Navigating The World Wide Veg
I confess: I’m a die-hard surfer. No, not the big wave COWABUNGA kind. Although I live six blocks from the Pacific—I spend way more time surfing the web than I do at the beach. I’m a bona fide Internet junkie. What’s worse? I’m a vegan Internet junkie.
I stay awake into the wee hours of the night energized by my insatiable curiosity for all things veg, googling search terms like “vegan sources of alpha-linolenic acid” or “how to de-seed a pomegranate.” I read the menus of veg eateries in towns I never plan to visit. I scour for the perfect pair of vegan boots to complete my fall wardrobe. I eat up all the gossip on veg celebs. I drown myself in the latest and most critical medical literature. I admit: I once even took a virtual tour—via a You Tube video—of the inside of a vegan’s refrigerator.
And, my addiction doesn’t get put on hold in AM. As Associate Editor and Web Editor of Vegetarian Times magazine and Vegetariantimes.com, it’s part of my job to keep my finger on the pulse of the ever-evolving World Wide Veg (WWV) and to contribute to it—Vegetariantimes.com offers the world’s largest collection of nutritious and delicious vegetarian recipes!
It’s no newsflash that technology has does wonders to make the universe a smaller place. No matter how far apart we live, we are citizens of the same global veg village. That’s the real beauty of it: we’re in this together, connected by the information highway. The WWV makes it easy to connect with uncountable like-minded vegheads across the globe, sharing veg recipes, news, etc. It’s about being inspired and inspiring others, using technology as fuel to spread the good gospel on vegetarianism and healthy living like wildfire.
Because you are reading this blog right now, you’re probably already just as tangled up in the WWV as I am. We could all use a little help navigating the WWV. Below, please find my list of hot clicks. This list is by no means a “Best Of”; it’s just my suggestions of not-be-missed WWV destinations. Check ‘em out, and pretty please with an organic cherry on top leave comments sharing the gazillion and one I missed!
Vegan Radio is a bi-weekly vegan broadcast and podcast, available for download as MP3 files subscription through iTunes. This show will simultaneously keep you laughing out load and well-informed on all things veg, with news and commentary delivered by three of the most likeable vegan radio hosts imaginable plus a guest lineup including the most inspirational voices of veganism such as Raw Foods Goodess Ani Phyo, Vegan Triathlete Brendan Brazier, vegan body builder Robert Cheeke, and co-author of Skinny Bitch Rory Freedman.
@veganhelp on Twitter makes it easier than ever for vegans to help want-to-be vegans make the transition. This twitter “bot” simply reposts tweets from users it believes want to go vegan so others can respond to their inquiries. Example: “RT @TheVeganRD Need a cookbook recommendation for someone just starting to go vegan. She likes to cook, doesn’t always have time. Has a 3-year-old.” All you need to do to lend your advice to others is follow @veganhelp on Twitter and respond to tweets by clicking on the bit.ly link.
Obamafoodorama Want to have something interesting to add to the conversation at the next dinner party you go to? Obama Foodorama—“A Daily Diary of the Obama Foodscape, One Bipartison Byte at a Time”— covers all things red, white, and foodie, from a brief history of the White House cupcake habit to the groundbreaking White House kitchen garden.
Locavore iPhone App makes it a no-brainer to eat local and in season, making it easier than ever to stick to a 100 mile diet. Locavore automatically detects which state your in, tells you what foods are currently in season (i.e. papayas, eggplant, oranges), offer food pics, locates farms and farmers’ markets near you, and more. Available through the iphone App store.
Meatlessmonday.com is a global movement to cut back on meat consumption for both health and environmental reasons. The campaign has a long history in America; it was launched during WWI, resurrected during WWII, recreated in 2003 as a public health awareness program, and has gained world-wide momentum in the past year, with the help of supporters like Paul McCartney and his daughters Stella and Mary. Join the movement!
Vegetariantimes.com allows you to search over 12,000 tasty vegetarian recipes by ingredient; by specialty diets such as gluten-free, vegan, and low-cal; by ethnic cuisine, by holiday, by season, etc. You can even print your shopping list! The site also offers a free downloadable Vegetarian Starter Kit, Editor’s Picks of top stories, a super helpful Ingredient Substitution Guide, a must-read Editors Blog, and more. Plus, you can find VT on Facebook and Twitter, posting mouthwatering recipes and foodie news updates.
Meetup.com A simple search for the word “vegan” on Meetup.com yields a whopping 755 groups; a search for “raw food” yields 656 groups! As the website’s name implies, these groups “meet up” with like-minded pepes around the globe. Meetup groups are as diverse as the cities and towns they meet up in, from the Vegan Outdoor and Adventure Group in Westminster, CO, to the Boynton Beach Raw Foodies in Boyton Beach, FL.
Vegetarianstar.com Extra! Extra! Read all about Alicia Silverstone’s book launch party for her new book, The Kind Diet, or the release of Kosher Vegetarian, starring Natalie Portman. Vegetarianstar.com is a star-studded blog that reads like a newspaper, dishing out a healthy portion of celebrity vegetarian gossip and news. Eat it up!
Veganbodybuilding.com The athletes featured here showcase plant protein’s power to build muscle and fuel endurance athletes. Got a burning question? Veganbodybuilding.com’s Forums discuss everything from Martial Arts to Vegan Dating. Plus, where else can you order a grass green headband embroidered with VEGAN in bold all-caps or a sunshine yellow TEAM VEGAN tank top?
And, of course, Crazy, Sexy, Life!!!
P.S. Please leave your comments sharing your fave WWV destinations below!
11 Comments
Thanks for this list….yep, I am a vegan “surfer” too, and sometimes the wealth of info is seemingly unmanageable and overwhelming!
But how lucky we are to have it all at our fingertips…Thanks again!
love the links!
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You have named my morning reading routine along with some of my favorite raw blogs like Kristan Suzannes, and Buellers, Making love in the Kitchen (not quite vegan but I give haer a year she has the bug) and Debbie Does Raw I cannot list them All but I love them all. Callie
I started this site out of frustration in not finding one like it. I travel about 200K miles a year worldwide and have always spent most of my pre-trip planning looking for restaurants that offer great vegetarian meals. I only started this year, but have restaurants from Bali to Paris and everything in between. My latest ventures were to T8 (not up yet) and M on the Bund in Shanghai. (BTw, way back in the early ’90s I did some writing for Vegetarian Times.)
This is such a good resource! I’m definitely getting the iPhone app and bookmarking all of these sites. Thanks for the inspiration and all this yummy information!!
Great post! And I’m right there with ya.
xo
Eco Mama
Fun post! I definitely relate with late-night vegan surfing tendencies. :D
As a newer blogger of about 6 months I cannot believe how the web has changed my cooking habits! I, too, am distracted for hours clicking away at veg food blogs. My newest favorite is Fat Free Vegan, found at: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com
Excellent recipe resource, and this gal is single-handedly responsible for me deciding to get a pressure cooker (can’t wait for it to arrive!). She has a whole section of vegan pressure cooker recipes, awesome!
Oh my gosh! I complete understand where you are coming from. I am the same way. Sometimes though, it leads me to what can only be called overload. Like when you go to the mall to shop and after a while it all looks the same! Unfortunately, it sometimes makes me spend like I am at the mall too! ;)
Awesome! Just what I need. I’m transitioning to a vegan diet. Great info…just when I thought I was the only late night vegan researcher, haha.
October 16, 2009