Its easy to get worn out when youre constantly on-the-go. This is why weve come up with a list of easy vegan cooking tips from the Food Monster App on how to add extra protein to your snack bites and bars!

Making your own high-protein vegan snack is simple. Just grab whatever oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, or granola you have left over in your pantry, mix it up with a binder and a sweetener and you have the base of a delicious, healthy snack. All you have to do is roll your mixture into bars or bites and stick them in the refrigerator to take with you on the go. Choose one or all of these tips for making a high-protein vegan snack to stay full and energized throughout your day!

Peanut Butter Snack Balls

Nut butter is rich in protein, healthy fats, and most importantly delicious flavor! Check outWhich Nut Butter is the Perfect Fit for You?by Lauren Mauldwin for a breakdownof different kinds of nut butter, you can find on Amazon!

Clmence Moulaert showed us how to make a simple, nutty snack ball with herPeanut Butter Snack Balls recipe- she just combines peanut butter, coconut, dates, and walnuts for a high-protein, super delicious bite!

If you arent the biggest fan of nut butter, you can tryKarielyn Tillmans method of masking the nut butter flavor with bolder plant-based ingredients like sesame and pistachio! You will add protein to your snack without overwhelming it with peanut butter! Check out herPistachio Sesame Seed Balls for more information!

Superpower Protein Balls

Protein powder is great because it adds up to 20+ grams of protein per serving for a low amount of calories! To explore some vegan options and flavors, check out15 Vegan Soy-free, Grain-Free Protein Powders byCortne Bonilla!

Judy Moosmueller added vanilla protein to herSuperpower Protein Ballsfor a sweet, vanilla-y bite! She offsets the bright, vanilla flavor with savory tahini to create a rich and delicious energy bite!

Jen Elliot showed us how to make a low-calorie bite with a ton of protein and flavor in herVanilla Orange Protein Balls recipe! She uses vanilla protein powder and orange flavor to create a sweet little bite of protein!

If you need extra energy, make these into bars for a bigger snack on-the-go!

Clean and Colorful Cacao and Walnut Truffles

Nuts and seeds are loaded with healthy fats, protein, and flavor! Theyre already in bite-sized chunks so theyre perfect to add to your snack bites and bars!

Julie Van den Kerchove combined oats and cashews in herHigh-Protein Cacao Nib Cookie Dough Bites for a super delicious and protein-rich snack! Plus, the richness of the cashews create a cookie dough texture and flavor. Perfection!

We think that theseClean and Colorful Cacao and Walnut TrufflesbyKarielyn Tillman is the ideal, high-protein treat! The walnuts add in healthy fats and protein for a super rich snack!

Kelly Fielding showed us how to combine cashews and pistachios for a delicious, satisfying snack on-the-go with herHigh-Protein Green Buzz Balls! The best part about pistachios is that they add flavor, color, and loads of protein!

Need more high-protein vegan snack bite inspiration? Check out by 25 Energy-Packed Snack Balls That Will Jump-Start Your Day or10 Granola Bars That are Healthy and Delicious. We also highly recommend downloading our Food Monster App, which is available for iPhone, and can also be found on Instagram and Facebook. The app has more than 15,000 plant-based, allergy-friendly recipes, and subscribers gain access to new recipes every day. Check it out!

For more Vegan Food, Health, Recipe, Animal, and Life content published daily, dont forget to subscribe to theOne Green Planet Newsletter!

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Easy Vegan Cooking Tips: How to Make High-Protein Bars and Bites! - One Green Planet

Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently discussed the benefits of vegan meat on the The David Rubenstein Show.

Gates praised vegan meat for being an environmentally-friendly alternative to its animal-based counterpart. Gates is an investor in plant-based meat brands Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.

Of all the categories, the one that has gone better than I would have expected five years ago is this work to make whats called artificial meat, said Gates.

Its slightly healthier for you in terms of less cholesterol, said Gates. Its, of course, a dramatic reduction in methane emissions, you know, animal cruelty, manure management, and the pressure meat consumption puts on land use.

Gates added, cows alone account for about six percent of global emissions.

Gates is a frequent critic of unsustainable animal agriculture. In October last year, he took to Twitter to discuss its negative impact on the environment. Gates suggested that if the beef and dairy industries were a country, it would rank third in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

If all the cattle in the world joined together to start their own country, they would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases,Gates wrote.

Gates has discussed the environmental impact of animal agriculture for many years. In a 2015 blog post titled Should We Eat Meat? he wrote, raising animals can take a big toll on the environment. You have to feed the animal far more calories than you extract when you eat it.

He added, Its especially problematic as we convert large swaths of land from crops that feed people to crops that feed cows and pigs.

In addition to being an investor and proponent of vegan meat, Gates also confirmed that he likes to eat plant-based food himself. What prompted Gates to invest in Beyond Meat was his inability to tell the difference between plant-based and animal-based chicken.

Like most people, I dont think I can be easily fooled. But thats just what happened when I was asked to taste a chicken taco and tell whether the meat inside was real or fake, Gates wrote in another blog post. What I was experiencing was more than a clever meat substitute. It was a taste of the future of food.

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Bill Gates Says Eat More Vegan Meat to Save the Planet

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Billionaire philanthropist and vegan meat investor Bill Gates says eating plant-based food could help fight climate change and preserve the environment.

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Liam Pritchett

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LIVEKINDLY

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Bill Gates Says Eat More Vegan Meat to Save the Planet - LIVEKINDLY

Small groups of students slowly circled the new 600-seat dining hall at Texas Womans University on Monday, chatting about what stations and food items were featured.

Holy s--t! Theres a deli, one student told her friend as she looked at the counter with fresh breads made on-site, filling options, a panini press and a toaster.

The deli is one of eight stations in the new dining hall, dubbed Pioneer Kitchen, that officially opened Monday. While officials celebrated with a ribbon-cutting, students filled the new space and were overwhelmed with options.

Students can build their own stir-fry dishes and watch as theyre cooked on a large Mongolian grill, check out the vegan options of the day or visit a gluten- and allergen-free station. Theres also the classic dining hall food: salad bar, burgers and pizza.

Emmaleigh Arnn and Anna Hammond are both juniors, each with a meal plan providing 40 meals a semester. So far this semester, Hammond said they had been to the old dining hall, the Underground, maybe five times. Now, theyre both sure theyll use up their meal plans at Pioneer Kitchen.

I had pizza from the wood-fired oven, and it was significantly better than the old one, Arnn said, laughing. It smells weird in the other one, and I walked in here and was wowed. It feels like a real college experience.

In addition to the dining hall options for students, there are other food-related services available at Pioneer Kitchen. Theres a teaching kitchen with live demonstrations to help students learn to cook, as well as a station for students to pick up cook-at-home meal kits that they can customize and make for two or four servings. The meal kit program, called Fed, is designed for students who live at Lowry Woods, the family-inclusive on-campus housing option, said Dianne Jackson, director of dining services.

Another take-home option is groceries for sale near the register. Dubbed the farmers market, the university has partnered with local vendors to offer produce and other food products for sale, such as jarred jams and fresh vegan linguine.

Theres also Pioneer Pastries housed within the dining hall, where anyone can order custom desserts and have them delivered anywhere on campus. Students can pay for the service with dining dollars or other forms of payment while ordering, Jackson said.

The additions are designed to help students as the campus becomes increasingly residential, especially with the new residence hall that opened this fall with 872 beds. The goal is to help students stay on campus and keep them from having to hop in a car whenever they need something food-related, Jackson said.

We wanted to compete outside of our walls, so we looked for programs that would cater to every student need thats something students are looking for, she said. We wanted to make this a one-stop shop for everything the students need so they dont have to leave campus, and this brings more value to their meal plans.

TWU Chancellor and President Carine Feyten cuts the ribbon Monday for Pioneer Kitchen, the new dining hall on campus.

During Mondays formal ribbon-cutting ceremony, TWU Chancellor and President Carine Feyten noted the growth in dining services since she started in the job in 2014. The university has added the Oakland Cafe, Which Wich and a Starbucks during her tenure, and now the updated dining hall will add to the student experience on campus, she said.

To be kind, not only was the Underground undersized, it was also underwhelming, Feyten said. As the university has grown and our enrollment has grown, we really did feel that we needed something more appropriate for the campus, the students, and also the faculty and staff. We never really had a place where faculty and staff could sit and eat.

With the opening of Pioneer Kitchen, the Underground is now closed, Jackson said. The kitchen will remain in use through the semester for catering services until new space in the new Student Union at Hubbard Hall is ready, she said.

The new dining hall at 1601 N. Bell Ave. is also open to the public $6.85 for breakfast, $8 for lunch and $9.15 for dinner.

JENNA DUNCAN can be reached at 940-566-6889 and via Twitter at @jennafduncan.

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From custom cakes to vegan entrees, here's what inside the new TWU dining hall - Denton Record Chronicle

(Source: Eat Love / Facebook)

by Alix Coe | October 28, 2019

Eat Love, a Latina-owned vegan food company, is set to open a brick-and-mortar fried chicken store in Orange County, California the first of its kind in the US.

After what seems to be a lifetime of hard work and determination, we are proud to announce that our brick and mortar is coming to Fountain Valley Eat Love announced on Instagram.

From selling cookies at farmers markets, to starting a food truck to now shipping nationwide, we are so grateful for our fans and supporters who have allowed us to turn our dream into reality, spreading the vegan movement the best way we know how.

Eat Love founder, Lynn Torres, has shared that the location for the shop was chosen in honor of having grown up in the area after her parents emigrated there.

The new shop, which will open on November 22, will sell vegan chicken in KFC-style buckets. Customers will also be able to enjoy a delicious selection of plant-based desserts, such as cookies, brownies, cakes, and ice cream.

Eat Love was born after Lynn and her husband Enrique transitioned to a plant-based diet in 2015. At the time, Enrique had recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and the couples combined weight was 610 pounds. With the help of a vegan diet, the couple lost weight and Enrique reversed his diabetes diagnosis.

They now want to share their experience with delicious food that heals people and respects animals.

Will you be heading down to Orange County to get yourself some fried chicken? Let us know in the comments below!

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First Vegan Fried Chicken Shop Coming To The US - Raise Vegan

When Oscar Munoz took over the helm of United Airlines in 2015, few on Wall Street believed his multiyear expansion strategy would fly. But its clear to see that his focus on customers, cost, capacity and connections has paid off: In its latest quarter the air carrier's net income jumped nearly 23%, up 3.4% from a year ago, to more than $1.02 billion. United also raised its earnings outlook on the year in a surge in bookings.

At United Airlines' Flight Plan 2020 event in Chicago on Friday, the carrier is announcing its latest bold moves to keep its growth strategy on course. Some of what's to come: larger airplanes, especially for domestic routes; an additional 63 new planes; more passenger-convenience features, such as an improved version of the United App; upgraded technology to react faster to operational disruptions; a number of ultra-long-haul route expansions and outfitting 50% of its widebody aircraft with its luxurious Polaris business-class seats.

To further prove its new image as a carrier committed to its customers, the airline is overhauling another major aspect of its service its in-flight dining experience. To keep up with evolving food trends, United is offering meal selections designed to meet the demands of consumers whose preferences are shifting toward a diet that's healthier and made with higher-quality ingredients.

Although the airline started introducing healthier options this year, with gluten-free alternatives, the carrier is now focusing heavily on plant-based options, said United Airlines' Executive Chef Gerry Gulli. Among United's 2020 offerings: red beet hummus with roasted vegetables; roasted curry cauliflower with whipped hummus and pomegranate; and vegan stuffed grape leaf with dolma infused yogurt.

United is not alone. Turkish Airlines, Air New Zealand, Emirates and Aegean also offer plant-based options. In July 2018 Air New Zealand collaborated with Silicon Valley food tech start-up Impossible Foods, becoming the first airline to serve the plant-based Impossible Burger as part of its Business Premier menu on flights from Los Angeles to Auckland. Emirates claims it has more than 170 plant-based recipes in its kitchen to cater to its vegan customers, and vegan meals rank as the third most commonly requested special meal in economy class.

But, said Munoz at CNBC's Evolve event in Chicago in September, "we are the only airline in the U.S. that has our own kitchens, because we like to control our quality as much as possible, and we are constantly trying to improve." United has five main kitchens, in Denver, Houston, Cleveland, Honolulu and Newark, New Jersey. Their test kitchen is in Chicago.

CNBC Evolve will return, this time to Los Angeles, on Nov. 19. Visit cnbcevents.com/evolve to register.

Gulli and Gerry McLoughlin, United's executive chef and senior manager of food and beverage design, will both mark their 35th anniversary with the company next year. Gulli joined United after working as an apprentice at Chicago's Ritz-Carlton, Drake and Palmer House hotels. McLoughlin completed a five-year apprenticeship at The Shelbourne, a historic hotel in Dublin, then worked at various establishments, including Chicago's Drake hotel and The Metropolitan Club.

The scope of their role is enormous: The chefs oversee the distribution of 55 million meals a year and manage more than 2,500 catering employees, along with an additional 6,000 within their catering partners all over the world.

When they came onboard in 1985, meals were frozen, prepackaged entrees, heated on the ground and kept hot in thermal containers until serving time or taken aboard chilled or frozen and reheated in a convection or microwave oven at 35,000 feet. A typical entree consisted of a chicken thigh in tomato sauce with yellow rice and green beans; iceberg lettuce and cucumber salad with a thick, sweet dressing; and a slice of cake. "Thirty years ago our produce suppliers were very limited," said Gulli. Now, he said, they are able to get produce in every overseas market from local suppliers.

Improvements in United's kitchens also come in the form of technology. "You eventually are going to see an ordering system where you will be able to secure the options that are available on your [upcoming] flight so you get your choice and we get to figure out the inventory better," said Munoz.

Gulli explained that advances in technology within the kitchen has also eased the process. "Our aircraft ovens today allow us to have more flexibility in reheating the food with steam. In years past, food was only cooked in high-speed convection ovens," said Gulli, explaining that airline catering also has the added challenge of ensuring the food is packed correctly. "The logistics and complexity of getting the food onto the plane and realizing the parameters of the different types of aircraft is complex," said the chef. In 1985 the air carrier flew only domestic; its longest flight was to Hawaii. Now United's fleet consists of at least nine different aircraft and flies to 192 countries.

United's Executive Chef Gerry Gulli has been with the air carrier since 1985. Over the past four years, he has been working with celebrity chefs and culinary experts to design healthier dining options for travelers.

United Airlines

"Back then I didn't think the meal service would ever be where it is now. Travelers wanted to get from point A to point B. Now cable TV and the Food Network has put excitement into food and made it fun. A lot of our customers are very food savvy," said Gulli.

Today Gulli said he and McLoughlin work closely with corporate and celebrity chefs to continuously evaluate evolving food trends. "We also listen to what our flight attendants tell us," he says, adding that the duo will even sometimes be seen hopping aboard a United flight to interact with customers and solicit feedback.

In 2015 United partnered with the Trotter Project, a nonprofit organization committed to continuing the legacy of legendary chef Charlie Trotter through mentoring and internship programs for youth interested in the culinary arts. For the past four years the Trotter Project has been gathering teams of chefs worldwide to join with United's culinary team in an ongoing collaboration to design new premium-cabin and United Economy meals. In turn, United supports the mission of The Trotter Project through sponsorship and mentorship programs, helping to develop the next great generation of chefs.

The chefs believe their recipes are so delicious, they released "The Polaris Cookbook" this year. It has more than 40 recipes, based on United's in-air dining menu. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the Polaris Cookbook go to The Trotter Project.

There are still headwinds facing United, including the unexpected grounding of its Boeing 737 Max fleet. But Munoz believes that at the end of the day, he will continue to build loyalty by offering great service and listening to customers about what they want.

"People want to be more comfortable, and they want to feel better about the flights, and so amenities anything that makes it easier for them to travel is an issue. That's part of flying 160 million people. We have 160 million opinions on most of that stuff, so we're listening and listening and listening," Munoz said.

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United Airlines overhauls its 2020 menu to cater more to the vegan crowd - CNBC

Jose and Leticia Gamiz received many insults when they first opened their mobile Mexican food business four years ago.

Their business, called Mi Vegana Madre, is entirely vegan. In other words, they only serve food made from plants.

Thats not real Mexican food, some people said. My grandma would slap you was another comment.

We even had somebody write (online) in Spanish, Theyre probably not even Mexican, Jose Gamiz told the Associated Press.

But even so, the couples meat- and dairy-free business has built a following. And, it is part of a growing vegan Mexican food industry in the United States.

In cities like Las Vegas, Nevada, and Austin, Texas, at least a few eateries or food trucks sell entirely vegan Mexican meals. Across Southern California, there are many choices, including a place that sells traditional sweets that do not contain dairy.

Mi Vegana Madre is based near Phoenix, Arizona. It expanded into a physical restaurant last year. It offers vegan versions of carne asada, al pastor and nachos -- made with a nut-based sauce that tastes like cheese.

Not far from Mi Vegana Made, another restaurant offering vegan Mexican food opened in January. In September, a third vegan Mexican place opened in Phoenix.

Nineteen-year-old Keren Aguilar and her sister, Keyla Aguilar, 22, opened Earth Plant Based Cuisine, also in Phoenix. Other family members, including their mother, also work there.

The sisters and their parents have eaten only vegan for nearly five years. It was Kerens dream to open a vegan restaurant. Luckily, a space became available and a family friend was willing to be a financial partner.

Most American vegan restaurants offer a few basic Mexican-influenced foods. But the Gamiz and Aguilar families are trying to include all kinds of the foods that they they grew up eating.

We didnt want it to have a vegan taste or be blandSo our spices are very important to making it Mexican, Keren Aguilar said.

Gustavo Arellano is a Los Angeles-based reporter. He wrote a book called Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. He says restaurants like Earth Plant Based Cuisine are bringing traditional methods to the increasingly popular plant-based diet.

What blew up the vegan Mexican movement was these pop-up vegan food fairs where you have not just Mexicans, but Central Americans, Arellano said.

Yet for some Latinos, eating no meat seems impossible. Linda Sepulveda lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where there almost no all-vegan Mexican restaurants. She says she would find it hard to give up an eating whatever she wants.

Im intrigued by (vegan Mexican), but I think a part of me knows it wont taste the same, she said. We are always trying to find where we can add [vegetables], but there always has to be a main meat and everything else dresses it up.

However, Gustavo Arellano notes that Mexicos native peoples actually ate mostly plant-based foods in the past. Spanish colonizers greatly changed the food culture when they brought over cows and pigs.

They dont realize, if youre real Mexicans, youre not supposed to be eating this meat in the first place because colonizers brought it over, Arellano said. I eat everything, but Ill eat vegan Mex if its good.

Im Pete Musto.

Terry Tang reported this for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. How popular is meat-free food in your country? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

slap v. to hit someone or something with the front or back of your open hand

dairy n. milk or food made from milk, such as ice cream, cheese, or yogurt

restaurant n. a place where you can buy and eat foods eaten or prepared for eating at one time

cheese n. a yellow or white solid food that is made from milk

bland adj. lacking strong taste

spice(s) n. a substance, such as pepper or nutmeg, that is used in cooking to add special tastes to food and that comes from a dried plant and is usually a powder or seed

intrigue(d) v. to cause someone to become interested

dress(es) (it) up p.v. to make something more appealing, impressive, or fancy

realize v. to understand or become aware of something

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Meat-Free Mexican Restaurants on the Rise in the US - VOA Learning English

Manchester City Football Club has teamed up with Nestl Professional. The club named Nestl their official vegan and vegetarian partner.

The multi-year deal is said to be the first of its kind for a top English club.

Nestls plant-based Garden Gourmet burger and vegan YES! fruit bars will be added to the matchday food menu at the Etihad and Academy stadiums.

The collaboration also aims to use football and food service to create positive social change within the local community.

Damian Willoughby, senior vice president of partnerships at City Football Group, said in a statement, By enhancing the vegan options throughout our stadiums, we are offering fans an even wider selection of high-quality food and beverage options.

This relationship exemplifies the clubs ongoing commitment to sustainability and throughout the partnership, we will be collaborating on several exciting initiatives that use football as a force for social good to empower better lives and help drive new opportunities, Willoughby said.

Plant-based diets are becoming more prominent in the sporting world.

Manchester Uniteds center-back Chris Smalling thanked his vegan diet for keeping him injury-free and for speeding up his recovery. The athlete said he feels fresher and stronger on an animal-free diet and that the change helped with his tendinitis. I had quite a few symptoms, but since I went fully vegan I dont feel it at all anymore,he said.

Vegan U.S. player Alex Morgan is one of the best forwards in the world,according to FIFA. The Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Womens World Cup champion scored her 100th career USWNT goal earlier this year, making her the third-youngest and fourth-fastest player to do so.

Scotland defenders Jenny Beattie and Chloe Arthur and England midfielder Karen Carney are also vegan. Carney said going vegan has made her feel fabulous.

Ive been vegan for over a year now, about 15 months. I changed to the vegan diet and I feel fabulous, its great. I wish Id done it earlier,she said in May, adding that shefeelsmore energised, healthier, and happier.

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Manchester City Just Went Vegan Thanks to Nestl

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Manchester City Football Club just made Nestl Professional their official vegan partner. More soccer players are going vegan to boost athletic performance.

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Jemima Webber

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LIVEKINDLY

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Manchester City Just Went Vegan Thanks to Nestl - LIVEKINDLY

After six years of pop-ups and private catering, S + M Vegan is making a play for the big time, with a new vegan restaurant focused on Singaporean flavors to open in Oaklands Dimond District next year.

The Chronicle reports that S + M founders Marie Chia and Shane Stanbridge will open a restaurant called Lion Dance Cafe at 3525 Fruitvale Avenue, in a spot that once housed a (long-shuttered) print shop. Chia and Stanbridges provocatively-named pop-up is an East Bay standby, with a long-term Tuesday night stand inside the punk bar Elis Mile High Club.

Thats where the duo caught the eye of Chron food critic Soleil Ho, who earlier this month declared an iteration of S + Ms shaobing (there are eight, she tapped number seven) her favorite sandwich in the Bay Area. Lengthy lines ensued, S + M said in the Instagram announcement of their restaurant plans, and at its last Elis dinner S + M sold out completely.

The new spot, which S + M says should open by spring/early summer, but we all know how these things go, will be a departure from its current format, with a focus on meatless versions of the Singaporean foods Chia ate as a child as well as flavors from the Chinese-American diaspora, including Kung Pao mushrooms and General Tsos fried vegetables, the Chron reports. Coffee drinks, vegan milkshakes, and noodle dishes will also be on the new menu as will a version of Hos favorite sandwich. Other than that, specific menu details are thin at this point, but at past pop-ups, Chia and Stanbridge have served vegan versions of classic Singaporean street-hawker noodle dishes such as laksa and char kway teow.

With that new menu comes a new name, even for its ongoing Elis events. From now on, the pop-up will be known as Lion Dance Cafe by S + M Vegan, which is quite a (meatless) mouthful. That, too, is a nod to the new restaurants Singaporean leanings.

The arrival of any Singaporean restaurant, much less a vegan one, is big news in the laksa- and kaya toast-starved Bay Area. San Francisco proper only has a small handful of restaurants that serve Singaporean dishes perhaps most notably Lime Tree in the Inner Richmond. But recently, perhaps as a sign of things to come, a number of new-school chefs are putting their own California-influenced twists on the cuisine: Breadbelly with its kaya toast, Nora Haron with her forthcoming Singaporean-Indonesian-Californian bakery, and now Lion Dance Cafe.

S + M Vegans next pop-up is planned for 5-10 p.m. on October 29 at Elis, with additional events at other spots planned for 2020. Lion Dance, when it opens, will begin with dinner served most nights and an eventual brunch service.

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S + M Vegans New Oakland Restaurant Will Serve Vegan Versions of Singaporean Dishes - Eater SF

Vegan Guest Never Accommodated at Friends' Dinner Parties Finally Speaks UpAcceptBrowsers may block some cookies by default. Click accept to allow advertising partners to use cookies and serve more relevant ads. Visit our privacy policy page for more information.Source: iStock PhotoBy Robin Zlotnick

3 days ago

You might want to take a deep breath before you read this story from Reddit's "Am I the A-hole?" because it's kind of unbelievable. The poster explains that he and his wife have been throwing dinner parties a few times a year "for as long as we've lived in our current city." It sounds really nice! They "go all out and cook elaborate multi-course meals," so understandably, they only invite a few close friends.

It's become an awesome tradition in their social circle and it sounds absolutely amazing if I'm being honest. I would want to be in their circle of friends if I didn't know how this story progressed. But I do, so...

The poster explains that their friend James started dating Sarah about a year and a half ago. When they started inviting Sarah to their dinner parties, they were made aware that Sarah was vegan. Instead of saying, "Cool! We'll make sure to have at least one dish she can eat at our next party because we are reasonable and normal human beings," they "thanked James for letting us know and said she was more than welcome to bring her own food so she would have something to eat."

Reader, my jaw dropped. You are hosting a dinner party for your friends. If your friend was gluten-free or had a peanut allergy, you wouldn't include those ingredients in at least some of the multiple courses of food you served. You don't have to create an entirely vegan feast just for Sarah, but she is a guest at your dinner party! Don't make her bring her own food, you heathen!

But evidently, James didn't think that request was weird, or he was too taken aback to say anything, so he agreed, and they've been attending the dinner parties for a year without saying a word. During the most recent party, though, "Sarah was very quiet and looked like she was about to cry."

She dodged questions asking if she was OK, but later, James took them aside and told them Sarah is feeling hurt because they never provide any food she can eat at their dinners and it was starting to feel like they were "deliberately excluding her." I would think that, too! If I was Sarah, maybe I'd understand if there weren't any dishes for me to eat at the very first dinner party I attended. Maybe the menu was already set, and I wouldn't want to cause trouble. Fine.

But it's been a year of these parties, and they haven't even accidentally provided one vegan dish she could eat? No side salad or veggies that weren't slathered in butter? Who are these monsters? I am so fired up about this.

Of course it would seem like they were deliberately leaving her out! James stood up for Sarah and said he thought the hosts were being "rude and inconsiderate," which they were! But the poster got really mad about that, and they got into a huge argument. Now, his wife feels appropriately terrible that Sarah was upset and apologized to her and James, but her husband, the guy who posted this story looking for validation, doesn't believe he did anything wrong.

"I like Sarah very much as a person and I don't have anything against her dietary choices," he wrote, "but I don't believe it's fair to expect us to change our entire menu or make an entire separate meal for one person." No! One! Is! Asking! Him! To! Do! That! Just offer one dish that's vegan-friendly. Or put aside some Brussels sprouts before you pour bacon all over them. How hard is it to see that you should do this nice thing for your friend when you are already doing a nice thing for your friends by cooking for them in the first place? You're halfway to Nicetown! Go the rest of the way!

Luckily, everyone else agreed that these people are lunatics for not making an effort to accommodate Sarah. "I could actually understand OP's side for maybe the first dinner if they were caught a little off-guard by being told she's vegan," one commenter agreed. "But to exclude her for over a f---ing year without making a single vegan-friendly dish is absolutely huge a--hole territory."

Others in the comments were just as baffled as I am that they didn't even accidentally cook a vegan-friendly dish. Lots of dishes that non-vegan people cook and eat regularly are vegan just by default, so I totally understand how Sarah felt like, by not cooking any vegan food, they were malicious. What they have been doing is patently absurd.

Now I'm like... do these people not understand what it means to be vegan? Do they think they have to do something special to the food they're cooking to make it vegan? They do know that you can roast vegetables in olive oil and lots of spices and garlic and that's still vegan, right? You can make a salad with tons of veggies and nuts and fruits and make a delicious vinaigrette (and maybe put the cheese on the side) and that's vegan, too. It's not hard to make something vegan!

Another commenter brought up that if they didn't want to accommodate her, they could have just not invited her. Yeah, that would be horrible, too, but it might be preferable to "inviting her to your house so that she can watch you eat." That poor girl. I want James and Sarah to dump these crazies and go live their vegan-friendly lives with people who aren't total barbarians!

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Vegan Guest Never Accommodated at Friends' Dinner Parties Finally Speaks Up - Distractify

The program made controversial claims about vegan diets (Photo: Adobe. Do not use without permission)

The BBC has been blasted for airing 'blatant misinformation and biased reporting' in a recent radio broadcast about veganism.

Last Monday's Start the Week program featured host Kirsty Wark interviewing food writer Joanna Blythman. Among the claims the pair made were that plant-based diets 'cannot compare in nutrient density' to omnivorous ones, and that young vegan women are likely to have fertility issues as their 'diets lack iron'.

Numerous listeners contacted the BBC to complain, with one accusing the broadcaster of giving airtime to 'fatuous propaganda on behalf of the meat industry' and others complaining said Wark was 'far too supportive of Blythman's controversial views', instead of challenging them.

Listener Richard Peacock said: "I appreciate that the issue of BBC bias and balance is thrown around far too liberally, but I think if you're going to talk about an issue in these terms, then you need someone else to balance the viewpoint, whether that is someone who can accurately represent a vegan perspective or a presenter who will challenge the guest's claims."

David Gibbon added: "I heard this morning yet another fatuous piece of propaganda on behalf of the meat industry by some woman bleating on about jackfruit and avocados and Seventh Day Advertists. Would it be possible to get some sensible vegan opinions on the airwaves instead of trotting out these ridiculous caricatures of veganism all the time?"

One listener simply identified herself as 'Teresa from London'. She said that while Start the Week isn't a news program, when an institution 'insists on balance to the extent that Nigel Farage is never off the BBC and climate change deniers were given frequent coverage until recently', Wark's claims that eating 14-year-old beef will do no harm - implying this was to the environment and maybe even the animal - are 'ridiculous and offensive'.

Avocados were cited as being destructive to the environment(Photo: Adobe. Do not use without permission)

Vegan charity Viva! published an 800-word statement in response to the program, saying the presenters made 'wild, unsubstantiated claims on all aspects of veganism from the environment to nutrition, and even human rights and culture', accusing the BBC of 'sharing misinformation and presenting it as fact'.

"How ironic to state that 'there is a plethora of information out there yet very little of it is authenticated' when the BBC themselves are sharing misinformation and presenting it as fact," Viva! added.

The statement tackled the claims made about avocados and jackfruit harming the environment, raised the issues of human rights violations committed through animal agriculture, looked at some of the health claims aired, and challenged the view that 'vegans have "lost the joy of eating'.

"The BBC has a duty to provide accurate, balanced information which is in the interest of the public. You failed to provide a counter-argument to the unsubstantiated claims made in this show," it added, while requesting the organization makes on-air corrections for the erroneously claims broadcast during the segment.

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BBC Blasted Over 'Wild And Unsubstantiated' Negative Claims About Veganism - Plant Based News