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Hooked On People Interviews

Whistler Virtual Vegan Fest June 20th

June 17, 2020 By julia

First off, I hope you are all doing well amidst the firey world we’re all living in at this moment.

I have taken some time to step back from content creation (thank you to those who reached out), and continue to try my best to educate myself more on everything that is Black Lives Matter. With that, moving forward I will now be more proactive in featuring and lifting up the Black Voices in the vegan community. There are many!

That’s what the last blog post is all about.
15 Inspiring Black Vegans You Need to Follow

PLUS, places to donate and Black-Owned businesses to support.

Sending out love and compassion to all of you!

BIG NEWS
The Whistler Virtual Vegan Fest
June 20th
5 PM

For Free or by Donation.
100% of the proceeds will go to The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary or the Whistler Food Bank.

Head here to reserve a ticket!

Follow @whistlerveganfest for updates on speakers and more details.

What to expect:
A star-studded line up of inspiring vegan voices.
A mantra, a breathwork session, nutrition tips, recipe demos, art demo, veganism in the Black Community, animal activism, relationship chat, environmental facts, gut health tips, vegan transitioning with 80/20 Plants, all topped off with a DJ set from our fave vegan DJ. 

Here’s a graphic to share on your insta:

Who will you come to the fest with?? (Virtually)

#wvvf #wvfvirtual

CHECK OUT THE FULL LINEUP:
  • Hostesses: Julia Murray and Andrea Helleman (@hookedonplants + @andeehelleman)
  • Crystal Rainbow Borelli @crystalrainbowyoga mantra
  • Julia McCabe @juliamariemccabe breath-work session
  • Genesis Butler // @GenesisForAnimals young vegan activist in the Black Community
  • Bassem Youssef // @bassem AKA The Jon Stewart of Egypt: His Vegan Story
  • Natasha Plumridge // @artbynatashalouise , our official fest artist brings us a live art demonstration
  • Lauren Toyota // @hotforfood recipe video
  • Nil Zacharias // @eatfortheplanet Vegan Environmental Facts
  • Dotsie Bausch // @veganolympian of The Game Changers Movie. Her Olympic Story, and a dairy  @switch4good chat
  • Dr. Will B The Gut Health MD // @theguthealthmd reading from his new book Fiber Fueled
  • Jasmine Leyva // @TheInvisibleVegan Actress + Documentary Filmmaker. A Powerful Voice in the Black Vegan Community
  • Carly Taylor // @carlytaylor269 Veganism + Relationships
  • Amy Soranno // @amysoranno & Zoe Peled //  @zoemarg Animal Activism + History
  • Adele Helleman // @ucantstoplove Down Syndrome Dance Instructor who has become an accidental vegan since the Covid-19 pandemic hit
  • Dr. Pamela Fergusson RD // @drpamela.rd nutrition chat
  • Dr Matthew Nagra // @dr.matthewnagra , our naturopath talks about Masculinity and Veganism
  • Doug // @nomeatathlete_official Roslyn // @plantsfirstnutritionClare // @clareminded chatting @8020plants plant-based transition app
  • Taylor Godber // @taylorgodber How going plant-based can impact the planet
  • Rachel Steenland // @theplantriot Tasty + Easy Recipe
  • Dara aka @DJTigerLily // @our.soul.purpose chit chat & live DJ Set Closing DANCE.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
Too many awesome people, I can hardly contain my excitement.

See you there???

Here is the link for the sign up again (if you’re not available on the 20th you can still reserve a ticket, as it will be available for replay on our YouTube Channel after).

Please join the conversation on social and share that line-up graphic (don’t forget to tag @whistlerveganfest and I @hookedonplants )

Let’s have some fun, and raise some funds for animals + humans.

Join the instagram community:

Filed Under: Hooked On People Interviews Tagged With: entertainment, fest, festival, plant based people, recipe, vegan dietician, vegan doctors, vegan fest, vegan interviews, vegan nutritionists, vegan people, vegan stories, vegan transition, virtual fest, whistler vegan fest, whistler virtual vegan fest

Meet Amy + her Velvet Underground Hazelnut Brownies

January 7, 2020 By julia

I’m excited to have Amy from Velvet Underground Cafe here this week to write a guest post.
I’m totally in love with all that she’s doing with Velvet Underground (it’s a must-stop when you’re here in Whistler) from the food, to the vibe, to the fun clothes and local product zone. I’ll let her introduce her rad self.
“Hello hooked on plants family!
My name’s Amy and I’m the owner and founder of Velvet Underground in Whistler BC.
We are a plant-based cafe, a second hand and vintage clothing store, and we are obsessed with reducing our environmental footprint on this beautiful planet. We consider ourselves a community, and a movement more than a store.
I grew up on a farm as an “animal lover” that still ate animals!
I even had pet cows and sheep but I just hadn’t made the connection that those same animals I loved I was also eating! It’s a weird feeling to think back to those times and try and understand my mentality around-consuming animal products.
Like many, I thought, it is what we as humans are supposed to eat.
And I get it, in some cultures – in snowy arctic climates – where vegetation is limited, they probably did need to eat meat and animal products, but in this day and age we can walk into any store and buy whatever our heart desires year-round!
I realized that we have the ability to thrive on a plant-based diet, so bit by bit the pennies started dropping.
Another huge deal breaker for me was the environmental impact animal agriculture has on the planet.
That was the first thing that started to really open my mind up to this more conscious way of living. I was interested in the environmental aspect of minimizing the demand of fast fashion and instead consciously choosing second-hand everything in all my shopping habits.
The vegan thing was a natural progression from that.
It was a slow process though, all though I’ve been vegetarian and about 80% vegan for around 5 years I only became fully vegan about 2 years ago, and I haven’t looked back!
This way of life has not only made me feel healthier and more energetic, but also I honestly believe it raises your consciousness to a level I can’t begin to explain.
Through my cafe, I get so much joy from inspiring others to make the change and seeing how stoked they are to learn that they can have everything they would ever want to eat but made VEGAN!
It’s actually so great! 2020, what a time to be vegan!  
So in light of that, I wanted to share this recipe from our cafe. It’s one of my faves because it’s super chocolate-y, and decadent, uses up the nut meal we have as a bi-product from making fresh nut milk, and tastes like a real ‘treat yo-self’ kinda dessert!
Heat it up with berries and coco whip to really pimp it out!”
Check out 80/20 Plants for all the plant eating help.

HAZELNUT BROWNIES

Makes 12 brownies

INGREDIENTS

½ cup (8 tsp) chia blended and mixed with just enough water to make a gel

4 cups nut pulp (we use the leftover hazelnut and almond from our nut milk but you can sub regular almond meal for a similar result)

1 cup (100g) dutch cocoa

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup (170g) dark chocolate (we use east van roasters couverture dark chocolate)

½ cup of coconut milk

1/2 cup (125g) of coconut oil, melted

2 cups date puree: make this by soaking dried dates in warm water for half an hour or more, then blend

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup (170g) chopped hazelnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt the coconut oil and chocolate together separately in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water

2. Assemble all other ingredients together in a large bowl, then mix in the melted chocolate and coconut oil together

4. Transfer to a 10 x 8 (ish) baking dish tin (lined with baking paper)

5. Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes

6. Let cool and put in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight so it can easily be cut. Then enjoy!

 

Filed Under: Dessert, Gluten Free, Hooked On People Interviews, Recipes, Snacks, Uncategorized, Veganism

Lindsay is Vegan | Hooked on Plants Interview + Lasagna Recipe!

July 18, 2019 By julia

Lindsay O’Donnell has been meat-free for almost 20 years and has been promoting a cruelty-free lifestyle for just as long through volunteering with organizations like Peta, Earth Save, and Sea Shepherd. She ran a cooking blog, hosted vegan supper clubs, and now keeps people informed on food issues through  her Instagram page Lindsay is Vegan!

Today she runs the food marketing company Piquant Marketing and works to raise awareness on food issues and promote veganism. Let’s hear more from her!

How long have you been vegan, and what was the pivotal moment for making the change?

This might sound weird, but there are a few things in my life that I just always knew. Like I always knew I’d be a vegetarian and a vegan. I remember my mom having a friend who was vegetarian and I remember her skin just GLOWED. I remember just knowing that I would eventually be a vegetarian too. It’s funny because my kid isn’t vegan but she says the same thing to me- that she will be when she grows up.

But the catalyst to really make changes was when I really became an activist in my teens. I volunteered with Peta, Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd, The SPCA, EarthSave and eventually co-founded an ocean education non-profit too. I felt like I was asking a big change of the world and I couldn’t expect it without walking the walk myself. 

How long did it take for you to transition?

A long time! I get people that messaging me all the time and they’re apologizing because they’re cutting out meat but haven’t cut out cheese or whatever. I cut out red meat at 16, chicken a year later and seafood later. I went vegan at 26, making the transition 10 whole years!

The key is finding replacements instead of cutting stuff out (think abundance and fun, instead of restriction). When I first went vegan I just drank coke and ate bananas so obviously I failed (and was an idiot). If you’re making changes, celebrate that and now that we’re all on a food journey …and if you’re doing the first step of trying to be better with your food choices you are already making a difference.

If there was just one thing you wish everyone in the entire world know regarding veganism, what would it be?

God, it’s so hard to talk about being vegan without sounding smug. For example, I can’t really think of a good reason to still eat meat (unless you’re in a remote village and it’s your primary food source).

Ok, here’s the thing. Being vegan makes me feel AMAZING. My body bounces back faster than when I ate meat, I feel lighter, and I’m happier. Being vegan has given me so much joy. I wish people know how wonderful and beautiful it is. People think it’s about restrictions and deprivation but for me it’s been the best thing I could have ever done for my mental and physical health. I really think that if you haven’t even tried veganism…you don’t know what you’re missing.

You are SO inspiring over on instagram, and give out so many amazing facts. What are your favourite resources for finding vegan news/animal rights news/mind blowing research?

I really appreciate that! It’s funny, when I first when vegetarian it felt like it was a much more confrontational time. It’s hard to explain but people challenged you constantly on your food choices. Like I needed to have my reasons and facts for everything. Going vegetarian, and then vegan in the 90’s was like going to debate class. 

So, I just signed up for every newsletter I could think of. That way I was constantly getting nuggets of information without being overwhelmed. I still get about 50 newsletters a day…which is now overwhelming! Now there’s documentaries and social media but I still mostly read books and get newsletters. My favourite newsletters are from Peta, Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, and Daily Kos. 

Some websites that really helped me in the beginning were GEFreeBC, PETA, Farm Sanctuary, WWF, Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd, EarthSave, and One Green Planet. 

These are older books but still so worth reading are The Jungle, Fast Food Nation, Greenpeace (love this one for business too!), and I’m currently reading Farmaggeden. 

What are your best tips for dealing with social settings for new vegans? 

1: I constantly feel like I’m not making any difference in the world and feel sort of burnt out by it. Things take time. I once worked with a woman who said she would never give up meat or cheese and loved meat too much. Many years later she emailed me to say she went vegan, is now a big activist online, and said she always remembered some of the things I talked about with her! Seeds take a while to grow but know that by living by example you’re creating change.

2: Sometimes people are just trying to get a rise out of you. It’s about them, not you.

3: You convert more people by making them feel encouraged or empowered than by making them feel guilty or marginalized. 

Where do you see our world in 2050 in regards to the plant-based movement? 

This one is so hard because it blows my mind how main-stream veganism is. I sound so old, but I really can’t believe it. I’m reading statistics that says all meat will be plant-based by 2040 which…I don’t know if I believe?

I’m super curious to see what happens when lab meat starts becoming affordable. Many people are vegan for mainly ethical reasons, so if you only eat lab meat…are you still vegan or will that be something new? Like culture-vegans? I don’t know, it will be interesting.

I feel like consumers are generally going to have higher ethical and health standards but I can see the vegan community become fractured over things like lab meat but I also think that’s a wonderful problem to have.

I can see eating meat becoming like smoking…like there are many people that do it but it’s not seen as healthy or productive and it’s taxed heavily.

What was your main inspiration behind starting Piquant Marketing? 

I feel like I kind of fell into the food business! I had actually always wanted to work at Lululemon and interviewed there a few times but…was never successful. I then saw a posting for a marketing job at Whole Foods Market and it clicked. It was like…this is where I need to be. These are my people! People who were passionate about farmers, food, the environment, and animal welfare.

I worked there for 4 years before being a part of a big layoff of their marketing division. I sort of bounced around and realized I needed to stay in food. It’s where I had made relationships and was spending all my spare time. 

I basically wanted to do what I did at Whole Foods Market! So we started doing branding, social media, event planning, community partnerships, content marketing, and business planning for food brands. Then, last year I decided it was time to use the tools I had to make a difference and make a statement so we created core values for the clients we work with which included no meat products. Overall we have almost completely vegan clients mostly because that’s who is attracted to work with us.

Now we’re about to turn 3 years old and it’s totally wild.

For those rainy summer days, when you want to feel cozy fall feelings!

Filed Under: Dinner, Hooked On People Interviews, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: canada vegan, hooked on people interview, hooked on plants interview, lasagna, lindsay is vegan, piquant marketing, plant-based tips, pumpkin lasagna, sea shepherd, vegan inspiration, vegan interview, vegan resources, vegan talk, veganism

Interview with Vegan Registered Dietician: Pamela Fergusson + Tahini Brownies

March 21, 2019 By julia

Pamela Fergusson a Vegan Registered Dietician with a PhD in nutrition, and a Mama of 4!
In her 15 years of experience in changing lives through better nutrition, she’s worked as a lecturer in nutrition at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Ryerson University.
Let’s just say, her experience with plant-based nutrition is vast!!
Her blog and instagram ( @drpamela_rd ) are both incredibly informative, making the plant-based lifestyle approachable, fun and delicious.
Her instastories are always a go-to where she backs her facts with stats and studies, and simplifies delicious and nutritious vegan meals. She recently moved out of the city and into the mountains, and now bases her private practice out of Nelson BC.
Well, I put it out to all of you over on my @hookedonplants Instastories:
What do you want me to ask a vegan dietician!?
Here are some questions you wanted answers to (some of these questions have been answered in other areas of my instagram and blog, but I’m excited to hear it in the words of the amazing Pamela!):
You asked:
What is the best way to get Calcium and Vitamin D without dairy?
Pamela answered:
Calcium can be found in a wide variety of plant foods, including tahini, apricots, kale and tofu. One of the best ways to get it, though, is by drinking a fortified plant-based milk. In Canada, those will also be fortified with vitamin D2. Vitamin D3 is better absorbed, but you will need to get that through a supplement. The best source of vitamin D is the sun! You’ll need 20 mins of spring/summer or autumn exposure with no sunscreen.
You asked:
Should I limit fruit sugar? 
Pamela answered:
Fructose is the sugar in fruit and it is metabolized in the liver. Please don’t limit your intake of fruit. The sugar in fruit is just one of the nutrients found in nature’s candy.  You will also be getting fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. You should, however, limit your intake of high fructose corn syrup. That stuff is stripped of any additional helpful nutrients and increases your risk of chronic disease.
 
You asked:
What is your view on the animal-based Keto diet and the vegan Keto diet?
Pamela answered:
I’m very cautious about the keto diet in general. I think the research is still very new and unfortunately so many people are attracted to the ‘dirty keto’ involving meals like steak slathered in butter. My advice, if you are trying keto, is make sure your fibre intake is still high.
 
You asked:
What plant milk is the best to give babies?
Pamela answered:
When introducing a milk to children’s diets, the recommendation in Canada for families wishing to avoid dairy is to continue with soy-based formula until your children are two years of age.  Remember that continuing to breastfeed, along with complementary solid foods is a wonderful source of nutrition for your baby, to two years of age and beyond.
Some parents don’t want to offer formula to their babies, and would prefer to offer a milk. At the moment, fortified soy milk is the only milk that offers the calcium, vitamin D and the protein that your baby will benefit from. You can look to other sources for healthy fats. One tip is to blend hemp hearts into your store-bought soy milk to bump up the nutrition, including protein, and healthy fats including omega-3s.
 
You asked:
What can be done to help reduce and bloating throughout the day on a vegan diet?
Pamela answered:
Keeping your portions small is a good idea. Try a gentle approach to intermittent fasting of 12 hours of eating window and then 12 hours of fasting. If that works well, you might want to extend your daily fast slightly to 14 or even 16 hours. Increase your fibre intake slowly.
You asked:
I went vegan for a few months, but felt really tired. What was I doing wrong?
Pamela answered:
It’s unusual for a dietary change to affect you so quickly. This points to the idea that you might not have been eating enough calories. Plant foods are mostly lower in calorie density than animal foods are, and you may need to increase portions of frequency of meals when you go vegan. Longer term, fatigue may be a sign of iron or B12 deficiency, but that takes a long time to develop. You can always ask your doctor to check your blood work if you have any concerns. I recommend annual bloodwork to my clients if possible.
 
You asked:
Why do vegans need to supplement B12?
Pamela answered:
B12 is derived from bacteria. So, although meat is a source of B12, cows and pigs don’t produce it themselves, they simply store it in their tissues. Also, many farmers supplement their animal’s diets with B12. There is no B12 in plants, so we need to get it from supplements or fortified foods.
 
You asked:
What other supplements do you recommend everyone takes on a vegan diet?
Pamela answered:
B12, Vitamin D in the winter and possibly a vegan omega 3 (DHA/EPA).
*Side note: Complement has all three in one. Head here and use the code ‘hookedonplants’ for 10% off at the check out.*

Enough talk, it’s time for Pamela’s brownies

 

Pamela Fergusson's Fudgey Tahini Brownies
 
Save Print
Prep time
20 mins
Cook time
30 mins
Total time
50 mins
 
Super dense brownies with benefits! Perfect for the lunch box.
Author: Jules
Recipe type: dessert, snack
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1 cup white sugar (can sub ½ coconut sugar. Batter will be extra dense and a bit fudge-y)
  • ½ cup brown or coconut sugar
  • 1¾ cup flour can use 50/50 white/whole wheat
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 2 flax eggs (1 tbsp ground flax and 3 tbsp water or aquafaba per 'egg')
  • ¼ cup apple sauce
  • ½ cup tahini
  • ¾ cup plant based milk
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
  • 2 tsp vanila
  • 1 cup boiling hot coffee
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Mix flax eggs and set aside to gel while you prepare the other ingredients
  3. Add lemon juice or vinegar to your plant-based milk. Set aside for 10 mins to sour. This will improve the flavour of the brownies (like vegan buttermilk!)
  4. Mix your dry ingredients in a bowl so they are evenly distributed.
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry (don't forget the flax eggs), EXCEPT for the coffee, save that til last. Hand mix gently with a spoon until well combined, but don't over-mix.
  6. Pour in the coffee and mix gently. Batter will be wet. Don't worry!
  7. Grease a 9X13 in baking pan or line it with baking paper.
  8. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350F for 30 mins, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to complete cooling.
  9. Enjoy warm! With vegan ice cream. Life is delicious.
Notes
Top with vegan chocolate chips or coconut chips!
3.5.3226

 

Tag @hookedonplants and @drpamela_rd if you make this! We love seeing your creations.

For more inspiration and info on eating plant-based, sign up to my emails for bi-weekly inspiration, recipes, plus a free PDF on How to Get Hooked On Plants!

Try the #PlantsForAWeek challenge by grabbing my new E-Book

 

Filed Under: Dessert, Hooked On People Interviews, Oil Free, Recipes, Salt Free, Snacks, Uncategorized Tagged With: brownies, dietician interview, easy vegan dessert, fudgey brownies, hooked on people, lunch box brownies, nutrition interview, pamela fergusson, tahini brownies, vegan brownies, vegan dietician, vegan RD, vegan snack

Hooked on People: Anna Pippus aka Easy Animal Free + her Lentil Walnut Bolognese

December 6, 2018 By julia

Anna’s instagram stories ( @easyanimalfree ) make the vegan lifestyle as a busy Mom of 2 look like a breeze (by making recipes like her lentil walnut bolognese, shared below!). The way she shares recipes, ideas and tips makes her super approachable, and totally normalizes the plant-based lifestyle.
In a nutshell, Anna is an animal rights activist, and lawyer. Her life’s mission is to minimize animal’s suffering as much as she possibly can… and she’s doing this by specializing in farm animals by serving as director of farmed animal advocacy for Animal Justice, and as a strategic advisor for We Animals.
She is an incredible voice for the voiceless, and does a fantastic job bringing it all back to the mainstream by showing how simple it can be to create easy, breezy, delicious meals for her family.

Let’s get to know Anna a bit more…


Hooked on Plants: Was there a moment in your life that made you go vegan?

Anna Pippus: I went vegetarian as a kid, simply because I was a big animal lover and it didn’t feel right to eat animals. But, I didn’t know anything about farming back then, and I kept eating eggs and dairy, wearing leather, and buying cosmetics by animal testing brands without too much thought. This was the early 90s—there was no internet, and veganism was rare enough that I’d never heard of it.

A little over ten years ago, I first heard about veganism, and on some level I think it occurred to me that this was probably a good thing to do, something that I should and would do. I half-heartedly poured watery rice milk in my tea and tried to avoid cheese made with cow’s milk (which I loved, and in those days vegan cheeses were inedible). But I avoided learning more about farming. I had such empathy for animals that I couldn’t stand seeing them suffering. I told myself that I was already doing my part, that exposing myself to gory photos and videos wouldn’t help.

Then, in Charlotte Montgomery’s book Blood Relations, I read a story about a bull on a truck being taken to slaughter. The bull had a broken hip and couldn’t stand, let alone walk. But bulls are enormous animals and the only way for them to get off a truck is on their own (on farms, tractors are used to move downed cattle). The workers used an electric prod to shock the bull and force him to drag himself—using only his front legs—to the back of the truck, where he slammed several feet into the ground below. Then, he was forced to drag himself into the slaughterhouse. It took hours. By the time he was inside, the slaughterhouse was closing for the day, and he was left— alone and in pain—on the floor to wait for the next day, when workers would kill him.

It was like I’d been splashed with a bucket of cold water. In that moment, I realized with full clarity something I think I’d been growing to understand all along: that when animals are used as commodities, they will suffer. Animal welfare is most often in tension with profits. Workers are desensitized to the suffering of animals, because they have to be in order to be able to do the job. I realized then that farming animals could never be humane. I immediately became not only vegan, but a dedicated activist. And fortunately, plant-based milks and cheeses have come a long way since then—there are lots of delicious options now!

HOP: You have a very in-depth post here about raising vegan children, but could you give a few simple tips here on vegan lunch prepping for families?

AP: In our family, I do most of the kitchen managing and cooking, because it’s something I really enjoy. But I’m definitely not up for making complicated, time-consuming meals, and I only have it in me to cook once a day, at dinner time. (I love my end-of-day ritual of putting on some music and getting absorbed in the creativity of cooking).

So, at dinner, I tend to cook big meals, that will provide us with leftovers for the next day, or extra parts that can be repurposed into something else (e.g. extra rice to make fried rice another day). That way, when I open the fridge at lunch time, there’s always something to work with.

If there isn’t, we have sandwiches or open-faced toast, along with veggies (like peppers or cucumber), fruit, nuts etc.

I’m a big believer in the gospel of hummus. Everyone should have it in the fridge! It’s delicious, ridiculously nutritious, a good source of iron, calcium, and protein, and widely liked even by the world’s least adventurous eaters. It’s perfect on sandwiches, salads, and bowls, and as a dip with crackers or vegetables.

HOP: You use your legal training to do your best to change the farm animal laws (amazing!)… but what are your top tips for people who want to make a difference in the animals lives, but don’t know where to start?

AP: There is so much to be done! Everyone has different skills, lifestyles, and personalities, so I think the first step is to self-reflect and take inventory about how you can best contribute to the movement in a way that will be both impactful for animals and sustainable for you.

Here are a few ways people can get involved to help animals:

  • donate to effective initiatives and organizations.
  • volunteer with established initiatives and organizations, especially if you have skills in bookkeeping, fundraising, graphic design, video production, or anything else that non-profits are chronically in need of.
  • organize or attend impactful protests, demonstrations, and marches.
  • share information and resources that you find impactful or useful on social media.
  • write letters to the editor in response to media pieces about animals, plant-based eating, the environment, health… any hook you can find!
  • write or meet with politicians at all levels of government (municipal, provincial, federal) to ask what they’re doing about animal issues and make suggestions for policies they can back. If there’s a particular piece of legislation being considered, write to let them know you support it.
  • contact restaurants and grocery stores in your neighbourhood to encourage them to add plant-based options. Make suggestions for your favourite products and dishes.
  • sign petitions, if they’re to specific decision-makers with specific, winnable requests.
  • use chalk to write messages on the sidewalks around your neighbourhood, or put up posters on community message boards.
  • host potlucks, meet ups, book clubs or other events to help build community and spread the word.

HOP: What facts might surprise people about grass-fed, free-range and cage free laws?

AP: These terms very often don’t mean what people think they do. Even in best-case scenarios, animals are still genetically manipulated to manifest profitable traits that often compromise their welfare. For example, dairy cows produce up to 10 times more milk these days than they used to, which leads to painful engorgement, physical depletion, and rampant mastitis (a painful infection). Chickens raised for meat are bred to grow very large, very quickly, which can cause cardiovascular problems (their little hearts can’t keep up), and lameness because their bones are too soft and immature to support their relatively massive weight. In all sectors, genetic manipulation has produced a laundry list of grotesque outcomes that directly compromise animals’ quality of life.

As a mother, probably the thing that breaks my heart the most is how on all farms—even the certified humane ones—animals are separated from their families. In the dairy industry, calves are taken from their mothers a few hours after birth, so that the milk can be diverted to humans. The babies are a waste product of the dairy industry. In nature, hens are doting mothers, peeping to their babies through the shell to establish a bond. After hatching, they’d be nearly inseparable, the babies tucked under their mothers’ wings for comfort and safety. But in our agriculture system, chicks are hatched in industrial hatcheries, never knowing their mothers. Chicken meat and egg farms are like giant orphanages with no mature presence to teach or comfort. If you go into a chicken farm and sit down, the babies will come over and fall asleep in your warm lap.

And of course, even in a best case scenario, animals are sent to be killed at a fraction of their natural lifespan. Virtually all animals are babies when we kill them for food: chickens are five to six weeks old, pigs are five to six months, turkeys are three to six months, and beef cattle are 12 to 18 months old. Slaughterhouses are frightening places; the animals can smell blood and they fight for their lives. I would be terrified if I were in their place. All of this for products that are not only unnecessary, they are damaging our health and environment, too.

HOP: Your favourite and simplest dinner recipe!?

AP: I have a LOT of fave dinner recipes, which you probably know if you follow me on Instagram 🙂 Right now, I’m crushing on a hearty lentil-walnut bolognese. Lentils are superfoods that we need to eat more of, and walnuts are a great source of plant-based omega 3 fatty acids.

Another all-time fave pasta dish is pasta with cream sauce. The recipe is here on my site. I’m also a big fan of bowls, which basically follow an endlessly versatile formula: grain, legume, veggies, sauce, nuts/seeds. I have a post on my site all about how to build a bowl, and plenty of bowl ideas on my instagram account.


Easy Animal Free Lentil Walnut Bolognese
 
Save Print
Prep time
5 mins
Cook time
15 mins
Total time
20 mins
 
Anna Pippus of Easy Animal Free shares her favourite easy dinner recipe at the moment! This is hearty, quick, and delicious for the whole family! Serve it up with some of this Smokey Vegan Parm
Author: Jules
Recipe type: dinner, pasta, comforting
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 sweet onion
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 5-8 mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • Splash of red wine or balsamic vinegar
  • ½ cup walnuts, finely chopped
  • 3 cups tomato sauce or your favourite marinara
  • ¾ cup brown lentils, pre-cooked
  • Oregano, to taste
  • Sea salt, to taste
  • Pasta noodles of your choice, cooked
Instructions
  1. Over medium high heat, sauté an onion until soft (with a splash of water to keep it from sticking).
  2. Add a chopped green pepper, 8 oz or so sliced mushrooms, and a few cloves of minced garlic. Use a splash or two of red wine or balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan.
  3. Add about ½ a cup finely chopped walnuts (a food processor works well but not necessary) and toast for a minute or two.
  4. Then add about 3 cups tomato sauce or marinara, and some cooked brown lentils (I boil half a cup from dry but canned is fine too)
  5. Season with oregano and salt, and simmer for a few minutes to combine the flavours.
  6. Serve with a pound of your favourite pasta.
Notes
* Prep time doesn't included pre-cooking the brown lentils
3.5.3226

Tag me and Anna if you make this! (@hookedonplants @easyanimalfree on instagram)

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Filed Under: Dinner, Hooked On People Interviews, Lifestyle, Uncategorized, Veganism Tagged With: animal love, animal rights, anna pippus, bolognese, easy animal free, easy plant based dinner, easy vegan dinner, hooked on people, hooked on people interview, hooked on plants, lentil bolognese, lentil walnut bolognese, pasta recipe, plant based dinner, vegan interview, vegan pasta, veganism

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Hi, I'm Julia! I like to simplify plant-based eating and make yummy recipes. I'm a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, certified plant-based chef, Olympian, and I make cereal (Jules Fuel). Enjoy! Read more

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hookedonplants

🌱 Olympian | Chill Vegan | RHN & Chef
🏠 Whistler Realtor @jules.eliz.murray @living.in.whistler
☀️ Retreats

Pro tip: Stay consistent. You’ve got this 🐾 Pro tip: Stay consistent. You’ve got this 🐾

P.S. Wondering what all the cuteness is about?

Only for the bestest dog food ever: @virchewdogs
🇨🇦 Woman-founded
🚚 Delivered to our door
🌱 Plant-powered
🧴 Perfect for sensitive skin (just ask Zak)

Use code hookedonplants for a discount — link in bio or just message us ‘DOG FOOD’ & we’ll send more info. 

~ With love, Zak & Tez 🐶💛
Whistler people! Name where this is from & I’ll Whistler people! Name where this is from & I’ll give you extra high fives today 🏆 
The OG rainbow collard wrap 🤤 

PS: if I were to create a Whistler Vegan Guide, drop in the comments what can’t be missed ??!!

#whistlerveganguide #whistlervegan #veganwhistler #plantbasedfinds #plantbasedwhistler #vegantravel
15 Minute Protein-Packed Vegan Pesto ChickUn Fettu 15 Minute Protein-Packed Vegan Pesto ChickUn Fettuccine 

1) Soak soy curls in water for 10 mins, then strain and pan-fry in olive oil & @bragg liquid aminos
2) In a pan, sauté 1 onion, lots of crushed garlic, 8-10 sliced mushrooms 
3) Add vegan pesto (used @love.legrand), nutritional yeast, and the pan fried soy curls to that pan. 
4) Boil pasta of choice (drop your fave pasta below… macaroni? Penne? Fettuccini?
5) Strain then pour pasta into the pan of goodness & mixy mixy
*** optional: add mushroom benefits with 1 tbsp each of @staywyldorganics Immunity Blend powder, and extra protein with @complement unflavoured protein powder. Use ‘hookedonplants’ for a discount - links in bio. 

 
🤤 Devour. 

Anything can be veganized. 👌 

📌 Save this for your next 15 minute dinner recipe idea.

#vegandinner #veganpasta #pestopasta #15minuterecipe #easyrecipe #easyveganrecipe
Ok, I’m biased… but this mama has to be the mo Ok, I’m biased… but this mama has to be the most inspiring plant-based athlete out there.

@stephaniejdsloan always supporting, motivating, moving, adventuring (in braids), and top-cheffing it up with the goodness of whole plant foods.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing mama’s out there. 💕 

#momsrule  #nomeatathlete
#plantbasedathlete #veganmom #mothersday
This isn’t just any tofu scramble… it’s next This isn’t just any tofu scramble… it’s next-level creamy and eggy thanks to 2 secret weapons:

🥄 Hummus for texture 
🧂 Black salt (kala namak) for that eggy flava flave

Serve it up with avo, tomato, and a drizzle of hot sauce for the ultimate #MothersDayBrunch moment 🥑🔥

🌱 Tofu Scramble Recipe - from the #hookedonplantsarchives 

Ingredients:
	•	½ large yellow onion, diced
	•	2 cloves garlic
	•	6 white mushrooms, sliced
	•	1 red pepper, diced
	•	1 tsp each: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika
	•	½ tsp turmeric
	•	1 tsp cumin
	•	½ tsp black salt (kala namak)
	•	¼–½ cup nutritional yeast
	•	½ cup hummus (use your fave — or try my Roasted Garlic one!)
	•	1 block medium or soft tofu (~350g)

Directions:
	1.	Sauté onion in a hot pan (no oil needed). Let it brown, then splash with water to deglaze as needed.
	2.	Add mushrooms, garlic, and red pepper. Cook for a few minutes.
	3.	Stir in spices + ¼ cup water.
	4.	Add hummus and mix until incorporated.
	5.	Crumble tofu into the pan with your hands (tiny crumbles = perfect texture).
	6.	Stir everything together and cook for a few more minutes until golden and hot.

Top with avo, tomato slices, hot sauce… or wrap it up in a tortilla 🌯

💌 Save this for your next brunch or breakfast for dinner (the best) and tag @hookedonplants if you make it!

#TofuScramble #VeganBrunch #EasyVeganMeals #HookedOnPlants #MothersDay #HummusHack #TofuScramble #BreakfastforDinner #PlantBasedProtein #VeganComfortFood #WeekendEats
… vegan for a decade and she’s still kickin’ … vegan for a decade and she’s still kickin’ 👌 

Plants have all the protein 🌱 💥 Who here is early in their plant-based journey? Need some tips? 

🐾 PS: These rescue dogs are thriving on plants too. Check the link in bio for info 🐾 

#vegan #veganolympian #plantbased #plantbasedtips #vegannutrition @virchewdogs
@alohaanimalsanctuary needs support right now. ➡ @alohaanimalsanctuary needs support right now.
➡️The GoFundMe page is linked in @alohaanimalsanctuary bio.

A few years ago, I had the beautiful experience of volunteering with Aloha Animal Sanctuary, and supporting their team with @complement products to help the volunteers and founders thrive—so they could give their best selves to the animals.

It’s a dream of mine to spend more time physically supporting farm sanctuaries. 
And to have my own one day… 💫 
… to rescue animals like the lucky ones you see here, living out their best lives.
Just putting that out there 🌱✨

💪🏽 The work, love and energy the founders have poured into Aloha is incredibly inspiring, but it comes with its challenges… Funding expenses being the main one. 

If you’ve got even $5 to spare, it could make a huge difference in helping save Aloha.

Since I don’t have my own sanctuary (yet!), the least I can do is share, volunteer, and spread the word.

& look back on the cute animal pics from my few days there. 

🐾 Hug a dog today. 
🐾Reconnect with the magic animals bring into this world.
🐾Donate if you can. 
🐾Visit a sanctuary. 
🐾Support the people doing this heart-led work.

🩵🐖🐓🐐
Need a serotonin boost? Hug a dog today. 10/10 re Need a serotonin boost? Hug a dog today. 
10/10 recommend.

PS: dogs can thrive on plant-based diet and it may actually extend their life 🎉 If you have sensitive pups, or don’t feel like feeding other animals to your family animals or want to try a more sustainable dog food for 🌍 try feeding them a vegan option. Check out the studies on @virchewdogs site, and try their starter pack (link in bio). Developed with vegetarians. Feel free to use ‘hookedonplants’ for a discount. 

Zak & Tez just love it. 
Tez actually vibrates with excitement every time. 😆 

#vegandogs #plantbaseddogs #dogfood #vegandogfood#adoptdontshop #rescuedogs #rescuedogsrule
🥞💛 Vegan 3 Ingredient Blender Pancakes—so 🥞💛 Vegan 3 Ingredient Blender Pancakes—so easy, super delish, and protein-packed.✨ 
Just blend, pour, flip, and devour.

3 main ingredients plus a few powders / spices 👌 

👨‍🍳 Ingredients:
✔️ 3 ripe bananas 🍌
✔️ 3 cups oats (GF if needed)
✔️ 1-1.5 cups plant milk (oat, almond, soy… whatever floats your nut milk boat)
✔️ 1 tsp baking powder
✔️ 1 tsp baking soda 
✔️ 1/2 tsp cinnamon
✔️ 1 tsp vanilla extract
✔️ Pinch of salt
Optional:
@complement Daily Greens
@complement Chocolate Protein 
@staywyldorganics Mushroom powders 🍄‍🟫 
Vegan chocolate chips?!

Use ‘hookedonplants’ for a discount on all. 

… beer powder makes these babies nice & pink…! 

🔥 Directions:
1.  Add oats, powders to the blender, and blend to a flour
2. Add milk and bananas, blend until smooth (add a little extra milk if needed & use a tamper to help blend. 
3. Heat a non-stick pan over medium and lightly grease with coconut oil or vegan butter.
4. Pour the batter into the pan (small pancakes work best), cook for ~3 mins until bubbles form.
5. Flip, cook another 2 mins, then stack ‘em high!
✔️ TOP IT with maple syrup, nut butter, warm berries, coconut chips, chocolate drizzle… whatever makes your heart happy! 🍓

Save this for your next cozy brunch and tag me if you try it. 
Who’s flippin’ pancakes this weekend?! 💛

👌Freeze & pop in the toaster for a quick Breaki. 
** Can also be used in the waffle iron 🧇 

Are you in team waffle or team pancake?? 
👇Do tell. 

#HookedOnPlantsArchives 
#VeganPancakes #BananaOatPancakes #HealthyBreakfast #PlantBasedEats #WeekendBrunch #EasyVeganRecipes
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