Get the Video Cooking Tutorial for Vegan Greens!

Did you know one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s favorite foods were greens?  Did you know his wife, Coretta, and son were both vegan?  So he was most likely no stranger to yummy vegan food!  In honor of African American History Month, we’re partnering with Angela Marie Homestead with Me to give you this FREE offer of our favorite greens recipe and our e-Newsletter.  Just email the word “GREENS” to VEGANavigate@gmail.com for the VEGANavigate e-Newsletter and access code to a free cooking video tutorial that will help you make the best vegan greens ever!

Offer ends March 31, 2024

Holiday Shopping at Indigenous Abya Yalan Stores! (aka: Native American Businesses)

As we celebrate Native American Heritage Month and continue with the holiday season getting gifts for friends and family – lets shop at stores owned by the people from the First Nations of this land!

Heart Berry

New Day Socks

These cute socks are a must-have! Woven by artists of the Ojibwe nation. We also love the “thank you” noted at the bottom of their product page – reminding us of the importance of purchasing from indigenous communities – not products by large corporate companies designed to look as though they are designed by people from First Nations.

(Note: This item is advertised with a non-plant-based blanket on their website.)

B. Yellowtale


Bethany Yellowtail  is a citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, and proudly hails from the Mighty Few District of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation”

Sacred Circle

Double Wall Glass Mug

The paintings on these machine washable mugs were done by Darrel Amos of the Haida Nation.

Native American Tea Company 

100 Tea Bags – Choose your tea

Shima

Blue Cornmeal (limited supply)

This food staple is provided by the Dine Nation.

Eighth Generation

Rose Hip Warrior Blanket

Of the Muckleshoot Nation and the Chehalis Nation, the artist SiSeeNaxAlt is a weaver and Lead Culture Teacher.

Calling Mountains Throw Blanket

Of the Salish Nation and Kootenai Nation, Josh Swift designed this blanket due to his love of connecting with nature.


Sage and Oats

Cards for Decolonization 

Sweetgrass Trading Co.

Hopi Blue Corn Facial Mask

This product is made by the Ute Mountain Nation.

Beyond Buckskin

Jewelry and Ties

Not to be confused with the vegan “Beyond” brand.  Beyond Buckskin does accept non-vegan products from indigenous designers.  However, there are still plenty of beautiful vegan products made by First Nations artists on their site.

Aconav

Maple Wood Earrings

The founders of this business are Loren from the Acoma Pueblo Nation and Valentina from the Dine Nation.

Cheekbone Beauty

Refillable Bronzer / Blush / Hilight / Contour

The founder of this company is Jenn Harper from the Anishinaabe Nation. “Keeping in line with her Anishinaabe roots” she is proud her products are sustainable, vegan, and cruelty free!

Trickster Company

This sibling team – Crystal and Rico – are from the Athabascan Nation and the Tlingit Nation.

Book Stores

As the daughter of a librarian, this is my favorite section:

Books & Burrow

Eleanor’s Bookshop

Birchbark Books

Word Carrier (Bird Cage)

Vegan Candy 2023 (Vegan Halloween Candy)

Happy Halloween!  Are you ready for a great list of vegan candy?!  We even found candy with compostable packaging.  These – and candy with plastic-free packaging – are located at the top of our list.

After you take a look and pick your favorite vegan candies, don’t forget to sign the petition below asking Ferrara Candy Company to package their mini box candy (i.e. nerds, lemon heads, etc.) in a box instead of a plastic bag.  One of their vegan candy competitors is already doing this (see Junior Mint mini boxes packaged in a box instead of a plastic bag here).  It appears Ferrara themselves even has Nerds candy mini boxes in a box (instead of a plastic bag) when purchased online (see boxed Nerds candies here).

We are asking Ferrara Candy Company to go plastic-free and provide this eco-friendly box option in the grocery store as well.

Sign Plastic-free Packaging Petition Here

Vegan Candy with Paper Packaging:


Fun Dip

(photo by Target and USA Candy Factory)

Single pouches of fun dip are in the Halloween box version at Target.

Nerds

(photo by La Bendicion)


Junior Mints

(photo by Nassau Candy)

Gobstoppers

(photo by Old Time Candy)

You can get 24-pack of their small (1.77 oz) boxes at Amazon.


Jujyfruits

(photo by Candy Nation)

Bottle Caps

(photo by CandyFunHouse.ca)

Can get a pack of 10 at Amazon.

Vegan Candy with Compostable Packaging! :

Compostable packaging can be placed in the dirt of a backyard, front yard, garden, etc. and will decompose naturally back into the earth.

Mmmore Raw Treats

(photos by Mmmore.com)

Mmmore Raw Treats uses compostable packaging!

Loving Earth Chocolate

(photos by Loving Earth)

The items featured in the above photo – and many others at their website – currently (as of October 2023) have compostable packaging and are printed with vegetable ink. Not all items at Loving Earth Chocolates have compostable packaging. However, they make it simple to check, by providing a “packaging” link under each item on their website for info on how it’s packaged.


H!P Chocolate

(photo by The Scottish Sun)

H!p Chocolate uses compostable packaging too!

Vegan candies with less plastic packaging than most:

Charm’s Blow Pops
Cry Baby (in a box)
Dots
Dum Dums

Hubba Bubba
Mamba
Mary Jane
Now & Later
Pixie Sticks
Smarties
Super Bubble Bubble Gum

Other vegan candies:

Airheads
Brach’s Cinnamon Imperials
Brach’s Lemon Drops 
Brach’s Star Brites Peppermint Candy
Chick-O-Sticks
Fire Ball
Go-Max-Go Candy Bars
Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape
Laffy Taffy (mini version – NOT the regular size. The regular size has egg albumen) 
Jolly Rancher
No Whey
Pez
Red Vines
Ring Pops
Skittles
Smarties
Sour Patch Kids
Surf Sweets Organic Cinnamon Bears
Swedish Fish
Sweet Tarts
Twizzlers
YumEarth (Lolli Pops)
Zackary Cinnamon Bears
Zotz

As you can see, there are a lot of vegan candy options to choose from. It’s super exciting that some are plastic-free and some even use compostable packaging! Let us know in the comments section which vegan candy you decided to get and which ones are your favorites!

Vegan Latinx Food!

We have had a blast celebrating Latinx Heritage Month!  Admittedly, it consisted a lot of eating great Latinx food.  Maybe next year we’ll learn Latinx dances to burn these extra calories off – but that’s next year!  Right now we want to share some videos on how you can make great Latinx meals right at home.  We found instructions on dishes from Mexico, Columbia, Peru and more!  Enjoy!

MEXICO

Vegan Chilaquiles Rojos

Vegan Tamales

Vegan Conchas (Pan Dulce)

COLUMBIA

Vegan Ajiaco

Vegan Buñuelos

VENEZUELA

Vegan Savory Empenada

Vegan Arepas

PERU

Vegan Papa A La Huancaina

Vegan Lomo Saltado

Vegan Aji de Gallina [in Spanish / en Espanol]

BRAZIL

Vegan Moqueca

Vegan Brigadeiro

CHILE

Porotos Granados

Mote con Huesillos [in Spanish / en Espanol]

ARGENTINA

Medialunas Veganas [in Spanish / en Espanol]

Vegan Alfajores cookies and Vegan Dulce de Leche

[gluten-free and nut-free]

African American Owned Vegan Businesses for JUNETEENTH!

It is almost Independence Day! That is, until there is finally an Independence Day for the indigenous nations of Abya Yala (aka: America).

Enjoy exploring these businesses owned by African Abya Yalans (aka: Americans)!

Coco Luv

(Los Angeles, CA)

Get Coco Luv vegan pastries here:  https://cocoluvcookies.com/collections/pastry

Delightful Foods (aka: The No Cookie Cookie)

(Online Orders and Oakland, CA location)

Get Delightful Foods treats here: https://nocookie.com/

Way to Life Foods

(Online orders and California locations)

Get Way to Life foods here:  https://www.waytolifefoods.com/

Souley Vegan

(Oakland, CA)

Get more info on Souley Vegan here:  https://souleyvegan.com/

Azla

(Vegan restaurant in Los Angeles, CA)

Get more info on Azla here:  http://azlavegan.com/

Stuff I Eat

(Vegan restaurant in Inglewood, California)

Get more info about Stuff I Eat here: https://www.stuffieat.com/

Houston Sauce Co.

(Online Orders and Houston, TX location)

Get Houston Sauce here:  https://www.houstonsauceco.com/

Symphony Potato Chips

(Atlanta, GA)

Get potato chips here:  https://symphonychips.com/pages/our-product

DaJen Eats

(Eatonville, FL)

Get more info about DaJen Eats:https://dajeneats.com/

Rooted Delights

Vegan cheese! (Chesterfield, VA)

Get vegan cheeses here:  https://www.rooteddelights.com/home

NuVegan

(Greenbelt, MD)

Get vegan food at NuVegan:  https://www.ilovenuvegan.com/

Vegan LGBTQ+ Owned Businesses

Here are some vegan LGBTQ+ owned companies to support immediately!

  • Lil’ Yenta’s Bakery

(Philadelphia, PA)

The pictures speak for themselves!

Get yummy treats from Lil’ Yenta’s Bakery here:  https://lilyentas.com/

  • V Marks the Shop

(Philadelphia, PA)

The owners are not only part of the LGBTQ+ community, but also African Abya Yalan (aka: African American).

Get snacks at V Marks the Shop: https://vmarkstheshop.com/

  • City Saucery

(NYC Greenmarket stands and Nationwide shipping)

This LGBTQ+ team is helping save the planet! They collect good quality ugly tomatoes that are normally thrown away by large food factories to make delicious vegan sauces and spreads!

Get tasty products from City Saucery here: https://citysaucery.com/

  • Lagusta’s Luscious

(New Paltz, NY and Nationwide Shipping)

Variety of vegan chocolates. Lovely boxes of chocolaty treats great for gifts!

Get Lagusta’s Luscious chocolates here: https://lagustasluscious.com/

  • RIND

(Available Nationwide)

Vegan cheese perfect for hors d’oeuvres at your next party!

“June is Pride Month, and at RIND by Dina & Joshua, we’re celebrating as an LGBTQ+-owned business!” Tweet by @RIND_CHEESE

Get vegan cheese here:  https://www.rind.nyc/

  • Meow Meow Tweet

(Nationwide Shipping)

This personal care brand has plastic-free packaging options for lip balm and face cream!

Get Meow Meow Tweet products here:  https://meowmeowtweet.com/

  • The Wild Chive

(Los Angeles, CA)

The photos of vegan entres have us drooling:  sandwiches, burgers, fries, fried chicken sandwiches and more!

Get delicious food at The Wild Chive:  https://www.thewildchive.com/

  • BEETxBEET

(Los Angeles, CA)

Formerly a clothing store – now this team is focused on graphic design and consulting.

Get in touch with Beet x Beet here: https://beetxbeet.com/

  • Gay4U Vegan Eats

(Nationwide)

This is a pop-up eatery that provides a safe space for trans-identifying people of color.  Formerly located solely in Oakland, CA, they have closed their store to travel the nation with their unique combination of Asian and Latinx comfort foods.  Let’s hope you get a chance to try ’em out!

Vegan Candy!

Happy Halloween! Here’s a list of some great vegan candy…

Save the planet, save the animals, save us all! Here are some vegan candies that usually have no plastic packaging:

Bottle Caps

SOURCE: Sweet Candy Cafe

Fun Dip

SOURCE: sweet-juleps.com

Gobstoppers

SOURCE: europeangrocerystore

Hubba Bubba

Jujubes

SOURCE: candywarehouse

Jujyfruits

SOURCE: ferraracandyshopusa

Nerds

Sweet Tarts

SOURCE: sweetcitycandy

The candy above usually has no plastic packaging and the following vegan candies have less plastic packaging than most:
Charm’s Blow Pops
Cry Baby (in a box)
Dots
Dum Dums
Mamba
Mary Jane
Now & Later
Pixie Sticks
Smarties
Super Bubble Bubble Gum

Other vegan candies:
Airheads
Brach’s Lemon Drops
Brach’s Star Brites Peppermint Candy
Chick-O-Sticks
Fire Ball
Go-Max-Go Candy Bars
Laffy Taffy (mini version – NOT the regular size. The regular size has egg albumen)
Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape
Jolly Rancher
No Whey
Pez
Red Vines
Ring Pops
Smarties
Skittles
Swedish Fish
Sour Patch Kids
Twizzlers
YumEarth (Lolli Pops)
Zotz

What do vegans eat for protein?

There are vegetables, as well as combinations of beans/legumes and grains, that have the full protein needed for the human body.  Here are some charts with a collection of foods that are rich in protein:  http://veganavigate.com/vegan-food-for-protein.html

What do vegans eat?

Vegans eat almost all of the same meals and snacks you would find in anyone’s daily eating habits – just with vegan ingredients.  Vegan ingredients do not contain animal products such as flesh, eggs or milk of other beings.  Vegans enjoy tacos, burgers, lasagna, ice cream, pie, cake, cheese cake, cookies, salads, fruit smoothies, stir fries, stews, nachos, and much more.