OctopusThere’s been quite the furor recently after a diver was seen last year punching an 80 pound Giant Pacific Octopus at Alki Cove 2 he caught in order to subdue it. He said he wanted to capture it and take it home, “to draw it for this art project, and eat it for meat.” Outrage followed and has continued for the past year.

Part of his response is in essence that the octopus was sort of free range, and that a factory farmed octopus would suffer more, saying “He suffered, of course, at the end but not nearly to the extent of factory farming.” This reminds us of the dodge often employed by some consumers of more traditionally eaten free-range meats: “there’s worse.” While there may or may not be worse, there’s definitely better, much better. Don’t eat meat or fish all!

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New Seattle Seahawks Player is Vegan

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Deuce Lutui, a veteran offensive lineman who signed with the Seahawks just last week, has announced that he’s a vegan. The 29-year-old, who was 396 pounds in 2010 and was struggling with health and weight issues, decided to adopt a vegan diet after failing a physical in July 2011 with the Cincinnati Bengals.  He recognized the need to make changes to his diet and lifestyle, and so when a nutritionist he was working with suggested a vegan diet, he decided to give it a try.

In an interview with Seahawks.com, Lutui confirmed the rumor. “It’s true”, he said, “and coming into the offseason, this is the best shape I’ve ever been in. I credit that vegan diet.”  As proof, Lutui not only pointed to his weight, he pulled up his shirt and offered, “I can finally see a six-pack there.” Lutui said he’s already at his game weight (340 pounds), a process that usually takes him much longer.

“My whole family is vegan,” he said of his wife, Puanani, and their four children. Lutui then cracked the slightest of smiles before adding, “It’s a little different from the Tonga traditional cuisine. But it’s a lot of education, really, that has kind of opened that insight for me.”

“If you were to go to my house and open up the fridge, you’d see all-vegan, all-natural products,” he says. “I’m glad I’ve educated myself about what’s going in my mouth. I’ve educated myself, and that’s what’s causing my fitness and how I’ve really taken care of myself physically. And it’s also taken a toll on me mentally, just to really be disciplined.”

Lutui seems to be a part of a growing trend for athletes to acknowledge the benefits of a vegan diet for their health and fitness. He joins other former and current vegan/vegetarian NFL players like Ricky Williams, Tony Fiammetta, and Tony Gonzalez.

How to Get the Most out of Vegfest

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Our biggest event of the year, Vegfest, is coming up on March 24th and 25th at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall.

People coming for the first time are sometimes overwhelmed by the abundance of food choices and learning opportunities available to them, so our recommendation is to plan ahead.

Food sampling at Vegfest is always one of the most popular parts of the event, and with over 500 different kinds of food to try, we’re sure you’ll find plenty you’ll like and discover more new products each year. Because there’s so much to sample at Vegfest, the trick is remembering it all!  So we suggest having a memo book with you when going up and down the aisles. That way you can write down not only the names of new foods you’ve tried, such as the latest dairy-free “cheddar,” and also the different flavors and varieties of familiar foods used in new ways, such as Japanese style silken tofu stir-fried in a Tex-Mex sauce. You can also jot down details, such as which local stores carry the product, and other varieties and flavors of the product that are available.  You can also use your cellphone camera to take a quick picture of each product you like, so that you’ll have an instant record of the packaging when you get home. Bargain hunters should be on the lookout for coupons throughout the weekend, and be sure not to miss our Sunday night closing sale, when all the remaining food is available than bargain prices.

Involve the kids! Most kids are notoriously picky eaters and this is a great time to find out what they really like, and are willing to eat, without spending an arm and a leg. It’s also a great time for them to learn and to form healthy food habits. We suggest attending our free “Eat a Rainbow Everyday” skit put on by our favorite clowns Zero and Somebuddy twice each day!

Vegfest features a powerhouse of medical doctors, each one an expert on the connection between health and nutrition. Our keynote speaker this year is Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and author of at least 14 books on health and nutrition. Check the online schedule before you come, to time your visit to coincide with the speakers who best address your particular needs. With so many doctors speaking, this is a golden opportunity to get your questions answered. Don’t be shy! We suggest writing down your questions in advance, and then asking them just after each doctor gives their presentation. That’s the time that our presenters are expecting lots of questions. Make sure to have notepaper with you during their presentation as well, so you can ask about anything new you just learned about.

Cooking is that noble endeavor that blends art with science, and the chefs from the PCC Cooks program are recognized experts in making it all come out just right.  We suggest keeping your thinking cap on during the cooking demonstrations and try to imagine preparing each dish at home. This will prompt you to come up with questions regarding various ingredient substitutions and cooking method alternatives such as “can I substitute agave syrup for the brown rice syrup?” or “would this work in the microwave just as well as a conventional oven?”

Vegfest is a booklover’s bonanza, and another great way to learn more about the many benefits of a vegetarian diet, and how to cook delicious food! To save a few dollars look for so called “hurt books”. These books merely have a creased cover or a few pen marks but sell at steep discounts.

However, perhaps the most fulfilling part of the Vegfest experience is actually joining Vegetarians of Washington, the non profit that produces Vegfest each year. While you can always join or renew at any time of year, if you join at Vegfest you’ll receive the added benefit of our membership bag – a free tote bag filled with lots of free food and valuable coupons.

See you at the fest!