Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast

The TVA podcast crew is joined by Jennifer Coburn the genius behind the popular Toronto casual fine dining restaurant Uffico from which Stefano’s and now Gia was born.  Jennifer shares her personal journey alongside the journey of Stefano’s and Gia.  Along the way she shares stories of her experiences sharing vegan menu items with guests […] The post Veg Out 508: Gia and Stefano’s with Jennifer Coburn appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

This year’s Veg Food Fest will look a little bit different.  Because of COVID-19 restrictions, it’ll be staged as a pop-up event at the Steam Whistle Brewery rather than its usual home, the sprawling Harbourfront complex. There will be 30 vendors instead of the usual 150+. Instead of three days, it’s just one – Saturday, […] The post Veg Out 507: Veg Food Fest Popup appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Cookies, chips, and crackers, oh my! There are many mainstream products in grocery stores that are “accidentally vegan.” Everything from puff pasty to pancake mix. The term refers to items that are not necessarily marketed to vegans, and are not produced specifically to be vegan, but they just happen to not have any animal derived […] The post Veg Out 506: Accidentally Vegan Products appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Let's Go Camping! Ugh. It's August and we're still not supposed to travel outside of Canada unless necessary. If you're lucky, and rich, you might have had the foresight to book a cottage somewhere up north months ago. If not, hey, there's still camping! Our three vegan camping enthusiasts — Marni, Barbi and Steve — […] The post Veg Out 505: Vegan Camping appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Vegan celebrities, boon or bane? Join us for an informal chat about some of our favourite vegan celebs and the contributions they've made to the community, some famous folk we thought were vegan but upon closer inspection probably aren't, as well as some who were at some point, but now, not so much. How much […] The post Veg Out 504: Vegan Celebrities appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Connie Oliveira is the creator of the food blog The Portuguese Vegan, which you can find on Instagram and Facebook. She joins fellow Portuguese Vegans Ana and Jeanette on this episode of Veg Out to talk about her journey to create a cookbook that honours her mother’s heritage by preserving family recipes, and veganizing them […] The post Veg Out 503: The Portuguese Vegan appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Taimoor Choudhry is a fashionable guy. In fact, he used to be the General Manager and Creative Director of a jewellery line called Damas. He also used to wear fur. No more! A few years ago, Choudhry had an epiphany when he started to see that fur trim on his parka as more than just […] The post Veg Out 502: Real Fur Documentary with Taimoor Choudhry appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Do you want to get to know TVA’s new Executive Director Kimberly D’Olivera?  Today, Steve and Ana share a virtual meet ‘n greet with Kimberly.  During this episode, Kimberly shares her vegan journey, the story of how she came to know the TVA, and some of her favourite foods.  We invite you to join us […] The post Veg Out 501: Talking Veg with TVA’s ED Kimberly D’Oliveira appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Wondering how to live a more sustainable lifestyle but stuck on those pesky single-use plastics that many of our favourite products come in? We’re here for you with tips and inspiration from Lin and Toni Sappong, founders of local initiatives like PlasticFree TO and Leslieville Reduces – and self-professed Planetarians. These sisters are leading the […] The post Veg Out 500: Going Planetarian with PlasticFree TO appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Barbi, Ana and Jeanette call of a meeting of the Veg Out Cookbook Club to talk about some recently published cookbooks and new discoveries. If you are in a cooking rut, this episode is for you. Download the episode! Cookbooks recommended in this episode: The Plant Based Cookbook by Ashely Madden Simply Delicious Vegan by […] The post Veg Out 499: Spring Cookbook Club appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Veg Out is back with an episode celebrating international flavours in vegan cooking. Our guest Lena Tashjian recently released a stunning cookbook called The Vegan Armenian Kitchen and we chatted with her about her vegan journey, recipe development process (cookbook author perk: eating dessert for dinner multiple days in a row!), and translating cherished family […] The post Veg Out 498: Vegan Armenian Cuisine with Lena Tashjian appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Dean Blignaut is the Co-Founder and President of TMRW Foods, a plant-based food company on a mission to bring better food to more people. Ana and Jeanette talk to Dean about his experience at Virtuous Pie, how he started TMRW Foods after participating in a vegan burger competition, and how he plans to grow the […] The post Veg Out 497: TMRW Foods with Dean Blignaut appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

This week, Barbi and Jeanette are joined by our guest Sam Turnbull. You may know Sam from her super popular blog and youtube channel  It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken. She released her first cookbook Fuss Free Vegan in 2017, which quickly became Jeanette’s favourite cookbook. Sam has also been a past guest at the Veg […] The post Veg Out 496: Sam Turnbull Returns! Fast Easy Cheap Vegan Book Talk appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

You may know Globally Local for their Famous Burger, or their BacUN Breakfast Sandwich, but did you know they started out selling produce? Or did you know about their charitable work, or plans for expansion? James McInnes, the CEO of Globally Local, joins the show to talk about their approach to fast food and veganism, […] The post Veg Out 495: Globally Local with James McInnes appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Join Ana and Sweta for an information-packed episode. Catch up on what the TVA has been up to and learn about the economics of plant-based eating with our guest Nital Jethalal. Nital is the President of the Board of Directors for the TVA and founder of Plant-Based Economics (PBE), a NGO focused on evaluating plant-based […] The post Veg Out 494 – Updates and Economics with Nital Jethalal appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Steve and Ana are thrilled to be joined by Dr. Sarah Dodd on this episode of Veg Out! Sarah is a veterinarian with a special focus on companion animal nutrition.  Her studies have taken her around the world:  She has lived in England, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, the US and she is back to Canada […] The post Veg Out 493: Companion Animal Nutrition with Dr. Sarah Dodd appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Your friendly hosts have been collecting fun facts and foibles and want to share them with you, our listeners! With Veganuary having just wrapped up, a lot of folks are talking veganism, which is great! What’s not-so-great is the misinformation that’s often shared in the media or dominant conversations (beware of soy! vegans don’t get […] The post Veg Out 492: Vegan Facts & Foibles for February appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Ana and Jeanette are thrilled to be joined by Kimberly Carroll on this episode of Veg Out! Kimberly has an extensive background in animal rights activism, including co-creating the “why love one but eat the other” transit ad campaign, as well as co-founding Mercy for Animals Canada. She is also a campaign strategist for Animal Justice, […] The post Veg Out 491: Animal Justice Academy with Kimberly Carroll appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

New year, new opportunity to build healthier habits! We wanted to kick off another year of the Veg Out podcast with an episode featuring Dr. Shane Williams (originally from Newfoundland and now based in Bracebridge, ON), a community leader and cardiologist with in-depth knowledge about the power of plant-based nutrition to prevent cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. […] The post Veg Out 490: Getting Healthy With Dr. Shane Williams appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Well, we’ve come to the end of 2020! Our merry podcast hosts Sweta, Jeanette, Steve, and Ana take some time to reflect on a year like no other. From highs to lows to lingering uncertainties, we’ve managed to stay connected through virtual events and have introduced exciting new TVA programming looking ahead to 2021. Even […] The post Veg Out 489: Remembering 2020 appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

We’re now fully into December and the holiday season, a time when people turn to baking for comfort, sharing and gifting. Toronto based vegan cookbook author Ally Lazare joins Barbi and Jeanette to talk about her latest book, Vegan Dessert Cookbook, as well as share tips and recipes for baking for the holidays, and baking […] The post Veg Out 488: Vegan Desserts and Holiday Baking with Ally Lazare appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

With all the talk about developing a vaccine for COVID-19, have you ever wondered about the medications, supplements, and vaccines we take – and how to find out whether their production methods and ingredients are vegan? Sure, you can read the ingredient lists but it can be hard to decipher the medical terms and to […] The post Veg Out 487: Supplements, Antibiotics and Vaccines appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

On today’s show, we speak with Lasse Bruun, the executive director of 50by40, a coalition of organisations working towards cutting the world’s reliance on animal products by 50 percent by the year 2040. Currently he resides in Scarborough, where he has hosted community dinners for vegans in the east end of the city. Additional links: The TVA’s […] The post Veg Out 486: Reducing the world’s reliance on animal products with Lasse Bruun appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

On today’s show we will be talking about the Montreal Vegan Festival (Festival végane de Montréal). Our guests are Alexandre Gagnon, the president and one of the founders of the Montreal Vegan Festival, and Nafsika Antypas, TV host, executive producer, writer, author, and entrepreneur. While, like every social event this year, the Festival has switched to a […] The post Veg Out 485: Montreal Vegan Festival 2020 appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Thursday October 1st, 2020 was World Vegetarian Day. It was also the 80th birthday of our podcast host and volunteer Steve Beiko! In this second part of a two part interview, we learn about Steve’s athleticism, activism, and what veg life was like in the 1980’s and 1990’s. You can contribute to the TVA through […] The post Veg Out 484: Octogenarian Vegetarian Part 2 appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Thursday October 1st, 2020 was World Vegetarian Day. It was also the 80th birthday of our podcast host and volunteer Steve Beiko! In this first part of a two part interview, we learn how Steve celebrated his birthday, and we chat about his early life as a vegetarian in the 60’s, and how he transitioned […] The post Veg Out 483: Octogenarian Vegetarian appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

This year Veg Food Fest went virtual! Your friendly Veg Out hosts collectively watched nearly all of the online programming and have lots to share (in case you missed it, don’t worry: you can still catch all the online talks and panels at vegfoodfest.com for one more week). From the positive health impacts of a […] The post Veg Out 482: Virtual Veg Food Fest appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

We’re just a week away from Veg Food Fest! Whet your appetite with this episode all about fast food from a vegan point of view. We are lucky to have a bevy of delicious (and sometimes nutritious) vegan fast food options in the GTA, but it’s not always easy to find them elsewhere, especially on […] The post Veg Out 481: Fast Food appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

On this episode, Jeanette chats with Melissa James, the founder of Eastend Vegan. Melissa shares her vegan journey, how she crafts her almond cheese, being vegan in Scarborough, and previews some exciting new products that will be debuting at the Virtual Veg Food Fest. Check out Eastend Vegan on their website, Instagram or on Facebook. Virtual […] The post Veg Out 480: Melissa James from Eastend Vegan appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

This week, Steve and Jeanette welcome former host and RC volunteer Ana back to the show! Steve gives us a review of La Bartola, Jeanette shouts out two east side vegan businesses that have reopened, and Ana discovers a new vegan cheese. We also get an update from Ana on being vegan in Guelph, and […] The post Veg Out 479: Virtual Veg Fest Preview with Ana! appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Veg Fest is just over a month away: what better time to dive into some key moments in the TVA’s history? On this episode, Sweta and Steve chat with Peter McQueen, who has been instrumental to the TVA since 1983. Get inspired by his journey to ethical veganism and hear how the Veg Food Fest […] The post Veg Out 478: TVA History, with Peter McQueen appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Lisa Le is a nerdy, feminist, intersectional vegan blogger and food photographer. She runs The Viet Vegan blog and Youtube channel, and you may remember her as a former Veg Out host and Resource Centre volunteer. Lisa joined us virtually to talk about her sourdough journey, propagating house plants, and discovering the new plant based Becel […] The post Veg Out 477: Catching up with Lisa Le, The Viet Vegan appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

On this sweltering hot weekend, who better to chat with than Ikeila Wright from One Love Vegetarian – purveyor of delicious meals with just the right amount of spice? From corn soup to roti to callalloo, One Love offers a variety of nourishing Carribbean creole dishes made with care and love. On this episode, Sweta […] The post Veg Out 476: One Love Veg appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

We continue celebrating the TVA’s 75th anniversary with a trivia game that you can play along with! Listen and email us with how many answers you got right at tva@veg.ca. Don’t worry about your scorecard, your participation enters you to win a vegan cookbook! In our vegan roundtable, Steve tells us about a conversation he […] The post Veg Out 475: Vegan Trivia and Conversation appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

We’re keeping the celebrations going! In Part 2 of our special 75th Anniversary episode, hosts Sweta and Steve dive into some of the early days of the TVA with guest Michele Brennan, who has been with the organization for many glorious years. The TVA may have an official office and Resource Centre now, but, true […] The post Veg Out 474: We’re Turning 75 (Part 2) appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

Did you know that the TVA is turning 75 in on June 19? Tune in for a special Anniversary edition of Veg Out, where we chat with John Graber, a long-time volunteer with the TVA, about the history of the resource centre and the creation of the podcast as a slice of TVA’s history. Toronto’s veg*n landscape […] The post Veg Out 473: We’re Turning 75 (Part 1) appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

This week we’re talking PLANTIFY: a short documentary available on CBC Gem that explores how one dynamo couple introduced plant power on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula. Here in the GTA we’re lucky to have access to a plethora of resources to support plant-based diets, but that’s not always the case in urban, suburban, and rural locations […] The post Veg Out 472: Plantify appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

We’ve made it through seven weeks of COVID-19 lockdown here in Toronto and we wanted to check in and talk about how we’re coping. On this episode of Veg Out, Betsy, Sweta, and Sarah talk about finding ways to get some fresh air (and maybe even get a whiff of blooming magnolias), stay connected to […] The post Veg Out 471: Lockdown Talk appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

On this episode of Veg Out, Sweta, Sarah, and Steve discuss Red Meat Republic, a hard-hitting and informative book that illuminates the troubling practices of America’s cattle ranching industry. From the complexities of land ownership to the blunt power of the assembly line to workers’ rights, there is so much to consider when it comes […] The post Veg Out 470: Red Meat Republic: Indigenous Land Grabs and Working Conditions appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

On this episode of Veg Out Sarah, Steve and Sweta speak with Tanya from the restaurant Animal Liberation Kitchen. We get into how it all started and how they’re dealing with the struggles of maintaining a restaurant in these times. Listen Now to Veg Out 469 Links Animal Liberation Kitchen Find out updates about the […] The post Veg Out 469: Animal Liberation Kitchen appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

On this episode of Veg Out, Barbi and Sweta speak with Samita Sarkar about the science of baking. Samita is the daughter of two chemistry PhDs and is quite knowledgeable about science herself. She shares her expertise and offers advice about how to make good desserts. At the end of the podcast, Barbi shares some […] The post Veg Out 468: Taste Tests with Samita Sarkar appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

***Please note that the Buy Good, Feel Good has been postponed until the fall.  Please refer to their website for updates.*** On this edition of Veg Out, Jeanette welcomes the founders of three indie beauty and cosmetic brands that will be exhibiting at the upcoming Buy Good, Feel Good Expo. We welcome: Jenn Harper, founder […] The post Veg Out 467: Buy Good, Feel Good with Vegan Cosmetics appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

On today’s podcast Steve, Sweta and Karen speak to Debbie Fong. Debbie is a clinically-trained registered dietitian through the College of Dietitians of Ontario. She provides nutrition counselling and support to patients with weight issues and various chronic diseases. Veg Out – Debbie Fong, RD Debbie Fong’s Website Debbie Fong’s LinkedIn Profile The post Veg Out 466: Debbie Fong, RD appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

On today’s edition of Veg Out, we welcome Sigourney Bailey from Culinary Confections. We talk about running a vegan business, how to bake the perfect vegan cupcake, and how people can get delicious vegan treats delivered to their door! We also preview the Annex Valentine’s Market, where Sigourney will be selling her cupcakes, as well […] The post Veg Out 465: Culinary Confections appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

On today’s episode Sweta is joined by special guest host Nital Jethalal. Together they speak to the very knowledgeable Dr. Tushar Mehta about animal agriculture and its environmental impact. Join us as we discuss over-population, deforestation, biodiversity loss, food security and the large scale impact of animal use in our food. Listen Now! Veg Out […] The post Veg Out 464: The Earth is On Fire with Dr. Tushar Mehta appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.

On today’s episode Steve and Sweta speak with Camille Labchuk of Animal Justice. We discuss Camille’s experience as an animal rights lawyer in Canada, the changing landscape of the Canadian animal rights movement and bill 156, Ontario’s “ag-gag bill.” Listen to Veg Out 463 – Animal Justice now! Links Send a letter: Ask Ontario Legislators […] The post Veg Out 463: Animal Law with Camille Labchuk appeared first on Toronto Vegetarian Association » Toronto Vegetarian Podcast.