August 15, 2023 • 31 mins
In this episode we put plant-based chef, Charity Morgan, in the hot seat for rapid fire questions! Plus we dish on the hottest headlines, cool down with delicious smoothie concoctions, answer listener Q&As, and hear all of the exciting things happening at the VegNews HQ.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Straw, Hut Media, food news, celebrities, and more from the
world's number one plant based food and lifestyle magazine.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
It's the veg News Podcast and here's your host, Jasmine Singer.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Hello and welcome to another installment of the veg News Podcast,
brought to you by the Amazing Mudwater. I'm your host,
Jasmine Singer, and on today's episode, we will have another
one of our very popular veg News Hotseat interviews, this
time with chef Charity Morgan. We'll also get the latest
on the summer's very best smoothies from food editor Eddie Garza,
(00:46):
answer your questions from the veg News Hotline, and get
an update from veg News publisher Colleen Holland on all
of the latest happenings. But first, it's time for the
headlines of the week. Every week we'll share our top stories.
Here are some that are making the rounds at veg
News HQ. Our first story today is there anything sweeter
(01:09):
than checking into the Double Tree Hotel? For fifty years,
the hotel chain has welcomed guests with a complimentary chocolate
chip cookie, and now vegans can get a taste of
the sweet tradition too. And it's all thanks to Partake Foods.
The Double Tree Hotel recently partnered with Partak to offer
guests a vegan cookie that's also free of the top
(01:30):
nine allergens, and it's available across all locations. It doesn't
get any sweeter than that. And I might just be
planning my next vacation in my head right now. Our
second story today. At seventy seven years old, Cher has
rightfully earned her status as the Goddess of pop and
now the celebrated musician has mastered the art of gelato.
(01:54):
The pop star debuted her new sher Latto truck this
summer in collaboration with the new New Zealand based ice
cream company GPO, and they made sure to have one
vegan flavor and a unique one at that dubbed La
I Love You. The truck's vegan flavor is made with
a base of flax milk that is folded in with
(02:14):
dairy free white chocolate chips and pluot plums. Angelino's keep
your eyes peeled for the Sheer Lato Truck as it
makes its way across Los Angeles. Our third story today,
there is a new Netflix documentary that has viewers talking
and trust me, you don't want to miss this one. Well,
you might actually want to miss this one. It is
(02:35):
called Poisoned, The Dirty Truth About Your Food, and it's
a hard hitting look at the dangers of the American
food system, with a focus on the meat industry and
its use of industrialized, pollutive factory farms. The documentary guides
viewers through some of the harrowing details of the way
food is processed and sold in the US, and it's
(02:55):
not pretty. Public health and corporate greed come face to
face in this must watch film. So clear your evening
schedule and watch this asap. And our fourth story today,
Eating Taco Bell can give you glowing skin, well sort of.
A new study published in Food Research International has shed
new light on the extraordinary health benefits of common beans,
(03:19):
particularly black and pinto beans. The study found that pinto
and black beans have anti inflammatory and antioxidant benefits and
can contribute to improved skin health. Sounds like it's time
for a few extra orders of vegan bean burritos, crunch wraps,
and shaloopas from Taco Bell. And our fifth story today,
Robert Downey Junior's favorite vegan steak has officially made its
(03:42):
American steakhouse debut made by Chunk Foods. The plant based
steak landed on the menu at Charlie's Steakhouse in Orlando, Florida,
marking a milestone moment for this steakhouse as the first
establishment of its kind to introduce a vegan steak. Chunk
Foods in inn evative food tech startup counts Robert Downey
(04:02):
Junior's venture capital firm among its investors, so you can
legitimately say that this steak is iron Man approved. And
that's all for our top stories this week. All of
our headlines of the week will be linked in the
show notes atvegnews dot com slash podcast. Now let's get
into our interview. We are so thrilled to catch up
(04:25):
with the one and only chef Charity Morgan this week
for another edition of the veg News hot Seat. Charity
Morgan is a vegan chef who focuses her work on
helping folks make the change to a balanced, plant based diet.
She's been featured in media outlets including ESPN, Sports, USA Today,
NFL Network, and The London Times, and was also featured
(04:47):
in the award winning documentary The Game Changers. We'll be
hearing from Charity right after this. Welcome to the veg
News podcast. Charity. Hello, I'm so excited to talk to you.
(05:09):
You are someone who I have looked up to and
admired for so long. I know you have so many
credentials that we could be talking about. You are a
celebrity vegan chef. You have worked with athletes to adopt
a plant based diet to help their athletic performance and
their overall help. And I know you recently had made
your cookbook debut with unbelievably vegans, So congratulations. How's that going.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
It's going awesome. I feel like there's never enough that
you can do. There's always way more stuff you can do.
People don't realize how.
Speaker 5 (05:42):
Hard it is now to sell a book, but it's
so worth it.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
And it's all of these amazing ideas that I took
years to come up with, all in one beautifully bounded book.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
So I'm so proud of it.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah, it's a fantastic book. I totally recommend that anybody
listening to this get it. Whether you're vegan or you're
vegan curious, there is something for you and so Charity,
you are joining us today for our hot seat, which
means I'm going to be firing questions at you and
super excited about whatever the first thought is that comes
(06:17):
to your mind. So are you ready to be in
the hot seat?
Speaker 5 (06:20):
Not really, but let's go.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Yeah, okay, another cup of coffee perhaps?
Speaker 5 (06:25):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (06:25):
All right, here we go. Speaking of coffee. First question,
favorite vegan milk?
Speaker 5 (06:31):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Any particular brand.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
Depends on what I'm using it for. If it's for
my coffee, I like Califia.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Ooh, okay, good. I like the Nuance Vegan chicken sandwiches
or vegan chicken nuggets.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
Chicken sandwiches Buffalo sty Interesting.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I'm a nuggets girl, But I like where you're going
with this.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
All right.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
The next was going to be contentious, be careful how
you answer? Pineapple on pizza?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (06:58):
Why not? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Okay, I am going to take all of my pineapple
off my pizza and give it to you next time
there's pizza. Pineapple pizza for me? Most okay?
Speaker 5 (07:12):
Salty? Sweet? Oh my gosh, it's so good. I love
pineapple and pizza.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Well, I do appreciate the fact that you bring together
so many tastes, so maybe I have to try it again,
but for now, I'm going to be eating out beefy
vegan burgers or classic veggie patties.
Speaker 5 (07:34):
Oh god, you know what? This one really depends on
the mood. I really sometimes.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Crave a really beefy burger, which is the traditional toppings,
and sometimes I can push it forward to like a.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Really fun culinary flair. But nothing beats a good beefy
burger with a great burger sauce.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Oh what, like? What kind of sauce?
Speaker 5 (07:58):
I love mine with mayonnaise, of course, vegan mayonnaise. Catch
up a little bit of mustard for that tang. Some
type of pickle. I love a little Papa rika, and
I do a dash of creole seasing and mine just
to round out all those flavors. And then some onion powder.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Okay, onion powder is my favorite spice on my spice rack,
and I'm gonna I'm gonna put it on my burger
sauce next time I have it. So what is your
favorite city for vegan eats? Are you going to go
with New York, La, Nashville, somewhere else? What do you think?
Speaker 6 (08:38):
I think the best possibilities and as far as diversity
of different kinds of food is going to be New York.
But I really do like Miami too because you can
find really cute local fines.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Think you get some great Caribbean food as well, and
Latin of food. But New York gives you everything, so
does Los Angeles. So that's a toss up.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Okay, all right, I like both. So we'll be by
coastal together.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
All right.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
I think I know how you're gonna answer this one.
But sweet or.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
Savory, savory all the way?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Okay, Okay, I thought you were going to say it
depends on if you want something sweet or savory. But
I like it. Okay, So we're making decisions savory extra
spicy or keep it mild.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Extra spicy like my personality.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Yes, I love it. Okay. I am excited about this
one because I'm always looking for new ideas. Go to
coffee house, order.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
U.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
It will be a oat milk latte with a shot
of sometimes an extra shot of espresso with lavender flavor.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Lavender. It's not just for potpourri. I am so excited.
All right, I'm gonna get lavender next time. Three things
in your refrigerator right now.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
It's always leftovers of some sort, always, so it's leftover sirachia,
vegan honey, and tofu strips that I made last night,
brown rice and sautake kill and then the night before
would be afore being chili.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Wow, how are there leftovers of that? Like, that's serious restraint.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
I cooked too much and so it's always a fresh meal,
opposed to like how my mom would always do it,
where it's like, no, I'm not cooking until that's done.
I'm the opposite, like I'll just keep cooking and then
probably by the fourth or fifth day of like all the.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
Food my husband likes to make us mortgage board. It's
kind of like everything of the week. It's so weird.
I don't like that. I like my one my one meal.
But those are things that are in my refrigerator right now.
It's always a lot of cooked meals.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
So what is the oldest thing in your refrigerator right now?
I love this question.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Oh, the oldest thing in my refrigerator would.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Be a jar of capers.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Okay, do you think they're still good? Like? Do they
stay good for a while?
Speaker 5 (11:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (11:23):
I do a very frequent rotation of my refrigerator to
where I have to take everything out every two weeks,
touch everything that's in there and throw out anything that's
old or questionable.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Okay. See, so you also you probably clean at that
point too, Like don't you always? Oh yeah you do? Okay,
you good to know.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
I can't put new groceries in a dirty refrigerator.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
I just can't, All right, Okay, don't don't ever look
at my refrigerator. Okay, just a few more questions. B
Rito's or Tucos goes, last pantry purchase, Tahini pancakes or waffles.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
Pancakes, and favorite cocktail. I'm a spicy margarita girl every
single day of the week.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Oh my god. Okay, that was such a fun hot seat.
I feel like I could ask you so many more questions,
but I guess I'll just ask you like one more,
not for the hot seat, but because I'm personally curious.
What are you doing these days that you're particularly excited about.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
I love brand partnerships and creating new recipes because it
challenges me, if you know, to cook within a certain
parameter of Hey, this is our product, make something.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
On X, Y and Z.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Those are fun, and I'm very excited for the new
projects that I have coming on that I.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Can't talk about yet.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Ah okay, well, you have to let us know your
adventure news because we're dying to know. And Charity, please
tell our listeners how they can find you online and
get your book.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
I am chef Charity Morgan on TikTok, I am just
Charity Morgan on Instagram. And my book, which is so
unbelievable and that's why we named it Unbelievably.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
Vecon can be.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Found on Amazon, Target or anywhere books are sold, and
I have everything from super easy recipes, throw in a
blender and rip it to intermediate and complicated things. I
try to give it to everybody because everyone's at different levels.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Totally well, Charity, thank you so much for joining me
today in the hot seat. Please come back for a
full interview so I could pick your brain a whole
lot more. Anytime it is getting hot out there, I'm
not complaining, except I am complaining. We are well into
summer and most of the country is feeling it and
(13:59):
it's only gonna get hotter over the next few weeks.
So ivey right. I don't know about you, but this
is really the time of year when I really crave
cold foods, specifically smoothies, and you know who else is
a smoothie fan. I bet you do. VegNews is food
editor Eddie Garza, who is back with us today to
(14:19):
give us the scoop on making the perfect smoothie. Welcome
back to the podcast, Eddie.
Speaker 7 (14:24):
Always my absolute joy, Jasmine glad to be here with you.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Okay, this has been bugging me. I literally woke up
this morning thinking this question, so I need to get
it out of the way. First. Are you a blend
tech or a vitam mix person. I know that you
you professional foodies, are like die hard for one or
the other, But what do you think which makes the
best smoothie?
Speaker 7 (14:45):
Putting me on the spot here? Okay, well, personally, I'm
a vitamix guy, but it's only because that's what we
used in my first professional kitchen job at Spiral Diner
and Dallas, Texas. And what can I say, I'm a
creature of habit. But the reality is that there are
so many rate capable blenders on the market that aren't
going to break the bank, like a Bida mix or
you know, a blenech. You can use stuff like a
(15:06):
nutribullet or an oaster blender, both of which make budget
friendly pro blenders that pulverized smoothies just as well as
the Bida mix. Now, if your blender can crush ice,
I always say it's good enough to make a yummy smoothie.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Okay. I have a vitam mix too, by the way,
but I also have a little one. I think it
might be a nutribullet. I'm not sure, but that's for
like when I'm on the road or whatever. And yes
I travel with it, so as you can see, I
am passionate about this subject. Do you have like a
go to method for smoothie making or do you just
do it like I don't know, kitchen sink style, where
(15:40):
you throw a few random ingredients into the blender while
you're listening to your favorite podcast, which is obviously this one,
and you're hoping for the best. Honestly, this is an
honest question. How much do you plan this?
Speaker 7 (15:51):
I love that description. So my husband definitely follows a
kitchen sync method. He throws everything and everything into it.
He's a master mixologist at the work, but he doesn't
do that for a smoothies. For me, I'm a little
bit more thoughtful in what I do with my smoothies.
I love smoothies. I want them to be nourishing, I
want them to be flavorful, and sometimes I want them
to be a fun cultural experience, or maybe all of
(16:13):
the above.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Huh So what do you mean in this context by
cultural experience?
Speaker 7 (16:17):
Well, you know, I travel a lot, and I'm fortunate
enough to travel to places that are warm year round,
places that harvest an assortment of regional fruits, vegetables, nuts,
and seeds all year long. And it's really during these
travels that I often discover new flavor combinations. And that's
what I mean by a cultural experience. Typically, on my
first day in a new place, I like to find
the local farmers market, pick up all of their only
(16:40):
found in this city, or this country or this region
sorts of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. I take them
to my place, like either my hotel or my Airbnb,
and then I disinfect them, taste them, and then the
following morning I know exactly how I want to combine
them from my perfect prectice smoothie. Now it's not rocket science,
but you can definitely find an art in it, because
it's really just an art of combining flavors.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Wait wait, wait, so small side note you disinfect it,
because honestly, I need to know about what this means.
I don't really even wash my fruit that much. I
like quickly, for like two seconds, put it under the faucet.
Am I going to die?
Speaker 7 (17:17):
Well, anybody who has traveled to South America or to
any part of Latin America knows exactly what I'm talking about.
There's an issue with how you clean your fruits and vegetables.
You can't just go to the market and then come
and put it under running water. You've actually got to
use a disinfectant to clean those fruits and vegetables. It's
a safety issue, otherwise you're going to end up with
(17:37):
Montezuma's revenge, especially in places like Latin America. But this
is for a lot of areas that are Third world countries,
which happen to have some of the best tropical fruits
year round. So that's a reason I always disinfect I
always take my little disinfectant with me when I pack
to Latin America, and I am ready to roll as
soon as I get into town.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
I love that, all right, So what are some of
your favorite smoothie combinations? And I am literally taking notes.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
Okay, Well, living here in southern California. I almost always
include no bles in my smoothies, not Bila's for people
who don't know, are prickly pear cactus pads. We see
them everywhere. They're one of Mexico's and the southern US
It's most prolific superfoods. They've got a little bit of
a tanginess to them, a little bit of an earth equality,
(18:22):
and of course that blends well with other delicious tropical
fruit that you can find year round in this part
of the country Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Mexico, anywhere along
the US Mexico border. Now, my perfect calimechsmoothie would include
a combination of Nofala's pineapple, mango, always papaya. I'd always
put ripe banana, perhaps a frozen righte banana, baby spinach, avocado, hemp,
(18:47):
pumpkin seeds, things that are very California, and of course
a splash of another very California being oat milk. Of course,
when I'm back in the Northeast, I tend to go
for those deeper flavors. I tend to go back to
those blues and reds as the base from my smooth
I go to say blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries. It's
a base. And then of course oats, walnuts, because I'm
(19:07):
in the Northeast, maple syrup, and of course I'm always
going to have that little bit of California love for
my oat milk. The key really is to shop seasonally,
locally for a great smoothie experience, no matter where you live.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Yeah, that makes sense. But okay, so I'm a big
frozen fruit and vegetable person, are you?
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (19:26):
Absolutely. I eat frozen mango every single day. I have
been doing it for twenty one years.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
So do you feel like there's a big difference or
not much regarding the nutritional properties in frozen versus fresh?
Speaker 7 (19:37):
I really don't think it matters that much. If we're
talking about, you know, the best for a certain type
of meal that's going to be enjoyed fresh, say a savicha,
then I would definitely go for the fresh fruits and
the fresh vegetables. But if we're talking about a smoothie
that's blended, it really doesn't matter. We're talking about some
micronutrients that aren't going to change that much drastically from
(19:58):
being frozen or being fresh. Rush I consider them as healthy.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
I had a smoothie this morning, as one does, and
I was my bananas were not ripe, which is like
a very sad way of waking up in the morning. However,
I had a lot of frozen mango in the freezer,
and I'm more of the kitchen sink person like your husband.
I find that the smoothie factor, like the factor that
makes it smooth is really in that frozen mango or
(20:27):
that frozen banana if it's ripe, or that maybe even
some frozen avocado is that weird, not at all.
Speaker 7 (20:34):
Frozen avocado is actually so great for smoothie. It's going
to add that creaminess to it. And you can buy
frozen avocado at places like Whole Foods in the frozen aisle,
because you don't always find the best mangoes fresh, like right,
I'm sorry, fresh avocados fresh. It doesn't always happen. So
if you buy the frozen, it's going to be perfect
for a smoothie.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
So and smoothies can be more than just like a
liquid meal. Remember you were raving about a life changing
smoothie bowl that you had in Mexico, Toulum in Mexico.
Maybe am I.
Speaker 7 (21:09):
Right, Yeah, so I used to scoff at the smoothie bowl.
I just thought, what is this like? Why are people
doing this to me? It just seems so time consuming
to prepare it and to eat it, Because you know me,
I wake up super early every morning, and I like
my routines to be quick, easy, and with zero frill
so that I can get my day started with little interruption.
(21:29):
Now that includes me drinking iced coffee year round that
I prepare the night before, yeah, even in the winter,
and of course messing out my smoothie ingredients into a
tupper so I can throw them into my vitom mix
with one sleepy eye still closed. Now, if I'm completely honest,
I still do that ninety nine point nine percent of
the time. But I do remember telling you about that
smoothie bowl from Touloum, and while it wasn't exactly life
(21:53):
changing per se, it was certainly something that changed my
attitude in perspective to morning rituals. My takeaway that trip
was that not every morning has to be a race
to the finish line the way I typically follow my
life when I'm at home at work. But it's on
those days that you want them to be a little
bit slower that I do go the extra mile. I
(22:13):
fix a hearty smoothie bowl, typically made with frozen fruits
instead of fresh fruits, because that actually helps it keep
its form longer. And then of course I garnish it
with fresh cut fruits, nuts and seeds, make little beautiful decorations,
top it with microgreens, sometimes edible flowers, of them feeling
extra romantic. But yeah, that smoothi bowl experience is something
(22:33):
that if you want that fresh, yummy, cool breakfast on
a hot day, and you also want to show your
love to your loved one who you typically prepare nice
looking meals for, this is the perfect way to do it.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Okay, edible flowers please expand on that, sir.
Speaker 7 (22:52):
Yeah, edible flowers always add a nice touch. I love
edible orchids. Those are my absolute favorites. Now, they're not
all going to be super flavorful. Some flowers you're not
going to want to necessarily eat with a smoothie bowl,
but they do add a little bit of a punch
to any other dish that you have. I might want
a bitter flower to add to something that needs just
(23:13):
a little bit of bitterness, but for something like a
smoothie bowl. I almost always go for edible orchids. They're
so beautiful. They are edible, maybe not fabulously nutritional, but
they're so nice. And it really when you get a
smoothie bowl with a nice little edible flower on it,
that's the last thing you pick and it's just like
you want to hold on to it. Maybe put it
(23:33):
in your hair if I had hair.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Well, my name is Jasmine and I am the bitter Flowers.
So anytime you need some bitterness, give me a call, buddy,
and thank you so much for your insights into making
the absolute perfect smoothie. I am definitely going to take
your advice on shopping seasonally and locally and maybe also
just like freezing some stuff that I get at the
farmer's market seasonally so that it can last through the
(23:59):
non season. If you know what I mean? Is that
like a did I just create a tip? Yeah?
Speaker 7 (24:04):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Wow. Wow, that's so exciting. Okay, Well, before you go,
I just have one quick question. It's sort of personal
if you don't mind. So obviously you're Eddie Garza, right,
like you are this master foodie and this like incredible
cook and like all of the things and your I mean,
I can just imagine what your kitchen looks like with
like pristine, you know, food everywhere and incredibly sparkly clean appliance,
(24:33):
And this is what I'm imagining. So don't don't yuck
my yam if I'm wrong. But so when you wake
up and you have that one sleepy eye, do you
ever just like, oh whatever, I'll just have whatever. Are
you always like I'm going to make the award winning
recipe this morning? What do you do?
Speaker 5 (24:48):
Like?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Are you ever just like unbuttoned?
Speaker 7 (24:50):
Yeah? Absolutely, I'm sorry to break it to you, but Yeah,
the thing is, sometimes when I go to work in
the kitchen, like I know that I'm my day has
to start in the kitchen, I want the easiest thing
to eat and clean up before I get my job started.
Because the first thing that you want to do when
you get into your work kitchen is to have it
(25:10):
perfectly clean so that you can just be ready to go. Now,
that sometimes means that my breakfast isn't going to be
as fabulous as the breakfast that somebody else is going
to be eating because I'm just trying to get up quickly.
Like I said, I drink the ice coffee so I
could just get the day started and then you know,
I for the smoothies, especially during the summer. You can
(25:31):
look at my fridge and there is a tupperware container
already filled with everything that's going to go straight into
my blender because I don't want to have to think
about that. I don't want to have to chop vegetables
on my morning of a busy workday. I want that
ready to go, throw it into blender, and you know,
I can start my breakfast while I'm mentally preparing for
the rest of the workday.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Wonderful, Eddie, Thank you so much. Tell our listeners where
they can find you online.
Speaker 7 (25:57):
You can find me on Instagram and Facebook at the Garza.
Of course, you can always find me on VegNews dot com.
And if you're looking for yummy smoothie recipes that you
don't want to have to think about too much, just
go to veg news dot com, do a quick search
for smoothies and you're going to find an array of
smoothies to whatever it is you're liking. And you're surely
going to find things that are going to be in season,
(26:18):
because you're always going to find something in season wherever
it is you live, Eddie.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Thank you so much for being here. I can't wait
to see what you've got up your sleeve next time.
Talk to you then.
Speaker 7 (26:29):
Thank you so much, Jasmine, and talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
The veg News podcast hotline is open for business. Let
me answer your burning vegan questions by calling eight eight
eight nine to one Vegan. This question comes from Ryan
in Monterey.
Speaker 5 (26:52):
Hi, veg News, I want to have a vegan take
shift for my wife's birthday.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
You know any bakers that.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
Can do that? Thank you, hey, Ryan. First things first,
if I answer this question for you, am I invited
to the party? Listen? I will travel for vegan cake.
Luckily I don't have to travel. None of us do.
None of us have to travel for vegan cake, thanks
to the many fine establishments that ship them right to
your door. First, I have to recommend Yvonne's Vegan Kitchen,
(27:19):
which it ships a variety of baked goods including cookies, pies,
and cakes. And by the way, they made my wedding
cake best cake I've ever had, extraordinary. They even have
a cake option with pressed flowers on the icing. It's
so beautiful, very classy. You must also check out all
of the incredible shippablel cakes at Gluten Free Bakery Karma Baker.
(27:42):
They have a huge selection of flavors like Strawberry, A
Claire Crunch, Luscious Lemon Cookies and Cream, and Tira Massou.
My favorite, of course, is the Rainbow layered Pride Cake,
proceeds from which go to the Trevor Project to support
LGBTQ use, a cause that is very near to my heart.
Yet another true tally outstanding option is Erin McKenna's Bakery.
(28:03):
Oh it's so good. It's another gluten free bake shop
with totally adorable storefronts in La, New York and Disney World.
Little known fact, when I lived in New York City,
I lived right by erin McKenna's Bakery, and then when
I lived in LA, I lived right by the one there.
Oh I miss it so much, but lucky for me,
they ship nationwide and they also have a store on
gold Belly. Check out their chocolate crumb cake and a
(28:25):
couple of options for confetti cakes that come stuffed with sprinkles.
You heard me right, stuffed with sprinkles. It's so good.
Be sure to check out the other online cake vendors
featured in our Vegan Cake guide on VegNews dot com.
It's called eight Vegan Cakes that can be on your
doorstep this week and it can be found at VegNews
dot com slash Cakes. You might want to bookmark that.
(28:48):
Oh and tell your wife Happy Birthday from veg News Ryan,
don't forget to save me that piece of cake. Do
you have vegan questions? Call us at eight eight eight
nine one Vegan. That's eight eight eight nine one. Be
each an. Let's check in with veg News publisher Colleen
Holland to hear the latest on all of the exciting
(29:10):
things happening at veg News. HQ. Hi Colleen, tell us
what's going on this week at veg News.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Hey, Jasmine, so great to be back on the veg
News podcast. I wanted to share a little something about
our guides today. We have so many great guides on
veg news dot com. Our team takes them very seriously.
As you know, ve News editors live and breed the
vegan lifestyle and only want to share the best of
the best information with our readers. So if you head
(29:36):
to be news dot com slash guides, we have the
best guides to vegan cheese, milks, candy, chocolate, wine, beer.
Plus we have specific guides to Starbucks, you know during
all the seasons, Trader Joe's. We just published a great
guide on the cheesecake factory Chipotlet. We do all the
(29:57):
big box stores, target Walmart, and then fast food restaurants.
Of course, we also have guides to travel, beauty, fashion,
and I would say our number one guide of all
time is our accidentally Vegan Snacks Guide, which takes you
through all the really yummy snacks that you wouldn't expect
that we're vegan, that are vegan. So once again, we're
(30:20):
always keeping these guides up to date. We love sharing
them with our readers, and just head to vegems dot
com slash guides to check them out. Thanks everyone, and
have a great week.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
You Thank you so much for joining us for this
week's episode of the veg News podcast. Head over to
VegNews dot com slash Podcasts for all the show notes,
and be sure to check out VegNews dot com each
day for the latest and plant based news for recipes,
taste tests, guides, and so much more. And don't forget
(30:59):
to subscribe to our award winning magazine to have the
best of the vegan lifestyle delivered straight to your doorstep.
I want to send a special thank you to straw
Hut Media, Colleen Holland, Eddie.
Speaker 8 (31:11):
Garza, Sarah McLaughlin, Jocelyn Martinez, Vicky Beechler, and Lourie Johnston
for their work in the production of this podcast, and
a huge thank you to our wonderful podcast sponsor, Mudwater.
I'm your host, Jasmine Singer, and I'll see you next week.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Bye for now.
Straw, Hut Media, food news, celebrities, and more from the
world's number one plant based food and lifestyle magazine.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
It's the veg News Podcast and here's your host, Jasmine Singer.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Hello and welcome to another installment of the veg News Podcast,
brought to you by the Amazing Mudwater. I'm your host,
Jasmine Singer, and on today's episode, we will have another
one of our very popular veg News Hotseat interviews, this
time with chef Charity Morgan. We'll also get the latest
on the summer's very best smoothies from food editor Eddie Garza,
(00:46):
answer your questions from the veg News Hotline, and get
an update from veg News publisher Colleen Holland on all
of the latest happenings. But first, it's time for the
headlines of the week. Every week we'll share our top stories.
Here are some that are making the rounds at veg
News HQ. Our first story today is there anything sweeter
(01:09):
than checking into the Double Tree Hotel? For fifty years,
the hotel chain has welcomed guests with a complimentary chocolate
chip cookie, and now vegans can get a taste of
the sweet tradition too. And it's all thanks to Partake Foods.
The Double Tree Hotel recently partnered with Partak to offer
guests a vegan cookie that's also free of the top
(01:30):
nine allergens, and it's available across all locations. It doesn't
get any sweeter than that. And I might just be
planning my next vacation in my head right now. Our
second story today. At seventy seven years old, Cher has
rightfully earned her status as the Goddess of pop and
now the celebrated musician has mastered the art of gelato.
(01:54):
The pop star debuted her new sher Latto truck this
summer in collaboration with the new New Zealand based ice
cream company GPO, and they made sure to have one
vegan flavor and a unique one at that dubbed La
I Love You. The truck's vegan flavor is made with
a base of flax milk that is folded in with
(02:14):
dairy free white chocolate chips and pluot plums. Angelino's keep
your eyes peeled for the Sheer Lato Truck as it
makes its way across Los Angeles. Our third story today,
there is a new Netflix documentary that has viewers talking
and trust me, you don't want to miss this one. Well,
you might actually want to miss this one. It is
(02:35):
called Poisoned, The Dirty Truth About Your Food, and it's
a hard hitting look at the dangers of the American
food system, with a focus on the meat industry and
its use of industrialized, pollutive factory farms. The documentary guides
viewers through some of the harrowing details of the way
food is processed and sold in the US, and it's
(02:55):
not pretty. Public health and corporate greed come face to
face in this must watch film. So clear your evening
schedule and watch this asap. And our fourth story today,
Eating Taco Bell can give you glowing skin, well sort of.
A new study published in Food Research International has shed
new light on the extraordinary health benefits of common beans,
(03:19):
particularly black and pinto beans. The study found that pinto
and black beans have anti inflammatory and antioxidant benefits and
can contribute to improved skin health. Sounds like it's time
for a few extra orders of vegan bean burritos, crunch wraps,
and shaloopas from Taco Bell. And our fifth story today,
Robert Downey Junior's favorite vegan steak has officially made its
(03:42):
American steakhouse debut made by Chunk Foods. The plant based
steak landed on the menu at Charlie's Steakhouse in Orlando, Florida,
marking a milestone moment for this steakhouse as the first
establishment of its kind to introduce a vegan steak. Chunk
Foods in inn evative food tech startup counts Robert Downey
(04:02):
Junior's venture capital firm among its investors, so you can
legitimately say that this steak is iron Man approved. And
that's all for our top stories this week. All of
our headlines of the week will be linked in the
show notes atvegnews dot com slash podcast. Now let's get
into our interview. We are so thrilled to catch up
(04:25):
with the one and only chef Charity Morgan this week
for another edition of the veg News hot Seat. Charity
Morgan is a vegan chef who focuses her work on
helping folks make the change to a balanced, plant based diet.
She's been featured in media outlets including ESPN, Sports, USA Today,
NFL Network, and The London Times, and was also featured
(04:47):
in the award winning documentary The Game Changers. We'll be
hearing from Charity right after this. Welcome to the veg
News podcast. Charity. Hello, I'm so excited to talk to you.
(05:09):
You are someone who I have looked up to and
admired for so long. I know you have so many
credentials that we could be talking about. You are a
celebrity vegan chef. You have worked with athletes to adopt
a plant based diet to help their athletic performance and
their overall help. And I know you recently had made
your cookbook debut with unbelievably vegans, So congratulations. How's that going.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
It's going awesome. I feel like there's never enough that
you can do. There's always way more stuff you can do.
People don't realize how.
Speaker 5 (05:42):
Hard it is now to sell a book, but it's
so worth it.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
And it's all of these amazing ideas that I took
years to come up with, all in one beautifully bounded book.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
So I'm so proud of it.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah, it's a fantastic book. I totally recommend that anybody
listening to this get it. Whether you're vegan or you're
vegan curious, there is something for you and so Charity,
you are joining us today for our hot seat, which
means I'm going to be firing questions at you and
super excited about whatever the first thought is that comes
(06:17):
to your mind. So are you ready to be in
the hot seat?
Speaker 5 (06:20):
Not really, but let's go.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Yeah, okay, another cup of coffee perhaps?
Speaker 5 (06:25):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (06:25):
All right, here we go. Speaking of coffee. First question,
favorite vegan milk?
Speaker 5 (06:31):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Any particular brand.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
Depends on what I'm using it for. If it's for
my coffee, I like Califia.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Ooh, okay, good. I like the Nuance Vegan chicken sandwiches
or vegan chicken nuggets.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
Chicken sandwiches Buffalo sty Interesting.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I'm a nuggets girl, But I like where you're going
with this.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
All right.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
The next was going to be contentious, be careful how
you answer? Pineapple on pizza?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (06:58):
Why not? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Okay, I am going to take all of my pineapple
off my pizza and give it to you next time
there's pizza. Pineapple pizza for me? Most okay?
Speaker 5 (07:12):
Salty? Sweet? Oh my gosh, it's so good. I love
pineapple and pizza.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Well, I do appreciate the fact that you bring together
so many tastes, so maybe I have to try it again,
but for now, I'm going to be eating out beefy
vegan burgers or classic veggie patties.
Speaker 5 (07:34):
Oh god, you know what? This one really depends on
the mood. I really sometimes.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Crave a really beefy burger, which is the traditional toppings,
and sometimes I can push it forward to like a.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Really fun culinary flair. But nothing beats a good beefy
burger with a great burger sauce.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Oh what, like? What kind of sauce?
Speaker 5 (07:58):
I love mine with mayonnaise, of course, vegan mayonnaise. Catch
up a little bit of mustard for that tang. Some
type of pickle. I love a little Papa rika, and
I do a dash of creole seasing and mine just
to round out all those flavors. And then some onion powder.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Okay, onion powder is my favorite spice on my spice rack,
and I'm gonna I'm gonna put it on my burger
sauce next time I have it. So what is your
favorite city for vegan eats? Are you going to go
with New York, La, Nashville, somewhere else? What do you think?
Speaker 6 (08:38):
I think the best possibilities and as far as diversity
of different kinds of food is going to be New York.
But I really do like Miami too because you can
find really cute local fines.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Think you get some great Caribbean food as well, and
Latin of food. But New York gives you everything, so
does Los Angeles. So that's a toss up.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Okay, all right, I like both. So we'll be by
coastal together.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
All right.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
I think I know how you're gonna answer this one.
But sweet or.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
Savory, savory all the way?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Okay, Okay, I thought you were going to say it
depends on if you want something sweet or savory. But
I like it. Okay, So we're making decisions savory extra
spicy or keep it mild.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Extra spicy like my personality.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Yes, I love it. Okay. I am excited about this
one because I'm always looking for new ideas. Go to
coffee house, order.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
U.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
It will be a oat milk latte with a shot
of sometimes an extra shot of espresso with lavender flavor.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Lavender. It's not just for potpourri. I am so excited.
All right, I'm gonna get lavender next time. Three things
in your refrigerator right now.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
It's always leftovers of some sort, always, so it's leftover sirachia,
vegan honey, and tofu strips that I made last night,
brown rice and sautake kill and then the night before
would be afore being chili.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Wow, how are there leftovers of that? Like, that's serious restraint.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
I cooked too much and so it's always a fresh meal,
opposed to like how my mom would always do it,
where it's like, no, I'm not cooking until that's done.
I'm the opposite, like I'll just keep cooking and then
probably by the fourth or fifth day of like all the.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
Food my husband likes to make us mortgage board. It's
kind of like everything of the week. It's so weird.
I don't like that. I like my one my one meal.
But those are things that are in my refrigerator right now.
It's always a lot of cooked meals.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
So what is the oldest thing in your refrigerator right now?
I love this question.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Oh, the oldest thing in my refrigerator would.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Be a jar of capers.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Okay, do you think they're still good? Like? Do they
stay good for a while?
Speaker 5 (11:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (11:23):
I do a very frequent rotation of my refrigerator to
where I have to take everything out every two weeks,
touch everything that's in there and throw out anything that's
old or questionable.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Okay. See, so you also you probably clean at that
point too, Like don't you always? Oh yeah you do? Okay,
you good to know.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
I can't put new groceries in a dirty refrigerator.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
I just can't, All right, Okay, don't don't ever look
at my refrigerator. Okay, just a few more questions. B
Rito's or Tucos goes, last pantry purchase, Tahini pancakes or waffles.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
Pancakes, and favorite cocktail. I'm a spicy margarita girl every
single day of the week.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Oh my god. Okay, that was such a fun hot seat.
I feel like I could ask you so many more questions,
but I guess I'll just ask you like one more,
not for the hot seat, but because I'm personally curious.
What are you doing these days that you're particularly excited about.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
I love brand partnerships and creating new recipes because it
challenges me, if you know, to cook within a certain
parameter of Hey, this is our product, make something.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
On X, Y and Z.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Those are fun, and I'm very excited for the new
projects that I have coming on that I.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Can't talk about yet.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Ah okay, well, you have to let us know your
adventure news because we're dying to know. And Charity, please
tell our listeners how they can find you online and
get your book.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
I am chef Charity Morgan on TikTok, I am just
Charity Morgan on Instagram. And my book, which is so
unbelievable and that's why we named it Unbelievably.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
Vecon can be.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Found on Amazon, Target or anywhere books are sold, and
I have everything from super easy recipes, throw in a
blender and rip it to intermediate and complicated things. I
try to give it to everybody because everyone's at different levels.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Totally well, Charity, thank you so much for joining me
today in the hot seat. Please come back for a
full interview so I could pick your brain a whole
lot more. Anytime it is getting hot out there, I'm
not complaining, except I am complaining. We are well into
summer and most of the country is feeling it and
(13:59):
it's only gonna get hotter over the next few weeks.
So ivey right. I don't know about you, but this
is really the time of year when I really crave
cold foods, specifically smoothies, and you know who else is
a smoothie fan. I bet you do. VegNews is food
editor Eddie Garza, who is back with us today to
(14:19):
give us the scoop on making the perfect smoothie. Welcome
back to the podcast, Eddie.
Speaker 7 (14:24):
Always my absolute joy, Jasmine glad to be here with you.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Okay, this has been bugging me. I literally woke up
this morning thinking this question, so I need to get
it out of the way. First. Are you a blend
tech or a vitam mix person. I know that you
you professional foodies, are like die hard for one or
the other, But what do you think which makes the
best smoothie?
Speaker 7 (14:45):
Putting me on the spot here? Okay, well, personally, I'm
a vitamix guy, but it's only because that's what we
used in my first professional kitchen job at Spiral Diner
and Dallas, Texas. And what can I say, I'm a
creature of habit. But the reality is that there are
so many rate capable blenders on the market that aren't
going to break the bank, like a Bida mix or
you know, a blenech. You can use stuff like a
(15:06):
nutribullet or an oaster blender, both of which make budget
friendly pro blenders that pulverized smoothies just as well as
the Bida mix. Now, if your blender can crush ice,
I always say it's good enough to make a yummy smoothie.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Okay. I have a vitam mix too, by the way,
but I also have a little one. I think it
might be a nutribullet. I'm not sure, but that's for
like when I'm on the road or whatever. And yes
I travel with it, so as you can see, I
am passionate about this subject. Do you have like a
go to method for smoothie making or do you just
do it like I don't know, kitchen sink style, where
(15:40):
you throw a few random ingredients into the blender while
you're listening to your favorite podcast, which is obviously this one,
and you're hoping for the best. Honestly, this is an
honest question. How much do you plan this?
Speaker 7 (15:51):
I love that description. So my husband definitely follows a
kitchen sync method. He throws everything and everything into it.
He's a master mixologist at the work, but he doesn't
do that for a smoothies. For me, I'm a little
bit more thoughtful in what I do with my smoothies.
I love smoothies. I want them to be nourishing, I
want them to be flavorful, and sometimes I want them
to be a fun cultural experience, or maybe all of
(16:13):
the above.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Huh So what do you mean in this context by
cultural experience?
Speaker 7 (16:17):
Well, you know, I travel a lot, and I'm fortunate
enough to travel to places that are warm year round,
places that harvest an assortment of regional fruits, vegetables, nuts,
and seeds all year long. And it's really during these
travels that I often discover new flavor combinations. And that's
what I mean by a cultural experience. Typically, on my
first day in a new place, I like to find
the local farmers market, pick up all of their only
(16:40):
found in this city, or this country or this region
sorts of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. I take them
to my place, like either my hotel or my Airbnb,
and then I disinfect them, taste them, and then the
following morning I know exactly how I want to combine
them from my perfect prectice smoothie. Now it's not rocket science,
but you can definitely find an art in it, because
it's really just an art of combining flavors.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Wait wait, wait, so small side note you disinfect it,
because honestly, I need to know about what this means.
I don't really even wash my fruit that much. I
like quickly, for like two seconds, put it under the faucet.
Am I going to die?
Speaker 7 (17:17):
Well, anybody who has traveled to South America or to
any part of Latin America knows exactly what I'm talking about.
There's an issue with how you clean your fruits and vegetables.
You can't just go to the market and then come
and put it under running water. You've actually got to
use a disinfectant to clean those fruits and vegetables. It's
a safety issue, otherwise you're going to end up with
(17:37):
Montezuma's revenge, especially in places like Latin America. But this
is for a lot of areas that are Third world countries,
which happen to have some of the best tropical fruits
year round. So that's a reason I always disinfect I
always take my little disinfectant with me when I pack
to Latin America, and I am ready to roll as
soon as I get into town.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
I love that, all right, So what are some of
your favorite smoothie combinations? And I am literally taking notes.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
Okay, Well, living here in southern California. I almost always
include no bles in my smoothies, not Bila's for people
who don't know, are prickly pear cactus pads. We see
them everywhere. They're one of Mexico's and the southern US
It's most prolific superfoods. They've got a little bit of
a tanginess to them, a little bit of an earth equality,
(18:22):
and of course that blends well with other delicious tropical
fruit that you can find year round in this part
of the country Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Mexico, anywhere along
the US Mexico border. Now, my perfect calimechsmoothie would include
a combination of Nofala's pineapple, mango, always papaya. I'd always
put ripe banana, perhaps a frozen righte banana, baby spinach, avocado, hemp,
(18:47):
pumpkin seeds, things that are very California, and of course
a splash of another very California being oat milk. Of course,
when I'm back in the Northeast, I tend to go
for those deeper flavors. I tend to go back to
those blues and reds as the base from my smooth
I go to say blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries. It's
a base. And then of course oats, walnuts, because I'm
(19:07):
in the Northeast, maple syrup, and of course I'm always
going to have that little bit of California love for
my oat milk. The key really is to shop seasonally,
locally for a great smoothie experience, no matter where you live.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Yeah, that makes sense. But okay, so I'm a big
frozen fruit and vegetable person, are you?
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (19:26):
Absolutely. I eat frozen mango every single day. I have
been doing it for twenty one years.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
So do you feel like there's a big difference or
not much regarding the nutritional properties in frozen versus fresh?
Speaker 7 (19:37):
I really don't think it matters that much. If we're
talking about, you know, the best for a certain type
of meal that's going to be enjoyed fresh, say a savicha,
then I would definitely go for the fresh fruits and
the fresh vegetables. But if we're talking about a smoothie
that's blended, it really doesn't matter. We're talking about some
micronutrients that aren't going to change that much drastically from
(19:58):
being frozen or being fresh. Rush I consider them as healthy.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
I had a smoothie this morning, as one does, and
I was my bananas were not ripe, which is like
a very sad way of waking up in the morning. However,
I had a lot of frozen mango in the freezer,
and I'm more of the kitchen sink person like your husband.
I find that the smoothie factor, like the factor that
makes it smooth is really in that frozen mango or
(20:27):
that frozen banana if it's ripe, or that maybe even
some frozen avocado is that weird, not at all.
Speaker 7 (20:34):
Frozen avocado is actually so great for smoothie. It's going
to add that creaminess to it. And you can buy
frozen avocado at places like Whole Foods in the frozen aisle,
because you don't always find the best mangoes fresh, like right,
I'm sorry, fresh avocados fresh. It doesn't always happen. So
if you buy the frozen, it's going to be perfect
for a smoothie.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
So and smoothies can be more than just like a
liquid meal. Remember you were raving about a life changing
smoothie bowl that you had in Mexico, Toulum in Mexico.
Maybe am I.
Speaker 7 (21:09):
Right, Yeah, so I used to scoff at the smoothie bowl.
I just thought, what is this like? Why are people
doing this to me? It just seems so time consuming
to prepare it and to eat it, Because you know me,
I wake up super early every morning, and I like
my routines to be quick, easy, and with zero frill
so that I can get my day started with little interruption.
(21:29):
Now that includes me drinking iced coffee year round that
I prepare the night before, yeah, even in the winter,
and of course messing out my smoothie ingredients into a
tupper so I can throw them into my vitom mix
with one sleepy eye still closed. Now, if I'm completely honest,
I still do that ninety nine point nine percent of
the time. But I do remember telling you about that
smoothie bowl from Touloum, and while it wasn't exactly life
(21:53):
changing per se, it was certainly something that changed my
attitude in perspective to morning rituals. My takeaway that trip
was that not every morning has to be a race
to the finish line the way I typically follow my
life when I'm at home at work. But it's on
those days that you want them to be a little
bit slower that I do go the extra mile. I
(22:13):
fix a hearty smoothie bowl, typically made with frozen fruits
instead of fresh fruits, because that actually helps it keep
its form longer. And then of course I garnish it
with fresh cut fruits, nuts and seeds, make little beautiful decorations,
top it with microgreens, sometimes edible flowers, of them feeling
extra romantic. But yeah, that smoothi bowl experience is something
(22:33):
that if you want that fresh, yummy, cool breakfast on
a hot day, and you also want to show your
love to your loved one who you typically prepare nice
looking meals for, this is the perfect way to do it.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Okay, edible flowers please expand on that, sir.
Speaker 7 (22:52):
Yeah, edible flowers always add a nice touch. I love
edible orchids. Those are my absolute favorites. Now, they're not
all going to be super flavorful. Some flowers you're not
going to want to necessarily eat with a smoothie bowl,
but they do add a little bit of a punch
to any other dish that you have. I might want
a bitter flower to add to something that needs just
(23:13):
a little bit of bitterness, but for something like a
smoothie bowl. I almost always go for edible orchids. They're
so beautiful. They are edible, maybe not fabulously nutritional, but
they're so nice. And it really when you get a
smoothie bowl with a nice little edible flower on it,
that's the last thing you pick and it's just like
you want to hold on to it. Maybe put it
(23:33):
in your hair if I had hair.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Well, my name is Jasmine and I am the bitter Flowers.
So anytime you need some bitterness, give me a call, buddy,
and thank you so much for your insights into making
the absolute perfect smoothie. I am definitely going to take
your advice on shopping seasonally and locally and maybe also
just like freezing some stuff that I get at the
farmer's market seasonally so that it can last through the
(23:59):
non season. If you know what I mean? Is that
like a did I just create a tip? Yeah?
Speaker 7 (24:04):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Wow. Wow, that's so exciting. Okay, Well, before you go,
I just have one quick question. It's sort of personal
if you don't mind. So obviously you're Eddie Garza, right,
like you are this master foodie and this like incredible
cook and like all of the things and your I mean,
I can just imagine what your kitchen looks like with
like pristine, you know, food everywhere and incredibly sparkly clean appliance,
(24:33):
And this is what I'm imagining. So don't don't yuck
my yam if I'm wrong. But so when you wake
up and you have that one sleepy eye, do you
ever just like, oh whatever, I'll just have whatever. Are
you always like I'm going to make the award winning
recipe this morning? What do you do?
Speaker 5 (24:48):
Like?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Are you ever just like unbuttoned?
Speaker 7 (24:50):
Yeah? Absolutely, I'm sorry to break it to you, but Yeah,
the thing is, sometimes when I go to work in
the kitchen, like I know that I'm my day has
to start in the kitchen, I want the easiest thing
to eat and clean up before I get my job started.
Because the first thing that you want to do when
you get into your work kitchen is to have it
(25:10):
perfectly clean so that you can just be ready to go. Now,
that sometimes means that my breakfast isn't going to be
as fabulous as the breakfast that somebody else is going
to be eating because I'm just trying to get up quickly.
Like I said, I drink the ice coffee so I
could just get the day started and then you know,
I for the smoothies, especially during the summer. You can
(25:31):
look at my fridge and there is a tupperware container
already filled with everything that's going to go straight into
my blender because I don't want to have to think
about that. I don't want to have to chop vegetables
on my morning of a busy workday. I want that
ready to go, throw it into blender, and you know,
I can start my breakfast while I'm mentally preparing for
the rest of the workday.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Wonderful, Eddie, Thank you so much. Tell our listeners where
they can find you online.
Speaker 7 (25:57):
You can find me on Instagram and Facebook at the Garza.
Of course, you can always find me on VegNews dot com.
And if you're looking for yummy smoothie recipes that you
don't want to have to think about too much, just
go to veg news dot com, do a quick search
for smoothies and you're going to find an array of
smoothies to whatever it is you're liking. And you're surely
going to find things that are going to be in season,
(26:18):
because you're always going to find something in season wherever
it is you live, Eddie.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Thank you so much for being here. I can't wait
to see what you've got up your sleeve next time.
Talk to you then.
Speaker 7 (26:29):
Thank you so much, Jasmine, and talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
The veg News podcast hotline is open for business. Let
me answer your burning vegan questions by calling eight eight
eight nine to one Vegan. This question comes from Ryan
in Monterey.
Speaker 5 (26:52):
Hi, veg News, I want to have a vegan take
shift for my wife's birthday.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
You know any bakers that.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
Can do that? Thank you, hey, Ryan. First things first,
if I answer this question for you, am I invited
to the party? Listen? I will travel for vegan cake.
Luckily I don't have to travel. None of us do.
None of us have to travel for vegan cake, thanks
to the many fine establishments that ship them right to
your door. First, I have to recommend Yvonne's Vegan Kitchen,
(27:19):
which it ships a variety of baked goods including cookies, pies,
and cakes. And by the way, they made my wedding
cake best cake I've ever had, extraordinary. They even have
a cake option with pressed flowers on the icing. It's
so beautiful, very classy. You must also check out all
of the incredible shippablel cakes at Gluten Free Bakery Karma Baker.
(27:42):
They have a huge selection of flavors like Strawberry, A
Claire Crunch, Luscious Lemon Cookies and Cream, and Tira Massou.
My favorite, of course, is the Rainbow layered Pride Cake,
proceeds from which go to the Trevor Project to support
LGBTQ use, a cause that is very near to my heart.
Yet another true tally outstanding option is Erin McKenna's Bakery.
(28:03):
Oh it's so good. It's another gluten free bake shop
with totally adorable storefronts in La, New York and Disney World.
Little known fact, when I lived in New York City,
I lived right by erin McKenna's Bakery, and then when
I lived in LA, I lived right by the one there.
Oh I miss it so much, but lucky for me,
they ship nationwide and they also have a store on
gold Belly. Check out their chocolate crumb cake and a
(28:25):
couple of options for confetti cakes that come stuffed with sprinkles.
You heard me right, stuffed with sprinkles. It's so good.
Be sure to check out the other online cake vendors
featured in our Vegan Cake guide on VegNews dot com.
It's called eight Vegan Cakes that can be on your
doorstep this week and it can be found at VegNews
dot com slash Cakes. You might want to bookmark that.
(28:48):
Oh and tell your wife Happy Birthday from veg News Ryan,
don't forget to save me that piece of cake. Do
you have vegan questions? Call us at eight eight eight
nine one Vegan. That's eight eight eight nine one. Be
each an. Let's check in with veg News publisher Colleen
Holland to hear the latest on all of the exciting
(29:10):
things happening at veg News. HQ. Hi Colleen, tell us
what's going on this week at veg News.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Hey, Jasmine, so great to be back on the veg
News podcast. I wanted to share a little something about
our guides today. We have so many great guides on
veg news dot com. Our team takes them very seriously.
As you know, ve News editors live and breed the
vegan lifestyle and only want to share the best of
the best information with our readers. So if you head
(29:36):
to be news dot com slash guides, we have the
best guides to vegan cheese, milks, candy, chocolate, wine, beer.
Plus we have specific guides to Starbucks, you know during
all the seasons, Trader Joe's. We just published a great
guide on the cheesecake factory Chipotlet. We do all the
(29:57):
big box stores, target Walmart, and then fast food restaurants.
Of course, we also have guides to travel, beauty, fashion,
and I would say our number one guide of all
time is our accidentally Vegan Snacks Guide, which takes you
through all the really yummy snacks that you wouldn't expect
that we're vegan, that are vegan. So once again, we're
(30:20):
always keeping these guides up to date. We love sharing
them with our readers, and just head to vegems dot
com slash guides to check them out. Thanks everyone, and
have a great week.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
You Thank you so much for joining us for this
week's episode of the veg News podcast. Head over to
VegNews dot com slash Podcasts for all the show notes,
and be sure to check out VegNews dot com each
day for the latest and plant based news for recipes,
taste tests, guides, and so much more. And don't forget
(30:59):
to subscribe to our award winning magazine to have the
best of the vegan lifestyle delivered straight to your doorstep.
I want to send a special thank you to straw
Hut Media, Colleen Holland, Eddie.
Speaker 8 (31:11):
Garza, Sarah McLaughlin, Jocelyn Martinez, Vicky Beechler, and Lourie Johnston
for their work in the production of this podcast, and
a huge thank you to our wonderful podcast sponsor, Mudwater.
I'm your host, Jasmine Singer, and I'll see you next week.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Bye for now.
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